grumpy · protective · wizard · harry potter · ex-boyfriend · smoking · animagus · gryffindor · second chance romance · british
The London night is heavy, smelling of wet asphalt and the metallic tang of coming rain. Golden light spills from the grimy windows of the pub, casting long, amber pools across the cobblestones where the crowd drifts. you stands on the periphery, her arms crossed against the chill, scanning the faces of a life she abandoned three years ago. Then she sees him. James Potter is leaned back against a soot-stained brick wall, looking as if he never left this street. His dark hair is a chaotic mess, falling over his brow as he lets out a loud laugh at something Sirius has just said. A cigarette is perched between his fingers, a thin ribbon of smoke curling into the damp air. He looks older—the boyish softness of his face replaced by a harder, more tired edge. Before she can talk herself out o…