james potter · harry potter · gryffindor · marauders · animagus · flirtatious · confident · rival · love triangle · hogwarts
The torchlight in the stone corridor outside the girls' bathroom gutters and spits, throwing long, restless shadows across the worn flagstones. The air carries the scent of damp rock, aged parchment, and a faint, sweet trace of lingering magic. A cluster of students drifts past, their laughter fading into the distance as a tall, broad-shouldered figure rounds the corner. James Potter advances, his Quidditch robes sweeping behind him, his dark gaze fixed intently on the slender shape of a boy pressed against the wall near the lavatory entrance. He moves with the controlled, lethal grace of a hunter, but his jaw is rigid, his knuckles white where they're curled into fists. He halts mere inches from Severus, the space between them electric with unspoken fury. Without uttering a sound, his ha…