fundamentals of love ; james sirius potter

19. nothing ever stays good

Dear Ellie,

Ty's my best friend. 

He's been my best friend since we were eleven and sat beside each other for the first feast. That's basically five years which is basically a third of my life. I kinda hoped these feelings would go away but they really haven't, they've just stayed and persisted, becoming even more prominent. I don't think I'd ever jeopardize our friendship, nothing is ever going to be worth losing him, so I guess I'll just be Richie in the Royal Tenenbaums. 

I hate how fast summer goes by because it means I barely get to see you and Jimmy and even Vonnie, who's morphed into an adult and left us all behind as kids. Lots of people dread getting older, but I can't wait. Because being older means I'm not trapped in this castle any longer and I guess, I've always just wanted to be free from everything. 

Remember when we went to visit Nana Sally in New York last Easter? How we met her step-son Kento and his husband. I remember how happy they looked and the fact they had the coolest apartment I'd ever seen. Now that it's the fifth year, people start talking more and more about the future and I guess I'm starting to piece together an image of what I'd like to have in the future.  

When I grow up I want to make movies. 

Your second favourite cousin (don't even try and lie, everyone knows you love Jimmy the most),

Hugh

The first day of September brings James's official game with the Cannons, as Quidditch season seems to begin all around the world.

Of course, I'm going, Collette hires me a stylist for the day and tells me where the cameras are and that I should be looking extremely happy the whole day. So, it's a long two hours of smiling absentmindedly while feeling cameras and reporters all watching me. The only nice part is that Ginny and Harry are sitting with me and they're so used to the attention, that they manage to distract me from all of it. (I put them on the list of couples I absolutely adore alongside my grandparents)

It's an entertaining game, meaning there is lots of blood and injuries. Causing the roar of fans to get louder and louder as the game nears its end. James gets hit by a bludger so hard that I swear it crushes him, but the team healers are on him so quickly and he's back up in minutes as if nothing even happened.

They win and everyone around me is screaming and I find myself yelling so loud that I wonder who I've become at the moment. 

When the players file out of the changerooms, flashing the biggest smiles I've ever seen to the journalists. I remember my own days on the Quidditch team at Hogwarts. 

Our team was never good, we were pretty terrible actually. We were lucky to win a game most of the time but that didn't even matter. We always finished with these sore muscles and worn-out smiles, knowing that we had the time of our lives losing out there. Good game, we'd say to each other, saying we played really because we did. There was something about us that really encompassed the Hufflepuff stereotype.

James gives me a long kiss, one that's a sister to the one we shared at the French club. It causes whistles and so many pictures that I know it'll haunt me even after I die. 

"You played really well," I tell him. 

He's grinning. "Thanks, Peirce."

At the after-party, everyone's going crazy. It's as if they've just won the league championship, this first game seems to be an extremely big deal to them and winning has just taken it another level. Last year, the Cannon's had a subpar season and now the hope of what's to come is just growing and growing.