The Tree of Blacks (English version)

Prongs

Monday 6th December, 1976. Gryffindor Tower, Hogwarts.

James Potter stood lazily lounging in one of the red armchairs, in front of the fireplace. A beautiful crackling fire reflected in the lenses of his glasses, with their round, slightly crooked frames. They were hanging slightly to the right and James mechanically made the gesture of adjusting them straight onto his nose. But it was useless. After a few moments, they would be tilted again, as always.

It was a cold Monday evening, early December, and there was a tedious air in the Gryffindor common room. Most of the red-gold students had already retired to their dormitories. The few remaining were close to finishing their homework, yawning bored and visibly sleepy.

Except for James. He wasn't sleepy. A new nighttime adventure awaited him. Adrenaline kept him awake, waiting for his two friends, Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew, with whom he would then sneak out to join Remus Lupin at the Shrieking Shack. That night a large full moon shone radiantly in the black sky.

James savoured the torpor of the flames, which pleasantly warmed his cheeks. From time to time, he heard female whispers squeak from behind his back, the insistent glances of a gaggle of fourth-year girls, strategically seated at a small table not far from the boy, lingering on the back of the talented Seeker of the Gryffindor Quidditch team.

James had noticed them, out of the corner of his eye. He was pleased to see the girls giggling amongst themselves, as they gave him admiring and curious looks. He had always enjoyed the girls' attention.

With fake nonchalance, James Potter sank a hand into one of the pockets of his uniform and fished out a small Golden Snitch, snatched during training. Its wings, resembling those of a hummingbird, began to vibrate and flutter rapidly as soon as it was welcomed by the fresh air of freedom. The Snitch hovered in the air, from the boy's palm, and began to dart here and there, whizzing through the air with a buzz. It looked like a cunning insect, ready to flee. James, indulgent, pushed it away just a few centimetres, before quickly catching it again, with a firm, sure grip. He heard one of the girls let out an ecstatic clap of her hands. This encouraged the boy to repeat the gesture many more times: he released the Snitch, let it move away a little and catch it again, sometimes alternating the use of his hands. All the while, he sported a bored expression, as if the game was just any old pastime for him.

In fact, with the corner of his eye always on the alert, he was contentedly studying the reactions of the young girls who were witnessing that impromptu little show for the sole purpose of showing off. When these smiled filled with admiration, then lowering their eyes intimidated, but without ceasing to giggle, James felt his own ego swell overbearingly in his chest. Still feigning indifference, he ran his hand through his disheveled hair, ruffling it even more.

"Hey, Prongs! Fancy some company?" the mocking voice of his best friend, Sirius Black, caught James off guard. He had been so focused on strutting his stuff in front of the fourth years that he had not seen him coming. Sirius, for his part, seemed highly amused by the skit his partner had concocted.

"Or, perhaps the one you already have is enough for you?" observed Sirius, shooting an allusive glance at the small group of young girls, who had mysteriously stopped giggling all of a sudden.

James darkened slightly as he watched his friend sag lazily in the crimson-colored chair beside his own. Sirius had always been a handsome boy: tall, endowed with a rare and unintentional elegance, a thick, naturally neat head of raven hair, quite the opposite of James's perpetually unruly hair.

Sirius had his uniform in disarray-intentionally in disarray-with his shirt a little untucked at chest level, showing a carelessness that gave the boy an even more charming air.