- someone to lean on *

[ALBUS SEVERUS POTTER]

"james, are you free tomorrow? i know you hate me and probably don't want anything to do with me but i .. i need my big brother right now" albus scribbled onto the piece of paper at one in the morning. the words swum before his eyes and the writing was worse than it usually was but that was because of the fire whiskey pusing through his system. he scratched the side of his head with the quill as he let the owl out of his room, not realising that the ink was going to stain his face and be hell to get off in the morning. reaching to flick out his light he fell back onto his bed, his mind having already forgotten about the note that was now flying toward his brother, well it wasn't like there was any going back now. falling into an uneasy almost drunken sleep almost straight away, albus started dreaming. opening his eyes albus sat up in bed the next morning, his heart hammering in his chest, his brain pounding through his skull and his dream flashing before his eyes. he shook his head and pressed his fingers into his eyes and willed himself to relax a little. apparently the fire whiskey he'd stolen from his dad's stash last night hadn't helped much. he just felt like his head was going to explode, his stomach was going to rebuke last nights dinner and a mouth that was drier than anything. he'd been having trouble sleeping for the last few weeks, the stress of the first task gone he'd expected to be able to sleep better but it wasn't working so well. he'd seen something awful, and as much as he didn't care about a lot of things, he didn't like seeing people get hurt. though by the time he'd seen everything there was nothing to be done, except report it and hope no one had seen that he'd been around to notice it. he dragged his hand through his hair, rolled out of bed and pulled on a shirt. he could see the light trying to fight it's way through the curtains that hung in his room. he was glad to be home if he was honest. there was no school he had to worry about, no tasks that he had to plan for and no girls he needed to avoid to stop him making a fool of himself. stepping downstairs he glanced around for anyone that might be in the house still but instead of finding anything that would indicate they were around, he found a rough note saying there was breakfast in the fridge and to have a good day. well that was nice of everyone. he rubbed his hand into the back of his neck and opened the fridge and saw the plate of food for him. shaking his head he grabbed the milk and downed a few mouthfuls, tasting something awful and kicking the door closed. "what the .. " moving to rinse his mouth out he caught sight of his face in the reflection of the sink and rubbed his hand over the dried ink. "oh great" he groaned and rested his head down on the cool kitchen bench, hoping to take some of the ache out of his head. hearing a door behind him albus couldn't even fathom lifting his head. "if your here to murder me get on with it .." he said, no joking in his voice. after what he'd seally expecting someone to come after him. me after him. tagged: (JAMES SIRIUS POTTER) words: (a few) outfit: (sweats and a black shirt) notes: (hope this is okay?! )

made by remi of i'm so curious

[JAMES SIRIUS POTTER]

### words

for ALBUS SEVERUS POTTER

notes: xx

A PERFECTLY CONSTRUCTED ALIBI

James was a bit surprised when Albus sent him an owl saying he needed him. Maybe James and Albus weren't seeing eye to eye at the moment, but James was his brother. Albus was a quiet individual and kept to himself, much unlike James, so the fact that he stated in clear (well, mostly) writing that he needed James, calling him his big brother, was enough to persuade James to miss his Quidditch practice. Even though James had a Quidditch match the day after, he assured his teammates and boss that he would be ready, maybe even practice on his own, and that it was a family emergency that was calling him away; it wasn't a complete lie, right?

He left the inn sporting a pair of jeans, a white v-neck shirt, and a black coat buttoned up since it was so cold. James wondered all the way to his parents' house what exactly Albus needed him for that he couldn't go to their father; usually, that was the first person Albus went to if he wasn't at school. For him to specifically state James was who he needed meant something. James couldn't ignore, however, the fury bubbling inside him from their last conversation. He knew he had a bad temper, and Albus was one of the people who could easily get it boiling, but he needed to get it under control or it was going to kill him; and, unfortunately, that was very close to the truth.

James had a lot on his plate and sometimes he was selfish about it, because he knew there were people whose lives were much worse than his own. Still, it took something like a brother begging him to visit to make him realize he needed to be a bit more about his family. He knew his practicing in the Order was to do just that - be there for them. It didn't mean, he supposed, that he had to leave them astray or be mean. He wanted a better relationship with Albus, really, but it was hard...after his own prejudices against Slytherin, his brother's personality, and everything else...it was a task. At this point, though, it was a task worth taking on.

Albus' weak voice sounded through the house as James entered and he raised an eyebrow. "Well I'm not gonna kill you, mate, but surely you should put up a better fight if I was," he said. He followed the familiar path he took to the kitchen and then stood in the threshold, staring at his little brother. He looked at Albus' face and then burst into a fit of laughter, immediately shoving his hands up over his mouth. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he choked, his eyes tearing at the corners. He bit his lower lip, trying to help himself from saying some smart-ass remark, but it was truly very hard considering the dried ink all over Albus' cheeks.

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[ALBUS SEVERUS POTTER]

JAMES SIRIUS POTTER sweats and a shirt? x x x

hearing james' voice made albus' eyebrows raise a little. what was his brother doing there? maybe he was here to see someone else. he knew he should have put more effort into seeing his brother, but he didn't see the point on a lot of days. it was almost like the day he'd started hogwarts was the day he'd lost his brother. all because they were in different houses, more specifically, albus was in slytherin, he guessed it was difficult for james to get over the prejudice he had for them, but albus had spent a few years hoping his brother would change his mind before eventually realising that he wouldn't and trying to accept it. though it still hurt. not that he'd let james know any time soon, or he hoped. the way his head and body felt disconnected today, there was the chance that anything could slip out of his mouth and it probably would. "nope. not today. or this very moment" he mumbled as his brother came into view. there it was. the laughing. albus knew that the mess on the side of his face was of course something his brother would find hilarious, anything to have a good old laugh. "yeah yeah .. i know it's there ... and yeah, you look awfully sorry" he rolled his eyes a little and closed them, his face paling for a moment as he regretted the movement. so this is what hungover felt like. it sucked. he gripped his hand to the counter for a moment while his head stopped swimming and the rolling in his stomach ceased and he reached for a cloth, dipping it in some water and trying to wipe the mess from his face. "why're you here jam .. " albus stopped as a he heard the sound of his owl screeching through from the top floor and the memory slammed into his head like a jack hammed. he'd sent a letter to james. he'd actually written to his brother and asked him to come. well that was what interesting. never in a million years would he have thought he'd do that. "never mind." he mumbled a little as he moved to drop into a chair at the table, grabbing a glass of water as he did. he put his elbow on the table, resting his head on his hand as he focused his green eyes on his brother. "take a seat?" he offered, his eyes moving to the seat at the table across from him, feeling a little weird about asking his brother to sit in the house they grew up in. he didn't want to treat james like a stranger. he was trying his hardest not to. but they didn't know anything about each other, not anymore. they were different, had grown to apart. much like albus and most of his family, but with james it was different. while they were in school, it has often felt like there was actual hate between them, and though he didn't like it, the thought made albus feel sick. "let my head settle .. then i'll try and remember why i owl'ed you" he said, leaning back in the chair and pushing his dark hair back from his forehead. "wait ... don't you have a game tomorrow, shouldn't' you be training?" he asked, then looked down at the table, not wanting his brother to know he actually had more interest in his career than he had let on in the past.

( BUT I'M BARELY HOLDING ON)

BY SKYLARK'S FOLLY AT ADOXOGRAPHY & CAUTION

[JAMES SIRIUS POTTER]

### words

for ALBUS SEVERUS POTTER

notes: xx

A PERFECTLY CONSTRUCTED ALIBI

It wasn't until Albus started talking that James noticed, behind the ink on his face, that he was bloody hungover. James had been there so it was quite apparent when taking his second and third looks at his brother. Oh bother. Had he made a mistake? Albus didn't want to make up at all, or even want him there - he didn't even remember inviting him. Damn you, James. He tried to keep upbeat, though, knowing now that his brother hadn't actually meant for him to be invited. Of course, James didn't need to be invited to his own house, despite no longer living there anymore. Still, it kinda felt like Albus' territory now since he was visiting from Hogwarts and James was the one on the outside. That's how he felt, really - on the outside of everything.

"Well thanks for the offer, Al," he joked, taking a seat across from his brother at the table. He looked around and the memories flooded through him like a heavy rain; there were so many memories of him and Albus running through the kitchen as boys, desperate to get out the back door to go goof off. There was just something about sitting across the table from his brother at that moment that made him feel so far away. And, honestly, it tore him to bits. He knew it was partly his own fault; after all, he was the one who made such a big deal against Slytherins. He pushed people away from him because he was afraid of letting them in and being betrayed. He should have followed his mother's blind faith and trusted more. There was no going back now, though. He had to deal with his decisions as a kid and, unfortunately, it meant being a stranger to his own brother.

He nodded, knowing what he meant about his head settling. "Yea that's fine," James said, nodding once more. He then perked up slightly when his brother mentioned his game. "Well yea, I do, but it's no big deal...I mean your owl seemed important," he noted, looking down. James felt a bit foolish saying that. Albus' owl did seem important at the time, but now it seemed it really wasn't a big deal at all. Sigh. He looked up and shook it off. "I mean I told them I had the next-best Potter to train with if I needed the practice," he teased, a grin slipping across his features. That was James - always trying to dwell on the positive instead of the negative. At least, it was in awkward situations such as this one.

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[ALBUS SEVERUS POTTER]

JAMES SIRIUS POTTER sweats and a shirt? he tried x x x

as he watched his brother sit down across the table albus relaxed a little. with them both sitting down it felt more relaxed, less like something was going to happen. not that he thought it would today, but his brother and him had spent a fair amount of their teenage years fighting. they'd been close as kids. always together and always trying to one up the other playfully, wanting to play outside and go trudging through the woods that bordered the house they grew up in. he missed those days. everything had been simple and easy to cope with. it had been fun and easy, while growing up was painful and messy. nothing was in your control and things spiralled faster than you could keep up and to be honest albus was tired of it. "glad we can agree on something" albus said with a small smile as he tried to wipe the ink off his face lightly. he sighed and gave up, resting his head on his hand and trying to remember why he'd owled his brother. it wasn't often they'd done that in the last few years and normally there was a reason behind it, whether that reason be good or bad there was a reason and albus was sure he could remember it in time. "it is a big deal." he looked at his brother, honestly sorry that he had dragged him away from his practice for a reason that he couldn't remember and he could only imagine the thoughts that were running through his older brother's head. "it had to have been .. for me to even write it" he mumbled as he glanced at the window to where the owl was perched, cleaning his feathers and albus looked back at his brother and couldn't help but smile at his brother's trademark sense of trying to keep everything funny. "the next beast potter? you should be worried james .. i might come after your spot on the team next year" he joked back, the throbbing in his head easing a little. he knew james wouldn't take that seriously, or he hoped he wouldn't. he wasn't interested in playing quidditch for the rest of his life or youth. he had other plans. well they kept changing but he coulnd't see himself on a broom forever. he sighed and ran his hand through his hair, musing it and glancing at something on the wall for a few moments as he tried to formulate the sentence in his head. he wasn't used to what he was about to do, being open and honest about how he was feeling. it just wasn't him, but in this moment something in him stirred and was making him feel like he needed to be. "i'm .. i just .. i'm glad you came .. you know, even though it was me that owled you .. it means .. ya know?" he mumbled a little, his shoulders shrugging a little as his green eyes moved to catch his brothers.

( BUT I'M BARELY HOLDING ON)

BY SKYLARK'S FOLLY AT ADOXOGRAPHY & CAUTION

[JAMES SIRIUS POTTER]

### words

for ALBUS SEVERUS POTTER

notes: xx

A PERFECTLY CONSTRUCTED ALIBI

James didn't want to appear weak or pathetic, but the fact that Albus wrote him without remembering why sort of bothered him. The fact that Albus was trying though...it helped massively.

As Albus muttered about thanking him, him being glad James was there, it made James grin. It also made him blush. The two weren't exactly the kindest to each other, but the fact that they were here trying to reconcile their relationship meant a great deal. He caught his brother's eye and grinned even wider, wondering what was going on in that head of Albus'. James shook his head and sighed, shrugging. "You're welcome," he said, winking.

James ran a hand through his hair and then stood up, cracking his neck before looking back at Albus. "You wanna do something? I mean, before we both turn into mush and mum walks in on us?" he asked, smirking. He figured that they were past their mushy conversation; they both knew where this was headed. This was the start of a beautiful friendship between them, one that had never been there before because they didn't realize how much each other actually cared. That very realization was going to change their friendship for the better. He was sure they weren't magically going to get along all the time over everything, but this meant that they could get along much better, because now they knew where they stand.

They were brothers. They both knew that. The difference between now and before was that they both were accepting and happy about that.

x