Chapter Text
He would never complain about his life: he had a very loving and ridiculously large family he was never abused, unfed, unclothed or unloved. He lived in a nice house, had a nice broom, had loving and understanding parents, and he was never wanting of company, thanks to his thousands of cousins.
But it was not easy being James Sirius Potter.
Albus had it worse of course, having two famous and unusual names and having the green eyes and black, messy hair of their father. At least he didn't have glasses. Lily had it easy: her red hair allowed her to blend in with the multitude of Weasley cousins. Until, of course they learned her name. Then there was no doubt she was a Potter.
But James' messy black hair and his glasses made him look almost identical to his father. He had begged and begged for corrective eye surgery, but his parents refused. At least he had his mother's brown eyes…
But that didn’t stop people from stopping him in the street. They didn't stop Albus nearly as often since he was younger and didn’t have glasses. James was the eldest son of the Boy Who Lived Twice and the first Weasley girl in centuries. And when you were named after two famous (and infamous) pranksters, womanizers, and brave War heroes and had Harry and Ginny Potter as parents, there were certain expectations.
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Fred and James were as good as twins. They were born barely six days apart and were nearly inseparable since. If George had been disappointed when he first heard the word "heartbeat" rather than the plural, he wasn't when Fred and James turned two and hid a gnome in one of Grandmum's cupboards. He still had no idea how they managed to move a garden gnome, but he knew from then on that James was Fred's twin. Fraternal and different parents, but twins nonetheless. They spent nearly every waking hour together and on some occasions, even completed the others' sentences. George would never admit it, in fear of his mother's and sisters-in-laws' wrath, but James was his very favorite nephew.
While James and Fred liked to frequently prank their cousins, aunts, uncles, and Teddy (and their Uncle Neville) they never did so maliciously, or out of spite (although revenge was fair game). They were also not exclusive: Albus, Lily, Dominique, Roxanne, and Teddy were frequent "collaborators". Dominique was a surprisingly good prankster and showed "great promise".
Fred and James were also the greatest Beaters since the Weasley twins themselves. They were on the team since their First Year and James was the first Beater to be Gryffindor captain in decades, if not a century.
Fred and James may have been "twins", but they had different personalities, different strengths and different taste in women. Which came in handy when they were "out wooing birds". Fred was outgoing, theatrical, and sarcastic like his namesake. He was the creative mind of the pair. James had outgrown most of his "Ronness" although he occasionally still managed to be completely oblivious. He was good for a laugh, friendly, and like his father was a patient and excellent captain, although he sometimes lost his 'Weasley temper'. He was the orchestrator of the pranks; he organized, planned, and set them in motion. Frequently adding in extra flourishes.
James was also about five inches taller than Fred. Fred was built like his father and his Uncle Charlie, shorter than Ron and Bill and stockier. James was nearly as lean and tall as his father, but since he was a Beater he had a bit more bulk than his old man.
James had always known that his parents, aunts, uncles, and grandparents were famous. Or at least well known and important. Someone's picture was always in the paper or they were always going to "events" without the children. People would often stop them in Diagon Alley or at Quidditch games. He knew his mother had once played Quidditch and now occasionally wrote about it and he knew his dad was an Auror, but it wasn't until he got to Hogwarts that he learned the truth.
They would only ever say how brave Grandma and Grandpa Potter had been, how brave and wonderful Uncle Sirius, Uncle Remus, Aunt Tonks, and Uncle Fred had been, how wise and brave Professors Snape and Dumbledore were. They only ever said, "Your dad, Aunt Hermione, and Uncle Ron, defeated a very bad wizard who killed many good and brave people. With the help of your Mum, Grandmum, and Grandpa, and all your aunts and uncles, especially Uncle Neville.
Teddy and Victoire, of course, had learned the truth. James remembered that Christmas when Teddy came back from school and locked himself in his room with Harry. James remembered he came out, his hair a sad, sandy brown and hazel eyes, a combination Teddy rarely ever sported.
He remembered when Victoire came back after her first year she rarely left Teddy's side (more than usual) and looked at all of the adults with a sort of reverence.
But they never told him what had happened. Not that he would have believed them anyway. He wasn't nervous when he was waiting to be Sorted: he was going to be in Gryffindor. Teddy and Victoire were. His parents had been. His aunts and uncles, grandparents, Teddy's dad, and his Uncle Sirius had all been Gryffindor. There wasn't any doubt that he and Fred were going to be anything but Gryffindors.
But when his Uncle Neville had called his name with his usual, big, goofy smile, everyone grew eerily quiet. Until he heard whispers of 'Potter'?
The hat had barely touched his head when it yelled 'GRYFFINDOR'. Teddy and Victoire greeted him first with words of reassurance, "Don't worry, Jamie," Teddy smiled, his hair it's usual turquoise. "Everyone stared at me when the first called me."
Victoire tucked her long, sleek blonde hair behind her ear, "Me too," she smiled and winked. "I was the first Weasley in quite a while."
James smiled back and waited eagerly for Fred to join them, but he still didn't really understand.
Not until after their first History of Magic class did he understand.
Firenze taught the first few classes that dealt with the more recent events, things that Professor Binns hadn't exactly experienced.
James and Fred walked slowly out of class that first day, ignoring the stares and whispers of their classmates. "Did you -"
"No. Did -"
"No."
They stared at each other. "Merlin," they whispered simultaneously. James frowned, "I - I'm going to go talk to Uncle Neville."
Fred nodded and watched his best mate walk down to the greenhouse; he couldn't even begin to imagine what James was thinking.