Chapter Text
August 20, 2024
~*~*~
Life often has a funny way of working.
If you had asked her two years ago, Stella Jiying Wong would’ve said that she would be a Journalist with the Daily Prophet (who have since gained more notoriety and a better reputation than before). She thought she would maybe find a dance studio and take some classes, not good enough or persistent enough to go professional but still wanting to keep in touch with her love for the art.
And here she is, two years later, five months into her internship with the Daily Prophet, but probably never able to dance as well as she could two years ago. She’s still trying to figure out exactly where she fits into this job, and figuring it out as she goes. But even with all the stresses, it’s extremely rewarding. And she’s got a knack for storytelling with her writing, as the Prophet offered her an internship position before she even graduated. She started going to the Prophet Headquarters on the weekends when she was still attending school at Hogwarts. Grateful doesn’t even begin to encompass how she feels.
If you had asked him two years ago, James Sirius Potter would’ve said that he most likely would be an Auror or something similar, and maybe, if odds were in his favor, he’d be able to be a professional Quidditch player. Watching his older cousin Molly take the Quidditch world by storm made him realize that he would have to be prepared for a backup plan. She was always destined for things beyond Hogwarts Quidditch, and he didn’t think the same about himself.
But here he is, two years later, fresh off graduation and a chaser on the Puddlemere Quidditch team, the second ever person to go pro straight after graduation, the first being Molly. Go figure. He’s still a bit in shock, and he’s starting to believe that maybe, just maybe, he is just as talented as his cousin.
Life is funny in the way that it can bring people back together. Especially two people who never thought they would cross paths again, though others would say that given their careers, they should’ve known better.
Stella and James have known each other since their first year at Hogwarts, because although Stella was in Hufflepuff and James was in Gryffindor, they would occasionally cross paths in class or through mutual friends (Hogwarts houses aren’t as divided as they used to be). But it wasn’t till their fifth year where they started actually getting to know each other outside of the polite formalities. They somehow got put in four classes together and became reluctant acquaintances. Then reluctant friends. Then not-so-reluctant friends. At one point, they were partners for almost every project or assignment, so they were somewhat forced to get along so that their days wouldn’t feel as long.
Overtime, Stella began to have a crush on James, which she internally cursed herself for. Everyone had a small crush on him, and she had gone four years without understanding that feeling. But her crush grew and grew till it got to the point where he had to have noticed. He had to have. But she wasn’t brave, and he was a teenage boy who liked the attention. So on they went being just friends who only spoke in passing.
Stella grew to learn that James is decently intelligent, actually caring and annoyingly witty, and James grew to learn that Stella is unbelievably kind, surprisingly funny and incredibly insightful. But the school year ended, and they had no obligation to talk as much anymore. James ended up having some sort of thing with one of Stella’s close friends, and Stella ended up getting into a serious relationship at the start of their sixth year. Whatever history they had between them (which arguably, was none?) wasn’t relevant anymore, and they both learned to accept that they would probably never cross paths again.
Life is funny.
~*~*~
“You sure you don’t want me there with you?”
Stella rolls her eyes, “Yes, Mom. It’ll be fine. It’s just an interview.”
Cara, who is not her mother but might as well be, raises an eyebrow, “It’s just your first big feature and I want to make sure you got this.”
“I know,” Stella stands up, hiking her tote bag up on her shoulder. “But I also know that you have a shit ton of other stuff you’d rather be doing than accompany me on an interview with an athlete.”
Cara snorts, “You got that right, kid.” She has more than a dozen articles that she needs to edit by the end of the work day. Perks of being a senior editor at the Daily Prophet. “I’ll see you after lunch. And tell James I said hi.”
Right. Stella almost forgot that Cara Visser is married to Seamus Finnegan, who is family friends with the Potters. Every wizard in this damn country seems to have some sort of connection with each other.
When Stella was told last week that she was going to write a feature on Britain’s newest Quidditch talent, she could only blink. Deep down she always knew that they would cross paths again, maybe at a wedding of a mutual friend or a Hogwarts reunion.
She just didn’t think it would be two months after graduation.
Meanwhile, James has a day off, and he would ideally love to spend the morning relaxing after his daily jog, but he actually has somewhat of a schedule . He has an interview for the Daily Prophet.
And Stella Wong is interviewing him.
Nothing fazes James Potter much, but having coffee with his former classmate just might.
It had been pretty big news in their year when Stella had landed a part-time internship before graduation. It wasn’t necessarily a surprise, since everyone knew she was a talented writer, but any other normal person would’ve talked a lot about it as they were ahead of most of their year, but Stella did the exact opposite. She didn’t talk about her internship and always directed the conversation to something else, because Stella didn’t see this situation as getting ahead. She saw it as pure luck.
Others, James included, would say otherwise. Stella creates literal magic with her quill. And he feels quite honored that his first Player Spotlight for the Daily Prophet will be conducted by her.
As he tosses on a white t-shirt and gives up on styling his damp hair, he grabs his wallet and wand, apparating himself to Petals Coffee & Florist, a place a bit farther from him but closer to the Prophet Headquarters. He’s a bit early, but he wants to get his surroundings before having to see her again.
He’s not quite sure why he feels so nervous. It’s not like anything awkward ever happened between them and all their conversations have always been civil.
Or, more accurately and if James would actually be honest with himself, it’s because they do have some sort of history. It’s not romantic or rival-like. It’s just...friendship.
But it’s something. Or nothing?
As Stella is shoving the last of her contents in her bag and making sure she has all the notes and materials she needs, James is ordering a black coffee for himself and hastily orders a London Fog for Stella. It’s quite possible her drink of choice has changed from their Hogwarts days, but he shoves that thought aside.
Though this isn’t a date.
Nothing like that at all. James is 99% sure that she’s still dating one of his old teammates from Hogwarts. That is something that he’s always wanted to know about, because how the fuck did she manage to date someone who literally refused any and all female attention? Though, if anyone could ground him, it was Stella.
It’s just an interview. He chants to himself as he pays and grabs their drinks, choosing a table toward the back of the cafe.
Stella is chanting the same thing to herself as she walks out of the Prophet Headquarters on her 5 minute walk to Petals, hand clutching her tote bag as if her life depends on it. When he had suggested they meet at her go-to coffee shop, she was taken aback. She knows that he lives in Dorset, the town where Puddlemere United practices. She was prepared to have to floo or apparate, but he suggested somewhere smack in the middle of London.
Though she shouldn’t be too surprised. He has always been more considerate than most other males she’s encountered.
She pushes open the door and folds her sunglasses, placing them in her bag. She’s just early enough that she won’t have to sit waiting for a long time, but will have time to order her drink and get settled. Though that plan dissipates when she scans the cafe and sees James in the back, with two drinks in front of him as he stares straight ahead.
Huh. She can’t remember one time when James was ever on time.
His head whips up as the chair across from him scrapes along the floor. He straightens up, “Hey.”
“Hi,” she responds pleasantly, sitting down and placing her tote bag on the windowsill. “I’m sorry if I’ve kept you waiting.”
He waves her off, “No worries. I got here early.” Her eyes drift to the London Fog and he clears his throat, “I’m not sure if your drink preference has changed; hopefully it hasn’t. If it has, I can order something else-”
“It hasn’t changed,” Stella cuts in, a smile on her face. “Thank you. You didn’t have to.” She can’t help but snicker as she looks at what he’s drinking, “Still on the black coffee kick? That shit’s nasty, you know. ”
James barks in laughter, “Guess Rose forcing it down during exam seasons turned into me actually drinking it regularly.”
“No one forced you to drink anything. You’re just a sadist.” They both chuckle at the memory of Stella walking into the kitchens one night during their fifth year to grab a plate of fruit just as James was walking out, holding a steaming cup of hot coffee. Stella had started going off about how disgusting plain black coffee was and if you’re gonna get black coffee, at least get it iced! James had only blinked, thinking that it was way too late for this shit and that if he didn’t finish his Charms essay he wasn’t going to hear the end of it from Rose.
“It’s good to see you again.” He briefly takes note of how her maroon blouse accentuates her brown eyes in this lighting. But very briefly.
Stella nods, looking down at her cup. “Yeah, it really is.” She blinks a couple of times before remembering why she’s here and grabs her notebook, quill and recorder out of her bag. “Uh, can I record you? No one else will hear it but me and it’s really just for quotes and in case I miss anything.”
James nods, shifting into professional mode. “Yeah, of course. Anything you need.”
Stella lets out a deep breath, turning on her recorder, “So, I know you’ve probably done this a bunch before, but if you feel uncomfortable answering anything, just let me know and we will move on.”
James raises an eyebrow teasingly, “What are you planning on asking me that could be so daunting?”
She chuckles, “It’s part of my job to put it out there. Hopefully we won’t get to that point though.”
And then Stella starts, starting with the obvious questions like what inspires him to play Quidditch and why Puddlemere. But soon after, she starts shifting to questions like his family and his relationships with them. A perk of being former classmates is that she knows a good bit about him, and she knows how important family is to him. That’s the angle she chose to take when she was assigned to this piece, and she was hoping that having a familiar interviewer would encourage James to open up a bit.
And it works. With some prodding, Stella just lets James gush on and on about how he’s looked up to Molly his whole life, and now that she may be unable to play Quidditch again, it hurts him more than he likes to let on. He talks about how although he’s the oldest sibling, he looks up tremendously to Al, who is about to start his 7th year and has his sights set on being a lawyer, and Lily, who is about to enter 5th year and is the spunkiest girl James has ever known. He talks about family friends, particularly Jasmine Longbottom and (surprise, surprise) Aoife Finnegan, who is now one of his teammates on Puddlemere, and how growing up with those two specifically has grounded him. He talks about how he loves to watch Lucy dance and how all the photographs in his flat are taken by Louis. He talks about how Fred is the funniest person he’s ever met and how he loves that Rose keeps him in check.
He talks about everyone but himself. Stella can work with that.
“Well,” Stella pauses some minutes later, scribbling some last notes in her notebook. “That’s all I got for you. Unless there’s anything else you’d like to add.”
James rests his hands on his coffee mug, “You got everything you need?”
She nods, satisfied. “From you, I do. I’ll follow up in case I need anything else.”
“Who else do you need to talk to?”
She clicks her tongue, taking a sip of her London Fog. “Your coach, possibly one of your teammates, and maybe a member of your family. Anyone in particular you suggest?”
“I usually would suggest Molly, but she’s...unavailable at the moment.” Makes sense, considering what she’s been through the last couple of months. James’s eyes cast down briefly in sadness, but it leaves as fast as it came. “Ted might be a good one, if you can catch him on the weekends. But honestly, I’m sure any of them will give embarrassing stories of me. And as for a teammate, maybe Aoife? Or Grace if you want someone who has only met me recently. Anthony might be a good one too. ”
Stella blinks. She wants to avoid talking to Grace Fischer if she can help it. The German Chaser has a reputation of being intimidating.
James must see the hesitance on her face, and chuckles. “She’s not as scary as she seems.”
“Easy for you to say,” Stella scoffs. “You have a way of making everyone like you.”
His eyebrow shoots up on his forehead, and Stella has to admit that, for some reason, it’s attractive. Why is that attractive? “Me? I could say the same about you.”
She delicately places her notebook and recorder back in her bag, before setting her elbows on the table, head tilted in question. “What do you mean?”
He leans back in his chair, “Everyone liked you, Stella. I never heard a bad word about you throughout our 7 years.”
“Really?” She narrows her eyes, suspicious.
“Well,” He backtracks. “Except one time I heard Sullivan claim that you were too loud, but if you ask me, it’s just because she doesn’t know what it means to have a personality.”
She laughs. It’s reassuring to know that James was smart enough to distinguish between someone’s attractiveness and personality. It’s not commendable; everybody should be able to do that, but teenage boys and their dicks are often a stupid combination. Britney Sullivan may have been the most gorgeous person in their year, but she had a personality that was blander than white bread. And that’s coming from Stella, who tries so hard to see the good in everyone.
“Congratulations. On everything,” Stella smiles. “I always knew you could do it.”
He snorts in skepticism, “Really?”
“Of course,” She replies, a genuine sparkle in her eye. “You just lacked the confidence, which is shocking, considering you’re a Gryffindor and everyone in that house has some arrogance in their blood.”
“Speaking of arrogance, how is my old teammate?” He drums his fingers on the table. “Treating you well?”
Stella’s good mood drops, and James notices immediately, but stays silent. She clears her throat, “Actually, Sean and I broke up a week after graduation.”
He blinks. He didn’t see that one coming. He had just seen them kissing at graduation and things seemed to be going well on the outside. “Oh, shit, Stella. I’m so sorry.”
She shakes her head, trying to smile. “Don’t be. Please. It’s not your fault.”
“How are you doing? Are you okay?”
Stella keeps her focus on her hands, clutching her cup with an unnecessary strong grip. “I’ll be fine. But we’re not talking about this right now.”
He nods, “Of course.” He sets his hands down on the table and leans towards Stella. “If you ever wanna talk though, I’m here.”
She snorts, all thoughts of her breakup leaving her mind. “Really?”
He smiles, though less steady than her gleaming one. “What?”
“You really mean that?” She shakes her head with a smile. “James, we’re barely even friends.”
He gasps, faking indignation. “Even after all those conversations in class during 5th year? After all those times I stole your snacks to the point where you would just give them to me when I walked in?” He downs the last of his coffee, teasing glint in his eye gone. “And yes, I do mean it. I know you have Astrid and Cappelli and numerous others who you would probably go to before me, but you have my number if you ever want to rant.”
She can’t help but snort, “Cappelli? Surely you two are on a first name basis now.”
James scratches the back of his neck at the mention of the girl he somewhat had a thing with. “You know about that?”
Stella gives him an incredulous look. Like she wouldn’t know how Eliana Cappelli, one of her close friends, has hooked up with James Potter numerous times. “Of course I know, idiot. But anyways, you never liked Sean, so would me talking to you really be effective?”
He sputters, “T-that’s not true.” Stella stops him with a look and he sighs in defeat. “Okay, he might not have been my favorite person, but obviously he’s decent enough for someone like you to date him. I can promise you I’m always here to lend an ear.”
“I’d watch your words. I just might take you up on that offer one day.”
He grins and Stella hates that it’s actually kind of charming. “It would be my pleasure. Brings me right back to our OWL studying sessions.”
“Not much studying got done during some of those sessions, if I remember correctly.” Stella’s professionalism filter is starting to drop, because it’s just so easy falling back into their banter again. Then again, as she thinks back to what she just said, maybe having a filter would be beneficial in this instance.
He wiggles his eyebrows, “Oh how I’ve missed you not thinking before you speak.”
She rolls her eyes, “You know what I meant.”
“How could I forget? My favorite one has to be the one where we both had forgotten about that DADA essay and somehow ended up in the library till like 2 a.m.”
Stella cackles, remembering that night. “Yeah, and you were too hyped up on black coffee and I had mistakenly slept that whole day, so we went outside and looked at the stars instead of sleeping.”
James smirks, the boyish demeanor suddenly rushing back. “When you put it that way, it sounds like it was a date.”
“Sure, if you think a date is two stressed out sleep deprived teenagers losing their minds together.”
James smiles as he tilts his head to the side, really observing the girl in front of him, who just has her eyebrows raised, waiting for a response. It’s so interesting how they both have grown so much since fifth year, but have both easily slipped back into the easygoing conversation that, truthfully, kept him sane throughout all the stressful exams.
Before he can come up with a witty response, Stella looks at a clock on the wall and curses. “Shit, I gotta get back to work. I really need to buy a watch or something.”
James snorts, “Damn right you do. You always lose track of time.” He slides his chair back as she grabs her bag and hikes it up her shoulder. Before she gets up, he places a hand over hers, causing her to snap her head towards him with a questioning look. “I’m really glad you’re the one writing a piece about me. I’m not really a fan of the press, which I’m sure you know. But if anyone is going to be writing this, I’m glad it’s someone I trust.”
Stella tears her eyes away from their hands to his eyes, “You shouldn’t trust me so much. Maybe I’ll write a piece revealing all your secrets and say you’re the worst Potter to exist.”
“Wouldn’t be the worst thing the papers have said about me,” He grins smugly. “Besides, you like me too much to fuck up my reputation that badly.”
She lets out a chuckle before standing up, “I’ll see you around, James.”
He nods, “I’ll see you.” And he stays still as he watches Stella walk through the door and out onto the busy London streets again. There’s at least one thing about Stella that hasn’t changed in the past two years.
She always leaves an imprint on the mind of whoever she talks to.