ivy! → james potter

i. seventeen years

⋆☆.* ✧✰ .✦⋆*☆

LUCY MAYFIELD STOOD ON THE PAVEMENT, her head tilted upward as she gazed up at the odd building. She had never seen the block of flats that was Grimmauld Place before, and as she looked upon it at that very moment, she was grateful she never had. It was a rather dodgy building, the people roaming about matching the setting perfectly. Many eyed her as they went by, for she stood out with her professional-looking dress slacks and black button-down blouse, but she was too busy thinking of what was awaiting her to notice.

She had only been to London a few times since she had first left for France, and those visits had only consisted of brief visits with her father. Because of this, she hadn't seen anyone from Hogwarts in that long (with the exception of Dumbledore, who had come to see her in Paris two days ago), and she had never been great at keeping in touch, especially with everything that had happened during the war.

Well the first war, anyway, seeing as there was apparently a second one coming in full-speed ahead.

Perhaps the only one she had managed to keep close contact with was Remus, and that was primarily because he hadn't given her another choice. Despite his "I keep to myself" exterior, he was the type of person who would bother the shit out of his friends if he knew that was what they wanted—which she had, really. Their letters had been her one link back to her days at Hogwarts, and she was grateful that he had forced her to stay in contact.

Remus Lupin and Lucy Mayfield had been friends since childhood, as his father and her mother had been coworkers at the Ministry for years, quickly developing a friendship themselves. They had spent summer days and winter evenings alike together, and before the marauders, she had been his one comfort.

Being sorted into separate houses did not put even so much as a dent in their friendship; in fact, they spent a great deal of time studying together...and that was how Lucy had met the other marauders. Peter was shy but sweet, Sirius was bold but kind, and James was...well, James.

James and Lucy developed an instant rivalry from the moment they met, but over time, they had come to respect one another. First, it had to do with Remus, for they were both there for him when he needed them the most. Then, over an increasing amount of shared conversations in their seventh year, they realized they had far more in common than they had originally thought. By the end of the year they had developed feelings for each other, not that either really cared to admit it.

And then she moved to a different country and, well, they hadn't really had a conversation since.

Remus had kept her up to date with everything, and she had exchanged a few letters with James and Sirius on occasion (as well as some of her other friends), but the war had kept them all so busy...

Needless to say, the thought of being in a room with a bunch of old friends after seventeen years wasn't exactly her idea of a fun Friday night, but there she was, crossing the street and approaching Grimmauld Place.

As her feet landed upon the pavement once again, another unit appeared seemingly out of thin air right between numbers eleven and thirteen—and if Grimmauld Place as a whole was dodgy, Number Twelve was downright scary. It was grimier and darker, and had an ancient-looking knocker bolted to the center of the door; had it not been the new headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix, she'd be going in with her wand at the ready.

Lucy took a deep breath, preparing herself for the evening to come, then opened the door and let herself inside.

The interior was just as odd as the exterior, though the decor made it quite obvious that it had once belonged to an old pure blood family. As Lucy studied the entryway, she got the feeling that people had been making an effort to clean up in recent months, but there was still a lot to be done (not that she really cared, it was merely an observation). At least someone cared enough to give it a touch-up.