Vivicendium ➝ Sirius Black/OC

Alis volat propriis

Chapter Fifty Three | Alis volat propriis

[She flies by her own wings]

James Potter is a bastion of optimism. He likes to think that his optimism is his third best characteristic. (Coming directly after his magnificent good looks and awe-inspiring skills on the Quidditch pitch.) Well, maybe his fourth best. (He is superbly talented with dueling.) Actually, perhaps it's his fifth best. (One cannot deny that he is a most illustrious and dishonorable prankster.) Well in any case, James Potter is quite optimistic and overall extraordinary.

Anyway, concerning optimism, he fully expects that Pride will come to her senses soon enough. After all, one does not simply make it onto the distinguished list of Honorary Maraudership without possessing several key character traits. The first being, of course, that they must have some appreciation for mischief. The second being that all Official Marauders must agree to accept them into their role (as they have a very democratic system of leadership and even one veto will ruin the potential H.M.'s chances). The third being that any potential Honorary Marauders must either 1) be a fellow Gryffindor, or 2) enjoy the company of a Gryffindor. This third trait is imperative, really, because in James Potter's humble opinion, Gryffindors are the very best, which is reason enough.

Pride has thus far proven herself capable of living up to all three of these fundamental doctrines. She is appreciative of mischief (though her definition thereof is sometimes a bit scary), she has been accepted by all Official Marauders (though Wormtail had been quite wary, he still voted 'yes'), and she enjoys the company of a Gryffindor (though she would surely deny this). Yes, overall, James Potter is quite sure that with enough time, Pride will come to her senses and realize that being inducted as an Honorary Marauder is quite serious, and definitely shouldn't be brushed off or ignored.

Right. James is very optimistic. Which is why, during breakfast the morning after The Event, as his Marauding fellows have taken to calling it (Sirius grimaces whenever they say 'the night Vivian found out you started sending her love poems as a prank'), James is quite pleased. See, he is not only a bastion of optimism, but he also knows how to handle a bird – come to think of it, perhaps his optimism should be his sixth best trait – and he knows that Vivian just needs time to process that her secret admirer and Sirius Black are one in the same. It's actually all very romantic when it boils down to it, which he's sure she'll come to realize after a while. Sure, in the few brief run-ins they've had, she's taken to giving Padfoot the cold shoulder and has begun referring to him as 'the blood traitor' again, but it won't last forever. He's quite sure.

"Why're you so happy today?" Sirius mutters as James fills his plate with breakfast. He's dressed very smartly today, having actually tied his tie properly and attempted to comb down his hair. He's even whistling a Celestina Warbeck song under his breath as he reaches for some toast and starts spreading jam onto it.

James shrugs and breezily responds, "I'm happy that Vivian found out is all. It'll make everything so much easier."

Sirius's expression grows a touch stormier. Remus and Peter take one look at it and clamp their mouths shut, but James doesn't notice because he's too busy humming, 'A Cauldron Full of Hot, Strong Love' beneath his breath.

"You're glad that Vivian found out?" Sirius demands, narrowing his eyes.

James nods his agreement and, around a bite of toast, hums, "Oh come and stir my cauldron," then seems to forget the next line and skips to, "I'll boil you up some hot strong love hmm mm – "

"So what you're saying is that you're happy I'm miserable," Sirius grits out.

James rolls his eyes. "Oh come off it. Course I'm not happy about that. You did kind of ask for this though, to be fair."