Waste and Want

Chapter 10

James woke up to a new decade sprawled across his father's desk, a piece of paper glued to his cheek with a bit of drool, surrounded by bottles of firewhiskey and still drunk. The hangover, when it came, promised hell. Outside his office, James could hear the sounds of striking workers clashing with drunken revelers spoiling for a fight. James Potter was twenty years old, an orphan, and now the head of Potter's Potions. This was not supposed to be his life. He was not made to put on a suit everyday, sit behind a desk, and crunch numbers. He was supposed to be an Auror. All of his talent, all of his skill and courage and athleticism wasted on this stupid job that he never wanted in the first place. A job he couldn't even do right. God, what would his father think if he saw him now?

Fleamont had been in the process of selling the business when James was fired from the Auror Department. So, like always, his father had bailed him out. Kept the business, got James a position working directly under him that amounted to nothing at all. Just a fancy title, a fat paycheck, and absolutely no responsibilities. James had become one of those Purebloods. The kind that coasted on their family names. He wondered if his father had been embarrassed by his son; James had certainly been embarrassed enough for the both of them.

His father… James had never gotten a chance to patch things up before… Fleamont had been so angry that day at the picnic. They hadn't lingered after Snape oh-so-casually mentioned having been blacklisted, his dark eyes wide with false innocence, clutching his baby to him like some sort of Madonna, the lying snake. Lily had stormed past him the moment they had all returned home, running up the stairs to their bedroom and slamming the door behind her. Fleamont had turned on James, his face red with anger, and James had never seen that look turned on him, never him, his son, his miracle child. "You told me that boy was a Death Eater, I gambled my reputation because you swore he was a part of You-Know-Who's inner circle!"

"He was! He is!" James protested. "He's always been Malfoy's lapdog, and you know what kind of person Malfoy is! He got me fired!"

Which had been the wrong thing to say because Fleamont looked apoplectic. "Need I remind you," he said, his voice hoarse and whispery. "You asked me to send those letters months before you were fired." His voice cracked at the end, and a wave of coughing overtook him, leaving him hunched, his entire body shaking with the need to breathe.

James rushed forward to help his father, but Fleamont waved him off and turned away. Euphemia lent her shoulder for support, bracing him against her as she hobbled toward their room. His mother looked over at James, her face full of sympathy, but she offered no words of comfort, and only said, "You should speak to Lily. She seemed upset."

James watched them make their way down the hall, the door to their room closing behind them. He then turned to face the staircase and slowly ascended like a man heading toward his execution. He came to a stop in front of their bedroom door and was surprised to find it unlocked. He pushed it open and saw Lily pulling out her old Muggle clothes that had been shoved into the back of their wardrobe and tossed them onto a bed where an open bag lay ready. "What are you doing?" James asked, his voice tremulous instead of demanding.

"I'm going to stay with my parents for a few days."

"There's no need for you to do that," James said and reached for her clothes.

Lily snatched them out of his hands and shoved them into her bag. "The only reason I agreed to date you was because I thought you had changed. You promised me you had stopped bullying Snape. Turns out you had only gotten better at hiding it," she sneered. "Our entire marriage is based on a lie."

"It isn't. Listen to me, Lily, it isn't," he begged when she turned away. "Yes, I got Snape blacklisted from the Potions Guild, but I didn't do it because of some schoolyard rivalry! This is a war, and I did what I thought was right! Don't bring Snape into our marriage!"