I Will Follow You Into The Dark || Jegulus

54. Movember

"Where have you been, boy?" Slughorn asked the second James stepped foot into the potions classroom. He had heard that question so many times that day, professors not even having the decency to pull him to the side, and instead chose to call him out in front of the entire class.

"I wasn't feeling well," James muttered. He had so much work to catch up on in all his classes. Of course, his friends have been bringing him work for every class he missed, but over the course of almost two months, that work piled up. James worked for hours finishing it all and returning it to his professors, but he was astronomically behind.

When James saw McGonagall, she requested to see him in her office. James was tired of hearing the same thing over and over, but McGonagall always had some sort of advice to give, so he went.

He sat down in the seat across from McGonagall, who had an unreadable expression on her stern face. "How are you feeling James? Would you like a lemon drop? Peppermint toads? She offered a small bowl of candies.

"No thanks, I'm doing alright. I apologize for what happened, it won't happen again." James put his head down, tired of being lectured about how 'class is important, you can't just skip because you weren't feeling well'

"Look, I know you have probably heard this a lot, but it's okay to not be okay. It's okay to need mental health time, or to not be able to get out of bed. I will help you get back on track with your coursework if you need me but don't feel stressed. I want you to be able to go back to class, but not at the expense of your mental health. If any professors give you a hard time, you tell me about it okay?'' McGonagall said in the sincerest way possible. James could have cried after hearing that.

"Thank you Minnie," James smiled

"It's Professor McGonagall Potter. Now don't you have a quidditch team to coach?" She asked. James nodded and headed to the pitch.

His teammates were standing in a circle around Sirius, who looked apologetic as if he had been bombarded with blame.

"Hey guys," James called out, getting the attention of his team.

"Where the bloody hell have you been?" One of the older members asked. He clearly looked angry.

"Yeah, you expect this guy to carry on for you?" A second year gestured to Sirius. He heard mutters of agreement in the crowd.

James frowned, "Oh no you don't." He spat, "Nobody has the right to insult Sirius other than me. It's not his fault that I left without a word. He is your teammate, so all of you start acting like it or there will be no Gryffindor quidditch team this year." He threatened.

"Thanks James," Sirius whispered, "They've been like this since you left."

James crossed his arms, "Well we have a lot of lost time to make up for! So let's stop making excuses and throwing blame, and get on our damn brooms!" He called, "C'mon up you go!" He ushered them on, finally having the attention of his whole team.

He worked the team harder than they have ever played. By the end of their rehearsal time, everyone was hot and sweaty, even in the cold November air.

"I'll expect to see you guys at the Hufflepuff versus Ravenclaw match because we won't play again until after Christmas. I want you all to stay vigilant. If you come up with any strategies, talk to me." James ended the rehearsal, feeling better than he had in a long time. Quidditch always made him feel alive. James decided not to follow his team inside for dinner. Instead he stayed out riding his broom in the wind as the sun set past the horizon.

"Having fun up there?" He heard a voice call from the ground. James looked down to see his boyfriend in a sweater, gloves, and a hat. A thick scarf was wrapped over his face. James hadn't realized how cold it was. Snow was falling through the sky, but he still felt hot.

James landed and pulled Regulus into an embrace, "Stop, you're freezing!" Regulus pushed him away with a smile, "Come on, let's get you warmed up." Regulus wrapped his arm around James's waist, and just then James realized just how cold he was.

James followed Regulus into the changing room. Regulus waited out of sight as James showed, and changed into warmer clothes. When James was finished, he pulled Regulus in for a kiss.

"I missed you so much," James buried his face in his boyfriend's shoulder, "I can't believe it's almost Christmas and you have to leave me again."

"The break will go so fast you'll barely even notice I'm gone," Regulus patted James on the head.

"I love you so much." James kissed Regulus on the cheek.

"I love you too Jamie."

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"Come on Remus! We've got to leave to get good seats." Sirius whined.

"At this point I'm going to go ahead of you guys." James said. Peter left a while ago after getting annoyed at Sirius, who was previously taking forever to get ready.

"Who stole my sweater?" Remus asked.

"Which one? You know I've stolen like seven now," Sirius said and helped Remus. He held up a thick brown sweater, "How about this one?" He asked.

"That ones alright." Remus pulled it on.

"We're all ready now right? C'mon chop chop get up let's go." Sirius pushed him out the door. The three boys headed to the Quidditch pitch, pushing through the crowds to find Peter, and hopefully open seats that weren't taken. Hogwarts students went crazy, and there was no point reserving seats for friends because someone would ultimately steal them. The group luckily managed to get to their seats next to Peter just in time for the match to start.

The game was extremely close the entire time. Each time Ravenclaw scored, Hufflepuff would score soon after. The match ultimately was relying on the seeker of each team, who both looked so lost in the winter fog. They patrolled in circles, but neither of them caught sight of the snitch, even when it was close to them. Every time James caught sight of the snitch, and the opposing seekers didn't see it, James felt like he died a little.

"At this point. this is just sad." James muttered and turned his gaze to the rest of the game. There were two Ravenclaw beaters in pursuit of a bludger chasing their teammate. A Hufflepuff chaser currently had the quaffle, struggling to make it past the keeper before her opponents caught up to her.

It was one of the longest matches James had watched outside of the professional level, but in the end, the Ravenclaw seeker caught the Snitch, winning the Match for them.

"Marlene is going to be so pissed." Sirius laughed on their way out. 

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Hey guys? How are y'all doing? I saw Dune for the first time the other day (but i could barely hear it bc of my family) I'm (hopefully) going to rewatch the first one, and go see Dune part two with a friend on Thursday. 

I finally got motivation to write my novel. I managed to get a cohesive timeline, redesigned all the main characters, and started finally writing it. If anyone is curious, it is a fantasy novel about a boy who discovers his magic, and has to uncover a lot of lies he has been brainwashed with his entire childhood.