Loverboy

Real Problems

"Sirius, why are you being so weird?" Peter asked when the boys were alone in their dorm.

It was the beginning of December, autumn had come and gone, as was the way of seasons. November had slipped away to the fleeting rush of time, as it does.

Ollie and Pierre were going steady, and would go on dates every other Hogsmeade weekend. They were practically celebrities, with everyone loving the pair. They did most things together, caught up in their happy little world they'd created.

Lily Evans and Albert Volkov were together as well. It wasn't a sweet and romantic pairing like Ollie and her boyfriend, but they were a couple, and they liked each other well enough, and Lily seemed happy. Most of their relationship seemed to revolve around tutoring and snogging, as Volkov wasn't very bright, and the only thing they really had in common was the fact they both had lips. But it was fine. They seemed pretty content with each other.

Frank and Alice spent most of their time studying for their NEWTs and the Auror exams, and the little free time they both had, they spent together. Anyone could see that the two were madly in love, and that nothing would be able to drive a wedge between them. They had been officially boyfriend-girlfriend for around a year now, and they showed no signs of ever wanting to break up. They were most definitely going to grow old and gray together, and it was no secret that everyone they knew was rooting for them.

Everything was the same as it had been, nothing much had changed, except Viktoria was gone. As soon as everyone found out about her, she slipped away back to the future, leaving only a note and that photo of her and her friend. The photo and letter sat on James's bedside table and he would constantly stare at it. His friends would ask him why he seemed so down, but he wouldn't say anything about it.

But now, it was the cusp of winter, with Christmas around the corner, and everything was going to stay good and happy it seemed.

"I don't know," Sirius replied to Peter. "I've just been thinking."

"About what?" James asked , drying his wet hair with a towel.

Sirius gave James a look before answering. "It just feels weird how we're all surrounded by a whole bunch of happy couples and everyone is paired off with someone, and none of us are coupled up."

"You're jealous of Pierre and Ollie, you mean," Remus said, looking at his friend with a knowing gaze.

"Pfft, no, I'm not jealous or anything like that," Sirius said dismissively. "It just feels kind of weird."

A tapping noise on their window caught the attention of all four boys. James walked over and opened the window to let in the owl that was carrying a letter. It was Euphemia Potter's owl, and the letter was from her.

James carefully untied the envelope from the owls leg before letting it fly back out the window, to the Owlery. The boys all glanced at one another apprehensively. What was Mrs. Potter writing to them about?

James opened the envelope and started to read aloud:

Dearest James,

I wanted to write you to let you know that we just got some bad news. Our neighbors and longtime friends, the Patil family, have been killed, probably because they're a family of Muggleborns. Priya and Arjun were murdered by Dark wizards in their own home, as well as their daughter and older son, Gwendolyn and Yash. Only their youngest son survived, Rohan, because he is at Hogwarts with you. I don't want you and your friends to get all up in the poor boys business over this, but please show him some kindness.

I also wanted to tell you to invite your little friends to come and join us over the holidays. We would love to host them while you're out of school. Perhaps you could even invite a wider circle of friends for our Christmas party. Please make sure you let them know, and write back soon whether or not the five of you will be coming here for Christmas.

We love you,
Mum

"Patil?" Sirius said, his face drained of color and his brow furrowed. "Oh, Merlin, I wonder if he knows?"

"Of course he knows, Sirius," Remus said, rolling his eyes. "He was probably the first to find out."

"I feel awful," Sirius said, looking at his hands. "What if it was my family who did it?"

James put his mother's letter on his bed and dropped his hair towel on the ground. He sat next to Sirius and put his arm around him.

"It wouldn't be your fault," he reassured him. "You're not responsible for your shitty relatives."

"Ugh, and here I am worrying about girlfriends and shit." Sirius covered his eyes with his hands, but from the way he was shaking, it was obvious he was crying. "I feel horrible."

"Multiple things can be bad at the same time," Peter said apprehensively.

"Yeah, Pete, but there are people with real problems out there," Sirius sobbed.

As James rubbed Sirius's back and held his shaking body, his eyes wandered to Viktoria's letter. Everything that had been going on was pointing to war. And he had a feeling Viktoria came back for more than just her parents.

There was a war starting, and James knew somehow that he would never see the end of it.

- - -

hey mamas i finally finished this chapter. conflict is brewing and tensions are rising and shits getting really serious. it only took seventy chapters lmao. anyway peace and love. merry christmas.

921 words