Guileless

James Potter, handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition, seemed to unite some of the best blessings of existence; and had lived seventeen or so years in the world with very little to distress or vex him.

He was the only son of affectionate, indulgent parents, and had spent many months in the prior six years at boarding school in Scotland, where his many instructors and even the headmaster were almost familial to him in their affection and indulgence.

In recent times, a confluence of circumstance had connected James' family with Ted Tonks, who had been a sixth year during James' first year at Hogwarts. Ted had become linked with James' famas a mentor and later as a friend to the young wizard, he became quite fond of James. By the time James reached the age of wizarding majority upon his seventeenth birthday, any shadow of authority had long passed away, and Ted spent a portion of that summer at the Potters' guesthouse to instruct James in the theories of Apparition in expectation of James' Apparating license testing. Although James had a quick and ready mind and strong magic, he had been implored by Mrs Potter to take only the theoretical portion of the Apparating tests, as one of her dear cousins had been seriously injured in a splinching incident a few years before. As he was not taking the practical portion of the licensing tests that summer, James was able to spend much of his time doing just what he wished; while he placed high esteem upon Ted's judgment, his expeditions were directed chiefly by his own.

The real evils indeed of James's situation were the power of having rather too much his own way, and a disposition to think a little too well of himself; these were the disadvantages which threatened alloy to his many enjoyments. The danger, however, was at present so unperceived, that they did not by any means rank as misfortunes with him.

Towards the midpoint of James' seventeenth summer, Ted removed himself from the Potter home in Wales, and joined his Andromeda (who was soon to quit the surname Black) in a honeymooners' flat located in the London Docklands, onlyck Floo-trip away. James was quite pleased by the situation, as it provided an opportunity for his boyhood chum and fellow Gryffindor, Sirius Black, to fully remove himself from his parents' London townhouse and celebrate his birthday while residing with his cousins, until the gift provided by his uncle vested into his possession upon his seventeenth birthday. While Ted had been an admirable companion in these summer weeks, James was truly glad that Sirius would shortly be freed from his London prison.

Many of Deheubarth, the large and populous village almost amounting to a town, to which Godric's Hollow, in spite of its separate lawn and shrubberies and name, did really belong, deemed the Potters as first in consequence there, due to continued royalties from James' many-times-great-grandfather Bowman Wright, who had developed the first Snitch over three hundred years prior. However, others in Wales and elsewhere felt that the presence of a Muggleborn wizard in the family background made them of even less consequence than the impoverished yet pureblooded Mr Severus Snape, who lived with his mother, Mrs. Snape, in the town itself.

Mrs. Snape was an infirm lady, almost past every magic but potions-making and wagering on Abraxan Quadrille. She lived with her son in a very small way, and was considered with all the regard and respect which a harmless old lady, under such untoward circumstances, can excite. Snape himself stood in the very worst picament in the world, having had little opportunity to curry much of the public favour; he and James had long barely tolerated each other's presence, perhaps because of their fierce competitiveness in classes and the playing fields of Hogwarts. Further, with those of his age, Snape had none of the superior social graces, and although he was well thought of among the Deheubarth adults for his deferential composure, within his own circle he persisted in attempting to frighten those who might hate him into outward respect. He had been heard grumbling in the halls of Hogwarts that his youth had passed without distinction, and he was as yet unable to pursue the leisure of the holidays as James did, as he was devoted to the care of a failing mother, and the endeavor to make a small income go as far as possible.

Because of this, he was an unhappy young man, and a man who whom few peers named with cheerful good-will. It was his own ill-will and distemper which worked such wonders. James and his mates believed that Snape was a suck-up to teachers and parents, but when with his year-mates he would despise every body, was interested in nobody's happiness, and was quick-sighted to every body's faults. The antagonism of his nature, his discontented and meanness of spirit, were a condemnation to every body and a mine of depravity to himself. Despite all this, and perhaps because of his ingratiating demanor with adults, Snape was welcomed into certain Pure Blood households in town and country, as he was a great talker upon certain matters, which exactly suited certain neighbors who enjoyed partaking of trivial communications and gossip.

Much to James' consternation, some of those neighbors were also counted among the children of the friends of Mr and Mrs Potter, which caused himself and Snape to be thrown together at various occasions; Mr and Mrs Potter had spent years obligating James to endeavour to remain polite in such company, so as not to shame the family. James counted himself lucky that the policy of their school was not to report to the family any trifling misbehaviours on the campus, and had determined, years before, that Snape chose not to report James' pranks at school within the vicinity of Deheubarth, perhaps in fear of losing any remaining attention paid to him and to Mrs Snape by the acquaintances of the Potter family.

The Potters were fond of society in their own way. Fortunately, Deheubarth contained vivacious companions for card-tables, suppers, picnics and Pegasus Polo. Real, long-standing regard caused Ted Tonks to bring Andromeda for chaperoned visits, for she was determined to retain her reputation as much as possible despite having thrown over the Blacks to fall in love with a Muggle-born; and by Mr. Lucius Malfoy, a son of a large northern family of small means; he was living alone without liking it, the privilege of exchanging any vacant evening of his own blank solitude for the society of the Potters' drawing-room.

However, with the arrival of the post owl on July 31, two days after the Tonks wedding, James became obligated to spend hours with Lily Evans, the Muggleborn girl who had been appointed Head Girl to his Head Boy at Hogwarts for their upcoming seventh year.

Lily Evans, a sensible young woman of seventeen, had long been a rival of James' at school for marks, points and prizes. As she still lived with her parents in a Muggle house, her fireplace was not connected with the Floo Network; had she not had a birthday before the end of their last school term, and then obtained the Apparition license that accompanied a witch's coming of age, they would have been hard pressed to collaborate on those things they were obligated to accomplish before the Hogwarts Express left for their school on September first. From that July morn onward, she was a frequent visitor and became welcome thanks to her cheerful manner, which always did the Potters good, and gave especial amusement to Mr Potter, who found the mundane Muggle accoutrements that Lily brought to Godric's Hollow of interest.

Lily was one of the few people who could see faults in James Potter, and the only one who regularly told him of them; this was not particularly agreeable to James himself, and at school, her bluntness was regularly disparaged by his chums, as they could not allow a mere girl to announce as regularly as she did that he was not though by every body. As they worked out schedules and lists of obligations for the prefects for the coming term, she discussed the seriousness of their responsibilities.

"James, you know I never flatter you," said Lily Evans, "but you have been more responsible this past spring on classroom matters, and your actions in rescuing those second years from the Giant Squid were commendable."

"Well," said James, forcing aside the expected discussion of his history of prank-playing -- "we ought to finalize the assignments for escorting the first-years..."

Lily shook her head at this and replied, "Please do not importune me any further on this matter, for we must discuss your obligation to the school, which must to take precedence over your escapades with your friends."

"I promise you to make none - or at least, n dangerous to anyone - for myself, Lily; but I know, indeed, that other people, including Sirius Black, will endeavour to do so. It is his greatest amusement in the world! And after such success you know! Dating as far back as our first year, he has been contriving successful expeditions, and in these last weeks trapped in London, he has been bereft of activities other than the generation of such plans! Especially now that his betrothal to his cousin Narcissa will soon be cut-"

"So he'll do it, then?'" asked Lily. "I wish him the best success to which he can endeavour, but with pranks and japes, why do you both ever talk of success? where is your merit? what are you proud of? you endanger and assault; and that is all that can be said."

"And have you never known the pleasure and triumph of a successful gambol? I pity you. I thought you cleverer -- for depend upon it, a truly successful prank is never merely luck. There is always some talent in it. And as to my poor word 'success,' with which you always quarel, I do not know that I am so entirely without any claim to it. "

"So you will refuse, then, to fully give up your contrivances? You are likely to do harm to yourself, and Sirius as well, by your immaturity, and it is a risk you should recoil from as Head Boy."

"Perhaps only one more; only for Severus Snape, as his demeanor this summer has been abhorrent. He has followed Lucius Malfoy around for far too long and has attempted to dissuade Malfoy from accompanying us to the Falcons match tomorrow eve. Poor Malfoy! We do like Malfoy's company here at Godric's Hollow, but he is in want of truly good companionship. He spends far too much time visiting here, and even worse, he entertains that Severus Snape at his club and endeavors to sit as patron to him, even in the small manner that a Malfoy can provide for introductions, but he rarely socializes with any woman. And with that in mind, Lily, we must look about for a wife for him. There is nobody locally who intrigues him - I have heard him say as much!"

Lily added, "I do have strong regard for Lucius Malfoy. He is a very handsome young man to be sure, very intelligent in the balance, and while I have not had much opportunity to enjoy his company, he seems a pleasant man. But if you want to shew him any attention, merely diverting his attention from Snape would be a productive accomplishment and a much better thing."

"Did you not say that Mrs L- would be joining your family for supper this evening, accompanied by Mr Peter Pettigrew?"

"I know Pettigrew on sight from Hogwarts, and you do as well?" James asked.

Lily concurred. &lo;From Muggle Studies, where we have spoken generally, but he will be in no other of my classes, as I am no longer taking Care of Magical Creatures, which is the only other place where we may overlap with Hufflepuffs."

"What do you know of him? I do not recall seeing him around school before this spring. "

"I understand that he boards with Mrs L- over the hols yet speaks little of his family, who now live in America. Somebody placed him lately at Hogwarts school, but this is all that is generally known of his history. He has no visible friends but what he has acquired at Hogwarts, as I have never seen him reading any letters from America," Lily remarked.

James nodded. "I understand he has now just returned to Mrs L-'s from a long visit in the country to some Hufflepuffs of a lower year who had been housemates of his-"

"- Because he attends History of Magic with the fifth years - now the sixth years - because of his American education." Lily smoothed the papers before her as she pulled the list of sixth year prefects from a pile. "I'll leave this list with you, but I must return home for the evening for a birthday celebration for by sister."

"But much work still remains before we can send instructions to the upcoming prefects," James complained.

"It will wait a day or two," Lily said, rising. "I'll owl so we can schedule another meeting," she finished and Apparated away with a pop.

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