Taking a break

James was walking down Diagon alley picking up several things he needed for his house before actually heading back. There was several people looking at him weirdly because of his preferred choice of clothes. He was wearing his blue jeans with a pair of dark brown chaps that covered the front his feet were in a pair of heavy duty boots. Then his shirt was basically a long white t-shirt with a brown leather vest and a long leather trench coat. He had his usual satchel slung across his shoulders, he ran his hand down his face as he exited one of the shops putting his purchase in his satchel.

James was looking around and accidentally bumped into someone. "Oh sorry that was my fault, I should have been looking where i was going. Are you alright?" He said to the person he almost knocked on their back. He had reached out and had took his arm to prevent him from falling after feeling that the man was steady he let go of his arm. "I'm really sorry I didn't mean to almost knock you over." James said again feeling like crap because the man was the fourth person today he bumped into.

A thrumming sense of excitement had settled into the gut of James Sirius Potter that he couldn’t quite quell. Every time he tried to suppress his joy, it bubbled and frothed elsewhere, making him feel as giddy as a child for the Christmas season. He could remember a time when he’d been as excited, if not more so, but it had been decades ago now. He was sure Lily hadn’t even been born – or maybe she was cooking. Either way, he remembered Albus and he remembered their father. Most importantly of all, he remembered their mother. A pang of hurt rumbled within him at that thought and James made a mental note to go home to the Burrow this Christmas. Hugo would be there, he knew. Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron would be, too. He needed family, he decided. But he also needed a change.

Change manifested itself in a new house just weeks before Christmas itself. James had been dithering – as usual – but once he’d finally settled on a maisonette a few miles closer to the Leaky Cauldron than before, he moved in without a second thought. He pensioned off all of his old furniture barring the pieces he’d liberated from Godric’s Hollow and brought fresh, new items for his home. Everything felt new and for a while it felt as though none of it belonged to him, either. But then slowly he settled into his new environment – though not before his Labrador, Arnie, did first. He’d become especially fond of the spare bedroom where he could sleep in relative luxury – James couldn’t begrudge him it, either.

What became clear very quickly, though, was that the Potter man and his dog were bereft of Christmas decorations. So, gathering up his puppy – he didn’t think that Arnie was ever going to grow but that, he supposed, was the cost of buying him off of someone Hagrid knew – he wrapped a little scarf around Arnie’s neck and then his own before setting out to Diagon Alley in the hope to get something a little bit special for his house – and maybe a gift for his neighbours, too.

James had a pretty good idea of who he took after when it came to shopping and it was unabashedly his grandmother. She loved every bit of it and though he wasn’t as passionate he did enjoy spending money and he certainly enjoyed looking at all of the trinkets and everything else. Before long he was laden with bags and he had to take Arnie off of the lead – which the puppy was overjoyed about though he didn’t stray from his master’s side.

It was all going well, James felt, until he bumped into someone. Crashed. No, he crashed. With vengeance he crashed. The air left James’ chest and he blinked open his eyes as he found himself sliding backwards, only to be caught around the arm by the same stranger who had nearly bowled him over. Wide-eyed, red-faced and utterly clasped in horror, James didn’t make much of an attractive picture and once he gathered up a view of the person who seemed to be unable to decide whether to save him or kill him, James half-wished he’d left him to sprawl all over the floor in a mass of bags and dog.

Arnie huffed at the man and once James righted himself, shrugging out of the man’s hold, the dog bounded to him, reaching to nibble on the cuff of his master’s jeans in order to discern he was alright.

“I’m okay, I reckon,” James offered, looking up – he couldn’t believe how tall this bloke was. He’d thought he was tall – and at least he could say he was taller than his brother – but now he felt dwarfed and unabashedly gangly. Not to mention he got damsel-in-distress points for having to be saved. His Potter ego was dead. On the spot. Now what was left was James Sirius, though his namesakes were probably rolling in their graves, too.

Arnie yipped again, seemingly unimpressed with the fact that James was still stood there sort of half-gaping at the other man.

“Right, yes,” James steeled himself, glancing down at the dog briefly, vaguely determined to ignore the steady look of utter disapproval he was being fixed with.

“Sorry,” he glanced back up at the man. “I was in the way, too. So I’m going to go, if that’s alright. I’ve got plenty of shopping to do and no time left so…”

James wanted to die inside. It was true, of course, but he could already feel his jeans melting away into a skirt and his chest bulging out into breasts – oh, not to mention his bags beginning to teem with cute mini-skirts. He couldn’t believe what he sounded like. He half wanted to say he was going off to play Quidditch in order to regain some masculinity but it was all gone now. He’d been nearly knocked over, saved, and now he was going shopping – that was his excuse for disappearing. This was a good time as any, he felt, to change his name to Jemima.

James felt horrible stupid when he saw the man was overloaded with bags. Seeing the dog reminded him of his sister's dog. "I'm truly sorry sir, I should have been paying more attention." He said knowing he looked like a complete idiot for having nearly run over the poor fellow. Then he really took a look at him and realized he looked like he was from the Potter family. "Are you in any way related to the Potter family?" James asked his curiosity getting the better of him. Quickly recovering from it he said, "Sorry you don't have answer that. I'll just be walking away now."

Upon hearing the man say that he was doing some shopping James wanted to point a shop out to him. "Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes has some really great Christmas stuff. Have a good Christmas sir and good luck with your shopping." He was walking away and when he got a good four feet away he slipped on ice and fell flat on his back. All the air left his chest as he lay there looking up at the sky. Putting his hands over his face groaning, James felt that today was the worse day of his life. Sitting up he reached into the satchel to make sure that his item he bought wasn't broke and thankfully it wasn't. "I think I should have stayed in bed today." James said to himself as he continued to catch his breath before getting up.

Swollen with his purchases, James really was in no position to stop and chat. He wasn’t sure he wanted to either, given that his side was beginning to hurt from where he’d been smacked into by the stranger. True horror slid uncomfortably into his bones when he discovered that he was instantly recognisable. James wasn’t sure whether this was something he had personally done or whether it was because of his father and at once he found it was a general observation. That sickened him to his stomach in more ways than one. He narrowed his eyes and thought no, I don’t have to answer that.

“Thank you,” James uttered ungracefully, staring after the man in muted shock.

The thwack of the other man hitting the ice and James felt all of his irritation abate at once. Archie bit away from his side and bounded over to the stranger, half-sliding on the ice as he went to inspect if the man was alive or not. A bark revealed to the master coming slowly up the rear that that was the case. James set his bags down and brushed his hand across the other man’s shoulder.

“Are you alright, mate?” James asked hesitantly. “Did you hit your head?”

James sat there on the ground thinking to himself that he was the biggest idiot. He had came this way before and almost slipped but of course he didn't think of it. James saw how the man looked at him with a narrow eyed looked that made him regret saying anything. His mother always told him that he was going to meet someone who didn't want recognized. He had a way of remembering certain faces and he was certain he recognized the man but he would keep it to himself.

Seeing the man's dog come running up and gave a small smile. He lifted his jacket slightly to look at his watch when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah I'm fine, just got the wind knocked out of me." Seeing the time on his watch he sighed. "Charlie is gonna skin me," He muttered to himself as he made started to get up. "No I don't think so," As he got up he felt the back of his head and felt a small bump but didn't feel the need to mention it. "No nothing, just a big klutz is all which is surprising given my height." James said smiling softly at the man.

“Surprising, yeah,” James replied, his lips quirking up shyly in a faint show of amusement. “You okay?” James added again, offering his hand to help the other man to his feet. He cleared his throat awkwardly and looked about, watching Archie idly out of the corner of his eye as he leapt about their feet. James knelt down and scooped up the little dog into his arms. Archie reached out to lick his cheek and James laughed a little bit. He nudged his nose against Archie’s head and popped a kiss to it before looking up at the man.

“Do you want to get a cup of coffee?” James asked, gesturing up the road. “Sparks … it does nice coffee. There are some outdoor blue bells flames, too, for warmth. I can’t take this guy in,” he held up Archie awkwardly. “You were, um… you were right by the way. I’m a Potter. The eldest of Harry’s. James Sirius. Jim. I’d offer you my hand but,” he lifted his arms, “I’m laden with bags. Do you want to go up and sit down and get warm? Sorry, my manners. What’s your name?”

"I kinda got the rough end of the deal in the genes. Tall and a complete klutz, it's worse when I'm tired." James said laughing softly. "I'm better actually, just gonna end up sore tomorrow." Seeing the dog leaping around made him smile more. "Well he seems like he has a ton of energy, he's cute dog." James commented as he smiled at him. "Your dog reminds me of my twin's dog Chance. He's huge but has so much energy you'd swear he siphon's it from her and the rest of us." He smiled widely at that, "Does he mind being petted from strangers? Or does he only like being petted by those he knows?"

"Coffee sounds really good right now, I'll buy considering I'm the one who ended up knocking into you." James said softly slightly embarrassed remembering everything. "Sparks sounds great, I've actually never been there so first time for anything." Seeing that he was having trouble with the dog he said, "Do you want me to take him? Or at least some of your bags?" Upon hearing that he was Harry's oldest son he nodded. "It's nice to meet you Jim, don't worry your not easily recognized on the street. I've just been around Charlie Weasley a little too much, I work with him in Romania when I'm not working in London. Oh sorry I'm James Faulkner, you can either call me Jamie or Matt."

James wasn’t entirely sure if he was meant to be laughing at the other man’s words but the idea that the man was as clumsy as he claimed tickled the Potter man’s sense of humour and he barked out a laugh, shaking his head. He felt a little bit sorry for the man as James had found himself clumsy enough to warrant a few bruises in the aftermath of the attack. Though, that felt like a million years ago, now. His balance was back but he never really was the same. Everything else was still blurry and infirm. He almost felt a little bit ill for it, but sobered himself against the feeling.

“A tone of energy is right,” James nodded. “It’s good, really, for the other dogs in my neighbourhood. They’re all a bit older and Archie is just this big bundle of madness – it keeps them young. Plus, all the girls like him because he’s cute. He’s been on more dates since I’ve had him than I ever have in my whole life. No, no, he loves strangers, being a flirt and all.”

James smiled happily at the other man, glad to get the chance to know the person who had bowled him over and then fell over himself. The Potter fell into step with him and after handing over Archie with a grateful look, began to make his way down the street towards the bistro. James looked up when the man mentioned him not being recognisable and he nodded, feeling as though he was sticking out like a sore thumb anyway, despite the man’s words. He perked up again when he mentioned Charlie, however, and James grinned, having himself not too long ago gone to visit his uncle.

“Jamie,” James settled, smiling a little. “So, you know my uncle, huh? I apologise for anything he’s ever said while he’s drunk.” James joked with a grin. “So you’re a dragon dude, then?” He asked conversationally as they neared the bistro. “I work for the Ministry. Much less interesting. I was a half-decent Quidditch player once,” James bit the inside of his cheek. “But I was um… well, I was dropped. So, yeah. Working for the Ministry now. A bit of a paper pusher. It’s fun in its own way, I guess. Are you all set for Christmas?”

"Well that's good if he's making the older dogs feel young again. My brother uses Chance as a way to get himself dates which is horrible." James said as he looked at Archie with kindness. "Really now? Wow Archie, you like all the female attention don't cha buddy?" He said grinning at the thought of Archie attracting a lot of attention from women.

Happily taking Archie from Jim as they walked along, he petted the dog. "He's lighter than I would have thought, I'm used to dealing with larger animals. I'm glad he's tiny though sometimes dealing with large animals I look forward to the smaller ones." James said laughing softly as he continued to pet the dog.

"Yeah I know him, well sometimes I purposely get him drunk just so he lightens up more. Then I tell him all about what he's said or done." James said laughing hard at that thought. "Yeah I'm a dragon guy, I live in the smack dab in the middle of no where. There's no roads to get to me, which is best considering what I do for a living." Looking at the bistro curiously and smiled. "Which department do you work for? I was half decent too but I only played at Hogwarts." He looked at him smiled and said, "There's no shame in what you do, if you can make it fun that's all the best." Hearing him talk about Christmas made him reach up and run a hand though his hair. "Not quite, I have the presents for all of my family but I'm not sure what to get my girlfriend for Christmas." James said embarrassed beyond belief. "I even still have to wrap everything, hiding the presents is even worse cause of my noisy brothers."

"He is an unrepentant womaniser," James replied with a wry smile skirting his lips as he looked at the dog. It still rankled a bit that Archie had more of a social life than his owner but James wasn't wholly interested in dating anymore. That aspect he didn't mind in his dog. What James objected to was the fact that the dog couldn't seem to leave other people alone and so he dragged the anxious former Gryffindor into all kinds of scrapes without a single thought for the consequences. He did pick particularly pretty women as a rule, too, but James froze up and had nothing to say. He wasn't the unrepentant womaniser he used to be. In lieu of him, his dog had taken up the gauntlet. Typical.

"He doesn't grow," James informed Jamie jovially. "I bought him off of some guy Hagrid used to know. A bit dodge, as is the way. I guess he's something of a pygmy dog. I don't mind but he doesn't really want to give up on his chewing stage." James laughed a little bit and shook his head as they made their way down to Sparks.

They arrived as Jamie began to talk about Charlie Weasley and in one of the chairs, James abandoned his bags before sitting down next to it, holding his hands out for his dog. He had seen his uncle drunk a few times and it certainly made him less uptight. He couldn't imagine living in the middle of nowhere, though. James liked London. He liked it a lot. It made things easier on him to live there. He wasn't quite ready to remove himself from society altogether.

"If I told you," he said, referencing his job, "then I'd have to kill you, mate." James raised an eyebrow. "Girlfriend, eh? Don't most lasses want a ring for Christmas? I ... I did that. Once. It was nice and romantic. Didn't work out in the end, though. So, maybe not a ring. Maybe wait until the New Year. Is she nice?"