InsaneJournal

Height: 6'0"
Build: Naturally lanky; Long arms and legs, bony knees & elbows, broad shoulders.
Eyes: Hazel
Hair: Black. Thick. Magnificently chaotic.

Distinguishing Marks: Apart from the hair, glasses and too-big grin? A few more recent battle wounds, including two jagged scars on his left thigh, a winding curse-mark in the nape of his neck and an untidy 'TR' mark burnt into his right side, across his ribs.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

The first thing people seem to notice about James (apart from the hair), is how very alive he is. Always smiling, talking and joking, and continuously moving. It’s basically impossible for him to sit still – James is always fidgeting. Naturally tall and lanky; he is cursed with long arms and legs and bony knees & elbows, which don’t always go where he wants them to. However, years of Quidditch, charging around Hogwarts after Sirius and fighting for the Order has given James a more athletic physique than he would have gained naturally. He's got broad shoulders, long fingers, strong forearms, a sharp collarbone and a huge, dazzling, wonky grin.

And we have to mention the hair, don’t we? James has taken the trademark, jet-black Potter hair to a whole new level - his is just a fraction too long on top and tends to fall into his eyes on an increasingly regular basis. For the son of the man who invented Wizarding Britain’s most popular hair product, he’s not exactly on brand. Call it a very half-arsed attempt at teenage rebellion.

HISTORY

(MARCH / 1960) – James Fleamont Potter was born as the first and only child of Fleamont (a potioneer) and Euphemia (a herbologist) Potter - a miracle baby after years of disappointment. As a result, he was spoilt rotten. The Potter family was old and very wealthy - even more so thanks to James' father's invention of the magical Sleekeazy’s Hair Potion (‘two drops tames even the most bothersome barnet’). He sold the company at a vast profit when he retired, and James never wanted for anything. Holidays abroad, top-of-the-range broomsticks, two second homes, an apartment in Paris, a governess... all this and more was part of James' everyday existence. As a result, James grew up with an overinflated self of self-confidence.

(SEPTEMBER / 1971) James started Hogwarts at the same time as his childhood friend, Peter Pettigrew. The pair had grown up in neighbouring villages in Kent, and their parents were close. They met Sirius Black and Remus Lupin on the train, and were all sorted into Gryffindor house. So began some of the strongest relationships James would ever know. He and Sirius, in particular, got on like a house on fire – they clicked from that first moment on the train and were instantly joined at the hip, two halves of a loud, chaotic, devoted whole. Sirius would be James’ closest and best friend for the next decade.

It didn't take long for the new gang of four to make an impression at Hogwarts. Led by Sirius and James, they quickly earned a reputation for being rule-breakers. Their pranks started small, but soon escalated into extravagent, carefully plotted flurries of chaos. The boys were popular without even trying, and James found it easy to settle into his new role.

(FEBRUARY / 1973) After a year of clues, James, Sirius and Peter realised that Remus was a Werewolf. James’ devotion to his friends overshadowed any fear that he may have picked up during childhood, and they decided to help him in any way he could. So followed a lot of late night in the library, more than a few disastorous attempts at human transfiguration, and a whole lot of rule breaking. Well... law breaking, really, but no need to get technical.

(NOVEMBER / 1975) Two years later, James, Sirius and Peter succeeded in becoming Animagi. James could now take on the form of a large red stag at will, and they began to join Remus for his transformations. As well as pride in this rather momentous achievement, James started to learn more about Hogwarts school during their night-time exploits. The Marauders Map started to form.

(JULY / 1976) The summer before their sixth year, Sirius turned up at the Potters’ doorstep after a final, violent clash at home.Although he'd long had his suspicions, it was the first time James had seen the consequences of Sirius’ family life for himself, and his Father had to grab him by the collar to keep him from flooing over there and telling them exactly what he thought. Sirius was disowned from the family, but moved in with James and his parents permanently. James secretly came to harbour a real hatred to the Blacks for how they treated his friend.

(SEPTEMBER / 1976) In a moment of ill-thought out idiocy, Sirius told James’ lifelong enemy, Severus Snape, where to find Moony on the full moon. Snape had been sniffing around for years, prodding and poking and generally being an insufferable, nosy twat... James wasn't convinced he'd be too devastated if the slimy git accidentally lost a limb or two. But not like this, in a way that would be so devastating to Remus. As soon as James heard what his friend had done, he was gone, yanking Snape back from the Whomping Willow and out of harm's way. However, not before the Slytherin had caught a glimpse of Remus at the other end.

This was the first (and possibly only) time James was genuinely angry with Sirius. There was shouting. And swearing. And more shouting. It was ugly and fiery (Sirius was hardly one to back down from a fight), and the fallout burned brightly through Hogwarts for a week or two. But James couldn't stay furious with Sirius any more than he could turn back the clock, and he eventually softened. Remus, understandably, was not so quick to forget, and a rift opened up between the boys, with James hovering anxiously in the middle.

(1976 - 1977) The rest of sixth year was difficult, mainly because the incident with Snape cast such a long shadow over the boys. Remus seemed to remove himself further and further from Sirius, and therefore the group in general. Sirius may have been James' best friend, but he still loved Remus like a brother and hated seeing him drift away. Despite all his best efforts, it took most of the year for Remus to rejoin the group properly.

Perhaps all the discord within the group of boys was what prompted James to... well, grow up a bit. He started spending more time away from the Marauders, just for some air. He had been named Quidditch Captain, but he had a knack for leadership and a sharp mind that hadn't gone unnoticed. After some not-so-gentle prodding from Professor McGonagall, he started to help with transfiguration club demonstrations, headed up study groups (even if they were known for being bizarrely chaotic and somewhat... explosive); all on top of his usual detentions - he hadn't had a total personality transplant, after all. All in all, he had a pretty packed schedule.

(JUNE / 1977) The summmer holidays weren't much better than the last, but this time life dealt James a much more personal blow. His Mother, who he had always been devoted to, was diagnosed with Cogulo Sanguis. The condition was terminal, and she wasn't expected to make it to the New Year.

(SEPTEMBER / 1977) Much to his (but maybe no one elses) surprise, James was named Head Boy. For some reason, that silly little badge, alongside his mother's failing health installed an even greater sense of responsibility and stubborn determination into him. He had always been a natural leader, the ringleader and confidant of his friends, but now that was extended to the rest of the school population. He wanted to make his mother proud. And if the title meant also meant he got to spend more time with a certain redhead, who had been named Head Girl… well, that didn't hurt.

(NOVEMBER / 1977) With meetings and shared responsibilities, it was inevitable that James and Lily started spending more and more time in each others’ company. And he certainly wasn’t complaining – he’d fancied Evans since about second year. Their relationship had always been strained. There was chemistry, that much was undeniable, but James had a talent for prodding Lily's last nerve, and he in turn found the constant rejection and barbed comments infuriating. However, the frosty space between them had warmed slightly in sixth year and now, suddenly, he was learning more about her (partly due to the fact that she wasn’t screaming at him). Lily was funny and clever as well as being insanely gorgeous, and the relationship went from strength to strength. James still isn’t quite sure how that first kiss by the lake happened, but it did, and he fell hard and fast. To be fair, he didn't have far to go in that department.

(JANUARY / 1978) James was braced for something happening with his Mother, so when McGonagall pulled him from charms, he thought he knew what to expect. When she mentioned his Father's name, it was a bolt from the blue. Fleamont Potter had always been solid. Strong. A good, decent man who looked like he would live forever. When he'd cut himself while preparing potion ingredients, he'd thought nothing of it. It was only a couple of days later, when the raw magical properties had leached into his blood and poisoned every part of him, that they realised what had happened. Fleamont was too old to fight it, and passed away that afternoon.

His Mother, by now incredibly frail, only managed to hold on for another couple of weeks without her husband, before passing peacefully away at home.

James was devastated, and attended the funerals in a daze, with Lily’s hand clenched in his and Sirius’ braced on his shoulder. James almost grew up overnight. Shortly after he sold the family estates (against most people's advice), put most of the money back into Gringotts and used the rest to buy a flat close to Diagon Alley.

(JULY / 1978) James graduated from Hogwarts with a string of impressive NEWTS and immediately joined the Order of the Phoenix, having been approached by Dumbledore when he was still at school. The war had been escalating and James, along with his parents, had always been dedicated Dumbledore supporters. He had an inbuilt hatred of blood prejudice, and stood firmly against what the Death Eaters stood for. James’ stubborn, brave Gryffindor nature prevented him from standing to one side, and he was glad (even a bit giddy) to help. It was what his parents would have done, after all.

(1978 – 1980) The Order was quite fun to start with. James doubted that was quite what Dumbledore had been going for, but the meetings, the missions, hanging out with Lily and his best friends to stop the bad guys… what wasn’t to like? Then things started to happen. People started to die.

James and Lily narrowly avoided death at Voldermort’s hand not just once or twice, but three times. And the third was the worst. They’d been so close to killing Lily. So incredibly close; there were probably only seconds in it. Even the flash of light and the bone-shattering agony of the cruciatus curse, or the senstaion of white-hot magic burning a mark (for 'traitor') into his skin hadn’t prepared James for that moment. The escaped, only barely. It was when they were being patched up that Lily discovered she was two months pregnant.

(April / 1980) Lily (now five months pregnant) and James were married in the local muggle registry office on Halloween, with a small gathering and magical blessing back at an Order Members house. Sirius was best man, and it was a rare moment of sunlight in an otherwise bleak war. The newlyweds spent a night in an Order member's home in Scotland for their honeymoon, with James promising to take Lily away properly once the war was over.

(JULY / 1980) A month earlier than expected, Lily gave birth to a little boy. James had always thought he couldn’t love anyone any more than he loved Lily and his friends – they were like pieces of him. But Harry was something else. The dark haired baby was everything to James, and for the first time he knew what it felt like to be giddy with happiness and completely terrified all at once. Sirius was named Harry’s Godfather.

Of course, the happiness was short lived when they heard about the prophecy, and how Harry's premature arrival had put them in the crosshairs. At first they fought it, but things went from bad to worse and eventually, in December 1980, the Potters went into hiding. It felt wrong - cowardly, almost. To most people, it was like James and Lily went to bed one evening and simply disappeared into thin air. Vanishing in the night was about as far against James' instincts as it was possible to be, but if it kept Harry and Lily safe... a cold feeling of dread started to settle on James’ shoulders. If he'd thought he was petrified before, it had nothing on this.

(1980 – 1981) Despite the light that Harry had bought into their lives, the next year was hard. James went from an active, cheerful and enthusiastic Order member to a man stuck in his own house (several houses- they moved a lot) with a wolf prowling outside the door. He hated it, and quickly became restless and irritable. Instead of fighting, he was left waiting anxiously for news and visits from the Marauders, desperate for any updates. However, when they came they were often frustrating - Remus seemed to be going away more and more often, unable to tell them exactly where. Sirius and Pete were out being actually useful. Meanwhile, he was stuck at home changing nappies.