The Stag and The Harpy | James Potter

Oh boy

{this chapter has me feeling so many mixed emotions :(((}

"I swear to Merlin, James! Just go talk to him!"

"You first, you bloody dog!"

"We're bringing names into this now?! Okay, you fucking horse!"

"Bee, how many times do I have to say it?! I'm a stag!!!"

Phoebe huffs and shoves James. Hard. He goes flying from his hiding spot behind the bookshelf and nearly crashes into the desk where Remus is reading quietly. He looks up irritably, ready to tell off whoever interrupted his studying, but calms slightly when he sees his friend.

"Oh, Prongs. It's just you. What are you doing here?"

James rubs the back of his neck nervously and stutters, "Well I-I uh...I'm not sure."

Phoebe sighs and appears in Remus' line of sight. She shuffles closer and smiles kindly before leaning down and whispering in his ear. The boy pales significantly, looking up at James from his seat.

James smiles nervously, as Remus mutters, "Fuck."

"Mate, I-I..." James begins to mumble.

"Oh boy," Phoebe snorts at her boyfriends stuttering, interrupting his stumbling words. James glares and points an angry finger at her, saying firmly, "Interrupt me one more time, Griffin."

Phoebe quirks a brow, looking completely unimpressed by his threat. Remus interrupts them by clearing his throat and asking quietly, "How do you know?"

"Well, I saw you and Prewett staring at each other...and you and Phoebe are always talking quietly when he's around. I thought the bloke was after her, to be honest."

Remus nods curtly, unable to even look him in the eye. He felt an intense fear in his being, worse than when the lads had discovered he was a werewolf. He was very much under the impression that accepting two things that were different was not going to happen, and it scared the living daylights out of him. He'd cried when he finally had the guts to talk to Phoebe, overwhelmed and shocked by her compassion. She was confident the Marauders wouldn't care, but Remus couldn't tell them. Now he was facing the music head on.

James smiles a little and interrupts his nervous friends musings quietly, "Moony, you know I don't care. Right?"

The scarred boy looks up slowly, noting Phoebe's encouraging smile. Maybe he didn't have to fear. Maybe he could be wholly accepted as he was.

"If anything, I'm glad," James ads. "Means Gideon isn't trying to get in her pants."

Remus chokes out a shocked laugh at James' support and crass comment.

"Bloody hell," Phoebe sighs, rubbing her forehead in exasperation. "What James is trying to say is we love you no matter what, Remus. It doesn't make a bit of difference to us."

"Really?" He questions softly, finally making eye contact with James. His friend nods and says firmly, "We're brothers, Remus. All I want for my brothers is to be happy."

Remus lets out a breath he didn't realize he was holding, a significant weight being lifted from his shoulders. It was okay. He was okay.

"Thank you," He says, sending Phoebe a warm and meaningful look. She winks in his direction as he stands and hugs James.

"Now we can all talk about how hot Gideon is," Phoebe says cheekily. James freezes, pulling away from Remus and turning to his girlfriend. His jaw is clenched tightly, eyes flaring with anger, "I hope I misheard you, Griffin."