(Untitled)

[emptyyourself]

Who: Severus Snape, James Potter
What: Face to face meeting
When: Day 52; Shortly after Snape leaves the medical office.
Where: Between the medical office and the garage.

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[sirjamesithy]

James had been pacing around one of the paths he had found in this new place. His hands were shoved in his pockets and he was looking down at his feet, his hair was in its usual unkempt state, but that only added to his overall look of dispair.

He was feeling more than a little alone and was marking his steps by kicking a small rock between his feet. It wasn't a snitch.

"More like a wingless one.." he laughed to himself. It was a joke even Peter wouldn't have found funny.

[emptyyourself]

There was a part of him that hadn't believed it. He realized that now. Total denial that James Potter was in Peaksville. However, when he saw the boy - and yes, he was still a boy, compared to himself - it hit home. The same messy hair, the same glasses, as though he had stepped out of a memory. All that was missing to complete the picture was his little entourage of simpering friends.

The old rivalry came rushing back from across the years. Two decades and a stint on the Barge had not been enough to temper his feelings toward James. Hatred coursed through him like a poison.

And just as he would have done twenty years ago, he balled his fist around the handle of his wand, ready for an attack. It took a conscious effort to remind himself that Potter was unarmed - and then another to convince himself that he shouldn't take advantage of the fact.

He wasn't sure what to do; Potter stood between himself and his apartment.

[sirjamesithy]

James looked up and instinctively offered a smile to whoever was coming towards him. He squinted and cocked his head to the side. The long greasy hair, the hooked nose, the sallow skin...

He took a deep breath first, allowing his tongue to bypass the slip up it wanted to make, "Severus Snape? Is that you, really?" He took a hesitant step in Snape's direction. The boy he had tormented in none to distant memory, at least his memory, was pushing forty.

He made a quick assessment of the man before him. He looked none too happy, he could understand that, he never imagined himself Snape's favorite person. Where as Severus Snape the boy had been rather puny it looked as if the adult had filled out underneath his robes. James had never before imagined a situation where he might potentially be at a disadvantage to Severus Snape, and yet, here it was. It was hard not to be amused at the utter absurdity.

[emptyyourself]

His eyes narrowed at the question. There was absolutely nothing about James Potter that he didn't like at this moment (or ever, for that matter), from his miserable appearance to his absurd attempts at being civil. He knew this boy better than all of that; if they had been at Hogwarts, if he had his wand, if Black and Lupin had been with him, Snape would have been defending himself from certain humiliation. And losing. Three against one was never a fair fight.

When the boy stepped toward him, he tensed, thinking of all the ways he could deal with this issue right now. He could be shot of Potter. He could send Potter to the Cornfield before he had the chance to deal for his magic. This was the perfect opportunity - or, better still, he could stun him. One well-placed spell, and he could search for his tape and burn it