Chapter Text
After some thinking, James came to the conclusion that he needed to speak up. His job was fine, nothing too accelerating as fixing people or writing about crimes, but he noticed that the money started to run low. He and his friends weren’t making enough to pay rent, provide food for the flat and check on every task. Besides, he wanted to spend some on himself too. Since, secretly, James believed that he worked harder than Remus and Sirius. He knew that he was the collected one, and it bothered him. It was something that got so much into his head that he couldn’t bare it anymore.
So, one night, he sat at the table as Remus cooked dinner. Sirius was lost on some show that blasted on their TV. “I think that we need a new flatmate”, James said. “I’ve been looking at some numbers and we barely make it to the end of the month. I’m tired of living like this. We have a spare room”. He was gesticulating with his hands as it what he was saying was obvious. Sirius turned the television off and the three of them looked at each other in silence, until Remus removed the pots from the fire and decided to talk first. “Yeah, I could use the extra income”. The sight was only on Sirius now. “I’ll put an ad on the paper so we can interview the applicants”, he answered as he rubbed his long hair. “We’re doing the interviews my way though” and Sirius turned the TV on again, grinning. Remus laughed searching for James’ complicity, but he was found with a defeated look.
They met in school when they were 11. Hogwarts had conjoined subjects for their students until third year when they were able to pick their own. This was a way that the school used to impulse them into the real world, creating some sort of path. James chose Economics, obviously. He was devoted to Math and everything related with numbers but, when it came to his final decision, his family had a lot to do with it. The Potters were known for this matter. Every single one of them was an accountant like James or they worked in finance. It was a no-brainer for him.
Remus doubted a little. Back in the day, he wanted to change the world. He dreamt about touching people’s lives and giving something that he never received. Make a difference, some would say. He still thinks that that’s his purpose at core but he wouldn’t admit it anymore. His decision came down to Health and deepening his knowledge in Literature. He figured that he didn’t mind becoming a teacher but Health, studying Medicine after he graduated, was way more challenging. So he picked that.
And there was Sirius. Seeing how his two best friends cared so much when he didn’t give a toss. He wasn’t much of a boy that believed that following your passion in life is the only thing that you should considered. He just desired to be in the centre, to not go unnoticed, to do something where he could get his hands dirty. “That reckless mind of yours”, James said while Sirius was explaining it to them. But if he happened to love the job, he would take it. That was more than enough for him. And after some deliberation between Modern and Social Studies, he chose the last one.
The bunch excelled on every area throughout the years. They were the golden boys of Hogwarts so, of course, they graduated with more than enough honours to distribute among their classmates. Their applications for collages were approved and the scholarships started to come pretty quickly too. It was all glory. James became an accountant as predicted, Remus was the best physician of his year and Sirius got an internship at the local paper as soon as he started his major on Journalism.
Nothing was too gracious as they thought, eventually. When they started their respective careers, they made a pact. They were going to move in together once they have been stablished in their own fields. And just like that, since they were excellent students and professionals, the job offers rained after college. Along with it, the apartment hunting began. “We need to prioritize the budget”, Remus told Sirius after he begged for one in a cool neighbourhood. He wanted a cool one too but money was tighter than they expected. And James, well, he agreed with Remus. But, in fact, he just wanted to get this over with.
They didn’t do as discussed, not at all. They settled for a flat in North East Circus Place that was beyond them and their pay checks, but very stunning. Blue walls like the ocean, some of them were in a beautiful shade of yellow with green details. Such a spacious place that anybody could get lost. And it smelled nice too, Remus always made sure of that in their gorgeous kitchen. He liked to bake and cook, to treat his dearest friends with a lot of goodies on a tough day. Or to challenge his abilities with dishes that none of them heard or tried before. Sirius, on the other hand, was the musical genius of the group. He even owned a drum set that he would casually play when he wasn’t watching TV.
These things have never bothered James. He encouraged them actually. He would get back home, exhausted from work, and Remus would great him with a warm meal. And Sirius would be singing along to something, or laughing at a stupid joke from whatever show, and it was a sound that he treasured. But everything was coming down the hill once he started regretting renting the apartment. He couldn’t eat like always and he couldn’t sleep properly. He couldn’t stay with his friends in the same room for more than five minutes without resenting them. So when James presented this issue that night and they second him, he felt like he could breathe again.