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James Sirius Potter is not a happy child. Sure, being the son of the bloody Boy-Who-Lived has its perks and being the eldest, he was set to inherit both the Potter and the Black fortune when Dad eventually dies, but.
But.
There's always a but with these things.
Whenever he introduces himself to someone from before Dad's time, they always get this strained sadness in their eyes. And then he gets compared to them like he should be fully aware of who they are, and yeah, Dad showed him memories of them but it's not enough, it never is enough and it never will be enough, and James Sirius Potter has to be okay with that because if he isn't, Dad gets all sad and tense and James doesn't want to have that happen ever again and-
And and and.
He always seems to be fit to spiral into worry these days.
It doesn't help that Dad gets that strange look in his eye when James goes to him, worrying and anxious and all sorts of frazzled, and it's like he knows what James is thinking, like he's thought it before himself.
And isn't that a horrible thought? Because it means that Harry bloody Potter is not a perfect man and maybe he never was and maybe James is struggling to think so because he was raised on the stories of Dad's heroics and stalwart defiance of Voldemort and if that isn't a perfect man, he doesn't know what is?
And maybe James understands Dad a bit too well when he says that James was named after the two men in his life he actually considered a father, because he can't imagine anyone else being that fatherly role for him. He can't imagine anyone else having that strong, caring quality when Dad corrects his wand posture or grip or the way his hand moves when casting; he can't imagine anyone else smiling at him with so much love that, yeah, maybe it makes him choke up a bit and hug Dad a little too hard; he can't imagine anyone else breaking up his fights with Albus with such ease or his roughhousing with Lily with such fondness.
He's scared and worried about his father pretty much all the time and maybe he misses Mom being here 24/7, but when she left, it wasn't out of anger or sadness or anything else; it was simply that she grew out of love with Harry Potter, but still wanted to be his friend. James is still confused about that, still confused at why he can only see her on the weekends, but at least, he still has his mother.
So yeah, James Sirius Potter is not a happy child, but maybe he's not entirely unhappy, either.
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Albus Severus Potter hates his name. He hates the way it makes people look at him with so much expectation that Dad is only able to quell maybe one percent of. He hates the way Dad's eyes tighten when he calls Albus for something. He hates the way it makes so much bloody sense.
It makes sense that Dad would name him like this. It makes sense that Dad would name him after what people call the 'greatest wizard who ever lived'. It makes sense that Dad would name him after his own mother's childhood friend. So, while he hates it, he understands it.
Doesn't make it any more easier to deal with.
Especially when people have so many fucking stories about the two, opposite in polarity yet equal in strength.
Weird, he would've thought it would've been Voldemort on the other side of Dumbledore. But then, Voldemort wasn't hated by so many as personally as Snape was, wasn't hated by so many as personally as his Death Eaters, except for Mum on behalf of Dad, who, strangely, seemed ambivalent about Voldemort. On one hand, yes, he went after Dad as a baby and that would not endear him to anyone, but on the other, Dad still pities the man and feels sorry for him. Albus knows exactly what he means, especially after Dad told him and his siblings about the man and how he was born.
For the record, James got this sneer when Dad was finished and Lily, sweet Lily, just looked so sad afterwards.
Albus almost considers thinking that he was a circumstance of his birth and his surroundings, but that doesn't make sense, right?
...Right?
'Cause that would mean Voldemort is worthy of pity and that is such a faux pas in their society, it's not even funny.
'Cause it would mean confronting his own hatred toward his name and realizing what he feels is pity for Dad, and that is a no go.
Yes, Albus Severus Potter hates his name, and that is all there is to say about it.
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Lily Luna Potter loves her Daddy, she does, but he's so silly sometimes.
Sometimes, when he doesn't think she's looking, he looks at his holly wand with unrestrained nostalgia and a profound sadness as he twirls it in between his fingers, and sometimes, on certain days, he drinks himself into a stupor, but not blackout drunk, never blackout drunk, and then cries himself to sleep. Sometimes, she thinks Daddy needs to see a mind healer. Sometimes, Aunt Luna comes over and takes the bottle from his hand, the only one who can comfortably do so without backlash.
Sometimes, she thinks Daddy should've been with Aunt Luna instead of Mum.
There are times when she looks at Daddy and so much pain and sadness appears in his eyes that it sets her off in sympathy. There are times that Lily writes in her Diary and it's all to do with Daddy and his silliness.
Like the tremble in his fingers. Like the scars that dot his body. Like how he's sometimes unable to quite finish a meal, or, if he does, he eats it far too quickly and gets a stomachache. Like how he stares off into nowhere, a haunted look in his eyes. Like how he's afraid to cast at them when teaching her and her brothers, or how he has nightmares, or how, when too many people are around, he looks ready for a fight, or how he can never quite relax...
There's a lot of things wrong with her Daddy.
But that's okay! She'll just keep giving him the warmest of hugs!
Because Lily Luna Potter loves her Daddy, even if her red hair sometimes has him sad.