who was that? ((open))

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James found himself in Knockturn Alley as a way to pass time before returning home from last minute Christmas shopping; he felt like treating himself to something from Borgin and Burkes. His main concern was if he could smuggle something from here into his room without getting caught. Looking around, he went to a shelf trying to figure out what might catch his eye.

"Stick with the potion then. Easily slipped into a pants pocket." He said as he walked to the counter and paid for his items "Do you want more help looking or have you decided?"

"Seeing as how it's my first time in here, it'd be rather nice to have help looking around," he replied.

Atticus nodded and walked back over after paying for his stuff and helped him look around "They have dragon scales. Rare ones. The kidns you cant find in potion shops."

He looked at the scales feeling rather intrigued. "Interesting... What are they mainly used for in potions?"

"These ones," He said holding up a container of shiny black dragon scales "Are used to manipulate death. And these ones," He said holding up a container of pale green ones "Are used to paralyze your opponent with fear. It makes them see their worst nightmare. Its like a boggart in a dragon scale."

"So, you're saying I could theoretically make a potion to make an enemy surrender as a way to get mercy?" he asked. James widened his eyes when he realized the question he had just asked. "I might've read a pamphlet or two..."

Theo had begun to worry about Atticus as he had been gone for a while. SO he made his wy to Borgin and Burkes and watched his son interact with the eldest Potter. He smirked at the young boys question before making his presence known "That is exactly what Atticus is saying, Mr Potter."

Hearing the voice of one of his professors, he slightly jumped before turning to see that it was Atticus' father. "Oh! Erm, Professor Nott, sir, please tell me you're not going to tell dad about this..."

Theodore chuckled and shook his head "Now see, Mr Potter, in order to do that I would have to explain why myself, a reformed Death Eater, was in Borgin and Burkes fetching my son. And that wouldnt look good to the public eye, now would it." He said with a wink "Youre secrets safe with me. But the dragon scales are definitely an excellent purchase. But you didnt hear it from me."

"Hmm, true. You got me there. So, in the public eye, you're reformed? That's one way to not get arrested," James replied giving a small chuckle. "Think I might actually get them then. They might come useful one day..."

"Its also how I got my job." He said smirking "If at some point you want to come to my classroom I can give you an extra credit assignment or two to mess around with them." He said glad his son was making some more friends

He raised an eyebrow hearing Theodore. "How you got your job, hmm? I wonder this often when it comes to my professors: how do you feel about your co. workers? I imagine Ralph is a bit hard to get along with, especially with that gargoyle of his running around... Extra credit sounds good to me."

"I tend to avoid contact with most of the professors. However there are a few that I do tolerate. Such as Professor Davis and Healer Ashton> They are tolerable. The others though, Im starting to think we should make potential employees take mental health tests. Cuz those fuckers are crazy." Theo said with a laugh

"The Lestranges are just strange. Discordia seems a tad too obsessed with lobotomies... Hasn't she attempted to give one to her poor excuse of a head Healer brother one?" James wondered. "We get sorted by a talking hat. Wanting mental health evaluations for new employees is asking for too much..."

"Yeah Discordia is a strange one. Rhea isnt that bad. She seems like a sweet girl." Theo said before realizsing how long he had been there "Anyway, now that I know Atticus is fine Ill be going. See you in school, james. And Ill see you at home Atticus. Oh also, james, I know things at home are kind fo rough for you. If you e a place to escape for a bit, the manor door is always open."

He smiled at the professor and replied, "Thanks, it means a lot to me." James turned over to Atticus. "How's your sister? I'm sure you've heard plenty about my siblings..."

Atticus shrugged "Shes good. Been sneaking around lately but thats kind of normal for Alayna. But I feel like shes keeping something from me. I dont know. Its just got me a bit worried. We never keep things from eachother. Well, at least not usually."

"Whenever I keep stuff from Lily that doesn't involve my sex life, I prefer to not talk about that with my family, she's either pissed at me or really shocked. I know how you feel," James said. "Everyone has a secret."

Atticus laughed softly "At least you got a sex life mate. I wish I could say the same for myself." He said pushing his growing hair out of his face "I dont know man. Ive been questioning some shit about myself lately."

He shrugged unsure of how to even help Atticus besides his own little anecdotes; this was the first time he was really having a discussion with the other. "Who doesn't? When I discovered that I wasn't straight, it took a bit of time to get used to as it wasn't what everyone would expect from me. I just didn't feel a need to come out..."

Atticus sighed and rubbed his arm "I dont know. I guess its not that easy for me. My family is a bit more... judgemental." He said looking around some more "I dont know. Maybe Im over reacting."

"Judgmental families are the worst. Guess I got lucky that I only have one judgmental parent," he added."He wouldn't have given a shit if I was dating a Hufflepuff boy instead of a Slytherin Death Eater..."

"It could be worse. Imagine if you had told him you were dating a Malfoy. Or a Nott." He said laughing "Our parents werent exactly the best of chums in school. His head might explode." He laughed looking at the boy "So, Ive got a question." He said biting his lower lip a bit nervous to ask this "How did you know you were gay? Like... How did you really know."

James heard the other's question and thought for a bit. "Um, I personally don't really label myself as gay. I've had a few experiences with girls, but I'm not into them as much as guys. I'm comfortable with whatever sexual orientation I am, but I only ever label myself as pansexual to keep it simple... I'm still a bit conflicted on if I'm also into girls, but there isn't too much I could do about that," he answered. "It really depends on the person. There are people who find out early in life and others who find out in their middle ages."

Atticus sighed "But how did you know you first even had an interest in guys?" He asked trying to figure out if he really had feelings for his best friend or if he was just insane. He didnt know what was going on in his head or his heart and it scared him