James, in nearly every appearance/mention he gets, is like a shimmering, indistinct, bright figure on the horizon, always just out of reach.

but then in OoTP, we find out...

That he was a jerk.

okay, p'raps that was a bit harsh. but jeez, would you have hung out with him??? Yes, he was cool, yes he matured eventually, yes he was brave, yes he was wonderful and talented in every way yadda yadda yadda; but he was also evidently Very Immature, a showoff, arrogant, careless, reckless, loud...

Snape was right. And... I can see why he disliked him. (Okay, sidenote here: i think Snape is cool... which may account for some of the heat in this description... you remember what James did to him.)

But, and this is a big fat but, he was a Marauder. And Harry's father. And a good person. So you can't hate him. I don't.

But now he's alot more human, isn't he? Not just a shining dot on the edge of forever, is he? Now he's fixed in our collective reader conscious as a real, breathing (well...), annoying person. And... dare i speculate on the next books? I think we'll see more flashbacks of James, particularly; to follow up on this strikingly unflattering appearance.

::I Solemnly Swear That I'm Up To No Good::

::mischeif managed::