He walked through the grassy, muddy trail, his mind occupied in everything but the directions to his location. It was like his mind didn't need to know where he was going; his body…his feet, knew where he was headed, and it was enough.
James Potter was glad that he knew this place like the back of his hand, glad that even in his sleep, this place is the one place he'll always know how to find.
"Even blind I think you're the only one who could ever find this place Prongs." Sirius, his best friend had told him during one of the many times they were there.
"It would be the death of me not to Pads." He had replied. And for once, Sirius Black didn't have a witty retort ready to fire.
The sun peeked through the clouds and he looked up then. He was almost there.
The bespectacled boy passed the huge willow tree, (so unlike the violent willow that they had back at Hogwarts), and his face broke into his famous grin.
The grin that he inherited from his father and the grin that his mother loved so dearly.
He sat on the damp ground; not caring that his coat got wet, and faced the two black marble headstones.
Henry Potter Josephine Potter
October 9, 1919-July 7, 1976 September 22, 1919-July 7, 1976
He cleared the raindrops that stuck to the headstone with his coat sleeve and he smiled wider as he got to the inscription at the bottom,
"The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death."
He always loved that inscription; it had that spunky, rebellious vibe. Just like his mother.
"Maybe I'll have that on my own headstone…" he thought to himself.
His smile fell a little as he thought of that, but it was still there.
James took a deep breath and fixed the smile on his face as he began speaking,
"I'm here to bother you guys again, but you're used to that, so it's okay." He brought out the two bouquets of white roses that he'd bought earlier from the florist. James placed them both in the middle of the two headstones and admired the contrast they had against the black marble.
"I could have conjured some up, but I don't think that it would be wise to have someone from Magical Law Enforcement swooping in here just for that." He grinned.
If his mother was here, she would have rolled her eyes at that, while his father would have just laughed, commenting on how James didn't care about those things anyway.
"Well, I'm going back to Hogwarts tomorrow, so I won't be able to bother you guys again for a while, but I promise to be back during the Holiday break. Pad-Sirius….would be too, I know he will, and maybe Remus…I'm not so sure about Peter, you know how his mum's like." He paused. "It would be…different…without you guys there, but I'm a Potter," he smirked, "Everything is always different for us."
This time, James decided to lay down on the damp grass beside the headstone. It was like when he was younger and he and his parents would spend the night in front of the fireplace just talking, joking and laying there.
"Everything would be different." He repeated, his eyes closed.
James fell silent after that, his mind on all of the things that happened recently; his grandparents dying, his favorite aunt dying, and now his parents dying… It was like everyone was dying left and right and he couldn't do anything about it.
His eyes were beginning to sting now. "I hate being weak. I hate…hate, not being able to protect you." He whispered the words, not daring to say it louder in fear that he would start really crying. His voice was already breaking.
James took a very deep breath before continuing.
"But luckily…I could change that." He said softly. James sat up, slowly and put his hand back to his coat and this time, took out a slightly crumpled up piece of paper, smoothing it a little as he held it face up to the headstones.
"I got my OWLs back. 11 OWLs all in all." He said with pride in his voice. "I talked to Min-, er…Professor McGonagall about it and I know what I want to do after I graduate, I'm going to be an auror."
He could imagine his Mum and Dad smiling happily at him as he said that.
"I know that I wasn't able to protect you from Voldemort, I wasn't able to protect any of you from him, but I promise that I would protect other people from him. I'll fight him, him and his little band of Deatheaters. I won't let him take another parent, daughter, son, brother, sister, from anybody else." He folded the paper again.
"I'll study hard. I'll listen during lessons, and I'll try not to get into too much trouble." He grinned a little. "No promises on the last part, but I will change."
James Potter stood up and shrugged out of his coat. He dusted it for a moment before folding it carefully on his arm.
He clutched his OWLs result in his fist and pocketed it.
"I've made up my mind and I know you'll be proud that I did. I decided that I won't be the immature, arrogant toe-rag anymore," in his mind, an image of a beautiful, fiery red head with gorgeous emerald eyes appeared, "no, that boy won't be able to protect anyone but himself. I decided I want to be a mature responsible young man. A man that could protect anybody, especially the ones he loves, from Voldemort." He stopped a little from speaking but continued on, with a stronger voice, "I'll be the man you could be proud of."
James touched the top of the headstones and smiled, his hazel eyes intense and serious as he said,
"I'll change so when the time comes for me to meet him; he won't forget me. He'll see me standing in his way, straight-backed and proud."
James turned on his heel and walked back towards his house with a new spring in his step. Once there, he was greeted by the sight of his best friend, his brother, Sirius, lounging on one of the chairs in the garden, playing with James' nicked Golden snitch.
"Had a nice talk?" Sirius asked with a smile, noticing how much different James looked now than he did earlier.
"The best." Was all James said, sitting next to Sirius, who offered the golden ball to him.
James eyed the tiny golden ball before shaking his head a little.
"And what did they say?" Sirius raised one black brow at James, surprised that he declined his beloved snitch but didn't say anything as he retracted his hand.
James positively beamed at his best friend as he answered, "They said they were proud of me."