"No! No!" It was raining. I tightened his grip on a broken boy, my best friend, holding his hand like it was my own lifeline. "Hang on, please hang on."
"S'cold," he murmured, blinking deliriously at the rain. "It hurts, Jamie…"
"I know it does, I know, but hang in there," I insisted. He looked up at me.. Grey eyes met brown ones, and a small smile appeared on the broken boy's face. "Please hold on."
"You'll be okay?" It sounded like a question, but I couldn't be sure, and my friend seemed delirious from pain anyways. My heart clenched at the steady stream of blood flowing from his friend's mouth among other places, forming a pool of it around us. I could feel the warm liquid seeping through my jeans. "I'm sorry, Jamie…"
"There's nothing to be sorry for," My heart was breaking at his pain. "Just hang on, help will be here soon."
"You're the best brother I could ask for," he smiled slightly, looking at me blearily. "Thank you."
He let out a breath.
And didn't take another.
An unearthly scream of sorrow filled the air, as grey eyes stared unseeingly into the storm.
"You understand what you must do?"
"Yes, sir."
My name is James Potter. I'm fifteen years old, and I'm a pretty messed up kid. I was perfectly normal before the attack that took my best friend's life. But, then, you'd be pretty messed up too if someone brutally murdered your best friend in front of you.
My whole world started crashing down around me when I was thirteen. My girlfriend's family was murdered in one of the increasing attacks that had been going on. She wasn't my girlfriend at that point, but she became so soon after. She came to live with me and my parents. They loved Lily like their own daughter. The next year, my house was burnt to the ground. My parents had to start working overtime at their jobs, and I rarely see them anymore, not for more than an hour. My best friend ran away from home that summer. All three of us moved in with another friend.
Until the attack on Hogsmeade. That was the day that my best friend died, tortured to death right in front of me. It was terrible, horrible, and it completely scarred me. That was their plan; he got the physical torture, I got the psychological.
I've never been the same since. I don't talk to many people anymore. I talk to Lily and my two remaining best friends, and that's about it. I'm closed off to the world, even my parents, who are never there anymore, anyways.
I'm going to change the future. Fix it, you could say. Things have gone pretty downhill since the attack on Hogsmeade. People have lost hope that Voldemort could ever be defeated, even by Dumbledore. After all, a student died right under his nose. He's sending me and Lily back. Dumbledore thinks that if we can start to prevent the attacks, by warning him ahead of time, perhaps the Death Eaters wouldn't grow strong enough to attack Hogsmeade. Maybe all the tragedies could be avoided.
"Are you sure you want to do this, James, Lily?" Dumbledore asked, gazing at me over us half-moon spectacles. Lily nodded determinedly. I stared hard at him, closed off as always. "Very well. Take this," he handed us a note, "to my past self. Good luck, you two."
Lily smiled slightly, nodded again, and activated the device Dumbledore had given us.
Please, I thought, Please let this work.
A flash of light, and we were gone.
A/N: Hullo! A new story! This plot bunny hit me like a train, and I just had to write it. A lot darker than usual, definitely a high T. Can you guess who died? It's actually pretty easy, assuming you know the Marauders' eye colors. Hope you enjoyed! Reviews are very much appreciated! :)