Shock and denial are the first things processed, I can't be dead, my brother in magic - peter - could not have just betrayed us. It seems the thoughts have barely registered in my mind before my wife appears beside me hands splayed out to either side of her as though she is guarding something the last echo of denial escaping her lips "No!" Fear clenches my soul - I didn't buy them enough time - I look about anxiously, seconds seeming to be hours. I dread my son would soon appear next to me but nothing.
Oh how I wish I could see what was going on; as soon as the thought came to my mind part of the floor falls away. I look at Lily and as we lock gazes we embrace and turn together to peer at the section of floor that I somehow know will reveal just what we want to see.
Lily squeezes me hard as we look down and see our son, alive, crying his sweet head off to be sure, but alive! Empty robes on the floor and no body in sight, what happened to Voldemort?
Our viewhole switches, half stays with the scene containing Harry, the other half show a shade of a humanoid figure fleeing what I recognize to be our backyard.
"At least Harry will live," I bring Lily fully into my arms and she returns the gesture. "We may have paid the price, but he will live and grow and I know Sirius will do a good job."
"Especially with Remus and Alice to reign him in when he needs it." Lily replies and I smile. We separate a bit, but with my left arm entwining with her right we look back down as the scene switches to all Harry again.
I begin to wonder where exactly we are and what we are waiting on, I know somehow we *are* waiting on something. "What is Hagrid doing at the house? How does he know the secret, let alone know that something has happened?"
"I don't know..."
We watch in confusion and growing horror at the events that happen after our deaths.
The denial of Sirius's rights as godfather starting with Hagrid getting to Harry first and refusing to hand him over to Sirius. We can understand Sirius not pushing the matter, Hagrid is half giant and only the more powerful spells would really work well against him, spells one certainly would not use when said half giant is holding the child you want.
But then things began to get worse, Hagrid brought Harry to Albus and Poppy in Hogwarts, that in itself would not have been too bad - if Harry had just been treated for his forehead and then sent on to Alice and Sirius. Instead Hagrid left and Poppy began treating harry only to find a soul leech, alerting Albus of this fact got her stunned and oblivated and got us a look at the real Albus Dumbledore.
The real Albus that was now sending several spells at my son, spells I know are illegal to cast on children because not only do they stunt magical growth they are also severely painful for adults to endure, let alone children. The only thing those spells are good for are finding latent talents and abilities in people once all magical growth is over in a persons mid to late twenties. Spelling my son into silence, Albus absentmindedly pats him on the head. "You're far too powerful my boy, we'll just have to do something about that."
The next day is pure torture for us as we watch Albus bind and limit our sons magical strength while performing several dark rituals to strip or negate things like his animagus ability. Thankfully the bastard knew of no rituals to transfer abilities to himself or I'm sure he would have done so.
We watch as he plays Minerva for a fool as he talks about leaving harry with Lilys hateful sister. Blood wards/protection my arse - such things don't exist!
We have raged so much over the past 24 hours, that our friend - our mentor - is so much more evil than we ever could have comprehended. Harry wasn't even fed the whole time he was in Hogwarts either; though it seems like that is the least of all the atrocities committed this day, and now spelled to sleep and in a basket the last scion of the house of Potter is left like bottle of milk on a muggle doorstep. A simple letter left with him stating that we were dead and being related to Lily was reason enough for people to want Petunia and her family the same and taking in her nephew would confirm blood wards that would protect them all so long as Harry could call her home his.
We had long ago kneeled next to the viewhole, unable to stand. For now the rage seems to have passed and all we can feel is a sad hopeless resignation, for we can do nothing but watch.
When Albus, Minerva, and Hagrid left the area we finally broke down and cried. After a long while we began to talk about what we witnessed, the prophecy, how much of Albus was fake, and many other things. We were trying to put together the pieces to the puzzle of this disaster, even though we didn't know everything and some pieces were missing we began to see some things that we hadn't before.
It was at this point that Lily broke down again. "I just know she's going to be so horrible James. Petunia has hated magic since the first summer I came back from Hogwarts."
A loveseat rose up underneath us and I embraced my wife in a comforting hug. "We just have to hope that Sirius, Alice, or someone forces our will to be read, even though Albus is planning on sealing it. Hopefully he won't be here long" I lean back and clasp our forearms together my hands engulfing her elbows.
I didn't know how right I was, light coalesced in front of us - right between our clasped arms - and there he was. Harry, mark-free and whole. I now know why we were waiting here, we were waiting for him to join us before we all moved on.
We were crying again sad and happy tears as we embraced as a family; happy that Harry no longer had to endure a life that was looking truly bleak, and sad that he never really got to live life at all.
Warm light enveloped us and we disappeared.
We never got to watch Petunia discover the cold lifeless form of her nephew on her doorstep that morning, we never got to watch as Albus twinkle-eye grandfathered his way through the scandal, we didn't get to watch the goblins throw Albus out for trying to claim the Potter wealth as he claimed to be Harrys' 'guardian' at his time of death.
But what we did get to see, that is a different story.
