Title: Til Death Do Us Part
Fandom: Harry Potter
Author: Dignified Madman
Rating: Teen
Word count: 4 398
Summary: James and Lily Potter have died. They were attacked by Lord Voldemort and gave their lives up for their only son. The two wait in King's Cross Station, waiting to board the train to death, when James gets a feeling stopping him from boarding. He feels that his presence will be required in the future; Lily decides to wait with him. SPOILERS for Deathly Hallows. Slight RemusxSirius and LilyxSeverus.
Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. They are the property of J.K. Rowling.
A/N: There are times in this fiction, for the purpose of flow, I've directly quoted GOF and DH. I've cited them both times, so don't complain when you see the familiar words. I also do this with RENT, too.
A flash of green, then nothing. Nothing at all.
---
James Potter looked around him for the first time. He was in King's Cross station. It was oddly clean, and empty. That was strange; the last thing he remembered was being at home with his wife and son –
"Lily?" He called out; his voice reverberated around the empty station.
He waited but, as he expected, there was no answer.
He faintly remembered his encounter with the hooded figure before – before the distinct flash of green.
Was this it? Was he dead?
"Lily?" He called once more. Had Lily made it out safely with Harry?
"James," he heard a sobbing voice call his name, "James…"
He turned around and his heart broke. She wasn't safe. But what about Harry?
"Lily!" he called to her as he ran up and scooped her, weeping, into his arms, "Lily, what happened to Harry?"
"I don't know. I tried to protect him. I really did, but I had no wand," she broke out into sobs again, unable to continue.
James continued to press his wife against his body. He tried to pass her comforting thoughts through his body to hers.
He looked around for any sign of their little boy. If Voldemort had claimed him surely he must be here.
His eyes wandered over the station for any hint that Harry had arrived. Anything at all…
"Lily," he said softly into her hair, "do you suppose Harry lived?"
Her tears became soft sniffles at the theory, "Do you think it's possible?"
"He's not here with us, so he must be in the world of living."
"What do you suppose happened?" Lily said, beginning to get excited.
"I don't know … maybe Sirius or Dumbledore …" he let the thought trail off.
"ALL ABOARD!" James turned quickly to the intrusive noise. Standing in front of a ghostly train was a round little man, "ONE WAY ROUTE TO DEATH!"
Lily looked up now as well, "Do you suppose we should board?"
Something in the pit of his stomach told him to wait, "No, I don't think we should."
---
The train passed by once a week. Each time it passed James did not feel it was time for them to go.
As he waited for the right moment, many witches and wizards, young and old arrived at the station. He questioned them about his son, each answer was the same: the boy lived.
As soon as these souls landed in the station, they generally took the first train out.
---
Time passed by. How much? James was not certain. Lily pressed him to board the train, but every time he refused.
There was something he was waiting for; something that he couldn't quite put his finger on.
---
"Lily, did you hear? Harry's started at Hogwarts this year," James said brightly after he had spoken to a pleasant old witch.
"Wow, eleven years already," she said, staring off into the distance.
"ALL ABOARD!" the familiar voice made its routine call.
"James, let's board this one," Lily cooed.
James paused for a moment. The time still wasn't right, "I can't leave now. If you want, you can go."
"I'm not leaving you."
---
Time. What did it mean anyway?
Time meant nothing to Lily and James.
How much longer did he have to wait for what he was looking for?
---
He had no purpose. There was no purpose. What was the point?
He should have left however long it was ago.
"ALL ABOARD!"
"James?" Came the now wispy voice of Lily.
"No," James responded, solemnly. They had waited too long to back down now.
---
"Lily, do you feel that?" James said, noticing for the first time in X amount of years he felt … something.
"Yeah," said Lily, now drawn to the sensation, "James, it almost feels …"
"Alive," he finished her sentence for her. He turned to give her a hug, but she was gone. His eyes frantically darted to the train, but nothing was there. "Lily! Li— "
His words we cut off by a tight constricting feeling overwhelming his whole body. He couldn't move. It was as if he was being squeezed through something the size of 10₧.
Slowly he seemed to pour out of something. He looked about once he got his bearings. He seemed to be in a grave yard, 'Very fitting' he thought. He looked to his right and much to his relief, saw his wife standing beside him. He then became aware of the duel raging before him. On one side was a man vaguely familiar to him. Where had he seen this man before? James tried to get in for a closer look when he felt a tug on his sleeve: "James, look it's him." Her voice came out in a whisper, "It's Harry."
There was no doubting it; the boy looked just as he did, or as he had.
"When the connection is broken, we will linger for only moments … but we will give you time … you must get to the Portkey, it will return you to Hogwarts … do you understand, Harry?" He had no idea where those words came from, but they seemed like the right ones.
There was a young boy, James recognized from the King's Cross, talking to Harry. He asked him to bring his body back to Hogwarts. He watched his son's face show signs of strain from the wand. "Do it now," whatever needed to be done had to happen now, "Be ready to run … do it now …"[1
He felt something break inside him; it must have been the connection. "You will not touch my son," he heard Lily say. James took one last glance back it his son, "God speed."
---
"Did you see him James? He looked just like you."
They were back at the station. Just as he said, they did not linger long, but it was enough for Harry to get away.
"My dear, you must tell me what happened, everything!" Lily was asking the boy who had returned with them. James shifted his attention; he too wanted to know how his son ended up in that situation.
The boy, James later found out his name was Cedric Diggory, informed them all about the Tri-Wizard Tournament, and Harry's participation.
"… then there was this man, he looked dirty and rat-like, he took out his wand and--" Cedric could not say the word, "Then I felt this odd pulling sensation, and there I was back in that graveyard place."
Lily took the boy in her arms and gave him a warm, love-filled hug, "Thank you so much!" James, too, embraced the boy and thanked him.
"ALL ABOARD!"
Lily looked at James, begging him with her eyes to board.
James couldn't look at her. "I'm sorry, Lily, I can't leave yet."
"Surely that was what we were waiting for."
"I can just feel it, we still need to wait."
Lily's eyes traced Cedric's movement to the train. She gave him a brief wave goodbye, "Alright, we will wait."
---
James' ears perked up for the first time in a while. There was something that was buzzing in his ears. The noise sounded off and distant. It was as if it came from another world.
"Lily, do you hear something. Something like … fighting?"
Lily seemed to perk up too, "Actually, I do." She paused to listen, "I hear spells, and crashes. What do you think it is?"
James closed his eyes hoping to hear better, "I don't know. 'Dumbledore'," he quoted what he heard, "I heard someone yell 'Dumbledore'!" He couldn't make out anything else; it was all just a jumble of sounds. Then one crisp voice broke through the others, "Sirius … Someone is calling 'Sirius'! Lily, someone said 'Sirius'!"
"What the bloody hell? Where the hell am I?"
That voice, it was so familiar. James opened his eyes and swung around, "Padfoot!"
"Remus?" he answered, confused, until he turned around and saw someone who should have been dead. Someone who had been dead now for almost 16 years, "James …"
"Sirius!" James said as he embraced his lifelong friend.
"James?" Sirius said still utterly confused. He returned James' hug, half expecting to go right through the man, "James, I thought you were –er– dead."
James let go of Sirius, and looked at him in the face. Sirius, oddly, didn't look a day older than when he last saw him. "Sirius, I am dead," he said softly, "and so are you."
Shock instantly came over his face, "But I can't be dead. I was duelling with Bella. I lost my balance, and fell behind some curtain thing."
"Where were you duelling?" Lily appeared beside them.
"It was the Department of Mysteries, why?" Sirius said quickly.
Lily tenderly rested a hand on Sirius's shoulder, "Sirius … that was the Mortalitas Prodigium, or Death Portal. If you fell behind that, there is no returning. I'm so sorry."
Sirius seemed to be off in another world. There was a glazed look in his eyes. James respectfully let him have his moment. Finally, Sirius returned to them. He opened his mouth a few times as to speak, but no words came out. He rubbed his brow, then looked at James and Lily, "At least I died protecting Harry."
Lily burst out into tears and wrapped her arms around Sirius, crushing him. James placed his hand on Sirius' shoulder, giving it a squeeze.
All three of them walked over to a bench and sat down. The Potters thanked Sirius for sacrificing his life for their son.
"So, Sirius," James said, changing the subject, "what have you been doing since we … since that night?"
Sirius' face suddenly went hard, "Well, let's see, for a good twelve years I was in bloody Azkaban because of that Peter of yours!"
"What?" said Lily and James together.
---
"… and that's how I ended up in the Department of Mysteries," Sirius finished his tale.
James looked at his friend. He had no words. What do you say to someone who has suffered so much?
"Sirius, you truly are a Gryffindor," Lily said, placing her hand gently on his knee.
"Thanks Lily," he replied softly.
"ALL ABOARD!"
"What's that for?" Sirius asked, indicating the train.
"It's the train to death," Lily said, looking at it longingly.
"How come you lot haven't left yet?"
"I just have this feeling that we will be needed," James said, looking at nothing particular.
"So you aren't boarding then," Sirius said as he looked at the train. Lily looked at him, hoping that Sirius was what they were waiting for.
"It's not time, I can't leave yet. You both can go, I won't stop you."
"James, don't be silly, I've been with you this long, haven't I?" Lily slipped her hand into James'.
"I reckon I might as well wait with you," Sirius said looking back at James, "since I haven't anything better to do."
---
"Well, that was quite an uplifting experience."
James looked around the train station. He recognized that voice from somewhere. Sirius and Lily also looked around. At once, all their eyes landed on a tall old man in purple robes. He wore familiar half-moon spectacles on his broken noise. He noticed that they were staring at him. He smiled and gave them a wink.
"Albus Dumbledore!" They all said together. James was shocked to see Dumbledore in death. He was one of that last people he expected to see in death.
"How did you end up here?" James couldn't help but ask.
"Ah," Dumbledore said, pressing his index fingers together, "Severus used the killing curse on me."
"That bloody bastard!" Sirius shouted, outraged.
"Calm down Sirius," Dumbledore said calmly. He walked over to a bench and sat down. There was a playful twinkle in his eyes, "Before you affront Severus, Sirius, I think you should first know the context in which he acted."
"He's a traitor! I told you not to trust him!" Sirius said angrily.
"Sirius," Lily interjected, "I think you should listen to what he has to say."
Sirius was about to retort, but James lay a firm hand on his shoulder. "Oh alright," he grumbled, sitting on the bench opposite to Dumbledore. James and Lily sat on either side of Sirius, in hopes of keeping him calm.
Dumbledore looked at Sirius, waiting for him to be calm before he began, "I think it would be proper to start at the very beginning. Lily, do you recall a young black-haired boy watching you play when you were a little girl?"
---
"Now," Dumbledore said taking out an interesting looking pocket watch, "if Harry is the man I believe he is, he will be joining us in death soon." Lily let out a gasp. Dumbledore gave her a warm smile, "I believe he'll only be here for a short vacation."
"Oh thank God!" Lily said, relieved.
---
Sirius, Lily, and James' eyes constantly flicked to the entrance hoping to be the first to see Harry. Every time someone new appeared James' heart leaped, but he was soon disappointed by the sight of another being.
"Oi!" Sirius barked suddenly, "Get your bloody traitor arse over here!"
James quickly turned to where Sirius was yelling. His eyes instantly made contact with a disgusting, unrecognizable, dirty old man. "Sirius, calm down. Leave that man alone." James said ready to hold his friend down.
"Calm down?! You want me to calm down James?!" There was a ravenous look in Sirius' eyes, "That worm doesn't deserve to be left alone. You are not getting away this time!" Sirius managed to place himself near enough to the man to grab him by the collar.
"Sirius, stop!" James said running over to where Sirius was holding the man prisoner.
"James?" squeaked the dirty man, "My friends are here waiting for me. I missed you all so much!" The man gave a feeble attempt at escaping Sirius' grasp.
"First, you are going to tells us what has happened to Harry," Sirius said with a threatening tone, "Second, you are going to tell us who killed you so I can thank them. Finally, I'm going to make you wish that you never had been born."
"Sirius!" Lily's shrill voice broke through the argument, "What do you think you are doing? I'm so sorry, sir, Sirius isn't usually like this."
"Lily, this man isn't worthy of your apology," Sirius said gripping the man harder, "Not worthy at all, are you Peter?"
"You!" James said, ready to join Sirius. The man in front of him betrayed his family, and then turned to betray his best mate. There was nothing he would like to do more than beat this man to a bloody pulp.
"Please, give me your mercy," pathetic Pettigrew whimpered. He dropped to his knees and clasped his hands together. Actually, he clasped his left hand over his right stump.
"You don't deserve mercy!" Sirius said as he kicked the man.
"Tell us what you know about Harry," James said, glaring down at the quivering man.
"Please forgive me!" he sniveled.
Sirius kicked the man in his side, "Tell us what you know about Harry."
"Please forgive me!" Sirius gave him a third kick, "Okay, I'll tell you everything!"
---
"You filthy little worm," James growled at the little man, "you tried to kill my son!"
"How could you be so evil," Lily said, her voice dripping with hate.
"I'm sorry! I had no idea what I was doing. I was under the imperious curse!" said Peter, trying to plead his case.
"The hell you were," Sirius said as he gave the man a hard shove, causing him to fall on his face. "You were aware of every bloody thing you were doing."
"ALL BOARD!"
The attention of the three was pulled from the cowering man to the train.
"You bloody well better not get on that train," Sirius said menacingly.
"Train? What train?" Peter whimpered, looking around.
"Don't pretend you don't know what we are talking about," James said.
"But I don't see a train," Peter sniffled, "Where's the train?"
"Stop blubbering," Sirius said giving the man another kick.
"Ah," said Dumbledore. The trio had forgotten that the old man was there, "as I thought."
"What is it?" Sirius said, annoyed at the mystery.
Dumbledore took his time to get up and approach the trio and defeated man. He pressed his index fingers together before his spoke: "There appears to be two trains." Dumbledore's statement was met by a blank stare.
"What do you mean two trains," James said, "There's only one. There's always been one."
"Ah, James, only one that you can see," once again the man received blank stares. "As there is evil and good in the world, there must be two modes of transportation:
The train that you can see, leading to a place where you will be rewarded for what you did in life.
Also, the train that Peter must see, leading to a place where he will be punished for his acts in life.
As you see, Peter here cannot see the train that you see because he does not deserve the reward. And you can't see the train that Peter sees because you do not deserve the punishment."
"You hear that, you worm? You're going to be punished for what you did."
"Sirius, not now," Lily said hushing him, "Sir, which train can you see?"
A twinkle came to Dumbledore's eye, "That, my dear, will have to wait for another time. It seems another familiar face has come to join us."
Before James could turn around to see who had just arrived, Sirius' excited voice was heard: "Remus! Remus what happened?!" Sirius ran into Remus' arms and planted a tender kiss on his lips.
Remus hung there limp. There was a look of worry in his eyes. He gently pushed Sirius away, "Sirius … we can't do this anymore."
Sirius stepped back and looked at Remus in the eye. He searched the man's eyes for some form of a joke, but there was none.
"Sirius, I'm sorry. I've gotten married," Sirius' face became distorted with pain, then rage. James swiftly moved behind his best mate, and restrained him. The last thing that they needed right now was a fight.
"How could you?" Sirius barked, tears coming to his eyes, "I thought we were supposed to be together forever!"
James could see tears also forming in Remus' eyes, "I was lonely. You had left me. I didn't know how long we were going to be apart. I couldn't stand being lonely. I'm weak Sirius, I'm weak!"
James struggled to hold onto Sirius who was now trying to attack Remus, "Who is it then? Who did you marry?"
Remus looked at the ground, "I married …"
"Who is it!?"
"I married Tonks," Remus spat out.
James felt Sirius slump in his arms. It was as if Remus had just punched him in the stomach, "You married Tonks?" his voice had gotten quieter, "You married my cousin?"
Remus was silent. He couldn't speak. It was as if the entire train station had gone quiet.
"Remus," said a meek voice from the entrance of the station.
Remus didn't look up, "You heard?"
"Every word," [2 the voice trembled slightly, "Is that how you really feel?" Remus didn't answer. "It's alright, I understand. I should have never forced myself on you while you were still wounded."
"Tonks …" Remus managed to whisper.
"Remus, it's alright. I understand." Tears were also streaming down her face, "You were with Sirius before I even knew you. It was wrong of me to come between you."
"Tonks … thank you," he said, finally looking at her.
"ALL ABOARD!"
"I'm going to board," Tonks said, her hair colour turning blue, "Good bye everyone. Bye Sirius, Remus." James watched her board the train. She took one look back and waved, her face streaked with tears.
Sometime during the conversation James must have slackened his grasp on Sirius because as he turned back, Sirius was in Remus' arms. James smiled at the reunion and wrapped his arms around his wife.
"Ah," Dumbledore said, breaking the silence. James had forgotten that the man was there, "Severus, you have finally joined us."
There was an awkward tension in the air as Severus walked to join the group. James felt himself tighten his grip on Lily, fearing that Snape might come and try to take her.
He pushed his dark hair out of his face and spoke to Dumbledore, "Voldemort trusted me to the very end. He sent Nagini after me to unleash the power of the Elder Wand. I've passed on my memories to the boy."
The old man pressed his index fingers together to suggest that he was thinking. There was a great pause as everyone was trying to decipher the cryptic message. James could feel Lily's eyes looking at Severus, he clutched her tighter, feeling a pang of jealousy. "Alas," Dumbledore finally spoke, "it seems that our plan is finally underway."
He quickly informed the party around him of the plan, and what he suspected would happen. Everyone nodded, ready to help Harry. The plan was once Harry discovered the Resurrection Stone, Lily, James, Sirius, and Remus were going to be called to life. There they would support him in his face-off with Voldemort, then guide him to death. Dumbledore would then inform him about the Deathly Hallows, and the battle against Voldemort, before sending him back to life.
"Where do I fit in the plan?" a forgotten Peter piped up.
"The only place you bloody fit in is a toilet bowl," Sirius barked at the little man, "And what are you still doing here? Shouldn't you have caught your train to where ever the hell you are supposed to go?"
"I was scared," Peter blubbered, "I don't want to go by myself."
Sirius was about to kick the man once again, but Severus lifted him away.
"I'll remove him from your hair," he said with a clenched jaw, "It's the least I can do for starting this whole mess. Lily, can you ever forgive me?"
Lily's eyes began to mist over. She broke from James's grasps and threw her arms around her childhood friend, "Dumbledore told me everything. Of course I can forgive you." She stood up on her toes and gave the man a kiss on his cheek. James clenched his jaw, prohibiting himself from shouting something out.
"I should go," Severus said, blushing. "Come on Wormtail. You're finally getting the royal treatment you deserve." He pushed the whimpering man towards a wall, and they both disappeared through.
"There goes a fine man, who was knocked off the right course," Dumbledore said with a sigh, breaking the silence. Everyone, including James and Sirius, nodded in agreement.
"I'm starting to feel a pull," said Remus.
"So am I," agreed Lily.
"I believe it is time," Dumbledore said, sitting down on a bench, "God speed."
---
They were all in a forest. It was a familiar forest, James noticed. They were in the Forbidden Forest. Hogwarts was standing in the background, scarred as if a major battle just took place.
James noticed Harry standing in the middle of them. He looked much older than he had expected. He looked warn, but there was still determination behind his eyes.
It was Lily who first broke the silence, "You've been so brave."
"You're nearly there, "said James. "Very close. We are … so proud of you."
"Does it hurt?" Harry asked.
"Dying? Not at all," said Sirius. "Quicker and easier than falling asleep."
"And he will want it to be quick. He wants it over," said Remus.
"I didn't want you to die," Harry said. "Any of you. I'm sorry, right after you had your son … Remus, I'm sorry–"
"I'm sorry too," said Remus. "Sorry I will never know him … but he will know why I died and I hope he will understand. I was trying to make a world in which he could live a happier life."
James watched his son, waiting for his decision.
"You'll stay with me?"
"Until the very end," said James.
"They won't be able to see you?" asked Harry.
"We are part of you," said Sirius. "Invisible to anyone else."
"Stay close to me," he said quietly.
They followed behind Harry deeper into the forest, until they came upon voices. The voice that stood out the most was a high pitched hissing voice, the one that belonged to Voldemort. The man that caused so much pain was about to get what he deserved.
"I thought he would come. I expected him to come. I was, it seems … mistaken," said Voldemort.
"You weren't," said Harry, as loud as he could muster. [3
James felt a sense of pride. His son was standing up for the rights of the Wizarding World. Suddenly the world became black.
---
"Where are we?" James heard Remus ask into the darkness.
"I'm not sure," James answered his friend.
"Is everyone here?" Lily called out.
"I think so," Sirius answered.
What had happened? One minute they were in the forest supporting Harry, and the next they were in a dark abyss. Had something gone wrong with the plan? Was something wrong with Harry?
"What happened?" Sirius asked the question that was in James' mind.
"I don't know." Remus sounded perplexed.
"James … what happened to Harry. Do you think he's aright?" Lily said, her voice quivering.
"I'm sure he's talking to Dumbledore right now," James said trying to sound convincing.
"I hope you're right," Lily said with a sniffle.
James looked around him again. He couldn't see anything, it was completely black. In the distance, he thought he saw a little white dot. He blinked expecting it to be gone, but it had grown bigger. As the dot grew he could feel a familiar pulling sensation.
---
"Welcome back." James' eyes focused, landing on the familiar figure of Dumbledore. "It was a success. Harry went back to the living. He is now prepared to finish off Tom Riddle."
James embraced his wife, relieved. They had done it. They succeeded.
"ALL ABOARD!"
"Lily, I think it's time we boarded that train." James said with a smile.
[1 Quoted from Harry Potter and the Goblet Of Fire; pg. 723-724
[2 Quoted from Rent; Goodbye Love
[3 Quoted from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows; pg. 560-561, 563