I started this about six months ago. Since it was catching dust, I decided to finish it so I could move on.

Please excuse any and all grammar and spelling mistakes. I barely looked through this thing.

*not beta'd*

James Potter's eyes snapped open when he rolled away from the falling water. Hiding a grin, he immediately activated the trap he had set with a minuscule flick of his finger.

"What's with the wakeup call?" he asked the now soaked soul reaper. The reaper in question merely grumbled and tried to squeeze the excesses water from his clothes. Unable to hold it in any longer, James bursted out laughing.

"How in the hell did you do that?" The reaper fumed, still struggling to get the water out. James placed a finger on his lips.

"It's a secret." The reaper growled at him.

"Captain wants to see you, Evans." James started slightly at the name, and frowned. It was his fault for picking a last name that he had so many emotional ties to. Ridding his mind of the depressing thoughts, he scowled at his 'friend'.

"I was enjoying my nap you know, Ethan." All he received was another glare. Leaving him be, James headed towards the Captain's office.

"Ah, Evans." James turned around in surprise. The captain of the 3rd team, Edmund Ehrlichmann, stood there behind him. "I assume the lieutenant vas able to vake you up?" James nodded, blushing. It was common knowledge that he hated waking up from any sort of rest, and the person brave/stupid enough to do so was immediately pranked, but having the captain himself point that out was somewhat embarrassing.

"You needed something?" James asked. Nodded and indicated to him to follow him. Once they reached the office, Ehrlichmann sat down behind his desk. James remained standing.

"I'm sorry to have to constantly send you on these menial tasks, but there have been quite a few hollows in a certain area recently." James's eyebrow rose.

"Why?" Ehrlichmann shrugged.

"I just need you to get rid of the hollows and see if anything odd is going on. Report back immediately if you do find something."

"Do I depart now?" The captain nodded. Returning the nod, James left the office and headed back to his room. Ethan, the lieutenant, was long gone. However, his bed and the floor were still soaking wet. With a wave of his hand, the mess was cleared up fast. Only taking a few bare materials, he left the room and the Squad 3 building, and headed towards the gate to take him to the land of the living. Exchanging a nod and the captain's note with the two gatekeepers, the gate opened. Entering, James ignored the oppressing darkness and continued moving further into the abyss.

After about ten minutes, he was finally able to see a faint light. Using flash step, he finally reached the land of the living within seconds. Pausing to breathe in the warm, England air, his smile turned bitter. So many memories of this place. Mentally shaking his head, he reached out with his senses and searched for the location of the hollows. Finding them, he headed towards them, drawing out the saber he had sheathed at his waist.

‡‡‡‡‡‡

'That was too easy,' James thought. He didn't even have to unseal his sword as well as nothing unusual was in the area. Congratulating himself on a job well done, he started walking in a random direction. He had some time to kill, and it had been awhile since he had been in England, so he was feeling a bit nostalgic. It was until he passed a familiar street sign that he realized where he was.

Privet Drive.

'Wasn't this where Lily's sister and her disgusting husband lived?' Suddenly curious, James headed down the street, looking around at the houses. Stopping at the house that said number 4, he paused. He scowled when he remembered that they hadn't even gone to his and Lily's wedding, and when they went to their wedding, Petunia (that horse) had completely yelled at them. Lily had held strong, but when they had gotten back, she had burst into tears.

He couldn't even imagine what would have happened if Harry got sent here. He was lucky though, the Longbottoms would properly take care of his son. Maybe he should prank them, or scare them to death (he wished). Continuing down the street, James spotted a group of boys heading towards the opposite direction. In disbelief, he watched as one of the kids (who looked to be the size of a killer whale) pull out a pack of cigarettes and passing one to everyone in his group. They had to only be about 15 or 16 at most.

They, of course, couldn't see him, so they continued walking. After they were out of view, James kept going. After a minute, what looked like a park appeared. From his perspective, it was empty. He decided to rest there for a few minutes and think. He needed to be sure if it was possible to get away with visiting the Longbottoms to see a glimpse of his son, who should be around 15 by now.

It was until he entered the park when he realized that it wasn't completely empty. A lone figure was sitting in the swing set. All James could see was the unruly black hair of a male. Technically, he could still rest there; it wasn't like the kid could see him, but he wanted to be fully alone, so he turned to leave, however the branch from the tree next to him crashed to the ground. Looking up, James was horrified to see a small hollow (compared to others) jump towards his direction. Pulling out his sword, he quickly disposed of it, and quickly glanced towards the boy. From what he could see from behind the tree, the boy was facing in his direction, though what he was seeing James couldn't be sure.

Moving away from the park, James put his sword away and began to wonder why he hadn't sensed the hollow. Something that weak couldn't have been able to hide its energy from him. With this distraction, he hadn't noticed the boy move towards his direction.

"Who are you?" James eyes snapped towards the boy who was still hidden by the trees. Glancing around, he noticed no one was around. Was that question directed towards him? No, it couldn't have been. That would mean that he would have to have spiritual energy, and nobody living here could possibly have any sort of magic. Ignoring the kid, he turned around only to feel something prod his back which was unmistakable a wand. What in the world is a wizard doing here? "Who are you?" the boy repeated. There was a sort of weariness that made James smirk slightly. This kid wasn't stupid.

"No one important," He stated simply. The wand was jabbed a little bit harder into his back, not that he minded. It just, for some reason, made his smirk widen.

"Are you a Death Eater?" His eyes widened.

"Death Eaters?" The wand at his back was instantly removed.

"Shit, a muggle," the boy whispered softly. If it weren't for his training as a soul reaper, he would have missed it, however he had what he wanted, an opening. Turning around, he gripped the boy's wand arm and twisted him around and brought him to his knees and placed his other on the boy's shoulders. Gazing at the boy's black hair, he loosened his grip a bit as to not hurt him, but still held him enough that he couldn't move.

"I'm not a muggle," James whispered. The boy stiffened. "But I'm not a Death Eater either." The boy struggled fruitlessly.

"Prove it," he hissed.

"Very well," James replied. Flicking his finger, he made sure the kid was immobile. James rolled up his left sleeve and made sure it was in view of the boy's face. After pausing to make sure the kid saw his unmarked forearm, he unrolled his sleeve. "Besides, I would never join the people who killed my wife." (and me)

"I'm sorry to hear that," the kid muttered. "They ruined a lot of lives." James raised an eyebrow.

"They killed someone close to you?" The kid made an odd noise.

"You're kidding, right?" James frowned.

"Should I be?" he asked. The boy sighed.

"You're not from around here, are you?" James shook his head, not that the boy was able to see it.

"I haven't been in this country for over 13 years."

"Do you know about the war?" James looked curiously at the kid. He didn't look old enough to remember the war.

"I know it ended years ago, but I am not aware of the circumstances on how it had ended," he replied neutrally. The boy chuckled slightly before responding.

"If you let go, I'll be happy to explain it to you. My arm is getting kind of stiff." James flushed.

"Sorry," he said sheepishly, releasing the boys arm. The boy stood up and turned around. Smiling, James stood up to introduce himself. "My name is Jame—" He didn't finish. Looking back at him was a pair of green eyes that were painfully familiar. Lily's eyes. Scanning the rest of his face, James found himself looking into a mirror. The only person who could have possibly looked like that was... Harry. His son, Harry.

"H-Harry," James said quietly in disbelief after a moment. The boy, his son, flinched. He took a step back, and shakily brought his wand James's face, with a look of shock and horror on his own face.

"Who are you?" he stammered. James didn't hear him.

'What is he doing here? Did something happen to the Longbottoms? What about Padfoot?'

"What are you doing here, Harry?" James managed to ask.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked.

"It was stated in our wills for you to either be with the Longbottoms or Padfoot. D-did, something happen to them?" Harry slowly put his wand down.

"D-Dad?" James managed a small smile. "Are you a ghost?" His smile faltered. He took a few steps towards his son, who stiffened slightly.

"Not exactly." Harry looked confused, but faced James with a determined look.

"How do you activate the map?" he asked softly, avoiding looking at his eyes. James grinned reluctantly.

"You have the map." Harry looked up. After a brief pause, he nodded. James's grin widened. "From Filch?" He shook his head.

"From the Weasley twins who stole it from Filch. You never answered my question."

Clearing his throat, he answered as solemnly as he could, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." Harry nodded, with a spark of hope in his eyes.

"What was the name of your group?"

"We were the Marauders, Moony, Wormtail (he ignored the surge of hatred in him), Padfoot and yours truly, Prongs." Harry stayed quiet, looking down at the ground. Taking a few more steps forward, James pulled his son into an embrace. Harry stiffened, but made no move to pull away. He eventually returned the hug.

"How is it that you are able to touch me?"

"I told you, I'm not a ghost." Harry pulled away with a look of anger.

"So you're alive!" he shouted. James filched, before smiling sadly.

"I'm dead," he said. "I can touch you because I'm not a ghost, but a soul."

"There's a difference?" Harry asked, keeping his distance. James nodded.

"Ghosts are imprints left by witches or wizards who are too scared to pass on. Souls are just, well, souls that have left their body."

"Can they go back?" Harry asked, taking a few steps towards James.

"Connecting a body and its soul is a chain. If that chain stays intact, then the soul can go back to its body. If it is severed..." James shrugged. He knew what his son wanted to hear. It was best to get rid of the idea before it was fully formed. From Harry's crestfallen look, he was right.

"How long can you stay?" Harry asked.

"Not for long," James replied sadly. He pulled Harry into a hug again. Harry did not resist. "What are you doing here?"

"I live here," Harry said in confusion. "Don't you know that?"

"The only reason I was anywhere near here was for my job-"

"Job?" James wanted to hit himself.

"It's a long story-"

"I have time, and considering what happened in June, no one is telling me anything, and since there isn't much else I can do, time is the only thing I have."

"What happened in June?" James asked sharply. Harry pulled away, and gave him a cheeky smile.

"I'll tell you, if you tell me about your 'job'." James groaned.

"You really are my son," he muttered. Harry grinned before it faded slightly.

"Souls have jobs?"

"Yes," James started, "but before I get to that, you need to know some background information." Harry nodded and took a seat on the ground. James sat next to him, ignoring the Story Time thought. "There are two types of souls, Pluses and Hollows. Pluses are the souls of humans who've died, and hollows are pluses that have been corrupted from staying in the human world too long."

"What do they do?" Harry asked. James grimaced slightly.

"They eat pluses and go after humans."

"And it's your job to destroy them?" James nodded. "And you can't stay, because you have to protect everyone else."

"Yes." Harry didn't say anything. He appeared to be in thought about something.

"I don't remember anything about you," Harry said after a little bit. James opened his mouth, but Harry shook his head. "Hagrid, Professor Lupin, and even Sirius told me stories about you, so even though I don't remember you, I still miss you. And mum."

"I'm sorry," James muttered. Harry shook his head.

"Don't be. It was for my sake that you died." James placed his arm around him. It was possibly the only time he can be with his son, and he wanted as much contact with him as possible.

"I would do it again for you." Harry smiled sadly.

"I know." They sat in silence. James wondered what happened in June. It clearly bothered him, so he didn't want to pry, but he had to know. As his father he had to know.

"What happened in June?" he asked. He pulled Harry closer to try to comfort him. Harry stayed silent before taking a deep breath and started his story.

‡‡‡‡‡‡

So, is this what a murderous feeling felt like? He really wanted to attack Dumbledore. How dare he make Harry take part of a competition like that? He could've found a loophole, yet he made his son compete. As for the Dursleys, someone should start making funeral arrangements. Harry might have an issue with that idea, but he didn't have to know.

"Dad?" James focused on Harry. "Are you alright?" he said, looking at him in concern.

"I'm fine," James managed to say through gritted teeth. Harry's eyes widened.

"Please don't do anything to them," Harry begged. James sighed. He was exactly like Lily.

"I'm not going to do anything harmful to them."

"But you are going to something, right?" James shrugged. Glancing up, he saw how late is was. His captain was going to be pissed. Getting up, he held out his hand. Grabbing it, Harry raised himself up.

"How about we head to your house and let's see if I could do somethin-" James cut himself off, and looked up, frowning. Curious, Harry glanced up as well, but couldn't see anything.

"Is something wrong, Dad?" Blinking, James focused back on his son. He shook his head.

"It's nothing." He had to be tired. There was no way something like that could be here. "Anyway," he continued, "Let's go." Harry nodded. They left the forest and left the park. Walking down the street, James saw everything with a new view. His son had to grow up here. He felt a sharp pang of anger. How could Albus go against their will and place his son here of all places?

"Oh look, Dudley," Harry said monotonously. Looking where Harry was pointing, James saw the group of boys he had seen earlier. They were apparently separating for the day. Slightly suspicious, James gripped Harry's shoulder.

"Don't do anything stupid."

"You mean something like what you would have done," Harry deadpanned.

"Exactly." Keeping some space between them, the two of them followed Dudley. Every step they took towards Mongolia Crest, James stiffened. Harry noticed this, but didn't say anything. This went on for a few minutes before Harry grabbed his arm.

"What's happening?" James shook his head.

"Grab your cousin and get out of here." Harry looked him, stunned.

"What?"

"Go!" Harry stood still before running to grab Dudley's arm. James ignored the ensuing argument, confident that his son could handle it. James's pulled out the saber, before glancing back at the two of them to see that they were far enough away.

"Awaken, Fire Dragon!" The sword in his hand glowed before splitting into two different weapons. In his right hand was a somewhat delicate rapier, while in his left hand was fragile looking dagger with two dragons decorating the hilt and reaching to wrap around the bottom of the blade. Harry paused, mesmerized by the sight. Dudley also stopped, clearly feeling some sort of energy in the area.

"What are you doing?" Dudley asked, looking at Harry who managed to snap out of it, and drag his protesting cousin away from the scene. Double checking that the two of them were gone, James gripped the weapons, waiting. Within a few seconds, two dementors appeared, gliding in the direction that Harry and Dudley had run off towards. Surprised that a dementor would ignore him, a soul, James raised his left hand with the dagger and pointed it towards the two dementors, immobilizing them. With the rapier, he was easily able to slice through the first one. Turning towards the second one, he watched as the other dementor struggled against the invisible bonds, still trying to head towards where Harry and Dudley had gone. Why was the dementor ignoring him?

"Dad?" James's head snapped around to face Harry as he headed towards James. Once he noticed the dementor, Harry froze. Raising the dagger, James placed an invisible barrier around the dementor so its power didn't affect anyone. Walking over to his son, he snapped his fingers in front of his face to get his attention away from the dementor. Physically turning his son away from the dementor, they took a few steps away from the dementor. "W-Why is there a d-dementor there?" James glanced back at the dementor.

"Someone sent it after you," he replied after a moment. Harry looked at him in shock.

"After me?" James nodded.

"They both ignored me, a soul. In any other circumstances, I would have been their first target, but they tried to follow you."

"Uh...they?" Harry asked confused.

"Oh, I killed the other one," James replied casually. Harry looked stunned.

"I didn't know that was possible." James gave him a reassuring smile. Harry looked back at the dementor. "It's not affecting me?" James looked at him in confusion. "The dementors usually cause me to relive some bad memories," Harry clarified, giving the dementor another uneasy glance. James frowned.

"I placed a barrier around it so no one gets affected by it."

"Why didn't you kill it?" Harry asked.

"Someone sent it after you, and I'll be damned before I find out who is trying to hurt you." James walked back towards the imprisoned dementor, while Harry tried to hide his blush. Harry watched as his dad raised the dagger towards the dementor and began muttering under his breath. After a few minutes, he raised his right hand with the sword, and, without hesitation, sliced through the dementor as though it was nothing. Harry watched in awe as the cut glowed before the dementor disappeared and faded away.

James stood there for a moment, his face blank. The two weapons in his hands glowed brightly before combining into a saber which he tucked into the sheath at his waist. Grinning for some reason, Harry ran up to his dad. James smiled at him when Harry stopped right in front of him.

"Did you find out who sent them?" Harry asked. James nodded, but didn't explain. "Dad-"

BEEP!

Startled, they both jumped at the noise, before James realized what it was. To Harry's utter bewilderment, James reached into his pocket and pulled out something silver.

"What's that?" he asked, staring at the thing that was still beeping.

"A phone..." James's voice faded away as he started reading something on the device. After he was done, his face seemed to have hardened slightly.

"Dad...?" Harry wasn't blind. He could see something was wrong. James stood there for a moment before sweeping Harry into a hug. Harry's eyes widened. "You have to-"

"Leave, yeah," James finished for him. Harry's eyes began to mist slightly, but he was able to hold it in.

"Will I be able to see you again?" Harry asked. He had to know, even if the truth hurts him. From his Dad's hesitation, Harry knew the answer. Trembling, Harry pulled away. "Is there anyway..." James smiled sadly.

"I don't think so, but please remember this," James said, turning Harry's head so that their eyes met. "I will watch over you, and... I love you." Harry couldn't hold it in anymore. Sobbing, Harry clinged onto his father, who merely held him. After a few minutes, Harry stopped sobbing, but still tightly gripped James's clothes, afraid of being left alone.

"Please..."

"Harry," James said, lightly tugging at the arms still tightly wounded around him. Eventually, Harry let go, but the look of distress on his face made James's heart break. Slipping his hand into his pocket, he fingered another device that he always carried with him. With one last look at his son, he closed his eyes and pulled out the device. Within a few seconds he whipped out the device, and held it in front of Harry's face.

With a single click and a puff of smoke, Harry Potter's memories of the last few hours were gone and replaced with an alternate.

From there, it was relatively easy for him to carry Harry and get him back to his room. A quick survey of the house had him going back to the unconscious form of his son, and doing a quick, relatively painless look through his mind. Another beep from his phone successfully stopped him from breaking a rather important rule about the souls of those that are still alive. Reading the message, he gave his son one last look, before leaving.

‡‡‡‡‡‡

Dolores Umbridge impatiently glanced at the clock again. They were late. She wanted to know if those things found Potter or not. No matter how much she believed in Cornelius, she felt as if he wasn't doing a good enough job to deal with that nasty, lying brat. A knock on her office door jolted her out of her thoughts.

"Yes?" she asked, shoving a few incriminating papers away. A soft voice answered.

"Madam Umbridge?" She waited for the man to go on, but he said no more.

"How may I help you?" She was starting to get annoyed when the person didn't respond. Getting up, she headed towards the door and threw it open, intending to yell at the idiot for interrupting her. No one was there. Frowning, she glanced around before stepping out of the room and heading towards a hallway. Turning into the hallway, she was able to see just, in time, someone turning the corner. Running as fast as she could, she turned the corner and stopped moving.

Casually leaning against was a man with messy black hair. His face was tilted away from her, so she couldn't identify him.

"Excuse me, but no one but employees maybe on this level," she said, coating her words, so her annoyance doesn't show through the words. The person straightened up and looked directly at her. Gasping, she took a step back. In front of her was an older version of the Potter brat. It took a few seconds for her mind to register the differences, and the fact that the brat was only a fifteen year old, not someone in their twenties. Putting two and two together, she made her decision and stood her ground.

"M-Mister Potter?" she addressed the person. It couldn't be anyone else. She wanted to ask how or why he was here, but she had a feeling that she already knew. The frown on her face slipped away, when the person started smiling. The aura around him became darker to the point that she started trembling. "L-Listen here y-young man-"

"You sent a dementor after my son," he said quietly. Her eyes widened in surprise and fear.

"E-Excuse me? I have no idea what you are talking about." The man sighed, his smile fading away.

"Just answer truthfully. It'll be less painful that way."

"Are you threatening me?" Umbridge shrieked. James Potter shrugged.

"Uh, sure." He paused and brought out something from his pocket, and looked at it. "I'm running out of time, so I'll have to make this quick." He placed the device back into his pocket, and turned back to face her.

"W-What are you g-going to do?" He started grinning; the aura around him started becoming almost suffocating. He took a step towards her.

"No one," Step. "Messes," Step. "With," Step. "My son," Step. "Ever."

Everything went black.

I really enjoyed the ending :D (aka: I hate Umbridge)

Now, with this story out of the way, I can continue working on the others.

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For the statuses of the stories that I am working on, or to see any future stories, please refer to my live journal (link on Profile).