21 Years Later
Chapter One:
Big Shoes to Fill
James Potter was in his fifth year. It was the year he would take his O.W.L.'s, the year that his father had created a secret Defense Against the Dark Arts class and was made a part of the Order of the Phoenix. The Order had once been a secret sort of agency that used to defend the wizarding world against Voldemort and other dark arts. Now, however, it was merely a museum exhibit and a committee in the Ministry Of Magic, not that they had much to do.
James knew he could never live up to his father's name or story. Whenever his father's name came up in History of Magic, everyone looked at him. During his first year, people came up to him after the first few classes and asked him all these absurd questions, as if his father ever talked about that stuff or if he had some insider knowledge. On the contrary, he felt like knew less, if anything at all. His father hated talking about what had happened and James knew better than to ask.
"James? Any advice for your sister before she goes off to Hogwarts?" his mother asked him, pulling him out of his daydreaming. He could have said something to scare her, like he had done with his brother, but he was just too fond of her. He was very protective of Lily. She was fragile, like a flower. They were shopping for school supplies and he found it boring. It was the same thing every year. Lily and his parents were excited because it was Lily's first year.
"Yeah, no boys." James groaned, only sort of joking. Lily giggled and their father nodded, agreeing, which made James frown. He didn't like agreeing with his father.
"Don't be ridiculous. You know, I was her age when I started to fancy your father." Mrs. Potter informed the kids and Harry's face turned a little pink.
"Hello to the Potter's!" Teddy Lupin walks in, looking both proud and a little rattled. Lily ran over to him to give him a hug and he picked her up and spun her around. "Jeez, what's wrong with you?" James says sarcastically. James knew exactly why he was so gleeful. He hadn't stop talking about for months now. He was planning to propose to Victoire and tonight was the night.
"I just picked up the ring from Gringott's!" He whispered nervously, as if anyone in Flourish and Bott's really cared. James rolled his eyes. His father nudged him with his elbow.
"Oh, how exciting!" His mother squealed while Harry patted Teddy on the shoulder, a fatherly gesture. James looked away. He resented his father so much for favoring Teddy over him. Actually, he just flat out resented his father. He wished he could just be a normal kid, even a muggle if he had to. He never held any animosity for his father until his third year. He had grown tired of the stares in hallways and history class, the constant requests to join the quidditch team, and all the expectations. He was annoyed that whenever he got bad marks his professors would call him out privately, telling him that they "expected more of him". It's not that he wasn't able to get good marks. It was that he didn't care anymore. He had done great his first, second, and third years but the past year, he had nearly failed out of Hogwarts. The only reason he was able to stay was because the headmaster, Slughorn favored his father.
Perhaps he would go into the business with his Uncle George. But that meant putting up with his cousin, Roxanne. Roxanne was a know-it-all and never, ever stopped talking. Most of the time he could just make fun of her or pull a prank on her but there were times when he just needed to yell at her to shut up, like last Christmas. No, he was sure he would be expelled and his family would most likely disown him.
"James!" His father hissed, obviously annoyed again. James had not realized that his family was leaving. They had probably been saying his name for a few minutes. "Oh." He grumbled and followed them out the door.
"Ginny, will you take Albus and Lily home? I want to talk to James." His dad said quietly, so only Ginny and James could hear him, as they walked farther away from the store. "What about Lily's robes?" Ginny asks. "We'll pick them up. I think we are going to go catch some lunch." Harry tells them. Ginny nodded and stopped Lily and Albus who were walking ahead of them and explained the plan. Albus looked back at Harry and James, almost hurt. He was the one who was close to Harry, after all. James and Harry hardly ever spoke anymore and if they were, the two were yelling. James knew just how to get under his father's skin, like most teenagers do with their parents.
James and Harry walked in silence to the Leaky Cauldron. "I'm not hungry." James told him when they sat down. Harry knew he was just trying to be difficult, as he was a teenage boy with a teenage boy's hunger and they hadn't eaten since the morning, so Harry simply ignored him. A growl of James' stomach proved his father's suspicions correct. James picked up the menu, giving up. After they ordered, James sat there waiting in silence. His father just looked out the window. James gave in first.
"Why did you bring me here? If you wanted to bond with your son, you should have brought Al." James sneered. His father raised his eyebrows but shrugged. "I know that." James snorted at his father. Harry added, "I brought you here to give you some advice." "And how do you know I'm going to listen?" James commented. "Do with it what you will but you will hear me out." Harry waited for another smart comment out of his son's mouth. It didn't come. Instead all he could feel was his son glaring at him. He, of course, knew exactly why his son resented him with such a passion. The stares, the expectations, the responsibilities; they were all things that he had resented himself when he was James' age. Harry had to admit, also, that perhaps he had favored Albus and even made Teddy feel more a part of the family. But James had always been so independent. He had never needed Harry. Harry did not know how to explain this to James, afraid of him getting a big head which he felt was very possible.
"I realize that you might have a lot of pressure but last year was unacceptable. I got three letters from Slughorn about fights and he was sure there was a few fights that he had not heard about. I even got called out to Hogwarts twice because of your pranks and foolishness! You were suspended for a week. And don't even get me started on what happened on Christmas break!" His father hissed at him quietly. He didn't want anyone to hear.
"Why don't you go ahead and lecture me on that again? It was one time. You need to get over it." James shrugged it off sarcastically. He saw his father's face go red, angry. A few moments passed and through gritted teeth, he said, "The real reason it is unacceptable, the real reason I wanted to speak with you, the real reason you have to stop all this nonsense; is the girls." James smiled as if it didn't bother him but his blush of embarrassment betrayed him.
"Now I realize you are teenage boy but I didn't get in nearly as much trouble as you did." His father scolded. "Please. You've been with mom, forever. Which was years ago. You don't even know what it's like anymore. You're like one-hundred years old, anyways!" James rolled his eyes at his father, beginning to get more annoyed.
"Watch it. Look, I am getting tired of paying these owl's of all these girls, to be honest with you. Now I know you're going to be furious with us but your mother and I read one of these letters-"
"You did WHAT!?" James exclaimed loudly. "That's private!" He hissed low because if the entire Leaky Cauldron wasn't staring before, they were now. Harry continued despite his son's reaction. "Now I realize that some muggle boys are like this but I do not want you going around leaving a trail of broken hearts behind you. Is that what you want your legacy to be?"
"What exactly was in this letter? Who was it from?" James questioned, changing the subject. "It was from a nice young lady named Marah, begging you to write her back. Saying how you had snogged her on the last day and promised you would write her this summer. She said she has sent you three letters now and you hadn't replied! What would want to make you do that to her?" James shrugged off his father. "I am being serious. Don't you care about your reputation?" His father begged him for an answer. But James knew what he wanted to hear and James wouldn't give it to him; because it would be a lie.
"What are you talking about? I don't have a reputation. I have yours. And this entire damn family's. I don't want it!" James exploded, slamming his hands on table very loudly, the walls shook, and he ran out of the Leaky Cauldron. He was aware of all the stares that he got. He was aware of his father calling after him.
He didn't stop until he reached the train station. He took the train to Cobham, a small village outside of London. Abigail Prince, the only girl that James had ever had any real feelings for, lived there. He had only been there twice and couldn't remember where she lived. He could not text her because the muggle cell phone he had bought in London was hidden in his bedroom. No one except Demitri, James' best friend, knew about her or the cell phone. Abigail barely knew anything about him because whenever she asked about him, he would either divert her questions or lie. Thankfully, it was a small town and he found her at the local park buying her little sister ice cream. She was smiling as her sister bounced around. The sun hit her so it appeared she was glowing. Despite all of his anger, James couldn't stop but smile.
"Abbie!" He said, waving his arms above his head, looking like fool but not really caring. He jogged up to her. She looked just as happy to see him as he was to see her. "Hi!" She exclaimed, throwing her arms around his neck. James had a fluttering sensation in his stomach. "You could have told me you were coming. How did you get here?" Abbie asked curiously. "Yeah, sorry for the short notice... I just needed to see you." James said, relief radiating through his body. He hadn't realized it but he had tensed every muscle in his entire body. He was already sore. "Why? What's wrong?" She sounded genuinely concerned. "My dad." He sighed. "You told me your dad died...?" She said, confused. "Uh, yeah... My stepdad." Abbie tucked his hair behind his ear, whispering that she was sorry. He wanted to kiss her so bad but her sister was saying something and he didn't have the chance to.
A month ago, Demetri and James went to a muggle party with a fire. Demetri told him it was called a 'bonfire'. Demetri's parents were muggles. Demetri had told James a lot about the muggle world.
He met Abbie and they immediately hit it off. He even asked her out but she said she was not from around here. She asked for his number. He had no idea what she was talking about so he said he didn't have one. She thought it was odd but a week later he found out what she meant and he snuck out to buy one the next day. James was really thankful that she had given him her number, anyways. They texted and spoke for hours into the night and he saw her every chance he got for the past month. His parents were not suspicious because he just told them he was going to Demetri's. Harry and Ginny loved Demetri. He had a way with people.
Abbie took her sister home then she took James to their town museum. He had only been to two museums in his life: The Museum of Wizardry and the Hands-On Museum for Young Wizards. The latter being where your parents took their little children to get familiar with magic but not too familiar. Everything was bright and fluffy. It was like an amusement park without rides. He remembered loving that place when he was younger. This museum was a lot different than the wizarding world's. The pictures stood still and everything was dull.
They went to the library where they sat amongst a few a walls of books and an old librarian who could barely see. They lay there about an hour, kissing and talking. He had never enjoyed talking to most girls. But Abbie was different than all the others. It wasn't just that she was new and exciting and a muggle. He had actually been out with two muggle girls before. They were just not that interesting. All he wanted to do was tell her the whole truth but he couldn't. He wasn't concerned with the law as much as scaring her off. He knew that after he left for Hogwarts he couldn't talk to her. They weren't allowed to bring muggle non-necessities, such as cell phones, to Hogwarts after the prank he and Dawson had pulled at the beginning of last year.
He knew he had to do it but he didn't want to. He could feel his heart sinking. But there had to be other girls that would make him feel this way. Somehow he doubted that.
"I have some bad news to tell you." He said, sitting up. She sat up, confused. "Is that why you came here?" She asked, her thin eyebrows furrowed. "Sort of. Anyways, in a few weeks...my, uh, stepfather is making me go to military school. I'll be completely cut off from the rest of the world. And that means no-" He was interrupted by the librarian telling them to shush so he continued in a whisper. "It means there can't be an us." She looked away blinking back the tears.
All James wanted to do is tell her that he won't go if she doesn't want him to. But that would mean no Demetri and who would protect Lily better than James?
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." James told her. She started to cry. A few minutes later, they walked back to the train station and said their final goodbyes. James and Abbie watched each other as they got farther and farther apart. When he could no longer see her, he accepted the reality, finally; in two weeks time, he would be on a train to Hogwarts. And he was dreading it.
For the next two hours, Lily and Albus were sent over to Uncle Ron's while his parents yelled and paced and interrogated him. His mother walked back to their room, giving up in the first forty-five minutes but his father was more stubborn than anyone James had ever came in contact with. Harry had put his wand up and away before just in case he would be tempted to do something he'd regret. The look in his father's eyes frightened him. One part of him knew that Harry would never lay a finger on his son. The other part was telling him to come clean before his father strangled him. "WHERE. DID. YOU. GO!? This is the LAST time I'm going to ask you." Harry barked for the billionth time. "I was with a girl! Okay?" He had panicked...and he still was. He tried to explain further but he couldn't get the words out. He was pushed to tears for the third time that day.
"You cannot be serious! Really!? After our discussion!?" Harry exclaimed. "No! Dad! Please! It's not like that. Not like that at all." He begged for his dad to understand. He felt like he was four and he had just gotten caught stealing another chocolate frog. "How exactly is it different? Do you care to tell me?" His father stared at him, not blinking. Those green eyes felt like they were reaching into his soul and squeezing it.
"I actually have feelings for her." He whispered timidly. His mother came out, curious. The look on her face was relief. As if she had expected her son to have respect for women at all. "Who?" She asked him. He hesitated, biting his upper lip. One glance at his father and he knew that he had to tell the truth. But he didn't have to like it. "Ab-ab-abig-gail." He stuttered.
"Abigail Hart?" His mother asked, a little concerned because she was two years older than him. "No..." He trailed off. "Abigail, who!?" His father exclaimed. James gulped. "Abigail Prince..." He finally gathered the courage to say it. "I don't know who that is... Is she from a muggle family?" James almost smiled at this question but it came off as a grimace. They were going to be pretty shocked...
"You could say that..." He trailed off again. "In the name of Dumbledore! Why are you being so damn evasive!?" Harry screeched. "You aren't going to like it." James said softly. Harry stared him down.
James launched into an explanation of everything from the 'bonfire' to this afternoon. He was only interrupted when he got to the part about the cell phone where his father ran to James' room and brought the cell phone down stairs. James had to sit in silence as his parents read every message he had ever sent her and every message she had ever replied. His mother's expression showed whenever they got to the texts that weren't exactly...mother-approved or appropriate. His face bright red. He could not believe that this was happening. When they finished, Harry went to get his wand and destroyed the phone. James was forced to continue. When he finished with the part about the break-up, he began to cry, feeling like a total sissy crying into his mother's shoulder. His mother came over to comfort him while Harry just left on his broom. A few hours later, they were all in their rooms like it was just another normal night. Albus hadn't stopped asking questions and he was too afraid of getting in more trouble if he yelled at his annoying brother to get out of his room.
Two weeks later, James was on Platform 9 3/4 with his family. His mother's eyes welled with tears. He didn't look at his father. The two had been unable to even make eye contact as of late. James spent all of his time in his room, only coming down for dinner and chores. He had been in a funk for the past two weeks. His mother was beginning to worry.
"Lily, don't be nervous. Your big brothers will protect you. Okay, sweety? And, remember, you can write us whenever you want. If there is an emergency, just go to Professor Longbottom. He will take good care of you. Everyone will." His mother seemed to be trying to convince herself more than Lily. "Ginny, you're going to get her worked up. Lily, you're going to have a great year. We are so proud of you." Her father leaned down to hug her.
Ginny and Harry watched Lily board the train, finding Hugo, then turned to say goodbye to Albus. It was his third year now. Al then joined his cousins Louis and Rose. Ginny kissed James goodbye. James wanted to run away before his father could even try to say something to him.
"Please, please behave this year." Ginny pleaded with him. He rolled his eyes. "Son, I know you're going to make me proud." Harry said, sounding choked. James looked at him in surprise. They hadn't said a word to one another in two weeks. For a second, James considered not being a smart ass and try to be sincere with his father.. Nope, that wasn't going to happen. "Don't hold your breath." He did not meet his father's eyes. Harry sucked in a breath and tried to pat James on the shoulder. James just shrunk away, more irritable than ever.
He was looking for Demetri when he saw Scorpius and his gang. Scorpius and James reviled one another, constantly picking fights with one another. James was not in the mood to deal with him.
"Oh, look it's the disappointment to the Potter legacy!" Scorpius sneered. James rolled his eyes and tried to push through them. Caius Bulstrode, one of Scorpius' goons, grabbed his arm, not letting him pass. James was strong but Caius was huge. Caius spun James around.
"Where do you think you're going to Potter? I have missed you." Scorpio chuckled darkly. James rolled his eyes at him, shook free of Caius. He didn't try to go away again. He was anything but a coward and he could tell Scorpius wanted a fight. Fighting before even getting to Hogwarts. I'll be expelled before the start of term. Dad will be so proud. He thought sarcastically to himself.
"Wish I could say the same but I don't tend to miss twats like you, Malfoy." James hissed at him. Malfoy went red and James knew what he was going to do before he could actually follow through. James dodged Malfoy's swing. Caius and Howard Krell, another one of Scorpius' goons, held James' arms behind him. James braced himself for the beating that was sure to come.
"Boys, what are you doing?" Roxanne's annoying voice forced him to open his eyes. Caius and Howard dropped James to his knees. "Leave him alone right now or I'll get a professor!" She hissed. Roxanne was the same age me but for some reason, people listened to her, she had air of authority. Scorpius' and his gang left. She rushed over to James who was standing up, brushing himself off.
"Did they hurt you?" Roxanne asked, sounding concerned. James rolled his eyes at her. "Yeah, I'm fine. I could have handled it myself." James told her. "Yeah, sure looked like it." She scoffed. James went red with annoyance. Why was she so nosy!?
James stomped off again to find Demetri. The train would be taking off in less than a minute. Finally, he found him. Demetri had saved a seat for him in their car. Two other sat across from him. Helen Bridge and Belle Chang. When James was close with his father, Harry had told him about how he had fancied Belle Chang's mother.
"Hello, James!" Belle squealed. Belle had a huge crush on James but he didn't go near her. Her best friend, Helen, had been dating Demetri since their second year. He sat down next to her, looking questioningly at Demetri across from him. Demetri shrugged. Belle had obviously requested to sit next to him. James normally was able to ignore her obvious infatuation but today it irritated him. He just wanted to be with Abbie.
When the train finally did come to a stop, James sighed both with relief to get away from Belle and dread to arrive at Hogwarts. He was excited about the feast. James always ate way too much the first night.
He sat awaiting the sorting ceremony. He hoped that Lily would be Gryffindor. James knew that she probably would be. Everyone in their family had.
"Lily Potter." Professor Kiernan announced after a considerable amount of time. Lily was so tiny, it seemed, as James watched her small frame walk up to the sorting hat. She was nervous, he could tell. Before she could even get the hat completely on, it announced, "GRYFINNDOR!" Lily practically skipped to our table, sitting with Hugo. James caught her eye and gave her a thumbs up. Lily getting sorted had caused him to remember his own sorting ceremony...
Flashback
The professor at the front of the room gave pause before calling out the next name. "James Potter!" James gulped, resisting the urge to run away. The room grew quiet, whispers floating about the room. Everyone stared at him. He could see the teachers' gazes, looking at him hopefully. He began to walk forward. He put the hat on his head and sat down. "Ah, another Potter." The hat whispered in his ear. He shook violently with nerves. "Hmm... Seems you don't want to go to Slytherin either. Interesting. Now... where to put you?" James chanted Gryffindor in his head over and over. "Are you sure? How can you be sure you want to try to live up to your father's name?" The hat asked him, confirming his fears. He kept chanting. It seemed like an eternity had passed to everyone in the room. This was the longest they had waited for the past several years. Everyone was growing antsy.
"Gryffindor!"
Demetri shook him out of his memory. James smiled apologetically. James felt someone poke in the back lightly. He turned to find none other than Marah Holstead. He groaned internally. Perhaps he should have written to her. Marah was a girl from Hufflepuff who wasn't very bright but she had a nice body and, as he found out, was a good kisser.
"So did your owl die or something?" She hissed angrily at him. She was very, very angry. Demetri rolled his eyes, chuckling, going back to his food. Why James always went after the crazy ones was lost to him...
"No?" James asked, playing it off as if he had no idea what she was talking about. "Then why didn't you write me?" She almost shrieked. The people around them looked up. "Marah, what are you talking about?" James was a very good liar. He felt guilty but not guilty enough. Marah's face changed from angry to sad and she ran off to her friends.
"Why do you have to do that?" Helen hissed at him when she left. Helen loved James but despised how he treated everyone who wasn't his close friend. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Bridge." James said and took a bite of his food. He was so cocky. It irritated her so. James had always called Helen by her last name. Neither of them knew why. Helen sighed and turned away from him.
"James." Demetri said to him, gesturing to the person behind him. James knew who it was. He had been glaring at James' back for the past several minutes. Demetri elbowed him hard. James rolled his eyes and turned around.
"Mr. Potter, will you come meet me in my office when you are finished?" It was Slughorn. Probably going to warn him again of what a thin line James walked. James rolled his eyes and replied, "Meet ya there, Sluggy." James smiled brightly at the headmaster who did not look amused. He turned and left.
"James, you really should be more respectful." Helen scolded him. James raised his eyebrows at her. Demetri nodded, agreeing with her. James looked away from the two. "Seriously, James. You are going to get expelled." Demetri whispered to him.
"And if I do, would anyone be surprised?" James retorted. Demetri sighed at his friend. James had never believed in himself. James was extraordinarily good at magic but James didn't see it that way.
"Yes! Everyone would be!" Demetri hissed. James rolled his eyes. "Why would that be? Because I'm Harry Potter's son?'' James sneered. Demetri whacked the back of his head. "No, stupid. Because you have natural talent." Demetri argued. James scoffed. Demetri then sighed defeatedly.
After the feast, James made the familiar walk to the headmaster's office. He walked up the stairs, past the eagle. James looked at the familiar pictures of the headmasters throughout the ages, pausing only at Albus Dumbledore's picture then Severus Snape's. Dumbledore's piercing blue eyes always seem liked they knew too much, as if he really knew what was going on. James shook off that eerie feeling. It wasn't possible. Dumbledore had died in his father's sixth year.
"James?" Slughorn called from his desk. James walked up to the desk. "Take a seat." James did as he was told but kept his expression bored.
"Now considering it is the start of the year, I want to you to start off with a clean slate. Last year although however, awful is the past. I expect big things from you, James. As does everyone else. I can assure you that I will not be as easy on you as I was last year. Your father also had a knack for getting in trouble. Perhaps you could speak to him about your, well, rebellious stage. Are you and Harry close?" The headmaster droned on. James had barely been listening until this piece was brought up. The nerve. James smiled tightly. "No." He didn't explain or say anything else. Slughorn waited for him to continue. When he didn't, the headmaster continued but it was clear this wasn't how he'd hoped the conversation would go. "Oh, um. Well, I suppose you are a teenager... Well, James, I really do wish you the best. Give my regards to your family. I do not want to see you back here anytime soon." He dismissed James who stood and rushed out, angry.
He was so irritated with all of it. James hated Slughorn. He thought he was a pathetic excuse for a headmaster. When Mcgonagall retired, there wasn't a lot of options. Of course, they had asked Harry. And Ron and Hermione. But they declined, stating they all had young children who would be attending Hogwarts in a few years and they didn't want to get in the way. Some use that had been. James thought angrily. His father was always in the way, he would always be in James' way.
He let his mind wander back to a familiar fantasy he'd been entertaining as of late as he walked through the castle back to the Gryffindor common room. He imagined what it would be like to leave. Perhaps he could leave with Abbie. He would pretend to be just some ordinary muggle, live an ordinary life. Nobody would stare at him. Nobody would expect so much of him. He wouldn't have a famous father who was always breathing down his neck or a disappointed mother. He would be normal.
There was one problem with this. James Potter was no ordinary boy. No, he would never be normal. For, James Potter was destined to be extraordinary. But no one- not even Harry- could imagine just how extraordinary James really was.