Disclaimer: I own nothing
Summary: People fall in and out of love all the time. Lily and James Potter were no different. With a possible divorce on the horizon, life for the Potters will never be the same. James never thought he would be a single parent of two kids. Then his sister's daughter is brought into his life. The daughter of the sister he thought was dead. How much of this storm can James sail through alone? Is he really alone after all?
"Changing Seas"
Chapter 1
The kids – ten-year-old Harry and nine-year-old Posey – were running around the house chasing each other, ranting and raving. James and Lily were sitting at the breakfast table both in their own worlds. Lily was staring into her coffee as James was reading the Daily Prophet. Just another morning at the Potter house. Lily got up and released the children into the backyard, finding it difficult to bring herself to talk James about what she had to say with all the yelling children underfoot. Lily returned to her seat. Her pink teacup was still half-full when she returned to it.
"It's quiet. Where did the kids go?" asked James, looking up from the paper, not even noticing Lily had moved.
"I sent them outside. They were driving me nuts," replied Lily.
"All these articles about Dumbledore are ridiculous. He is completely sane and would never take the Minister of Magic position," James grumbled.
"Of course not," Lily nodded in agreement.
"Is something wrong Lily? You seem a bit distracted?" asked James folding up the paper.
"Actually, yes. I want to talk to you about something," said Lily clearing her throat.
"I'm all ears, Lily-pad," said James.
"Well, I've been thinking about us," Lily said. "Things have been a bit tense for a while."
"I can always take some time off and go somewhere, just the two of us," offered James staring into Lily's eyes, the wheels inside his head turning. The green eyes looking back at him showed him sadness, regret and a tinge of anger.
"Can I please say what I have to say without any interruptions?" asked Lily, struggling to keep herself together.
Looking into his hazel eyes was making this more difficult than Lily though it would. But she knew she had to say it face to face. It wasn't fair to James, or the kids. The love in his eyes made it more difficult to say.
"James, I think we should go our separate ways for a while," she announced, tears trickling down her cheeks.
James's face fell nearly to the floor. His eyes became soft with shock and his mouth opened, but nothing came out. He couldn't believe what Lily was saying. Things had been dull, but he didn't think it was anything worth leaving over. He forced himself to keep his emotions in check.
"I know you feel it too. I think some time away would do us good. I already have arrangements. It think it's best for the kids to stay with you right now," said Lily.
"Okay."
"The kids are going over to Molly's for the week. It gives us time to think and figure things out," said Lily.
"Yeah."
"Are you okay with this?" Lily asked.
James didn't give a response. Of course he wasn't okay with this. Lily was leaving him and the kids. She was staying with someone else. She had planned this ahead of time. He was far from okay.
"I'll make sure the kids get to the Weasleys' before I go to work," said Lily.
"Okay."
"They come back next week today," reminded Lily.
"Alright."
"I'm going to see if they packed yet," said Lily.
"I'm heading to work soon," James replied.
Soon as Lily walked through the door James hung his head, wrapping his hands around his neck. He couldn't believe this was happening. He pinched himself, hoping it wasn't real. He wasn't asleep, but the nightmare didn't end. His mind was blank. He sat, frozen, while fifteen minutes vanished, and then, realizing the time, apparated to work.
The day ticked by so slowly. James stared the clock for long periods of time. Today was Monday, report filing day, when the Aurors reviewed cold cases. It was his least favourite day, even when he could think about anything other than Lily for ten seconds at a time. It was unusually quiet in the office today, because Sirius was out this week. He had gone camping with his kids and Emmeline.
"Earth to James. I need your opinion on a theory about a cold case." Frank waved a file in front of James's face.
"Can't you ask Alice?" James asked distantly.
"First off, she has her own reports to review, and secondly she isn't going to be objective," said Frank.
"What's the theory and which case?" asked James.
"Sally Bones. I've been going over the evidence for the past few hours. I think we have enough to charge Travers with her murder. I know he's already in Azkaban. But it would give her family some peace of mind," Frank explained. "What do you think?"
"It's very possible. We caught him at the scene of the McKinnon attack. Edgar and Sally weren't that far from the McKinnons." said James "But honestly, it isn't going to give Edgar much comfort. It didn't give Marlene any comfort knowing Travers was in Azkaban, but it's worth a shot. Why don't you talk to Kingsley about re-opening it?"
Frank walked off hesitantly. It didn't take a genius to figure out that James was not himself. He was usually a manic on Mondays, going through at least a hundred cases, but it was already mid-day and it looked like he had barely gotten twenty done. Frank decided to deal with the younger Auror after he got this case opened.
James' stomach turned as he read the report about the attack on Dorcas Lupin a few days ago. Dorcas ended up on top in the duel, but she came close to losing her life. He remembered Remus calling him at three in the morning, worried because Dorcas was two hours late from work. He didn't know why they had given this report to him for review. It certainly wasn't because he was impartial. Howell had to know that this was the wife of one of his best friends.
"Potter! I need that report for the Lupin case!" barked Bartemius Crouch.
James quickly signed the report and held it up for the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Bartemius took it and brought it to the door just as Amelia Bones, the Auror in charge of the case, arrived. She took the file and flipped through it.
"Any suspects yet?" asked Amelia.
"We have a line-up tomorrow. Potter I need you in at five tomorrow morning," said Bartemius.
James groaned under his breath. That was the last thing he wanted to do, but he wasn't going to argue. This was, after all, his job. At least he didn't have to work out what he was going to do with the kids for a week.
"I'll be there. I chose to pick up this case and I don't want this to get any messier than it already is," said Amelia.
"The official line up starts at eight. We will be rounding up suspects and working with witnesses in the early morning," said Bartemius.
"May I ask why you are working down in the Auror office, sir?" asked Amelia.
"Howell had to take a few personal days due to medical reasons," stated Bartemius.
"Ah I see," said Amelia "I'll see you tomorrow, then."
"Potter, can I borrow you for a minute?" asked Bartemius. Not that James had a choice.
"Sure," he said, closing the file he had been reviewing.
The Head Auror's office was stuffy and dark. The air was thick with dust. August Howell was rarely in his office. He was one of the few heads that went into the field. When he was in the building, he was always out in the deck, the Auror cubicles, helping his Aurors whenever and whenever he could. James would miss August when he eventually retired or moved on to another department.
"I'm certain you have heard about my retirement by now," said Bartemius "A lot of people are going to be moving around. It's only expected with any new Head."
"Of course," nodded James.
"I would like to offer you the job of Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement," said Bartemius.
James rubbed his neck. Out of all the times this offer would be given to him. It was a great honour to be offered the job, especially since he wasn't even Head Auror. But he knew couldn't take it. Unlike Bartemius he had to be, no he wanted to be there for his kids. He couldn't take on even more hours, not when he was about to become a single parent.
"Before you make a decision, you should sleep on it," Bartemius continued when James failed to speak. "It's a huge opportunity, and you know how often those come up." James did know. It was an once-in-a-lifetime promotion. He still couldn't take it.
"I'll sleep on it," he agreed robotically, though he knew the answer wouldn't change.
James slumped in his chair. He looked at the giant pile of reports on his desk. He blew air out and ran a hand through his hair. He wasn't sure this day could get more stressful. He was immediately proven wrong as three men in French Aurors' uniforms walked into the office. Bartemius came out of the Head Auror's office and greeted them.
"How may I help you gentlemen?" asked Bartemius in perfect French.
"We need to speak to Mr. James Potter," said the Auror with the most decorated uniform.
"He's right here," Bartemius said leading the three men to James. He stood and extended his hand to each of them in turn.
"I'm the head of the French Magical Law Enforcement and Defence Department. The name is Simon Devereaux, but call me Simon," said the decorated Auror. His English held only a trace of an accent.
"Pleasure to meet you Simon," said James.
"This is Auror Hugo Dautin from the French Auror Department and this is the Head of the German Auror Department, Franz Kesselring," introduced Simon.
"Nice to meet you both."
"Mr. Potter have you had any contact with your sister in the past six months?" asked Hugo.
"Please call me James, Mr Potter was my father and is my uncle. My sister died in June of 1975" said James, clearing his throat.
"Well, this may be an issue," said Hugo.
"Pardon me, but why are you asking me about my dead sister?" asked James.
"We have a situation that is related to your sister," said Simon.
"We know she's very much alive, but she's unreachable to us unless we want to be fighting with one of the most powerful families in all of France," sighed Franz.
"That's impossible. I was at her funeral," said James.
"Oh no," gasped Alice, covering her mouth.
"What?" James asked. "Spill it Alice."
"Lily has been be intercepting letters from France to you. She thought it was some sort of girlfriend. I told her you wouldn't do that, but she didn't believe me," blurted Alice.
James rubbed his temples "Okay say if my sister is alive, why are you here?"
"We found her youngest daughter near the border of Germany and France in a coma caused by a very potent Draught of Living Death. We believe this was due to an issue with the legitimacy of the girl. French families will do anything to keep the family line clean, most will kill an illegitimate child, but they did not kill her or they tried and failed. From what we gathered, someone staged it to look like she was dead. There was a letter that explains that we must give her to the closest next of kin. Without any information on her father, that leaves you," Simon said, choosing his words delicately.
Alice was the first to go up to James trying to break him out of his comatose shock. She was close friends with James's sister, Jennifer, who had been in Frank's year. Alice was nearly as shocked as James, but she knew Jennifer would tell her to stop acting like such a pansy and get on with it. She certainly was going to help however she could. She owed Jennifer that much.
"How old is she?" asked Alice "I was – or am – a close friend of Jennifer's."
"Alice Longbottom?" asked Hugo.
"Yeah," said Alice staring uneasily at the Frenchman.
"Mrs. Voclain had you listed on the birth certificate of her youngest child as godmother," said Hugo.
"I didn't even know she had one child let alone a youngest daughter. She vanished right after her graduation. We all assumed she was dead," Alice admitted, trying not to yell and swear at her absent friend for being so secretive in the first place.
"How old is she?" interrupted James, finally focusing again.
"She's nine," Simon answered.
"I can't see my sister faking her death to go marry some guy in France just to cheat on him" James said, clearing his throat again.
"It's not uncommon for pureblood families in France to have affairs. Most are fairly open about it. The more affairs you have, the higher your status. It's only a problem if a man raises a child in a family the child doesn't belong to by blood or adoption," Simon explained.
"A former lover in Germany was able to tell us it was an arranged marriage. It wasn't one either party really had a choice, some sort of ancient contract. It may have been easier to have you think she was dead," offered Franz.
James shook his head firmly. "My parents wouldn't do that. They were strongly against arranged marriages and would have found a way to break the contract."
"Mr. Potter, we are not here to cause trouble. We are just doing our job. We are just giving you the information if you want to research it that is your choice," said Simon.
"You have no idea who her father is?" asked James.
"Her birth certificate is from Ireland so we are assuming her father may be somewhere in the United Kingdom or Ireland," said Simon.
"What is her name?" pried Alice. "I might be able to narrow it down."
"Bridget Alana," said Hugo.
Alice's eyes sparked right away at the Irish middle name. It sounded like Jennifer chose the first name, so it was likely the father would have chosen it. If that was the case, she had a good idea who he was. Marcus McKinnon. She remembered having a lot of double dates with them, before the war started. She was happy she had some idea, but at the same point it was depressing. She knew she had to tell them her suspicions.
"One person comes to mind. The only Irish family she would have ever gotten involved with was the McKinnons. I can't say which one of the boys it would have been. But they were all murdered during the war," said Alice uncomfortably, thinking about to the McKinnons. Their clan had been almost completely annihilated.
"What! My sister was dating one of them!"
"I know she was back at Hogwarts, but I don't know if they stayed together," said Alice, raising her hands defensively. "Frank, the last time you spoke the any of the McKinnons, did they ask about Jennifer?" she demanded of her husband.
"That was nine years ago, Alice."
"Just answer the damn question!"
"Calm down sparky. The last time I visited they were all quite anxious. Marcus kept wandering off a lot, come to think of it. They all were quiet, as if they were hiding something. I assumed they were all worried about the activity nearby," said Frank trying to remember.
"Don't call me sparky," growled Alice.
Frank backed away several strides away, withdrawing the arm he had been about to wrap around his wife. He quite liked his arm and knew that she really wasn't in the mood. Not that he could blame her. He was upset too. He and Jennifer were in the same year, and had spent a lot of time working together on classes. He was angry that she was alive all this time. The pain she put James and Alice through was unforgivable. He was angrier with Lily for taking the letters. Knowing his best friend was alive changed so much.
"Would Marlene know?" asked James.
"Maybe, but I'm not sure it's a good idea to bring up her family. Remember what happened when Sirius mentioned them last Christmas," warned Alice.
"But she might do it for possible family," James countered.
"Marlene works down in the Obliviator Headquarters. She should be in the office today," said Alice.
"We will go there next," said Franz.
"She isn't going to like talking about her family. She doesn't react well to talking about them," warned James.
"I'm sure we can handle it," said Hugo.
Simon cleared his throat to silence the cocky Aurors. He knew better then to underestimate the power of grief. He may have not been on the front of the war, but he had to tell plenty of people that had family here they were dead or missing, unlike his younger colleagues, who were still just kids back then. He had more important things to talk about than whether to talk to a grieving witch. They would have to, now, anyway. Hugo and Franz left to be the bearer of good news to the young girl. Simon however had a job to do. He did care about the girl, but he also wanted to take down that family. He refused to give up after his son got into a fight with one of their boys and the next morning his son was found dead. He couldn't prove they killed him, but he had a chance to get them now.
"We have transferred Miss Potter to St. Mungo's. She's awake and stable but very uncooperative. We have Aurors guarding the room in case someone finds out they didn't actual kill her," said Simon passing James a thick file of medical reports and official records.
The foreign Aurors left to go talk to Marlene and for St. Mungo's. Everyone who knew Marlene gave them all the luck they could, knowing how Marlene was when it came to discussing her family. James watched in awe as the files disappeared from his desk. Between Frank, Alice and Amelia the file vanished. All three of the Aurors had extensive piles of their own to go through, but all three felt empathy for James.
Without a word, the rest of the people in the office split up James's work leaving nothing at his desk. James didn't have the words for his co-workers or Bartemius to thank them. He took off and headed to St. Mungo's, hoping not to see Lily. He couldn't deal with her right now.
Instead of waiting in line for ages a German Auror was waiting for him. James had no idea what to say. He was rusty on his French and knew not even a small amount of German. There was an awkward pause until James showed his Ministry of Magic identity card.
"Mr. Potter follow me to Miss Bridget," said the German Auror solemnly.
James felt the air being sucked right out of him as he looked at the young girl, lying in bed, reading a book. The two Aurors that had been in the room quickly dismissed themselves to the hallway. He wasn't sure what was more shocking to him: the fact she existed or how much she looked like Marlene.
"Bridget?" said James his voice cracking a bit as her blue eyes met his, the same eyes his sister had.
Bridget looked up and closed her book, but didn't say a word. She ran her hand up and down the cover and binding of the book. Her eyes would dart from James to the book, never holding his gaze for long.
"Do you know who I am?" asked James.
A firm shake of the head confirmed Bridget had no idea. Not that James had suspected she would have no idea who he was if he didn't even know she existed. It was taking a lot of effort for James to find the words he wanted to say.
"I'm your uncle James. I know we've never met before. I didn't know you existed until today," said James stepping closer.
Bridget started to rub her wrists, looking around more rapidly, as though trying to find a way out. James backed up again seeing that he was not welcomed any closer. She stopped rubbing her wrists and went back to staring at the book.
"You know we aren't a whole lot different. I was in the hospital a lot as a kid and I know how scary it is. I also love your mum and I know you do too. I'm also really confused and scared. It's okay to be scared," said James, using the same tone he'd use with Posey when she was scared of something.
Bridget ignored him, picking up the book again, and seemed to go off into her own world. She would glance up, but that was all she would do. James would have known the book anywhere: Alice in Wonderland. It looked to be Jennifer's copy. It had been her favourite book when they were little. She kept it impeccable shape, refusing to let James touch it on his own even as a teenager. James heard it at least two hundred times from his mother, and another two hundred times from Jennifer reading to him before he could read.
"Your mother loved that book, too," said James.
"She used to read it to me," mumbled Bridget in French.
It became obvious James didn't know French after several long, awkward minutes. Bridget rubbed her temples. No one was saying anything while they tried to figure out how to communicate.
"I'm sorry my French is rusty," James offered.
"I zaid she read it to me," said Bridget in a thick French accent.
"She used to read it to me, too, before I could read. She loved to read," said James.
"She still doez. I know they are trying to protect me, but I do not speak English well. I just want to go home, but I cannot. I have no home," said Bridget.
"You'll learn English. You have cousins, your great-uncle, and myself, not mention all the friends of your mother. You are not alone. I'm going through something scary too. We can get through it together," said James, seating himself at the table. He had no idea what to tell her about Marlene yet.
"You do not understand. Everyone I care about dies or goes away. Je détruis – I destroy all of zeir lives," said Bridget, tears forming in her eyes.
"That's not true. Don't think like that, you're too young for that. Listen to me, live for now and let the adults deal with the grown-up stuff," said James, his blood boiling.
"I do not know 'ow to think different," Bridget sniffled, looking down at the book.
"You'll learn. Here in England you are a kid. A child. You don't have to worry about keeping a pureblood image, or have any responsibility. Your only responsibility is to have fun," said James.
Bridget let James join her eventually, and he read to her from the book. She curled up into his side, falling asleep, and leaving him to think. No one else ever stopped by the entire night.
He wasn't sure if he was angry, sad, or scared. The lines between the emotions were blurred.
He was just so confused.
He was angry at his parents for making him think his sister was dead. He was angry that Jennifer let them, and even more-so that she would do this to an innocent child, who didn't ask for any of this. He was angry about Lily and the letters and… everything. Why did she have to choose today, of all days?
He had missed so much of Bridget's life, not to mention Jennifer's older kids – he didn't even know their names, let alone their ages, and that was killing him. If he could go back in time he would have taken Bridget away a long time ago so she could have just been a normal kid not some pureblood socialite, in danger of being murdered by her own family.
He didn't know how he was going to take care of three kids. He didn't know how he was going to be a single father. It was obvious to him that he had already screwed up in his marriage somewhere. He couldn't stand to screw up being a dad too. He didn't want to screw up any more.
And on top of all that, hardly worth mentioning, he had to be back at work at five in the morning, to help with a case he wanted no part of, and to turn down a promotion that he would likely never be offered again.
James was really growing to hate Mondays. Not like he didn't hate them before today.
Author's Note: Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it.
Updated 12/7/15
Beta Reader: LeighaGreene
Thanks for all the help even when it seemed like I was going to quit.