Rating: T

Genre: Angst/Family

Summary: Harry is tired of everything. Of being expected to save the world. Of expecting himself to save the world. And in the light of his fifth year, some things are about to change forever. Returnfromdead!JP

Disclaimer: It all belongs to JK… sadly…

Prologue

James smiled as his son attempted to stumble towards him. "That's it Harry!" he crowed, swooping down to pick up the toddler when he lurched forward unsteadily. "You've almost got it!"

Harry gurgled in response, hands coming up to grasp James's hair.

James eyes widened in horror. "Ugh, not the hair, Harry!" he moaned dramatically, trying to extricate his hair from the surprisingly tight grasp of his son. When that failed, he turned to his wife. "Lily," he whined, "Harry's got my hair again! Help me!"

Lily looked up from where she was seated in an armchair, reading an incredibly enormous book titled Home Life and Social Habits of British Muggles. "I see," she said amusedly, before returning to her reading.

James took offense. "That's not exactly helpful!"

"Mhmm," was his distracted response.

"I mean, honestly, Home Life and Social Habits of British Muggles? That can't be interesting!" Lily did not respond, and James turned his woe towards his son, who had yet to release his hair from the demonic hold. "Your mother is crazy," he told Harry seriously, "No one but her would read a book like that for fun."

At that, Lily replied. "It's interesting to see a wizarding perspective of it. I have, after all, first-hand experience with it and – " she stopped when she noticed the odd expression of James's face. "James?" she asked hesitantly.

James turned to her, frowning. "Something's wrong with the wards; I'm not sure – " he stopped once he realized what he was sensing. Quickly, he thrust Harry, who had let go of his hair in fright at hearing the panic in his father's voice, at his wife. "Lily, take Harry and go! It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off –"

Lily took Harry hesitantly, eyes making it clear that she wanted to stay to help James. He made a shooing motion, and reluctantly she stumbled from the room and up the stairs to the nursery. The living room door burst open.

James turned to face Voldemort, who let out a cackle of high-pitched laughter.

"James Potter," he murmured, fingering his wand slowly, "What a nice surprise."

"You bastard," James hissed, hoping to distract Voldemort; the longer he could hold him off, the more chance Lily had of escaping with Harry.

Red eyes narrowed at his daring remark. "You dare – " the monster started, before calming himself. "No matter," he brushed it off, "You'll soon be dead anyways."

"How did you get in?" James demanded. Please answer, please answer he prayed as he edged slowly away from the stairs Lily had fled up and into a more defendable position. Luckily, Voldemort took the bait.

"Why your dear friend, of course!" Voldemort exclaimed triumphantly, "He so willingly gave up the information that would cause his best friend's and family's downfall."

James felt his eyes widen, "Liar!" he snarled, "Peter would never betray us!" But even as he said it, he felt a niggling doubt in the back of his mind. How else would Voldemort have been able to get in?

"You doubt me?" Voldemort questioned, eyebrows rising in a cruel mockery of surprise. "I assure you, I do not lie. I only speak the truth, though you are too weak to hear it. Pettigrew would do anything to please his master. And he was always so jealous of you… Really, betraying you was no hard feat at all."

James felt a trickle of ice down his chest, where it pooled heavy and cold in his gut. "Bastard," he snarled again, having nothing else to say. His brain scrambled for something more to distract Voldemort, but he came up blank in light of the newest revelation.

Voldemort laughed at his distress. "Well, enough of this chit chat, though I did enjoy it." He raised his wand. "Say goodbye to this world, James Potter."

A glare of green light left his wand, and James jumped to the side as it sped through where he had previously been standing. Heart beating fast, he raised his own wand in retaliation. "Reducto! Expelliarmus! Stupefy!" he spew out, wand and mouth moving fast. All of a sudden he was unbelievably thankful for Auror training.

Voldemort cackled as he easily dodged James's spells. "Do you really think you can defeat me, Potter?"

No, he didn't, but every second he lasted against Voldemort was a second that Lily and Harry gained in their escape.

"And really," the bastard continued, "Stupefy? You can do better than that, Potter."

James glared, and released a string of curses, each more painful than the next so that shortly they were bordering on dark. Soon the two wizards were flinging spells toward each other with astonishing speed, and it was all James could do to defend himself.

Panting, he dove to the left to avoid Voldemort's crucio, but stumbled slightly when he stepped on Harry's stuffed dragon. It was a minor faltering, but it was all Voldemort needed and James let out a muffled curse as he felt a slicing hex tear an impressive gash through his left arm. The pain suitably distracted him, and he could do nothing as the next crucio hit him straight on. Unbelievable agony, sharp as hot knives, tore through his body and it took all of his enormous will power not scream. It felt like hours before Voldemort lifted the curse, and he lay there, muscles spasming and unable to move.

Voldemort delivered a nasty kick to his ribs, and James heard a distinct snapping noise. Slowly, Voldemort leaned down until his lips were at James's ears. "It was all in vain, you know," he whispered, "I put spells on the house before I came in. Your precious wife and son are trapped in the nursery. There's nothing you can do."

James felt his eyes widen in horror. "You bastard," he snarled, finding the strength to struggle as Voldemort rose back up. "You – "

James was suddenly cut off as Voldemort wandlessly sealed his mouth shut. "Let's have none of that, hmm? Very unseemly." And, once again, his wand rose, lips forming over the dreaded words. James knew without a doubt that he couldn't dodge; his arm was throbbing, his ribs were sending shooting pains through his chest, and his muscles were still shaking from the crucio. He was going to die.

Lily,Harry he though desperately. I love you. So much.

And as the green light sped towards him, he remembered the vow he had taken when he had assumed his right as the head of the Potter family after his father's death.

And when I die, I will go with honor. I will go having defended the Potter name to the best of my ability. And even though I will be gone, my protection will not fade. The family legacy will forever live on.

Harry would live. He would have to. And with him, Lily.

He had done his duty.

And with a soft thump, James Potter's head hit the floor, brown eyes staring unseeingly at the ceiling above.

~***~

AN: And there's the prologue of my new story! Cookies to the person who recognize the book Lily's reading. ^^ And I promise you that this will be different from other 'James comes back from the dead stories'. :) Not that there's enough of those out there to have become cliche...

And don't worry - the rest of the chapters will be a quite a bit longer; this is only short because it's the prologue.

So…review? Pretty please? I'd love you forever and ever and ever! :)