Beta: Mrs. ThorfinnRowle
Chapter 2 – A Father's Dilemma
James Potter was troubled. All his life, he had placed immense faith in his intuitions and they had yet to disappoint him. It was his instincts that had flourished his school career as a troublemaker and it was the same instincts which had later helped him become a prominent Auror. And right now those very instincts were telling him that something big was coming and it somehow involved his son, Harry.
Harry, his only son, was the person that James valued above everything else in his life. Currently, James had this intuition that something huge was about to happen to his son, something that was going to change his life. And that was the reason why he was now pacing in the newly furnished lounge of 12, Grimmauld Place on Halloween night.
"Stop trying to wear a hole in the carpet, Prongs! It's brand new, you know."
He was so lost in his thoughts that James did not hear his best friend and partner at work, Sirius Black, which was Lord Black now, come inside the room. He couldn't help narrowing his eyes at the happy mood of his best friend. James had known the man long enough to tell that this self-satisfied smile never bode well for anyone involved.
"Why are you looking so happy? Tell me what you did this time, Padfoot! I'm in no mood for a prank right now." James all but screamed at his friend, whose eyes grew wider by James's every word.
"Hell, what's got you in this bloody mood? Relax, Prongsy! Here, take a sip. God, I didn't know looking happy is a crime for me now!" Sirius said, waving his wand and handing him a conjured cup of FireWhiskey, something the man always kept ready for emergencies like this. It was just one of the many strange habits of the quirky man.
James finished the drink in a single gulp and fixed him with a sharp look. "Well?"
"Nothing, man! I did nothing worth that look at all. Look, I just had a talk with the little Prongslet and was simply feeling proud of him. That's all, I swear!" Sirius explained, throwing both his hands in the air in apparent exasperation.
Sirius did love his godson to a fault, which only made him try to spoil the boy silly˗ much to James's dismay. Not that James himself was entirely innocent of that crime, but they were both lucky that Harry was never the kind of boy who took after their pranking ways. He did join them on adventures occasionally, but there was always a strong principled side of his mother present in him. It made sense that his godfather was in a good mood after talking to Harry, so James took a deep breath and took a chair by the fireplace.
"What did Harry do this time round to make you so proud, Padfoot?" James asked, concern still lacing his voice.
"Hey, I don't know what's suddenly got into you tonight, Prongs. Harry is a seventh year at Hogwarts this year, and he is of age now. Besides, he has grown up into a pretty responsible kid, despite all my efforts to turn him into a marauder. Too much of his mother in him, I suppose! But, I really don't think you should use that tone for him." Sirius spoke up defiantly, in what he thought was in defense of his godson.
James sighed. "I am just worried about Harry, mate. It's just this feeling that I can't seem to shake that something big is about to happen."
Sirius sat down in the adjacent chair and put a comforting arm around his distressed best friend. "Well, something big is about to happen all right. Harry told me he has put his name into the Goblet of Fire. But that doesn't mean you have something to worry about, Prongs. Besides it's Samhain today. I understand why you might be in this mood. Lily!"
James shut his eyes as the memories of his beloved wife overwhelmed him. It had been two years since she died and James still felt that he wasn't ready to accept that fact yet. Why should he, when he could still see her smiling proudly whenever Harry caught the snitch in a new record time, and still hear her laugh at Padfoot's crazy adventure ideas, still feel her in his arms every time he went to sleep.
"Hey Prongs, mate? I know that Halloween is a hard time to be around, but think about Harry, okay? He seemed quite excited about this Tournament when I talked to him and that's a good thing, right? He never said it himself but I could see the excitement in his eyes." Sirius told him and James was finally brought to the land of the living once again.
Harry, yes. He had to pull himself together for his son. Harry had been equally, if not more devastated by his mother's loss but the boy had locked all of his grief inside of him. Harry had been the one comforting his shattered father, when it should have been the opposite. And ever since, the already introverted boy had become even more closed. Even his favorite past-time had changed from playing Quidditch to extensively reading books, perhaps to a degree that even surpassed his mother and that was saying something!
James opened his eyes to look at the concerned Sirius. "I'm just worried about him, Sirius."
"Well, there's no real reason for you to worry then, mate! I talked to him minutes ago literally and he is perfectly fine. But if you're so worried, we can wait for him to finish dinner and then try the mirror again, alright?" Sirius asked.
"Yes, that is a brilliant idea, Sirius!" James cried, relieved.
Sirius simply rolled his eyes. "He was going to call me after the Champions are announced anyway. I made him promise me that. Also, he told me all about Headmaster Snivellus announcing the names at dinner. Hey, wouldn't it be amazing if Prongslet gets chosen to represent Hogwarts?"
"I'd rather hope he isn't. Have you not heard how dangerous the Tasks are going to be for the Tournament?" James asked him, alarmed. The Ministry had been buzzing with the talks about the upcoming tournament these days and even the Auror department was discussing eagerly about it. Surely, Sirius had heard the worst things going about the event.
"Easy there, mate! We can talk about that only after the Champions have been announced. I just don't want to cheer up for a Slytherin, that's all! Now perhaps, we should get dinner too. Kreacher!" Sirius said, summoning his ancient house-elf.
With his characteristic crack of apparition, the old house-elf appeared in front of them, looking none too pleased about being called by his master.
"Master called?" Kreacher asked in his croaky voice, managing to put his contempt in his tone. Since Sirius was the only member left of the whole Black family and also the official Head of the House, the old house-elf could not disrespect him now, however much he wanted to.
"Is dinner ready?" Sirius asked, ignoring his tone.
"Yes, Master." Came the curt reply, as if Kreacher thought the question was meant to doubt his ability to complete his own work. Looking at his best mate, James realized that Sirius was oblivious to it all.
"Great, lay it out for us here then!" Sirius ordered in a cheerful tone, pointing towards the dinner table.
"Yes, Master." That was all Kreacher replied before bowing out into thin air.
James couldn't help being uneasy throughout the meal, glancing over to the two-way mirror placed by Sirius's side, checking whether Harry had called. Finally, Sirius ended up throwing the mirror over to him, telling him 'to keep the bloody mirror with himself'. It wasn't long after the dinner when the mirror warmed up in James's hand.
"Hello, son!" James greeted the excited face of Harry, and he instantly understood what had happened. His son was never one to usually wear his emotions on his face and something huge must've happened to him to make him smile so wide.
"Hey, dad! I thought Uncle Padfoot had the mirror." Harry inquired.
"I'm right here, pup! Your father was so eager to talk to you that I gave it to him." Sirius spoke up from behind James, somehow managing to peer inside the mirror. James took out his wand and expanded the mirror, so that they both could easily look inside the mirror.
"It's actually great that I caught both of you here right now. So, the Champions were announced tonight…" Harry began, his eyes lighting up behind his glasses.
"Oh don't make your dear ol' Uncle suffer and tell us that you got selected already!" Sirius cut in, impatient as ever. James's heart almost stopped at the coming announcement.
"Yes, Uncle Padfoot! I am the Hogwarts Champion!" Harry told them, eagerly.
Sirius gave a mighty shout and started dancing, celebrating Harry's selection instantly. Harry looked happy at his godfather's reaction, but his eyes were focused on his father's face, especially on the tears that had started forming in his eyes.
"Dad?"
James shook himself out of his instinctive pride as well as worries and focused on his boy who was waiting for his father to react to his good news.
"I am proud of you, son!" James finally told him.
The radiant smile on Harry's face was enough to make James forget about the perilous Tasks that lay ahead of them and just be happy for the moment.
"So, how was Headmaster Snivellus's reaction? I bet he was sorely disappointed, but you showed him for us Prongslet!" Sirius managed to say, in between his stupid victory dance.
"I don't know, Uncle Padfoot! It's always hard to read Professor Snape at all times. But what I can say for sure is, he did'nt look happy." Harry answered.
"Yeah well, when does he ever!" was Sirius's retort.
"Perhaps we should've made more efforts to reconcile with him. He would've been more helpful to Harry otherwise." James mused. He was rewarded with a betrayed look from Sirius which made Harry cough to remind them of his presence.
"Now, tell me every little thing, Prongslet! What ever happened tonight in the Great Hall, and don't you leave any details. Come on! A Marauder's son doesn't become the Hogwarts Champion every day!" Sirius said, turning his attention to Harry.
"Okay, so we had this delicious feast tonight, grander than the usual Halloween Feast. There were so many foreign delicacies like this French…."
"Harry James Potter! You very well know what I want to know about! Enough with the fancy treats and toffees tell me what all happened after the Halloween Feast ended." Sirius huffed impatiently.
Harry gave a knowing smirk at his godfather's outburst before he started speaking once again.
"I didn't know you had this aversion to fancy food, Uncle Padfoot! In fact, I was under the impression that you actually liked eating." Harry deadpanned.
James couldn't help snorting at Sirius's expense. "Serves you right, mate! For rushing him like that!"
"Harry, just remember that I'm your cool godfather, who gives you access to the Black library and spill everything. Quick!" Sirius ordered, managing to sound authoritative and amusing at the same time.
Harry's eyes shone at the mention of the library and he gave a mock bow to his godfather, before replying, "As you wish, Lord Black."
"Okay, right after the Feast, when the designated twenty four hours were over, the Goblet of Fire started tossing up the names of the selected Champions one by one. You should've seen it, dad. The flames of the Goblet are usually this striking blue color but they turned red whenever a Champion was being announced." Harry explained with bright excited eyes.
"Headmaster Snape of course, announced the names one by one. First the Champion from Durmstang was announced. A student named Dimitri Krum, he is actually the younger brother of the famous Bulgarian Seeker Viktor Krum, I think." Harry recalled.
"Right, the Quidditch star! We went to the world cup where he played a few years back, didn't we?" Sirius put in.
"The very same." Harry confirmed.
"Bulgaria lost that game as I recall, but Krum had got the snitch. What really stood out for me was that seeker's perseverance. He chose to continue playing even with a broken nose. It would be unwise to underestimate someone like Krum." James mused out loud.
"Yeah, but it's his younger brother that'll be competing here. There's no telling whether the younger Krum is like his brother or not." Sirius contemplated.
"True, but he is bound to have learnt something from his brother. Given the fact that he was selected by the Goblet itself makes him a strong contender." James argued.
Before Sirius could reply however, Harry intervened.
"Dad, I'm not underestimating anyone. That's the last thing I'd do." Harry told them sincerely.
"Yeah, I know. Go on, prongslet!" Sirius urged him through the mirror.
"Fine, the next Champion to be announced was from Beauxbatons, Gabrielle Delacour. I'll admit that I don't know much about her as of now but I did read about a Delacour in the French Ministry. It's quite possible that they are related." Harry surmised.
When there were no comments from his listeners, Harry continued.
"Finally, the Hogwarts Champion was announced. You could almost taste the excitement off of the seventh years; they were all so eagerly awaiting the announcement. And then, my name was called. I think there were a lot of people disappointed by that, and the rest uncertain. Ron was shocked, that much I am certain about. I mean, I have hardly stood out at school, other than being a respectable Seeker sometime back. Anyways, I think I still got the loudest applause in the end because the students were all keen to show their support to their own school's Champion."
James could tell that Sirius was indignant after hearing the implication that Harry may not have gotten the appreciation as was expected for the Hogwarts Champion. He clutched his friend's arm hastily, stopping him from interrupting Harry again. Thankfully, Sirius held his tongue.
"Well, after the announcement was over, the Champions were all taken to another room where we were personally introduced to the three Heads of the School and the three judges of the Tournament. Then they went on to explain how we were under a magical contract and that we were now bound to participate in the Tasks." Harry finished sheepishly.
"Hm, and how they were not going to be held responsible if anything happened to you while you participate?" James asked, eyes narrowing in suspicion.
"Yeah, and that too." Harry muttered.
Before James had time to interrogate his son further about the level of difficulty involved with the Tasks, Sirius spoke up.
"Did they say anything about not asking for outside help?"
"Actually, Headmaster Snape did. But Mr. Markov, the judge that's representing the British Ministry, commented how it was traditional for the Triwizard Champions to cheat and get help." Harry replied.
"Perfect, Prongslet! That's exactly what I wanted to hear." Sirius exclaimed, happily.
"But then in his very next line, he proceeded to warn us how we were all under the watchful eyes of the Supreme Lord and that cheating was not advisable. Mr. Markov is a strange man, for sure." Harry mused aloud.
"Did you say, Mr. Markov? From the British Ministry? I don't seem to recall anyone by that name in our Ministry." James asked, racking his brains for a Ministry worker called Markov.
"Actually, Dad. Even I was curious about the man, and I had been hoping that you would know more about him. He has to be important enough to be representing our Ministry, isn't he?" Harry asked, interested.
"Hm, the name sounds familiar to me. I think it is someone from the cabinet of the Minister for Magic. How did he look, Harry? There is this really attractive guy I've seen representing the Supreme Lord sometimes in the Sacred twenty-eight meetings." Sirius spoke, his brows knitted in serious contemplation.
"Yes well, you could call him attractive. He looks to be in his twenties, or early thirties, sleek black hair and even the Headmaster seems to respect him." Harry wondered aloud.
"That'd be him, then! I've been trying to get introduced to the guy, but no luck till now!" Sirius replied, dejected.
James shoved his elbow into his chest this time, making him groan. "Harry doesn't need to know about your current fascinations, Padfoot!"
"Okay, okay. Well, Harry was the one who mentioned him, not me! Besides, there is a rumor that he's already taken." Sirius pouted, and then proceeded to add in a conspiratory whisper. "As a matter of fact, he's rumored to be the Supreme Lord's lover."
James was too shocked to hear this new piece of news. The Supreme Lord was known to be a strictly private person, but then his closest people, popularly known as the Inner Circle were bound to know some personal things about him. Potters were not included on the list of Sacred Twenty-eight families which meant that James was not privy to its meetings which were infamous for gossiping about the scandalous affairs of the pureblood families.
"Well, he has to be someone rather influential to be representing our country at the Tournament," came Harry's voice, breaking James out of his stupor. But then he could hear loud chattering in Harry's background.
"Well, looks like the students have finished the Feast and are returning to the Tower. Great chat, Dad, Uncle Padfoot! Good night." Harry called, hurriedly.
"Good night, son. Take care!" James greeted.
"Yeah, the Marauder legacy rests on your shoulders, kiddo!" Sirius finished, before the mirror turned blank again.
"Wow, I can't believe our little Prongslet is going to be the Hogwarts Champion. I have no doubt that he is going to bring us the Triwizard Cup, Prongs!" Sirius cried, slumping down onto the new couch.
James however, chose to focus on the infamously precarious nature of the Tasks that lay ahead for his son to face. He quietly reverted the mirror back to its normal size.
"It's not a Quidditch Cup, Padfoot. It's the Triwizard Cup, and it was banned centuries ago for a reason. The death toll mounted too high, you understand what that means, don't you?" James asked his friend, seriously.
Sirius's grin faltered, as he finally realized what his best friend was worried about.
"And he can't get out now even if he wanted to, isn't it?" Sirius blurted out.
"No, he can't." James confirmed.
"Well then, I guess we'll just have to make sure that Harry gets out of this unscathed. And hope that the time he has spent in the Black Library has taught him some great spells." Sirius said, miserably this time.
"Yes, all we can do for now is, hope." James sighed, agreeing with Sirius for once this night.
"But look on the bright side, Prongs! Harry has finally got something he looks genuinely interested in. I've never seen him this happy since- well, after Lily." Sirius finished, sheepishly.
Now that he thought about it, James knew that Sirius had indeed made a good point there. Harry had not shown this sort of enthusiasm for anything since Lily had died. He had built an invisible wall of defense around himself and was frankly, indifferent to any of James or Sirius's adventure plans which were meant to draw him out of his shell. Harry did go wherever they wanted him to, but it was plainly evident that he never really enjoyed himself the way he used to, before. If participating in the Triwizard Tournament was what was going to get his son to start living his life once again, then James would gladly encourage his participation and help his son win his way through it.
"I agree with you on that, Sirius. Do you think we should call on Remus?" James asked his best friend.
Sirius seemed conflicted when he answered, "I don't know, Prongs! It's not like he's an easy person to track nowadays."
James sighed. "Well, Harry can track him quite easily, whenever he wants to. They are very close, Padfoot. Don't you think Remus deserves to know about this from us, rather than from the newspapers?"
"Yes, because he gets a regular supply of newspapers for keeping track of our world? Do you think he cares what happens to the rest of the world?" Sirius retorted, bitterly.
"Hey, when are you going to let this go, Sirius? You have to forgive Moony at some point. We were the best of friends; we can't be fighting with each other for so long!" James sighed.
"Well, I'm not the one who abandoned his two remaining best friends to live off in some faraway werewolf colony. You are right, we were best of friends, and look at us now! How could he do this to us, after all we have done for him!" Sirius bit out. To this day, James was amazed by how quickly Sirius could switch his temper.
"We can't really be best friends if we start counting the things we do for each other. You can't blame him for wanting to taking care of his kind, Sirius! We both have been to some of the werewolf colonies; you have seen their condition, especially the young ones. What Remus is doing is a noble thing, something that he believes in. We have to support him in this, rather than hate him for it. Besides, he is responsible for them, now that he is their Alpha. Much like how you are for your House, after becoming the Lord of the Ancient and Noble House of Black." James told him, putting his hand around his shoulder. He had to make his friend come to terms with the truth instead of wallowing in meaningless anger and eventually sorrow.
Sirius was silent for a while, brooding over the things James had just said. His eyes caught the small mirror they had just used to talk to Harry, and his demeanor changed. "Harry has been visiting him regularly, hasn't he?"
"Yes, but he never tells me whenever he goes to visit. I wonder if he thinks I would stop him if I ever found out. But, his dirty shoes and clothes are a dead giveaway." James told him, and he gave a small smile.
"So, that's where he goes when he disappears during the holidays?" Sirius asked.
"Hey, I know that even you sneak off with him to the muggle world when I'm assigned on a solo duty, so don't try and play dumb with me, Padfoot!" James accused.
Sirius, to his credit, had the decency to at least try to look guilty. "Well, my love for the adventures the muggle world offers is no secret. And anyhow, we don't go out as often as you think we do. I'm an Auror too, if you can remember!"
"Fine, I concede that you are with me most of the time." James acceded, and then sighed. "I have no idea where Harry wanders off to most of the time, but I can never bring myself to ask. And in his defense, he always comes around. Besides, we have such busy schedules as Aurors. I can't really fault him for getting bored in an empty house."
"But, you are still worried." Sirius stated. It was not a question.
"Of course, I am. It's not like I don't trust him, Padfoot! Half the time, I come home to an empty house, I never even know where he is, or whether he's safe or not. He goes over to his muggle aunt's house too, and you know how I can't stand those people. I think the reason he never tells me is because he thinks I'll stop him from going into the muggle world or Remus. I don't want to trap him inside the house, Padfoot, he's already so closed. Lily was the one that he was close to and I know that he used to be very open with her. I never know how to bring up anything with him and how he's going to take it. But sometimes I'm just…
I simply want to be assured that he isn't in any danger whenever he disappears! The downside of being an Auror is that my mind comes up with all the worst sort of things that Harry could get into." James mumbled.
"You probably think that I've finally lost my marbles, don't you?" He asked, after Sirius remained uncharastically silent after his outburst.
"No, you are right about worrying after Harry, Prongs! He's your son; you have the right to be. Actually, you got me to think that I am presenting a bad example for Harry as his godfather. And you are right about Remus, too. I've been unjustifiably hard on him. I just need some time to sort that out." Sirius told him.
James felt a heavy burden lifting off of his shoulder. If Sirius and Remus could leave their bitterness behind, they could have their lost friend back once again. After Peter, the three of them were only left of the Marauders pack that they had when they met at Hogwarts.
"So, about this Harry's tournament… What do you suppose we should do first?" Sirius asked him.
"We could try to find out what the First Task is going to be. It has to have been planned from within the Ministry, so someone might know something that could be of use to us." James concluded.
"Hm, you're right. We should start from the Department of Magical Games and Sports, and perhaps the Department of International Magical Cooperation too." Sirius put in.
He proceeded to pour a drink for himself and James, and handed him a glass. James gladly accepted.
"Of all the Tournaments he could've chosen, Harry had to choose the worst one, didn't he?" James commented, sipping his FireWhiskey.
"What did you expect; he's the only one keeping the Marauders' legacy alive, Prongs!" Sirius replied smiling, his mood back to his cheery self.
"He is, isn't he?" James agreed.
"Actually, I also wanted to run one other thing by you." Sirius started.
"Yes, Padfoot?"James's interest rose, it wasn't everyday his best friend faltered in saying something.
"I um, I wanted to name Harry as the heir to the House of Black. You know, we are related through blood too and besides, he's actually my godson. So, it seems appropriate…" Sirius was awful at explaining things and so James took pity on his friend and cut him off.
"It's fine, Padfoot. You can save your explanations for Harry, I'm not the one you need to convince here, mate! Besides, if I know you well enough, you'd have already gone through with the paperwork even before asking me, or should I say, informing me about your decision." James eyed him, a knowing look in his eyes.
Sirius had the decency to look away. "Well, you do know me better than anyone else."
"It isn't too late to start your own family, you know?" James told him.
As he had expected, Sirius looked put out even as the idea was suggested. "I'm fine with playing around with people but family… is just something I don't want to be involved in. I have a family with my friends already and Harry is the only son I'll ever need. I'm not saying anything else on the subject."
"Well, there's no lack of beautiful witches or wizards for that matter, in our world. Lots of options for you to consider, mate. Just saying!" James teased.
"Hmm.." Sirius put on a thoughtful face, that James knew from experience was fake. "Actually, that Markov guy is quite appealing. Too bad he's already taken. Maybe Harry could introduce me to him."
"Don't involve Harry in all of this, Padfoot!" James retorted, a bit more harshly than he intended.
Sirius didn't look offended, rather satisfied. "Don't go poking your nose where it can be bitten off, Prongs!"
"Stooping this low, are we Padfoot?" James asked, annoyed.
"What's the thing those muggles say, 'Everything is fair in love and war'?" Sirius replied, cocking his eyebrow playfully as ever.
"I'm just going to let that go, only because I want both of us to be in one piece for tomorrow so that we can find out something about this Tournament of Harry's." James offered.
"Well, Markov could tell me something about the Tournament too, I can be very convincing, you know?" Sirius pouted.
James sighed. "Do you really have a death wish, Sirius? If he turns out as the rumors say, Lord Voldemort is never going to spare you."
"Yes, like I'm afraid of the old man!" Sirius snorted, and now James was suspicious that his friend was drunk now. James decided against pointing it out to him that the Supreme Lord was still in his seventies, not that old for a powerful wizard.
"Fine, just forget about Markov till the Tournament is over, okay, for Harry?" James asked.
"Yes, fine. I'll let him go for now. But not before I tell Harry what I'm sacrificing for him." Sirius replied.
James simply shook his head at his friend's antics, and then his gaze fell on the clock.
"Time to get some sleep now, Padfoot! I've got to go. Goodnight!" He called, making his way over to the fireplace.
"Hey, you can stay in the other room, mate! There's enough space here for the two of us." Sirius pointed out.
"Fine, then. I'm still going to sleep. We have to get to work tomorrow morning. Goodnight!" James said, before turning back in the direction of the second bedroom.
But Sirius had flung his arms out to him. "Carry me to my bed, Prongs?"
James couldn't help rolling his eyes. Sometimes, Sirius was more like a child than Harry ever had been. He noticed that the man's wand was lying on the table out of his reach. Inspired by a sudden idea, he whipped out his own wand, levitated his bewildered friend up in the air, floating him over the stairs behind him.
"That's not what I meant, James! Blimey, I could've used a broom if I wanted to fly!" Sirius grumbled.
James didn't reply but placed his helpless friend onto his bed in his bedroom, locked his door and left, ignoring his friend's yells calling for his wand. He was sure that come tomorrow morning, Sirius would finally think of Kreacher to bring back his wand for him. Right now, James had other things to worry about, like his son participating in a deadly tournament.