CHAPTER 3
"Harry's 'letter' came in the mail today."
The way she said 'letter' made James' stomach churn. He'd been dreading this day, but knew it was inevitable. Lily shoved a piece of parchment in his face. Across the top in black letters, it read: HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY: A RE-EDUCATION FOR THE POTENTIALLY DISLOYAL. He blanched. It had only been a few years since Voldemort had wrested control of the magical world of Britain from the Ministry, and already it was a terrible place to be. Particularly for any who had opposed him, or even voiced opinion against him. Despite his dreadful longing to go and fight, James was also secretly glad that Professor Dumbledore had reasoned with him to leave the wizarding world behind. There was no doubt in James' mind that by choosing a boring Muggle life on Privet Drive, he'd saved not only his own life but the lives of Lily and Harry as well. Nonetheless, witnessing (albeit at a distance) the fall of Great Britain into the hands of dark wizards was a devastating blow to him. He really hadn't been his same self since. And now, losing Harry to that horrid school...
James had so many fond memories of Hogwarts, he couldn't even begin to number them. Not to mention that that's where he had met Lily. All of the school's wonder and glory had since been lost to darkness. After Voldemort had cemented his power, he'd turned Hogwarts into a school of 're-education', where he'd already sent several years' worth of students to become loyal. They would be taught magic, of course, but it would come along with a healthy dose of teaching about the dark arts. Not defense against them, mind you, but they'd be taught to actually wield them. To do terrible things, all in the name of You-Know-Who. James hated that everyone else called him by that name, but the arrogant fool had actually decreed it. None were worthy any longer to speak his name unless they were speaking directly with him. And if they were caught, the penalties were... Severe.
He had thought that as soon as Voldemort took over, he'd have shut down Hogwarts. Who knew why he'd allowed it to keep running? The teachers were all different, likely. Replaced with ones loyal to the Dark Lord, obviously. Judging from the letterhead though, it looked as though Voldemort wasn't so interested in teaching magic as he was in making sure everyone obeyed him. Perhaps he didn't have as many fans as he'd always made it seem? It felt like a terrible risk though, putting all the disloyals together in one place... Maybe it was to keep everyone tucked away where he could keep an eye on them? A sort of concentration camp, then. James shuddered at the thought. The worst of it was that he couldn't prevent Harry from going. You see, the "acceptance" letter wasn't really that at all. It was more of a summons. And he'd already received an owl warning him not to ignore the letter. Turns out that by the same magic by which the letters used to be able to find a student anywhere they went, they could also find the ones who had decided not to attend. Those who didn't go were dragged off to the school anyway in the middle of the night. Such a horrible thought.
But the real question of all of it was "Why?" For the life of him, James could not understand what Voldemort would want with a school full of muggle-borns and malcontents. It was a puzzle that followed him into sleep that night, where he slept fitfully and dreamed nightmares in which legions of dementors showed up on Privet Drive to take Harry away to Hogwarts.