Disclaimer: JKR owns all characters; I just wish I did so I could be as rich and famous as her :p
A/N: Part of this chapter was taken, (but slightly reworded) from Order of the Phoenix
Please R&R means a lot.
Chapter 4: It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better
"He's getting worse isn't he?"
"He just mopes around. He hardly talks to his friends. Molly is getting quite worried. I think she's putting it down to the hearing, I still can't believe Harry and Dudley were attacked by dementors. In Surrey of all places. I mean, it's not exactly the most glamorous place in England is it?"
When this had happened, it was all James could do to hold his wife back. She didn't speak to him for three weeks after this. She refused even to look at him, and even though it hurt, James knew she had to work it out in her own head first.
"Don't you care? He was attacked by dementors and you hold me back. How could you? He is your son!" She had screamed at him before running away from him. It had been a tense few weeks, but finally, she realised if Harry was going to fulfil the prophecy, he wouldn't want to see her just yet. It would only distract him from the task at hand. Harry was good at being distracted, (especially when it came to homework) Lily almost laughed at that thought. Almost.
She slumped, hiding from view behind her favourite rock. She felt like screaming at the injustice. Her son, barely fifteen, the saviour of the wizarding world. Why should Harry have to carry this burden alone? Could a grown man shoulder this sort of responsibility? Probably not, she thought to herself. But yet her son, her fifteen year old son was carrying the burden and coping with the responsibility that came with it.
Lily and James made their way to the pools edge and watched silently as Harry's hearing proceeded. They looked at each other in horror when they realised where their son's hearing was being conducted. James heard a sigh of relief from Lily when they saw Dumbledore enter the chamber to defend Harry.
"I wish I could hex Fudge." Lily snarled under her breath.
James laughed at his wife's comment but stopped when she threw him a filthy look. She always did have a fiery temper. Secretly, James was pleased with Lily's comment, but was glad she couldn't carry out her threat.
They watched as the hearing unfolded. Lily hissed in disbelief at some of the lines of questioning being thrown at Harry. If it had been anyone but Harry, that person would be sure to get away with it but because it was Harry... The injustice of it irked Lily. James swelled with pride when he heard about Harry's patronus. They both sighed with relief when Harry was cleared. James looked at Lily and said
"Fudge did not want that to happen."
"I know, do you think it had anything to do with what happened after the tournament?"
"Almost certainly. I can't see Harry having an easy time of it this year. I reckon his life will be made a living hell because he got off."
James and Lily looked at each other and James nodded.
Lily sighed. She watched as Harry filled Arthur Weasley in on what happened inside Courtroom 10. Arthur looked on in disbelief as the Wizengamot filed out. Harry followed Arthur slowly to the Atrium. Lily watched as Harry paused at the fountain of the Magical Brethren and emptied his money bag into it.
"Such a generous boy." She whispered.
James heard her comment and smiled.
They watched the celebrations that took place inside 12 Grimmauld Place. James noticed how despondent Sirius was and he mentioned it to Lily.
"I don't blame him. I suppose that in the back of his mind he was hoping Harry would be expelled so he could have lived with Sirius. Oh well, he'll just have to get over it won't he?"
"I know Lily, but it can't help matters with Snivellus acting so smug around him, can it?"
"James!" Lily reprimanded, trying not to laugh.
They watched through out the school year. Lily was growing angrier by the day at Harry's treatment at the hands of Umbridge. Everyone watching couldn't believe anyone could be so blind when it came to Fudge. Even though Harry should have respected his professors, Lily was pleased with Harry for not backing down, even in the face of humiliation and ridicule. James was prouder still at the formation of the DA.
"It's the sort of thing I would have done," he said to his dad. "There is no way I would have stood for those "lessons" I mean, what is the point? They might as well paint a target on the kids."
It came to pass that throughout the school year Lily only wanted to go to Harry two or three times instead of the usual hundred. She was content in the knowledge that her son was becoming a very powerful wizard. She watched in pride as Harry sat his DADA OWL. She no longer felt the need to watch everyday though, she was happy that, despite Umbridge, her son was safe. Well, as safe as anyone could be in those difficult times.
Someone else was using the pool on the day of Harry's History of Magic exam, but if she had been watching, she would have gone to him without thinking of the consequences. She wandered over to the pool. Anna was watching her daughter perform in a school play. Anna looked back at lily and said,
"They grow up so fast don't they?" Tears were flowing down her cheeks. Lily hugged her.
"I know, one minute they're infants, and the next…"
"Just look at your Harry, he is a fine example."
Lily sighed. Her son wasn't a child anymore. He had also faced more in his childhood than most people face in their whole life. She left Anna watching her daughter and went to find James. She walked slowly, breathing in deeply the fragrant air. She wandered towards the lake. James, she knew, would probably be there. She paused to smell the roses and honeysuckle that were blooming at the lakeside.
As she looked up she saw James standing at the top of the hill. A smile swept across her face as she walked slowly up the hill towards him.
"James."
He didn't even look around at her. He carried on staring into the next valley.
"James, honey, what's…"
She stopped next to him. She followed his gaze and she gasped.
"Sirius!"