Disclaimer – I do Not Own Harry Potter
Destiny of the Phoenix
Chapter Nine – Lack of sleep
Harry rolled over and tried to escape the EVIL rays that were breaking through the gap in his curtains, torture.
Harry finally gave up on his losing battle and tried to roll out of bed, unfortunately he underestimated how close he was to the edge of the bed so he literally rolled out, straight onto the floor.
He stayed there laying face first on the floor for several seconds muttering certain non-English dictionary words to himself.
"You know as your father I should ground you or even wash your mouth out with soap young man, but I am your father and not your mother so all I'm going to say to you is….don't let your mother hear to say that or your mouth will taste like soap",
Harry sat up and glared at his father who was leaning casually against a wall, but the effect was kind of ruined seeing he couldn't even untangle himself from his covers. Eventually his wise cracking dad took pity on his son and helped him out.
After composing himself he looked at James and realised he had big purple bags under his eyes that implied hadn't slept at all and he was still wearing the same clothes from the day before. Harry's forehead creased into a frown while he studied his father while the elder Potter clearly looked uncomfortable while under his son's scrutiny.
After several minutes had passed and James still hadn't said anything Harry released a sign and finally made the first move,
"Why do you look like hell?" James Potter laughed at his sons subtly, but answered non-the-less. "Because I haven't slept".
"And why haven't you slept?" He asked,
"Because you told me last night that Sirius was dead".
Harry's stomach plummeted with his dads words and his knees gave way so he ended up falling on the bed "I don't remember telling you that" he said in a weak voice.
"Harry kiddo it's not possible that's he's dead, because if he was then he would be here with us".
"He died because of me", Came his son's voice so quiet he had to strain to hear him. Harry seemed to be in a world of his own and didn't hear his dads last comment. James felt his heart go cold with those words,
"What?" He hissed out "How could it have possibly been your fault?"
"He fell into the veil when he followed me to the department of mysteries" He told his dad.
"What the hell were you doing in the department of mysteries?" he asked after hearing his sons answer, he had heard about the veil of course him and Sirius had found it in the book while trying to find new pranks that could pull on the Slytherins. At the time they had both found it fascinating but Remus had not shared their opinion and found it morbid, but read the passage anyway.
"Voldemort sent me a fake vision of him torturing Sirius down in the prophesy room, I of course being the idiot that I am ignored Hermione and flew down there to save him funny hey because I only managed to get him killed", he ended in a somewhat bitter tone.
James stared at him son in total shock, hearing his son confess to killing his best friend does leave a man somewhat speech-less. Eventually though he managed to activate his voice box and asked how his son's godfather managed to fall in the veil.
"He was duelling with Bellatrix and she managed to get him with a stunner", His son's voice was quiet and small, and he was still staring at his feet.
James heart broke when he heard the pain in his sons voice and he moved at sat next to him on the bed, After wrapping an arm around Harry's shoulders he asked him the million dollar question "And how is that your fault?".
Harry's head snapped up to his father, "WHAT" he shouted, "HOW IS IT MY FAULT YOU ASK, WELL LET ME TELL YOU, I WAS AN IDIOT, I BELIEVED VOLDEMORT, I WAS STUPID ENOUGH TO GET TRICKED INTO GOING DOWN TO THE MINISTRY, I PUT MY LIFE AND MY FRIEND'S LIVE'S IN DANGER, I HAD THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX HAVE TO COME AND GET US OUT OF IT THEY HAD TO FIGHT WITH THE DEATH EATERS, WHERE SIRIUS GOT KILLED. It's my fault he had to go down to the Department of Mysteries, therefore it's my fault he's d…dead", Harry was embarrassed to hear his voice break in front of his father, he didnt want him thinking that he was soft.
"Under no means what happened to Sirius your fault kid, Sirius chose to go to the ministry that night and it was Bellatrix who made him fall into that veil NOT YOU, do you understand me?"
"He wouldn't have gone to the ministry though if I hadn't have been so stupid as to believe what Voldemort sent me",
"No way Harry, how was you supposed to know that Voldemort could send you false visions?"
James watched in satisfaction the acceptance that shone through Harry's eyes, he could almost see the guilt lift from his son's shoulders, too emotional to form words Harry just nodded at his father.
"Come on son I want to go read something quickly."
"Ok I just want to get dressed" came his kids reply.
James smiled and ruffled his son's hair, "I'll just be outside"
Two Minutes later Harry walked out of his room, wearing jeans and a t-shirt that he had found on the chest of draws, he saw his dad casually leaning against the wall opposite his door.
"Follow me", he declared before adopting a military march down the hall way.
Eventually he stopped outside a room that Harry had yet to go in, "This my child is THE dun dun dun….Library" he announced, while rolling his eyes he leaned forward and whispered "Your mother's idea not mine, I wanted a quidditch pitch"
Harry screwed up his eyes in confusion how could you fit a quidditch pitch inside a normal sized house, but all his questions were answered when he walked into the room. Harry gasped in shock at the size of the room; it was easily 3 times bigger than the library at Hogwarts, with big glass windows and towering bookcases which were filled to the brim with old dusty books.
Even though Harry was not exactly a fan of library's he couldn't help but be amazed.
"Hermione would die to come here" he spoke almost a whisper.
James smiled at the affectionate tone Harry used when he spoke of his friend. It reminded him of himself and how he used to speak about Remus, Sirius and Peter.
Thinking of Sirius brought his mind back on track. "Come-on kiddo lets find that book"
James led Harry deeper into the library. As Harry followed his dad he glanced at the books he was passing 'The History of the Cannons' , 'How to grow a mandrake', 'The myth of the Elementals' For some reason the last book caught Harry's attention but his dad was still moving so he chose to keep-up.
Eventually his dad stopped at an aisle, he starting looking at the row of books in front of him, before cursing and dragging a sliding ladder across the front of the shelves. He then climbed up and up but he had to keep going when he couldn't find the book he was looking for.
Harry watched amused as his dad huffed and puffed until he reached the top of the shelves.
"AHA" came his triumphant yell as he pulled a book of the shelf.
His dad slid down the ladder to meet his son at the bottom. They both sat on the floor.
James opened the book and flicked through the chapters talking to himself the whole time, Harry recognized the book as 'Magical Artefacts of all the centuries', It was the same book that Hermione read to him, it was about someone called Parfat or something.
"AHA" James shouted for the second time that morning already.
"Read it to yourself dad I've already read it"
James smiled at his son before proceeding to read the passage tilted very creatively, James thought, with a sarcastic snort, THE VEIL:-
'Discovered by an explorer by the name of Lee Parfitt in the 14th Century, in the mansion of defeated Dark Lord Adrienne.
Parfitt kept the veil as a attraction in his own home, he started researching it when one of his house elves was forced to walk through and didn't come out the other side. Eventually during a dinner party where he was entertaining several guests from the ministry of magic, he was quite intoxicated with the finest wine, and decided to secure himself with a rope and handed it to his dinner guests, then proceed to walk straight into the veil. The guests waited 10 minutes then became worried with the whereabouts of their host before puling the rope, the rope came back but Parfitt was no where to be seen, quite worried the minister of magic himself called for his old friend through the black curtain but received no reply. Parfitt was signed of as dead and the veil was handed to the ministry of magic. It was used as a death sentence inducer for criminals before the death sentence was ruled out and frowned upon in Britain, therefore Azkaban was built, and the veil was sent to the Department of Mysteries where it still is held and researched by the unspeakables, but as of yet it is still classified as unknown'
But it is thought that the unfortunate persons who somehow end up in the veil die.
But one enthusiastic unspeakable who claimed he was a seer, stated that the persons in the veil get trapped there, unable to return to the world of the living but also unable to cross the line to the afterlife, they are neither here nor there, they just exist. That place is called Limbo.
James immediately felt sick, knowing that his best friend was doomed to that fate; Sirius didn't deserve that at all. Why did bad things always happen to good people?
James shook his head to break out of his musing; he had to think of Harry.
James looked up to see green orbs staring intently into his they almost look like they were glowing, "Don't worry about me, think about Sirius" He heard Harry say.
James looked at his son in shock "How'd you know that's what I was thinking?"
Harry raised both his eyebrows and looked at his dad like he as going mad. "You weren't thinking it you said it out loud I heard you"
Now it was James's turn to look at Harry like he was dressed in a chicken outfit.
"No I haven't said anything, kid"
"What? Really? How come I heard you then?" Harry asked his eyebrows still raised. "You really need to get some sleep!"
James chuckled and ran his hand through his hair "Yeah I supposed I do, come on lets go find your mum".
James followed Harry back through the entrance of the library, still unable to shake the feeling that something weird was going on.
Thanks for reading, stay tuned!
