Hey guys! Sorry for the long wait but Cegep's being a bitch…
BIG thanks to:
Queen Diamond, Wolfawaken, Adyen, Lady Light, Captuniv, C.Rose, Cocopops, CadPig01,
Skittles the Sugar Fairy, Their love is so canon, Something Corporate, Slytherin-Ali, Tine,
Honor-Harrington1982, megan, Eve27, Strega, Kekelina, SeaMistress, Arye, Knightly,
A-Man, FlameIvyMoon, cheers, unspoiled rini, Damia-Queen of the Gypsi's, AriaL Moon,
Darkdragonhime, Jaryli, Von, ambereyes2873, Agnus Dei, Igrainne, Kylie, Cat Demon,
Max Krugman, Godric2, Dragon, Dimensional Analysis, LoOkYiTsSpAm, corinnetkn24,
GoldenStar, cheers,
Mikazuki Hime: You'll see! I can't say the answers just like that!
Great Merciful Goddess: You're completely right! It never really occurred to me. I mean, I knew, but I never thought about it. But this story is AU, is it not? So let's just skip this little detail and pretend that Cedric and Cho are in 7th year like the others. It gives the story more emotions anyway since Harry was there when Cedric got killed without any reason.
Zaxxon: You are right: Wolfsbane isn't mentioned in any potions book but it's Snape who showed Harry how to brew it. It was a necessary skill for Harry to learn in case something happened.
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The World Without Me:
Chapter 10: Down memory lane
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"I'm telling you, Sirius! You have to talk to him! He practically broke down when I spoke with him yesterday. He was so very sorry about what happened! I think he's so lonely that he hides behind a thick shell; he needs somebody to talk to. And you should really start by asking for forgiveness."
Sirius gazed at Remus incredulously. "What ever should I say sorry for!"
The Werewolf scowled at his friend. "I told you not to force the boy into anything during class but you didn't listen, as usual! It's your fault what happened yesterday in the first place!"
Sirius recoiled and sighed when his friend put some emphasis behind his reprimanding words and scowled even deeply. "All right, all right! I'll go talk to the kid as soon as I can." The animagus sighed again and simply walked away with a barely concealed sad expression.
Remus' own eyes became cheerless as he watched his long time friend walk away dejectedly. "I'm sorry Sirius, but I think that you and that boy are more alike than you think, in a way. Maybe he'll do you some good, and maybe you'll do him some good. I know I'm ready to help him no matter what people say or think of him," the golden haired man whispered to himself as he walked in a different direction.
Surprisingly, when Remus entered the Great Hall, James was already at the head table and greeting the friendly, albeit imposing half-giant.
"Who are yeh?" Hagrid asked with his big rough voice.
James, to the others' surprise, didn't step back or stare impolitely; he offered his hand with a decisive thrust and Hagrid offered his with a cautious gaze.
James shook firmly and let the large hand go with a smile. Hagrid raised an eyebrow and looked at Dumbledore, who merely shrugged and went back to speaking with Minerva.
"Hello! My name is James Evans and I'm a guest here. I was impatient to meet you! I've heard nothing but good things regarding Hagrid the Groundskeeper. I must felicitate you for having taken such a good care of your Hippogriff! I love him to death!"
Harry couldn't help the big smile that lit his entire face as he spoke to the dumbfounded and slightly blushing half-giant. Hagrid had been his first true friend in the Wizarding World and seeing him again was almost as good as seeing Sirius and Remus, and right before seeing Ron and Hermione who had been next.
"Um, thank you, Mister…um, Evans." Hagrid didn't quite know what to say to this guest who showed such an interest in his 'pets'. It was all so sudden that he stayed rooted on the spot.
The bearded man jumped slightly when the boy looked behind him and suddenly waved his hand.
"Hi Remus!"
The Werewolf, and almost all of the teachers for that matter, raised an eyebrow at James. Why was this usually somber boy so cheerful all of a sudden? Remus waved back hesitantly and a little disgruntled that it had been Hagrid and not him to make him smile like that. But something was odd about that smile, as if it didn't quite reach his eyes, or was it the eyes that were the problem? Remus shook his head to clear his puzzled thoughts and sat down at his place.
When Remus waved back James turned toward Hagrid again. "I really hope you'll be able to show me more of your beautiful creatures! I really liked Buckbeak, by the way!"
Hagrid's eyes widened and he looked at the boy carefully. "How do yeh know his name's Buckbeak? Did somebody tell yeh?"
James shook his head negatively and his eyes suddenly held a mysterious look to them. "Hmm, no. A little birdie told me." The boy chuckled slightly at Hagrid's wary expression and shook his head. "No, seriously, I would really like to see your creatures," he replied, noticeably step-siding Hagrid's question.
Hagrid seemed to forget his previous guardedness at the thought of showing his pets to someone who was really interested, and anyway, if Buckbeak really liked him he couldn't be that bad; Dumbledore also let him in so he was to be treated like a guest.
Hagrid was about to reply with a big grin when someone from the head table started to snort crudely. It turned out it was Manx, the Care of magical Creatures' professor, and Hagrid's mood became sad and withdrawn.
Manx ignored the look he received from Dumbledore and started to mock the half-giant. "I wouldn't do that if I were you, Evans. Hagrid's beasts are savage and dangerous to anyone who approaches them too much. Personally, I think that a Hippogriff is dumb and a total menace to society, like any other dark creatures in this world."
The man started to laugh again, although he was the only teacher to find this laughable. A couple of Slytherins held in their snickers but everyone gasped as Manx found himself at the ending point of a wand.
The Care of magical Creatures teacher immediately stopped laughing and looked at the dark haired teen warily while the other teachers got up swiftly and pointed their own wand toward James, who didn't even bat an eyelash and kept his eyes riveted on Manx.
The look James gave him was hostile and aggressive, the twin blue pools becoming a shade darker as he narrowed his eyes into slits and lifted his head slightly, making his long bangs fall in front of his eyes. It made him appear as an even darker wizard and Manx got up and then stuttered backwards. "Don't you point that thing at me kid!" the teacher said angrily.
James almost snarled but put his wand back in his wand holster cautiously, giving one last purely emotionlessly look at Manx. He turned around, closed his eyes and tried to regain his calm. "Next time you say this I will not stop." James started calmly; his voice was the only thing heard in the Great Hall.
No students dared to talk; that boy had threatened a teacher! A teacher! Manx snorted rudely.
"Why do you care? And what makes you think you can defeat me!"
It's at that moment that Sirius entered the Great Hall but he stopped in his tracks when he noticed the commotion and the tenseness in the atmosphere. Nobody even noticed him anyway as they stared at the front where Manx and Evans were obviously having a tumultuous exchange.
'What would make Evans so mad?' Sirius asked himself silently while looking at what was going to happen.
"Not all dark creatures are considered evil or bad, Manx. You shouldn't judge people or animals by their titles but by what they are as an individual and by their actions."
If he hadn't been inside the school Manx would have spit on the ground. "Bullshit! All dark creatures are heinous and are not worth anything! They should all be killed!" he spat in disgust.
Next thing he knew he was sliding down the wall and nursing a very painful wound on his stomach because of the Expelliarmus he received from James' quick reflexes.
The teachers didn't even have the time to stop the teen but even if they had they doubted they would have wanted to stop James.
The students gasped in shock as James finally lowered his wand; his frigid gaze, though, he maintained and aimed continuously at the winded man. "Maybe it's you who should be killed. You're outright wishing for the death of one of the faculty members of this very school, you fool. And I assure you: he's a better man than what you will ever be."
Manx gasped and gazed at Lupin discreetly; the students didn't understand why or what James was talking about. Ron turned toward Hermione and his friends and whispered curiously: "There's a cursed teacher here?" Nobody answered him as they were as clueless as him at the moment.
Remus' heart started to pound in his ribcage and it took all of his willpower no to start hyperventilating. 'Does James know what I am!' He glanced at the almost perfect copy of Sirius but James didn't spare him a look; he was too concentrated on Manx at the moment to notice anything else.
Harry was mentally happy that the guy had finally showed his true colors but he also had to refrain from wincing. His chance to gain their trust was now probably completely obliterated, but if this was the price to pay to be here and protect them he was ready to pay for it. Nobody insulted his friends, and even his family as Remus and Sirius virtually fell into that category, even if they didn't know it right now.
He walked toward the exit without looking at anyone. Sirius' heart almost stopped as the boy gave him a short sad glance and simply strolled away.
The Animagus couldn't help, for a short moment, but feel some kind of sympathy for the boy. He wasn't sure if James knew that Remus was a Werewolf –maybe he had spoken about Hagrid's half-giant status- because nobody knew this piece of information except for the teachers. They had been really careful all these years to hide Remus' tricky condition because if the students had known they would have told their parents, and then the ministry would have taken his friend away since dark creatures were considered a menace and unreliable. Many of them had already joined the Dark Lord so it didn't help Remus' difficult cause.
Sirius walked up to the head table where Manx was trying to get up with as much dignity he could muster, muttering about the boy's nerve to attack him. "Why didn't you stop him Albus!" Manx raged as he regained his footing.
Dumbledore furrowed his brow at the man. "You and I will have to have a small conversation in my office, Magnus Manx. Your behavior today was immature and you deliberately insulted a member of my faculty! As such, you will write a letter of excuse to Hagrid here whom you have publicly offended. I do not vouch for Mr. Evans' actions but he was right to stop you before it went too far. I will also have a talk with him; you do not have to worry about that."
The old headmaster omitted to mention that he had also offended Remus but he had an idea that Manx knew he would have to write not one but two letters. This didn't quite dwell right with Manx so he stalked away from the room with big heavy strides.
The teachers sat back awkwardly and Albus sighed. "Won't we ever have a normal day? Ever since Mr. Evans came here there has been nothing but more trouble."
Hagrid didn't sit down and fidgeted on his spot. "Well, I didn't think he was that bad when he presented himself ter me! I think he's a kinda nice, although very impulsive young man. I don' know where you've found him Headmaster but I like him!" the big man finished fearlessly.
Minerva found the way to chuckle weakly. "Hagrid, anyone who shows an interest to your pets, you like. It's not complicated."
The other teachers agreed and laughed lightly while Hagrid reddened. "I'll go talk ter him, if I can find him," Hagrid finally replied.
He walked beside Sirius and the Animagus stopped Hagrid, suddenly eager to help. "He went outside. If you walk fast enough you may reach him before he goes back to Hogsmeade."
The teachers gave Sirius a weird look but he ignored them. "Talk to him if you wish; I don't think he'll willingly attend Transfiguration this morning. Tell him there's Divination this afternoon if he feels like it and to not go back to the village immediately afterward. I would like to speak to him."
Hagrid nodded at Sirius thankfully and silently marched away.
………
When Hagrid finally caught up with James, he was surprised to find the boy standing near his hut and chatting mindlessly with Buckbeak. When the Hippogriff saw his owner he squawked happily and strolled to Hagrid, butting his head to be petted and fed. "I think he likes yeh!" Hagrid said out of the blue, breaking off the ice between them.
James gave a sad smile and sat down on the stairs of Hagrid's hut even though they were cold from the temperature. "Well he also likes you. I can tell you take good care of your animals. Do you have any more?"
Hagrid nodded enthusiastically and nearly pulled James' arm off to guide him to his animal pen. "Look! I have three Blast-Ended Skrewts! Aren't they adorable?" the childish half-giant asked with a jovial expression.
James chuckled nervously as he jumped away from a ball of fire thrown in his direction. "Yeah…adorable."
Hagrid nodded fervently and pushed him to the next pen with a renewed fervor; it wasn't everyday someone actually asked him to show his pets to them and not running away as soon as he saw the creatures.
As Hagrid showed the second enclosure, a big dog ran to him and barked happily. The half-giant laughed heartily and petted it enthusiastically. "Look James! This here is Fang! He's my Boarhound, he is! Say hello to James, Fang!"
The huge dog approached the dark haired boy and Hagrid told him not to be afraid. He didn't need to warn James, however, because the teen never backed away. "Hi Fang!" Harry put his hands in front of the dog's muzzle and Fang sniffed him out, whined almost in pity and licked the offered hands. Harry briefly wondered if the dog knew who he was but Fang wouldn't be the one to tell anyone.
"Good boy." He petted the Boarhound and Fang sauntered away, chasing after an errant Bowtruckle. Hagrid was happy that Fang liked the boy and he incited James to continue the visit.
"These here are Flobberworms and I hope you already know what is in that cage?"
James nodded. "It's a Cornish Pixie. I kind of have a not so pleasant memory of them from my second year."
Hagrid looked thoughtful for a moment and he nodded to himself, making Harry wonder what he was up to. "James, yeh don't have any prejudices against any creatures considered to be dark, do yeh?"
James shook his head negatively and gave Hagrid a curious look. "Not really. They can't fight against what they are; it's in their nature and we can't change a thing about it. Personally, I've been in the presence of many throughout the past years: it wasn't easy everyday but I'm still here, aren't I? And when I mean many, it's a LOT."
Hagrid was now terribly curious about what kind of creatures he had seen or lived with or even fought, but by looking at the serious boy the half-giant wasn't so sure if he truly wanted to know anymore. "People are almost always looking down at me because of my half-giant nature and because I like more dangerous animals, it's so unfair."
"But sometimes dangerous creatures are more interesting, aren't they?" James asked conspiratorially.
Hagrid nodded playfully and winked. "I knew I liked yeh for a reason! You would have loved Fluffy and Norbert!"
Harry was mentally stunned; Hagrid had had them even here where the restriction of dark creatures was at its highest vigilance! He faked interest perfectly. "Fluffy and Norbert? Do tell."
Hagrid told him as they walked toward his hut. "Fluffy was a gigantic three-headed dog I acquired some years ago to protect something. But when Dumbledore was finally able to give the object to his friend I had to liberate him because I couldn't keep it. Norbert was a baby Norwegian Ridgeback, a dragon. I loved him to death as soon as he cracked his egg, but young Draco Malfoy, who was serving detention with Weasley and under Filch's orders, was outside and pried into my business. Dumbledore had to give Norbert away before the ministry got wind of this; one of Ronald Weasley's brothers, Charlie, took Norbert with him. He works with dragons, so I'm sure Norbert is happy there."
Harry spied a wayward tear falling on the large man's cheek and smiled softly; Hagrid was still a big softy underneath that imposing figure of his. He patted the man's back and gave a reassuring smile. "I'm sure they're also thinking about you, Hagrid."
The Groundskeeper nodded and sniffed loudly, his pout changing into a grin as he pushed the door to his hut opened. "Now I'm hiding another creature into m'hut! Look James! Isn't she a beauty?" Hagrid asked enthusiastically while pointing at a specially warded box.
James approached slowly and felt, at each step, the temperature in the room getting higher. He peaked into the box and gaped, putting a hand on his middle-section to prevent Nagini from hissing in a warning manner. "That's an Ashwinder! Hagrid, those are very rare and dangerous! It can burn your hut if you're not careful!" James exclaimed in shock.
Hagrid nodded and explained: "Dumbledore knows it's here. In fact, he's the one who put the spell on the box to prevent the snake from burning everything when it lays its eggs. And anyway, I don't even give it enough time to burn anything since I take the eggs almost immediately and give them to Professor Snape. Ashwinder eggs are rare and very in demand for a Potions Master. They are precious to some potions. The only hard part is to take them; the snake can be really treacherous and burn me good, which happened a couple of times already." Hagrid shrugged bashfully and showed the bandaged hand.
James sighed and shook his head disapprovingly, but he refrained from saying anything of it. He could hear the Ashwinder mutter angrily about the "ssstupid half-giant ssstealing hisss beloved eggsss" and tried to hold in a small chuckle. It was surely frustrating, having your eggs being stolen right in front of your eyes.
"Oh, that's right!" Hagrid seemed to remember when he looked at the magically enchanted clock on his huge desk. "Sirius still wants to talk to you!"
Harry's heart suddenly started to beat faster and he cocked his head on the side. "Oh?"
"Yes, after today's classes! He told me himself! You'll still go to Divination class, right?"
James' mood sobered but he nodded nonetheless. He was angry at Manx, so it wasn't a good reason to ignore everyone and break the mood of the people around him. Hagrid seemed to understand James' sudden change in temper. "Don't yeh worry about what happened this morning. Professor Manx deserved what you did to him, although I don't recommend you doing this often. You've got some spirit, I'll tell yeh that kid!" Hagrid laughed and excused himself momentarily when he heard Fang bark outside.
Harry watched his friend close the door and turned toward the box once again. The red fire-snake was still muttering and when it saw Harry he sprouted some more vicious commentaries, which made Harry raise an eyebrow. "You sshouldn't sspeak ssuch bad wordss, my dear. They do not ssuit your elegance."
The Ashwinder immediately stopped hissing and gazed at Harry with new eyes. "You sspeak! You sspeak the noble language of the ssnakess, yet you did not sstop the big man! You did not tell him to not ssteal my eggss anymore!" It started to hiss again with renewed fervor and Harry sighed.
"I wissh I could but they cannot know that I sspeak the noble language. But I want you to know that your eggss are very preciouss to humanss, too. They sserve an equally noble purpossse and it sshould be an honor to you to help their caussse. Sseveral potionss containing Asshwinder eggss can save livess. You sshould be proud to be one of the only creaturess who doess that."
The snake seemed to think about it for a moment. "I admit it iss pleassing to know that. I may let the Giant take my eggss with little lesss difficulty, if only you promisse me to come talk to me ssometimess and tell me how many livess my eggss have saved. I get lonely, ssometimess."
Harry nodded. "I may not be able to come often, though. But I'm sure that Nagini wouldn't mind coming ssometimess."
"Who iss Nagini?"
Harry brought his hand forward and a head poked through, surprising the Ashwinder. "You are!" It started, but Nagini interrupted the red snake in favor of reprimanding the boy.
"Try asss you may, you will not be able to make me leave your sside so eassily. I promissed I would sstay with you and protect you, man-ssnake!"
Harry chuckled and told Nagini to chill out. "Okay, okay, I won't force you to go out. It wass only a passsing thought."
Nagini seemed to nod and the head poking out of the sleeve of Harry's cloak turned in the direction of the fire snake. "And you, I will permit thiss but you are never to hurt my man-ssnake! If you do-"
The Ashwinder looked appalled by such an idea. "Why I never! I will never hurt him! He hass been sso nice to me and he iss the firsst human to undersstand me! I will never hurt him."
Harry turned his head back and forth and frowned in annoyance as they conversed as if he wasn't even there. "Guyss! I'm sstill here I'll let you know!"
Suddenly, Nagini hid back into the cloak and everything became silent. Hagrid reopened the door and excused his short absence. "Sorry for leaving you alone like this but Fang finally caught the wandering Bowtruckle! I had to put it in a cage; it wasn't easy."
James nodded and got up, hoping that Hagrid hadn't heard anything. The half-giant looked completely clueless so he relaxed slightly. "I better go back to the castle. The others must be waiting for me. Thanks for everything Hagrid. We'll see each other again."
They shook hands and Hagrid watched as James took his leave. The temperature in the room suddenly increased and the Half-Giant stepped toward the box hurriedly: the Ashwinder was about to lay eggs.
Hagrid braced himself as soon as they appeared but when he put his hand into the box all he felt was the usual hotness of the creature. Not one bite, not one hiss or any other form of retaliation. The snake looked at him for a moment and coiled around itself the next, ignoring his presence.
Hagrid gazed at the red eggs in his hand. "Odd."
He looked outside in the direction James had gone. 'The Ashwinder never willingly gave his eggs away before. So why now?'
………
Talking with Hagrid took longer than he thought and when Harry arrived in the Great Hall, everyone had already gone to their next class. "Damnit!" he swore, and then hurried it up toward the Divination tower.
He wasn't so late, only of a couple of minutes, but he didn't want to arrive in the middle of the class. Harry stopped briskly, looked around to make sure that no one was spying on him and he murmured a password in front of a portrait. With one last look around he closed the door and started to run again.
He arrived not five minutes later in front of the classroom door and adorned a grim and detached expression just by hearing Trelawney's boring voice on the other side.
He knocked softly and braced himself; as soon as the woman opened the door the sharp stench of dried tea leaves attacked his nose. The classroom was the same from what it had been in his world before Firenze had made his apparition.
"Yes? What can I do for you young man?" Trelawney asked with her dreamy voice and gazing at him with her overly thick glasses that made her look like an old barmy owl.
James gazed at her with a look nearing blatant disregard and he entered the class. "You're the Divination teacher, not me. You're supposed to know."
The students started to snicker at the face Sybill made while Parvati scowled deeply. "Don't mock Professor Trelawney! She's a great Seer!"
James ignored her and sat beside a snickering Ron. Seamus rolled his eyes and muttered "teacher's pet!" which made Parvati scowl even more. Sybill didn't find it funny to be mocked by James but she held her tongue in favor of continuing the class. "Now children! Look into your crystal ball and tell me what you see! Broaden your minds!" she said dramatically while gesticulating imposingly.
Ron rolled his eyes and asked James to join Neville and him to look into the "damn ball". James chuckled and complied, letting Neville have the first go.
"So James," Ron started in a whisper, "you've made yourself quite the reputation by attacking a teacher-"
"It was bloody awesome! I've been wanting to do that to his sorry ass for a long time!" Dean suddenly interrupted the redhead and he received a warning glare from Trelawney. He blushed and went back to his ball-gazing, but not before doing a thumbs-up to James in support.
The guys snickered again but turned away as soon as Sybill's gaze fell on them. "This is such a total waste of time! I don't see anything!" Neville exclaimed while pushing the ball in Ron's direction.
The youngest Weasley boy grimaced and pushed it toward James. "Have fun. This thing doesn't work for me. Inner eye my butt! She never predicted anything real!" he muttered darkly under his breath.
Harry knew all too well what he meant, except the true prediction part: Sybill Trelawney's Seer power was erratic and uncontrolled, but it was present (and consequently ruining Harry's life).
He sighed and gazed in the ball nonetheless to pass the time. But the more he stared, the more his eyes became hazy and unfocused; he was soon not moving at all.
Not Harry! Spare Harry! The green light was heading towards him when suddenly it ricocheted towards his attacker…
The cupboard under the stairs…
The first day of school in Hogwarts…
His fight with Quirrell and Voldemort to gain the Philosopher Stone…
The Basilisk and the memory of Tom Riddle…
Sirius Black escaping Azkaban with only two names in his head: Harry Potter and Peter Pettigrew, Professor Lupin, the Dementors…
The Tri-Wizard Tournament and the return of Voldemort in the cemetery…
Umbridge, the Occlumency lessons, Sirius! Sirius falling into the veil!...
The last war, deaths, so many deaths! Blood! Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape, Ron and Hermione! REMUS! NOOO!
Harry snapped back to reality when he heard James' name being called and he pushed the ball away with a sudden fierceness.
"Hey mate! You spaced out for a minute! Are you okay?" Ron asked with concern.
"Did you see something!" Trelawney was immediately at James' side, pushing Ron and Neville out of the way. She tried to look into James' eyes but he refused to meet her gaze; his mood turned darker as he glared at the floor and his fists were white as he balled them tightly.
"I merely fazed out for a minute. It's nothing. I didn't see anything."
Sybill didn't look very convinced as she tried to pry into his business. When she noticed that the boy wouldn't talk any time soon, she huffed, looked back and forth between the discarded crystal ball and the uncooperative young man and when he still refused to acknowledge her she huffed again and gazed into the crystal ball herself.
Parvati and her friends stared in pure rapture as their teacher hummed in front of the transparent ball. She gasped loudly out of a sudden, surprising the students, and put a hand over her heart. "POOR BOY! THE GRIM! THE GRIM IS RUNNING INTO YOUR CRYSTAL BALL! DEATH WILL FOLLOW!"
Everyone gasped in fright and stared at James fearfully and some with pity, as if he was going to drop dead in an instant. Ron growled, as well as Dean and Seamus, who thought nothing but bullshit about this class. "Don't worry James! Trelawney likes to announce everyone's death like that! It's not true at all!" Ron tried to reassure him. Neville whimpered but still tried to support the redhead.
James looked unfazed by it all, but underneath the cheerless façade his mind was reeling. 'Death always follows me, foolish woman,' he thought sullenly.
"What a load of bull-" Seamus started angrily, but before he could finish his phrase Trelawney went rigid stiff and opened her mouth. Her voice, however, wasn't completely hers; more like a pitch higher than usual and raspy.
"He's heeere! He's heeere! The one with the killing eyes! Greeen! Greeen everywhere! The Boy-Who-Lived! Light and darkness clashing! He's heeeeere!" she rasped and then coughed a couple of times.
"Oh my, what happened?" she asked stupidly and blinked when no one moved and continued to stare at her as if she was crazy.
"Um, Professor? We should really go to Dumbledore." Parvati took the woman's arm and guided her gently out of the classroom.
"Class dismissed!" was the only thing they heard as they disappeared down the stairs.
Everyone started to talk animatedly about Trelawney's weirdness and new attempt at scaring them. They even laughed about it. "That was sooo fake!" Dean scorned while Seamus mimicked what the teacher had said in a spooky voice.
Ron was grimacing in disdain. "That's the second time she does that! Can't she tell that we don't by that crap! It's not by changing a few details of her so called prediction that she'll get us! You're luck you're not a real student here, James! James?" Ron looked around…
James was nowhere to be found.
………
Harry hurried it up down the corridor and ran away form the tower as fast as possible. He was looking around nervously and he was taken with a sudden cold sweat. 'I can't believe, out of all day, that she had to make an actual prediction ABOUT ME in the bloody class! I'm lucky that no one believed that!'
He shuddered at the thought and his legs suddenly felt like jelly. He leaned on a wall and slid down, only now noticing that he had ran from the top floor to the first in only a couple of minutes, and without the use of a secret passage.
His heart was beating wildly and he took his time to breathe in deeply and try to calm himself and sort his thoughts. Nagini poked her head out of his sleeve but he didn't seem to notice at all. "Your heart iss beating too fasst, man-ssnake. I cannot resst when you are like that. What iss it that ailss you sso? Do I have to bite ssomeone?"
Harry jumped slightly. "Nagini! It'ss not wissse to sshow yoursself like thiss insside the sschool wallsss! Don't worry about me! I'll be fine. Ssomething happened in Divination classs and I wasss ssimply unprepared to hear it. I will not be caught unaware next time."
Nagini nodded her head and slid back inside the cloak.
"James?"
Harry literally held his breath and turned toward Sirius. 'Shit! Double shit! Did he hear?' He started to panic again but Sirius wasn't looking at him like he was the devil in person. It was a good sign.
"Ah! It IS you! I've been looking all over for you! What are you doing on the ground? Do you need to see Madam Pomfrey?" Sirius Black kneeled in front of the teen and gazed at him with eyes as blue as Harry's false ones. He looked concerned.
Harry shook his head and tried to smile; it was good to have Sirius looking out for him again even if this one didn't know him or trusted him completely. Harry was sure of one thing, thought: he trusted Sirius with his life, and Sirius would learn to do the same in time.
"No, I'm okay. I simply had to sit down a little to regain my breathing. I ran all the way from the Astronomy tower to here in only a couple of minutes."
"Oh, okay then." Sirius got up and offered his hand, which made James look at him inquiringly. Sirius smirked his oh-so-famous smirk and helped the boy to get up. "Follow me. I noticed you weren't there at lunch and I'm pretty sure you're hungry. I wanted to talk to you anyway. You don't mind?"
James shook his head negatively; he didn't seem to mind at all, on the contrary. They stopped in front of a painting of a bowl of fruit and Sirius glanced at James. "You're not asking me what we're doing here?" Sirius raised an eyebrow and narrowed his eyes when James stepped in front of him and tickled the pear.
"An House-Elf showed me," Harry quickly explained and sighed silently in relief when Sirius visibly relaxed.
"Oh."
They entered the kitchens and were suddenly assaulted by a dozen of House-Elves. "It's Master Black! Master Black brought a friend! Is Master Black and his friend wanting something?"
Sirius laughed and told them to prepare a light supper for his guest and him; they quickly complied and James snickered when their "light" evening meal appeared. Sirius rolled his eyes over the huge feast but thanked the small Elves nonetheless. They ate in a comfortable silence where Harry sometimes stole glances in Sirius' direction. The latter didn't pay any heed if he ever noticed.
"What you did this morning," Sirius started, startling James slightly, "it was kinda foolish and very daring. You're lucky you're only a guest because if not you would have been sent away back home."
James snorted bleakly and looked elsewhere. "Manx deserved it. He had no right to mock Hagrid like that. Dark doesn't necessarily mean evil but not many people understand that."
Sirius blinked at the very mature response even thought he was one of those people that, unfortunately, judged people too rapidly; in this world they had to, though, if one did not want to get stabbed in the back.
"And anyway," James continued dejectedly, "I don't even have a family to go back to. That's why I stay at The Three Broomsticks."
Sirius truly didn't know what to do; he wasn't used to comfort a kid with problems like James', so he did the next best thing: he spoke about his own problems to help James know that he wasn't alone in this world.
"You know, my Godson would be your age if he was still alive. I don't have a family either; I don't think I've ever had. The Blacks are…well they all have been Slytherins, for a start, whereas I've been placed in Gryffindor in my young age. They've always hated me and treated me as an outcast. In fact, I think that the only family I've ever had was Remus Lupin, James potter, Lily Evans and my little Harry, my Godson. But Remus is the only one I've got left. It's so weird but I feel as if I can relate to you because you seem to understand the hardships of life. I've never had any sons but if I had I would choose to have a boy just like you."
Harry tried to hold in his tears as he listened to the heartfelt admission and barely even noticed that Sirius had omitted to mention Wormtail.
It took everything he had to keep his mouth shut, not to shout desperately that he was Harry Potter. He wanted Sirius to know so much, he wanted Sirius to treat him as a son. He wanted Sirius to talk to him late at night when he was alone, to comfort him like he just did to the personage of James Evans.
It broke Harry's heart to lie to his Godfather but he knew it was for the best. The Death Eaters were starting to be more vicious in their attacks in the Wizarding World and if they got wind that the boy who had attacked Malfoy and some other Death Eaters was here Hogwarts would be in for it.
He had to attack them suddenly, without any notice for this to work. Catch them unaware and trap them, even possibly kill them if he had to. He had killed already, plenty of his enemies, in fact, so he wanted Sirius to accept him like he was, a murderer, a savior, a mere boy whose past was strewn with sorrow and violence.
He wasn't all Light and laughter with no pressure on his mind and heart, and Harry knew that he would be destroyed if Sirius and Remus did not accept what he had become. But when all of this would be over and Sirius and Remus stayed with him…Harry would gladly try to laugh freely again. He would make sure that Fawkes' gift wouldn't be wasted.
"Thank you for saying that, Mr. Black. I needed to hear that. I know I'm not the best person to have around but I can't help but be the person I've been forged to become." James smiled sadly and got up.
"Dinner was excellent; please thank the House-Elves for me. I appreciate what you tried to do to cheer me up and I hope I'll also be considered as a part of the family." He laughed shakily. "I know I won't be able to come next week because of the exams and afterwards are the Christmas Holidays so if we don't see each other well…Merry Christmas."
He turned around and prepared to exit when Sirius interrupted swiftly. "Wait!"
Sirius was shaking interiorly. 'What am I doing? What id the boy doing to me? Come on Sirius! Get your act together and toughen up!' he mentally shook himself and gulped.
"I'll…I'll try to come see you next week if I can. I haven't seen Rosmerta in a while anyway. I'll try to bring Remus too. And…I'm sure Dumbledore won't mind if you come here during the Hols. Not many students stay anyway and it wouldn't be such a bother. You wouldn't be alone for Christmas! And Merlin please don't call me Mister Black! Call me Sirius. You may still be a teenager, albeit an old one, but you're not a student. Mister Black makes me sound like my dad." Sirius tried to enliven the atmosphere up with a smile that didn't quite reach his ears because of all the rampant emotions.
James understood the message and smiled more naturally for Sirius' sake. "I'd like that. I'd like that very much. Bye!"
And he was out the door.
Sirius stayed silent and sat back down, leaning his chin on his hand pensively. "The person he's been forged to become? What did he mean by that?"
………
Father,
The Evans boy did quite a number on our Care of Magical Creatures professor this morning. I know Manx is ready to switch sides and join us at any given moment so it may not be the best thing to have Evans hate the man. He's also very taken with the half-giant, which is completely sickening if you ask me, and although no one really noticed he also seem to have his eyes set on Lupin and Black for some reason. I don't think that he will willingly join us and trying to become his friend would be pointless and a total waste of time seeing as he is almost always surrounded by those bloody Gryffindors, Weasley in particular. On another note, I've got wind that Trelawney, that useless and pathetic Divination teacher, reacted quite bizarrely in class. She probably tried to scare the students but then again, why did she end up in the infirmary to get a check-up from Pomfrey? This is what she said, and I know that my source is exact:
He's here! He's here! The one with the killing eyes! Green! Green everywhere! The "Boy-Who-Lived!" Light and Darkness clashing! He's here!
Either that woman is completely senile or she prophesized something for the first time in her life, whatever it meant. The "Boy-Who-Lived?" I mean, what in Grinderwald's name is that? Anyway, I hope this information will be useful for our great Master.
Draco
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I hope you enjoyed! (You better because I've worked my ass off for this chapter! It's 17 pages long! I've broken my record!)
And I've received reviews from people asking to continue with the letters at each end of chapter. Don't worry because I don't intend to stop them. It's a link to know that the evil side is still there while Harry is at Hogwarts.
I haven't begun writing the next chapter but it will probably be a wrap-up during the exam weeks and the Hols with Sirius and Remus. I want to concentrate on the last chapter of one of my other stories first, one entitled "Within the Chamber she Lies". I think I've made my readers wait for it a little too long. Be patient please! I never gave up on a story and I don't ever intend to!
And for those who are anxious to see when Harry will either reveal himself or be discovered, be endure the wait! It WILL happen, of course, and I already have the context of it made up in my mind. All is left is wait and read.
PLEASE REVIEW!
Love ya all!
Eternal Cosmos ;)