Title: The Return of the Phoenix- Chapter 1(2/?)
Subtitle: In which Dumbledore meets James… again.
Author E-mail: ann665@home.com
Spoilers: Knowing about the books would be really good. I did write a little bit of background and history is mention several times. There's an unsure spoiler on the order of the deaths of Lily and James Potter.
Rating: PG-13 for some not-so-nice language, and some up coming horrors.
Summary: PG is for a few words. James Potter is accidentally brought back to life by a former Dark Arts practicer. But everything's not how he remembers. Not only is Voldemort after Harry in the present, his new plan affects even Lily Potter in the past...
Disclaimer: If I owned them, James and Lily would not be dead. All I own is whomever (or whatever) you don't recognize.
Author's Note: This plot was what I wrote my first HP fanfic to, and I've been meaning to rewrite it for a long time. (Written in August '00) Hope ya like this. Oh, and please, even if you don't like this when you're done, review and tell me what you don't like and I'll change it- if it's reasonable.
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When Professor Albus Dumbledore had heard the knock at his door on the July afternoon of the 31st, and had called out for the person on the other side enter he had been expecting Minerva McGonagall, possibly even Severus Snape. He wasn't, however, expecting to see young twenty-six year old Jenaneve Whenzy, Head Girl and Graduate of 1983 to walk in his room looking highly apprehensive. To say he was surprised, though he never once showed it, was an understatement.
Now, though Professor Dumbledore was no stranger to people showing up at totally odd times, where dawn or dusk, what surprised him about this particular woman's appearance came from the knowledge, not that once her family been close followers of the Dark Arts- the last living participant had died at the old age of a hundred thirty-one; that she had recently inherited the entire fortune of said family- Dark Art goodies included, but instead, that she had made it quite clear that she did not want anything to do with the "petty" war between the light wizards and Voldemort and his Death Eaters, and had moved completely out of the UK.
He recovered smoothly, saying; "Miss Whenzy, hello. To what do I owe the honor of your visit?" Whenzy nodded and hesitantly came to stand before the Headmaster's desk. "I wish to speak to you on behave of someone." She said. Dumbledore raised an expectant eyebrow. "Oh?"
Whenzy sighed deep and heavy. He saw her give a glance towards the door, allowed himself ot translate it as her wanting to know if she could make a quick escape if needed. "Professor Dumbledore-"
"Please, call me Albus. Calling me 'Professor' makes me sound like I still teach." Dumbledore injected.
Whenzy blinked. "Yes, yes, Albus, as I said there is someone wishes to speak with you and I, er, volunteered to come for them."
Dumbledore asked, "Why don't they to me themselves?"
"Because they don't think you would believe them by themselves. And I'm sorta the person who, um, got them into this...predicament." At her old headmaster's patient questioning look, she added, "Ok so I'm entirely the person who got them into this."
"And who might this person be, Miss Whenzy?" was the next question.
Whenzy hesitated again, apparently not used to this type of attention. "Er, Pro- Albus," she corrected, "Have you ever heard of the potion 'Mortuus Surgere'?"
Dumbledore frowned and considered the title. Mortuus Surgere as a title to a potion meant nothing to him, in the sense that it didn't ring any bells. Though as for its meaning, one could translate it as 'the dead to rise' literally, or 'to raise the dead'. Either would work. It also intrigued him that there was such a title. "No, but may I take a guess as to say that this has something to do with your visit?"
Whenzy shifted slightly. "Er, yes it does. I, um, found such a potion and I, ahem..." she paused, took a deep breath, then: "ImadethepotionandIaccidentallybroughtbackJamesPotter,andnowhewantstospeakwithyouandseehisson."
Dumbledore was able to only make out that she had made the potion, something about James Potter, and wanting to speak with someone, somewhere in his mind he registered hearing someone snort softly. It clicked. Crazy, entirely out there, but he suddenly understood what she was trying to get across. Didn't mean Dumbledore believed her completely though.
The old man leaned forward, and spoke slowly. "Tell me if what I say is correct. You say you found a potion that was able to bring the dead back to life? And without fully understanding it you made it?" Whenzy nodded, suspicious of whether he believed her or not. "When you made this potion it brought James Potter back to life? Forgive me, Miss Whenzy, but as I have never before heard of such a potion, and other beliefs have long taught me that the dead can not be so easily resurrected; I must ask for some proof."
Sighing she said, with a glance at the door again; "Sir, James is in this room. He- I think- followed me in. But I'm not to sure. I haven't seen him since he took some of the invisibility potion I made. He won't reappear for another few minutes..." Her eyes went wide. She was staring at something directly behind the Headmaster's head, and he could see her face brake into a grin at the same time a phoenix song was sung.
Curious, he turned, and saw his phoenix friend, Fawkes looking very disgruntled sitting on thin air. The bird was trying to peck something that was poking at it, but it kept missing. Dumbledore raised an eyebrow. Well that answered the question of where the invisible person was. The poking stopped and Fawkes let out an annoyed note, before taking to flight out the window.
Not even seconds later, slowly, too slowly perhaps, a person appeared. A person with wild black hair, deep red robes under a cloak of a similar color, and laughing brown eyes behind a pair of thin black frames. Before Professor Dumbledore stood James Potter, as he would have been today had he never been taken from the living fourteen year previous.
The second white eyebrow joined its twin nearly disappearing into the hair above it. Now Professor Dumbledore showed some surprise, a twinkle appearing his intense, blue eyes. The man who dared to carry James' appearance grinned. "Hallo Professor! Did you miss me?" He looked around the room with a- disappointed?- look, when he spoke he even sounded disappointed. "I see Hogwarts still stands. And here I was expecting it to have been blown up by now; the pranksters of today must be slipping."
Oh yes, this was James Potter alright.
The headmaster got up, took James' hand and both embraced in one fluid movement, before pulling back. "Please, sit down," said Dumbledore, gesturing to the vacant seat on Whenzy's left. "I think we have much to talk about."
As if feeling she was unwanted anymore Whenzy started to get up. "I should be going..."
"Not just yet Miss Whenzy. You're still needed here." said Dumbledore.
"But--"
"Sit."
Whenzy sat.
James had to hide a smirk behind his hand. He turned to Professor Dumbledore, "One question before we start. Where could I find Sirius? I want to see him after this." Out of the corner of his eye he saw Whenzy look at him open-mouthed. He blinked at her. "What?"
Whenzy sputtered, "W-why would you want to find him (James did not like the way she said that.) when he betrayed you??" James frowned. "What are you talking about? Peter betrayed us, not Sirius." He said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Whenzy looked at him to the headmaster and back again. "But, why would they put an innocent man in Azkaban? And why did he kill thirteen people?"
She gasped as she was suddenly grabbed by the shoulders and got a first hand view of a very angry James Potter. "What the hell did you just say??" Whenzy whimpered. "W-why did he k-kill thirteen p-people?" she stuttered. James paled, released her, and then turned to his old headmaster. "Sirius killed thirteen people? It's not true, right?" His voice was desperate.
Dumbledore sighed deeply, looking older than even his age. He also looked very sad and regretful. James's face darkened when he saw this. Angrily he said; "It's true? It's bloody true??" Dumbledore shook his head, in a nugatory. The anger left James system faster then it came. "He didn't kill anyone?"
The headmaster nodded before saying, "No Sirius didn't kill anyone, but-"
James face fell, Oh no, there's a 'but'...
"Nobody knew it about it, except Sirius, the Death Eaters, Voldemort, and Peter."
The be-speckled man's face colored in fury. "The rat?? What does that disgusting, traitorous rat have to do with this?"
A sigh, then: "Everything. Pettigrew faked his own death and in the process framed Sirius of twelve deaths. With the accusations of betrayal, being a Death Eater, killing thirteen, and no evidence pointing against it, Mr. Black was sent to Azkaban."
James' face disappeared behind his hands. "Oh God. Oh God." His voice was muffled, but they could still hear the full emotion in it. Whenzy, who had been watching this in silence, finally spoke up. "Albus sir, forgive me, but how do you know this? The last I heard of all this Sirius was still a criminal. How did you know he was innocent?"
Dumbledore's eyes were weary as he said, "Yes, a good question. All I can say is the stories all add up." Whenzy looked puzzled, but didn't question further. They were silent for a few minutes, until James looked up from his hands and said, "Where is he? Now I mean." "Mr. Black?" asked Dumbledore. James nodded. "Less Britain, I believe is the last I heard from him. He's gathering people as we speak."
The untidy haired man nodded. He paled even further as he said worriedly, "If Harry didn't go to Sirius all this time where has he been?" He finally asked the question he'd been dreading to hear since he heard of Sirius' imprisonment. He'd also have to have a talk with the Ministry after that.
"With the Dursleys." James almost fell out of his seat. "THE DURSLEYS??" He fair exploded. "WHY ON EARTH DID HE GO TO THE DURSLEYS???"
Dumbledore appeared unaffected the outburst. "They were his only relatives, and it was the best place for him." James gaped at him incredulously. "So he's at the Dursleys' right now?" The younger man asked bitterly. Dumbledore smiled, which surprised both James and Whenzy. "Actually he is visiting the Weasley's for the rest of the summer." His eyes twinkled. "Mrs. Weasley can be very intimidating at times." Both of his former students snorted.
There was a long pause in which all of this new information sank into James' mind. "Sir?" He asked hesitantly, "May," pause, "May I see him?" The look that James gave the professor was one of desperation. He wanted to see Harry, to see the son who Voldemort had taken him from so long ago. To tell him how much his wished he could have been there for him.
Dumbledore considered the safest way to have a reunion between the two Potters, before he said slowly, "I think we could arrange for the Weasley's and Harry to be moved here to Hogwarts. You could see him then." James face visibly relaxed, and he grinned. "Thanks, Albus."
Whenzy quietly got up, and silently walked to the door. Just before she exited, James voice stopped her. "Jen?" She paused to look back at the man she unknowingly had given his life back to. "Yes, Potter?"
"Thank you, for..."
She smiled. "Your welcome." The door closed and she was gone.
The silence was broken by Dumbledore, who said, "How about I have someone escort you to a room while I write out the letter to the Weasleys?"
James grinned, "Sounds good to me."
To be continued...
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I saw today I had gotten some more e-mails, and I'm touched you guys enjoyed this. I'm sorry I haven't posted anything lately. I'll try to get more up soon!
Sirius: That's what you said, checks date over a month ago...
sobs I know! I know! I forgot it for a while
Sirius snorts: Forgot? Forgot?? You kept putting it off!
glares Well anyway, tell me what you think and leave me a review! Tata, now!
Sirius skips off to find the kitchen.
Oh! And Sirius! Don't you dare touch that chocolate pie!
Sirius from down stairs: Hey Ser! You're mother makes a wonderful pie!
pouts I made the pie...
