Chapter 7 - Bad News
The flying lessons that came afterwards were much easier. Although he had never been so busy, what with team practises three times a week and lessons with Lily twice a week, he was really enjoying himself. He'd fitted very comfortably in with the team, Lily was learning quickly and he was still getting good marks in all his classes. On top of that, he began to realise that Lily had been right; he was indeed attracting a fair amount of female attention. He wasn't sure how he felt about this. He knew he should feel flattered, but he couldn't help being a bit annoyed. He didn't like the way Sirius sniggered every time a girl smiled at him, and even Remus and Peter teased him mercilessly.
But apart from the teasing, James was having more fun than he'd ever had in his life before. He loved being busy, he thrived on it, and his only regret was that he no longer had enough time to teach Snape as many 'lessons' as he wanted. Unfortunately, this happiness was not designed to last.
About a fortnight before the Christmas holidays, Cara's tiny owl, (Ariel) arrived at breakfast with a letter. James opened it eagerly; it had been a while since he'd heard from Cara. But it wasn't from her.
Dear James
We're very glad you will be home for Christmas, but we have some bad news. We wanted to wait until you got home to tell you, but then we realised that you'd want to know straight away. Your Nana and Granddad are dead. They were killed by a Dark Wizard. We don't know exactly which wizard yet; the Ministry is at a loss. It' hard to take in, son, we know. What we do know is that there was a large symbol hovering above their house, a dark skull and a snake. The truth can be difficult, and as Professor Dumbledore once told your father, it can be a beautiful and terrible thing. Go and see him, he knows and he can help you. All our love Mum and Dad.
James felt as though the bottom had just dropped out of his stomach. Why on earth would some evil dark wizard go and murder his grandparents? They'd never hurt anyone. He felt the blood drain from his face; on it's way to be used by his heart, which was suddenly pumping furiously fast. He realised that a tear was threatening to escape his eye. Remus had noticed and he was looking over at him, he looked startled and concerned. He started to ask James what was wrong, but James didn't really want to talk about it. He thrust the letter into his hand and fled from the hall, he couldn't face his friends, not yet. He ran to Gryffindor tower, so blinded by tears that it was a miracle he got there at all. His feet were working by themselves as they carried him to the portrait hole and he heard himself mumble the password to the fat lady before collapsing into a big chair in the common room and allowing the tears to escape.
The Potters had always been a close family. James' Nana and Grandad were his fathers parents, and James had spent a lot of time with them growing up. He sat for a long time thinking about them, remembering the dinners his Nana had cooked and the mischievous smile his Grandad wore, the one that was identical to his own dad's. Sirius hadn't followed him, and James was grateful. Both he and Remus seemed to realise that James really needed to be alone. He was so deep in thought that he didn't notice the portrait door swing open, or hear the girls voice right away. She was speaking softly, gently, inquiringly,
"James, what's the matter? What's happened?" It was Lily. She sat next to him and took his chin in her hands. James was too tired from crying and felt numb with shock, and he allowed her to lift his face and look into his eyes. She studied him intently for a minute or two, she seemed to be looking for something, but James was past caring about what, and it didn't even occur to him that she had seen him crying. After about two minutes she seemed to find what she had been looking for, and a spark of realisation appeared in her green eyes that was almost immediately transformed into a look of deep sympathy. She put her arms around him and pulled him closer to her in a comforting hug. It seemed natural to James to allow her to stroke his tangled hair, and to cry into her shoulders. He was sobbing harder now, without restraint. The full realisation of what had happened had hit him. He couldn't understand it. Why did it have to be them? They were pure blood wizards, from a long line of witches and wizards. They had kept themselves to themselves and had owned a small pub before they retired. They hadn't been Aurors, or worked for the ministry and they had no enemies. What possible motivation could anyone have had for killing them. The question spun around and around in his head as he cried, making him dizzy, torturing him. Even after ten minutes he was still crying, and Lily was still holding him, still stroking his hair, making soothing sounds. James felt very grateful to her at that moment. As his sobs subsided, he felt a wave of tiredness. It didn't matter that it was only ten in the morning he was exhausted. He felt his eyelids shutting and the last thing he remembered was Lily's soothing voice in his ear before he drifted into a deep sleep, the kind that are only made possible by emotional exhaustion.
A/N Before people start asking me why I have named Cara's owl after the little mermaid I should make it clear that Ariel is a character from the Shakespeare play, The Tempest and she was a spirit of the air apparently. Cara would not have know The Little Mermaid. Please don't take this to mean I'm insulting your intelligence, but I couldn't stand having to explain this to anyone so I put it here.
The flying lessons that came afterwards were much easier. Although he had never been so busy, what with team practises three times a week and lessons with Lily twice a week, he was really enjoying himself. He'd fitted very comfortably in with the team, Lily was learning quickly and he was still getting good marks in all his classes. On top of that, he began to realise that Lily had been right; he was indeed attracting a fair amount of female attention. He wasn't sure how he felt about this. He knew he should feel flattered, but he couldn't help being a bit annoyed. He didn't like the way Sirius sniggered every time a girl smiled at him, and even Remus and Peter teased him mercilessly.
But apart from the teasing, James was having more fun than he'd ever had in his life before. He loved being busy, he thrived on it, and his only regret was that he no longer had enough time to teach Snape as many 'lessons' as he wanted. Unfortunately, this happiness was not designed to last.
About a fortnight before the Christmas holidays, Cara's tiny owl, (Ariel) arrived at breakfast with a letter. James opened it eagerly; it had been a while since he'd heard from Cara. But it wasn't from her.
Dear James
We're very glad you will be home for Christmas, but we have some bad news. We wanted to wait until you got home to tell you, but then we realised that you'd want to know straight away. Your Nana and Granddad are dead. They were killed by a Dark Wizard. We don't know exactly which wizard yet; the Ministry is at a loss. It' hard to take in, son, we know. What we do know is that there was a large symbol hovering above their house, a dark skull and a snake. The truth can be difficult, and as Professor Dumbledore once told your father, it can be a beautiful and terrible thing. Go and see him, he knows and he can help you. All our love Mum and Dad.
James felt as though the bottom had just dropped out of his stomach. Why on earth would some evil dark wizard go and murder his grandparents? They'd never hurt anyone. He felt the blood drain from his face; on it's way to be used by his heart, which was suddenly pumping furiously fast. He realised that a tear was threatening to escape his eye. Remus had noticed and he was looking over at him, he looked startled and concerned. He started to ask James what was wrong, but James didn't really want to talk about it. He thrust the letter into his hand and fled from the hall, he couldn't face his friends, not yet. He ran to Gryffindor tower, so blinded by tears that it was a miracle he got there at all. His feet were working by themselves as they carried him to the portrait hole and he heard himself mumble the password to the fat lady before collapsing into a big chair in the common room and allowing the tears to escape.
The Potters had always been a close family. James' Nana and Grandad were his fathers parents, and James had spent a lot of time with them growing up. He sat for a long time thinking about them, remembering the dinners his Nana had cooked and the mischievous smile his Grandad wore, the one that was identical to his own dad's. Sirius hadn't followed him, and James was grateful. Both he and Remus seemed to realise that James really needed to be alone. He was so deep in thought that he didn't notice the portrait door swing open, or hear the girls voice right away. She was speaking softly, gently, inquiringly,
"James, what's the matter? What's happened?" It was Lily. She sat next to him and took his chin in her hands. James was too tired from crying and felt numb with shock, and he allowed her to lift his face and look into his eyes. She studied him intently for a minute or two, she seemed to be looking for something, but James was past caring about what, and it didn't even occur to him that she had seen him crying. After about two minutes she seemed to find what she had been looking for, and a spark of realisation appeared in her green eyes that was almost immediately transformed into a look of deep sympathy. She put her arms around him and pulled him closer to her in a comforting hug. It seemed natural to James to allow her to stroke his tangled hair, and to cry into her shoulders. He was sobbing harder now, without restraint. The full realisation of what had happened had hit him. He couldn't understand it. Why did it have to be them? They were pure blood wizards, from a long line of witches and wizards. They had kept themselves to themselves and had owned a small pub before they retired. They hadn't been Aurors, or worked for the ministry and they had no enemies. What possible motivation could anyone have had for killing them. The question spun around and around in his head as he cried, making him dizzy, torturing him. Even after ten minutes he was still crying, and Lily was still holding him, still stroking his hair, making soothing sounds. James felt very grateful to her at that moment. As his sobs subsided, he felt a wave of tiredness. It didn't matter that it was only ten in the morning he was exhausted. He felt his eyelids shutting and the last thing he remembered was Lily's soothing voice in his ear before he drifted into a deep sleep, the kind that are only made possible by emotional exhaustion.
A/N Before people start asking me why I have named Cara's owl after the little mermaid I should make it clear that Ariel is a character from the Shakespeare play, The Tempest and she was a spirit of the air apparently. Cara would not have know The Little Mermaid. Please don't take this to mean I'm insulting your intelligence, but I couldn't stand having to explain this to anyone so I put it here.