The Flower and the Wolverine part 3: Truths Revealed

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THIS END-OF-THE-YEAR SCRIMMAGE MATCHUP BETWEEN GRYFFINDOR AND SLYTHERIN HAS BEEN ONE FOR THE RECORD BOOKS!" The announcer stated as Quidditch players flew around over the heads of the crowded stands.

"Look!" the announcer cried, "Slytherin's Jon Luke Rushlow is moving in for a score, but WAIT!" He barked, watching the unsuspecting player approaching the goal before … WHUFF! "And the Gryffindor Wolverine strikes again!" the announcer winced, looking away, "I don't care how big a player you are, that's gotta hurt!"

"James 'the Gryffindor Wolverine' Potter is being escorted back to the penalty box for another time out, his fourth one this game; one more time and he's out of the game again!" The announcer barked, but the screaming chant of WOL-VER-INE drowned out his commentary.

In the stands, Lily just sat her head in her hands while shaking it. She glanced up at Sirius, who stopped for a moment to shrug before giving a salute to his best friend in the penalty box. "GIVE UM HELL, PADFOOT!" James barked, banging on the side of the box with his broom, making the crowd even more excited.

James smiled as Sirius continued searching for the Snitch. The seeker's eyes widened as the familiar scent of polished gold filled his nostrils, and he whistled at Sirius. The boy stopped and looked at the box. James signaled to his left, and Sirius immediately saw what James wanted him to see.

"But I'm not the seeker!" Sirius replied.

"Who gives a damn? Get the damn thing so I can get the hell out of this box!" James replied.

"If you say so," Sirius said before diving for the Snitch and after a short chase finally caught the miniscule, golden ball.

"Gryffindor has the snitch, Gryffindor wins! … I think …" The announcer finished unsurely.

"Umm... yeah as long as a player gets the snitch the team wins," Hooch explained, "it never said another player COULDN'T get the snitch…"

"GRYFINDDOR WINS!"

James and Sirius walked out of the locker room, but James immediately froze at the familiar scent hitting his nose, "Oh crap …" he groaned.

"What's the matter, James?" Sirius blinked.

"Lily, and she's pissed," James gulped.

"Ah, not treating the misses properly, mate?" Sirius winked only to receive a whack to the back of the head.

"Shut it, padfoot," James snarled.

"Mr. Potter, a moment of your time?" Lily's voice sounded from behind them.

"Um, hey Lil, I kind of don't have the time, actually. Can I meet you a little later, maybe?" James said fearfully.

"I really don't care; we're talking now," Lily stated firmly, her fists planted firmly on her hips, and her foot tapping the ground impatiently.

"See you later if you survive, Wolvie," Sirius said, running away quickly.

"TRAITOR!" James called behind his best friend.

He then turned to his other best friend, who had changed almost as much as he had over the last year at Hogwarts. She had come out of her shell, and at times like this, James quite missed the quiet girl that he met when he first came to the school. 'Shouldn't have taught her that groin pull attack,' James instantly thought, 'I really shouldn't have taught her that groin pull attack …'

"Do you realize the example you made to the younger students today, James?" Lily narrowed her green eyes.

"Um, showed them good conquers evil?" James asked with a weak grin.

Lily laughed mockingly, "No. You taught them several ways to knock Slytherins in the head with someone else's bat. Heaven only knew you could come up with so many ways." She then stuck her finger in her face, "And then there's poor Severus! You've crippled the poor kid's ego, I didn't think you could be that low!"

"Snivellus? He has to have a ego to cripple?" James chuckled, "Hey! Don't look at me like that!"

"You … never mind," Lily sighed, "That's really not what I wasn't going to talk to you about, so let me get this out before the urge to make you into a rodent and feed you to Mrs. Norris takes over." She said, turning her back to hide her quickly growing blush.

"Ok, Darlin', what were you wanting to talk about then?" James said, folding his arms across his chest.

"I know you really don't have any family outside of Hogwarts, and I was wondering if you … maybe … you don't have to … and you know … school's out in three days … and … I... sort of, " Lily rambled, rubbing her hands together nervously.

"Out with it, Lil, or else you'll rub the skin off your palms," James winked.

Lily snapped her hands straight to her side, which immediately started fiddling with her skirt, "What I want to know is … James … would you … maybe wanna … I don't know … spend the summer with my …err... family … at my home … umm … yeah?" She asked, spinning around to face him, hope and a blush covering her face.

"I'd love to, Lily," James started, her face immediately lighting up with a smile, "But I promised Sirius I'd take him and show him my old home in Northern Canada. I'm sorry." He apologized as her face fell in disappointment, "I'll make it up to ya, kiddo, bring you back a souvenir!"

"Yeah … that's ok," Lily forced a smile, "Well … I have some prefect duties to do, so I'll … um see you later, bye!" Lily said quickly, running away from the boy.

"You ready to see the Great White North, Padfoot?" James said as he, Sirius, and Lupin walked out on Platform 9 ¾.

"More than you would believe!" Sirius beamed.

"Good, good," James nodded, "What are you going to do, Lupin?"

"Hunt," Lupin stated, causing both James and Sirius to stare. "I'm kidding." Lupin laughed at the expression on their faces, "I'll probably just relax at home for the summer."

"Well, we better move, bub. Dumbledore said the only international floe port is downtown, and we don't want to get there too late to find a hotel room." James then blinked, "Anybody seen Evans?"

"Probably just doing Prefect duties," Sirius shrugged, "let's roll, James!"

"Yeah, let's roll," James nodded. 'Hope I didn't make her mad …'

Meanwhile in the backseat of her parents' car, sitting beside her hyperactive sister Petunia, who was rambling on about her new boyfriend, Vernon, Lily sat sulking. 'That jerk, see if I'm ever nice to him again!'

It took two weeks of travel to get to the old mining settlement in Northern Canada where he used to live, but James and Sirius finally made it.

"H-H-H-H-H-How did you take living here, J-James?" Sirius shivered.

"Oh c'mon," James rolled his eyes and trampled through the snow toward the old graveyard.

"And why are we going to a graveyard?" Sirius asked, looking around at the snow-covered tombstones.

"It's colder than it used to be," James said to no one in particular, "Rose loved the snow."

James finally stopped before a grave and got down on one knee to dust off the name. "Hey, Rose, I came back," James whispered.

"I knew you'd come back, Logan, especially on this day," An old man limped up to the two teens, "What's been? Fifty years, at least?"

"At least, bub," James replied.

"The years have been a lot better to you than me; you doing ok?" the old man asked.

"Trying to start over actually, thought now was as good of a time to say goodbye as ever," James replied.

"Um, you two know each other?" Sirius looked at the two men.

"Sirius Black," James introduced, "This is Harry 'Smitty' Potter."

"Everybody calls me, Smitty." Smitty replied with a smile.

"Logan, I found this lil note addressed to you in the old cabin," Smitty stated, looking at the un-aged teen, "It's from Rose."

James turned to him and took the note, "C'mon, bub," Smitty saidb placing a hand on Sirius' shoulder, "Lets let him have his alone time."

"Ok, Darlin', let's see what you had to say…" James said as he opened the note.

Dearest James,

I've been sitting here crying for hours now. I know I've hurt you, but I can't help how I feel. I do love you, more than I give myself credit for. I'm writing this because I want you to know that it is possible to be in love with more than one person. I love Smitty, but you also hold my heart. Your aging is slowing while mine continues on. I … I can't handle the fact of letting you down by growing old while you remain the wild and untamed man I have found myself falling for. You'll find another someday, heaven knows how long it will take, a day, a year, fifty years? But you will, and if you do anything for me, be happy.

Love always,

Rose

"You psychic or something, Darlin?" James laughed. "I have found someone, and you'd love her, Rose, she's incredibly smart, as stubborn as me and as beautiful as you. I ask you to forgive me; I took your happiness, but I hope someday, somehow to make it up. I love you, Rose, But now … my heart doesn't belong to you any longer. Goodbye, my Rose."

With that James stood up and walked toward the two others. "Come on, Sirius, we're going home."

"Hey, Logan!" Smitty called as the two began to walk off.

"Yeah, old man?" James looked over his shoulder.

"If you take my name, you have to pay for it you know, James Potter," Smitty smiled.

"What do you want for it then?" James smirked.

"Name your firstborn after me, and we'll call it even," Smitty nodded with a wink.

"Deal," James nodded, "Take it easy, old man."

"You too, son," Smitty nodded as James and Sirius left.

Summer came and went quite unevently for Lily Evans.

Lily fiddled with the hem of her skirt in the back seat with her sister as her parents drove her toward the train station.

"What's the matter, Lily?" Petunia grinned, "Looking forward to seeing your pet Wolf again?"

"Number one, I'm still mad at him," Lily snarled, "Number two, that's Wolverine, not Wolf."

"What the bloody hell is a wolverine anyway?" Petunia chuckled.

"PETUNIA! Watch your language, young lady!" Mrs. Evans scolded. She then turned her attention toward her elder daughter, "Lily dear, surely his name isn't Wolverine. What kind of parent would name their kid that?"

"That's just a nickname, Mum," Lily blushed, "His real name is James, James Potter."

"Lily Potter, hmmm," Petunia mused, "I don't know, it could have a nice ring with the correct accent behind it."

"That's no worse than Petunia Dursley, that'sas bad as ripping your own tongue out of your mouth just saying it!" Lily replied, smiling at her gasping sister.

"Vernon is a nice guy, Lily," Petunia replied defensively.

"He's as big as a barn!" Lily explained, "And a barn's smarter!"

"That's enough from both of you!" Mr. Evans said loudly, "We're here."

All four got out of the car, and Mr. Evans popped the trunk, "Want me to help you carry the platform, sweetheart?"

"You don't have to, bub," a voice said from behind them, and a pair of arms reached past them and picked up the trunk, "I've got Lil covered."

"JAMES!" Lily all but screamed before hugging him tightly, almost making him and her trunk fall to the ground.

"I thought you were still mad at him?" Petunia sulked, crossing her arms, "How come she gets the cute guys and I get pig/man hybrids."

"So you're the Wolverine," Mr. Evans stated.

"That's what a few people call me," James nodded, "Friends call me James."

"May I ask where you got that nickname?" Mr. Evans questioned in protective father mode.

"Wolverines in Canada are some of the most protective creatures God ever made," James explained, readjusting Lily's trunk in his arms, "Been known to kill even an animal five times its size to protect its family. While I lived in Canada, some Eskimos I lived with for a while gave me the name. They said I was as loyal and protective as the wolverine, and it stuck." James shrugged.

Mr. Evans nodded in understanding, "I'll be trusting you to be like that with our daughter while she's away, watch after her for us, will you, James?"

"Count on it, bub," James nodded, "Come on, Darlin, don't want to miss the train, eh?"

"Right, let's go James," Lily nodded and the two left the Evans family.

Petunia watched them go and sat back down roughly in the car, "Why doesn't Verny ever call me Darling?"

James sat with a smile on his face in his compartment with Sirius, Lupin, and Lily. The other two Marauders, a name he coined himself for the group of troublemakers, were playing Exploding Snap while Lily sat across from him, leaning against the wall and snoring so softly only his and possibly Lupin's ears could pick it up.

Even the cold Wolverine had to admit Lily was cute when she was asleep.

His ears then picked up something, the sound of footsteps on top of the train car. "Sirius, Lupin, stay with Lily," James said, standing up and pulling his wand.

James walked up and down the hall of the train, sniffing the air, but could only get a faint feeling of danger from his enhanced senses.

He quickly made his back to the compartment, and jumped when Lily attacked with questions as soon as he walked in the door.

"Slow down, something's up, but I don't think it's serious," James lied, sitting back down, "So relax before you go gray."

Lily humphed and sat down roughly, earning a chuckle from James.

"What?" she snapped.

"No, nothing!" James said quickly before turning his attention to the window to listen for more sounds.

The Train arrived at Hogwarts Station on schedule, and the students quickly piled into the Great Hall. "I trust you all have had an excellent summer," Professor Dumbledore said with a smile as he stood before the student body.

His gaze traveled over the crowd before continuing, "I have a few start-of-term announcements before we begin the sorting ceremony. The first being we will be beginning a class for Defense Against the Dark Arts this year. On that same note, I'm sure you have heard rumors of an uprising of Dark Wizards calling themselves Death Eaters, this rumor is the whole reason for the creation of this new class. Any information on the subject will be given in do time, but until then …"

"Perhaps I can fill in the details professor," a voice called that was frighteningly familiar to James.

"Welcome back, Mr. Riddle," Dumbledore greeted with a weary smile.

"You know you really should up security," Tom Riddle said, walking into the room escorted by a small army of cloaked figures, "And Tom Marvolo Riddle is no more, Dumbledore. From this day on, I am Lord Voldemort, and Hogwarts is MY fortress."

"Gotta have a army to do your fighting, Dog?" James said, standing to his feet and drawing his wand, "I always knew you were a coward!"

"Howlett?" Voldemort tilted his head to the side, "You're still alive, freak?"

"James …" Lily said worriedly, making Voldemort's eyes light up.

"Malfoy," Voldemort said to Lucius Malfoy's father, "Get that girl," he ordered before turning back to James, "I see you found another beautiful redhead to kill with your little claws, huh, Howlett?"

Malfoy walked toward Lily, and James immediately stepped between them, "Don't even think about it, bub," James hissed warningly.

"STUPEFY!" Malfoy fired a spell from his wand, knocking James a few feet back, "Accio Wand!" he called again, drawing James' wand to his hand. He then grabbed the frightened girl by the neck and pulled her to it, "Aw, poor little student can't fight without his wand can you!"

"MALFOY DON'T BE-" 'snikt' "stupid …" Voldemort stated far too late.

Lily's screams were the only thing that could be heard as James leapt at Malfoy, pushing his fist into the man's side, blood spraying from his side and running out of his mouth. Lily stumbled forward to the ground, and crawled away from the scene toward Lupin and Sirius as James continued to maul the Death Eater like a rabid animal.

The room was quiet, Professors, students and Death Eaters alike stared in awe as James stood hunched over Malfoy's body, blood dripping from his now crimson fists and bone claws.

James' brown eyes came up to rest on the smiling Voldemort, "Still the wild animal trying to masquerade as a human?" the Dark Lord laughed.

"I wouldn't laugh, bub, you're next!" James growled.

"Is it worth it?" Voldemort asked.

"What?"

"Was killing him like an animal worth the price you just paid?" Voldemort asked again, his smile broadening. "It really is fun watching your life disintegrate. What is this, your third life?"

James glanced around the Great Hall at the wide-eyed, fearful looks from everyone. Then his eyes settled on Lily.

Lily was still on the ground, staring at James with a dazed look on her pale face; the only color there was the few drops of Malfoy's blood that managed to splash onto it.

"Lil …" James said, closing his eyes before turning back to Voldemort, "Dog, It's time we finished what we started over fifty years ago."

"I'm stronger than ever, James," Voldemort smiled, "You can't beat me even with your little claws."

"I will not allow this!" Dumbledore yelled, raising his own wand.

"Dumbledore, can you stop all of my Death Eaters from casting the Killing Curse on your students?" Voldemort asked and then smiled as the headmaster lowered his wand, "Good, if the freak can best me, we'll leave, but if he can't, you surrender your castle and all the Mudbloods present.

"I won't let you touch Lily or any of the others like her," James snarled.

"Lily? Ha, what is it with you and flowers? First Rose, now Lily? You're a piece of work, Freak," Voldemort laughed.

James dove at Voldemort in an attempt at slashing the Dark Lord, but Voldemort sent him flying backwards with a blast from his wand.

"JAMES!" Lily called, finally coming out of her stupor, having to be held back from running to James by both Lupin and Sirius.

Voldemort picked up the stunned James by the throat, "This won't take long, old friend," Voldemort said before blasting James across the room again.

James pulled himself back to his feet, only to be violently jerked toward Voldemort by the dark wizard's magic. Voldemort then lifted him by the neck again, "Don't worry, Howlett," Voldemort grinned, "She's very beautiful for a Mudblood. I'll treat her … very nicely before I finally kill her."

Voldemort then found himself rising off the ground himself, only from sharp pains in his chest running through him and out his back in three locations, over and over again. Voldemort dropped to his knees, coughing up blood. James, with an animalistic roar, brought his clawed fist across Voldemort's face, cutting through his skin and scraping the man's skull.

The Dark Lord tumbled to the ground, screaming and holding his face, "YOU … YOU BASTARD!" He screamed through the pain, "Do you realize how long it took to heal the LAST TIME!"

"THIS IS FOR ROSE!" James yelled, bringing his claw down through the man's back. "AND THIS IS FOR THREATENING LILY!" He yelled again, sinking his other fist into his back.

James withdrew his claws and glared down at the bloody form, "You still alive?"

"You …you'll never be rid of me, Howlett, never!" he coughed, "D-Death Eaters … help me!"

The group of cloaked figures then blasted James across the room with spells before helping their leader to his feet and making a hasty retreat with one final scream from the Dark Lord, "You haven't heard the last of me, James Howlett!"

James stood there to catch his breath before finally looking back at the stunned professors and students.

"James?" Lily said, softly walking up to him.

"Stay back!" James said, stepping away from the girl, who visibly flinched when she saw the claws. James caught the flinch easily and retracted his claws, "Lil … I … I'm sorry … I …" he tried to talk, but shook his head, and quickly ran from the Great Hall.

"JAMES! WAIT!" Lily called, running after him.

"All students will return to your houses, for now all first years will stay here until the sorting ceremony. The Head Boy and Girl will watch over the first years. Professors, please come to my office as soon as the students are save in the their houses," Dumbledore ordered firmly.

Lily ran through the grounds of Hogwarts desperately. A storm had rolled in, but the downpour had not slowed her search at all.

She finally spotted someone on top of the Astrology Tower and made a beeline for the stairs.

"James?" Lily asked, seeing him standing at the edge of the tower, looking out over the storm.

"I'm sorry," James stated, not turning back.

Lily simply watched him. She quickly noticed he had his claws extended. "I really blew it, didn't I?" James asked, catching the girl by surprise.

"What?" Lily blinked, pushing a strand of soaked hair from her face.

"I'll probably be run out of school before morning," James stated, an uncharacteristic tremble to his voice. "Normal people don't like … people like me. Abomination, freak, mutant, I'm used to being hated, but I thought maybe I could last a lot longer here before I was run out with pitchforks and torches…"

"Wherever you go, I'll be right there with you," Lily stated firmly.

"What?" It was James' turn to be surprised.

"You heard me, James Potter, or James Howlett, or whoever you are," Lily shook her head, "I owe you my life, and I'm staying by you for as long as I possibly can."

"I'm a dangerous freak, Lil," James said, turning his back again, "Go back to Peter. He doesn't have a backbone, but he's better for you than a monster like me."

James gasped when he was spun around, then forcefully slapped across the face, "Talking like that, Peter isn't the one lacking a backbone!" Lily tried to sound angry, but her trembling voice canceled it out. "You really want to run away, take on a new name, hit the reset button and forget all about what happened here? I definitely don't want that, and I'm pretty sure this Rose person wouldn't want that either. Don't look surprised, I heard your conversation."

"You talk like I'm human or something," James said, looking away again, "Dog was right, I'm just an animal."

'SLAP'

"WOULD YOU STOP HITTING ME!"

"I'll stop hitting you when you stop being stupid!" Lily screamed back, trembling, "You're not an abomination; you're not a freak, and you're not an animal! I wouldn't fall in love with any of those things!"

"What?"

"I said you're not an abomination, a freak, or an animal!" Lily said angrily, rubbing her tear and rain soaked eyes frantically.

"No, after that," James said, a strange glimmer in his eyes that resembled hope. "You love me?"

"I … I really said that out loud?" Lily stammered, turning the color of her hair. Before she could react, James had moved in and kissed the girl with everything he had.

Lily gasped in his mouth out of shock at first, but quickly relaxed into it, and slid her arms around his neck, returning the kiss.

They finally pulled back due to nothing more than lack of air, "Whoa …" Lily panted, "I've … wanted you to that since before summer holiday …"

"Yeah, me too …" James said, pulling her into an embrace and resting her head on his shoulder.

"So you aren't going to run away, James?" Lily asked hopefully.

"Wild hippogriffs couldn't run me off, Darlin'," he said stroking her hair before moving in for another kiss.

To Be Continued …

C. Cowboy: sorry it's taken so long to update this. Writers' block has been a nightmare on this, but it's finally over! We got one more part of the Flower and the Wolverine and then we're going to be back to Harry, Hermione and the rest of the X and Hogwarts Crew. Next chapter: the history of the rivalry between James and Voldemort and the events leading James to become the Logan we all know today. Don't forget to review!