A/N Here's the next chapter! Hope you like it!
Disclaimer: I don't own the stuff you ppls recognise, it belongs to Rowling.
"The last thing I remember," James began, his voicing still shaky, "before I was – controlled or whatever, was this man. He had huge eyes, and when I looked at them, it was kind of like they were surrounding me or something. Then, it was like I fell asleep for a few minutes. The next thing that I saw was Sirius asking what happened to my ear, because one of the guys who grabbed me had torn it open. I tried to tell him what happened, but I didn't. I said I didn't know. It was like I could see what was going on, but I couldn't do anything. That's how it happened all of the next day, except there's blank spots, where I can't remember what happened. I remember sneaking out of the dormitory to get here, but I don't remember what I did after that." James looked down, ashamed that he had been the one that attacked Dumbledore.
"It's not your fault," Dumbledore said softly. "There are very few people who can resist the power of that man."
"But I shouldn't have gotten caught in the first place!" the boy burst out. "It was a stupid thing to do, and I should've known that!"
Dumbledore shook his head, but didn't reply.
"But who were those guys working for?" Sirius asked, eager for a little more information.
For another moment, the headmaster didn't say anything. Finally, with an odd look, he said, "Tom."
That was it. The three boys waited for him to say something else, but it was silent.
"Who's Tom?" Sirius prodded after a minute.
"That, I'm afraid, is a subject for another day," replied Dumbledore. "Now, I'm sure that you are all terribly exhausted after all that has happened today."
"I'm not!" protested Sirius boldly. "Who's Tom?"
"You'll have to hear that story another day," said Dumbledore firmly. "James, if you need anything, you can go to Madam Pomfrey."
"I'll be okay," James responded quickly. He didn't want his story to be all around the school by morning. With a nod, Dumbledore dismissed them.
"Well, now we have two names to figure out, and still no help," Sirius grumbled as they walked up one of the staircases. There was no reply. Looking at his friends, he saw James with his head down and Remus playing with the hem of his sleeve.
"Look, James-"Sirius started to say, but then he changed his mind when he saw the expression on his friend's face. Instead, he asked, "What're you thinking about, Remus?"
There was no answer. Remus continued on as if he hadn't heard anything.
"Remus? Remus!" Sirius shouted. Finally, Remus looked up in surprise.
"Oh, sorry," he said sheepishly, "I was kind of thinking hard."
"I noticed," replied Sirius dryly, "want to tell us what you were thinking so hard about?"
"Well," Remus said, with a quick glance at James, who still hadn't looked up, "what if Tom and this Lord Voldemort guy are the same person? And what if this is someone that Dumbledore knows, or at least used to know? And then what if Dumbledore knows what this guy is doing? And what if – "He stopped suddenly, then shook his head. "It's mostly just a lot of guesswork."
"It's a start," Sirius stated as they arrived at Gryffindor. They drew more than a few stares as they crossed the Common Room; most people had never seen James so quiet. Remus noticed that Lily's eyes followed them as they went up the staircase. She looked anxious about something, but he forgot about it as soon as he entered the dormitory. He really was exhausted, and his bed looked really nice and soft. Unfortunately for him, Peter had followed them up.
"What happened?" he squeaked. "Why were you all chasing each other? Did I do something wrong? I didn't mean to mess anything up, I didn't know – "
"SHUT UP!" Sirius roared, throwing a pillow at him. Eyes wide, Peter clamped his mouth shut and sat stiffly on his bed. Jumping between the sheets, Remus was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.
The next day was Saturday, leaving the whole school plenty of time to exchange rumors. James, Remus, and Sirius took their breakfast outside, followed by Peter. The cold morning was silent, the heavy grey clouds pressing down on them.
"Want to go watch Quidditch practice?" Sirius suggested.
"Sure," James replied. Remus glanced at him, glad that he was finally starting to talk again.
After about a half-hour, it began to snow. It snowed harder and harder, soon turning almost to a blizzard. The four boys ran back to the castle, half-frozen by the time they got there. James paused just outside the doors, in front of a stone pillar, and Sirius got a relieved look on his face. Curious, Remus looked from James to Sirius, then back to James. Pulling off his gloves, James tossed them to Sirius and began punching the pillar. Not just lightly punching it, but punching as hard as he could. Remus stared uncertainly, almost wondering if James' mind had been affected by the past few days. After a minute or two, James took his gloves back and led the way into the castle.
"I'll explain later," Sirius whispered when Remus looked at him. They followed James, who was now wiping the blood off of his knuckles, and returned to the Gryffindor Common Room. Peter was still looking at James fearfully, as if he thought James might suddenly turn and attack them.
"Potter!"
Stephen Holt, Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, motioned for James to join him. Sirius started to follow, but Remus stopped him.
"What was that all about?" asked Remus. Sirius looked confused for a moment, then nodded.
"That was a good thing," he answered. "That's what James does when he's getting over something. It means that he's back to normal."
Remus stared at Sirius for a second, then shook his head. "That's a weird way to get over something."
Laughing, Sirius nodded, and they went to see what Holt was saying.
"We'll have a Chaser and a Seeker spot open next year," Holt was telling James. "Train over the summer, and you might make it onto the team. By the way – "Holt looked down at the younger boy's hand. "What did you do?"
"Punched one of those pillars outside," replied James casually.
"Right," Holt said, looking slightly confused. "Well, um, you just – you just work on it and I'll talk to you later."
"What was that all about?" Remus wondered as they walked away.
"Oh, he saw my broomstick practice and thought I was pretty good," James told them, messing up his hair as they passed Lily's group.
Yup, Remus thought, things are definitely going back to normal.
A/N Good Chapter? Review!
TheDudeLordOfFantasy – You think I'm that good? You're awesome! Thanks a ton! I don't know if I'll do all seven but I'll think about it.
Anyhow, about Peter – he's only eleven. I thought that was a little young to be planning this sort of thing. But thanx for the review!
Disclaimer: I don't own the stuff you ppls recognise, it belongs to Rowling.
"The last thing I remember," James began, his voicing still shaky, "before I was – controlled or whatever, was this man. He had huge eyes, and when I looked at them, it was kind of like they were surrounding me or something. Then, it was like I fell asleep for a few minutes. The next thing that I saw was Sirius asking what happened to my ear, because one of the guys who grabbed me had torn it open. I tried to tell him what happened, but I didn't. I said I didn't know. It was like I could see what was going on, but I couldn't do anything. That's how it happened all of the next day, except there's blank spots, where I can't remember what happened. I remember sneaking out of the dormitory to get here, but I don't remember what I did after that." James looked down, ashamed that he had been the one that attacked Dumbledore.
"It's not your fault," Dumbledore said softly. "There are very few people who can resist the power of that man."
"But I shouldn't have gotten caught in the first place!" the boy burst out. "It was a stupid thing to do, and I should've known that!"
Dumbledore shook his head, but didn't reply.
"But who were those guys working for?" Sirius asked, eager for a little more information.
For another moment, the headmaster didn't say anything. Finally, with an odd look, he said, "Tom."
That was it. The three boys waited for him to say something else, but it was silent.
"Who's Tom?" Sirius prodded after a minute.
"That, I'm afraid, is a subject for another day," replied Dumbledore. "Now, I'm sure that you are all terribly exhausted after all that has happened today."
"I'm not!" protested Sirius boldly. "Who's Tom?"
"You'll have to hear that story another day," said Dumbledore firmly. "James, if you need anything, you can go to Madam Pomfrey."
"I'll be okay," James responded quickly. He didn't want his story to be all around the school by morning. With a nod, Dumbledore dismissed them.
"Well, now we have two names to figure out, and still no help," Sirius grumbled as they walked up one of the staircases. There was no reply. Looking at his friends, he saw James with his head down and Remus playing with the hem of his sleeve.
"Look, James-"Sirius started to say, but then he changed his mind when he saw the expression on his friend's face. Instead, he asked, "What're you thinking about, Remus?"
There was no answer. Remus continued on as if he hadn't heard anything.
"Remus? Remus!" Sirius shouted. Finally, Remus looked up in surprise.
"Oh, sorry," he said sheepishly, "I was kind of thinking hard."
"I noticed," replied Sirius dryly, "want to tell us what you were thinking so hard about?"
"Well," Remus said, with a quick glance at James, who still hadn't looked up, "what if Tom and this Lord Voldemort guy are the same person? And what if this is someone that Dumbledore knows, or at least used to know? And then what if Dumbledore knows what this guy is doing? And what if – "He stopped suddenly, then shook his head. "It's mostly just a lot of guesswork."
"It's a start," Sirius stated as they arrived at Gryffindor. They drew more than a few stares as they crossed the Common Room; most people had never seen James so quiet. Remus noticed that Lily's eyes followed them as they went up the staircase. She looked anxious about something, but he forgot about it as soon as he entered the dormitory. He really was exhausted, and his bed looked really nice and soft. Unfortunately for him, Peter had followed them up.
"What happened?" he squeaked. "Why were you all chasing each other? Did I do something wrong? I didn't mean to mess anything up, I didn't know – "
"SHUT UP!" Sirius roared, throwing a pillow at him. Eyes wide, Peter clamped his mouth shut and sat stiffly on his bed. Jumping between the sheets, Remus was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.
The next day was Saturday, leaving the whole school plenty of time to exchange rumors. James, Remus, and Sirius took their breakfast outside, followed by Peter. The cold morning was silent, the heavy grey clouds pressing down on them.
"Want to go watch Quidditch practice?" Sirius suggested.
"Sure," James replied. Remus glanced at him, glad that he was finally starting to talk again.
After about a half-hour, it began to snow. It snowed harder and harder, soon turning almost to a blizzard. The four boys ran back to the castle, half-frozen by the time they got there. James paused just outside the doors, in front of a stone pillar, and Sirius got a relieved look on his face. Curious, Remus looked from James to Sirius, then back to James. Pulling off his gloves, James tossed them to Sirius and began punching the pillar. Not just lightly punching it, but punching as hard as he could. Remus stared uncertainly, almost wondering if James' mind had been affected by the past few days. After a minute or two, James took his gloves back and led the way into the castle.
"I'll explain later," Sirius whispered when Remus looked at him. They followed James, who was now wiping the blood off of his knuckles, and returned to the Gryffindor Common Room. Peter was still looking at James fearfully, as if he thought James might suddenly turn and attack them.
"Potter!"
Stephen Holt, Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, motioned for James to join him. Sirius started to follow, but Remus stopped him.
"What was that all about?" asked Remus. Sirius looked confused for a moment, then nodded.
"That was a good thing," he answered. "That's what James does when he's getting over something. It means that he's back to normal."
Remus stared at Sirius for a second, then shook his head. "That's a weird way to get over something."
Laughing, Sirius nodded, and they went to see what Holt was saying.
"We'll have a Chaser and a Seeker spot open next year," Holt was telling James. "Train over the summer, and you might make it onto the team. By the way – "Holt looked down at the younger boy's hand. "What did you do?"
"Punched one of those pillars outside," replied James casually.
"Right," Holt said, looking slightly confused. "Well, um, you just – you just work on it and I'll talk to you later."
"What was that all about?" Remus wondered as they walked away.
"Oh, he saw my broomstick practice and thought I was pretty good," James told them, messing up his hair as they passed Lily's group.
Yup, Remus thought, things are definitely going back to normal.
A/N Good Chapter? Review!
TheDudeLordOfFantasy – You think I'm that good? You're awesome! Thanks a ton! I don't know if I'll do all seven but I'll think about it.
Anyhow, about Peter – he's only eleven. I thought that was a little young to be planning this sort of thing. But thanx for the review!