I decided to update earlier then I said I would as I have a whole day off school before my exam tomorrow. You guys and girls have waited long enough for this so here is my little treat for you! Though that means the next chapter won't be up until the 18th June.
This chapter is shorter then my previous chapters but it should be worth it as more mysteries regarding James' return start to appear…answers will be coming soon…Enjoy!
Prongs Rides Again
Chapter Twenty-Four: Occlumency
James walked through Hogwarts corridors. It was still the Christmas holidays, however he had been summoned by Dumbledore, so James had left Grimmauld Place and travelled to Hogwarts. He had no idea what the headmaster wanted to speak to him about, but he knew deep down that it had something to do with Harry.
It always did. He could clearly remember the day when Dumbledore had informed him and Lily about the Prophecy and the affects it would have on his son's life.
And to think that Prophecy now rules his future…his decisions…though he doesn't know it.
He could understand why Dumbledore chose to keep it from Harry, but he wished he could've had a say in it himself. His son would need to know by his sixth year, James would make sure of that.
He reached the headmaster's office, said the password, and walked up the steps as the gargoyle turned. Knocking on the door, he opened it and stepped inside.
Albus Dumbledore sat at the desk, holding a quill in his right and writing a letter. His half moon glasses had slipped down his nose. He looked up as James entered, a faint smile on the tip of his lips.
"Ah…James." He clasped his hands together, "please sit down."
James seated himself in front of the desk, waiting patiently for his employer to speak.
"I want to inform you about what I have decided to do about Harry,"
James perked up, his hazel eyes shining. Did Dumbledore mean what James thought he meant?
Sadly, and unfortunately, Dumbledore quashed those hopes. "I will not inform Harry of the Prophecy until the end of the year, and only then, if I feel he is ready to accept the burden. I know it is hard for you to hear this, James, but I do not think it is necessary for your son to hear the Prophecy. The less he knows of it, the more chance he has of succeeding by chance."
James gritted his teeth. "If you don't tell him by his sixth year, I will tell him myself. I've already promised myself I would. I cannot break that."
Dumbledore sighed. "James…I know I cannot stop you, but when you come to do that, if you do, then please think carefully about how you phrase it. If said wrongly then Harry may get the wrong interpretation of it. I don't want to hurt him more then he already has been. With you here, James, you are valuable to us as an asset to protect him."
Swallowing James asked the question that had been gnawing on his mind since he had returned. "Why have I returned then?"
"I have no idea, James." The headmaster frowned. "I am researching it but there has been no record of it for thousands of years. No one has returned from the dead. I think that the reason has something to do with Lily's sacrifice and Harry's wish. I cannot say for certain, but I feel that Lily, who loved you more then anyone else, could have possibly bonded you two together with some form of spell."
"She was excellent at charms." James commented.
"Yes," Dumbledore agreed, "and I believe that she found a way to bond you and Harry together. I will tell you more when I know it, just give me a chance to sort through my notes."
James nodded. "What did you want to talk to me about?"
"Occlumency." Dumbledore answered.
"Occlumency?" James asked.
The headmaster nodded. "Yes, Occlumency. Do you know what it is?"
James shook his head. "No. I've heard of it, but I don't know what its use is for."
"It is a branch of magical defence designed to protect the mind against intrusion. I wish for Harry to be taught this technique, to stop him from receiving visions from Voldemort. He may not be able to determine whether it is real in what he is seeing, if he is not instructed in its use. Mastering Occlumency will enable Harry to sleep better, for I know for a fact that he is plagued by dreams of a strange nature, that are confusing him. If Voldemort wishes to get hold of Harry, all he needs to do is send him a vision of someone he loves being hurt and he will go to that destination, not knowing that it could be a trap. I do not want Harry to face this alone."
The headmaster clasped his hands together. "However before I can issue Occlumency lessons, I would like to have your permission."
"If it saved Harry's life, then yes, I would allow it." James answered. "Would you be teaching him?"
"Sadly, no. I have asked Severus Snape, as he is an expert at Occlumency. If anyone can help Harry, he can."
James stuttered. "But he hates Harry! He wouldn't teach him! He's more likely to open his mind further for Voldemort!"
Dumbledore eyed James carefully through his half-moon glasses. "Do you think I'd be trusting Snape this if I thought he hadn't truly turned to our side?"
James' shoulder slumped. How could he deny that? Snape, after all, had defected during the early 1980s just before Harry had been born. It had been him who had alerted them of the prophecy and received word that Voldemort was going after Harry. If it hadn't been for him, then James would not have known of the threat on his sons life, and it might've been possible that his son would have been killed at the first chance Voldemort had got. But thanks to Snape's information, they had been given extra time to be with their son, no matter how short it had been.
"I suppose you're right." James said in a defeated tone. "If you trust him, then I do. I don't think you'll ever get Sirius convinced though."
"It does not concern him, James. Whatever his thoughts on Snape are, should not influence yours." Dumbledore said. "I can only hope that you three can learn to trust and look out for one another. Whether you like it or not, James, Snape is a valuable asset that has proven useful ever since he left Hogwarts. He has become a great friend. It is time you saw that too."
James was merely silent.
The Christmas holidays came to a grinding end. Before he even knew it, the students were back at Hogwarts, and James was busy teaching. He hardly had a chance to see Harry, especially with Umbridge breathing down his neck, trying to find ways to get him booted out of the castle. He also suspected that the old bat was spying on him secretly, and whenever he went to his study he made sure to do a spell detecting charm to see if Umbridge had placed any secretly inside his room without his knowledge. However, each time he could find nothing, which he was relieved about. As long as he found no sign of magic being used, then he had no reason to worry about the secrets that he hid being discovered on a whim.
By the end of the first week he hadn't even been able to speak to Harry, accept during lessons, however Umbridge had continued to inspect the lesson, therefore preventing James from talking quietly with his son. Umbridge seemed intent on talking to him when he passed by Harry. Obviously she hoped that he would say something that would doom him into being kicked out of the school, but James wasn't that stupid.
In the end he had Hagrid pass a note to Harry, during one of the lessons, unnoticed by Umbridge who was watching James deal with Draco Malfoy who had failed to do as instructed and had ended up having his finger shrinking. With the class in fits of laughter, it was easy for Hagrid to pass Harry the note and for him to read it, without fear of discovery.
That evening, James was waiting patiently for his son in the Room of Requirement with Sirius at his side, looking bored. The two rarely spoke. Being with each other most of the day had its advantages, but one of the disadvantages was, was that they both knew what the other had did. The only thing they had to talk about was the news in the Daily Prophet and that was hardly exciting. It was mainly the Prophet slamming the workings of Dumbledore and the way Hogwarts was run. It annoyed James immensely that Fudge would not see the light, and that he was determined to stamp down upon the lies that the headmaster spoke about.
The door to the Room of Requirement opened and in stepped Harry. His black hair was messy, sticking up at the back, exactly like James', if only a little tidier. He grinned when he saw James and Sirius.
"Hey."
James crossed his arms. "All right, kiddo, tell me about Occlumency."
Harry had had his first lesson the day after term had started.
"Well," Harry shuffled his feet unsure of how to proceed. "Um…"
Sirius interrupted. "Don't tell me…Snape was an ugly git as usual."
"Padfoot!" James scowled.
Stifling a laugh, Harry continued, "He said that I wasn't making an effort. He claimed that I wasn't trying hard to enough to stop him from penetrating my mind. He said it was easy that he found it a miracle that I could fend off the Imperious Curse like I did."
"And Snape said he would try not to insult you." James murmured. He had managed to ask Snape to not insult Harry during Occlumency, however that had now been proven to be a useless attempt. It appeared that Snape, no matter how much he was trying to be civil, just couldn't be kind to anyone. But then James could hardly blame him for that. Harry wouldn't have that problem if he hadn't been such a bully to Snape.
"Fat chance that did." Remarked Sirius.
"You'll have to keep trying, Harry. Occlumency is a very hard form of magic. Not many Wizards can do it, and only the best are capable." James explained.
"Can you do it?" Harry asked.
"No...but I did learn that my father, your grandfather, was excellent at it." James sourly noted. Dumbledore had informed him that his father, Harold Potter, had been a master at the practice of Occlumency, but had never had the chance to teach his son.
"I wish you knew how dad," Harry asked, hope pouring into his eyes. "You'd be much better then Snape."
"Professor Snape has had a lot more practice then I have." James reminded him. "I have no need to use it."
"Much as I don't like it," Sirius said, "Prongs has a point. Snivellus has been using this skill for a long time. He's had a lot of practice. It has proved useful over the years as well. He may be a greasy git but he certainly knows how to do Occlumency, maybe even better then Dumbledore himself."
"I trust Snape to help you learn this skill." Said James. "And I hope you will do your best for him."
Harry sighed. "I'll try, but I can't promise I will succeed. Professor Snape doesn't like me."
"I know. But sometimes we have to suffer in order to succeed." James said sadly.
Sirius glanced at James, realising that his friend was suffering over Lily, but he was succeeding in life because of his love for his son. He would die, again, for Harry. Sirius hoped that it wouldn't come to that.
Screaming.
James jerked awake, blearily glancing round the room. He, Harry and Sirius were sleeping in the Room of Requirement, as neither of them had wanted to separate. It would've been the first time for any of them to spend any quality family time together.
Harry was tossing and turning under the covers, where he lay on the sofa that James had willed into existence a few hours before.
Sirius was kneeling next to Harry, slapping his face gently, trying to wake him.
Rushing over, James placed a hand on his son's head. Immediately he felt pain tingle up his arm and then explode into his awareness. He heard maniacal laughter and many happy and jubilant emotions ran through his brain.
Voldemort…
His head told him that Voldemort was happy, and that his son could feel this because of the scar that connected him to the Dark Lord. But why could James hear it? He struggled to pull his hand from Harry's forehead but he was stuck. Then from his own mind he heard a cold voice echoing into his thoughts.
Welcome back James Potter…It is so wonderful to see you again…I shall enjoy killing you again…
The voice left and James collapsed to the floor, his energy spent. Darkness claimed him.
"Welcome back, James."
The soft voice of Albus Dumbledore greeted him as he opened his eyes. James lay in the hospital wing. Beside him was Sirius in his dog form. "Where's Harry?" he asked, the words coming all slurred.
"He is fine and resting in Gryffindor Tower." The headmaster answered.
James worked to find his tongue. "What happened?"
"By touching Harry you experienced what Voldemort was feeling. He was happy because something bad has happened for us, but good for him. I do not know what has happened that he knows, but Voldemort is pleased about something."
"He spoke to me, Voldemort did. He recognised me."
"Ah…yes…you connected yourself to Harry and through that, Voldemort was able to sense you and speak to you. He has been unsure of whether you are truly alive…now he knows for certain that in fact you have returned. He will do anything to destroy you, James."
"How did I become connected in the first place?"
Dumbledore sighed. "I have no idea, James. I am researching as to why you were brought back, and I have a feeling that that it has to do with Lily and Harry and Voldemort in some respect. You and Harry are connected in some way, but I do not see how. When I have answers, I will provide them, but for now, rest James. We cannot have a Care of Magical Creatures teacher, who is unable to keep his eyes open."
James smiled, and then closed his eyes, falling back into a dreamless sleep, as his body worked to restore him back to health. The connection with Harry's mind had weakened him considerably.
TBC
So James has a connection with Harry…unfortunately no one has answers for him, yet!
Thank you's go to the following people: JTBJAB; shazia)Riavera; Harry Potter Gater-girl; Skyshifter; ambereyes2873; SpellMasters; Suicidal Bunnies; RoschLupin-Black; sirius'girl4eva99; The Kaizeress; Loonie Potter; Devilangel05; IamSiriusgrl; faeriekittie306 animelover; zippyfox; Lunatic Pandora1; supernova8610; jabarber69; amrawo; dweem-angel; oxymoronique; Crazy-Physco; emuerz; bandgsecurtiyaw; missy mee; shannyauburn; Sylvia Helm; and Padfoot's Sidekick.
Silverspecter: I know hoe you feel about being busy. I have been as well so I haven't been able to review people's stories (like yours). I'll try and get some comic relief in but it will be difficult as we are getting to the rather depressing parts of the story!
HarrysGrl: Don't worry if the review took so long! I don't mind! I'm not writing for reviews, I'm writing for fun and to share a story in a different way. Peter will come into play sometime in the future and he and James will meet eventually. But the question is whether James will kill him or will he choose to save him? Unfortunately I can't say yet. We won't see the Pensieve scene but we will hear James' version of it. But that won't be happening until Chapter 28. And I'm still deciding whether Sirius will survive or die. I do hope whatever way I go with that, I won't lose readers. A lot have requested for him to survive so I have no idea what to do! Thanks for your review!
Dark Angel's Blue Fire: I'm still in the process of deciding whether Sirius lives or dies.
RSegovia: You can flame me or criticise me as much as you want. The more you do the more I'll improve! I will take your advice, and there will be action coming very soon. We are in the stage where things have to be dragged out and explained in a sense in order for me to continue into the action. In five chapters time the action will start…please try to wait it out. I know five weeks is a long time but everything should begin to fall into piece in the next few chapters. The stories you suggested I have already read and I admire those authors for the hard work they have put into the stories. I am trying and learning along the way. I will try not to copy much text from the book. It will be only rarely from now on. Thank you for the review!
Lady Taliesin: I was going to email you and say you haven't reviewed Chapter 22, but I decided that it would be best to let you revise. Don't apologise for picking out my mistakes, as you say its good practice for your English exams. One of these days I will go back and edit the whole story, but that's only when it is finished (and who know's when that will be!) Yes, James was there when his parents were murdered (according to me that is, whether he was in JKR's version, we'll have to see) but we will learn more about Harry's grandparents in this story later on. The double-twin thing going on, yeah, I have two friends at school (two girls) who are twins but they are not identical. One is football mad (reminds me of you actually) and the other is all into making herself look good, totally opposite to each other. But these twins actually can do the double twin thing even though you know which one is which as they are not identical. Hopefully that made sense….Another grammar mistake! Thanks for pointing it out! Yeah we will add Kreacher to the hate club, if you want. Yes, Molly is Harry's godmother and will be for a long time. Good question about Harry and the pantry…here's my answer…maybe he likes it in there. It's so secluded that no one can bother him…I'll try and be a bit more creative…Yes, I think Dumbledore was a but of an idiot, especially keeping things from Harry and James as well…hehe. James has yet to learn the tact of keeping his mouth shut…and I doubt he'll be learning that anytime soon. Ahh, about Harry and St Mungos. Everyone had been to St Mungos apart from Harry (who can't remember as he was a new born baby then) and James has automatically assumed that Harry would go to St Mungos for illnesses and stuff. He's completely forgotten that Harry was raised by the Dursleys. He thinks that since Harry was a wizard that he would use the magic hospital and we all know what the Dursleys think of magic…hopefully that clears that confusion up! I agree with you that the sentence (I know the one you mean) is way too long and fragmented. I re wrote it a dozen times and I ended up just leaving it like that as nothing would work. About James not being in the delivery room, my mum told me that when she gave birth in 1980 to my older brother, her husband wasn't allowed in, so I was going by that. Whether he was allowed or not I'm not sure…Another typo…whoops. Yes, James let slip about the prophecy. He really does need to keep his mouth shut. About the Harry line where he says he has that feeling, I'm leaving it in, because it is foreshadowing what he is now beginning to guess. He's working it out on his own. I know that you wrote in your review that you said Harry would not say that. He hasn't worked it out but he's guessing and he's also trying to prompt James into telling him about it. However he really has no clue, Harry's going on his experiences with Voldemort in the past. If you want me to change it then I will. I have no problem with it, I just felt I had to justify why I would like to keep it in. I don't think Sirius has any parenting abilities…James is undecided on Wormtail's fate. They will be meeting very soon…hmmm, you really love the Marauders don't you (save for Wormtail?) The Order doesn't mix well with Christmas either. A rather long review and took me more then 30 minutes to reply to, but then I don't mind. If you wrote a 20 pages review I'd still reply, though probably through e-mail though…Once again thanks for the good luck for my exams (by the time you've read this, I would have finished them all). Phew now that this response is done I can now write more story!
Next chapter: On Probation in which James gets bad news and Hermione and Ron ask James for a favour. Coming on Saturday 18th June!
Farewell and thanks for all the fish! (I just couldn't resist - Hitchhikers is a great film, anyone who hasn't seen it should!)
MissBlackPotter