Chapter 6

Father Meets Son

James was already out the door when Sirius finished saying the spell. He ran out of the portrait of the fat lady and ran all the way to the Heads Dorm. He stopped in front of the portrait, ready to say the password, when he heard a shrill voice call out his name.

"James! Come back here this instant!"

He turned around grudgingly, gritting his teeth. He saw the eyes of Lily Evans barring into him, with Sirius following behind her.

"We said we'd go together to talk to him tomorrow, not go one at a time in the middle of the night to scare him half to death! What if he has the same reaction with you that he had with Sirius and me? It could be even worse this time because he looks exactly like you!"

"Lily, listen, I just want to see if he's dangerous or not. I don't want him to hurt you again! I want to know now if he's a spy for Voldemort!" he said, trying to keep his voice steady. He turned around and opened his mouth to say magic, but Lily interrupted him.

"Don't you dare!"

"Magic," he said. He walked forward just as Lily grabbed his arm.

"Take one more step! I dare you!" she said venomously.

"That has got to be the lousiest dare I've ever heard," James said as he walked forward once more, pulling his arm away from Lily. He was taken by surprise how different the room looked from yesterday. Lily had been right; their names weren't on the golden plaques over the door. He cane back to his senses quickly and walked straight for the door labeled Ron. He opened it and walked in. He saw a boy with messy black hair tossing and turning in the bed. He was talking in his sleep.

"No….please….Remus let me go! He's just over there! Behind the veil….NO! Sirius is not…he's not dead! He's just over there!...Voldemort!...Get away from me! Leave me alone! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Suddenly, the boy's arms and legs started twitching more than before as he fell out of his bed, his covers still tangled around him. He continued to lay there, now motionless. It was completely quiet except for the quiet sobs of the boy on the floor.

"I'm so sorry, Sirius…. It's all my fault. It's my fault you died. It's my fault Cedric died, my fault mum died…dad…Hagrid…Neville. That should have been me!" he banged his fists on the floor and rose to his knees facing the wall. "Each time, it should have been me! Every time someone died, it was because Voldemort was looking for me! It's all my fault…all my fault…. And Dumbledore…why did you…why did I promise to do what you said? If I hadn't, you would still be alive." As he continued, his sobs became louder and fiercer.

Lily watched as her heart went out to the boy, forgetting all the anger she had felt toward James just seconds before. She felt responsible for the pain in his life. Wait! She thought. I've only met this boy once! How could I be responsible for what is going on in his life? Lily, you're being crazy. She

continued to listen to his speech about how it was his entire fault and how he wished it would all just

stop. She felt such pity for him she couldn't believe it. She wanted to run up and hold him and tell him

it would be all right. She thought no one should go through so much so early in life.

Sirius was in a trance. This was the second time he heard he was dead. But that's not possible! I'm standing right here! I am not dead! Plus, it might be another person named Sirius. But how many guys are there named Sirius? I don' t even know this kid! How could he be grieving my death? The death of someone he doesn't even know…not that I am the Sirius he's talking about! Plus, I'm right here, standing, breathing, and listening. I'm very much alive! A corpse doesn't breathe!

As Sirius kept battling with himself on whether or not he was dead, James looked at the boy with a disgusted look. This kid only thinks about himself! "Oh woe is me! Oh woe is me! I have no one! I'm all alone!" Ha! I've got news for ya buddy! I'm alone too! I have no family either and I don't go around moping! I also have people trying to kill me and I don't act like it's the end of the world! He continued to scoff at Harry as he watched in disgust as he continued to scream and yell at himself.

Harry finally rose to his feet, wiped his eyes and for the first time, noticed the strangers who had been watching him. He froze and stared at the three figures in his doorway. James walked toward him, but it didn't change the distance between the two boys, for Harry was backing away from James.

"So, you're Harry Potter. The famous Harry Potter! The Boy-Who-Lived! The Chosen One, whatever that one is supposed to mean. Well, from what I can see, you're just a pathetic little bowl of jell-o."

"James! Can't you see you're scaring him?" Lily said, trying to stop James from getting to close to Harry.

"If it's true what they say, then I shouldn't scare him. If he really has fought Voldemort before, then why should he be scared of me?" James looked at Harry with a slight smile playing across his face. Then, they heard a tiny voice speak.

"You're supposed to be dead."

"Excuse me? I'm standing right here! I'm not dead!" James said. "I think you have mental problems."

"I watched you die," he said, pointing at Sirius. "And you two, you were murdered by Voldemort! You've been dead for sixteen years!"

"Harry," Lily said, coming forward. Harry backed away even more until he fell over a t-shirt on the floor. Lily stopped walking, trying to show Harry she wasn't going to hurt him. "We can't be dead, Harry," she said sweetly. "Do really think if we were dead, we would be standing in front of you?"

Harry just stared at them. James started to become annoyed with the silence and walked toward Harry once more.

"Get away from me! All of you!" Harry shouted, picking up a pillow and throwing it at James.

"Not until I get some answers," James said, blocking the pillow. His now cold eyes staring at the boy

who looked just like him, save the eyes and scar on his forehead. He was a few inches away from a shaking Harry.