I am sorry for the slow update...;;
Me and ffdotnet hasn't been in good terms lately....;; It literally would not let me update....;;
I tried again and it worked this time...
On a different note, my finals are coming up and I'm taking a trip to Japan...
But I will update as much as I can before I leave.
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Part 8
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Hogwarts: Dumbledore's office
August 18th, 1994
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"Visions, ...James?"
Dumbledore leaned in.
"Yes, Albus. I am completely conscious while seeing them."
James tiredly rubbed his forehead.
Dumbledore conjured a teacup to pour some tea for James.
"No tea… May I have a cold soft drink if you have some?"
James asked.
"Of course."
Right when Dumbledore said it, a house elf appeared in the room.
"Yes, Headmaster Dumbledore?"
It was Dobby. James had the urge to hug the little elf, but held it.
"Can you bring some soda pops for Mr. James and I?"
Dobby turned to James and widened his eyes. For an instant, James was afraid the elf recognized who he was. But the elf just smiled and nodded his head.
"Welcome, Master James. You are the new professor."
James smiled and extended his hand.
"That's right. Nice to meet you--"
Dobby was shocked and backed away from James' hand. He looked at Dumbledore questioningly.
"His name is Dobby, Mr. James. A very dedicated worker."
Dumbledore smiled at the elf and nodded his head.
Dolby slowly reached out and touched James' hand. James took it and laughed.
"I don't bite, Dobby. Don't be afraid."
"NO, NO!! I am not afraid, Master James,... sir," Dobby quickly shook his head, "I'll get your drinks right of way, sir."
With a snap, Dobby disappeared.
James looked at Dumbledore and they both shared a laugh. But they stopped short when the elf reappeared.
"Here you go, sirs."
Dobby placed the tray of bottles and glass on Dumbledore's desk.
"Thank you, Dobby. That will be all."
Dumbledore poured the soda in the glass.
James realized Dobby was looking at him. He gave him a smile, to which the elf responded with a nervous twitch on the mouth. He fleetly snapped his fingers and was gone.
"God, I love that little guy."
James smiled. Dumbledore agreed and served James' drink.
"Thank you, Albus. But I prefer right out of the bottle."
James took the bottle and looked at the label.
"AJ Stephans Old Style Wild Strawberry? Albus?"
James eyed Dumbledore wickedly.
"I keep them in a secret place where I revealed only to the elves."
Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as he sipped the soda.
James almost drank the whole thing in one gulp. His throat ached a bit from the fizz, but it was very refreshing and something he really needed. He exhaled contently as he suppressed his belch.
"Excuse me."
James smiled at the headmaster.
Dumbledore smiled back and gave out a louder belch to outdo James.
"Good one, Albus."
James applauded.
Dumbledore placed the glass on his desk as he observed the man sitting across from him. He was worried that the information the man would release would change things, since he knew the future. While the old wizard wanted to help his favorite student as much as possible, he also knew he had to limit himself.
"I know what you're thinking, Albus.... and believe me, the feeling is mutual. The vision I'm about to tell you will not change anything since it already happened..."
It was as though James read his mind.
"How can you tell?"
The curious wizard asked.
"From my sixth year, I started having visions.... while still having dreams whenever I slept... And for quite sometime, I thought Voldemort was sending me images to manipulate me....," Dumbledore saw the deep sorrow in the man's eyes, "but I figured out he can only do that with my dream… The visions, he cannot control....... Over time, I found out the visions were a glimpse into his memory."
Dumbledore stroked his long beard as he thought about this. He watched as James rubbed the bridge of his nose and desperately wanted to comfort him. The dreams were already tormenting little Harry, and to think he'll have visions in the upcoming future.....
"Sometimes I saw those visions in a third-person's view.... which was a lot better than seeing it in his view....," James saw Dumbledore encouraging him to explain, ".....when I see them in Voldemort's view,..... I can actually feel how he felt during those events................... They're mostly... worse than the view...."
"I am sorry that you had to go through so much pain, Har- James.... Could you please tell me what you saw?"
Dumbledore asked with grief.
"It was only a flash.... and I saw it in Voldemort's view,...." Dumbledore gave him a sad look and James quickly continued, "but I couldn't feel anything… I just saw..... It was like watching an old film….. First, a woman was killed... or rather, badly wounded and then Voldemort finished her… And then a man was killed, almost certain he was a muggle..."
"Do you have any idea who they were?"
James shook his head, disappointed that he couldn't help. He gulped the rest of his drink and closed his eyes to recall the victim's anguished expression before they met their end.
"Albus."
Suddenly, a deep slow voice came from the fireplace. James jumped a little.
"Hello, Kingsley. How are you?"
Dumbledore greeted with a cheerful voice over the floo network.
"I have some bad news.... Are you alone?"
James motioned to leave, but Dumbledore held out his hand.
"No. But you may speak freely."
"Alright... As you know, Peter Pettigrew is still on the run..... But we got a lead on him at Albania..... I visited there with Tonks just this morning but the trail got cold. However, we came across an interesting tip that he wasn't alone. He was seen leaving an inn with a pudgy woman fitting that description of Bertha Jorkins."
"Ms. Jorkins?! ....No..."
Dumbledore yelped, stunned. His eyes locked with James as they both knew where this was going.
"Yes, I am afraid so... She hasn't returned from her vacation, which coincidently happens to be a trip to Albania."
The low voice got even lower.
"Excuse me for a moment, Kingsley."
With a blink of an eye, a Pensieve appeared in front of Dumbledore.
"James.... come and look."
James quietly stood up and peeked in the Pensieve as an image of a young girl appeared in the liquid-like substance. She was a little chubby and wearing a Hogwarts uniform to James' surprise. But what shocked him even more was that she resembled the woman in his vision.
"This is how I remember Ms. Jorkins, James. She now works for the Ministry and she left--"
"That's her."
James nodded confidently before Dumbledore finished.
"Albus? Who's there with you? Doesn't sound like Minerva or Severus…"
Shacklebolt heard James' voice and immediately questioned the Founder.
"He is Mr. Hadwin James, Kingsley... our new DADA professor. He's-"
"Harry Potter. Hello, Kingsley."
James interrupted. Dumbledore sharply turned his head to him.
"It's alright, Albus. He already knew when I...er, the younger Harry got back... Besides, he needs to know about this so he can cover me."
"Albus?? What is going on? Who are you talking to??"
James never heard Shacklebolt sound so confused, but held his smirk.
"This is Harry Potter. And don't worry, I already know about the Order. Listen Kingsley, can you come to Hogwarts as soon as possible?"
I love Shacklebolt!! I just have to put him in HP fics!!
I hope the thing about Bertha Jorkins is somewhat close to the book...;;