Dealing with losses and unexpected gains

By Tubbataha

Disclaimer: None of this is mine, well except the plot line and that has probably been used by some one else before, but otherwise everything recognisable belongs to JK Rowling and whom ever else own the rights to Harry Potter.

Chapter 4

"Did I just Faint?"

Harry now back on his feet, his brain began attempting to process the situation and his next course of action. Something, anything, to try and bring some form of sense and reason to this completely improbable and totally illogical situation.

"Look, Neither of us obviously understands what the hell has happened here and whilst I may have a few vague ideas. Why don't we maybe go find someone else could possibly help us sus it out. At the very least they may be able to give us an idea of where to go from here, especially considering as I'm exactly sure where here is" James finally spoke up.

"Little Whinging in Surrey, which is in the south of England." Harry answered showing true denial symptoms chose to answer the easiest and most irrelevant question before even trying to deal with the rest of the statement.

"Right…Ok" said James, clearly wondering about the mental stability of his companion. "So I know where I am in terms of location but that really doesn't help me much some how! I funnily enough I don't think that helps you much either" James continued getting sardonic by the minute.

James tone startled Harry into action and had rapidly moved on the defensive. "If you did want to know why ask the question I was only answering you. Any way your great plan of going to find some one has some serious flaws first of all who would we find who a) we would both trust, I don't know about you but I am not going on the word of some stranger I have never met before and b) would believe us both insane! Furthermore even if by some miracle we both agreed on a person how do you purpose we get to them?"

"There is no need to get angry at me, I have done nothing!"

"Nothing you attacked me first having a go at me for just answering a simple question. Saying I wasn't being helpful or some thing well who now is being counter productive you still haven't answered my questions about your wonderful. You when someone asks a question you generally answer it" Harry yelled back.

"For gods sakes it was a rhetorical question" James screeched back.

"Didn't sound very rhetorical to me" Harry retorted.

"look just forget it ok" James said sullenly "Anyway if you had given me a chance I would have answered your question, I just hadn't got round to it."

"Any time today may be", James Glared over at Harry "ok, ok geeze I'm sorry I'm not normally like this but you have got me all out of shape. What is your brilliant suggestion? It has got to be better then the blank my brain is pulling on me right now" Harry conceded.

"It's ok and I did have a bit more time to think things through whilst you were having your little nap on the floor, so I suppose I have a bit of advantage on there" James flashed Harry a quick smile to let Harry know it was ok and no hard feelings. After all neither of them were really at fault they were merely victims to the rather bizarre and precarious circumstances they found themselves in.

"That is true" Harry said grinning back "Well that will be my excuse if any one ask, ok."

James treated him to one of the famous Potter smiles, the ones that Sirius insisted could light a room better then a lumos charm. One that Harry himself was capable off but that even his closest friends had seen far to infrequently of late. The smile faded though as he recalled the potential issues of suggesting that they go to talk to Dumbledore. Indeed Harry had also raised a valid issue in the form of the question of transport. Even if he Harry turned out to be a wizard and he some how persuaded him to visit Dumbledore with him, how in frilly hell were they going to get there its not like either of them were old enough to apperate and they did have any broom, in truth short of a flying car James couldn't think of any way of getting out anywhere in fact. Well maybe if they were lucky they could he supposed find a wizarding home and ask them to borrow there floo, but these were not peaceful times and many people were rightly wary of letting strangers into their house. Oh well he might as well at least try to approach the issue of seeing Dumbledore then perhaps they could some how figure out an alternative route, maybe if Harry could get them to London then they could get into the Leaky Cauldron and Floo from there? Yes, that was at least one potential solution. James now just faced the task of presenting this idea to Harry, who stood waiting for his response.

"Ok look how about this, I have a friend, well I guess he is not really a friend more of a mentor, or well anyway he is probably the smartest and possibly the canniest person I know. In fact he normally seems to know too bloody much, usually what you don't expect him to know and normally what you would rather not have him know. However that is besides the point. If we could get there would you be willing to go with me to speak to him?" James finished mini babble with a rather tentative question.

Harry had to smile as he realised what James was doing, of course james had know way of knowing that Harry was a wizard but Harry had that advantage that if this was in reality his father James then he knew him already to be wizard so wouldn't have had to be so careful with his words. As it was it was rather amusing to watch James attempt to carefully dance his words around. However Harry decided to take pity on him and not make him suffer too much.

"Yes, I will go with you to Dumbledore." Harry stated putting James out of his misery.

"What but how?" James stood there his mouth opening and closing like a guppy, as he tried to comprehend how on earth Harry had known who he wanted to go see when he hadn't even mention the name.

"How, did I know who you where thinking of queried Harry.

"Yes" James voice hardly more then a whisper.

"Well professor Dumbledore was the person who immediately came to mind from your oh so eloquent description of him, in fact I can't think of anyone who would. I could have been wrong though it was just a lucky guess." Harry shrugged trying to make the whole thing seem like simply a stroke of luck rather then an informed answer.

"Right well, so you would mind going to Dumbledore to try and resolve this whole thing would you?" James said trying to regain his composure so he at least looked like he was calm and in control.

"No, seeing Professor Dumbledore would be fine. Actually it is a rather good suggestion. How do you propose we get to him though?" Harry asked, although he already had an idea forming in the back of hiss mind.

"Well surry's not too far from London is it? If we could get to London we could take the fllo system from the fire place in the Leaky Cauldron" Realising what he had said when he still wasn't certain if Harry was a wizard James quickly back peddled. "Um… I am assuming if you know Dumbledore, then you know about magic right? You are a wizard?"

Harry had to smile James rather feeble atempts at covering his tracks, if this really was his father he was certainly not the sharp Aurora that had been told about. James was at this point as much of a uncoordinated teen, who suffered from speaking-before-thinking syndrome as Ron or himself.

"Um.. James, yes I am a wizard it's ok" Harry still found it strange calling this stranger that when he still wasn't really convinced he was his father and even if it did turn out to be true it would still be too weird to call the other boy father, so James it would have to be. "Also whilst Surrey isn't that far from London in comparison to like Yorkshire (A/N: Yorkshire is a Northern County sort of like a state in England) but it is still to far to walk and unless you have some muggle money we can't get a cab or bus. So nope getting to London is not possible"

James look thoroughly dejected at the news that his great plan was not going to work.

"I do however have another alternative."

James look around at Harry hopefully.

"Well I do have seem to have 2 galloens in my pocket, I'm not sure that is enough, but we could try and get passage on the night bus" Harry carefully mad his suggestion.

"That's brilliant, just brilliant!" James cried leaning forwards and grasping Harry to spin him around. Harry was initially starlted by James action, he tensed up but soon allowed him self to relax and he chuckled as he was spun around.

"Right lets go out side, stick our wand out and summon that bus" James happily bounced towards the window.

"James you do have your wand right?" Harry said as he followed James through the window frame.

AN: Wahoo my longest chapter yet! Hope you all like it.

A big thank you to my reviewers for helping get this chapter moving much faster then originally expected. Also special mention to Twin Tail Speed, Amrawo and ARandomPerson for coming back and reviewing again.

I promise I will try and get some more explanations in the next chapter.