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Young Potter opened the door, wand raised just in case.
What he saw, no, who he saw, made Harry's head spin and his forehead feel like someone was piercing the scar with a dagger.
The ground seemed to shake underneath Harry's feet as he stood, dumbstruck in the doorway to his Headmaster Dumbledore's office. It was quite a scene displayed before him; Umbridge, now lying unconscious on the ground, a man looking as if he could nearly pass as Harry's twin - if he had green eyes, a scar, and was a bit younger- , and Dumbledore, in the middle of it all.
Seconds trickled by and no one in the room moved, no one breathed. Nearly a minute passed - Harry could swear it was hours - when finally someone shifted at all.
The man that Harry believed looked familiar was staring at Harry. His black hair stuck up in all directions, mostly in the back, and behind round, thin-rimmed glasses, hazel eyes went unblinking for quite some time. That was when it struck him. It was what seemed like his father.
The Boy - Who - Lived let his emerald eyes - Lily's eyes, James thought, his heart thumping - flicker to Dumbledore, searching for an explanation.
Albus, looking very old indeed, tried to think of some way to deal with the sudden problem at hand. James Potter was alive. Harry was in the same room as James. Remus and Sirius would soon be on their way over. Dolores Umbridge was knocked out on his office floor.
What to do…
Receiving no immediate response from Dumbledore, Harry began to panic, eyes now locked onto the stranger's own hazel ones. This had to, had to, be a Death Eater. Before anyone could even say a word, Harry had his wand at the stranger's heart, and chords shot from the teen's wand, binding the 'imposter'. Because of James's position on the chair, he did not keel over, but he did go rigid in the chair as he was now tightly bound.
Harry's breath was ragged as he kept his wand pointed at James, completely forgetting the others presence in the room.
"How could you? You dare dress as my father, death eater!" Harry bellowed, enraged. Voldemort was sinking lower and lower. Harry now knew, the Dark Lord would first attempt to kill him emotionally before moving in for the REAL blow.
Dumbledore now moved forward. "Harry-."
"NO! He can't do this to me, Voldemort WONT!" Harry yelled back, now aware that the Headmaster and High Inquisitor were present.
Even if James hadn't been bound, he would have frozen at his son's words. My son, he couldn't help think. But his son thought he was a Death Eater, working for Voldemort.
"Harry, this is no Death Eater!"
"Oh, so what is it, some sick joke?" Harry retorted angrily, now looking ready to attack Dumbledore as well. Albus realized this, and was about to take action and try to clam the teen down, when Remus and a large black dog stumbled ungracefully out of the fireplace. Remus dusted himself off, oblivious to the company around him. Padfoot was shaking soot off of hi black coat when suddenly he stopped dead and his head shot up. He had caught the scents the office had to offer and quickly took each scent in carefully. They belonged to Dolores Umbridge, Albus Dumbledore, Remus Lupin, Harry, and James Potter. His eyes flicked to each respective person, nodding each off. Then the animagus suddenly froze. Wait…James Potter?
The dog rushed in front of Harry, nearly knocking the boy off his feet, and growled protectively, eyes on James. This could not be…this was impossible. This was the definition of impossible.
Lupin seemed in a shocked daze at the sight and didn't even move. He hadn't any idea what was going on and desperately needed to find out. Eyes on James, Lupin spoke to Dumbledore. "Albus…?"
Dumbledore remain silent for a few seconds, enraging Harry further, before he finally spoke. "I believe we should place our Defense Professor elsewhere first," he said quietly. The old man flicked his wand and Umbridge glowed slightly, then Dumbledore flicked it again and Umbridge soundlessly floated from the room.
"Now, everyone please take a seat," Dumbledore said as he released James from his ropes. Harry remained standing with Padfoot at his feet, but Remus sat as far from James as possible without actually moving the chair.
Once the door was closed and locked, Padfoot shifted back into human form. Sirius's eyes showed evident anger and hurt. Just like Harry's, and to a lesser extent, Remus.
"Wh-what's going on here?" Sirius asked in a deadly voice, grinding his teeth, haunted gray eyes never leaving James. Harry moved slightly to the left so he could see around Sirius.
"Actually, I am not entirely sure how or why, but…this IS James Potter," Dumbledore spoke softly. Everyone was looking at James, and James stared at each of them in turn. He didn't try to speak, he doubted his throat would allow it at the moment.
"Dumbledore, that's impossible! This can't be true, it's a trick-!" Sirius yelled, only to be cut off by Albus.
"James, if you would kindly transform into Prongs for us," Albus said. "As I trust you all know, it is quite impossible to duplicate an Animagus form, Polyjuice Potion or not."
One moment, James stood silently, the next second a handsome stag took its place, antlers reaching towards the ceiling. At the sight of the stag, both Remus and Sirius seemed to absolutely crumble. James changed back quickly, looking nervous. The three old friends stood still for a moment before embracing each other like brothers.
Dumbledore couldn't help but smile at the sight of the three men. His mood quickly changed at the sound of ragged breath coming from near the door.
Harry stood eyes shut tight, his back leaning against the door. He seemed to be muttering something but his voice was too soft for Dumbledore to make out what the words were. "Harry?" the Headmaster asked. All three men broke their embrace and turned.
Sirius, being closest to Harry out of any of them, immediately started forward. "Harry-?"
Harry's head suddenly shot up, eyes now open. He stared at James, but James had a strange feeling Harry wasn't seeing him.
Suddenly, without warning, Harry clamped his fist to his forehead…to his scar. All four men went to rush forward this time.
"NO! Stay away!" Harry yelled. Just as he finished speaking, the door behind him was blown off it's hinges and fell on the landing near the stairs. Harry hurtled out of the room and went down the stairs three at a time. The Gargoyle door sprung open for him, and Harry glanced over his shoulder to see it slam shut in the four wizards' faces. Harry quickly took off running, digging in his pocket for his Invisibility Cloak. Once Harry had it he tossed it over himself, covering his body completely.
He kept running, pushing his body faster as he heard hurried footsteps and what sounded like a dog's pads and hushed voices some ways behind him. He skidded to a halt at the entrance of the stairs that led up to the astronomy tower. Harry dashed up the stairs and once on the open platform, sat on the wall with his feet dangling over the wall. It was such a long fall down from here, Harry shuddered and gripped his wand tightly.
He tried to mull things over in his mind but it just wasn't happening. In addition to the confusion, his scar now was pounding, leaving him in much pain. He hardly noticed the door being knocked open by a black figure. It cautiously approached Harry, letting out a whine that grabbed the teenager's attention.
Harry turned and stared at the large dog that resembled a Grim. "Sirius," Harry muttered. He removed his Cloak reluctantly.
Sirius appeared in the dog's place seconds later.
"Harry, this is confusing but-."
"Sirius, it's not confusing," Harry muttered quietly. "It's impossible."
Sirius sighed and sat next to Harry, who had taken to holding his scar again. Sirius narrowed his eyes. "Harry, your scar-?"
Harry shook his head and quickly dropped his hand from his forehead. "I'm fine."
The two remained silent for a moment. Finally Harry broke the silence. "Sirius?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you believe he's back?" Harry's voice was really more of a whisper. Sirius looked at his Godson's face for a moment before replying.
"I do," he said. "Harry, anyone could easily make a polyjuice potion of James, for you just can't duplicate an Animagus form."
Harry let everything wash over him. He was still very, very apprehensive about all of this. The Boy - Who - Lived looked out over the grounds and noticed that the sun had begun to rise, painting the once inky black sky crimson.
"I…I want to talk to him," Harry told Sirius a few minutes later, determination evident in his pale face. It mingled with fear and exhaustion, something Sirius didn't overlook.
"He's in the Hospital Wing right now," Sirius informed Harry began transforming into the large, shaggy dog Harry was quite familiar with. With a resounding bark, Padfoot led the way. Harry had to move at somewhat of a jog to keep up, resisting the urge to roll his eyes at how doglike Sirius could be.
The corridors were all dim and not another soul moved except Harry an Padfoot. It was not that long of a journey to the Infirmary from the Astronomy tower, so the two arrived there in no time at all. Harry nodded to Padfoot, signaling that Sirius could leave. Padfoot nudged him with his head in an act of support before trotting away, glancing back every once in a while.
Harry waited until Sirius was out of sight. He wasn't sure why he had sent Sirius off, but for some unknown reason, Harry felt that he needed to do this by himself. He exhaled a long and slow breath, eyes closed, for a few seconds, trying to collect his emotions so he didn't explode the moment he entered the Hospital Wing. Inside his head, it seemed like a whirlwind of thoughts, all blurring and crashing together.
Finally after what seemed like hours, but in reality was only a few minutes, Harry gently pushed open the large oak doors.
The usual nearly blinding white of the Hospital Wing was dimmed a considerable amount. Harry took a cautious step forward, looking around. He noticed a room off to the side of the Wing, and the door that was ajar was shooting a thin stream of light into the dark Infirmary. Harry figured that this was where 'James' was at.
Harry had nearly made it half way across the room towards the door when he thought better of revealing himself and he retrieved his Cloak from his pocket and draped it around himself again.
The door to the side room was open enough for Harry to slip through unnoticed, but just barely.
The room was about the size of the Gryffindor dorm rooms and looked like a miniature version of the main Hospital Wing. Madam Pomphry was leaning over a patient in the bed farthest from the door, making a fuss, but Harry didn't catch any of the Healer's words. Dumbledore stood nearby with Remus Lupin, both discussing something in whispers as Madam Pomphry checked over the patient.
Harry stood in a corner, breathing in the shallowest breaths he could manage so no one would become aware of his presence just yet. When finally, after nearly half an hour, the Healer nodded to Dumbledore and Lupin, and led the way out of the room. Harry could have sworn he saw Dumbledore's eye flicker towards him, but the Headmaster was soon gone from the room.
Finally, Harry approached James, tip-toeing so James wouldn't sense Harry before Harry wanted. Harry could now get a good look at his…father, he supposed. The man looked only five or six years older then Harry himself, and was an almost exact twin, except for the eyes, lack of scar, and longer nose. As of right now James looked quite thin and smaller, much like Harry. It was quite unnerving to Harry.
James's chest rose and fell at a normal pace, his eyes half open. Silence blanketed him for a while after the three had left, untill James heard the unmistakable sound of a cloak ruffling slightly. James sat up a bit and looked around the now dimly lit room. He seemed to be alone, but James highly doubted it.
"Who's there?" He asked groggily.
Harry held his breath after inhaling sharply. This was too strange. Finally, he spoke, remaining by the door, invisible.
"Who are you?"
Three words. Harry had so much to ask, but he could only manage those three at the moment. He noticed his voice was raspy, like he hadn't used it in quite a bit.
James looked in Harry's direction. He recognized the voice as that of his son, from Dumbledore's office. "James Potter, Maraurder extraordinaire," he answered solemnly. If they were not under this tense pressure and if the conversation wasn't so serious, his answer would have been funny.
Harry moved forward slightly, willing himself to breath normally.
"How?" he whispered, but James heard him. How, that was a good question.
"Your guess is as good as mine is." James said truthfully, frowning deeply.
Their was a silence that filled the room, pressing on the two Potters, almost unbearable. Harry so wished to believe this was real, yet at the same time knew Voldemort would do something like this to positively crush Harry emotionally.
"How do I know you aren't some Death Eater? Dumbledore may think it impossible but…I wouldn't put anything past Voldemort if it meant a way to kill me," he said bitterly. James had to wonder what had happened in his son life, and vowed to himself that if he ever gained Harry's trust and acceptance, they would talk.
"Harry, you need to trust them. Please try. I'm not a Death Eater and I'd die before even consider helping Voldemort," There was a sincerity in James' hazel eyes that Harry did notice. This man…he looked so much like the man in those photos, so much like people described, so much like Harry himself.
Harry pulled the Cloak off of him. He had an unmistakable guarded look on his face, and hurt in his emerald eyes.
"It's like looking in a mirror, nearly," James couldn't help but mutter, now getting a good look at Harry. He looked a bit too thin, but he might just have Lily's bone structure, James thought. Harry also looked as if he'd just recently gone through a major growth spurt as well.
"I get that a lot," Harry could not stop himself from answering. " 'You look extraordinarily like James, but you've got your mother's eyes'." Harry said by heart. He had been told at least a hundred times and after a while it got quite irritating.
James smiled slightly, but it faltered at the look Harry gave him. Hurt was more evident now in the young boy's eyes. Lily's eyes had been the same way; they gave away every emotion Lily felt, no matter how hard she tried to hide it.
Harry, however, was thinking things through, or at least attempting it. Progress was slow. He remembered back to June, the Tournament, Cedric…No matter what Harry had been repeatedly told, he knew he'd always believe it his fault that the Hufflepuff champion had died at the hands of Pettigrew. He really didn't want anyone else to get attached to him enough for that to happen again. He would simply die if anything happened to Sirius, Remus, Hermione, Ron, Ginny…his newly found father…
Harry took a deep breath to steady himself, leaning heavily with his back against the wall.
"Well…Erm, welcome back, I guess…." Harry muttered uncomfortably, frowning.
"So you accept me?" James asked, daring to become hopeful. Harry hesitantly nodded.
"I have to," Harry replied quietly. "Or else I'd be acting stupid…I don't know how it happened, but…" Harry stopped, swallowing hard. "Maybe you should just stay away,"
James looked utterly confused. "Why would I do something like that?"
Harry had no patience to control himself any longer. "Because you and mum have already died because of me once! It's my fault, because Voldemort has some weird obsession with me, people die!"
James immediately hopped out of his bed and took a step towards Harry, but as he did, Harry took a step back, hitting the door.
"Harry, you need to believe me. Lily and I did NOT die because of you, we died for you! We loved you, love you, and we'd do anything to keep you safe!" James said firmly, as if allowing no arguments.
Harry looked about to retort before he suddenly felt a strange sensation in his veins, as if something was coursing through his blood. Without warning, he felt a strong wave of happiness as his scar began to burn as if on fire. He slid down the wall, resisting the darkness. It was a losing battle and soon Harry found himself in a black abyss.
"My lord, these Muggles tried to escape." said a voice Harry found familiar.
"Very well, Lucious…So, muggles, think you might win against Lord Voldemort? Go and alert everyone I'm alive?" Harry heard someone ask in a high-pitched voice he recognized as Voldemort's. Suddenly, the blackness disappeared and he found himself standing in what looked like a cottage. Lucious Malfoy and Voldemort stood in the room along with two elderly muggles. They cowered in fear on the floor, eyes wide. They appeared unable to speak.
"Well, we shall have to fix that…" Voldemort continued gleefully. Harry took a glance around the room and soon wished he hadn't. A little girl lie dead nearby, a look of shock evident on her face and in her blank eyes.
Voldemort raised his wand to the couple, who were now sobbing.
"STOP!" Harry yelled and found his voice nothing but an echo. No one took any notice to him.
"Crucio!" The Dark Lord bellowed. The couple strarted screaming and writhing in pain. Harry went to yell again, to do something, when he found himself on the floor, screaming in pain as well. He knew this pain all too well. He was feeling the Cruciatus curse that was meant only for the elderly couple.
Just when Harry thought he'd die, the curse was lifted. He blinked and attempting to sit up. He did but only with much difficulty.
"You tire me. Fare well, Muggles…" Voldemort said lazily, pointing at them both. The last thing Harry remembered was a bright, green light, and then blinding light.
"Harry! HARRY!" someone was yelling. Pain was flowing through his body. It felt as if he were slowly dying.
Harry vaguely felt someone pour a liquid down his throat, causing him to gab. Fingers rubbed his throat, forcing the liquid down. Suddenly the pain ceased, although his scar still burned with intensity.
As he relaxed, Harry was aware of the voices around him and the fact that it felt like he were lying in a bed, one that felt a lot like those in the Hospital Wing. Goodness knows he spent enough time in there to recognize them.
After a moment the voices that had been too distorted to understand became clearer. One was of Dumbledore…one of Remus…one of Sirius…Madam Pomphry…but the last was difficult to place. It was familiar, yet Harry couldn't figure out whom it belonged to at the moment.
He let out a groan and lifted his arm to rub his scar. The burning had decreased slightly, but it still pained him a bit. Not nearly as much as the pain he'd just experienced, but still.
"Harry?" someone said. It was Sirius. Harry groaned again.
"Sir'us?"
"Mr. Black, please move aside. I need to check him over," came the medi-witch's voice. A moment later Harry heard her step aside, and he knew it was Sirius who had rushed back to his side.
"Harry, what happened?" came his voice. Harry struggled to open his eyes and blinked a few times before answering, staring straight up at the blurry ceiling.
"It…Voldemort…I saw… Unforgivable…felt like I'd die…Muggles…killed…" was all he managed before passing out again, leaving four wizards to look at each other in horror.
A/n: Woah! Lots happened here, sorry! Im personally not happy with the first half of this chapter or so…no wait, I dislike it all lol. I was thinking of rewriting it all but that would take so long! Sorry for the wait as it is! I'm so sorry, really! This chapter was so difficult to write, and it still didn't turn out right! (
Thank you to my reviewers!
Cutieme012: Thank you for liking it
Shaira: I know, I HATE Umbridge too, sooo much! I'll have fun having her terrorized in this story )
Amrawo: If I saw a person who should be dead, I'd definatly faint lol! I love dances ) And being loud! Lol!
Smidge: Thanks! I'm trying really hard to keep this all in character so don't worry. Like, I doubt Harry would start bawling and hugging James when he meets him.
Marquerida: Sorry, I have a knack for Cliffhangers, especially evil ones! Thanks for the review!
Until next time, which I hope is soon!