Chapter 7 – Old friends and new beginnings - Part 1

I open my tired eyes to sunshine and a warm summer breeze. If this is all a dream, please let it never end. I look toward the horizon, admire the beauty of the sea, of the sky, and for once in over twelve years I feel free... I feel alive.

Now I can get to Harry. I'll prove I'm innocent... I'll get that rat and make him pay for what he's done. And then... maybe I'll have my life back.

I stumble to my feet and decide that I'd better get going if I want to reach Privet Drive by the end of the week. Escaping was only the beginning...

I transform back into the dog and lope towards the distant skyline of Ipswich city. This will be a long journey...

It's been 6 days... 6 excruciatingly long days. I've crossed more roads than I care to remember, eaten out of dumpsters and slept on the cold ground, my swollen paws ache but nothing could possibly compare to what I've been through before... and it will all end when I'll find him.

I've never been to Lily's sister's home, but instinct leads me... I turn right into yet another prim suburban cul-de-sac, neatly signposted Magnolia Crescent just in time to notice a figure walking along the darkened road. Wait a second... it can't be... but... my God, he looks so much like James... it must be him... it must be Harry.

I hide in some bushes and watch him as he hurries down the street dragging his school trunk behind him. He looks angry, I wonder what happened... Would it help if I went to him now?... Does he even know who I am?... Does he think I betrayed his parents? I decide that the safest thing that I can do for Harry is to stay away... for now. I must find Peter first, must deal with him. Then Harry will be safe. I find a good place to hide among the branches and gaze at Harry.

I wonder what he's doing on the streets at this hour... school doesn't start for a couple of weeks and I thought that he'd have to live with Lily's sister in the holidays... where else could he go? I watch as he stops and leans against a wall opposite to my hiding place. He looks worried, lost. I'd give anything to be there for him now...

Seeing him like this makes me hate Peter even more... I'll find him and make him pay for all the sorrow he's put everybody through.

I hope Harry's not in trouble. I watch as he rummages through his trunk in search of something he apparently can't find. He finally gets what looks like a photo album out of the trunk and ruffles the pages until he finds what he's been looking for. He takes a picture out of the album and stares at it with teary eyes. Poor kid...

He suddenly turns his face towards me. He must have felt me watching him... it's been known to happen. He continues his search, but seconds later he's facing me again, this time pointing his wand straight in my direction.

'Lumos!' he mutters and the dark street springs alight. I look at him for a couple of seconds then bury my head between some branches as the brightness of the light coming from the tip of his wand is more than my eyes can stand. I feel Harry coming closer and raise my head towards him, just in time for my eyes to meet his astonishingly green ones.

As he notices me, he takes a step back and topples to the ground after tripping on his trunk. He reaches out for his wand and the next thing I see is the Knight Bus hurtling towards him as if called upon.

I keep watching to make sure that Harry will be all right. As the bus driver helps the boy up the stairs of the bus, I pad away from the alley, slipping through the shadows. I hear the bus leaving and turn my eyes to watch as it disappears into the night.

A little piece of paper flutters to the ground as the bus moves away. It looks like the picture that Harry was staring at earlier. I move into the street and sniff at it, feeling the bitter-sweet scent of Harry lingering upon it. I look at it, the thing that made him cry alone in the night... a picture... for me a forgotten memory... a picture of James and Lily that I took when we came home from the graduation ball. That was so long ago...

I know what I must do next...

'The Eternal Hope Cemetery' I read upon a plaque near the golden gates that guard over the ones that sleep forever. I slip past the bars of the gate – which brings back eerie memories – and paw across the green searching for something I lost long ago...

A short distance in front of me, next to the trunk of an old willow and gleaming in the moonlight the thing I've been looking for finally reveals itself. I knew it would be here... James wouldn't have wanted it any other way... being buried next to his parents...

I look around to make sure there's no one around – stupid thing, actually, since I'm standing in a cemetery in the middle of the night – and then I resume my human form and approach the two grave stones that lie before me.

Bathed in moonlight, two marble headstones welcome my presence bringing with them an entire swoop of long forgotten memories. I kneel before them and read the golden engraving...

'James Potter... Lily Potter – Beloved friends and parents. Your memory will be cherished forever.'

I feel my eyes swelling with tears. I never truly mourned their loss... now I realize how much I miss them... it's so unfair. I sit down on the grass next to the headstones and watch as the moonlight plays on the cold marble. I close my eyes reliving the times when we were all together.

I rest my head in my hands while a long forgotten pain takes over my soul. I miss them... I miss my life... He... HE MUST pay! I slam my fists against the cold marble and relish in the freedom that the gesture bestows upon my tired mind. Only by getting my revenge I'll finally be free.

A shroud of darkness covers the graveyard as bitter rain clouds take over the sky. I look up at the moon and see how it slowly surrenders to the shadows. Thunder tingles in the night as a cold, soft rain starts to fall.

'It rains because you're sad, baby!' a voice from the past whispers in my memory.

Mrs. Potter... I remember the countless times that James' mom was there for me when I woke up in the middle of the night... she treated me as if I was her son... and those chocolate chip cookies... I look over to the left side of James' grave and my eyes fall upon the white marble monument we built so long ago for James' parents.

'Anne and Eric Potter – Until we meet again...'

'Until then...' I whisper.

I get up and walk around the graves, settling down behind James' headstone, with my back leaning against it.

Today's rain reminds me of that Halloween night... It burns through my mind, eats at my insides. Even now, 12 years later, it still feels like a dream... a nightmare I'm stuck in without no one to wake me up.

They feel so far away... images rush in front of my eyes... pictures from the past, long forgotten voices... 'James, really, it's better if you ask Peter... I'll be the first they'll think of... it's perfect, don't you see?'

Stupid... so stupid...

How could I do that?... How could I trust him?... A sharp pain shoots through my heart. I know it... I do... I'm the one to blame... so stupid... I lean my head back on the headstone, feeling the rain dripping on my face, washing my tears away.

'Well bro, I'm back...' I speak to the night. I know they're out there... I know they'll always be near us. And we will meet again...

'James...' my eyes are filling up with tears again. 'I'm sorry... it's all because of me...' I stop as the wind starts blowing harder, driving icy drops of rain against my face.

'I promise... I promise that I'll find Harry... I'll keep him safe! That rat will pay for his treachery, I'll see to it. I cannot believe we trusted him... he had us all fooled... I WILL have my revenge. God I miss you so much...'

The wind calms down a bit and the moon shines brighter under the shroud of watery clouds. I get up and straighten my already soaked robes. I look upon the white stone...

' I'll fight until the very end!' I say and turn around to leave, getting ready to bring Padfoot back for the long journey that lies ahead. A circle of fire and a couple of minutes later I open my dog eyes to the same dark night.

I look towards the graves one more time. 'I will never let you down again Prongs! I promise!' I think to myself as I start down the dusty path that leads to the gates. I have to get to Hogwarts...