Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
Chapter 4
"She bid me take love easy, as the leaves grow on the tree;
but I, being young and foolish, with her would not agree."
- Yeats
They took a flight to Japan because it was too dangerous to portkey in Lily's condition. She was barely six months pregnant. They wanted to stay longer in India, to wait until the baby was born, but the villagers had avoided them out of fear.
Before they left, Shuntab gifted an elaborate rosewood pipe to the 'snake-child' as they had come to call him. And Feroz gave him a sharp knife covered in a leather sheath, so he could learn to protect himself. Harry hugged the two men goodbye with reluctance. He didn't want to leave the only home he's ever known.
The women gave them bolts of cotton and silk in brilliant colors, and tin cans of Darjeeling tea. Shuntab's daughter Sushmita gave Harry a small wooden carving of a tiger, looped through a single cord of leather. Harry never took it off, like the hemp and opal bracelet on his wrist.
They arrived in Kyoto, but immediately moved south to find the magical village in Uji. Winter graced the entire village with snow, and Sakura trees peppered the walkways with cherry blossom petals. Harry was fascinated by the snow; he had never seen anything like it in the tropical India, only the tips of the mountains from afar.
The magical district was completely separate from the muggle world. The doorway in between was behind the altar of a small dusty temple in a quiet muggle community. The temple had a complex adverse charm on it. Lily and James met first with a Buddhist priest who opened the doorway for them.
Through the door they entered, a world appeared that seemed to belong to an ancient Japan, hundreds of years back in time. The houses were large and had elaborate gardens. The wizards they met were polite, but not overtly friendly and they dressed in formal kimono robes and over-robes. Sometimes, a horse-drawn carriage would pass by on the dirt-roads, other times it was a palanquin, a litter carried by poles on the shoulders of several men, but there were no cars, not even a bicycle.
The Potters moved into a small old-fashioned home which had a rock garden, surrounded by sand raked into a spiral. The place was quiet, and they settled in without any trouble. While the people didn't welcome them with open arms, they did not question their presence nor ask about their business there.
It was spring of the following year when Lily finally gave birth to tiny Ellis Kurama Potter. The past winter had turned Harry's skin a smidgen lighter. He was almost six and delighted in being a big brother. Ellis had fair skin and light hair, which grew into dark red fuzz, and the same green eyes as Harry's and Lily's.
Ellis was barely walking, however, when they received bad news. Battles in earnest were starting and Peter had disappeared. Remus said he was being assumed dead. James grew frustrated that he couldn't do anything to help, and he became short-tempered around the house.
Lily made him leave to visit the magical towns to meet with people and ask about Voldemort. James started around the neighborhood, but within the next few months, soon started to travel further and further away, to Ueno, Sakurai, and even venturing to Osaka.
Harry soon got used to seeing his father every other week, whenever James brought home some rumors and a bagful of souvenirs. He brought kimonos in different colors and patterns, boxes of sushi that Lily soon fell in love with, a small bell that was supposed to drive evil spirits away that Ellis used as a rattle, and a sword made of bamboo staves for Harry.
"What is this for anyway?" Harry asked his father, while he dipped sushi in the soy sauce and a chunk of wasabi. He had missed the spiciness of Indian food; Japanese dishes were mostly bland and light. His mother was modeling a white kimono with red and green autumn leaves while Ellis clapped from the floor.
James ruffled his son's hair. "Ever heard of kendo?"
Harry shook his head. James began to talk about the samurai warriors of feudal Japan, with their skill in using the sword to protect their lords. "The gym just beside the temple is giving lessons. I saw a poster." They were casting translator spells whenever they were outside. Harry was having trouble learning to speak in straight English and Lily didn't want to add Japanese to confuse him more.
Harry turned his eyes on his mother. "Can I take lessons, mum? Please?"
Lily scooped up Ellis, while she thought about it. "We could check their schedules. You still have to keep up with your lessons, though." She home-schooled him in the basics alongside the magic spells. She didn't let on to Harry but he always managed to surprise her how quickly he grasped the lessons.
James taught him spells, too. But not since he started his explorations. She had been bugging him to try teaching Harry to be an animagus. James looked down at his cheering son, who held up the bamboo sword in the air and waved it up and down. He wondered what animal Harry would be. Anything but a snake, he thought, shuddering. He still hadn't told Lily about their son's disturbing power.
That was their routine for the next few months: Harry took kendo lessons in the morning, and his other school work in the afternoon. James snuck in some animagus lessons while he was there. He was chasing some rumors that Voldemort visited the great temples several years ago. Some temples were doorways to the magical areas, but the larger ones were not, so James was visiting them all, and trying to talk to possible witnesses.
By the time Ellis turned two, Harry had successfully changed form. James secretly breathed a sigh of relief when he saw it: Harry's animagus form was a tiger cub, orange and black, like the carved necklace he wore. Still, it made James a bit nervous, especially when he was in his stag form. It made him feel like prey.
Several weeks later, Remus contacted them. He had discovered the third horcrux in France hidden in the Louvre museum inside a jewel on an elaborate Roman-era cross. Remus wasn't able to get to the object because of the tight security in the museum. And Albus had already summoned him home to help in the battle strategies. Things were heating up in England.
James felt like his bones were vibrating with the need to help his friends. When they got word that Sirius was injured in an ambush in Diagon Alley, they had their first major row since they got married.
"This whole thing feels like a wild goose chase! How do we know the prophecy will even pan out? I know I am needed there, Lily. I know I can make a difference." James hissed at her while peeking outside in the garden where Harry was patiently playing with Ellis in the sand, like it was a large sand box.
Lily fought to hold back her tears. "Dumbledore has yet to summon you anywhere, James. That means he still thinks you should be here, with us. We're supposed to be your first priority."
James shook his head. "But there's no danger here, love. You'd be completely safe. And you could probably do a better job tracking down the horcruxes than I've done so far," he pleaded with her to understand. "We're at war; the first priority is always to fight for the greater good."
Lily was silent, but James read her acquiescence in her gaze. "Thanks, love. I just really, really need to do this."
Lily looked at her two boys who had created a sand castle that looked suspiciously like Hogwarts. Harry was adding details with his wand while Ellis giggled and clapped.
"I know," she whispered.
Notes: I'm not gonna post another chapter unless I see some reviews. Also, if you want to give some suggestions about the story it will probably be ignored because the story's already finished.
