A/N
This is my first ever entry!
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Mentions:
To my fellow teammates, thank you for being patient and understanding. Thank you for the helpful hints and guidance.
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This is for the Hogwarts assignments and challenges
Assignment 7
Ghost Hunting: Facts About Ghosts
Task #4 - Spirits tend to be more concentrated in places that have experienced a lot of death or birth:
This is for the Quidditch League Competition
Season 8
Round 1:
Prompt:
The sage:
Goal: Knowledge or fear: deception
Optional prompts:
(dialogue) "You don't understand."
"No. But I want to."
(setting) Room of Requirement
(character) James Potter I
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters.
Word count 2127
Warning: character death, possible neglect
Beyond Time
James, Sirius, and Remus were all becoming increasingly curious about what it would be like to be in the past or future. James's work loads at Hogwarts were significantly heavier than the others'. Considering his studious nature and his excellence and dedication displayed in his subjects, he was awarded a shiny golden Time-Turner which could be used to warp throughout time. The idea to use the Time-Turner to travel into the future had sparked in James's mind, making him buzz inside. He pitched the idea to Remus and Sirius.
Remus was extremely uncomfortable with the idea; it was too ambitious of James to even want to go through with the idea in the first place. Sirius was open to the idea although sceptical. James was dead set on doing this, but they all decided to leave Peter to his own devices. They didn't like Peter's ideas as much, and felt he'd cause too much trouble in this particular endeavour.
"Come on, Remus! Please! Come with us!" James pleaded. "It wouldn't be as bad as you think. Think of who you might marry and what you would've achieved in the future! Wouldn't you want to know any of that?"
"And how would you know, James?" Remus shivered, a icy cold feeling beginning to make its way into his body,
"This is for certain: it's risky. But there's always a risk. But at least we'd know what would become of us." Sirius smirked and chuckled quietly. "You'd definitely be marrying Evans, Potter."
"UGH! Gross! Don't even mention that name, Sirius!" James whined, tapping Sirius on the nose for the tenth time that day.
Remus let out a heavy breath and looked up at James from where he stood observing the beads of blood blossoming from around his own nails from where he'd torn the skin in anxiety. Pressing his lips together and releasing a sigh, he said moodily, "Fine, I'll come along. If ANYTHING happens, it's on you."
Remus looked moodily out the window, pressing his face against the frosted glass. Looking out, he saw the Hogwarts grounds coming to life amidst the winter's snow. Where once it was green, it was covered with varying layers of crystal ice snow, glistening white and blinding.
In the distance, the tops of the trees of the Forbidden Forest glistened with fluffy snow clouds. Remus sighed, wanting to ignore the craziness and go to a simpler time, thinking about snowball fights. He knew going to the future was mainly on James's and Sirius's minds. He sighed once again and kept on walking towards his friends.
"Couldn't we just be normal for once?" Remus asked in exasperation, as they reached the Room of Requirement, the hangout room they usually used to avoid detection.
"Us? Normal? Pfft, no way!" James exclaimed heartily, slapping Remus hard on the back.
"Seriously, James? A CAGE? You told the room a CAGE?" Sirius asked incredulously, pointing around the crowded space.
There were dog beds, toys, and bowls lined in unusually neat piles along the walls while a rack of collars and leashes were hung up in the centre.
"Aww, you're a little dog, aren't you?" James chortled back, flicking Sirius behind his ears.
"Just because my animagus is a dog, doesn't mean you have to have the audacity to take the piss out of it every opportunity you get, Potter," Sirius groaned.
"Can we just get on with what we came here for?" Remus exclaimed, trying to get them back on track.
James and Sirius fell into a raucous fit of laughter, Sirius accidentally collapsing into a dog kennel as a result of his foolishness,
"Come on, little doggie! Time to go time flying!" James snorted under his breath, throwing a lead towards Sirius, successfully whacking him between the eyes.
Sirius grabbed hold of the leash, hauling himself to his feet, only to crash forward straight into Remus's open arms,
"Aww, Wolf Boy can teach the dog how to stand on his own two feet," James chuckled, taking hold of Sirius's hand.
"Prongs is better off left alone," Remus said with a glint in his eyes.
James immediately stopped the banter, giving Sirius a knowing look. "No more foolish pup play anymore! It's time to hit the Turner!" he said excitedly.
He whipped out the fragile golden Time-Turner from the pocket of his trousers, turning and flipping the knobs eagerly. James felt exhilarated. He felt… unstoppable! In that moment, he became the bold leader everyone claimed he always was. Sirius gripped James's right hand with similar excitement and strength while Remus grasped his hand with hesitant fingers and his eyes filled with fear. The air around them shimmered as the Turner burned against James's skin, as they left the familiarity of their secret hideout.
After a while, the fog cleared and the three of them stood in front of a house. Something immediately felt unusual to Remus.
"Wait…" He paused. "Isn't this... Godric's Hollow!?" He slowly moved his head between James and Sirius. "What's going on?"
Sirius felt nerves creep into his skin, but held his composure. "Yes, it very well seems like it."
"Come on, you guys!" James urged excitedly, oblivious and unwilling to be buried with anxiety. "Come on now! Less gawking, more walking!" He strutted ahead to stand in front of the wooden doors. They stood sturdy and tall.
James paused to observe the details of the rustic wooden door. There were ombres of brown, worn out and also untouched. He noticed the intricacies of the interwoven vine patterns with unrecognisable blossoming roses. He traced his fingers along the vines, following them; smoother than human flesh. He stopped tracing the vines which led him to a distinct marking on a rose that wasn't part of the door.
He stared at it intently, with wide eyes filled with surprise. The carvings were jagged initials. He could make out his own initials and also make out the next set; they were Lily's. He zoned out, only looking at the carved initials until he was startled by Remus.
"James, stop! Listen!" he hissed, pulling James to the side to cover.
"What?" James hissed back.
"Oh, right! We both forgot! Your hearing is so immaculate," Sirius teased, shoving James playfully with his elbow,
"There's a baby crying in there! I sense… death. This isn't our place," Remus whispered, gripping James's shoulder.
"I must live here! I have to see what I'm up to, Sirius! I want to know whose baby it is! You can't hold me back." James shoved Sirius's hand off his shoulder and stormed to the door.
Immediately, the door was swung open and the trio stormed into the unknown. The eagerness dropped from James, in his spirit and in his face. The trio became speechless, breaths hitching painfully in their throats as they gazed paralysed upon the sight before them. The house didn't look like a home. It was completely wrecked. From decor to furniture, everything was torn to shreds or shattered completely. None of what happened looked like an accident.
"What happened here?" Sirius stammered, pushing a broken chair out of his path.
"Guys! Come look at this!" James said. He smiled fondly at a photo, despite the scene that surrounded him. The photo was of him beside the pretty Evans, holding a naked baby in his arms.
"Guys, this is not good news." Remus's voice cracked as he clambered back over to them from where he was investigating.
"What do you mean, Moony?" James stated uncertainly, placing the picture down with a sigh.
"Look for yourself, James. You're not going to like it." Remus broke into tears.
James hurried over to where Remus had pointed and immediately stopped short. Amongst the debris, he saw a crumpled body: torn clothes, covered in dried blood, and scratches over his face. He realised who it was. James choked back a shocked gasp. His heart sank and his stomach clenched, tears beginning to form. The body was his own.
"How—" he gulped. "How could someone do this? To me!?"
Remus and Sirius hurried to his side and wrapped their arms around their grieving friend. James fell on his knees beside the broken body staring blankly back at him, black hair bloodied and hands in limp fists.
"We should go," Remus urged quietly. "This was never a good idea."
The cries of the infant whimpered throughout the morbid home.
"I'll help James find the baby! You clear up what we can and make sure that the body is taken care of… respectfully." Remus ushered Sirius quickly.
The infant's cries kept whimpering and wailing from above, needing someone to be there. James and Remus rushed up every step. They frantically ran towards the cry.
They came across a splintered door. Shoving their way through, they couldn't stop themselves and crashed right on top of each other. James slowly recovered, pulling himself up and helping Remus to his feet.
He became frozen, not knowing what to do. He screamed. Breathing heavily, with his eyes watering and lost, he saw the cot in the far distance, but in front of him, on the floor, was Lily. Her eyes stared blankly into his from her pale, scarred body. Remus emerged and moved towards the cot to peer down at the little infant. The crying stopped suddenly. James couldn't think or function. He realised what would become of his own future.
"Did Remus and Sirius die too?"
His blood boiled as he closed Lily's eyes. James could see the softness of her motherly smile still in her features. She looked so peaceful, although broken and lifeless. Remus brought the baby to him and attempted to gently place him in his arms. James suddenly rose.
"We can't take him, Remmy. That would change the future," James cried at Remus.
He stormed out of the room, tripping on the stairs, pushing everything out of his way to distance himself from the horrid sights. Sirius attempted to follow him. He fell to his knees, mouth quivering and tears streaming down his face, struggling to comprehend that this was to be his future. Sirius skidded onto his knees and covered James with his cloak to provide him with some comfort.
Remus knew he couldn't take the baby out of the house. But he did make a promise to the infant that he'd take care of him once James was gone. Leaving the baby in the cot, Remus hastily exited the house.
"I can't do it, Sirius!" James cried, rooted to the spot, desperately wanting to go back.
His friend took the Turner from his hand and reversed what James had done. They fall back into the present; Remus on the wooden floor, Sirius near the velvet armchair, and James slouched over it.
James tried to pull his shaky body up onto the chair as the others picked themselves up off the floor. The room was intensely quiet, everyone struggling to look at each other without realising what had just occurred.
James felt sick inside. He had never felt his confidence dip after such a situation. He stared blankly at the floor, solidly gripping onto the arm rests, replaying the horrors of the home in his mind, with whispers of confusion and helplessness overtaking his mind.
Sirius's gaze met Remus's, silently communicating their concern for their friend. Sirius nodded, silently asking Remus if James was okay. Remus nodded slightly. They both turned to look at James and immediately rushed to his aid.
"Take it easy, Prongs. The more you think about it, the more it'll eat away at you and consume your mind… I'll go get us some nibbles and drinks," Remus said hurriedly disappearing from the room. Sirius remained by James's side.
Remus reflected back to the time when Dumbledore had taught the Marauders about the pros and cons of the magical Time-Turner in order for them to get to all their classes.
"You don't understand!" James sobbed into Sirius's chest.
"No. But I want to," Sirius admitted, rubbing comforting circles into his best friend's back.
"They were dead, Sirius. I was dead. She— I— I was married to her! We had a son! A-a-and… we died!" James wailed, possessed by fear and grief.
"Your son will grow up knowing you're his hero, James. You can't do much better than that," Sirius responded kindly.
"I'm a fool!" James grumbled into Sirius's tear-soaked shirt.
"From what it looked like," Remus said, coming back into the room, "you were the bravest man to stand up for his family, James. Your son will be in good hands. Just focus on what's important now and don't dwell on what might or mightn't be."
His tearful eyes looked up at Remus with a glimpse of hope, bringing a smirk to his tear-covered face, brightening the darkness from his hazel eyes. They came together, tightly hugging one another, grieving and knowing what would become of the future.
