Disclaimer: All characters belong to the queen J.K. Rowling and this is just a work of fanfiction.
Author notes:
Happy new year everyone!
Huge thanks to everyone who reviewed, favourite and followed. This story is inspired by 'They didn't know we were seeds' by LucyLuna. That story is mind-blowing and you should check it out.
Sorry for the delay, I got my joining date to my job after waiting for months and everything I had planned to write was shift+deleted from my head in my shock and excitement.
Special thanks to my awesome beta, HogwartsDreamer113!
The Second try.
Chapter 5: James Potter.
James potter woke up with a yawn, and his hand automatically searched for his glasses on his bedside cabinet. He put his glasses on and turned to kiss his gorgeous wife, when he saw the bed was empty. He frowned. Where was his wife? Did Harry cry? His eyes widened as his mind suddenly flashed with the sounds of a door blasting open and cruel laughter. He remembered shouting at Lily to run with Harry before he was struck with the killing curse.
Did Lily escape? Did they both survive? What had happened after he went down? Where was he? His eyes burned as he thought of his only son and his wife. He wanted them back, to hold Harry, to hear him laugh, to hug Lily and kiss her again. He sat on the edge of the bed and stared at the floor as tears fell, clouding his glasses. He wiped them in the edge of his pyjamas, put them back on his nose and did a double take when he saw his hands.
'What the bloody…!'
Why were his hands so small? He stared at his feet and they were small too. He ran to the mirror, and he saw a young boy staring back at him. Maybe in the afterlife he had no age boundaries or could he change at will? He didn't want to walk around looking like a kid! He tried changing to his older self. Opening one eye, he checked if it worked. Instead, he looked like he was trying to lay an egg. Maybe it was similar to his Animagus abilities. He had to envision it and calm down. He breathed deeply and concentrated. Familiar pain shot through his body.
He opened his eyes in triumph and then, mentally groaned. He wasn't old. He wasn't even human! A young fawn was staring at him in the mirror. He hadn't seen himself as a young fawn before. When he was alive and had first changed as a teenager, he looked like an adolescent stag, with stubs growing for his horns, had very few spots and was quite tall. Now he was quite young, his back was filled with white spots, and he had long ears and small tail. His sensitive ears heard footsteps, but before he could change back, the door opened.
"James! Time for break-,"
The fawn and man stared at each other in shock. The fawn bleated and jumped, knocking over the owl perch. It crashed to the mirror, which toppled over, making the fawn jump out its path in fear and smack his head to the side of a desk. The man snapped out of his shock and moved to the fawn as the fawn stood there in daze and pain. He approached the fawn slowly and crouched down and gently touched the furry head. James stood still in shock and looked up to the man's face. It was his father! He looked young, too! James closed his eyes when his father started scratching behind his ears. So, that's why Sirius loved being petted.
"What the… James?"
James looked down and saw he was human again. He was still a boy though. He looked up to a gobsmacked Fleamont Potter and threw his arms around him.
"Dad! You're here!"
"And you were a deer?" his father asked in shock.
"It's a STAG! That's my Animagus form. I have been able to change since my fifth year, didn't you know see it from here?" James asked back with a raised eyebrow.
"Fifth year? Fifth year of what?"
"Hogwarts? Come on Dad, you've seen Sirius and me graduate from it… "
"Who is Sirius? And how can you graduate from Hogwarts when you haven't even started it yet? " asked his father in a bewildered voice.
A very troubling thought entered James's head. His father knew Sirius from the second day at Hogwarts, and he hadn't started it yet? What was his father talking about? He looked at his father in shock. He moved back to the broken mirror, and stared at his young reflection in total horror as his mind gave a suggestion, but that was insane. He picked up his wand and a book that had fallen from the desk and saw it was a quidditch magazine, 'The Quidditch Weekly' and his wand clattered to the ground again, when he saw the issue date. Strong hands gripped his shoulders and his father's face swam into view.
"Breathe James!"
He took a shaky breath and asked, "Dad? What is the date?"
'Please tell me I went insane. There is no bloody way this happened. No ruddy way in-'
He heard his father's reply, "29th of August 1971. James? James!"
James sank to the ground, breathing hard, making his father panic all the more. He wasn't in the afterlife! He was back in time! He barely heard his father shout or Euphemia's voice demanding to know what was going on. He just sat there blankly staring at the mirror, his mind in a loop, repeating that he was back in time. He snapped out of his shock only when he felt himself being lowered to the ground and his legs being elevated. He blinked, mentally shook himself and pushed up from the floor when he saw the panicked faces of his parents.
'Brilliant James. You find yourself alive and back in time after you died, and the first thing you do is give your parents a heart attack. Well done,' said a voice that sounded very much like Sirius, in his head. He put a weak smile and saw relief in both their faces. He hugged his mother tight and then his father. He had lost them in the future to Dragon Pox and it was right in the midst of the war where people were dying everywhere. He was glad that he hadn't lost them to Voldemort or his army's curses, but it was only Lily's pregnancy that had kept him from wallowing in grief. That and the crazy Dark Lord who was hell bent on killing them.
"James, you scared us to death!"
"Sorry Mum. I think I had the craziest dream…" he replied, abashed.
"Oh, you found your Animagus form in your dream?" his father asked.
"Yeah. I didn't think I would be able to fully change when I tried," he lied, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Animagus form?" his mother asked in puzzlement.
Instead of replying, James just transformed back into a fawn. His mother gasped and he butted his head gently to her leg. She patted him on the head and caressed his long neck. His father was watching with pride on his face at his second "attempt" and successful transformation.
"You look adorable James! This is a perfect transformation!" she exclaimed while observing him from all sides.
"I think Minerva will be jealous and also proud when she hears about you. You might be the youngest Animagus ever and you didn't even have to do all the steps!" father said gleefully.
James transformed back. He couldn't let anyone know! What was he supposed to tell Professor Mcgonagall? That he could transform because he learnt to do it in his past life and then came back in time?
"No! Don't tell her! Don't tell anyone!" he exclaimed in panic.
"Why not? She can help you register. You are going to register, aren't you, James?" his mum asked in a stern voice.
"Oh, I will, but not right now. I will register and present this for extra credits in N.E.W.T Transfigurations," he replied with a wide grin. There. Perfect! His mother just looked at him with raised eyebrows. He sighed. "Alright! I won't use it for doing any mischief, and I won't get caught. If anyone suspects, I will go and register." His mother nodded.
"If I hear any rumours of a fawn prancing through the corridors of Hogwarts, you will find yourself grounded till you are an old man. Understood?" she replied with a hint of an amusement in her strict expression.
"Yes mam! And I don't prance…" James saluted and pouted at his mother. His parents laughed as they all went downstairs for breakfast, and James secretly relished the sound. He had missed it for so long. After they finished breakfast, he repaired the broken mirror and put the owl perch back in its place. All the books were put back in the desk and his trunk was packed and ready. He had two days till he went back to Hogwarts.
Then, it truly hit him. This wasn't heaven or anything. He was actually back in time. He had died a few hours ago and yet, here he was in the past, alive. He had his parents again and he would meet Lily in two days. What was he supposed to tell her? He couldn't just go and kiss her, could he? She didn't even know him yet! Would his attempts to be friends succeed sooner, or would she hate him longer then last time? And his friends, they were here too!
He prayed Lily had escaped with their son, in the future he had left behind. He missed them. He would see Lily soon, but Harry would not be alive for many years. He hoped she escaped to Sirius's or Remus's. They would keep them safe from Peter and Voldemort. He couldn't believe Peter would betray them like that! James had trusted him with their lives, and he had sold them out to Voldemort. The younger version of Peter would be here, and James really wanted to hex him something painful, but thought against it. This Peter didn't betray him, the older version from his first life did. The Peter he would meet in two days was the one who would follow him around and look at him like he, James was his hero.
'Maybe, that's why Peter betrayed us. We always acted like he was the simpleton, disregarded him and treated him like he was the fool of the gang. Except Moony, he made sure we included Peter… '
He flushed. He would not do it this time. He would treat Peter as his equal. Perhaps then, he wouldn't betray them and not fall into Voldemort's trap. The only way out of Voldemort's clutches was death, and he didn't want Peter to suffer like that. Peter must have joined them out of fear, but the Dark Lord would force him to do horrible things in his name. His friend was a coward, but he cared as well. He had a gentle heart, and James didn't want it to be corrupted like last time. He would stop Peter this time and not allow his friend to fall into the darkness.
James had so many errors to correct. He remembered Lily's many harsh words and his arrogant and bullying ways. He had to rectify his mistakes. This was his chance to be a better person. He would save Sirius from his crazy parents, help Remus through his transformations and treat Peter better. He would prove to Lily that he can be good. When she had finally told him a little about Snape's home life, he felt nothing but shame. He would not bully him this time. If Snape cast the first hex, James was pretty sure he could stop it before things got out of hand. Perhaps, if he was civil with him from the beginning, they would not be hexing each other at every given opportunity.
He thought about his Animagus ability, how he could transform into his Animagus form just as easily as the day he died in the future. Did that mean his abilities were also back along with his memories?
'Wicked!'
He was as powerful as a fully grown wizard in the body of an eleven year old. That also meant he could go with Remus during his furry problem. He could teach the other two how to transform from their first year itself. He would make sure Remus wouldn't have to lie and be afraid that his friends would leave him. On top of that, he would also need to make sure Sirius would not goad Snape into meeting Moony. That had been a disaster. He hated to think what might have happened if he hadn't pulled Snape out in time. He would not let it happen this time.
They would change it all this time. This was a second chance to live and he wasn't going to waste it.
