Author's Notes:
SURPRISE CHAPTER!
Hi everyone! I felt really bad that the last chapter was so short and this one came so quickly, I decided to give you a surprise chapter! I hope everyone is safe and well out there in this weird world.
MMax: I agree! But right now James can't know how close Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville, and Luna (who hasn't even been introduced) will be. Eventually that's a thing for sure, though. Midnitewanderer: It will definitely be an interesting chapter that's for sure! And I get it, I've always loved reading fics for the same reasons. I can definitely tell you that it's going to be an interesting conversation but I haven't decided when it's going to occur. But it will!
Anyway, Enjoy the surprise chapter!
Chapter Twenty-One: The Prophecy Revealed
James stepped out of the fireplace at Potter Manor still fuming from his encounter with Dumbledore. While he understood that Dumbledore is one of the greatest minds of the age, he failed to understand how not training Harry to the best of his capabilities was the best option here.
He stomped through the library in his anger, not even noticing the sleeping Remus on the sofa. As he slammed the large oak door, Remus awoke with a start. Remus quickly wiped off the drool that had pooled on his face and sat up, looking around for the source of the disturbance when he noticed the door was now closed. He quickly got up and looked out of the room. He barely saw the ends of James' robe whisking around the corner of the hall.
Remus sped up and followed James to the main stairwell where he finally caught up with the fuming Marauder.
"James, wait! I need to talk to you!" Remus called.
James started and looked around, anger and confusion written on his face, "What? Sorry, Moony, I didn't see you there. I'm kind of lost in my own head here."
"Is everything alright?" Remus asked, concern gripping him.
"No. Yes. I don't know," James shifted the large stack of books in his arms so that they were slightly resting on the banister, "I went to speak to Dumbledore. About the prophecy and Harry and Voldemort."
"What Prophecy?"
"The prophecy about Harry and Voldemort. I told you about this, didn't I?"
"No," Remus said, shaking his head, "I would have certainly remembered something like this."
"I," James started as he rubbed the back of his neck, "Fuck. Ok. I need to grab a beer before I get into this shit, ok? Can you find Sirius and we can discuss this?"
"Yeah. I think he's in the living room."
"Perfect, I'll meet you there," James said as he turned to go back down the staircase and to the kitchens. He stopped halfway towards the kitchen and turned back to Remus who was now going up the stairs, "Wait, Moony, what did you need to talk to me about?"
"I—it's nothing important," Remus said offhandedly.
"Nah, what is it? Don't go brushing issues off like that, Moony. Remember what happened the last time?"
Remus snorted, "Yeah. Did your arse ever fully heal after that hex?"
James shifted his feet uncomfortably as he remembered the stinging hex that Remus had used on him many years ago, "I'm not totally sure, honestly."
"I guess we can discuss it after this prophecy stuff. It's just about Jean and my outburst earlier. I'm sorry for that, by the way."
"It's fine. I overstepped—"
"No, you didn't, I've just been upset about other stuff and I overreacted."
"Well, I'm surprised it took you that long to blow, to be honest with you mate."
Remus rolled his eyes, "I'll meet you in the living room with Sirius in ten, alright?"
"I'll bring a six pack up," James said before turning and headed back toward the kitchens.
"Better make it a twelve!" Remus shouted back.
Fifteen minutes later James found himself sitting in his favorite armchair in the living room with a fire going and the record player playing the Beatles. James never quite understood the appeal of the muggle band, but Remus quite enjoyed their music so he didn't mind it playing.
Remus had managed to drag Sirius back down from his room to join them at their emergency Marauder meeting. He wasn't too happy to have been woken up because he had just gotten comfortable and fallen asleep when he was so rudely interrupted.
They sat together in silence for several minutes drinking their beers. None of them wanted to be the first to inquire or bring up an issue. Finally, Remus spoke.
"So, what is this prophecy you were talking about and why did it make you so pissed off at Dumbledore?"
James sighed and polished off the remaining beer in his bottle. He thought about his words carefully as he reached for another brew, the events of the last few hours replaying in his mind.
"You two remember how," James hesitated, "Lily…Harry and I had to go into hiding at the end of the war, right?"
Sirius scowled, "How could I forget. Worst time of my life being separated from you!" he feigned dramatically draping himself over the arm of the couch with his eyes shielded by his forearm.
Remus casually used his wand to sprits Sirius with some water, "Yeah, I'm pretty sure drama queen and I remember that. Didn't you tell us that Voldemort was after you?"
James popped the cap off his beer and took a swig before continuing, "Yeah, in a way, I suppose. You see, he wasn't after us, per se, just—just Harry."
"He was going after a baby?" Sirius asked, his eyes hardening, "What the hell, man?"
"Yeah. That's why Dumbledore had us go into hiding."
"Wait," Remus interrupted, "Why was You-Know-Who going after Harry and how did you know that?"
James took a long drink from his bottle before relaying his tale to the remaining Marauders.
"Look, I want to start by saying that I'm sorry I didn't tell you guys when this all happened. Dumbledore advised us against telling anyone unnecessary about all of this. I wanted to, but…this was before I learned that Dumbledore's advice isn't always the best or most sound.
"Anyway. Word got to Dumbledore a few weeks before we went into hiding that someone had relayed a prophecy about a boy born at the end of July whose parents had defied Voldemort three times. Once Dumbledore had figured out what couple fit that bill, he then figured out who was expecting. That left us and the Longbottoms.
"He had all of us go into hiding at different locations with different secret keepers. He felt it prudent to hide any possibility. Apparently, Voldemort decided Harry was his target. We're still not totally sure why. We suspected at the time it had to do with the fact that Harry would be a half-blood like himself. But, realistically, it was probably because we were more powerful magically than the Longbottoms. No offense to them but Lily herself could out duel Alice and Frank combined. So, we continued hiding. And then, he showed up at the cottage.
"I don't remember much after that, but I know he's not gone and I know when he comes back the first thing he's going to do is go after Harry. Harry's going to have to kill Voldemort if he wants to survive this."
"What was the prophecy?" Sirius asked, his hand white as it gripped the bottle tightly clasped in it.
James recited the words without reference, his voice flat and distant, "'The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives... The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies...'"
Sirius stared at James open mouthed and whispered, "What. The. Fuck."
James put his head in his hands and covered his face as he leaned over his legs. He propped his arms up by the elbows as he continued, "And I went to Dumbledore this evening to discuss the eventuality of Harry and Voldemort meeting and do you know what his advice was? To just let Harry have a childhood. No training, no research, nothing. Just, let Harry grow up and let's think of potential ways that he was able to sustain a type of immortality. I mean, I understand where he's coming from but—"
James was surprised as Remus and Sirius responded simultaneously with similar responses. If James hadn't known them so well, he may have been unable to discern what the two men were saying.
"What's Dumbledore playing at?" Remus snapped, "Is he insane?"
"No!" Sirius yelled as he stood up, "Fuck that shit, Prongs. Fuck it. If he's going to have to face that—that overexaggerated bully then he needs as much training as we can give him! Sure, he needs a childhood, too, but he can't live his life unprepared and underinformed."
James looked up at his friends, his eyes icy, "My sentiments exactly. We're going to start training him in fighting techniques. He isn't old enough to have a registered wand even with a variance from the Ministry, but we can start him training in the Muggle fashion. But I need your help."
"I think training him in the history of war and politics will be useful. If he's the one to defeat this ponce then Harry needs to be trained in war tactics as much as he needs physical training. He's going to have to lead so many people, he'll be a general."
"What's a general?" Sirius asked.
"It's a muggle term for someone who leads others in war. They come up with attack strategy and things like that."
Sirius nodded, "And he should be trained in the politics of the wizarding world. He needs to understand the deep-seated prejudices that he's going to be up against and why Voldemort's ideals were so enticing to those old pure-blood families."
James let out a sigh of relief. He had been most afraid that his friends would side with Dumbledore, that they would agree that Harry should just have a normal childhood.
"I want him to have a childhood, too, I want to work in this education as a part of his normal life but also allow him to just be a child. He deserves that much."
"He will," Remus assured James, "We can start looking into muggle fighting tomorrow. Maybe we can get him a teacher. Should he learn how to use weapons do you think?"
"Eventually," James agreed, "For now he's so young. I think just fighting techniques would be sufficient."
"I absolutely can't believe Dumbledore doesn't want Harry trained," Sirius spat, "What chance does that boy have of fighting one of the strongest wizards in history if he isn't given a fighting chance to learn and grow? It's like he wants Voldemort to have an easier chance to kill Harry or something. What gives?"
"I have no idea," James said, his eyes hard, "He was very vague in his answers with me. He did give me these books that outline his theories about how Voldemort may have survived that night. He thinks Voldemort may have completed a form of magic to make himself technically immortal."
"What do you mean technically?" Remus asked.
"There would, hopefully, be a way to kill him, but it'll be difficult."
"What are the possible ways? I know of philosopher's stones and necromancy but that's about it. And neither of those would render him truly immortal," Sirius said.
"Those are two he listed. He also talked about soul transfer potions, unicorn blood, and objects called horcruxes."
Sirius paled, "I forgot about horcruxes."
"I'm sorry, what is a soul transfer potion and what are horcruxes? I've read briefly about a horcrux but the book never gives information outside of they're horrible and the instructions on how to create one won't be discussed," Remus stated.
"A horcrux is the worst kind of magic imaginable. I don't know how to make one, but I learned about them. My father…he used to make us learn about all the branches of dark magic since Hogwarts refused to teach the subject. They're basically, like, the object created to house and protect a portion of your soul."
"A portion of your soul?" Remus asked, he looked slightly ill, "How do you take out a portion of your soul?"
"Well that's the thing. Only one person in the world ever figured out how to separate a piece but, then, when he tried to encase it into the horcrux he—well, he died in the process. Apparently, he didn't quite perfect the potion-spell combo to make the object strong enough, durable enough, to house a portion of a soul. But, history says that he had to murder someone, intentionally, in order to rip his soul apart and then complete a complicated spell to remove the portion of soul and then another spell to encase it in the pre-made horcrux. I guess there was a potion you had to make for the object and then, once it had been immersed, you had to complete a spell. I don't know the spells or the potion or its ingredients, though. But, essentially, housing part of your soul tethers you to this world and, if you lose your body, you can get it back using the piece of soul you had hidden away," Sirius recited from memory, his eyes distant.
"Your parents forced you to learn all of that?" James asked quietly, his face pale.
Sirius snapped back to reality, his eyes focusing back in on James, "What? Oh, yeah. Toujours Pur and all that," He responded offhandedly and confusedly.
James looked at Sirius as he spoke, "And the soul transfer potion was also an incomplete recipe. Apparently, it allows the drinker to trade bodies, their soul anyway, with another drinker. So, if Voldemort was dying, he would drink the potion and his soul would leave his real body and move into another person's body who had also drunk the potion. This wouldn't allow him to live forever but it could allow him to avoid death for a really long time.
"It sounds like a Horcrux would allow Voldemort to be more independent, he wouldn't have to rely on continuously making a potion and forcing someone to drink it or risk not being able to drink his with enough time for it to be effective. Same thing with a sorcerer's stone. But we don't really know. it depends on what he was able to create or which spell/potion he was able to complete. But I think we can rule out the soul potion because, otherwise, he would have already returned."
"That makes sense, James. But he could have also created an entirely new spell or potion that renders him immortal that we don't know about. We need to consider all the options here," Remus said as he drug his fingers through his hair, "Hell. Why would anyone want to live forever?"
"Sounds like a headache to me," Sirius supplied.
James snorted into his beer as Remus sighed.
"So, we have a game plan?" Remus asked.
"I think so. Except for whatever you had wanted to discuss, Moony."
Remus blushed, "Ah, yes, well, it's quite late, don't you think?"
He attempted to stand up to leave the room but was met with resistance from Sirius who had grabbed onto his shoulder, "Not so fast, Moony. Prongs spilled his beans, now it's your turn."
Remus looked at James and back at Sirius before sighing and settling back into his seat, "Fine. But I'm not happy about it."
"Spill," James said.
Remus gave each of them a glare before speaking, "I'm sorry I blew up at you, James. I've been preoccupied with my issue with Jane."
"What issue? You seemed to like her," James said.
"Oh yeah he likes her," Sirius said as he wiggled his eyebrows, "He really likes certain parts of her."
"Come off it!" Remus snapped, "She's a lovely person and she's very intelligent and fun to talk to. But she's a muggle."
"So? So was your mom," Sirius argued.
"Yeah, but my dad wasn't—he wasn't a werewolf, was he? I can't expect a muggle to handle my furry problem," Remus said dejectedly, "And to top it off, I know her friend Rick likes her and Jean is—she's head over heels for that man and has all but given up on a possibility of something more there."
"That doesn't sound like you can't just get laid, Moony. What's the big deal?" Sirius asked as he leaned back on the couch and drank some of his beer.
"The point, as you so delicately put it, is that she and I would never have a future even if we wanted one. I could never put my problem onto a muggle. And Rick—he deserves her so much more than I do."
"Moony, you deserve someone like Jean. Just because you're a werewolf doesn't automatically mean you're the lesser for that," James said assuringly.
"It's not just being a werewolf. It's also the fact that I can't get or keep a job because of it. I have nothing to give her, nothing to help provide for her or her daughter. She deserves more than to have a leech of a boyfriend."
"Remus—"
"In any case," Remus ignored James, "somehow I ended up at her house after our argument and we were…kissing in her front yard when Rick showed up. I could tell, I just know, that he loves her nearly as much as she does him. Who am I to stand in the way of that?"
Remus bent over and ran his fingers into his hair and gripped his curly locks as he looked at the floor, emotions overwhelming him.
"You don't," Sirius said quietly, "Either you and Jean like each other enough that you make it work, or you don't. I'm going to bed."
Without another word Sirius got up and exited the living room, blatantly ignoring the protests and questions of James and Remus, both of whom were extremely confused and concerned.
"What the hell?" James asked Remus, "Is something going on with Sirius?"
"I don't know. I haven't seen him around the house much, or had the chance to sit and talk with him as much as we did tonight. It's a big house."
"Should we go after him?"
Remus shook his head, "Not tonight. But we do need to talk to him. I don't think he's ok. I know for a fact he spends most of his time at the pub down the road. Did you notice how odd he got when he was talking about his father and horcruxes?"
James nodded, "I know Orion Black was a huge dark arts and Voldemort supporter and that he didn't treat Sirius very well. But he's never gone into detail about any of it. He just…showed up the summer after 5th year and, after talking to my parents, he moved in and the prat never left. It must have been bad. He was with my mum for about an hour before they came back out. I'd never seen her look so sad. His dad tried to get Sirius to move back to Grimmauld place but, because he was 16, the Ministry said he was old enough to choose where to live. Apparently my parents gave some strong testimony as to why he should have been living with us. Anyway, he chose to live with us, in the end. I never asked, and he never offered, any context to his sudden departure from his family. We just…"
"Agreed not to discuss it?" Remus offered.
"Yeah. Basically."
Remus frowned, "Well, I think it's high time we asked. Whatever's going on, it's big and it's a problem. He's going to self-destruct."
"And you being the expert in self-destruction would know."
"Ha, yeah, I suppose I would."
"Let's give him the night, then. Why don't we head up to bed? Harry has that playdate with the Malfoy spawn in the morning and I'm exhausted."
Remus agreed and both men headed up to bed. As they lay in their rooms, both Marauders speculated as to what was going on in Sirius' mind, neither able to make any concrete conclusions.
~ID~
Sirius lay in his bed staring at the ceiling thinking about the events of the evening. As he lifted the bottle in his hand to his lips too many memories forced their way into his head. Being forced to learn about the most vile spells, learning about dark potions and their sacrifice requirements, being 'disciplined' by his father. All of these memories flooded into his head as he drank.
The alcohol began numbing the pain he felt from the ghosts of those spells. He remembered sharply, for a moment, learning the flaying hex. He looked down at his bare leg where a tattoo covered the large scar he had received as education that day. For a moment, he could still see the chunk of his flesh on the floor of the room. As he drank more of the whiskey he rationalized that the flesh was really his red t-shirt crumpled into a pile and the blood was simply the remnants of the beer bottle he had smashed when he came into the room.
"If you don't understand what these spells do how will you ever be able to perform them!"
Sirius' eyes became wet as he threw the empty bottle at the wall as hard as he could at the memory, his leg burning, searing. He reached down and massaged the old wound as he lay back down in the overly soft bed. It wasn't long until he lay on the floor again, like he had done since he came back from Azkaban. To him, the floor was simply more comfortable than the overly feathered bed that was not his own.
End Notes:
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