That evening James was visited by Dumbledore. James was about to scream at Dumbledore for keeping Harry away when Dumbledore held his hand up. "Before you shout at me." He said gravely, "Hear me out please. Harry has a unique protection on him, a shield cast by Lily's love. It helped put up stronger blood wards around Lily's sister's house. I assure you Harry is being taken care of and I will go fetch him as soon as you decide where you would like to go from here."
"My place, of course." Remus and Sirius said together and the three Marauders exchanged sad smiles.
Dumbledore shook his head. "Death Eaters are still at large, it would be unwise for all three of you to reside in locations which are not secret anymore, who knows how many secrets Peter divulged to them. I would suggest you move to the Potter Manor, it is as safe as any pure blood residence and since James is Lord Potter by default, he would be able to change the wards according to his needs."
James made a noise. "I am not going back to the Manor, it is full of ghosts of happy memories. I will not be able to live with myself knowing that I could do nothing to protect them or avenge their deaths. And I refuse to take the title of Lord Potter, it belonged to Percy."
"I understand your sentiments, James. But right now you need to think about Harry. The Manor like I have pointed out in the past is safer than any charm placed on any property. Back then we did not know the traitor, now we do. You can key the wards accordingly; you can also protect Harry from the public scrutiny till he is of age."
"But-"
"And you should remember, that Lily's portrait would already be there, waiting for you to bring her son home, where she could watch him grow up."
"Don't try to manipulate me, Professor." James snapped. "We both know that Lily's portrait would be a shadow of the woman she was in flesh and blood."
"The choice is yours James. Whatever you decide, I will help you out as much as I could." Dumbledore said with a smile before leaving in effect telling them that the matter was not really up for discussion.
"When you think about it." Remus said slowly, "Dumbledore has a valid point. The Manor is safer than any place we could think of and you can key your wards to ensure that Wormtail doesn't catch you unawares."
"Think about it Prongs. It would be good for you to go back home and deal with all your baggage before starting your life with Harry. The war is over and you need to grieve."
James said nothing, his eyes fixed on the wall in front of him. At last he nodded curtly but asked his friends to come live with him till he could stand on his feet again. Remus sent a quick patronus to Dumbledore who replied that Harry would be brought to the hospital early next morning.
James couldn't sleep all night; he tossed and turned giving in to his tears and the emptiness that gnawed at him. He knew he couldn't take it, how was he supposed to live without Lily? How was he supposed to take care of Harry? Poor Harry, he adored Lily, he was fascinated with her red hair. His green eyes would grow wide with wonder as he tugged at her red hair. Harry. He must be miserable without Lily. Harry was never a fussy baby, sometimes James swore that he was much more considerate and kind at his age than most adults would ever be. Harry must be missing Lily so much. Alone and scared, James didn't even know if Petunia had the decency to care for Lily's child.
James knew he couldn't wait till the morning to get Harry back. Harry needed him, more than that he needed Harry. If he were to move to the Manor tomorrow, he needed Harry tonight. With difficulty he climbed out of his bed, almost falling on the bedside cabinet. He tried to stop his fall by grabbing the cabinet and creating a lot of noise in the process. Sirius and Remus were instantly by his side but he waved them off. James started dragging himself towards the door.
"James, just where do you think you are going?" Remus asked a little cautiously.
"Harry."
Sirius and Remus exchanged a look before falling in step with James who was still struggling. Remus caught James as he lost balance. "James," Sirius said softly. "Maybe Moony and I should go bring, Harry back. You are in no condition to travel."
James gave Sirius a look before standing up again and shuffling forward. Sirius huffed. James had always been stubborn, if sheer will power could miraculously actualize the impossible, James would have ensured that all of his family was alive by being stubborn about not accepting their deaths. Remus and Sirius flanked James as he walked into the corridor. James started looking for the nearest apparition point.
It was as if Sirius knew exactly what James was thinking. "I don't think you should apparate in this state. You are weak and if you splinch yourself now, I,I just don't want to lose you too." Sirius said, finishing his sentence, somewhat lamely.
Remus nodded in agreement. "He is right James. There is a fireplace at the end of the hall, we could just use the floo."
"Yes. But the Dursleys are not connected with the floo." James pointed out.
"Who said anything about flooing to the Dursleys?" Sirius asked incredulously.
"So, how are we going to get Harry? Harry is staying with the Dursleys, in case you don't remember."
"I do remember that Harry is at the Dursleys but Dumbledore had planted old Figgy there to keep an eye on the Dursleys when you went into hiding. We can floo to her place. The Dursleys live across the street."
"How do you know this?" Remus asked curiously.
"I might have tried to kidnap Harry while James was unconscious." Sirius said rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. "And it could be that she saw me. And it is totally possible that she caught me and begged me to leave Harry where he is protected, promising that she won't tell Dumbledore anything about my visit and would give me regular updates on Harry and that I would be free to take Harry away in case of foul play."
"Sirius." Remus groaned throwing his hands in the air as they continued to walk towards the fireplace.
"What? Moony, did you honestly believe that I would just let Dumbledore take Harry away and not do anything about it. Don't you remember how horrible Petunia was to our Lily?"
Remus said nothing. "Well, for all that matters. I went to bring Harry back too." He confessed softly. "But the wards placed at the Dursleys, would not allow me to pass through. I think Dumbledore keyed them to repel werewolves."
James smiled gratefully at his friends. He didn't want to think about what would have happened had he died and Remus and Sirius had not got the opportunity to clear things out but he knew Lily and he had made the right decision about Harry's Godfather and uncle.
"Thank you, Padfoot, Moony. Remus you have to know and believe this, Lily always wanted to make you Nyssa's Godfather."
"Nyssa?"
"Our daughter. She was sure that the next one would be a daughter. Harry's little sister with her red hair and my eyes. She reckoned you would be the perfect Godfather for our baby girl." James said with painful smile on his face.
Remus didn't say anything. The three friends had almost made it to the end of the corridor without any interruption. But who would be awake at 3:30 in the morning?
"Excuse me, Mr. Potter. But where do you think you are going?" Sirius, Remus and James turned to the source of the voice.
Alexandra Potter, Perseus Potter's widow stood in front of them with her hands on her hips and her shockingly violet eyes narrowed to slits.
"I am going to get Harry." James said shortly.
"James!" Alexandra exclaimed, "You are in no state to travel on your own. You would be falling on your face with exhaustion as soon as you reach Arabella's house! Yes Sirius, I know about Arabella, Remus and you weren't the only people who thought about saving Harry from Lily's wretched sister." She barked. "But I just can't believe that you are letting him risk his life like this."
"Alex!" James snapped. "You know I won't stay behind. I am going to get Harry right now. And you can't stop me!"
"Who said anything about stopping you?" Alexandra asked, quirking an eyebrow. "You need a healer. I am one. I am coming with you." She said with a grin.
"Sorry about not visiting you Jamie. I was tied up with my patients, making arrangements for Lily's funeral and raising the little devil of a daughter Percy left behind." She said as she reached them.
It felt as if the wind was knocked out of his lungs. Between his grief and worrying for Harry, James had completely forgotten about Lily's funeral. "I am sorry about not being attentive enough to focus on Lily's funeral." He whispered hoarsely as Sirius and Remus apologized too for being too preoccupied with their loss and James' health to think of a funeral.
"Don't worry about it." She said waving their apologies off. "I understand the pain of such a loss. You were grieving. It's not a crime." Alexandra said with a small smile as she twisted the engagement ring still nestled on her finger, along with a silver band.
Alexandra was not really married to Percy when Percy died. They had been engaged during James' seventh year and had come home during Christmas with James' uncle Anthony to become Aurors. James' father, Uncle and Percy were having lunch at Diagon Alley when Voldemort had attacked them, they died because they were outnumbered. Alexandra was beside herself with grief. It was almost a month after their deaths that she had discovered that she was pregnant.
James had always treated her as a sister. They had had numerous fights, where James egged her on to move on and start afresh but she just wouldn't budge. She took up a flat in wizarding London, enrolled in the healer training program at St. Mungo's. Now she was a full time healer and the mother of Arianna Potter who had inherited her mother's wavy hair which were jet black like her father's and beautiful violet-blue eyes. She was an avid reader like her father and as stubborn as her mother. To James she was perfect from the moment he had set eyes on her. After some more fights, Lily had suggested that they let Alexandra live her life the way she wanted to, so now Alexandra had adopted the Potter surname. The silver band was a promise ring from Percy, for her it was nothing less than a wedding band.
She left before James. And James' last thought before he stepped into the fireplace was that he would never be able to pick himself up and move on with the grace and generosity displayed by Alexandra.
So, yey! Another chapter done. I hope you like it. Please do leave a review. It boosts my confidence and encourages me to write more. Happy Reading. :)
Much love
The fishes
