The Price of Love
By: Elina Peverall;)
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter; all credits go to the author J K Rowling. Thank you for giving me the inspiration to write this!
Jamie is the youngest son of the Potters, the Boy-Who-Lived. His older brother is Harry Potter, a boy who will do whatever it takes to protect his family. How far will Harry go to protect Jamie as the war continues across magical Britain? The prophecy is told once again and the truth is then revealed. (Rewrite of original The Price of Love)
AN: Hello everyone! I'm sorry if it took a little longer to upload this one, I was busy working with two different One Shots (Code Geass and Pirates of the Caribbean) I wanted to upload before working on this one. Once again if you've read the original (The Price of Love) this chapter will be similar to it (somewhat). Thank you for reading, following, putting it as favourite and etc. I'm excited to write next chapter and I hope you enjoy reading this one (particularly the ending part because I had a lot of fun writing that part).
Sincerely,
Anne C.
Harry James Potter. That was the first thing he read etched onto his brother's gravestone. It was the very same gravestone that marked where his brother's body now laid, death having to take Harry away. It was at that moment that it finally hit Jamie. Harry was dead; he'd never see him again.
"Jamie?"
"Jamie?"
Flashback
It was the cloak. That was the first thing that caught Jamie's wandering gaze as he turned around. Their family cloak laid only meters away abandoned. And surprisingly unscathed he noted with surprise. Somehow, the cursed fire never reached their family's invisibility cloak, as if its bearer never used it. As if Harry, never used it against his duel with Voldemort. How was that possible? It should have-
Jamie then halted his line of thought. Suddenly, the past events crashed down upon him. The memory of Harry facing Voldemort was playing through his was coming at him with his wand raised, Hermione calling out to his name, and a raven-haired young man suddenly appearing in front of him and raising his wand to yell the shield charm as he pushed him out of the way. That person was none other than Harry, Jamie's brother who he hadn't seen in a year, have vanished due to the cloak that Harry must have used when he entered into the hall unnoticed was laid discarded on the ground, meters away from the battle against him and Voldemort. Unnoticed by even himself as he pounded on the blue domed ward Harry cast, watching in horror as his brother was mauled by the monster and nearly burnt to death by the cursed fire. If it weren't for Sirius, Remus and Bill who got there in time to drag Harry's body out of the way Jamie knew then, that he might not be able to speak to Harry one last time. Instead, the last time they would have spoken would be when they argued during summer break.
Flashback Ended
"Jamie-"
Jamie turned away from his brother's gravestone. Not truly believing that the name Harry James Potter was on it. Sirius and Remus who stood nearby looked at him in concern.
"Jamie, are you alright?" Sirius asked as he held onto Jamie's shoulder to prevent him from leaving.
He turned around to look at them, "I need a moment to think... Somewhere else."
Brushing off Sirius hand from his shoulder, Jamie walked on; not turning back as he walked away from his older brother's gravestone.
"Wait, Jamie!"
When he continued to ignore him Sirius let out an aggravated sigh as he attempted to catch up to him.
Meanwhile, Lily who had noticed the commotion turned away from their eldest son's gravestone and also looked at Jamie in concern. She looked between Jamie and her husband who stood the closest to Harry's gravestone. James didn't seem to notice Jamie walking away, this made Lily worried. Leaving James' side she took several steps, attempting to catch up with the fleeting form of Jamie who had Sirius following behind him when she felt a hand reach out and grab her left arm.
It was Remus, he had noticed Lily's concerned looks towards the two Potters prior and had stopped her by grabbing her arm. With a reassuring voice, the werewolf answered her questioning gaze, "Don't worry Lily, Sirius and I will catch up to him. We'll take him back to your house; no doubt he needs space to think."
Even though she had Remus assurance, she was still conflicted, "But Remus-"
"No Lily. Jamie needs some time to think-" Remus then gesturing to James who stood further back out of earshot and added, "and so do the both of you as well."
Lily's first reaction was to deny it but before even saying another word, Remus turned around to follow Jamie, Sirius having attempted to catch up with her younger son minutes ago when Remus was talking to her.
She continued to look on as she saw the figures of the two Maurdaurs running after her son who was walking at a slow pace further ahead, nearly exiting the cemetery. Fortunately, Sirius was able to reach Jamie before he was to do so. Remus was running a little faster now to reach the two. After what seemed like less than a minute of conversing, Jamie then slowly nodded and accepted Sirius's offered arm for the two to apparate. Remus, before apparating as well turned around to face them and nodded sadly in goodbye then, turning around on the spot with a wave of his wand he disappeared from the spot, a loud crack could be heard echoing across the cemetery, before silence finally sadly Lily walked slowly back towards her husband and shook his shoulder slightly to get his attention, "James!" She then gestured at the spot they apparated away from, "Jamie, Sirius and Remus left already, did you even notice?"
James didn't look at her but continued to look ahead, "Remus was right, I do need time to think."
When Lily heard him speak for after what seemed like hours she followed her husband's gaze as she corrected him, "We both need time to think."
They remained in the same spot, in front of the gravestone. Lily couldn't stop the silent tears following down her face as she remembered her final moments with her son. Ever so slowly she looked up at her husband.
James was busy, deep in thought as he remembered the past...
Flashback
It was a meadow near a muggle suburb, the grass there was nearly the shade of golden brown the day being as warm as it could possibly be in the summer. James, adjusting his glasses looked at his eight-year-old eldest son.
Harry Potter had his head stuck in one of his books that he borrowed from Sirius silently scowling. Said boy was also fidgeting constantly, not use to wearing muggle clothes, as James remembered him previously complaining about the jeans being too tight. Of course, it was understandable though, even he wasn't used to these muggle clothing, 'How could muggles walk properly if their clothes were always this tight? It was a wonder how even Lily can walk straight while wearing a pair of muggle skinny jeans.
Shaking his head at the strange clothes muggles wear he decided to focus on the main issue,
"You alright Harry?"
His son looked up from his book emerald eyes the same as Lily's pierced him with a stare.
"No."
Harry didn't bother to elaborate further and looked back down at his book. Sighing at his son's antics he pressed on, "Well, care to explain why?... Is it the Dursleys maybe?"
Upon saying the family Harry looked up and snapped his book shut, he groaned loudly, "Do we have to here in the first place? Why bother coming along?"
"Well, there's nothing wrong with visiting family and-"
Harry scoffed, "Family that calls us freaks and wants nothing to do with us."
James sighed, deep down Harry was right the Dursleys wanted nothing to do with them, Vernon even going as far as to call them all freaks in front of Harry and Jamie. That was when he had had enough and held the man at wand point. While he promised Lily he wouldn't harm the man for his wife's sake that didn't mean he couldn't threaten him at least. He would have ignored it if the man called him a freak, having already been called that by Petunia, but no one calls his sons and Lily that. Especially not Vernon Dursley.
Sometimes, James often wondered why Lily still remained in contact with her sister. Currently, the two siblings relationship had been nothing but civil and often tense.
"Dad?"
James turned around to look at his son once again, "Yes Harry?"
"Why do we do this? Why visit them, why still be nice to them after the way they've treated us?"
"Because they're family and I still care for my sister," a voice said quietly.
Both of them turned around, and Lily wiping away a dry tear walked towards them, Jamie in her arms already asleep long since forgotten the ordeal that happened moments ago.Lily slowly knelt down on the grass between the two of them, careful not to wake the sleeping Jamie in her arms. She gestured the both of them to speak quietly since she didn't want to wake Jamie up, the six-year-old clearly needing rest.
Sniffling Lily wiped a stray tear from her face as she looked at Harry sadly,
"Promise me something, Harry. Don't make the same mistake I did with my sister, don't abandon your brother, be there for him and show him how much you care for him."
Harry looked confused at seeing his mother crying. This was the first time he'd ever seen his mom looking so… week and helpless. Harry was confused but nodded slowly as he digested the meaning between her words. Perhaps when he was older he'd understand, for now, he stood up slowly and hugged his mom and at the same time hugging his younger brother as little Jamie continued to sleep, completely unaware of his surroundings.
His mother nodded thankfully, appreciating the hug. James watched the scene with a sad smile; it was in times like this when he realized how tight nit a family they were. Following Harry's example, he decided to join in the hug as well, laughing silently at Jamie who continued to sleep soundly, not realizing he was in the center of a family group hug. 'If only I had a camera to take a picture of this moment,' James thought.
Flashback Ended
James, being released from the hospital a few hours ago insisting that he would not miss Harry's funeral stood in front of their son's gravestone seeming lifeless. He was still weak and needed rest, knowing Lily would have liked to delay the funeral for her husband. Unfortunately, that seemed nearly impossible if they wanted to keep Harry's funeral a quiet affair.
With the news thanks to the Daily Prophet and dozens of witnesses that the one to vanquish You Know Who was the older brother to the Boy Who Lived, Kingsley Shackbolt the now Acting Minister for Magic had confided to the Potters that it was best to do the funeral as soon as possible. Since, many witches and wizards wanted to attend the funeral to thank their saviour, magicals who didn't even know Harry and much less the Potters. There was also no doubt that the Press would also want to be there as well to announce to the world of Harry Potter's funeral making it a big spectacle, something that they had clearly not wanted to happen. More specifically, something Harry would not have wanted to happen.
Therefore, to prevent such an event to occur they decided to do the funeral as soon as possible and only inviting those they considered friends and family, including close friends of Harry from school; the Weasley twins and their family, Lee Jordan and several others.
Deep in thought, James looked up when Lily gently nudged his arm to get his attention, "Do you think we could have done things differently?"
"What do you mean?" He noticed Lily was now silently crying. Reaching out he held her in her arms, giving her a shoulder to cry on.
"James, you and I both saw Harry was hiding something during the war. He would always leave the house and lie to us about where he truly was going. If only we confronted him sooner, maybe things would have gone differently."
James gave a soft sigh, "Lily, there were many things we could have done differently." He then added "What I could have done differently. Merlin, if I wasn't so reckless during the final battle I would have faced him instead of Harry."
Lily looked up at him while in the back of her mind she was still imagining her baby boy with her eyes and James messy locks. Harry; that same boy who'd pout when disappointed or upset, who had a temper that rivalled even hers and having James mischief and recklessness.
Wiping away her tears she said, "Oh James what are we doing? What would Harry think of us if we keep acting like this?
A fond but sad smile appeared on his face, "Probably tell us to move on and it's not our fault."
Hearing James reply, Lily couldn't help but agree as she leaned her head on her husband's shoulder for comfort. Silently the two stayed like that for several minutes, ignoring their surroundings as they were still deep in thought. Both of them stuck in the past, wondering just how things would have changed if they did things differently.
Maybe then, Harry would have lived.
In the graveyard of Godric's Hollow, the two living occupants finally made their way out. Still lurking behind one of the many tombstones she remained still, watching with an amused smile as they apparated away, no longer could she sense the grief radiating off of their forms for they were gone.
As she was about to step out into the open and approach her intended destination, she felt a nudge on her shoulder, causing her hood to fall off and reveal her face. Curiously, she looked to her right to find a creature with a skeletal body that was shaped like a horse and reptilian features staring back at her. It's dragon-like face held bear white, glittering eyes that lack both expression and pupils. Said orbs met her own that were the same white that lacked expression and pupils. From the moment she saw it she knew what it was, to the wizarding mortals they were known as Thestrals.
With a big grin, she began to croon as she put her arm out to pet the skeletal horse, "Why hello there."
At her voice and touch the Thestral nickered in response, expressing its joy at hearing her voice. She laughed at the skeletal horse's reaction, Thestrals were always such a delight to interact with, compared to mortals who begged and cried for help at the mere sight of her they did not, but instead greeted her with joy.
Thinking about it she did realize there were two exceptions of course. One of them, the second and most recent one to be specific greeted her as a friend, for they were just that, good friends who didn't always see eye to eye.
Speaking of said person Death looked at where his body now laid, it was because of him she was here in the first place. Sighing, she moved away from the Thestral who only whined in distress.
"Shh, it's alright." Death placed a hand on the Thestral's cheek her other hand combing its black mane.
"Why don't you go to your heard now, they're probably wondering where you've run off to."
The Thestral sadly nodded and following her suggestion gave another gentle nudge for goodbye and left. Death gave the creature a small wave as she watched the Thestral spread it's black and leathery wings out and leaped to the skies to fly away.
When the beautiful creature was no longer in sight Death continued towards her intended destination. When she arrived in front of Harry Potter's gravestone she leaned over its marker and inspected its engraving. She paid attention to two engravings in particular.
Harry James Potter. 1978 – 1996.
Well isn't that interesting, she mused. Things could have been much different. 1996 was too soon for her tastes in taking Harry Potter away. Then again, the boy was stubborn and willing to defy her and Fate's expectations. Even his parents and brother for that matter, Ignotus' lot seemed to constantly go against her sisters will, no matter how many damned prophecies she seems to bestow on his descendants.
If only I'd taken your grandparents away much sooner, Death thought. Perhaps then Harry would have been born in the right timeline and Jamie Potter would not have existed. Maybe then, she'd be able to take James and Lily Potter away instead of their son fifteen years later. After all, she wanted Ignotus' line to continue and according to her sister, there was a chance that it may no longer happen. Jamie Potter, the boy who was not meant to exist, just might be the last of Ignotus' children. If so there'd be no more. And what a boring reality that would be, the Peveralls an aggravated sigh, Death sent Harry Potter's gravestone an annoyed glare. Why couldn't the boy have chosen a much simple rout? Honestly, a killing curse could have been enough, but no, it had to be with some flashy spells and a cursed fire to boot. Was he really that eager to see her again?
Death doubted it. The boy probably wasn't thinking straight when he thought about protecting his family. All this studying and inventing spells that he could use to defeat Tom Riddle. The Hallows could have done the job just fine, the Elder Wand in particular. Something that Death knew Harry was hesitant to use with the exception of her cloak. Knowing this why couldn't he just wait for the killing curse to do its job then fire it up with his wand waving if he really wanted to give a dazzling performance to the mortals.
Harry Potter, you idiot.
Groaning at the new wave of problems she'd have to face in the future Death stood up straight. Such a waste, to think certain people wouldn't be born, therefore certain events won't happen and to top it off Parselmouths would now be extinct, Death knew things would become rather dull in the next few centuries ahead. Such a shame.
Sighing death shook her head muttered silent curses along with Harry's full name. Then, with a flick of her wrist, a beautiful black rose appeared on her fingertips. Twirling it in her hand she brought the flower close to her face and inhaled its fragrance.
And with one last whiff, Death let go of the rose and watched as it fell down at the base of Harry's gravestone. No longer in her grasp, Death knew mortals would be able to see it clearly, but of course, they wouldn't think anything else but someone who must have left it when paying their respects to the deceased hero.
And what a hero you were. Or perhaps would have continued to be had you done things differently!
"Damnit, Harry."
With one final angry glare towards Harry's gravestone, Death disappeared off to the next world.