Boohoo! I only got two reviews on the last chapter. (sniffs). How can you do this to your poor author? What did she do to deserve such poor thanks?
Okay, self pity moment over. I decided, since it is the holidays, to post a chapter for ya'll. I'm sorry if updates have been slow, but I'm in a very busy time in my life, and I'll be in London for two weeks without my laptop, which I'm writing this on, so, sorry. I also have TONS of homework to do. Takes me about five hours a night. But now it's break And I'm free!!!!!!
And the thank you goes to…
Thechocolatemarauder! Not only did she review, but she also translated the thing at the bottom!!!!!! So she knows what will happen next in this chapter!!!! Go Gibberish!!!!! Umm, and what would she like as the person who gets the prize? How 'bout this. She can tell me to write a oneshot on Harry Potter with a plot of her choosing (just nothing that I really hate! Check my profile to find out what.) So, that's the prize! Congrats!
Okay, I've wasted enough space. Here's the fabled (not) chapter 4!
How dare the man impersonate Harry! He was just a teenager! He had no right!!! "But then again," Arthur thought wryly, "Death Eaters barely ever do what's right." He dragged the Harry-impersonator through the still-open door of Grimmauld Place.
Unfortunately for Arthur, the Death Eater's foot caught on the troll-leg umbrella stand, which, decided it would enjoy falling over. Of course that made Sirius' old mum wake up and start screaming ("Mudbloods! Filth!), and that brought Sirius out of the kitchen.
As soon as he wrenched the curtains closed, he remarked, "You know, I just had an idea. We could paint over her with tar, maybe that would…" He had just seen the impersonator.
"Arthur? What- what's going on?"
Mr. Weasley sighed. "I found this guy outside. He was trying to impersonate Harry, obviously, but he wasn't doing a good job of it. His eyes were the wrong color and his nose too long. Sirius, what's wrong?"
Sirius had gone pale. "What color?"
"His nose is right there, you can see that?" Arthur was getting a bit worried for Sirius, and he didn't want the Death Eater to run away on them.
"No! His eyes!"
"Oh, they were hazel, I think. Yeah, definitely hazel."
All that Sirius could do was gape. "Arthur, don't you remember, hazel was the color of James' eyes. He isn't impersonating Harry, he's impersonating James!"
"What?"
Before Arthur could say more, the now James-impersonator stirred on the floor and moaned. His head lifted up, and looked straight at Sirius. "Padfoot?", he asked groggily, before passing out again from sheer exhaustion.
"Arthur, Floo Dumbledore."
"But-"
"Hurry!"
Seconds later, a very confused Dumbledore's head appeared in the fireplace. "Arthur! A pleasure! What can I do for you! Hello Sirius!"
Sirius quickly explained what happened, including his theory that he was pretending to be James. To say that Dumbledore was shocked would be an understatement.
"Wait a moment. I'll be right there." His head disappeared from the flames. A moment later, he was back, holding a small vial. "Veritaserum. Just in case." He pointed his wand at "James", and said "Ennervate"
The man sat up, blinking. "Dumbledore! Would someone please tell me what's going on?"
"Who are you?"
"I'm James Potter! You know that! I woke up-."
"Will you willingly submit to Veritaserum?" There was a hard look in Dumbledore's eyes that none of them had seen before. Arthur and Sirius started to realize why he was the only man Voldemort was frightened of.
"If I have to. I'd prefer not."
"Well, you Death Eater, I'm afraid you do have to." Sirius snarled at James.
"All right then." Dumbledore pulled out a vial of the truth potion and placed three drops on James' tongue.
"Who are you?"
"James Harold Potter."
Sirius coughed and his eyes went wide. "It's not possible! How can it be-"
"Sirius, we can't be sure yet. Wait."
"Who was your wife?"
"Lily Evans Potter."
"How old are you?"
"Twenty-one"
"Who are your friends?"
"Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. Peter Pettigrew used to be but he betrayed my family."
"Who is your son?"
"Harry James Potter."
"It is him, Dumbledore. It has to be! He's alive!"
"Wait. One more question. What happened on the night of October 31, 1981?"
As James started explaining, Sirius knew it had to be him. There was no one there apart from Voldemort and the Potters, and Harry remembered what happened from the dementor attacks, and told him. The two stories matched up.
"Turn into Prongs."
With a pop, James disappeared and was replaced with a beautiful white stag, horns held high. No one could duplicate an Animagus form. No one. Even with Polyjuice.
For the first time since Sirius could remember, Dumbledore looked utterly shocked. But the twinkle came back as Sirius ran to James and swept him into a bear hug.
"You're alive! James, I've missed you so much! Wait until Harry…"
But Sirius' words trailed away as James fainted dead away in his arms.
"James?"
"He's exhausted. Sirius, could you get him into one of the spare bedrooms. And Sirius? Don't tell Harry yet."
Sirius would have argued, but then realized the wisdom in what the old man said. With a grunt, he picked up the fragile body of James, and carried him up the stairs, giving Harry's bedroom a wide berth.
As he placed James on the bed, his head was in turmoil. His best friend wasn't dead! And Harry… He needed his father. As much as he would have liked, Sirius wasn't able to take care of him properly, what with him being on the run… Wait! James could clear him! He knew that Sirius wasn't the Secret Keeper, and he could prove it! For the first time in ages, Sirius's face broke into a real smile.
He was startled out of his reverie when he heard low voices downstairs. Dumbledore must have called the emergency Order meeting.
"I don't see the point! Why can't we just tell Harry and be done with it? He needs James!"
"I have told you before, he's going to the Burrow, and that's final. We need to sort some things out first before we tell them."
"Ugh! Fine." Sirius just didn't see the point of this at all, but there was no point in arguing with Dumbledore, either. 'The man may be half-senile sometimes, but he's as steadfast as a rock.' This thought made him chuckle to himself.
"Anything you want to share with the class, Padfoot?'
"No Moony. Sorry. Just thinking."
Remus had taken the news of James coming back surprisingly well. Who knows why. He had sat down hard, with a look of shock on his face, then started shooting questions like he did quite a lot.
"So, Molly? I believe you should take your younger children to the Burrow as well, just so he doesn't get too suspicious."
"Knowing Harry, he'll be suspicious anyway." Remus said. "Same with the others. They all seem to have developed a knack for getting into trouble. Especially Harry."
"Don't forget the twins. They tried to send Harry a toilet seat when he was in the Hospital Wing at the end of his first year, remember?"
McGonagall let out something suspiciously like a snort.
Madame Pomphrey sniffed. (I know she isn't in the Order, but I felt like putting her in. Please pardon me and my whims.) "It would be most un-hygienic."
"Anyway, back to the relevant part of the conversation. Arthur, Molly, you will take the Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Gred, and Forge to the Burrow." He chuckled as he remembered what the twins had called themselves all through their second year.
Molly tutted. "Honestly, you shouldn't encourage them. For all we know, they've probably found another way to listen at the door."
She only said the last bit in jest, but she would have quailed to know that at that very moment, the underage wizards in the house were all clustered together with Extendable Ears. They had heard the second half of conversation, about them being suspicious.
It seemed like this was the end of the Order meeting, so they all rushed back to Harry and Ron's room and sat down heavily on the bed. They heard footsteps down the hall, so quickly started a conversation about Quidditch.
Mrs. Weasley opened the door. "Hello. We've decided to move back to the Burrow for the time being. We're leaving next morning, so make sure you're ready.
After she had left, Harry said, "Well, if I wasn't suspicious, I'm definitely suspicious now." This met with nods of assent all around.
Something was definitely up. And they were going to find out what it was. They could be sure about that.
Another mini-cliffhanger! YAY!!!! This was also a nice, long chapter for you. I hope I'll keep them coming.
Anyway, I have decided that it is now a fact. I am taking The Golden Trio, The Marauders, and Lily Read PS. It may be a while before this happens; like I said before, this is a very busy time of my life. Updates will be slow. So, I guess I'll see y'all later!OHow