9 Crimes - I had no idea for a title for this chapter, and just so happened to be listening to 9 Crimes - Damien Rice when I wrote it, so yeah...
Albus Dumbledore was just as surprised as everyone else in the room when James awoke. No one had expected it, and they had all been prepared for the worst.
James had been awake for a few hours now and apart from being extremely weak, seemed to be doing fine, he would still need a few more days at St. Mungo's for recovery.
Sirius and Lily had left the room leaving a sleeping Harry on James' chest and Dumbledore alone.
"Albus, what happened to Voldemort? Is he alive? Dead? How…"
"James, we know how he found you, oh, I wish you had told me that you were changing your secret-keeper at the last minute…"
"Peter! I forgot, that's how he found us! Where is he now? Oh when I get my hands on him…" James' was getting frustrated now.
"James, calm down, calm down, we have that sorted. We found and captured Peter and he is being dealt with appropriately. However, what we do not know, is where the Dark Lord is, and whether is alive for certain. Do you have any recollection?"
James wrinkled his face in deep thought, trying his best to remember, "I don't…I can't remember much, its all a blur really, I blacked out earlier than Lily…"
Albus sighed and took a seat in the patched armchair beside James' bed and pushed the hair off Harry's face to reveal his scar, distractedly he told James, "…yes, that is what we feared. The answer lies in this little man…too bad he can't talk!" Dumbledore chuckled to himself.
James didn't quite find the humor in it, "So you mean Harry is the only one who really knows whether or not he's alive?"
"Well…I don't know…I don't even know if he would have been in contact with the closest of his followers. Did you hear they caught Bellatrix? Well, the Death Eaters seem to be in just as much shock as the rest of the wizarding world. For once in my life, I honestly can't tell you the correct answer James."
"Well, what are we going to do? What's the next step? Will me and Harry and Lil have to go into hiding again?" James was getting even more frustrated now.
"James…you musn't work yourself up, you need to relax and recover, we are still working on what to do next. At this stage, our conclusion is that the Dark Lord is not dead, but very, very weak, barely hanging on to life." Dumbledore looked at James with sorrowful eyes, "the one thing we do know, is if he is alive, he will be weak for a very long time, however after he has gained his strength and his following back, it can be assumed that he will want revenge…on you and Lily – "
"What about Harry?" James interrupted abrubtly.
Dumbledore's eyes saddened even further as he sighed, "and especially on Harry."
I know that it has been over a year since I last updated, so this may seem a little disjointed compared to what I was writing before, maybe. I know its short but I have so little time and at least it's something!
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