"I'm so sorry" (in the voice of Tohru Honda, Fruits basket) It took me really long to write this chapter. School is just far too much right now. I even got sick from so much work and too little sleep. So I had to push James, Sirius and Harry away for a little while (even though I drew snitches in my school books:) I'm feeling so sorry for my science book!
I hope you'll enjoy this next little chapter:
Who is to know the secret?
Everyone had their wands out. Everyone except Harry. His head was aching so much he thought he might throw up or even pass out.
"He…" Snape, Harry was certain of it now, started. "Yes!" Harry, now as Voldemort, asked impatiently. "I know he's in the past. James Potter is here in our time."
Voldemort started to wander restlessly around the room. "That means we have to delay the plan, won't we, Severus?" he asked in a cold, dangerous tone. "Although, if we can get James Potter, then there will never be a Harry Potter," The Dark Lord wondered.
"He's under Dumbledore's protection My Lord," Snape pointed out and Voldemort stopped. "Yes, of course, but if James Potter stays in our time, then he'll never marry Lily Evans."
"James!" someone called from the outside. From far, far away. "Prongs, are you Ok?" Harry looked up at a dark-haired boy. "Sirius? Is that you?" he asked blinking a few times, "Where am I?"
Harry sat up and he heard Sirius whisper to Remus, "Has he gone nuts?" Remus shook his head. "We're still in the kitchen, James" he muttered. "Where are the Slytherins?" Harry asked.
"Well…" Sirius sighed. Harry had obviously ruined some of the fun. "When you passed out, we prioritised you so we put away our wands and talked us out of it."
Peter laughed when Sirius reviewed on what happened. "Moony kind of chased them out, when you passed out. He's a Prefect you know." Harry alias James stood up and looked at Remus. The best DADA teacher he'd ever had. "Thanks" he muttered.
"Well, you helped yourself by scaring the senses out of every single one of us!" Remus smiled and they all laughed, glad to let go of the tension.
James was standing in an empty kitchen. It was cold, with rough-hewn walls, a large fireplace, and a large table with lots of chairs. James shivered. He'd never actually been there before, just heard Sirius complain about it.
'He had a pretty good reason for it too' James thought gloomily. He wondered if Fred and George would be OK. George had promised him twenty minutes and then he had to get back.
"Sirius?" he called. Nothing. "Sirius?" when Sirius still didn't appear he went looking for him.
He was nervous. After everything Sirius had told him about his parents, he didn't want to meet them, but the twins had told him they were dead. "Sirius!" he yelled again, much stronger and this time another voice echoed his own.
"Filth! Scum! Half-Breeds, mutants, freaks, blood traitors begone from this place! How dare you befoul the house of my fathers!" James jumped so high he thought he might be on a broom again if it wasn't for the fact that his heart beat so fast. And also that his feet met the floor after a short time.
"Shut up, you old hag!" a familiar, but hoarse voice from upstairs roared and started to walk down the stairs. James watched him as he descended. Could that really be Sirius? First thing: he was taller than James, which Sirius was definitely not in his own time. James had always been proud of being the taller of the two.
Second: he wasn't as handsome as before - the man standing in front of him was pale and shabby. He resembled a werewolf the day after a full moon. Had Remus bitten him?
"Blood traitor, abomination, the shame of my flesh!" The portrait of Mrs Black yelled as high as she could manage. "Didn't I just tell you to shut up?" the man yelled back and manage to get the curtains in front of her back in front of her picture.
Both James and Sirius breathed out in relief. Then Sirius fixed his eyes on James. "Harry!" he whispered out in surprise but luckily managed to keep his voice level down. "Come," he whispered and went down to the kitchen again.
"Harry, what are you doing here? In the middle of the term and everything! Did anything happen?" Sirius asked as the door shut behind them. "Sirius? Is that you?" James asked, ignoring all the fuss about school. "Yes, of course, Harry."
He looked worried "Are you sick or something?" Sirius asked. "I could ask the same you know, Padfoot. Calling me Harry over and over again, I'm sick of it." His best friend stopped dead, eyes widening. Looked properly at the kid in front of him for the first time. Noticing the hazel eyes, "James?"
"Potter, where's your essay?" a rather impatient professor McGonagall asked Harry at the beginning of Transfiguration class. "My… essay?" he asked sheepishly. "Yes, Mr Potter. The essay you were supposed to hand in today."
Harry didn't know about this. He hadn't been James for more than a little while. "I don't have it," he muttered. "Mr Potter, you've already had one extension. Hand it in, or you'll fail this term."
Harry swallowed, now what? "Professor," Sirius suddenly spoke. "I'm sorry, but we did it together, perhaps James doesn't remember where he left it?" he turned to Harry. "Perhaps your bag would be a good place to look Prongsie?" he whispered.
Harry started to search for it. "I'm sorry professor, it's not here. I must have forgotten it upstairs," he sighed sadly. "Well then if you have done it I'll give you one last chance. Hand it over before dinner and I'll mark it," she said and turned to the rest of the class again.
While Sirius was staring confused at Harry. James was behaving very odd. Too odd.
"Took you long enough," James pouted at Sirius who was stunned in disbelieve. "Prongs?" he laughed "Good one, Harry!" that barking laughter, yes, this had to be Sirius. "Did you hex your eyes?"
"This is not a joke, mate. At least not a good one," James said grumpily staring at him with his hazel eyes. "Look, Padfoot. I've only got ten minutes, and I wanted to meet you, not argue if I'm James or not."
Sirius started to circle around him and James was reminded of a dog on the hunt. "Hey, Padfoot, what are you doing?" he asked a bit nervous with his right hand in his, already messy, hair.
"You really are James, aren't you?" Sirius' eyes had lit up with amazement and delight, and something more difficult to define. James nodded. "James... but how?" Sirius was silent for a second. "Oh, yes! I'd totally forgotten about that".
After class Harry and Sirius walked outside. Hagrid had invited them and they gladly found their way down to his cottage. They were nearly there when Sirius stopped, looking very serious and pointed his wand at Harry.
"Who are you?" he demanded.
"The real James would've lied to McGonagall back there. And we even did that essay together a few days ago. You're not ruffling your hair, enjoying a good fight or even asking Evans out. Your eyes are even the wrong colour, though at first, I thought that was to look like Evans. Your forehead has some old-looking scar which you have been trying to hide from me by moving your hair down. You're acting all sincere. It's as if I don't know you anymore. So I'll ask you again: who are you really?"
"Sirius, I…" Harry stared down to the ground. 'I can't tell him, can I?' but no one had really told him not to, besides Sirius nearly knew already. He couldn't trick him anymore. One look at the Marauder's map would tell him now anyway, now that he was actually looking. "I've got something to tell you" he began, but Sirius cut in at once.
"It's nothing about Evans, right?" he asked grinning. "No, it's not about my mother," Harry had decided to tell him, so there was a good chance to start things off. "But if it's not about…" Sirius stopped dead.
"Did you say your mother?" he asked, one eyebrow raised. "Well, yes" Harry sighed, he really didn't know how to tell anything like this. "You wouldn't believe me," he started but was cut off again. "Try me" Sirius challenged him.
"I'm Harry James Potter. Son of Lily and James Potter." Sirius was shocked "Do they really marry!" but Harry just shrugged. "Oh, well. I guess she must've changed her mind then."
Sirius had a troubled expression on his face, but Harry continued. He figured Sirius was partly distracting himself from very shocking news. "I came here by some sort of time travel, and…" he was interrupted by none other than his own mother.
In the future someone just remembered something he'd forgotten:
"Harry told me that he wasn't you and…" Sirius stopped, he then grinned wildly. "You have no idea how much I've missed you!" For a few seconds they were only staring at each other, and then hugged each other like the two best friends they were, bringing this moment down in their deepest memories.
James was the first one breaking the silence. "Sirius, I've got to get back. I want to be your friend back in our fifth year, and grow up in the time given to me," Sirius nodded and grinned again. "That's the wisest thing you've ever said."
James looked at his watch. "Oh, no! The time was up five minutes ago. I have to go, Sirius" James sent his best friend an understanding and sad glance and was met by a grin. "Take care, Prongs"
He let go of the flu powder and vanished in green fires.
"Black, Potter, have you seen Remus?" Lily asked trying not to look at the one she thought was James. "Why do you ask?" Sirius raised an eyebrow. Lily looked him straight into his eyes.
"Remus happens to be a friend of mine. It's not my fault that he's a friend of yours as well," Sirius was about to snap back at her, but Harry saved the situation. "He went back to the tower, for study," Lily smiled at him "Thank you, James."
She left the two boys. Harry was in a state of confusion but also terrifying delight to see his own mother again, while Sirius... He was another story. His world had apparently fallen into pieces within the past five seconds.
"What is it, Sirius?" he asked after a while. Sirius moved his shocked glance over at Harry. "She had a civil conversation with you, and she…" he hesitated, "called you James!"
There were several seconds of silence. "I think I believe you. There's no way you can be James. He would've fainted if she'd called him by his first name, on top that she did it while being so civil." Harry kept on telling him about what he knew but was only briefly into the part where he and James changed places when they were interrupted again.
"'Ello. Shouldn't yer be on yer way teh me?"
Both Sirius and Harry looked up. "Hello, Hagrid! 'course we were, James just saw Lily that's all," Sirius said as he exchanged a knowing smile with Hagrid, and as they walked towards Hagrid's cottage Sirius whispered to Harry: "Do not tell anyone else, just act along, Ok? We have to figure out what to do."
"Aha! Potter!" a triumphing Umbridge. "I caught you red handed. There's no escaping now!"
James was shocked. He'd come out of the fireplace happy to have met Sirius, but his happiness sank to hopelessness just as easy as it is to blow out a candle.
"I… just," he stuttered. This was about the first time he'd been completely speechless in front of a teacher. "Detention, three months, starting tomorrow. I give you one more chance, next time you'll not be allowed to play Quidditch anymore and you'll be in real trouble, Potter, mark my words."
"Now, who did you visit?" she demanded.
"I will never tell you," he answered stubbornly.
"We'll see about that," she said calmly. Making a weird little giggling sound. "For now, get out of here Potter."
He left, what else could he do? He saw her evil grin as he shot the door behind him. This was a real blow to his pride. "But I'll have revenge" he muttered. Then one thing hit him She'd said he played Quidditch.
Someone had just search for matches, found them and lit the candle. Hundreds of them. In fact, Everything was suddenly illuminated.
"What've ye been doin' up there at school?" Hagrid asked friendly. Harry felt so relieved. Hagrid hadn't changed much; perhaps he was a little less grey in the beard, but the look in his eyes, the kindness, was all the same.
"Just some easy stuff. Really boring all of it if you ask me," Sirius was over in an arrogant form of speaking, did he try to cover up for Harry? Three huge cups of tea were standing on the table along with rock cakes and other experiments from Hagrid's baking skills.
Harry didn't recognise all of them but assumed that some might be even worse than the ones he was used to. Sirius took a sip of his tea, his manner as perfect as if he was having it at Buckingham Palace. 'Probably something he was forced to do at home. Some old habits might be hard to get rid of' Harry thought.
"How's the Quidditch team, eh?" the groundkeeper asked.
"Well, I don't know," Sirius begun, he had no idea if Harry even played Quidditch. "I think it'll work. We can win this year," Harry grinned. He just hoped that James had the same position on the team as himself.
Sirius took the hint. "Yeah, I hope so too." He looked discreet over at Harry every second or so. Harry hoped that Hagrid wouldn't notice, but that was perhaps too much to ask for. "Anythin' the matter, Sirius?" Hagrid asked.
"Eh…" Sirius began. "I think we'll better get going Padfoot, I have got to give the essay to McGonagall," Harry saved the situation and Sirius rose to his feet. "Yeah, I think you better."
"So, when is the next Quidditch practice?" James asked the twins by dinner time. They exchanged looks and grinned. "Tonight at seven. If we're not there just begin flying, Umbridge likes to keep us away from it."
One hour later James walked down. He'd just found out that he had a Firebolt. He'd no idea what it was, but it looked like it was very fast and of a very new design. It even smelt expensive.
He kicked off from the ground. The broom went so fast that James climbed to it at first, but then found his balance. He was looping and showing off. To him, this was the best thing in the world. He let go of the borrowed snitch and waited for ten seconds before he flew after it with happiness in each turn.
The feeling was amazing, he finally felt like himself. "Potter!" a voice from below was screaming his name. This meant trouble, he just knew it.
"So, Sirius. How does James act? I don't know him - as a teenager I mean - so it's kind of hard too…" Sirius grinned. Harry quickly tried to cover up the fact that he didn't actually know his father at all. Telling Sirius that James would be murdered while Harry was a baby could become a serious issue.
"Well, first thing, call me Padfoot. You don't need to fool me anymore, but Remus and Peter also know you well."
Harry smiled gratefully. "So, Padfoot. Any ideas where to begin?" he asked looking over at his godfather, but it was another voice who'd drawn Sirius' attention away from Harry.
"Padfoot? Are you sure it's not Catfood?" an evil voice from behind laughed in their ear. "Begin with what, Potter?" cruelty dripping from each word. "Learning magic? Are you sure Black will be the best person to help you?" Malfoy, Crab, Goyle and Snape had appeared.
"Rule number one," Sirius whispered. "Know your enemies."
James Potter knew his enemies. He despised them too. This toad was, until now, his greatest enemy. Teachers were always a challenge, but this was different. An angry teacher he could handle, a teacher with anti-Gryffindor sentiments he could handle, but this woman was sitting sugar-sweet, looking at him with a smile, offering him tea. Tea with bloody pink sugar!
How can one be so cruel and offer tea with pink sugar in at the same time? It was beyond James's comprehension."
"I believe that you'll be in detention for a long time, Mr Potter. I will not expel you, but you're not far from," she sipped her tea and smiled. "I'll take your broom. You will not be able to play Quidditch for a while. Perhaps ever."
James gaped and stood up, his wand shaking in his hands. Detentions, fine, but No quidditch!? "Sit down, Potter and start the writing," he so did.
He wrote: I will not ever do as that old toad tells me! Never!
The fact that it wasn't very smart to disobey her was a thought that had appeared long after the detention.
Sirius had let Harry lift his wand at the Slytherins. It worked quite well. Not as cool as the performances James would've held, but it was good enough. Afterwards, they headed back to the dormitories.
He looked over at Sirius. He was sleeping in a very dog-like position. Curved up and with his hands under his head like paws. Remus slept very steady and did hardly move. So different from Sirius.
Peter was out of sight from where Harry lay, thinking. He had to get back. James was probably having problems with Umbridge and if Voldemort appeared then what? He didn't even dare to finish that thought.
Without him noticing it he fell into a deep sleep.
"My lord," a shivering voice said. "If we capture him, we might get the whole order of the Phoenix as well." Harry knew it to be Bellatrix. Voldemort or Snape had probably told her the news.
"Nevertheless, I want to talk to him" she repeated the last words. "I want to talk to him."
Voldemort laughed, as far as you could say that the cold sound could be classified cheerful, which laughter often requires. "I think that you have something else in mind, dear Bella, but I do not want to blow the plan now"
So long (and thanks for all the fish)
The Artful Fox
PS: I've officially rewritten this. I realise that James wouldn't be able to play Quidditch at all because Harry had already been banned from the game at this point in the book, but I couldn't deny him the pleasure of a short flight - so I haven't changed it.