Chapter 13

James knocked loudly on Professor Baddock's door. There was a scuffling sound inside, followed by a gravely growl of "Come In."

James pushed open the creaking wooden door, and stepped into Baddock's office. It was incredibly untidy, and there were knick-knacks and bric-a-brac littering every surface of the room. James recognised a Sneakoscope and a Foe-Glass amongst many other dark detectors he had once seen in his dad's office. He didn't visit his dad at work anymore. Infact, they barely spoke at all.

"Potter, sit down." ordered Baddock in a military way. James did so, he felt as though he was forced to do it, "I have arranged for you to write lines. Please write I will not be a smart mouthed git 200 times."

James groaned. Two Hundred? That would take him at least an hour. "I'll be back in an hour," continued Baddock, "Try not to break anything."

He handed James a quill and ink, and then left the room, closing the door behind him. James settled into a chair, and begun to write, it was surprisingly easy, and took a lot less time than James expected. After half an hour of hand-breaking writing, he had finished. But Baddock wouldn't be back for another half hour. James decided to snoop around his office, he wouldn't break anything, and if he did, he could cast a better Reparo charm than anybody he knew.

James noticed a large stone basin in the corner of the room, in was carved of white marble, and within it was a silvery substance which was somewhere between a liquid and a vapour. It was swirling mesmerising in the bowl, and James felt compelled to look closer. He leaned further towards it, the basin seemed to have no bottom, until his nose was nearly touching the substance. Suddenly, with a jolt, James was sucked inside the basin.

He was falling rapidly, until he landed on what seemed like a stone floor. Where was he? All of a sudden James noticed Professor Baddock in the corner of the room he was in. There were dark shadows cast on the dark wooden walls, and his teacher was wearing a grave face and a hooded cloak, not dissimilar to the one he had worn in James' dream.

"Sir?" James asked, expecting his teacher to tell him where they were. Baddock didn't reply, but simply continued looking gravely at the floor. James noticed that Baddock looked at least ten years younger than he was now, he couldn't have been over twenty-five. There was a noise outside the room he was in, and he heard the door open. A man walked in, holding a small bundle in his arms. James realised that the bundle was a baby. It couldn't be more than six months old. The new man spoke,

"Ahh, Malcolm, here early I see." he said in a sneering voice.

"Yes, Yaxley." replied Baddock, mimicking Yaxley's sneer, "And who is this charming infant you have with you?" he said, casting a glance at the baby in Yaxley's arms.

"It is the Potter boy." he replied sharply, "The Dark Lord required him to perform a task. He should be here any second."

The Potter boy? James thought frantically, That had to be either Albus or himself. Probably Albus, he thought bitterly. The Dark Lord would be arriving soon? But Voldemort hadn't returned until James was eleven. This must have been about ten years earlier, if either Albus or he was still a baby. How odd?

Baddock was nodding slowly, when a third man entered the room. He was wearing a flowing black cloak, which looked like a vapour, swirling at his feet. This must be Voldemort.

"Ah," he spoke in the high, cold voice James had heard in his dream, "The little Potter is joining us. Excellent. I presume you know why I am here, Yaxley." he nodded at Yaxley, who cleared his throat and said,

"You have travelled from the past to ensure you can return to power if Harry Potter kills you. Which you have now discovered, he has."

"Good, Good. You are a faithful servant Yaxley. One of the few not killed by The Order of The Phoenix I presume?"

"You presume correctly sir." replied Yaxley, gruffly.

Voldemort turned to Baddock now, "And, you, my young friend, have joined Yaxley to create a new band of Death Eaters?"

"Yes I have, My Lord." replied Baddock. James was in shock, Baddock, a Death Eater? Voldemort, time-travelling? What was he going to do to ensure his return? He thought for a moment that he had perhaps fallen asleep again, and this was all in his imagination. Voldemort spoke again,

"Malcolm Baddock, I wish for you to hold the young Potter while I perform my charm. You shall tell no one of this event, and shall only activate it when you see fit. Do you understand?"

Baddock nodded, taking the baby from Yaxley. The baby was still sleeping, its eyes firmly closed, so James could not tell whether it was Albus or himself. Voldemort took his wand, and cleared his throat. He uttered the words, "Horcruxi peperi vicis strennus"

The baby began to cry, and Voldemort laughed a high, cold laugh. "Your future has been set in stone, James Potter."

Suddenly, James felt a jolt and a lurch, like taking a portkey. And then, he was sitting on the floor of Baddock's office, panting. He looked around, to see Baddock's face looking down at him.

"Snooping were we Potter?" he asked sneering as he had done in the thing James had seen, "I hope you didn't see anything life-altering." he laughed, and pointed James to the door, James didn't need telling twice, and he ran to the Gryffindor common room without looking back.

He jumped through the portrait hole, and into the arms of Lotte, who had been waiting up for him.

"James!" she gasped, "We were getting worried, you were over an hour. I was going to find Longbottom and tell him and then, you appeared."

"You're not nearly as worried as I am." said James, Lotte shot him a quizzical look, and he explained the events of his detention with Baddock.

"It sounds like you fell into a Pensieve." said Lotte, clearly.

"A what?" asked Fred.

"A Pensieve!" said Lotte, as if the idea of having never heard of one was as ludicrous as having never eaten chocolate, "It allows you to replay memories as if you are right there in the room. It sounds as if James was eavesdropping on one of Baddock's memories."

"So that actually happened?" said James worriedly, "When I was a baby, I was actually kidnapped? Voldemort really cast some 'life-altering' spell on me."

"It would appear so." said Lotte.

"Bloody Hell!" said Fred, putting his hands on the back of his head, and sighing.

"What was the spell again?" asked Lotte hastily.

"Horcruxi peperi vicis strennus" repeated James.

"Hmmm…I've never heard that one before. I'll have to-" began Lotte.

"Go to the Library." chimed in James and Fred. Lotte huffed, and stormed off to the girls dorms, but not before saying,

"I'm going to bed. I suggest you two do the same."

The next month passed in a blur of library visits. Yet still the trio found nothing. Not one single book containing the spell which had been cast upon James as a child. Lotte of course was adamant that James should tell his father, but James was having none of it. His dad would probably tell him to stop making up stories, that he had an overactive imagination, or that he should stop being jealous of his brother's prophecy, it was a burden not a gain. James wasn't making things up, and only he, Lotte and Fred knew it. Fred had suggested telling Teddy Lupin, but James didn't want to bother him. He was busy enough with Auror training, after all.

In fact, nothing interesting happened at all until it was nearly Halloween. The Quidditch tryouts were to be held in the first week of October, as Gryffindor's first match was in November. It was against Hufflepuff, who were a pushover in James' opinion, but their captain, Harold McKinney, was insistent that they got a good team together. Harold was a seventh year, and so this was his last year at Hogwarts, he wanted to win the trophy for the fourth year running. The team had only lost one match since James joined the team. So on that Friday afternoon, James and Fred left Lotte in the Library to watch the Quidditch trials. Both boys already had a secure spot on the team, James was seeker, and Fred had been a Beater since second year, his sister Roxanne his partner since their third. The team needed two new players, a chaser, and a keeper.

The weather was terrible, there was a real storm blowing, torrential rain and even the occasional clap of thunder. But as Harold always said, "Quidditch is an all weather sport, and the game must go on." James never thought he had much of a way with words. He cast a Never-Wet spell over himself and Fred, and went to find a seat. James and Fred sat in the stands, watching the nervous second and third years standing on the pitch below them.

James could see Albus and Rose standing on the muddy pitch. No way would he let Harold put Albus on the team, he did not want his dorky brother stealing his limelight as the Potter Quidditch star. Along with his brother and cousin were Molly, Uncle Percy's daughter and Frank Longbottom, Professor Longbottom's son, he was also a third year. Molly's sister Lucy was watching Molly try out, she was a Ravenclaw.

Much to James' joy, Albus did not get a spot on the team. Harold said his broom handling was sloppy, and he had more the agility for a Seeker, than a Chaser, and since James was already Seeker, there was no space on the team. James grinned inwardly, not wanting to seem a cruel older brother, he was glad to retain the title for one thing, at least for another year. James was very happy however, that both Frank and Rose got places on the team. Rose was the Keeper, like her dad, and Frank the new chaser, very unlike his dad, who wouldn't go near a broom if his life depended on it.

"PARTY IN THE GRYFFINDOR COMMON ROOM!" shouted James from the stands, and a cheer went around all those standing on the pitch.

James and Fred snuck up to their dorm, and got the Invisibility Cloak. They had used it several times over the years to sneak into Hogsmeade, as they were planning to now, but then it had been for different reasons. They used to enjoy sneaking into the Honeydukes cellars to buy mountains of Unauthorised sweets, however today they were planning to go the Three Broomsticks. James got the Marauders Map and checked the corridor was clear near the passage behind The One-Eyed Witch, and once it was, he and Fred took the cloak off, and slid down the shoot to the dark tunnel beneath.

The journey seemed far shorter each time they took it, and now it took little more than twenty minutes for the two boys to arrive in Honeydukes. They pushed open the trap-door, and crept silently into the cellar. They could hear the owners walking about on the floor above, and so, quietly as mice, they walked up the stairs, covered by the cloak, and snuck out of the front door.

It was strange seeing Hogsmeade so quiet, when they usually went on their marauding visits, they wouldn't venture outside Honeydukes sweet shop. The main street was deathly quiet, and even though it was late afternoon, most of the shops were shut, the lights off. One of the only lights were coming from the Three Broomsticks pub, and the flat above Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. Fred's dad must have been staying there, but the boys were not planning on paying him a visit, they had their sights set on higher places. They pushed opened the door to the Three Broomsticks, and pulled off the cloak. The pub was surprisingly empty, however the barmaid, Rosmerta, was at the front.

"Hello boys!" she said welcomingly, James and Fred were her best Hogwarts customers, "I take it you're not meant to be here."

"You take it correctly." said James, adding a dashing grin, "We need Butterbeer, and lots of it."

"And Firewhiskey" added Fred, " we could do with one bottle."

"Oh, you two. You have to money of course?" said Rosmerta.

"Of course!" replied the boys in unison.

James didn't know what time their party had ended the night before, but all he did know, was that he was never drinking Firewhiskey again. Stupid Fred and his Stupid Firewhiskey, James wished he had stuck to the Butterbeer. It was Saturday, and the boys had no lessons, so they were allowed to sleep in late. This was an added bonus for the boys. James had a dreamless sleep, and even if he had dreamt, he doubted he would have remembered it. When he finally did get up, he found Lotte in the common room, looking positively beaming with excitement.

"You look cheerful this morning." said James groggily, ruffling up his already messy black hair.

"I am. You don't." she added, "That's why I'm glad I stuck to Butterbeer. You should get dressed, you look so scruffy in those pyjamas, and brush your hair why don't you!"

"Shut up." said James sharply, before adding, "I think these pyjamas are classic, and you know it won't make a difference if a brush my hair. It won't lie flat."

"You could have at least but a shirt on!" said Lotte indignantly.

"Just 'coz I'm stacked!" said James haughtily, puffing out his chest, to display his impressive abs.

"Put-it-away!" said Lotte, hitting him. She then summoned him a shirt, and made him put it on.

"Why are you so happy anyway?" asked James.

"Oh yes, I found a reference to that spell."

James' face lit up with happiness, "Really? What, is it good news."

Lotte looked glum, and James' face dropped. It was not good news.

"I found out about part of it anyway. Horcruxi peperi is a spell used to create a Horcrux."

"A what?" asked James.

"A Horcrux, I have no idea what it is, I couldn't find reference to it in any books in the whole library. Which makes me think that its dark magic, in the restricted section."

"Of course its dark magic! Bloody Voldemort cast it!"

"I think we should tell Longbottom."

"Yes, I know what you think." said James, sourly.

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