Chapter 24

The world was over. James was certain of that. His only grandmother, Grandma Weasley, was dead on his feet. And it was his fault. He looked at her face, it was so peaceful, so innocent, she could have been sleeping. A single tear fell down James' cheek, and he felt a sudden wave of anger come over him. There was a loud bang, and several shouts from downstairs. The order had arrived in the house. They wouldn't let Voldemort kill James, they would try and stop him. He had to avenge his grandmother, he had to die, so she didn't die in vain. She died to save him. He was dying to save his family.

"Lets get this over with, Albus Potter," Voldemort laughed coldly, "before I have to kill more of your family, Avada Kedavra!"

The jet of green light hit James like a silver bullet, and everything was gone.

He was lying face down, listening to complete silence. He knew he was completely alone. No one was watching. No one was listening. He was in complete solitude. A while later, or maybe seconds had passed, it was very hard for James to tell time in this peaceful place, he realised that he couldn't be dead. He must exist. He be more than a spirit, as he was definitely lying on something. Which meant he was somewhere. And the place he was in must exist too.

It suddenly occurred to James that he may have just been knocked down by the force of the spell, and wasn't dead at all. But then, why did he feel so alone? It wasn't an unpleasant aloneness, it was nice, reassuring, he felt as though he was free of any burdens he might have had. The thought suddenly came to him that he was naked. Although convinced of his complete isolation James was somewhat uncomfortable about this, as if he was in a place, which existed, and he existed, then another person could appear at any time.

James opened his eyes, and discovered that he could see. The place he was in was entirely covered in a bright white mist, quite unlike anything he had ever seen before. His surrounding weren't hidden by this cloud, but it was as if the cloud had not yet formed surroundings. The surface James was lying on was also white, and a temperature somewhere between warm and cold, a blank surface on which to exist.

He shivered, and for the first time, James wished he was wearing clothes. No sooner had the idea entered his head, than he was clothed in soft, warm robes, much like the ones he had after his mother had done his washing. He looked around, and was entirely certain that there was no one else around him. It looked as though he was in some open air ring, with walls towering around him, leading to a sky which was still forming from the vapour. James jumped suddenly. He had the unpleasant feeling that he was now being watched.

"James Sirius Potter, huh?" a friendly voice said from somewhere nearby, "a pretty cool name, methinks."

"I couldn't agree more, Prongs," a second voice said, and without looking, James could tell the man was grinning.

James spun around to face the direction where the voice was coming from, and was met by the smiling faces of two young men, neither could have been a day over twenty-five, neither could have acted a day over fifteen. The first man was tall and lean, with incredibly messy black hair, and hazel eyes. It was like looking in a mirror for James. The man could almost have been his father, only he was younger, and had a longer nose, like James', and a thin face, like James'. The second man was slightly shorter, and was, although James hated to admit it, slightly more handsome. His dark hair fell into his grey eyes with a sort of casual elegance James' could never have achieved. His smile was wise and kind, but also mischievous.

"I though that Harry looked like you Prongs," the second man said from the corner of his mouth, "but he's got nothing on this kid!"

"Padfoot," the first man said from the corner of his mouth, "you're being rude, poor kid doesn't even know who we are."

"I do know who you are, actually," James said haughtily, "You're James Potter and Sirius Black, my grandfather and his best friend. My namesakes."

"He even acts like you, Prongs," Sirius said, grinning wildly, "this is scary!"

"Shut it, you," James' grandfather said slyly, smirking, "we're here for a reason you know. The kid just died!"

"Hey!" James said indignantly, "firstly, I am not a kid! I'm fourteen! And secondly, I didn't die, if I was dead, I wouldn't be here! Wait a second, you two are dead? I must be dead too."

His grandfather and Sirius exchanged glances, and then their eyes met James', "You've been a brave young man, James."

James blushed slightly, it was strange meeting two people who had been dead for over twenty years, but quite comforting too. Like a reunion with an old friend whom you had lost.

"Not really," James said sheepishly, "Really I've been a bit of a woos."

"A woos wouldn't have walked bravely into Voldemort's arms like that James," his grandfather said wisely, "only a true Gryffindor with the heart of a lion could do that."

"Or someone too frightened to tell anybody the truth," James said bitterly, "Grandma would still be alive if I'd just told dad the truth from the start, I've made a huge mistake."

"Yes," Sirius said wisely, "and no. Molly would be alive if you had told Harry the truth, but as you have not, the Horcrux in you is dead."

"Dead?" James asked enthusiastically.

"Dead." his grandfather confirmed for him, "Your soul is now entirely your own."

James grinned happily, and the three of them stood in silence for a moment. They each turned their heads in different directions, taking in their newly formed surrounding. Several rows of chairs had appeared, as well as three tall hoops.

"Why did Voldemort think I was Albus?" James asked suddenly, it was after all, a question which had been stirring in his mind for a while.

"Ah," his grandfather said slowly, "the big question."

"Unfortunately one we can't surely answer," Sirius continued, "but we can guess."

"Guess then," James said eagerly, "its better than nothing."

"Well," his grandfather started slowly, "Your eyes were green."

"How?" James asked, as if he had known all along.

"The jealousy sparked by your younger brother's superiority caused you to perform accidental magic, altering your appearance in order to become more like him," Sirius said wisely.

"In other words," his granddad said, grinning, "you turned your eyes green in an attempt to be more like your brother."

"But I didn't want to be like Albus," James said calmly, "not really."

"Not even a little bit?" Sirius asked gently.

"I wanted to be the one everyone was worried about, I wanted to be the one with the prophesy, the one with special treatment." James admitted suddenly. Sirius and James Sr. laughed.

"But you were the one with the prophesy all along," James Sr. said quietly, "didn't you realise when you first had your visions?"

"No," James said awkwardly, "I thought it was Voldemort using me to get to Albus."

"Exactly," Sirius said, "Basically you were an idiot, James."

"Hey," James Sr. said angrily, "I've done nothing wrong."

"Hmm," Sirius said to James, looking falsely thoughtful, "at least you're not as self-centred as this Muppet."

James laughed slightly, "But I didn't fit the prophesy. It doesn't make sense."

"Or," James Sr. said wisely, "it makes perfect sense. Tell me the prophesy again."

"A child with the power to eternally vanquish the Dark Lord will soon be among us. His green-eyes will lead him to be marked as his father before him, and another will be lost in the means. He will be given power he knows not nor understands, and this will lead to his fate." James recited it slowly, "but what does it mean?"

"The first line explains itself, this prophesy was made soon after you were born, but discarded until the rise of Voldemort," James Sr. explained.

"The second line, we just explained to you," said Sirius.

"My eyes looked green, making me look like Albus, so that made Voldemort want to kill me," said James, "but then my grandma was 'lost in the means', and I'll be marked like my dad?"

"Exactly," said Sirius, smiling, "by the way, have you looked in a mirror?"

James shook his head, and suddenly there was a mirror lying on the floor nearby, he picked it up, and looked into it. His face was exactly as it had been, only now there was a thin lightening-bolt scar on his forehead, just like his dad's. James gasped loudly.

"Pretty cool, huh?" James Sr. said excitedly, "I'm actually rather jealous."

"You should be," James said proudly, "I look battle-hardened."

The older men laughed, and Sirius ruffled James' hair, "I could never grow tired of this kid, I swear!"

"As for the final line of the prophesy," James Sr. said, "I think you already know what your power was."

"The visions," said James.

"Exactly," said Sirius, " they led to your fate, because without them, you wouldn't have thought you were special at all, so you wouldn't have been jealous of Albus."

There was another satisfying silence, and James continued to look around him.

"Where are we?" he asked.

"I don't know," Sirius said happily, "this is, as Dumbledore says, 'Your Party'."

James had no idea what this meant, but answered anyway, "I think we're at a Quidditch stadium, like when I went to the world cup." he said decisively.

"Really?" James Sr. said, chuckling slightly, "a Quidditch stadium?"

"Where do you think we are then?" James asked smartly.

"Haven't the foggiest," said James Sr. chuckling again.

"Where can I go from here?" James asked, looking around him once more.

"Well, you can go back," Sirius said slowly, "to your family and friends, or, you say we are at a Quidditch stadium? Well, you could jump on a broom, and fly away."

"Where would I fly?" asked James.

"On." James Sr. said simply. And there was another comfortable silence.

"I'm going to go back," James said easily, "my family are back there. I have nothing to gain from staying here."

"A wise decision if ever I heard one," Sirius said simply.

"I'm sorry you had to die," James said quietly, "that my dad never had a family like I did."

"Do not pity the dead, James. Pity the living, and above all, those who live without love," said James Sr., "In going back to them you can ensure that your father loses no more of the family he loves."

James nodded, and the other two turned to leave, "One last thing!" he called after them, "Is this real? Or is it just happening inside my head?"

"Of course this is happening inside your head, James," said Sirius, "but why on earth should that mean that it isn't real?"

what do you think? should i end it here, or have a summing up chapter afterwards? did you like my James/James/Sirius moment, like the Harry/Dumbledore moment in Deathly Hallows.

please review it :Pxxxxxxxxxxx

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