Chapter 16

"You know who this is?" Harry asked his son as he watched the look of horror cross his face. Zelda was rubbing her belly protectively and smiling maliciously as she started her own evil cackle in unison with her High Lord.

"This...this is..the girl who-"

"The girl who seduced him, twice," she laughed interrupting James' stuttering reply, "the woman who got what she needed from him, eventually; and then ruined his secret affair with the dreary administration worker from the auror department! And I'm the one who would have got away with it if we hadn't been so rudely interrupted," she pretended to wink at him seductively but James found himself instantly repulsed. "What's the matter James; did you think I wanted you for your charm and good looks?" she said sarcastically walking over to stand beside her master who placed a protective arm around her waist. "Sorry to disappoint you but all I was ever interested in was what you could plant inside me; what the High Lord needed and what is right now nestling there and growing, preparing itself for a life of ruling the world as the most powerful dark wizard ever known." She cackled wickedly as she finished and James shuddered. He was horrified; not because she had seduced him but because of what it had produced; what she had wanted; and what he knew was there. A child, albeit a veritable nothing at the moment, but something which would grow to be a child, a child of his, spawned from an evil woman who wanted it to get her own high standing and please her master.

"How...how did you...?" James stuttered.

"I tried what I knew you liked but when it didn't work I resorted to a potion, a powerful potion which would attract you instantly to me, make you want what I wanted, clear your head of all thought and reason and then when you fell asleep after it would all seem like a dream. It did the first time didn't it James? In Russia when you fell asleep and woke feeling groggy? And it would have worked the second time too if we hadn't been disturbed by your tart and her friends!" she cackled as he realised he had been right about her and about his strange illness while he had been on duty. "But no matter now; we have what we want," she finished placing a hand on her master's and smiling evilly. James continued to gaze in shock and horror; whatever the reason and however it had been done the only thing he could think about was that there was a child, a child of his growing in that body and though the idea repulsed him he also found a strange wonder in the fact that it was his child and always would be.

"Enough Zelda," Lestrange shouted, "we are done with explanations; it is time to dispose of those that we no longer require. I have been waiting many years for this," he moved his wand up to face Harry and shouted, "Avada-"

But Harry swiftly jumped in with "Expelliarmus," it missed the target but Lestrange's spell was stopped before it reached him. Leaping across the room Harry started to duel with Lestrange who left the Minister in her crumpled heap to fight back; curses and jets of light bounded around the room and James found himself stood face to face with Zelda again for the first time since she had seduced him in his office. He had been right; he had known that she had done something to him; he would never have gone for her, not when he had Holly.

"It was better the first time," she whispered to him as she approached leaving her master to fight his battle, "in the tent in Russia; you fell asleep straight away and knew nothing; that should have happened the second time too but as I said it matters little now, we have what we need." She patted her belly again and smiled, "A Potter child!"

James didn't know what to do; his instinct was to try and kill the girl but no matter what the intention or circumstance she was carrying his child; even at a few days old it was still his and all rational thought left his head. "You can't kill me can you?" she goaded wanting him to put up a fight before she finished him, "You can't bear to harm your spawn!" She smiled knowingly as she saw the emotions tearing at his eyes, "A child, James, your child who will rule the world and be more powerful than you will ever be," she taunted circling him with her wand aimed at his chest. "A dark Potter who will commit so many atrocities; but it will still be a Potter who you cannot harm, who you don't want to harm." She was playing on his humanity, on his love for any tiny part of his family and he found his wand arm would not move to attempt a strike, to do what he knew should be done. "You won't kill me," she continued. "You can't," she whispered in his ear as she passed by still circling him, "join me James, join our cause and I won't kill you; come to the dark side and rule with your child; help us to guide it and make it the most powerful wizard there had ever been; you want to, I know you do."

His mind whirred as he listened to her; he didn't know what to think; he didn't know what to do and he was losing his grip on the reality of the situation. His father was still fighting and she was still circling him, her wand trained on him but held loosely with no conviction; she was confident that he wouldn't strike.

He had to make a decision and he did it swiftly; suddenly lifting his head he looked into the evil woman's gleeful face and spat back, "You will never bring a child of mine up as a dark wizard; I will kill it first. Avada Kedavra," he yelled pointing his wand at her and a flicker of recognition and shock crossed her face for a split second before the jet of green light hit her chest and sent her careering backwards where she fell, rigid and motionless, across the Minister's desk.

"Nooooooo," Lestrange yelled when he realised what had happened and he turned to look at James; pointing his wand at him resolutely he screamed, "sectumsempra," just as the door to the room flew open again and Zabini rushed in followed by a few other aurors. James' body ripped open in three slashes across the front and blood began to gush profusely from the wounds; he screamed out in agony as Lestrange looked down on the limp body of the woman who had helped to realise his dream; he had come too soon; been too impatient; he should have waited.

The pause was all Harry needed to make his own mark and before Lestrange had chance to realise that he had left himself open to his opponent he shouted, "Avada Kedavra," and with another jet of green light the High Lord fell to the floor beside his accomplice in a heap as still and silent as she was. James fell to the floor at the same time and Harry rushed to his side dropping to his knees as he watched his son becoming paler and paler; he was struggling to keep conscious and writhed in pain.

"You need to get him out," Zabini yelled as he watched in horror, "But the wards are still up can you get him to the department of mysteries?"

"I have another way," Harry replied reaching into his robe pocket and extracting a tarnished silver instrument which was always on his person. He clicked the deluminator and a ball of soft blue light emerged from its end; the aurors in the room watched on as Harry picked up his profusely bleeding son and walked forwards so the light went into his body and then he disappeared from view.

"Ginny," Harry yelled as he appeared in the kitchen of his house and dropped James carefully onto the long wooden table; there were only a few people in the room and at the sight of her husband carrying her limp son Ginny Potter jumped to her feet and ran forwards. "Ginny he needs help; sectumsempra," he explained. "We couldn't get out any other way except with this," he added dropping the deluminator, which could only ever take him to Ginny, onto the table beside his fading son, "I couldn't get to St Mungos."

Ginny went straight into healer mode and attempted to staunch the blood while sealing the open wounds which were vicious and raw; Luna jumped in to aid her and together they waved their wands over the body while the others in the room watched on in horror. James was barely conscious but knew where he was and as he laid eyes on his cousin Rose he whispered, "Holly?" All he could think about was whether she had reached safety or not but before his cousin could reply she stepped into his view and he sighed softly and smiled at her briefly before succumbing to unconsciousness; she was safe. Holly jumped to the side of the table and frantically called his name but he was asleep and she was shooed out of the way by Luna who was still working diligently on his wilting body.

"We need to get him to the hospital Ginny," Luna said softly once the wounds were sealed, "he's lost a lot of blood and..."

"I know," she replied being well aware that James was not out of the woods yet and needed further treatment if they were going to have a chance to save his life. "Harry you floo with him to St Mungos; if you apparate he might be splinched...I'll...I'll meet you there; go straight up to the severe spell damage ward and we'll get what we need ready; I can't save him without proper equipment." The only thing keeping Ginny from falling apart was concentrating on what she needed to do for her son and her healer training had kicked in straight away keeping her focused on healing the patient rather than who the patient was. Without another word Harry obeyed his wife and disappeared immediately into the fire while Ginny and Luna apparated from the kitchen simultaneously leaving lots of shellshocked and terrified people in their wake.

"What's...what's going to happen to him?" Holly suddenly asked Rose as she sat down on a kitchen chair. When Harry had appeared in the middle of the kitchen holding James' limp body she had felt her stomach plummet; no matter what he had done to her she still loved him and was terrified about what might happen, "is...is he going to...die?"

"No," Rose said vehemently, "no Aunt...Aunt Ginny won't let that happen, she...she..." but she couldn't finish her sentence. Rose had never seen a person so pale and with such injuries caused by magic; she didn't know what would happen to James and could offer no more words of comfort to the distraught girl. Sitting down beside her at the table she began to wonder; was this what it had been like before when her parents were teenagers and Voldemort had taken over the magical world? She had studied it all at school and knew about the horrors and atrocities of the time but she had never seen them first hand before. She was scared for her cousin, and suddenly for her husband who had gone into the fray with the rest of her family insisting that she stay safe at Grimmauld place.

As if he knew she was thinking about him Salamander Longbottom suddenly whirled into view at that very moment in the inglenook fireplace of the kitchen and the noise made them both look up. "Sal," Rose screeched jumping from her chair and running over to hug him and make sure that he really was safe and alive. He had a nasty looking cut on his head and another gash on his arm which he had tied a rag around in an attempt to staunch the bleeding, "What's happened?" she asked when she reached him.

"The Ministry is safe and the Minister's alive; James and Harry killed the High Lord but they say James is...is hurt, badly," he added glancing at Holly still sat white-faced at the table chewing unconsciously on her nails.

"I know; Uncle Harry brought him here; he...he looked bad," she swallowed as he rubbed her arms, "the blood was...was everywhere; he was conscious at first but then..."

"Where is he now?" Salamander asked.

"They took him to St Mungos; Aunt Ginny said it was the only chance they had to...to save him," Rose sobbed beginning to break down into tears as her husband held her up.

"We should go to the hospital," he said to her, "and see what's going on." Rose nodded in response to him and then he walked across the room, "Holly," he whispered when he got to the chair where she was sitting, "do you want to come too?" She also nodded her head unable to form any real words as her mind continually played over and over the image of James' weakened body appearing in the room and his almost strangled call of her name before he had passed out. "Come on," Salamander continued lifting her to her feet and supporting her as she walked to the fireplace, "at least if we are there we will know what is happening."

One by one they jumped into the fireplace and flooed to the hospital each one afraid of what they might find when they arrived but each one needing to know, even if the worst had happened.

The main atrium to St Mungos hospital for magical maladies and injuries was in complete chaos when they arrived; people, patients and healers were running around the room trying to make sense of the commotion as more and more appeared by the minute. Floating stretchers carried the injured in the direction of relevant departments which were being decided by a few harassed looking auxiliary healers who had the job of deciding which patients were more critical that others. Some people with minor injuries were sat waiting on the floor while motionless bodies laid on hovering stretchers, some covered in white sheets and others with people crowded around them sobbing and weeping. Holly tried to keep her stomach in place as she desperately prayed that James would not be one of the bodies beneath a white sheet and turned to look at Rose and Salamander as one of the auxiliaries ran towards them. "They look minor you will have to wait sir; please take as seat over there," she said pointing towards an area which was already swelled with the walking wounded.

"I'm fine," Sal replied, "We're here to find-"

"There is no time for visiting can you not see the chaos? If you are not here for treatment you have to leave," she shouted back at him with a stern face.

"Rose," called a voice from behind them and turning away from the angry young auxiliary the trio found themselves face to face with her parents, Ron and Hermione.

"Mum," she shrieked running towards her.

"What are you doing here?" Hermione asked as her daughter ran into her arms. "Sal are you alright?" she added seeing his brutal looking wounds; he nodded in reply as Rose began to sob again.

"Mum, Dad it's James, he's...he's here; Uncle Harry brought him he's...there was so much blood; I think Uncle Harry said it was...sectumsempra." Hermione gasped and swayed a little as Ron came up behind her to steady her feet, "Aunt Ginny and Luna did what they could but they said they had to bring him here to...to..." She couldn't bare to think that her cousin might actually die because of this and she collapsed again, this time into her mother's arms as her husband steadied the other young woman who refused to cry but could feel her heart cracking as she contemplated the same thing.

"Where did they go?" Ron asked taking charge.

"Severe spell damage she said," Rose replied. "But they said we can't visit," she continued indicating the red coated woman who had shouted at them, "if we are not here for treatment then we have to go."

"Let them try and stop us," Ron said vehemently. "Come on," he continued guiding them in the direction of the stairs, "severe spell damage is on the third floor; follow me," and without waiting to see what the strained auxiliaries would do the five of them ran straight in the direction of the stairwell heading for the third floor.