A/N: Gosh, I started this story four years ago then abandoned it. I'm so glad I decided to continue it after all this time.
Here is a very James filled chapter for all you James fans =)
Title from the Kids in Glass Houses song Girls.
Chapter 17
You Put the Fun Back into the Funeral
"It's not true! It can't be true!"
"Alas, I'm afraid it is"
Professor Dumbledore spoke in his soft calm voice as he observed James Potter pacing up and down his office whist raking his uninjured hand through his hair, making it into even more of a mess than usual. The young boy wore a stressed expression and each time he turned a corner he'd stop, take a deep breath, then continue his pacing.
"It's can't be true" James repeated to himself.
Dumbledore sighed. There in front of him was a smaller version of an extremely talented boy who had already passed through Hogwarts years and had been cruelly taken from this world too soon. The older man could only imagine how the first year boy felt at this very moment knowing his mentor, best friend and brother had been killed.
"James" Dumbledore said lightly "May I ask how you injured your hand?"
"I-" The raven haired boy paused in his pacing and hesitated "Punched a wall" he finished lamely, not wanting to get into trouble for taking his emotions out on a fellow student.
"I see"
For a second, James felt as if the sparkling blue eyes were x-raying him, as if Dumbledore could see right through the lie he just told but he shook it off to carry on walking the well worn route across the office floor.
Silence fell between the two but James couldn't stand it. Without noise, there was nothing to distract him from the thoughts whirring around his head. Images flashed across his mind of his brother lying there, looking up at him yet not really seeing him. The young boys cursed his imagination for being so vivid at such a time, wishing that he could just switch off and for it all to be one big nightmare.
"Professor" James croaked, needing to break the deafening quiet that hung between them "Where do you think Harry is now?"
"That I don't know" Dumbledore said in a hushed voice "but where ever he is, I'm sure he's looking down on you right now"
"That's so cliché" James groaned making the old professor chuckle.
"And yet, it may be true"
The young Gryffindor looked up towards the ceiling and imagined his brothers grinning face looking down upon him "As long as he doesn't watch me when I go to the bathroom"
Dumbledore laughed openly at his words "I'm sure he will respect your privacy in that sense James, although, your brother did have a habit of walking into the girls bathroom accidently. As I recall, there was many a time I would find myself walking down a corridor to hear a girls scream and find Harry either running, being thrown or being hexed out of the lavatory by a crowd of angry women"
James felt a smile crack across his face for the first time since the pervious night. The two passed the time exchanging stories about the older boy until they were both laughing so hard they struggled to get any more words out. After what seemed like a very short amount of time the fireplace in the headmasters' office exploded into bright green flames and out of them emerged James' parents, both wearing solemn expressions.
"James?" Mr Potter asked confused at seeing his youngest son in fits of giggles at such a time "We're here to take you home for a while, just until things… calm down"
James sobered up from his laughter immediately. "Yes dad"
"Thank you Albus" Mrs Potter said in a hoarse voice, struggling to smile at the older man.
"That is quite alright" He murmured "Anytime you need anything, anything at all, don't hesitate to ask"
"Thank you" She repeated in no more than a whisper.
No other words were exchanged as the elderly couple took their remaining son by the hands and escorted him back to their home. Dumbledore watched the emerald flames fade away back to their normal red with a look of sadness. He picked up a small glass of firewhisky in his long crooked fingers and raised it in toast.
"To Harry Potter, may your legend live one through those who care about you"
80)
James had barely stepped from the fireplace when he wished he had remained at Hogwarts. The Potter household was no longer the warm, bubbly home he was used to and had visited just weeks pervious. Instead the air was full of grief and mourning; his mother had already placed a photograph of Harry on the small coffee table beside a deep crimson rose and an almost empty king sized box of tissues. Through out the rest of the day many friends of the family would pop by or poke their heads in through the Floo network to offer their condolences to the Potters. James wished they wouldn't. Time went by very slowly. In the end the young boy decided to retreat to his room for some space, but not before his mother pulled him into a bone crushing hug.
"I'll never let you go Jimmy" She whispered into her sons' ear causing him to wrinkle his nose. She hadn't used that nick name on him in years.
James patted the grieving woman on the back and hugged her in return "I know mum"
Mrs Potter released her youngest child and gave him a small watery smile as he headed up the stairs to his bedroom. Once he was inside, James carefully locked the door and sat down on his large windowsill to stare out at the acres of land behind the Potters' home. Dusk had begun to settle now casting an orangey glow over the frost that still clung to the fields and bare trees. From his window James could see the tree house Harry and his dad had built for the youngest boys fourth birthday. A long scarlet and gold banner hung just above the small wooden door with the words "Harry and James' tree house of fun. Keep out!" scrawled across it in bold black letters. The raven haired boy tore his eyes away from the wooden building and decided to distract himself by writing a letter to his friends. He extracted a quill, ink and parchment from the school bag he hadn't bothered to remove from his back and started to write.
To Sirius, Remus and Pete.
First off, sorry about this morning. I probably shouldn't have punched Lestrange in the nose like that but the git deserved it. It certainly shut him up.
Anyway, I'm not sure when I'll be back at Hogwarts. There is a lot to do here and I think my mum wants me to stay as long as possible; she needs all the comfort she can get right now. But I'll being seeing you guys soon so don't pull any pranks 'til I'm back and don't miss me too much.
James.
James clutched the letter tightly in his hand and spun around on the spot, searching the room for his pet owl. After a moment of confusion he suddenly remembered that Benji was still at Hogwarts. He thought carefully for a moment for a solution when a small chirping noise sounded from outside of his window followed by noisy pecking sounds.
"Ok, I'll let you in" James grinned, opening his window to allow the tawny owl into his room. Snitch looked up at him with big eyes.
"You miss him to eh?" He sighed, petting the owl softly "Well, I'll keep you busy; help take your mind off things. Think you can take this letter up to Hogwarts for me? It's for my friends: Sirius, Remus and Peter. You met them the other day at breakfast remember?"
The owl hooted cheerfully and stuck its leg out obediently so James could attach the scroll to it. When the letter was securely in place James picked up the small bird and placed her back on the windows edge.
"First class service please!" He called after her, watching his brothers' owl disappear into the mist.
He sat back down, this time on his bed and placed his head in his hands. After a few minutes of deep breathing in attempt to clear his mind of thought, James gave up. He threw himself off his bed and did the first thing that came into his head: escape. He scribbled a quick note to his parents in case they wondered where he was then ran across his great bedroom and grabbed his prized broomstick which he jumped on immediately. Without second thought he zoomed from his bedroom window just as he had done almost everyday since he had acquired his favourite possession and sped across the garden, feeling the wind rush past him stinging his face slightly with the damp night air. He looped the loop, dived down dangerously close to the ground only to rush back up again and rolled over and over and over again, doing everything his mother would've killed him for if she had been watching. He wasn't sure how long he'd been flying but the thin light that shone through the clouds when he had started rapidly disappeared leaving him to roam around in the dark, lit only by a shining half moon up above. With a sigh, James decided it was probably best for him to land, but instead of turning back to his room, he continued up the garden until he landed at his tree house.
"Home sweet home" He whispered softly, pushing the door open.
The inside was just as he remembered, except maybe a little smaller than he was used to as he had grown quite a lot since he had last entered. He crossed the wooden floor over to the large comfy sofa and enchanted fireplace his father had installed a few years after it was built to keep his son's warm whenever they stayed over in the winter. The walls were still covered in faded Quidditch posters and pictures the young boys had either drawn or photographed over the years and the tiny table was still chipped from when James had run away to his tree house and thrown a tantrum the day Harry went back to Hogwarts for his fourth year, just because he couldn't go with him. As he looked around, memories of all the good times flooded into James' head. He lay down upon the sofa and for the first time since he could remember James Potter cried, and he didn't stop crying until he had drifted off to sleep.
80)
The next few days were hell for James. He spent most of the time locked away in his tree house, only returning home for meals, bathroom breaks and bed. One day, after about a week of being home, the young boy found himself being stuffed into a suit by his weeping mother.
"Mum! I can dress myself!" He had complained as she tried to force his still buttoned shirt over his head.
"I'm sorry Jimmy" She sobbed, collapsing back onto her sons' bed after another failed attempt. "I just want you to look smart for… for…"
Like the rest of his family his mother just couldn't speak the words "Harrys' funeral". James shifted himself next to his mother and wrapped an arm tightly over her shoulder.
"I know mum, and I bet Harry is looking down on you now laughing his head off over the fact you can't even dress me after all these years" Mrs Potter gave a small chuckle between tears "Besides, name a moment when I have ever been smart. Go on mum, I dare you"
The elderly woman furrowed her brow in concentration for a moment before shaking her head with a quiet laugh. "You're right James; I don't think I've ever seen you look smart since you were able to dress yourself"
"See! Now don't let me break that trend mum. I'll sort myself out and you go sort yourself out. We can't have you looking all scruffy now can we?"
Mrs Potter giggled and hugged her son tightly before exiting the room. James exhaled slowly once she had left and began to change quietly into his suit.
80)
James didn't know how he managed to sit through the funeral. Some bloke who had never met his brother had warbled on and on about what a brilliant person he was and what a tragedy it was for him to be taken so early. As they proceeded to the burial, James half hoped Harry would pop up from the casket and proclaim it was all one big prank but, of course, that never happened. People gathered around the grave, many of them crying softly into each others arms whilst others made speeches about the Harry Potter they knew. The stories were mostly about what a talented and gifted child he had been shining a glorious light upon him, yet none of these tales compared to the boy James had grown up with. It wasn't until his father had finished his take on his eldest son that James took action.
"Is there anyone else who would like to say a few words?"
The bespectacled lad gulped "Yes, please"
He took to the small stage at the head of the grave and glanced around at the family and friends surrounding him, unable to look down at the box containing his brother.
"I listened to all of your stories about my brother and while they were all extremely nice and stuff, I couldn't help but notice that you all painted him in such a glowing light, saying what a brilliant human being he was. Well, I'm sorry, but he wasn't" James began, spluttering out any word that popped into his mind. "No, the Harry Potter I knew was a scruffy, annoying, big headed, brilliant, prank pulling machine! He was a pain in the arse to me all through my childhood, pulling pranks on me every chance he got and always beating me at any game we played, except Quidditch, I kicked his butt at that"
James smiled as the crowd before him chuckled.
"He gloated about being at Hogwarts when I wasn't, he showed off constantly when he got his Prefect badge and don't even get me started on when he made Head Boy, jeez! I still don't understand how he managed to get such authority though. Professor Dumbledore was telling me all sorts of interesting stories about Harrys' time at school. And yet, despite all the bullying and pain he put me through, I love my brother to pieces. He was my guide, my mentor, my role model and my best friend all rolled into one lanky, messy spotty kid who would tie me to the bed every morning just so he could have the most of the bacon mum cooked."
James paused and fumbled in his pocket until he found what he was looking for. He raised his wand high above his head in salute.
"To Harry, the best big brother a kid could ever wish for"
"To Harry" The crowd chorused, each raising their own wands and beaming from ear to ear.
As James stepped off the platform he felt himself being pulled into his mothers embrace.
"That was the best speech I've ever heard Jimmy"
This chapter didn't have much thought put into it. It's just written straight as it came from my mind so if there are any mistakes I apologise.
And for the uber long paragraphs I've included lol.
Before anyone says (I'm sure someone will) Jimmy is another name for James. The only example I can think of right know is James Owen 'Jimmy' Sullivan a.k.a The Rev from Avenged Sevenfold.
R.I.P The Rev. And R.I.P Harry
