My girlfriend started reading this. It makes me very happy that she is enjoying the story like everyone else. It's fun when she comes to me and talks about the story. Although she's gonna go through hell reading this XD
Sorry for the long wait, school is now over so I'm gonna be sure to write more during the summer. This is the longest chapter so far, interesting. Please review, you know how much I love reviews! Enjoy! :D
"Come on Padfoot." James growled. Sirius turned his gaze away from the Gryffindor statue that lead him and James into Dumbledore's office.
"Are you sure about this Prongs?" Sirius asked, doubt ebbing in his voice. James frowned and turned away from him, walking ahead.
"Of course I'm sure, come on!" Sirius ran and caught up to his friend, following steadily behind.
The two Gryffindors made their way to Dumbledore's desk. The headmaster was busy writing with his quill, his old features were focused on his task. The phoenix standing proudly above him let out a small call, making the headmaster lift his head.
"Well if it isn't Mr. Potter and Mr. Black." He smiled kindly at them and put his quill down. "What can I do for you boys?"
"I'm sorry to trouble you sir." Said James, bowing his head slightly. The headmaster chuckled lightly, running a wrinkled hand through his white beard.
"No trouble at all my boy. Now what is it you want?" James swallowed, clenching his fists tightly.
"W-Well sir, do you know Severus Snape?" He stammered. Dumbledore narrowed his eyes, frowning slightly.
"Ah…Severus. Yes I know him, a quiet boy he is. Allot of teachers praise him for his abilities in the magical arts. He is very smart, and a Slytherin." He raised a brow. "Did something happen to him?" James looked at the floor, trying to find the right words to say.
"Well you see sir" He looked up and continued slowly. "I believe that someone is hurting him, and I have my suspicions on who's doing it." Dumbledore frowned again, he stood up and made his way towards James. He looked down at the proud Gryffindor, frowning still.
"You believe someone is hurting him? Who?" He asked, voice deepening. James gulped again, locking his gaze on Dumbledore's.
"Lucius Malfoy."
"Malfoy?" Dumbledore tilted his head slightly, taking a step back. He turned away from James and began stroking his beard thoughtfully. After several moments he turned back to James.
"Do you have proof?" He asked. James opened his mouth but closed it.
I don't have any real proof that Lucius is the one hurting him.
"O-our friend Remus said that Lucius threatened him." Said Sirius, stepping closer to James.
"Threatened him?" Asked Dumbledore. "How did he threaten him?". Sirius frowned and crossed his arms over his chest.
"Well sir, Remus confronted Lucius about Severus being hurt. He told Remus not to get involved in other peoples business and he warned him that he could get hurt if he continued asking questions. I believe that's proof." Said Sirius. Dumbledore nodded his head and looked back at James.
"And what exactly is your relationship to Severus?" Dumbledore asked, narrowing his gray eyes. "I've scolded you boys before for harming him in the past. Why the sudden concern for him?" James let out a shaky breathe, unsure of how to tell the man he trusted that he was now with another man. Especially if that man was Severus Snape, a Slytherin.
"W-well you see…he is now my…boyfriend." Shock spread across Dumbledore's face. He stared at James, bewildered.
Oh god what is he going to say?
But instead of the reaction James was expecting, Dumbledore chuckled and rested his hand on James's shoulder. "Well good for you then." He smiled warmly. "Who you go out with is not my choice, nor is it my place to tell you how I feel. I mean, Mr. Black and Mr. Lupin are together if I'm correct. I have no problem with it at all so stop looking so frightened!"
James blinked and nodded his head. "Y-yes sir!" Dumbledore chuckled again and patted his shoulder.
"Good boy." He pulled away from him and frowned.
"I'm sorry to say but without real proof I cannot do anything about this."
"B-but sir!" Dumbledore raised a hand, silencing James.
"I wasn't done yet." He narrowed his eyes. "Even though I cannot do anything I will be sure to keep my eye on Severus and Lucius. You can trust me on that. I will be sure to get involved if anything happens. But for now, I can only watch. If you give me more proof then I can step in. I'm sorry, but this is all I can do for now."
James frowned but nodded slowly. "I understand sir, it's better than nothing. Thank you."
"Your more then welcome my boy." He smiled again, patting his back. "Now, is there anything else I can do for you?"
James crossed his arms, looking thoughtful. "Sir, is there any way I can make sure that Severus is ok? Like, knowing if he is in trouble or not? I want to be there for him, is there a spell or a potion that can help me?" He asked. Dumbledore furrowed his brow and turned away, his long blue robe dragging behind him. He reached his desk and pulled out something from the drawer.
"Yes, this will do the trick." He walked back towards James, holding out his hand. "This should help you." In his hand was a small wooden trinket. It was a simple design, circular with swirling patterns along the edges. It looked old and not very special. A piece of string was hanging loosely from it. It was meant to be worn around the neck. James looked puzzled at the small trinket.
"What is it sir?" He asked. Dumbledore ran his thumb across it.
"This Mr. Potter is a very special piece of magic. With this you can feel someone else's pain and see through their eyes." He pulled out his wand and rested it on the trinket.
"Protaceo" The trinket glowed softly, lights swirled around it and James could of sworn he heard voices emanating from the object. Dumbledore pulled his wand away and the glow and voices subsided. "It is very special indeed Mr. Potter, protect this with your life. Or in your case, protect it as if it was Severus's life."
He put it over James's head. The trinket rested above his heart and a warm feeling spread through his body as if it was alive. James ran his thumb across it, amazed by the power of such a small object.
"H-How does it work?" He asked.
"Take it in your hand, close your fingers around it and close your eyes. This is how you can see what Severus is seeing." James complied and closed his eyes.
His vision lit up against his eyelids, the image he saw was blurry but he could just make out Remus. He was talking to Severus, looking worried. His vision darkened once more and he opened his eyes.
"What did you see?" Sirius asked.
'He's awake." Said James, shock and amazement spreading across his face. "This is truly amazing sir! I can't thank you enough!" Dumbledore smiled softly.
"No need, when you have something you want to protect I am always glad to help you boys. Like allowing you boys to leave school grounds once a month to help out Mr. Lupin." He winked at Sirius who smiled in return. "So is there anything else I can do for you?"
James frowned and furrowed his brow. "You said that you will keep an eye on Severus. But there are places where you cant see what is happening. I don't feel comfortable with him sleeping in the Slytherin common room. It is against the rule for two different houses to be sleeping in the same dorm. As of now he is safe in the infirmary but he'll have to leave eventually, is there anywhere he can be safe?" Dumbledore stoked his beard for awhile. After several moments a smile spread across his lips.
"Hogwarts is always there to help out students who are in need. I suggest you look for the room of requirement."
"The room of requirement?" James asked. Dumbledore shook his head.
"Honestly have you even read Hogwarts, A History?" James scratched the back of his head and chuckled uncomfortably. Sirius did the same.
"Sorry sir." They chorused.
"Anyway." Dumbledore continued. "I suggest you do your research, this could be the answer your looking for. Now, is there anything else?" James shook his head.
"No sir, thank you for everything you have done." He bowed his head slightly.
"Anytime, now if you excuse me I have some papers to finish. If there is anything else you need don't hesitate to visit me. Have a good day boys." The two Gryffindors said their goodbyes and left the headmaster alone in his office.
"Well that went well!" Said Sirius, smiling brightly.
"Of course it did, I can always trust him." James ran his thumb across the trinket again, thoughts of Severus coursing through his mind. "I saw through his eyes so that means he's awake, come on lets go see him."
"Wait." Sirius stopped and turned to James. "I thought we weren't supposed to let Severus know we knew about all of this. He's going to ask questions about the trinket and about the room of requirement. What are we supposed to say?"
"I didn't think of that." James crossed his arms and frowned. "Well we can ask Remus about the room or do research on our own. As for the trinket I can tell him that Dumbledore gave it to me because I wanted to keep an eye on him because he keeps getting hurt, he'll believe it because he knows I care about him. I'll eventually confront him about the truth of his injuries. But for now, let's focus on getting him out of the Slytherin common room and getting better." Sirius nodded and began following James to the infirmary.
"Lets just hope we can protect him before something worse happens." Said Sirius.
The two Gryffindors reached the infirmary and made their way towards the back of the room where Severus was lying. He was sitting up against his pillows, his features still flushed. Remus was beside him in a chair and he looked up at the approaching boys.
"Welcome back." He said, smiling softly. Severus looked up at James, his expression impassive.
"Hey Sev." James sat next to him on the bed. "How are you feeling?" Severus stared at him with dull eyes.
"I'm ok, really tired though" He said, voice soft and weak. James frowned but tried to remain calm.
"Alright, you really scared me. Someone came into class and said you collapsed on the floor." James shielded his eyes with his bangs. "I got really scared Sev." Severus's eyes widened at the concern James had for him. He slowly rested his hand on James's, smiling weakly.
"Hey, I'm fine honest. I'm sorry that I scared you like that, I think I was just exhausted, I haven't been sleeping well lately. But I'm fine now." He reassured. James looked up at Severus and sighed.
"I need to tell you something Sev, I've been getting really worried about you these past weeks. So, I went to Dumbledore and asked for his help."
"What?" Severus shouted, anger flashing in his eyes. "Why would you go to him?" Severus's sudden outburst surprised James and the others.
"What's wrong with you?" James asked. Severus looked away from him, gritting his teeth.
"I don't trust him, he judges people based on their houses and he believes that all Slytherins are nothing but cruel and evil." He spat the words out and his hands shook lightly in rage. James stared at him in shock, he never knew Severus felt that way. It really did surprise him.
Sure Dumbledore was judgmental on people based on their houses but he knows who is good and who is evil. He didn't say anything bad about Severus when they talked. And he has always helped James and the others when they were in trouble. He trusted him, something Severus couldn't understand.
"Sev, I trust him more than you can imagine. I was only looking out for you. I'm trying to protect you." James's voice softened as he stared at Severus. "I want to know when your hurt and I want to make sure your ok. I care about you." Severus turned back to him, still not looking convinced.
"So how did he help you?" He asked, voice still stern. James pointed to the trinket around his neck.
"See this? With this I can tell when your hurt and if I do this." He grabbed it and closed his eyes. "I can see what your seeing." He opened his eyes and smiled slightly. "Now I can protect you." Severus's eyes widened. He reached up and touched the small wooden trinket.
"You can feel my pain?" He asked softly. James nodded and rested his hand on Severus's, placing it above his heart.
"Yes, I am yours now and you are mine. That means when your hurting I want to know about it and do everything I can to make sure your ok." Severus smiled softly at James's words.
"T-thank you" He whispered. James nodded and pulled away.
"I have to go now Severus but I'll be back. There's something I need to do. Rest and I'll be back before you know it." Severus frowned and looked down at his hands.
"Oh…ok" He whispered. James leaned forward and kissed the top of his head.
"It's ok, rest." He smiled and got up. "Remus and Sirius come on, let him rest." Remus looked like he was going to protest but Sirius pulled him up, taking his hand into his own.
"Come on Remus." Sirius said softly. Remus nodded a goodbye to Severus and followed Sirius out.
James kissed Severus's forehead and whispered a goodbye, he then quickly joined up with the other two.
"What's going on James? What do you need to do?" Asked Remus, looking puzzled.
"We all need to do something." Said James, narrowing his eyes.
"And that will be?" He asked. James folded his arms and turned to Remus.
"Tell me, what do you know about the room of requirement?"