Meeting Mister Shade

"Look, James," he heard Sirius start, "You've got to take better care of yourself." He sighed at the use of his father's name and the continued deceit of his godfather. "No, I'm serious, for Harry, you've got to eat more and," he floundered a bit, "shower more too."

They were sitting in a smoky pub in central London, both wearing Muggle hoodies and Manchester United insignia, as it was the day of some big day between that team and their rivals. This was one of several locations where they occasionally met up while Harry was at school.

'James' took a swig of his lager and looked at Sirius intently, "Have you found out anything about the two families yet?"

Sirius closed his eyes and leaned back in his seat to get comfortable, "Aside from that I know it's going to be two Muggleborns, or who people think are Muggleborns, I recently discovered that both lines are still in Britain and should be about Harry's age."

James pulled out a notepad and replied, "Okay, then we still only know five of the seven heirs. Draco, Cygni... hey how is Cygni, by the way?"

Sirius cocked an eyebrow at his best friend, "About time you asked. She is doing just fine, and so is Maggie." James made a strange noise at the mention of Maggie, but Sirius ignored it; he knew how James felt about his wife. She was rather loose, but a paternity test had confirmed that Cygni was his daughter. "We're planning a big celebration for her eighth birthday party," Sirius said casually, "I'm inviting you and Harry again –"

"You know we can't come, Sirius. We're still in hiding."

"Hiding from who? You destroyed the Dark Lord, remember?"

"There are still those loyal to him," James reminded ominously. "I just don't think it's such a good idea."

"Because you don't trust my wife."

It was such a simple statement, but it ended the conversation they'd been having instantly.

"Anyways," James restarted, "There's Draco, Cygni, Harry, Daphne, Susan, and..." he sighed again, "I feel like their names are just on the tip of my tongue, like I should know them, innately."

"I know how you feel, Prongs; I'm an heir too after all. Anyways, I've got to get going. It's my turn to watch Cygni today after school." Shaking his head slightly at the strange marriage Sirius had, James bid his friend good-bye and continued to drink his lager, intent on figuring out who the other two children would be.

Just then, his pager went off (something he kept while in the Muggle world), notifying him that someone was waiting in the park across from where he lived. Both intrigued and slightly worried, he paid his tab quickly and Apparated away once out of sight of the Muggles.

He saw the stranger and knew him immediately. He wasn't sure how, but it was something natural. He approached him cautiously, wary after all he'd seen in his life.

"Can I help you?" he said to the stranger. He had dark skin with crinkles near his eyes from a lifetime of smiling.

"I see you got my message. The name's Shade, Jerrell Shade. I've heard you've been looking for me," he said with a smile.

"I thought your family had died out," James responded questioningly.

"Hardly. Unlike the Pentdragons, we're just very good at hiding. Though, my brother and I were the last ones. Perhaps we should speak somewhere more privately?"

"I have to retrieve my son. You're welcome to join me, if you wish."

"Of course," Shade said, as they strode out of the park.

They made it to the school just as it was letting out. James saw his son and waved slightly.

"Hey Dad!" he exclaimed, hugging him tightly.

"Hey, kiddo! How was school?" he asked but never got his answer, as Harry had begun to stare at the stranger beside his father. "Ah, Harry, this is Mr. Shade. Can you say hello?"

Politely, Harry extended his hand and said, "Hello, Mr. Shade."

"It is very nice to meet you, young Mr. Potter," Shade said pleasantly.

They walked back to the small apartment that the two Potters called home. James told Harry to go ahead and get started on his homework and sending him off to his bedroom before motioning to Shade to sit at the kitchen table.

"So, you said you wanted to speak privately," James prodded.

"Yes," Shade started, "My brother and I were Unspeakables with the Department of Mysteries. He disappeared several years back, and it is my belief that he was killed by Death Eaters or Voldemort himself." He paused, collecting his thoughts. "I never knew my brother to have a child, but it would only make sense, because the nobility power did not come to me after he disappeared, and it still has not come to me. The only reasons for this would be that he was still alive, or he had an heir, and if he was still alive, I would hope that he wouldn't have hidden from me all this time."

James nodded, "I understand, and you want to help finding this child?"

"I believe that with just a bit of my blood, you can enchant some object that will alert you to his presence, if he is near."

"You know of a charm that will do that?" James asked, somewhat skeptically.

"Not just, I invented a charm that will do that," he stated matter-of-factly.

James leaned back in his seat, wondering just how powerful a wizard this Shade was; he was an Unspeakable, and that spoke volumes, but to invent a charm that would be able to enchant an object to see how close someone's blood was, James just couldn't even imagine.

"You could show this to me now?"

Shade smirked and replied, "Why yes, of course. If I may?" he asked, pointing at James' glasses.

James pulled off his glasses, paying special attention to make sure that his contacts were still in place.

"Unfortunately, only another heir can find the child, which is why I found you," he said casually, tapping his wand in various places on James' glasses. There were tiny lines of light connecting each tap to another. "It's been a while, but I finally put most of the old tale together. Checking out a few different leads, I realized you were working towards the same goal."

"Dad! Dad! You won't believe what these guys are doing outside!"

Instantly on guard, James swept into his son's room with Shade right on his tail. Peering carefully out the window, he saw three men, all in black cloaks. One was holding a slowly spinning stick, no wand, James thought apprehensively. As he continued to watch, his heart nearly stopped as the wand slowed to a stop, pointing directly at their apartment.

"Oh shit." And the apartment exploded around them.