Hey guys, sorry this took a little bit longer than expected. But in my defense, I did update one of the side stories, Worlds Apart in the last week. And this chapter is fairly long, one of the longest chapters in this entire saga. I won't keep you guys anymore. Anything you recognize (characters, plot, and for this song, the lyrics to Time in a Bottle) does not belong to me
So feel free to leave a nice little review to this chapter and/or Worlds Apart. It always makes my day when I see responses to what I write. And it inspires me to write a little bit faster. It could be anything. Your thoughts on this chapter, the entire story, one of the characters, anything really. I take what I receive and I try to make my writing better/ go in a certain direction based on what you guys say.
Without further delay please enjoy the next chapter.
"Mr. Potter, please stay after class," McGonagall said as she collected their tests in class. James shared a look with Sirius and Ursula, wondering what they could have possibly done. The shrugged, not knowing what McGonagall wanted. The twins began packing up their stuff, working as slowly as possible to postpone leaving James behind.
"Blacks, you can stay too," she said.
The three of them, confused as ever, walked to the front of the room. McGonagall glanced at all three before shaking her head a miniscule, "Six years ago, I never would have thought of even propositioning this idea to you three. But wonders still exist apparently."
"Merlin, Minnie, don't make us feel too special. We might get inflated senses of self-importance," Sirius kidded
"Or large egos." James piped up.
"I apologize on their behalf. Please continue Minnie."
The corner of McGonagall's mouth pulled up slightly, "Thank you Ursula. What I would like to ask the three of you is a bit of a favor. I am compiling a list of my best students to give to first year students who are struggling in my class for tutoring options. I know with Quidditch schedules and other classes may make it difficult, but you three are my best students. Are any of you interested in tutoring them?"
Immediately, Sirius responded, "Sorry Minnie. I can barely handle Peter. No way in hell am I working with first years."
"Language, Sirius," McGonagall scolded.
"Sorry but my answer still stands."
She nodded like she knew that would happen. "James? Ursula?"
James surprisingly seemed to be contemplating the idea. Finally, to McGonagall's shock, he nodded, "As long as they understand that it might not be consistent once it gets into the Quidditch season."
"Same," Ursula agreed.
"Wonderful. Obviously lessons will not start until next week."
The second that the three teens were out of the classroom and out of hearing range, Sirius rounded on his two siblings, "What the hell are you two thinking?"
"What do you mean?"
Sirius rolled his eyes at Ursula's question. "What I mean is that we already have a ton of shit on our plate. Not only are our teachers trying to give us mental afflictions with the amount of work they have assigned, you two have Quidditch, apparition lesson, and then we get that note from Dumbledore about—"
"Sirius, not here," James cut him off.
All three of them were silent as they recalled the note they had received from their headmaster a few days ago. None of them had spoken about it yet.
"The way I view it," James said after a moment, completely ignoring what was just mentioned, "is that yes, we are going to be fighting in this War. Chances are, at least one of us is going to die. I'm not going to let that be anyone I care about so that leaves me. So while I'm here, I'm going to take what I was gifted with and try to make someone's life a little better and pass on some knowledge. If that'll be my legacy, I won't be happy but I'll at least be content."
"Damn, way to take that to a place it never needed to go."
"That turned morbid quite quickly." Ursula agreed with her twin.
James shrugged, "I'm just telling the truth here."
The boys began to bicker and Ursula was fully intent on entering the argument on Sirius's side when she caught sight of an extremely familiar face. Familiar because she looked at the near replication of it every day when she looked at her twin.
Regulus stood off to the side of the hallway, right near the entrance to a corridor that led down to the Slytherin Common Room. Their eyes meet and Ursula was astounded when he didn't immediately flee as he usually did. Without breaking eye contact, she hit Sirius on the shoulder, "I need to go do something. If I'm not back in thirty minutes, check in with me with the mirrors or find me on the Map."
She didn't give them a chance to argue as she darted after Regulus who had disappeared a little further down the corridor.
"Regulus!" She shouted.
He paused in his stride to allow her to catch up with him. "What is it you require, Ursula?"
His voice was cold and unemotional. Ursula ignored the sting and instead asked, "Is it against the law for a sister to speak to her little brother?"
"I don't have a sister."
Feed up with him ignoring her, she grabbed his arm and forced him to stop, "Stop being a little arse. You preach about blood and all that crap so in your little freaky world, we are family. Accept it."
He tore his arm out of her grip, "I refuse to be associated with blood traitors."
"I'm not a blood traitor! I'm just your sister right now so treat me like that, damn it!" she shouted.
"Fine. How is your little lover boy doing? Or how about that other brother you magical acquired. Potter, I believe his name is. Or how about cancer-case? Looking a little bit butch lately with that hai—"
Ursula shoved him against a wall, her forearm pressing against his throat, "Do. Not. Speak. Of. My. Friends. Like. That." She growled.
He simply rolled his eyes and shoved her back. He straightened his tie and regarded her with a cold look, one that caused her heart to skip in slight fear. That expression never belonged on her little brother's face. Not on the face of the little boy that would run to her room and cuddle during thunderstorms, the one who would follow her around at every family party and question who everyone was, the child that had told her his first year that told that no matter what House they were in, they wound still remain siblings.
"This is exactly why I no longer see you as family. You are simply a hot-headed heathen who values brawn over brains. It's pathetic."
"More pathetic that wishing death upon your classmates?" She bitingly asked.
He shrugged, "They are below me."
"WHO THE HELL DECIDED THAT!? Right now, I want you to tell me an actual reason why you think that you are superior?"
"They're a different species."
"WE'RE ALL BLOODY HUMAN!"
He tisked, "Honestly, Ursula, your naivety would be endearing if it wasn't so pathetic."
She shook her head in disbelief, "Reggie, how can you believe that?"
"Look at what all the purebloods have accomplished!" He said excitedly. "We have built this society and some have gone astray and that is regrettable, we just need to trim the branches, if you don't mind the metaphor."
"What about Olivia? You were close to her?"
That elicited a response out of Regulus. His face contorted in one of rage, "She is nothing!" he spat.
Ursula snorted and stalked towards her brother, "Yeah, nothing my arse. You ignore eleven years of brainwashing from our parents and befriend a halfblood. You spend time willingly with her in the library. You called her a friend! You bloody dated her and probably felt some sort of love for her! She's the girl who you left broken and beaten in a hallway and defended you when Ben saw the bruises. She is something!"
"She's is nothing! She is the scum of the Earth. She is a waste of space, a disgrace to all human kind! Blindly believing whatever the hell someone tells her! She deserves to die!"
"You self-righteous, pompous—"
"Like you have room to talk!"
Ursula had grabbed Regulus's arm but he had reacted more violently than she expected. Still under the impression it was her younger, weaker brother, she had forgotten that he too was an athletic Quidditch player that trained just as hard as her. When he shoved her back, she stumbled back, her head hitting painfully against the stone wall. She felt the pain explode from the back of her skull. She felt the eminent blackout that was threatening her vision already. Panic began to set in as she remembered the last time she had black out a year ago.
Her vision swam and it felt like she was speaking underwater "Reg," she slurred. She was seeing double and the room seemed to be tilting back and forth. A blurry figure took a step towards her but then quickly retreated.
The darkness won and soon Ursula was unconscious, lying in the middle of corridor in the Slytherin quarter of the castle.
"Damn it, Prongs, she said thirty minutes," Sirius complained, pacing around the center of the room.
James shrugged, "It's only been fifteen. She's a big girl."
"Don't tell me something doesn't feel off about this."
"I know it does which is why I have the Map ready and I have the mirror out. She's a big girl, Sirius. We have to trust her."
Sirius adamantly shook his head, "The day I blindly believe she is fine alone is the day I die. Now check the bloody map!"
"Merlin, hold your hippogriffs. I'll check."
"She's probably not even in the castle anymore," Remus commented. "King's 17th is tomorrow – she's probably off to Hogsmeade to get him something."
Sirius tilted his head to the side, "We already all got him presents and we've got the food and cake from the kitchen. Why does she need anything else?"
"Maybe because she's his girlfriend?" Remus sarcastically said.
"Ugh, couples," Sirius complained, "No, not just couples: my best friend and my twin."
James shrugged as he absentmindedly glances through the different floors of the castle. "Ben's good to and for her."
Peter snorted, drawing attention to himself for the first time.
"Got something to say Wormy?" James questioned, a hard quality to his voice.
He shrugged, "I just think she could do better."
"What? With someone like you? Don't make me laugh, Pete. If there was one human being I approved of dating my sister, it would be Ben."
"You don't see it do you?" Peter snapped. "Remember when his sister died? He hit her! He abandoned her! We all saw the damage. He. Didn't."
That set Sirius off, "I get it. We were all pissed at Ben when he magically came back all apologetic but that was a year ago and you've never spoken to him about it. He was torn up about what he did and he swore to me that he would spend the rest of his life making it up to her and to us. So don't you dare say anything against someone who makes my sister's life a little bit better." He snarled.
"Guys," James spoke up. Normally, Sirius and Peter would have just continued to argue but there something in James's voice that made them all stop to look at him.
"What?" Sirius snapped.
James jumped off his bed and was quickly throwing on shoes. "Ursula's still in the castle."
"So?"
He rounded on Peter, fury lining his face, "So she's still in the castle, near the Slytherin Common Room and not bloody moving that that's so!" He threw the map like a frizbee to Peter. "Find Ben and 'Lyse and meet us at the hospital wing. If he's not there in ten minutes…" he left the threat open. "And Remus, remember your badge. That might come in handy."
With that all four rushed out of the room, James at the lead. Peter broke off once they were out of the Common Room. James shoved a third year out of the way when and almost ran over Lily but didn't stop. Since h was the only one that saw the map and knew where Ursula was, the other two were blindly following him.
To their surprise, when they came to the intersection point to turn down the corridor, Elyse and Ben were running from the opposite side of the castle.
"What th—"
"Vision." That was answer enough.
Ursula wasn't hard to find. In the stark empty corridor, her crumpled form wasn't that hard to pick out. Ben sprinted ahead of the others and came to a skidding stop next to her. He grabbed her shoulder and shook his urgently but mindful of her injuries, "Ursula, love, wake up."
His heart was painfully pounding in his chest. It felt like he had just been hit with a bludger and tackled to the ground at the same time. He remembered the last time she had been knocked unconscious and what that meant for her.
"Ursula! Wake up!" Sirius shouted in her ear. James's fingers were running down her neck and back to check for any breaks. When he found none, he nodded at Ben, signaling it was alright for him to lift her.
With one arm under her shoulders and one arm under her knees, he stood, easily carrying Ursula's before rushing off to the hospital wing.
Madame Pomfrey immediately shooed them out of the hospital wing, muttering to herself angrily about careless students with too many head injuries. Peter joined them moments later. As the rest of them filled him in on what happened, Ben collapsed against the wall. Sirius, still annoyed with Peter from earlier joined him.
"She's going to be alright."
"She's unconscious right now. She might not be alright, Sirius. Remember what Madame Pomfrey warned about her sustaining another head injury like that. Bad things would happen!"
"Damn it, Ben, don't you think I know that!?"
The adrenaline settled down Ben's system. He had felt like he would have been able to play eight games of Quidditch in a row but now he felt like he could barely stand. Ursula was…damn, she had come into his world and completely destroyed everything only to rebuild it in such a way that he was completely lost in her. "Sirius…I can't…"
Sirius clapped his hand on Ben's shoulder, "You stay here with Prongs. Lucky, Wormy, Moony and I will go see if we can find out what happened. Make sure my sister gets better, you understand me?"
"Crystal."
Sirius nodded and then gathered the others. Ben grabbed Elyse's arm before she could leave. "Listen, I know you aren't supposed to tell me but…"
The corner of Elyse's mouth quirked up, "It won't be like last time. If that is what you are asking."
"She'll be alright?" His eye brightened but quickly dimmed when her expression feel.
"She'll recover."
Before she could say more, she was dragged away by Sirius. James and Ben stood in silence as they waited for Madame Pomfrey to let them back in. James grew more and more anxious as the minutes passed. He took to pacing back and forth, agitatedly running his hand through his hair, and muttering to himself all the statistics he knew about head injuries. Ben, on the other hand, had slid down the wall, resting his forearms on his knees and simply stared at the door.
Finally, James had enough of waiting and with a quick, "I'm going for a walk," to Ben, he was off to some unknown location.
Fifteen minutes later Madame Pomfrey opened the door. "She's still out but she can have visitors. One or two at a time, do you hear me? I don't want your rag-tag group bothering my other patients."
Ben quickly agreed as he scrambled to his feet. "What about Ursula? Do you know when she'll wake up? What'll happen?"
"Head injuries are not black and white," she responded. "She could wake up and be perfectly fine or she might lose her memory again. It is possible that some motor function was damaged as well. We just won't know until she wakes up and even then, she will wake up in her own time."
As soon as Ben laid eyes on her, it felt like ice water was coursing through his veins. She was pale, unmoving, and looked exhausted. To examine the back of her head, Pomfrey had taken her hair out of the usual brain it was in so now her black tresses spread across the stark white pillows. He made a beeline for her bed and grabbed onto her hand as he took the seat next to her.
He ran his thumb over the back of her hand, "I'm here, Urse. You're going to be alright." He murmured to her. He brought her hand up to his lips and kissed it before simply holding it in his hands.
"She won't be awake for a while. Why don't you get some food? Or find her brothers?"
Ben shook his head, never once not looking away from Ursula. "Last time she was in here unconscious, I wasn't there for her. I'm going to be here this time."
Madame Pomfrey understood. She truly did. The last time Ursula and James had been in her infirmary, they had both been teetering between life and death. As much as she tried not to get attached to students, especially in these dark times, there was a spot in her heart for the students called themselves the Marauders. Remus, the kind soul he was, came to her every full moon. And while she had no proof (and wouldn't dare mention it to any of the professors) she suspected that the other six were doing something illegal and dangerous for the last year or so since after every moon, Remus was less injured and she would occasionally see them limping slightly or with a bandaged arm or something of that nature. They were every nurse's living nightmare but she couldn't help but feel some degree of affection for them.
"Last time," she grumbled, though there was an fond quality to it, "I should personalize beds for all of you. You're here often enough."
With that being said, she retreated back to her office.
Ben continued to sit there, drawing random patterns on the palm of her hand.
"She's right you know. We're in here far too often. Either for Remus for the full moon, Elyse for headaches or checkups, Sirius and James for being idiots, Peter when he gets sick to his stomach after he eats too much…you when you're knocked out." His grip tightened on her hand. "You're here far too often for that and I swear to you that this will be the last time because I can't see someone I l—"
He cut himself off and chuckled, "I can't bear to see you look like this. I'm supposed to protect you. If you were conscious right now you'd probably hit me for implying that you need someone to protect you. And that's one of the reasons I think I'm…damn it, you're going to be the death of me. I care too much who knows why, all I know is that I do. You know, Poppy said earlier that your head injury isn't black and white and you know what, not a lot of stuff is. This war, your family, the Houses, heck, even the laws of our kind. I think you've even said that you don't think anything is black and white. But I'm telling you you're wrong.
"We are. The two of us, we're Black and White. Two complete opposites that should have never connected the way we have but guess what, we did. And you know what? From the first moment I saw you, I was freefalling and I have no idea where I'm going to land but I don't care. Because I think you started falling too and as long as we're falling together, I don't care what happens. Through all the crap I've put you through, through this war and the sides pulling us to fight, we are good here. We are the only pure, simply, good thing I know anymore and there is no way in hell I am giving this up. So you are going to wake up and look at me with your beautiful grey eyes, we're going to go back to the Tower, and tomorrow we're going to celebrate my birthday and have a nice relaxing day together. Because I swear to you, I'm not going to promise you forever but I'm going to promise you all the days that I have. So please, Muse, wake up."
Her silence was her response. Ben sighed and leaned over to brush the hair off her face. "Knew you wouldn't listen to me. When do you ever?" He settled back in his chair, making himself comfortable, knowing that it was going to be a long night.
He felt like he had just blinked but when he noticed it was significantly darker, he released Ursula's hand for just a moment sleepily rub his eyes. He jumped when he saw Peter sitting across from him, reading a book. He yawned, "Hello, Wormy. What time is it?"
"Almost seven. Visiting hours end soon."
"Did she wake up at all? Did you find out who did this to her?"
Peter's eyes hardened as he looked down at Ursula. He nodded stiffly, "She muttered something a couple of hours ago but didn't wake up. And no, we still have no idea who it was that did this. McGonagall's been informed and she's going to speak to Dumbledore and Slughorn as soon she can."
"So definitely Slytherin then," Ben nodded, noticing the red badge on Ursula's robes, making her a target for any Slytherin near his or her common room.
"Elyse mentioned something about possibly seeing something. She's speaking to Dumbledore as we speak."
"Boys," Pomfrey walked over. "Time to go. And no arguments." Her stern glare left no room for contesting her. They both sluggishly got to their feet and tredged back to their Common Room, both silent from exhaustion.
The next morning began with much more promise than last night ended. McGonagall was waiting for them in the Great Hall and after wishing Ben a happy birthday, informed them that Ursula had woken up but she had been given a potion earlier this morning to help her sleep a little more after she spoke to the professors about what happened.
"Great Minnie. Did she say which bastard did this to her?" Sirius demanded.
McGonagall's eyes darkened, "She refuses to identify her attacker which leaves one suspect."
"What do you mean one suspect? Why the hell isn't she identifying that bastard?" Sirius snapped.
Remus placed a hand on Sirius's shoulder, "Which Slytherin would Ursula not reveal the identity of to protect him?"
Sirius's face became more enraged, if that was at all possible, "Regulus! That—" Sirius broke off into a list of derogatory terms that had even James blushing.
McGonagall swiftly issued him a detention but before leaving the group to return to the common room, she added, "You may want to know that Ursula did not come out fully unscathed. She has suffered a temporary lack of vision. According to Madame Pomfrey, she'll be blind for the next two days or so, possibly longer. Please be careful about what you do. Right now, Elyse and Lily are keeping an eye on her until she wakes up."
"How long will that be?" Peter asked.
"Later this afternoon. Madame Pomfrey wanted to be sure that she got as much rest as possible. I thought it would be appropriate for all of you to know."
With that, she turned and entered the Great Hall with the boys trailing after her.
"Well, this is building up to be a great birthday," Ben said as he settled on the bench.
James and Sirius smirked while Remus smiled slyly, "That's what you think."
At that moment, a large explosion came from above them. Hundreds upon hundreds of red and gold balloons, streamers, and confetti fell from the ceiling.
"What about a great birthday?" Sirius asked sarcastically.
Ben's response was to shake the confetti out of his hair.
They had just finished up with breakfast and were about to head back to their rooms when three people walked to the head table, one that belonged and two that didn't. Immediately, the entire hall became silent as everyone recognized the Minister of Magic and his wife. Half the students stared at the Minister and half stared at his son.
Ben's jaw dropped. He was not expecting that at all. His mother smiled at him and his father nodded in greeting before they took their seats with the professors.
"King, you know about this?" Remus asked him.
"I had no idea," he replied.
The owls flew overhead and began dropping letters and parcels. One letter dropped in front of James and he immediately began to read it. Unsurprisingly, a fair number of letters and parcels were dropped in front of Ben. Friends of the family, his grandparents, and his aunts and uncles and their families who lived in Canada had sent his something for his 17th birthday.
"Are you going to open those now?" Sirius asked, grabbing one of the packages and shaking it.
Ben snatched the gift back and shook his head, "Nah, I'll open them later." With a flick of his wrist and a quick incantation, the presents disappeared, undoubtedly appearing back in the dorm.
"So what are we going to do about your brother?" Remus asked Sirius.
Sirius's expression darkened, "He's no sibling of mine. We treat him like we would any Slytherin: we make their lives a living hell."
"Sounds like a plan," James agreed.
Just as they were finishing up, Ben felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned and saw his mother smiling happily at seeing (her now only) child. "Happy birthday Benny." He smiled at the childhood nickname and stood to hug his mother. "Hello Mum."
"Oh, look at my little boy," she reached up to cup his face, examining her son.
It seemed like it was only yesterday he was a little toddler running around, harassing Annabelle to play with him. He would cling to her in public, always wanting to be with his mother. As much as Anna was a Daddy's girl, Ben was definitely a mama's boy. She would accompany him to all his music lessons when he was a young child, the world still large and magical. His brown eyes would always be filled with wonder and excitement. But looking at him now, she saw her now adult son. Under her hands, there was rough stubble and he now towered almost a foot over her. His eyes – her eyes – looked older, older than they should have been. She would never get used to seeing her son look so old. Correction, she could never get used to her son looing so much like his father. Besides the eyes and lips, he was his father's son.
Jay White placed a hand on his wife's shoulder, "Let the old man through to greet his son, Love."
She wiped the tears from her eyes and released her hold on Ben only for his father to pull him into a hug. Ben knew that there were many people watching the exchange between his family since his father was the Minister for Magic and not many people had actually met him. A lot of people knew who his father was and what he had done in his past and what he was doing currently. But to Ben, he was just his dad.
"What are you guys doing here? I didn't think parents could visit," he gave them a look, knowing what had probably happened.
Mr. White laughed, "Being the Minister does have a few perks, one of them being able to visit his son on his seventeenth birthday to give him his birthday present." He pulled a wrapped box out of his pocket.
Ben knew what it was, every wizard did. On their seventeenth birthday, it was tradition that a wizard's birthday would receive a watch from his parents. He opened the box and while he knew what it was, he still was shocked at the watch.
It was pure gold, the background a dark navy. While the stars and different clock hands spun around the face of the watch, that wasn't what caught his attention. On the outside, there were four gems, and he instantly recognized them as his father's, mother's, his, and…Annabelle's. There was an empty spot next to his and he looked at his parents in confusion.
"Dad, what's this?"
In response his father lifted the sleeve of his own robe to show Ben his. "It is tradition in my family that on each watch, there are the birthstones of your immediate family and a spot if left empty for your wife's, once you marry. And the bottom half is left to add stones for any children you have. It's to symbolize that no matter what time, you have a past and a future; that your loved ones surround your life and your time here."
"Speaking of loved ones," Mrs. White said. "We heard about Ursula and we are sorry that we won't get to see her. We were planning on inviting you and your friends out for a day in Hogsmeade but with Ursula's condition…"
"She won't be awake until tonight. She's sleeping up in the dorms right now. I couldn't spend time with her even if I wanted to. As long as we're back in time for choir rehearsal, I see no problem." Ben responded. He then looked at the rest of his friends and found them all nodding in agreement with his plan. All except James, who was looking oddly composed.
"I, um, need to work on some Quidditch things for a little bit. I can catch up with you later," he said in a steady voice before bidding farewell to his friends and the minister.
Ben, confused by his behavior yet not questioning it, asked, "If you see Elyse or any of the other girls, be sure to invite them along as well."
He nodded in confirmation before quickly making his escape and stalked to the Common Room. His mother's letter from earlier ran through his head over and over again. He's not doing well James—serious medical problems— impossible to heal with magic— I don't know how much longer he can hold on— he's fighting strong but it might not be enough—
"James?"
He jumped when he saw Elyse standing in front of him, the other girls standing behind her. "Are yeh alright?" she questioned.
He nodded, "Yeah, um, Ben's parents are here and they want to take everyone to Hogsmeade, even Lily, Marlene, and Alice. They're in the Great Hall; they'll be leaving soon."
"Woot about yeh?"
He shook his head, "I have some Quidditch things. I'll catch up later."
With that, he tried to make his escape. He thought he did but then he heard footsteps catching up with him a couple minutes ago. "Elyse—"
"Wrong red head."
He spun around and nearly gave himself whiplash. Lily stood a few paces behind him. She chuckled, "I know, we look a fair bit alike. Ursula like to joke that one of us is a spare."
"No one could replace you, Lily-flower." He said his usual line with none of the usual charm or confidence.
Lily walked forward so she was standing in front of him, "James Potter, what is wrong and don't you dare say nothing. I know you – there is no reason you wouldn't spend the day with your friends, especially when it is one of their birthdays. So tell me why you can't even be in the Great Hall right now."
"His parents." He admitted. "I can't be around him and his parents."
Instead of judging him instantly, Lily placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, "Why's that? You love his parents."
"Because they're here for my birthday and mine not even be here to Christmas!" James exploded. "My father might not make it to Christmas and Ben's is going to be there for at least another fifty years! So I'm sorry but I can't be around for the White family reunion right now!"
His breathing was heavy and he felt the anger running through his veins. The worst part was that he had no one to blame. No one was killing his father and it wasn't Ben's fault that his parents were there. He hated time. He hated that chances are that his father wouldn't be there for his 17th, that Christmas was looking to be his last if he even made it that far.
"James…I'm so sorry."
"No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you."
"Better yelling at me than keeping this pent up and losing your cool in front of Ben." She reasoned. "I don't know what it's like to lose a parent or to see one dying. I don't know. But if you ever need to talk, I'll be there for you, and Sirius and Ursula if they need to talk too."
James shuffled his feet. "They don't know. Mom and I decided it was best to not let them know."
Lily cocked her head to the side, "Why would you decide that?"
"Because they've only just come to look at my father as their father. To lose him already, it would destroy them. This is the first time they've had a happy family and I don't want to destroy that picture for them. So I'll deal with what I have to and I'll let them know if anything serious happens. Until then, I'll let them enjoy being happy."
Lily's eyes were shining and she laughed to herself, "Who would have thought? James Potter being altruistic; never thought I'd see the day."
He laughed as well, "Guess there's a lot about me you don't know."
"Maybe." She was silent a moment. "but I sure would like to learn."
"Look forward to it, Lily-Love." He smiled crookedly, the left side of his mouth going higher than the right.
She rolled her eyes at the nickname but didn't yell at him like she usually did. Instead, she snapped her fingers, "Oh! I found something during my rounds I thought you would like to see!" she grabbed his wrist and started dragging him along. "I was doing a bit of exploring and I happen to stumble upon this and I did some research and…well, you'll just have to see."
"Lily Evans, I'll make a Marauder out of you yet."
"Dream on, Potter," she retorted.
She pulled him into an old classroom that was deserted. It was quite barren except for the large object in the corner.
"It's called the Mirror or Erised. It shows you most desire. There have been witches and wizards who have wasted away in front of it but there are some who have been so inspired by their dreams that they accomplish so many amazing things. I thought you would like to see it."
"What did you see?" He questioned as he walked up to the mirror.
She stayed next to him until he walked in front of the mirror, allowing him his moment. "I saw my sister here."
He looked at her just before he stepped fully into the mirror's reflection. "I didn't know you had a sister.
"Her name is Petunia. She's a muggle but she wanted to come here. We've had a sort of falling out. She's refused to speak to me the last three summers. If she had been magical, we would still be close but…"
He ruffled his hair, "I never thought about the problems muggleborns go through."
She scoffed and tried to play it off but the tears in her eyes said differently. "Enough about me. This was supposed to make you feel better."
James nodded and finally looked into the mirror. What he saw, didn't really surprise him. The Black twins stood around him, all three of them well into their thirties. Around them, the only impossible thing in the image, was that his parents were still standing around him, holding young toddlers with messy black hair and a few with ginger hair. There were a few kids who were standing on their own who greatly resembled one of the three adults.
"What do you see?" Lily questioned. "If you don't mind me asking, that is."
"I see something impossible."
She tentatively walked forward, hoping that she could see a glimpse of what he saw but the second she stepped into the frame, the image morphed. The two of them stood together, not that much older. The only other difference in their physical bodies was that James recognized his mother's engagement ring on Lily's hand and his father's ring on his own. Standing in front of them was a young boy who looked like he was around first year age. The boy looked exactly like James except his eyes and nose: he had Lily's eyes and his nose was a little bit wider and shorter.
The boy looked up at them in wonder and James reacted on instinct and placed his hand on the boy's shoulder.
"Why isn't it working?" Lily questioned.
James turned to face her, his cheeks turning red, "You don't see it?"
"See what? It's just the two of us."
"Maybe it only works for one person at a time and since I was here first, it stayed with my desire."
"Maybe. So are you going to tell me what you saw?"
"My parents alive when I'm older. Ursula and Sirius were there too, along with grandchildren," he admitted.
She placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, "You never know." She said softly. "But the possibility is still there. So do what you do and live each day to the fullest, cause some nightmares for professors, and just be you."
"Why Miss Evans, are you suggesting I cause mayhem?" He smirked, looking down at Lily.
She flushed and looked away, "Shut up Potter."
"Never going to happen."
"Thought so. Now let's get to Hogsmeade so you can stop moping about like a teenage girl."
Later that afternoon, choir practice was just ending. Ben had spent the afternoon with his parents and friends in Hogsmeade but there was one person he truly wanted to spend his day with and she should be awake by now. As students began putting their music back in their folders, Ben quickly followed suit and was just about to leave when Professor Flitwick called him to the front of the room.
"Yes Professor?"
"I heard that it was your birthday. I hope you had a good day."
"I saw my parents so it was good. I actually have some plans—"
Professor Flitwick at least looked apologetic when he said, "as that may be, I have a meeting in five minutes. Would you be able to run these copies to the old music room."
Ben knew where the room was. He had helped Flitiwick organize it a year ago to find an arrangement that would work with violin and choir. The piece was still missing but the room was fairly organized. He accepted the scores of music and quickly made his way to the room. It was thankfully close to the Gryffindor Common Room, right near the old transfiguration rooms. Dumbledore had been the choir director when he was the transfiguration professor but stopped after he became headmaster.
He left the room, fully intent on getting back to the Tower and his temporarily blind girlfriend when he noticed a half open door. Knowing that all the doors should have been locked, he walked in, the curiosity that almost got him placed in Ravenclaw shining through.
The room was mostly undisturbed, except for a fair number of footsteps leading to a large mirror in the corner. He walked forward and nearly jumped back in the shock. The reflection in the mirror was not his own; seven young children stared back at him.
James's scrawny figure smirked at him, his eyes full of arrogance and superiority. He messed his hair up and fixed his glasses from sliding down his nose. Sirius stood next to him. The scar on his neck he got from his father throwing him towards the stove that never fully healed wasn't there. Elyse's red hair was as long and her eyes were full of such innocence he hadn't seen in years. Peter was there as well, looking as skittish and mousey as ever. Remus had less scars on his face and he looked less burdened than he has since the Snape/James/Ursula event last year. Ursula wasn't wearing glasses and he was blown back by her natural grey eyes; while he loved her slightly paler ones (the Flammel's Disease had permanently altered her eye color) he had almost forgotten how striking her natural color was. He stood there as well, his hair clipped short and he was a bit pudgy
They all seemed so at ease, relaxed, and young – something they hadn't been since…
Since they were eleven. He recognized the clothes they were wearing. It was how they all looked the first day he met them all on at King's Cross on the train.
They looked so carefree. Currently, all of them looked older than 16 going on 17. The stresses that was not typical of their muggle peers had prematurely aged them all. All the traumatic moments in their lives flashed through his memory. In second year with finding out about Remus and trying to figure out a way to help him and when Ursula and Elyse had a brush with death when they both contracted Flammel's disease and almost permanently losing their voice or vision. Regulus being sorted in Slytherin that year caused both twins a great deal of pain.
In third year, Elyse almost died in a Death Eater attack. He at one point had been misinformed and thought her truly dead. Third year was also the first time Ursula and Sirius had blatantly been threatened to join the war on the side of Lord Voldemort. Fourth year was when his sister and unborn nephew had been murdered. A flash of pain shot through his chest at the thought. Two years later and he still felt like "Annabelle" and "dead" in the same sentence was impossible. It was impossible for him to think that in four years he would be older than his sister. If he ever had children, they would be older than the cousin they would never have. It hurt to think of all the things the eleven year old him would experience in just a few short years. That year was a painful blur in his mind. To be honest, he was still recovering and trying to deal with the death of his older sister and he suspected he would be doing the same for the rest of his life.
In fifth year, they spent their first full moon with Moony. Well, Ursula and James did and had almost been killed. Ursula still bared the scars and James, on a bad day, still limped. Snape had found of Remus's secret. Then at the end of the year, Elyse had cancer. He knew that she was in remission now but he knew that it was possible that it could come back.
Now they all had the War looming over their heads. They had thought at eleven that it was entirely possible for the conflict to be done by the time they graduated. Now it was clear that they were going to be fighting their classmates, former friends, and possibly family against Lord Voldemort and his followers.
He tore his gaze away from the innocent faces in front of him. This was the past. It was impossible and matter how much he wished for it to be different, the past was the past and he needed to keep it there. Turning away from the mirror, he returned to the Tower. The Common Room was empty for the most part, a few younger children playing exploding snaps by the fire but he didn't see any of his friends. He climbed the stairs and entered his room to find it empty except for one person.
Ursula sat on his bed, playing with one of his presents that was left on his bed. When the door opened, her head cocked to the side and she turned towards the door. She wasn't wearing her glasses since…well, they weren't going to do her any good at this moment.
"Ben?"
"It's me. Where is everyone else?" He asked as he walked into the room. He shed his robes, now just wearing a simple grey cotton shirt and jogging pants.
Ursula replied, "James is spending time with Lily, Sirius and Elyse are off doing something to some Slytherin. Remus has rounds to do and Peter is off doing…doing whatever he does when he isn't with us."
"So it's just us?" He asked as he climbed into bed, wrapping his arms around Ursula, giving her chaste kiss in greeting, which she reciprocated.
She nodded, "Yup but in the parting words of my brother, 'Ben is White and you are Black; don't make grey."
"You threw something at him, didn't you?"
"Hit him too."
He laughed and pulled her closer to him as he lay back, "That's my girl."
"Are you going to open your presents?"
"Nah, the only thing I want right now on my birthday is to spend time with my beautiful girlfriend." She laughed at his cheesiness but didn't say anything else as they laid together on the bed.
They were silent, just enjoying being in each other's company when Ben asked, "How's your head?"
"Dull ache but nothing I can't handle."
"Is there anything I can do?" He asked, hating knowing that she was in pain.
She paused as she thought of an answer, "Well, you could sing to me. That would help."
"What do you want to hear?"
She closed her eyes and snuggled into his chest, her head coming rest just above his heart, "Anything."
He began to softly sing the first song that came to mind, one that he had heard on the muggle radio at Elyse's house last summer. "If I could save time in a bottle, The first thing that I'd like to do, Is to save every day, Till Eternity passes away, Just to spend them with you. If I could make days last forever, If words could make wishes come true, I'd, save every day like a treasure and then, Again, I would spend them with you." Instead of singing the rest of the words, he simply hummed the melody.
"There's something I need to tell you," Ursula said softly. That immediately set off warning bells in Ben's head. He moved a little so he was looking her in the eyes (though she didn't reciprocate for obvious reasons). "James, Sirius, and I received a letter from Dumbledore. He wants us to take an extra class to help us prepare for joining the Order when we graduate. It's going to be a lot of training and information about the War than others are going to know. We were told to lie to people about what we are doing but I can't lie to you."
He nodded slowly. While he was expecting something horrible, this was still high on the things that he never wanted to hear list. While he knew that the Order was almost definitely in his future, he couldn't help but remember his sister and her involvement in the secret organization that was one of the main causes for her death. They were supposed to be protective of those targeted by the Death Eaters and yet she still ended up dead. He didn't want Ursula anywhere near that organization but he knew it would be pointless to try to argue so he did the only thing he could do.
"I want to go with you."
That immediately caught her attention. She half sat up, "Are you serious right now? You're definitely going to be joining the Order?"
"You're going to join, right? So I'll follow you to hell to fight the demons with you."
"Romantic cheeseball," she teased.
He wrapped his arms tighter around her, "But I'm your romantic cheeseball."
She laughed and wrapped her arms around his torso, hugging him like he was a giant pillow. "So Mr. Cheeseball, what did you do today on your birthday?"
"Have you ever heard of the Mirror of Erised?"
She nodded, "I found it a few days ago after Sirius told me about it."
"What did you see?"
Ursula paused and quietly said, "I saw Regulus standing next to Sirius and me. There was no Dark Mark on his arm."
"That's why you followed him when you saw him in the hallway." He realized.
She nodded, "I thought that maybe…but I was wrong. Anyway, I take it you found that mirror. What did you see?"
"I saw us as children, the first day we all met on the train. Merlin, Ursula, we were so young."
She chuckled, "Remember how we met."
He too began to laugh when he recalled the memory, "You practically ran me over and we fell down. Sirius said that you liked knocking people off their feet. And let me tell you, you certainly did just that."
"In all fairness, you did the same to me. Bloody terrifies me half the time when I sit down and think about it."
"I know what you mean but when you think about it, that's why we feel the way we feel. I don't know what's going to happen to us in five years, let alone fifty but I know some things for certain; that no matter what, until the day you tell me to stop, I will stay by your side and follow you into hell. Because this heart you hear beating? It's beating for you and only you because somewhere along the line, I've fallen for you Muse and I don't want to ever stop falling. Ursula? Muse?" He had noticed that her breathing had evened out and that her eyes had closed.
She responded but Ben couldn't make out what she said, her muttering too incoherently in her sleep. He chuckled to himself and grabbed a blanket to throw over them. He kissed the top of her head. "It seems to be a pattern, me talking to you when you're unconscious. I don't know if you heard or remember anything I said to you yesterday but I have to amend what I said. I'm not falling anymore. I've crashed to the ground and I don't care."
Ben gently placed his hand on her cheek and even asleep, she turned into his touch. "Maybe one day I'll have the courage to say this when you're awake. Ursula Walburga Black, I think I might have fallen in love with you."
He rested his forehead against hers, the exhaustion finally causing him to fall asleep. He didn't hear or notice the small movement as a rat scurried out from under Peter's bed.
In his animgus form Peter quickly hurried to the meeting sight that had been prearranged by Avery. It was an old abandoned corridor in between the Slytherin Common Room and the Gryffindor one. He transformed back into his human appearance as soon as he was sure no one was around. Agitation ran through Peter's entire body, taking up his entire essence. Ben, falling in love with Ursula? He had been in love with her since day one and Ben comes in and tries to act like he's the one that's all right for her? And he's even got the others on his side too? That certainly wouldn't do.
They were all conspiring against him, keeping him from his happiness. Ursula deserved better than White – she just didn't see it because she didn't know anything else. She was so perfect for him and yet she had gone with Ben. But it was no matter. He could forgive her. She was simply…confused. Yes, confused was a good word.
During his pacing, he came across a half empty door and saw the mirror that Ursula and White had spoken of. He couldn't contain his glee knowing that Ursula hadn't seen anything involving Ben. No, her deepest desire was to see her family whole again. Once they won the War, he could do that for her. As a matter of fact, he could get to Regulus sooner and see if he could work something out. That would certainly earn him points in her book.
When he stepped in front of the mirror, he was enraptured by what he saw. He was older, strong and powerful, with Ursula at his side, holding onto him as she looked up at him in adoration. Her stomach was rounded, no doubt just about to give birth. Ursula smiled at him and guided his hand to rest on her stomach.
In the background there was the other five, all of them doing menial jobs, his servants. He was in control of them. He had the power. He controlled them.
"Pettigrew, where the hell are you?" a voice hissed from the hallway.
Peter quickly scampered away from the mirror. Standing in the hall were three Slytherins, Snape, Avery, and Mulciber.
"Come on, Pettigrew. You need to start giving us actual information and not garbage like where they live. We can figure that out on our own. Time to start spilling Gryffindor secrets."
Peter swallowed nervously, "I have one condition and I'll t-t-tell you anything you want t-t-to know."
Avery rolled his eyes but nodded, "Name your price."
"I want Ursula Black's safety assured."
Snape couldn't hold back the snort, "You seriously think that we will allow—"
"Done," Avery cut him off. "Her life and you tell us everything. But remember, it has to be good or maybe your little crush won't make it out."
Peter quickly ran through everything he knew. He couldn't reveal Remus's secret; Snape already knew. And if he told them about being animagi, he would out himself as well. But he needed something good, something that would get them off his back for a while and would also keep Ursula alive. Instantly, he knew what he needed to say.
He squared his shoulders and looked Avery in the eye.
"Elyse O'Brian is a seer."