Chapter 8: Waiting for the next Portkey home

"Daaaad?"

Violet burst into the study just as James finished his second Floo call.

Speaking to Lily had made him feel more grounded. It had also made everything much, much more real. This wasn't a dream – it was really happening.

She'd gone very quiet when he'd told her about the boy and repeated what Sam had explained, but hadn't panicked – though knowing Lily, he didn't know why he'd expected her to. She'd asked what he thought about it all (he'd muttered something vague), asked him if he was ok (he'd muttered something even vaguer), then said she was going to change her Portkeys and come home straight away, much to his relief.

She expected to be back by the afternoon. In the meantime, they'd agreed James should send the children to Sirius for the day while he dealt with their unexpected visitor.

That had been another fun conversation. ("It's seven in the bloody morning Prongs! On my one day off this week, as well…")

"Dad," Violet said again, and he looked up to see her leaning against the doorframe of the study, nibbling on a piece of dry toast. They really needed to get her to eat more, James thought absently, she'd barely taken more than a couple of bites from any dish they put in front of her since she'd come home.

"What is it, Vi?"

"Who's that guy in the kitchen?"

"You were in the kitchen?"

"Yeah, Sam's there with this guy –"

James had to suppress an oath, and hurriedly got up from his crouch in front of the fireplace. "Sam's in the kitchen?"

"Yeah, I just told you. He's talking to this guy who looks just like you…"

"You think so?" he said absently. In two steps, he reached the door and threw it open, straining to hear any sounds that came from the kitchen. "Listen Vi, something's come up – I need to leave you three with Sirius today."

"What? But why?"

Vi followed him out onto the landing.

"I've got a few complicated things to clear," he explained quickly over his shoulder as he started making his way down the stairs. "And I can't do that with all of you in the house. I'll be as quick as I can. And then we can have pizzas and a film tonight, how does that sound?"

"Fine," she muttered. "But can you speak to Uncle Padfoot? He's been really off with me since that thing at school…"

James paused, one foot on the next flight of stairs. It was the first time Vi had brought up the subject herself… But everything was quiet in the kitchen – too quiet for his liking. Still, he felt a twinge of guilt walking away from the conversation.

"It's just that he feels responsible –" he said as he started down the stairs again.

"But he wasn't there!" Vi shouted impatiently, leaning over the banister.

"I know. I – I'll have a word with him," James promised, jumping down the last couple of steps to the hallway. "Can you wake your sister for me please? I need you ready to leave in half an hour."

Vi didn't answer but James heard her stomp towards her room. Just before she slammed the door shut behind her, she bellowed: "Annaaaaa! Get dressed now!"

He sighed, ran a hand over his face and set off again. He needed to find Sam. And deal with Har– with the boy.

The kitchen was deserted.

"Shit," James swore.

He jogged back up the stairs to Sam's room.

Empty.

"Sam?" he called. "Sam!"

One hand against his chest, as if it could ease the flutter of panic he could feel rising, James hurried back down. He narrowly avoided Anna who was leaving her room, tripped over a discarded book in the process and caught himself rather painfully with his shoulder against the wall.

"Dad, I can't find my dragon t-shirt…" Anna said, completely unphased by her father's erratic progress down the stairs.

James caught his breath. "Have you seen your brother?"

"But…"

"Not now, Anna. Have you seen your brother?" James interrupted her.

"Yeah, he's in the garden. I told him not to fly, you know, but he never…"

James's heart skipped a beat – out in the garden flying! How could he have forgotten to ward the bloody door to the bloody garden?!

He rushed down the stairs, taking them two at a time, skidded past Violet who was heading towards the bathroom.

"I want you in the kitchen ready to go in five minutes, understood?" he puffed as he passed, ignoring her protests that he'd said thirty minutes.

"Sam!" he called as soon as he had wrenched open the kitchen door, and for a second, he felt nothing but relief as he spotted his son, perched on his favourite broom, demonstrating a loop-de-loop – then relief passed and was swiftly replaced by anger. "Samuel Potter! Come down here this instant!"

Sam turned around. Seeing the look on James's face, he immediately turned his broom down, landing with a bump and a sheepish expression.

The boy – mounted on James's own broom, he noticed with a further twinge of anger – landed next to Sam and looked between the two of them worriedly. In the morning sun, he looked even more obviously pallid and sick.

Keeping his voice down and his wand discretely trained on the boy, James told Sam to get ready to spend the day with Sirius. Sam glanced back.

"What about Harry?" he asked.

"He'll be staying here with me. He'll be here when you get back," James said with a confidence he didn't quite feel. Still, Sam took him at his word. The boy on the other hand looked doubtful but didn't protest.

In the end, it took more than five minutes but less than thirty to get all three children ready and in front of the Floo – Vi with her books, Anna with a box of Zonko's finest she wanted to show Sirius and Sam empty handed, looking slightly dazed.

The boy had been told to wait in the kitchen and had nodded his understanding. Not that he'd had much choice in the matter as James had set the confinement spell to restrict him to his chair – as he should have done in the first place, he couldn't help but berate himself. What had he been thinking?

Finally, the children were gone and safely with Sirius. James breathed a sigh of relief.

Now all he needed to do was to keep the boy busy until Lily's arrival. And then…

A/N: Thank you all for your patience! I'm likely to be quite busy for the next little while, so I might have to revise my original posting schedule. I'll try to aim for around two chapters a week, so hopefully I shouldn't keep you guys hanging for too long.

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Thank you for reading and don't hesitate to let me know your thoughts :)