Disclaimer: Anything that rings a bell belongs to J.K Rowling

Chapter 14: When Three became Four

The grumble of empty protest echoed from his stomach and James frowned at his clean plate, he had wolfed down four sausages and three eggs and somehow, he was still famished.

He glanced out of the kitchen window, the wintry air caressing the glass panes which stood resolutely shut; irrelevant of his boisterous attempts to pry them open minutes ago. James loved the cold; the feeling of crisp, fresh air ruffling through his hair reminded him of flying. This love was something his mother didn't share, hence her charming the windows closed lest he get himself sick from the frost.

He stared out at the spans of rolling hills; Potter Manor lounged in a valley not far from the coast, but quite far from civilisation. It was just two of the many reasons why James loved his family home. If he hopped on a broom, he could fly high enough to get a good view of the sea without worrying about Muggles sighting him.

Just then the windows burst open, letting that cool breeze James longed for through in gusts that flipped his hair back just as his tummy grumbled for the thousandth time this morning.

He relished the fresh air for a few silent moments before turning to the room's newest occupant and the magic behind the unlocking charm.

The sight that greeted him was as if it were a painted reimagining of that night six months ago…

James shoved the two-way mirror into his still full trunk, spending his first few hours of Summer vacation chatting to a very disgruntled Padfoot rather than unpacking like his mother had instructed him to do so.

He ran downstairs, his mother's famous Shepherd's pie thick in the air and he smiled in nostalgia, that smell was like a welcoming wave home. As much as he missed his friends and Hogwarts, there was just something about home that made a curling warmth settle at the pit of his stomach, making him feel full and content.

He pushed through the kitchen door just as Dorea Potter retrieved the pie from their oven as James pecked her on her faintly lined cheek, "You know you're going to have to teach my wife how to do that one day."

She laughed, a honey sound that made the wrinkles around her light brown eyes deepen, "Well she'll have to take a number, Sirius has already asked me for the recipe, and I fear he doesn't like being outdone, that should make for interesting Christmas Dinners."

James laughed at the thought of Padfoot fighting his future wife for his attention, somehow, he couldn't imagine her with anything but flame red hair, "Well we haven't to worry about that for at least a hundred years, I'll eat nobody's Shepherd's pie but yours mum."

She shook her head up at him, "Oh how sweet. And naïve. You forget I have been married to your father for a very long time and I know the Potter charm when I see it, it always precedes a request. So spit it out my dear boy, or it might spoil the taste of my delicious cooking."

James grinned, knowing he could never get one past her, "It's about the wards-"

"I'm going to stop you right there young man, as your father and I told you, even though the wards of this house permit underage magic, we do not agree with the sentiments of your ancestors. You are not to use magic under this roof until you're of age."

"But I'm practically seventeen! And I have a ton of Charms to practice and what about the purebloods that let their children practice magic during the summer? Now do you want the likes of Walganus Wilkes to beat me at Charms, just because his parents allowed him the freedom to express his gifts to the fullest extent?"

"And what of the many muggleborns who don't have the option of practicing magic at all during the holidays because of the Statute of Secrecy. Wouldn't that make them feel that much more behind? Rules are so for a reason James."

"And the day a Wilkes beats a Potter in Charms is a day I'll eat my socks." James turned to his father's voice with a smile. By an unprecedented circumstance, James' father, Charlus Potter, had not greeted him at King's Cross, his mother explaining away his absence with him having to work.

It made sense considering James' father was the second in charge at the Auror department and these times kept his hands tied and his head bent in stress, something James could see by the spattering of grey in his untidy dark hair. He shrugged off his large travelling cloak as Dorea pecked him on the cheek, "I think the saying is to eat one's hat dear."

"Why would anyone want to eat their own hat?"

"Well, why would they want to eat their own socks?"

James shrugged and leaned against the counter, smiling at the pair of them. Now how could he settle for anything but true love when he was greeted with this sight, day in and day out, "I'd rather eat my own socks than hat! Then again that's because I'll never own a hat, why hide these locks away."

He grinned just as his parents exchanged looks of exasperation, but James stilled as his father moved further into the kitchen and his eyes clamped on another human being.

He could only assume that she was a girl, her features were feminine but somewhat drowned out. She was sickly thin and ghastly pale and her black eyes seemed to drill a hole right into his soul. She was so slight and silent that she seemed to merge with the door at her back, as if she was an inanimate observer such as the white paint that clung to the wood.

His father's bright blue eyes dimmed slightly as the two teens stared at each, Dorea Potter on the other hand had brightened in excitement, "James. This is Jude, well Judalia but I call her Jude. Jude, this is James."

James nodded as his mother faffed about the girl, ushering her in with familiarity that made James narrow his eyes, he was positive he'd never seen the girl before. He'd remember seeing someone that…broken.

"Perhaps we should sit down." His father gestured at the small table in the kitchen they dined at when it was just the family, the large Dining Room seemed a cold choice from this comfier alternative.

Four place settings sat upon the dark, glossy wood. James hadn't noticed this before... So, this Jude was always to be a guest?

He walked slowly to the table as the food floated around him, settling down in their instructed places by his mother's skilled wand as his father looked at James steadily, "Jude will be living with us for a while."

"For more than a while." His mother cut in eagerly, smiling at the girl and turning back to her son, "Judalia's… she's…without family. So, your father and I thought…" Her smile faltered at James' less than pleased look, she obviously thought he would take this news better. She turned to her husband, "Perhaps we should explain from the beginning."

"We found Jude about three years ago. By we, I mean the Auror department. We received a distress call from France and when we got to the location, there she was. She wasn't physically hurt but at the same time she wasn't in the best of conditions…" His father didn't elaborate on this and James' eyes narrowed, "She didn't have a wand on her, which you know would have been helpful for identification. We could extract no information about her history or who had sent the call. But, from her physical evaluation there was evidence that she was neglected for a long while, and that quite possibly, she may have been held captive. We have a strong suspicion she may have run away, but we've not had any tangible leads to prove this. For a while, the French Ministry of Magical Affairs had been leading the investigation, but after a year of no progress, I requested she be transferred to our care. We've still not found much about her history… and the most skilled legilimens have been on the case, but she's like a mental vault. We've done some careful recon, we obviously want to find her family but if she was abducted and held captive, for whatever reason, we don't want to alert her possible kidnappers, so it's been very…challenging. Though, of course, we made sure that Jude is well taken care of whilst we investigate her case." His father forced a smile at the girl but all she did was continue staring at James.

"Judalia's been in a…erm… facility for past three years, in Switzerland, but she's not shown any progress, so we thought perhaps that we'll ask her to join our family. That maybe a change of environment might help her."

His mother's words were like a distant echo as he stared at the girl who resolutely stared back at him, a tingle went up his neck and there was something so unsettling about her that made him want to leave the room but at the same time, in stark contradiction, something so pitying that had him chained there to his seat.

He looked at her untouched plate of food that had filled itself, he was unsure what his parents were asking? Permission on taking this stranger in? He'd never say no… how could he when she had no family…

No family… what a terrible concept…

"You really should eat, before it gets cold." He was shocked at the warmth in his own voice, and he pushed his fork into the crisp pie.

He glanced up at the clang of his mother's fork falling onto her plate that beckoned his attention.

"Mum? Are you alright?" She had a startled look on her face, but she quickly shook her head, staring red-faced at Jude as the wispy girl ate her meal quietly. "Mum?"

"Sorry love. Excuse me." James raised his brows as his mother left the table, red faced and tear choked.

He made to stand but his father stopped him with a hand on his own, "Leave her be son. She's just emotional…" His eyes flickered to Jude, "It's been near three years since she's eaten a bite of food voluntarily. It's been nothing but vitamin and protein substitute potions. Your mother's just pleased."

James glanced at the girl, completely befuddled but smiled as she stared at him, "I know you girls are fussy about your weight but to stay away from food for three years… that's just…" Whatever it was James never completed his sentence as the girl just stared at him in silence. He turned back to his father, "Something tells me that Jude isn't here just for the good cooking. And why are we speaking about her as if… as if she's not here?"

His father glanced at his plate and then at the girl with a heart-breaking expression, "No, she isn't. You see, it's not just eating that Jude has abstained from. For the past three years Jude hasn't spoken a word."

Three years and six months, James thought as he stared at the deafening silence that followed her like a second unsettling shadow.

Whatever joy James experienced at the freshness of the room fled at her appearance and suddenly the aching stomach pain that broke his sleep made sense.

He glanced at the full plate opposite him that his mother must have prepared before she left, heaped ambitiously with eggs and sausage and probably under a heat stasis charm. Jude knew it was for her, but she never approached it.

A second pang of hunger made James click his tongue in annoyance, "Will you eat!"

The shout had not affected Judalia Devon in the least bit, her face remained stoic, and her constant companion of silence never left her but she approached the small, high counter, and slipped onto the bench, sinking her fork into a bit of egg disinterestedly.

James didn't know why she never spoke. Neither did the multiple healers that observed her, physiologically she was perfectly capable.

James didn't know why she never ate, except when he, and only he, requested it of her. It was completely bizarre, but she was like an imperiused victim when it came to him, and he the culprit controller.

But most and frustrating of all, James didn't know why they had this odd connection. It came and went, but sometimes, bizarrely, and inexplicably, he could feel what she felt. Her hunger was his hunger, and it seemed mutual considering his desire to open the window had become her desire to open the window. She of course was the only one from the two of them that was allowed to use magic outside of school, due to her bouts of uncontrolled magic even though she was a wand owning sixteen-year-old.

He thought back to the day she was attacked up in the Sixth-year girls dorm. He had felt her anxiety at being hit with the potion and for a flickering moment actually saw what Jude had seen, Lily being flung magically out of the bathroom.

James rose from his seat, his pangs of hunger that were never really his own finally leaving him and he was ready for his morning fly, but he halted as she stopped eating, her eyes on him and he grit his teeth and he fell back down on his chair knowing that if he left, she would stop eating.

He didn't understand why she did this, why she completely latched on to him in that way. Then again, Judalia Devon was just an amalgamation of mystery.

Mystery and inconvenience…

"Good morning!" James glanced up as his mother entered the kitchen, all smiles, "You two are up early. James dear it has started to snow so I'll put that broom away if I were you. And how did you open these windows… I hope you haven't-"

"Of course I haven't used magic, she opened them." James groaned as he glanced out the window. If he'd left five minutes earlier, he would have been out of the house before his mother could stop him from flying, but no thanks to Jude he was stuck in this house for the rest of the day. "Of course, she isn't going to get a stitch of scolding for doing that."

His mother's lips tightened, not liking the tone in her son's voice, and turned to the girl, "Well I'm sure you didn't do that intentionally, now did you darling? Has something upset her, unintentional magic only happens when she's upset. Are you okay, love?"

Jude continued eating her eggs, ignoring his mother completely and James scoffed, "I don't know why you even bother talking to her, she'll never respond."

"James." His mother chided him, "I do not appreciate you speaking in such a manner. You do know that Healer Albright said that directing conversation to Jude, rather thanatJude would be beneficial to her progress."

"Progress? What progress! It's been six months and she's practically in the exact same place." James grumbled to his feet, "And I doubt talking TO her is going to make any difference, is it Jude?" He mocked as he looked her in the eye and just as expected her only response was a blank stare. James laughed, "She must think us such fools."

"James!" His mother snapped, "I can't believe you're being so-"

"So what?" James turned to his mother, "So honest! Why should I be anything but when you and dad are so blissfully ignorant! And you have the privilege to be! Your lives have not changed in the slightest since her arrival, but mine! I'm the one that can't have any friends over! I'm the one that has to live in paranoia that someone would find out that the new freak in school is none other than- "

"James!" His father thundered into the kitchen, flakes of snow clinging to his black travelling cloak, his blue eyes bright with fury, "How dare you speak to your mother in such a manner. And about your-"

"MY WHAT!" James spat, "She is NOTHING to me! Nothing!" He ran forward but the exit was magically sealed off. "Let me out!"

"Judalia, please excuse us-"

"Oh, what difference does it make if she's here or she isn't here!" James shouted, "I'm sick of everything revolving around her!"

His father's face darkened as his mother's paled in contrast. She swallowed, glancing at the uncaring Jude to her red-faced son, "James… I don't understand. You seemed so understanding when Judalia first joined us… so welcoming. And now this hostility… I had no idea you felt this way."

James shook his head, "You didn't give me much of a choice than to be understanding, but after six months of no improvement, it's frustrating! It's obvious a change of environment isn't working!"

"And what is it do you suggest? That we send her back!" His father asked in a deathly whisper as his mother hastened forward.

"James, darling, you're just frustrated. Surely you understand that there is no going back… Judalia is family now-"

"No! Sirius is our family! And because of her, he's stuck with those monsters!"

"I thought you said Sirius moving back home was his own choice!"

"Yes. An uncontested choice because I was glad! Glad that Sirius had to go home this break just because it meant a few more weeks where I didn't have to tell him about her. I let my best friend go to his ghastly family just so I can hide her for a little while longer!" James bit out, all the frustration of the past few months tumbling out of him.

"You haven't told Sirius…" His mother glanced at his father who seemed to have adapted Jude's blank stare, "I know we told you that it is imperative to keep your relationship with Judalia a secret because we don't know what had happened to her in the past and the less public information about her circumstances the better, that there was a possibility that she may be in danger, that discretion is important for her safety and your own… but we said you can tell Sirius, James. You can tell him, Peter and Remus… we trust them."

"Why would I want to tell them about her! Do you know what they think of her at school! They think she's some kind of unnatural thing. A hermaphrodite because she looks-"

"STOP!" His father banged his hand on the counter, snapping out of his silence, "Stop this nonsense at once. I cannot believe this is the son I have raised. You're grounded-"

"Grounded, like I can go anywhere in the first place!"

"That's it. Peter and Remus are not allowed to visit next week, neither is Sirius. Your mother and I are not going to France, you evidently are not mature enough to look after yourself and Jude. You are not to have any friends over, and I don't want to see you out of your room until I call for you. I have never been so disappointed in my life." His father's blue eyes glowed like blazing sapphires as he snapped at him.

"You're one to talk." James spat as he stormed out of the kitchen, which finally allowed him to exit. That's all he needed, more of his plans ruined, he ran up the stairs and barged into his room and fell onto his bed, his hand reaching under his pillow automatically for the two-way mirror and then stilled.

What was he going to do? Talk to Sirius when he knew nothing about Jude…it wasn't exactly something he could say over the mirror…and now he wouldn't even get to see him on Christmas.

After both Sirius' birthday party and Halloween had been such a dismal failure due to the tattling of the Slytherins', and considering his parents were leaving the country for their anniversary, James had made plans to host a fancy dress Christmas party in honour of his best friend whilst they had the house to themselves. Most of the upperclassmen already knew about it… now he had to cancel…

He already planned on asking Jude to stay out of the way when his friends got here, and the manor was big enough to do that, and especially when the party was on… and considering that she listened to him when he told her not to come near him in school, he knew she'd abide by his wishes.

He flung the mirror onto the carpeted floor in frustration and pushed his head into the pillow, feeling for the first time an unquenchable thirst to be rid of this house and be back at Hogwarts.

-x-x-x-

A silence like Dorea had never known descended on the usually warm kitchen and she clutched at her throat where the necklace Charlus had given her for their first anniversary sat and fought for peace of mind.

It never came.

"I'm sorry. I know you were looking forward to France."

She glanced at the empty seat before responding to her husband, Jude disappearing without her notice amidst all the fighting, "It's more of a relief really… I felt terrible leaving them behind…James is right… she's not shown any improvement."

She could practically see her husband's calculating gaze on her back, "You want to send her back to the facility-"

"No." She spun around, "No." She clutched at her necklace as a tear fell upon her hand, "She's family… and I'm failing her! I'm doing something wrong Charlus… this is why it took such a time to have James! Why I couldn't have another…This is Fate's way of telling me that I am not a good mother, that I shouldn't-"

"Dorea, no!" He rushed to her and pulled her now sobbing form into his arms, "You didn't see how she was in the beginning… she couldn't use her magic, she wouldn't eat, and she wasn't even able to make eye contact let alone follow a conversation like she does now."

"But she still isn't speaking! And she still has bouts of uncontrollable magic, and she only eats when James tells her to and you heard what he said. The children… they're horrid to her… maybe we were wrong to put her into school."

Charlus sighed and turned her about, looking down at her with a vulnerability she rarely saw on her husband's face, "It was the only request she ever made, could we deny her that? It was the first time I saw an inkling of light in her eyes when she held that acceptance letter out to me…no…sending her to Hogwarts was the right decision. I'll speak to Dumbledore about the other children."

"Other children like our son." Dorea was so confused, that first two weeks of Summer vacation, James had taken to Judalia completely. They had visited Switzerland for two weeks, taking a family vacation that was full of life and laughter and Judalia looked as if she was finally going to snap out of this. And then she received her acceptance letter to Hogwarts, which they were expecting since they had officially become her legal guardians. They had decided that maybe it would help, and Judalia did look like she wanted to go. Judalia had remained in Switzerland for the remainder of the holiday, receiving the best private tuition necessary to prepare her for her sixth year at Hogwarts, whilst they returned home and just in time to be there for Sirius after he ran away from Grimmauld Place.

"Godric Charlus… James hates us!"

"He doesn't hate us. He's just being a teenager; it was bound to happen eventually. Look." He tilted her chin up and stared down at her, "Pandering to him will not help, irrelevant to this unfortunate circumstance; he hasn't the right to speak to you in such a manner, so leave him be. I love him to death and back, but I will not let a son of mine treat the women of this family like he has. Not standing up for Jude…" He closed his eyes and leaned down, kissing her softly on the cheek, "I must get back to work. How was your morning meeting?"

Dorea could barely recall the events of the morning. She, and a group of ex medi-wizards covertly help muggle victims of death eater attacks. Just this morning she had to rush off to London after there was an unfortunate incident at a Muggle government building, "We managed to help a few people before the Ministry had got there. Why we have to sneak around is beyond me, we should be helping the muggles best we can considering they have done nothing wrong to garner such hatred."

"I know. I'm speaking to Spritley again about the matter, but you know how the Ministry feels about the Statute of Secrecy, they want it upheld, no matter the cost. Why don't you go over to the Shafiq's for tea, Meera is bound to get your mind off things."

"I haven't the time. I've got some shopping to do, plus Meera is over at her sister's and Laila Jadhev can only be taken in very small doses and I've already had my annual requirement, thank you very much."

Even though the words were light, her heart was too heavy to handle the delivery, and it was with a look of profound sadness that Charlus had floo'd away.

Dorea stared as the red flames in their fireplace bled back from the flash of emerald, her heart achingly sore.

James was her little boy and it pained her to speak to him in such a manner, to punish him when he seemed to be in such pain already…

She jumped and wiped at her face quickly, laughing shallowly at her exaggerated fright, "Judalia, you startled me." It had little to do with the girl's silent footsteps and more to do with her own preoccupation; she stared at the girl, at her short dark hair, at her empty black eyes, at her pallid cheeks…

For what seemed like the hundredth time these past few months Dorea wondered if it were possible to help this child… she swallowed back the tears that were ready to spring forward and busied herself with her travelling cloak, "I have a bit of shopping to do, but I won't be long. I was thinking about making Toad in the Hole for dinner. I know you haven't tasted it and thought you might want to try it, but if you'd like something else…" She let the question hang unanswered as per usual.

She took a calming breath and walked towards the fireplace and stilled as Jude mirrored her, "Is there something the matter love?"

Black eyes swung to the left and stared at the fireplace and then turned back to her and Dorea frowned, fearful to become overexcited in case she was just reading into the gesture too much, "Would you… do you want to come along."

Nod.

The smile that graced Dorea's face was the first natural one in months and with shaking, anticipating hands, she led the girl into the fireplace.

Progress.

So, there it is! Want to know what you guys think so please drop me a review :) This is kind of the turning point of the story, and everything picks up from here.

And it was hard portraying James so heartlessly, but there is a reason and I hope this explains why he has been such a recluse in the first few chapters.

Thank you for reading,

Kalina