The house was dark, a lone light shining through the living room window and it took a second for James to remember why he was here. The last time heād been in this house, had been a confrontation with the beast, the blood traitor and the mudblood. Pleading with him, crying like the weak people they were. Lying to him. Messing with his head in ways the light side pretended they werenāt capable of.
The urge to walk through the door, calling out joyfully to his wife was strong. Taking his breath away for a minute, causing a look of confusion to pass over his previously emotionless face. He didnāt have a wife. Heād been duped by the Mudblood and the blood traitor, not to mention the Beast. His Lord had explained it all, how theyād messed with his head. How it was important he fixed the tainted blood line.
He knew he was right. Knew that he couldnāt have a half-blood running around with his name.Knew that it would dilute their magic, would ruin the lives they were building for themselves. There was no place for this child in their world, even if the child was supposedly his.
Hand on his wand, he burst through the door. He was the only one who could do this, the only one who was able to get through the wards that had been provided. He wasnāt ready to think about why that was. He was disarming the Mudblood before sheād even had chance to acknowledge his presence, catching the wand in an outstretched hand as he smirked in her direction.
āYou Mudbloodās are living it up nowadays arenāt you?ā He glanced around the room, his face a picture of disgust as he took in the homeliness that existed here. The more he looked, the angrier he got. At the small things, the small stain on the carpet in the corner, the pencil markings on the doorframe. Homely things. Like this Mudblood had any right to be here, to be at home in a world she didnāt belong in.
āSo, you wanna start begging now, or are we gonna save that for when things get interesting?ā James grinned, shooting the woman a wink and for a second he froze, the action stirring something within him. Some sense of familiarity he couldnāt quite place, a feeling of being displaced, twisted and tainted and he couldnāt shake it. He pressed one hand against his temple, heart pounding in his chest as he fought against the conflicted thoughts and memories rushing to the surface.
āRun.ā He managed to force out through gritted teeth, unsure why he was saying it, what it even fucking meant or why the urge to give that warning was rapidly retreating. Or why his hand was throwing her wand as hard as he could towards her, his own following like it was going to buy her some time. āIām gonna kill her Lil. Iām gonna kill Jamie. Run. Now.ā
The pain stopped suddenly, and he snapped his eyes back up to the Mudblood, schooling his features to hide the confusion on his face. A mask of disgust, of glee at what he knew heād been sent here to do. He was going to be the Hero, in it for the eternal glory. Going to be the right hand man of the dark lord and it was all resting on the death of a child.
The moment they realized what had happened to James, plans had been made and swiftly enacted. Jamie had been smuggled away to a secure location and while she wanted to go with her, Lily knew she couldnāt. Knew, that she had to stay behind to face James. To try -- no matter how many times it took -- to bring him back to himself.
Tonight, it seemed, there was finally a breakthrough. A small, minuscule moment where the real James Potter shone through. Enough to give her warning. Warning, a chance to defend herself, and confirmation that they had been absolutely right in their decision to get the baby as far away as possible.
āNo.ā Both wands now clutched in her hand, Lily refused to move.Ā āJamie isnāt here, James. Itās just you and me. Well...mostly...ā Because there was also the child Lily was carrying. Potter #4. It was too early to tell if they were a boy or girl, so for now they were simply Potter#4. And they needed their father. Just like their older sister did.
āLook at me, James. You can fight this. I know you can. Whatever they did to you, whatever spell they used...itās nothing. A flimsy illusion. It canāt compare to what we have. To your bond with your friends. All you have to do is push through it.ā
Despite her words. The cool, confident nature of her delivery, she was a wreck. Her heart was racing and the fact that she had just revealed she was pregnant again was either going to be a brilliant move or a horrible mistake. She really hoped it was the first.Ā
Still, she stood her ground. She had both wands. For now, at least, there wasnāt too much damage he could do.
