“But it’s perfect weather!” James argued, sounding, as he noted, like a spoilt brat. But he couldn’t help it; he and Sirius had their hearts set on going outside that day. “There are plenty of things to do inside you two, how about you read together?” Mrs. Potter suggested enthusiastically to the sulking boys. “Read together?” James and his father questioned at the same time, raising their eyebrows in unison. “Aaron!” Mrs. Potter warned through clenched teeth, narrowing her eyes. Mr. Potter cleared his throat uncomfortably. “I, er, agree that you two boys should spend the day inside, but you can do something fun, like…” “Hide and Seek!” Mrs. Potter came up with triumphantly. Sirius coughed loudly in an attempt to disguise a snort of disbelief. “Well, you can do whatever you want then you two, as long as it’s inside,” Mr. Potter said pleasantly.
“Todd’s outside,” Sirius remarked. James wandered over to the window where Sirius was standing and looked out. The Potters backyard was simply a huge area of thick, soft green grass, not fenced off at all, and it was shared with James’s next-door neighbour Todd Sanart. Todd was flying around high above the ground, the cold wind whipping his straw-coloured hair off his long face. Todd was about to go into his fifth year at Hogwarts, and he had just been awarded Ravenclaw Quidditch captain. “I’ll bet it’s because of what happened on the full moon,” James remarked certainly. “They’re just scared it will happen again, and this time I won’t survive. They’re been funny about me riding my broom all Summer. Last week I even caught Mum by the window spying on me!” Sirius rolled his eyes in exasperation. “It wasn’t even your fault when you fell that time!” he protested. James nodded in agreement, brought his knew up to his chest. Sirius looked thoughtful. “Well, I have to admit James, I’m a little surprised that you are wiling to go back on your broom after what happened last term,” he commented. James looked at him incredulously. “Are you kidding? Nothing’s going to stop me from going on my broom!” he cried, sitting up straightly. “Yet, your parents can?” Sirius asked slyly. James contemplated for a moment, and then set his face. “No, they can’t,” he decided.
Lily, Thaliana, Roxanna and Jada were gathered in Lily’s room. Lily and Jada were lying on her bed, Roxanna on her desk chair and Thali happily sat crossed legged on the floor. “It’s awfully cold in here,” Lily shivered, looking out her window. The normally white cloud were grey, and the air had a foggy sense to it, nothing at all like their usual mid-Summer weather. “For Summer, it’s so strange,” Thaliana agreed. “I wonder if it’s the same weather at James’s place, he doesn’t live too far from here,” Jada remarked, turning her gaze to the window as well. “How near does he live?” Roxanna asked curiously. “About an hour away…” ‘That’s not exactly near Jay,” Thaliana laughed. “What’s that?” Roxanna interrupted, pointing out the window. Lily looked outside, but saw nothing but the misty haze. “You must be seeing things Roxy,” Lily shrugged. “I can’t see anything.”
James shivered and zipped up his jacket. His wind was blowing his hair wildly, and the temperature seemed to drop every minute. “It’s getting really cold out here,” he complained. “Can’t we just stay out here for five more minutes?” Sirius wheedled. James rolled his eyes at the irony, and pushed off the ground again. “Sirius, this is just like last time, only it’s me wanting to go back inside!” “Last time it was you who felt restless and cooped up inside,” Sirius retorted. James rolled his eyes again, and responded by throwing the Quaffle full pelt towards Sirius’s chest. Sirius, although caught off guard, made an excellent recovery, grabbed the Quaffle, and made to score a goal in on of the three huge goalposts the Potters and the Sanarts shared. Todd was positioned perfectly for defense. He was the best keeper in the school by far, and it was a rare occurrence to score a goal past him. Sure enough, when Sirius threw the Quaffle, Todd caught it with ease, and Sirius grumbled. Todd smiled. “You’ll get better,” he consoled Sirius. “Did you know that my parents weren’t even going to let me come out here? They went out for awhile, and I wasn’t going to stay inside, I need all the practice I can get!” Sirius agreed wholeheartedly, but the coldness was starting to turn into a bad feeling for James, though he didn’t know why. “Sirius, can we go inside now?” he asked urgently. '”Calm down James,” Sirius laughed. “Trust me, nothings going to happen!”
“Sylvia, we have to tell him!” insisted Mr. Potter. James parents were gathered in the Potter’s extravagant kitchen, arguing in heated whispers. “But Aaron, he’s so young! He’s only just turned 13!” Mrs. Potter shot back. “That’s exactly it Sylvie, we’ve been keeping him absolutely oblivious to how bad this war is getting! If we continue to keep him in the dark, what happens when all of his school friends start to get murdered?” Mrs. Potter gaped at him in shock, then turned her gaze to her surroundings, trying to clear her mind. She took in the many moving paintings of her ancestors, all who seemed to be taking a side in the conversation. She noticed it was mainly the girl ones who were nodding in agreement to her statements, while the men earnestly muttered arguments. The enormous chandelier above their heads was motionless, its hundreds of bulbs shining like diamonds when daylight hit them, sending sheets of yellow and white light on the quarreling couple. Mr. Potter hardly seemed to notice any of this, his face was earnest and he was now waving his hands to punctuate his words. ‘Yes, he’s 13,” he continued. “He’s practically defenseless. You and I are the top Aurors in the country, and You-Know-Who is going to want us on his side! He’s not stupid, remember when he threatened to kill the Trankman’s daughter?” he was yelling now. “If we don’t prepare James, we’re risking him being captured, tortured, or even murdered,” he finished gravely. Mrs. Potter stood in shock for a moment, and then burst into tears. “I’m so scared Aaron,” she sobbed into her husbands chest. Mr. Potter wrapped his arms around her shaking shoulders in an attempt to be comforting, but James’s Mother could sense just how tense he was. “I know you are, I am too,” Mr. Potter confessed. “Telling James is like confirming that it’s getting out of hand, that they can’t even go outside and be safe on certain days if the Ministry receives tips of danger. But we have to tell James.” “But why does it have to be today?” asked Mrs. Potter, drying her eyes with the back of her trembling hand. “Today, we found out that he’s got the Dementors on his side. The longer we wait, the worse it’s going to get, and the more we’ll have to hide from James. So yes, today. Not just today, but right now.”
James felt a sudden chill wash over him, and he felt sick to his stomach. He landed his broom gingerly, and stumbled on the ground, his head spinning. Sirius saw him and followed his friend to the ground. “James, what’s the matter?” he asked, concerned. As if in answer to his question, Sirius suddenly felt drained, and his legs buckled beneath him. “What’s the matter with you two?” Todd called out from his broom. Sirius looked up at him to reply, and then he saw them. They were hovering not far off of the ground, and hoods covered their faces. Their robes, if you could call them that were tattered, and the very air around them seemed to freeze. They were the creatures who guarded evil, and were capable of worse evil themselves. Creatures who had no particular place to where their loyalties lie. Dementors. An eerie silence fell over the field as the horrible creatures moved towards the three boys. Sirius looked to his right at James. All the colour had drained from his face, and it looked even whiter in contrast with his raven hair. His mouth was opened very slightly, and he simply stared, transfixed, at the Dementors as they approached.
Mr. and Mrs. Potter walked sullenly towards the main room, but then stopped short. “That’s funny, I thought they were in here,” Mrs. Potter commented, looking puzzled at the empty couches, and bare tabletops. “Maybe they went to, um, play Hide-And-Seek,” Mr. Potter suggested sarcastically. “Now is not the bloody time, Aaron,” Mrs. Potter snapped. “James? JAMES?!” she called out, and she began to feel nervous. James had exceptionally good hearing, and could hear his parents calling from any room in the house. “Calm down, Sylvia, he could be anywhere, we have a big house, in case you haven’t noticed, and-” Mrs. Potter impatiently pushed by her husband, and raced to the foot of the mahogany grand staircase. “JAMES! Mrs. Potter screamed, looking up it. She ran upstairs to James’s room, hoping with all her heart to see the boys sitting there. But when she entered, her eyes only met robes thrown carelessly around on the floor, an unmade bed, no broom in the corner, and no James or Sirius. I am going to kill him! she thought furiously. “Aaron! They’ve gone out on their brooms!” she called out.
Sirius looked back towards the house in what felt like slow motion, and realized how far away from them it really was. His vision soon melted into memories, horrible memories that filled his head. He saw his cousins putting hexes on him, simply because they could, and his mother was slapping him around his head. A few years later, his mother telling him about the power You-Know-who was gaining, and about the murders that he and his followers were committing. Once again, he was inside that cramped, dark tunnel, with rocks falling around him, and dust filling his throat… and then he saw James falling from his broom, and lying so still… “Sirius, come on!” James’s voice was incredibly urgent, and Sirius snapped out of his trance and allowed James to pull him off the ground, where he had fallen sometime during the time he’d spaced out. “Where’s Todd?” asked James briskly, trying to stay calm, even though their situation was desperate. Sirius scanned the scene quickly, and then pointed, a sick feeling in his stomach, and breath caught in his throat. Todd was lying on the ground, surrounded by Dementors. “NO!” James cried, and he made to run towards his friend. It took Sirius almost all of his strength to hold him back. “James it’s too late, it isn’t safe enough to do anything!” he yelled. “No it isn’t!” insisted James. “Let go of me!” “James, there’s nothing we can do,” Sirius said quietly. James stopped resisting and just stared, and Sirius could tell he was in shock. Sirius knew what he had to do, and he began to run as fast as he possibly could towards the Potter’s mansion, dragging James by the wrist. Sirius could feel the Dementors following them, and the boys stumbled and tripped as they sprinted as fast as they could. He stopped short as he found himself surrounded by the monsters completely; there was no way to get away. He whipped around wildly just to face more of the terrifying creatures, and his eyes grew wide with horror. Sirius felt the darkness take over again, and the memories flooded into his brain, and he was powerless to stop it. “EXPECTO PATRONUM!” cried a voice. Sirius looked up, and saw James’s parents running towards them. A silvery white panther that seemed to be made of vapor was advancing towards a Dementor that had grown dangerously close to James’s frozen figure. The Dementor backed off and began to move in the opposite direction. A silvery eagle swooped down towards two Dementors that were heading towards Sirius. The Dementors backed off suddenly, and Sirius jumped backwards. The panther turned around and returned to Mr. Potter’s wand, and the eagle flew back into Mrs. Potter’s. “James!” cried Mrs. Potter, running towards her son and wrapping him in a tight embrace. James took awhile to return the hug, and he realized he was shaking uncontrollably. “James, Sirius, are you two alright?” Mr. Potter demanded anxiously. No, we’re not alright, we’ve just been attacked by soul-sucking, happiness harvesting Dementors, almost killed, made to relive our worst memories and cut our Quidditch game short! Sirius thought self-pityingly, but all he could say was, “Todd.” Mr. Potter looked up and saw Todd’s body. “Oh, Merlin,” he muttered.
Dear Lily, I can’t write for long, I just wanted to let you know that James and Sirius are safe whatever you may hear. Mum says that I’m not allowed to write much in a letter, as you never know who may read it. You will find out on the first day of school, all I can say is that the Ministry is in an uproar; nothing like this has happened before. Just… be gentle with James when we go back to school. Sirius too, but James was the one who lost someone. I really hope I’m not confusing you too much, I can’t wait to see you again! It’s only a few days now, which isn’t too bad! Oh, and I would just like to say, just in case you don’t know already, that the Ministry is strongly advising everyone to bring their wands everywhere with them, as the last time it was simply too close a call. Love, ~*~*~ Jada~*~*~ No matter how many times Lily read the letter her friend had sent her, she couldn’t make any sense out of it. Why wouldn’t James and Sirius be safe, why did they suddenly have to bring their wands everywhere, and why couldn’t Jada explain herself without sounding more confusing than a chipmunk on a sugar high? A few days until school starts… she thought, which was, at least, some consolation. But how could she wait a few more days? Ok...another authors note has been deleted... :O:O How could they do this to me? THEY WERE SO YOOUUNNGGG! Ahem. Challenge time, whether it shall be deleted or not!
What would you like to see more of / happen?
Please answer...I just realized Ill have to come up with roughly... well alot of review challenges before the stories finished. :S oh well lol :)