My Green Eyed Boy

My Green Eyed Boy

James smiled as he played with his little baby boy. Harry grinned up at his father with a toothy smile. Laughing James moved forwards and attacked the unwary boy. Harry screamed with laughter and Lily looked up from her book and sighed.

"James, let the boy alone for once," she sighed. "Please."

"Oh come on, Lils," James laughed, "let us have a little bit of fun, hm? Besides, he's not tired, are you, Prongslet?" Harry giggled in a way only a baby could. Lily snorted.

"James," she said sternly, "it is Harry's bedtime."

"Lils!" James whined.

"No."

"Come on!"

"No." James humphed and pouted which made Lily laugh. Harry squealed and held his arms up towards his mother.

"Mama!" he called. "Mama!" Lily smiled and walked forward. She picked up little Harry and twirled him around. He squealed again. Once she paused Harry reached his arms out to his father. "Dada! Dada!" Smiling James took Harry from Lily. Suddenly Harry began screaming and no matter what James tried to do he could never calm the boy. It didn't work.

A second later there was a bright flash of green light. Harry screamed louder and James turned towards the semi-open window. Outside there was only one dark robed man with a white mask and another tall gaunt black haired man with red eyes.

"Lily, take Harry and go! It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off-" James cried, whirling around, placing Harry in Lily's hands. Lily nodded and stumbled from the room. James twirled back around as the door burst open, knocking him backwards.

High-pitched laughter came from the gaunt man as he and the Death Eater stepped inside. James was instantly standing, albeit a little shakily, but he roared out clearly, "Arbor!" A tree instantly began to grow, blocking the doorway and the path Lily escaped from. He shot out another spell, this time a freezing spell, which the gaunt man countered with a softly spoken, "Flamma." The spell halted in its tracks and the gaunt man stepped towards James who backed up, another curse on his lips.

"Incedia Mucro!" The gaunt man smirked, red eyes sparking. He shot back with a quick well-placed spell. James was once more was blasted back against the wall. He let out an involuntary cry of pain. He was stuck to the wall as the gaunt man advanced.

"James, James, James," the man tsk'ed. "What to do with you, James. Did you honestly think you could escape me? The Dark Lord? Poor, poor James." James spat in his face. Smirking the Dark Lord raised his wand. "Crucio!"

James screamed as the Dark Lord talked. "You young wife cannot escape, James. No one can escape. I'll take pleasure in killing her before you. I'll take pleasure in breaking her before you." The curse lifted and James gasped for breath. "Now, where is your mudblood wife, James?"

"Rot...in...hell," James gasped out, breathing heavily.

"Wrong answer. Crucio!" The screaming began anew. Once again the curse lifted and James was stuck against the wall, gasping. "I will give you one more chance before I let Lucius take you. Where is your mudblood wife?"

"You...bastard," James spat out.

"Crucio!" James screamed as the Dark Lord spoke again.

"Lucius, take him, keep him for me until I come for him. Make sure he is known as dead. Did you hear that James? You're going to be dead. Torture him as well for me, Lucius."

"Yes my Lord." The Dark Lord lifted the curse and James once more was stuck to the wall gasping. The Dark Lord left and Lucius pulled James from the wall, bound him, and pulled him from the house just as he heard a loud scream.

"LILY!!!!!" were the last words he was able to cry before he was knocked unconscious.

...(fifteen years later...)

James gasped once more as the Death Eaters lifted their cruciatus curses.

"Move," spoke the one voice he came to dread.

"What...do...you...want?" James growled through gritted teeth.

"Now, now, James," spoke Voldemort as he entered the room, "is that any way to greet your host?"

"Rotten...bastard," James spat.

"Crucio." James screamed anew, he screamed until his through bled and his voice grew hoarse. Once the spell was lifted James coughed up blood and wheezed. "James, James, James," Voldemort smirked, "do you not understand the consequence of your actions? Are you too daft?"

"You...killed...my son...and...my wife," James wheezed, "I...have...no more...."

"Then why won't you die?" Voldemort questioned, a sadistic smirk in place.

"To spite...you."

"Ah. Crucio." James tried to scream but no voice came. Instead he twisted and convulsed grotesquely. The curse was lifted once more and James was gasping for breath again. Wheezing and coughing up blood. "Leave him," Voldemort hissed and the Death Eater's left. He walked calmly towards James who was trying to pull himself up.

Voldemort gripped the front of his tattered robes and lifted him to eye level.

"Rest well James," Voldemort hissed, "for your time is almost up."

James spat in Voldemort's face as a response. Voldemort dropped him harshly and spat on his head. He left, leaving James all alone in the cell room.

Gasping James pulled himself to his feet and staggered towards the door. He tried to laugh when he found the door was locked but it came out more like a hacking cough. He raised his hand weakly and blasted out with wandless magic. The door burst open and he quickly transformed into his stag form and staggered out of Riddle Manor and into the forest where he collapsed from exhaustion.

Days later he pulled himself together and changed back into his human self. Bleeding he stumbled away from civilization and hopefully towards Hogwarts.

...

James stumbled out of the Forbidden Forest. He had been traveling for over a month weakly and had gained several new cuts to go with his old ones. He barely noticed the class of third years he had just wandered in on before he collapsed. Slowly he fell into sweet darkness, not even hearing the surprised cry of others.

...

James bit back a groan as he slowly awoke to voices.

"...nating a dead man, honestly!"

"I will not have you interrogating him! He is one of my patients! Both of you! I am ashamed!"

"What is the damage Poppy?"

"Merlin knows how he survived. There are signs of broken bones - mainly his ribs - and a fractured wrist. Multiple signs of the cruciatus curse and serious trauma, Dumbledore. But that's not the worst of it...no..."

"What else has happened?"

"He's also a victim of rape."

"Merlin."

'Dumbledore?' James thought once all this registered. 'Am I at Hogwarts?' then the last bit came and hit him full force. He remembered it all and t brought tears to his eyes. 'My poor boy...my lovely wife...gone...all gone...all gone...'

I believe our mysterious guest is awakening, Poppy," someone chuckled as James moaned. He tried to curl up into a little ball but it wasn't working. If at all it just made him cry out in sudden pain.

"Stop! Stop moving!" James opened his eyes to peer at what appeared to be a medi-witch through hazy vision. A long while back he had lost his glasses.

"Where," he croaked, his throat a bit sore. He tried to sit up or stand but it didn't work very well.

"Stop moving," said the stern medi-witch, "your bones haven't had a full chance to heal, let alone everything else!" James ignored her.

"Where," he croaked again, this time succeeding in standing, albeit a bit shakily. He looked at the three occupants of the room and tried to place them to memory but it didn't work. He was too shaky and darkness was creeping into his vision. "H-Help..." he murmured before pitching forward into darkness.

...

The next time James awoke he was in a slightly different medical ward but it was still in the same area of the place he was originally in, possibly another side room or something. The medi-witch entered and moved towards him slowly. He eyed her through his bleary sight but couldn't make out any details worth recognizing.

"How are you doing dear? Feel any better?"

"A...little," James said in his still hoarse voice.

"Good. I'm just going to do a quick check-up, alright?"

"F-Fine." With that the medi-witch moved around and checked him over with her wand. All the while she talked.

"We don't know where you came from but you do look oddly like one of our older students," she stated. "Tragedy he died. My names Poppy Promfrey by the way, dear." James didn't hear that last part, he was still at the 'tragedy he died' bit.

'Dead? Oh, yes, didn't he say he'd make me known dead?' tears came unwillingly to his eyes as his thoughts strayed to that night in Godric's Hollow.

"Is something the matter dear?"

"Dead..." he mumbled, tears now streaming down his cheeks, "all dead...Lils...Harry...dead...."

"Oh dear, sh-h, it's alright," spoke the medi-witch in a soothing tone. "It's okay. I'm sure everything will be all right. There, there now." She rocked the sobbing man back and forth before he fell asleep against her. In actuality James was half-asleep, his ears still trained on the conversation while his eyes rested. He had built in this tactic when he was with Voldemort.

In entered another person, James could hear their presence.

"How is he, Poppy?"

"Obviously not well," the medi-witch bit back. "He has lost his family I assume and never had the proper time to grieve."

"Unfortunate as it is," spoke the other person, he sounded old, "but that is what happens in war." James almost flinched at the spoken 'war'.

"I don't know, Albus, I just don't know...he seems so lost, it's uncanny his resemblance too!" The medi-witch moved to lay him down gently and covered him up, including his tattered clothes. "Just look at him Albus! He looks like he's been through years of torture! Blood is matted in his hair, stained on his clothes. His clothes are ripped and torn, moth-eaten. It is almost sickening! The poor man...I don't know if he's even had a bath."

"What do you think happened, Poppy?" questioned the elder wizard.

"My best guess is that he's been through months, if not years, of torture. There are only one group of people whom can cause this much torture and damage, only Merlin knows how he survived."

"Ah, so you think it was the Death Eaters?"

"Who else can cause this much pain to one man?"

"They have never taken captives, before, though. At least not recently."

"I was the last," James mumbled. Both heads turned towards him. James opened his weary eyes towards them.

"What do you mean, son?" questioned the old man.

"I was the last," James stated simply.

"The last what?"

"One to ever be captured." The older man frowned, his brow furrowing, but James couldn't see that.

"Albus!" cried the medi-witch when she saw the old man open his mouth. "No questioning, he still hasn't gotten over the trauma-"

"Poppy, it seems to me that this man is certainly well and in good health," the old man stated. James turned his gaze towards the ground, away from them.

"Oh fine, but be quick, the poor man needs his rest."

"I will. Now, young sir, can you tell me your name?"

"S'no use," James mumbled, "he said he'd make me known as dead. He has. S'no use." The old man frowned again.

"Who said that, my boy?" James raised his eyes towards the old man and sat up.

"V-V-Voldemort," James stuttered out. A fresh sob wound its way up unto his throat. "The bastard Voldemort!" he screamed, standing. His magic was going haywire. "I swear I will kill that man for what he has done! No one does anything to a Potter without facing the consequences!" he calmed suddenly at the thought of his wife and son. He collapsed to the ground, the magic receding into him as he began to sob. "Oh Lily...oh Harry...Merlin I failed you...." The old man was staring wide-eyed at James while the medi-witch moved to comfort him.

"Sh-h, everything will be all right," she whispered soothingly. "Sh-h."

"Lily...Harry...oh gods...oh gods...." The old man stood and strode from the room, a contemplative look on his face as he left. All the while the medi-witch cared for James carefully.

...

Harry paused as he saw the Headmaster come out of a secret door in the wall. He quickly hid in the shadows but listened to the sobs of someone. There was a rumor that someone had collapsed...but this sounded like a man!

"Lily...Harry...oh gods...oh gods...." Harry's eyes widened just as Dumbledore shut the door and took off.

...

James awoke in the middle of the night to shuffling footsteps. He stayed silent and pretended to sleep as the door to the private room he was in opened. He peered at the door through half-lidded eyes and spotted no one.

'Invisibility cloak,' he thought, sitting up slightly.

"Who's there," he questioned softly so that he didn't alert the medi-witch. The person paused in moving and he could hear the rustle of a cloak. He saw a chair move slightly as the person sat down. "Please tell me who you are," James said quietly, almost forlornly.

"A confused person," was the reply he got back. James blinked, never expecting a reply.

"Oh..."

"Who are you? Are you really James Potter?"

"...yes..." James answered dejectedly. "And I hate every minute of living...I should've protected them more...." He broke down into quiet sobs.

"It's not your fault," spoke the person.

"How can it not be?" James questioned. "I should've fought harder against him. I should've gotten my wife and son away...I should've never trusted him." James' face contorted with disgust.

"Do you want to talk about it?" James stayed silent. "It's ok to rant if that's what you want to do."

"Why are you hiding?"

"I'm sorry; I just don't want you to see me yet." The person paused. "I have to go." The chair moved again and the person disappeared - well James couldn't see them - with the door shutting. A faint click sounded as the door once more locked. James sighed, he was yet again alone.

...

So far that person who had visited him that first night came back again, and again, and again. The person had visited him every night so far and James was finally able to discern that it was a male, more specifically a boy. Surprisingly enough James found himself waiting for this boy to come every night. He wasn't sorely disappointed.

Once more the door clicked open and shut as the boy entered the room and sat down.

"Hullo," the boy said.

"'Lo," responded James sadly.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"It's just...it's that day."

"Oh." Indeed it was, James had been informed of the date by this boy, including what day it was. He had discovered that it was the year 1996, which surprised him to no end. He even remembered his reaction.

"How long were you in captivity?" the boy had asked.

"No clue," James shrugged. "Long time I guess."

"What was the last date you remember?"

"October 31st 1981. I lost track of the days nearly a week later."

"Oh."

"Why do you ask?" James wondered aloud.

"Well...I was just curios. I've heard the teachers talking sometimes when they don't think I or any other kid is around. I guess they haven't asked you this question before?"

"No."

"Oh. Then you don't know the date, do you."

"No, I don't."

"Do you want to know?" James didn't answer and the boy sighed. "I'd better go." The sound of the chair moving slightly roused James out of his melancholy mood.

"Wait!" he called just as the door opened. "What is the date?" he finally asked.

"October 21st 1996." The boy was gone and the door shut.

"Fifteen," he mumbled, "fifteen years..."

Needless to say James was surprised would've been an understatement.

"Do you want to talk about it?" the boy asked. "I've found that talking always helps...even if it's painful."

"You sound as if you've had experience," James commented wryly.

"Many things have happened that has forced me to grow up quicker than I should," stated the boy melancholy like.

"Sorry," James mumbled.

"It doesn't matter, I've gotten used to it. So do you want to talk?"

James shrugged.

"Sure." The boy waited for James to speak. "It was...a lovely day," James said slowly. "I was playing with my son...Harry...and Lily was telling me off. Apparently it was Harry's bedtime." James laughed at this. "Then...then Harry started screaming. There was a brilliant flash of green light so I looked out the window. And there he was with Malfoy." James paused.

"You don't have to continue if you don't want to," spoke the boy. James shook his head.

"No, I need to." James sucked in a breath and continued. "I told Lily, my wife, to run. To take Harry and run, that I'd hold that bastard off. She did so and raced out of the room. I fired off a spell to block her from him, he countered it. I fired off another spell and he knocked me back. I was stuck to the wall, similarly like when he burst open the door....He was cruel, that much I can say. He left me in the hands of Malfoy and I was dragged out of the house and knocked unconscious just as I heard someone scream and a giant flash of green light. I had no doubts that Lily and Harry were dead." James shook his head and sighed. "That's it. That's what happened."

"But you're wrong," the boy said. "Your son didn't die. In fact he attends Hogwarts, I know him, he's a friend." James head shot up towards where he heard the voice, not sure if he was staring at the boy or not.

"Wh-What is he like? Ar-Are you sure he's alive?" James whispered hoarsely.

"Positive," whispered the boy, "and he's been told he looks like you...with his mothers eyes."

"What is he like, is he okay?"

"He's fine, though he just lost his Godfather." James choked.

"S-Sirius is dead!?"

"Yes, but he couldn't live with him. He grew up with his aunt and uncle."

"Why?"

"He was convicted of murder, a murder he didn't commit." James let out a silent sob.

"Is - Is Harry okay?"

"He's fine; he understands that his Godfather's death was not his fault, just as Lily's death was not yours."

"Wh-What is he like?" He could practically feel the boy smile.

"He's bold, kind hearted and follows his emotions. Trouble seems to follow him wherever he goes no matter how hard he tries to get away from it." James smiled.

"That - That sounds like my boy," he laughed weakly.

"I'm sorry," spoke the boy, "I have to go again. I'll see you tomorrow if I can, okay?"

"Yes," James said softly. The boy stood with the sound of a chair scraping and the door opened. "Thank you..." James whispered.

"You're welcome," was the reply and the door shut with a definite click.