Chapter 5: 5 Matchmaker Harry
James had to admit one thing about Harry, he was a damned good teacher. When he first decided to take the drastic leap of learning from the crazy old man he expected insane, unintelligible training. Or working until he was broke, constantly frustrated.
Harry took him as far as he was able, then only pushed him a little more, so he knew the limits he had to break.
Every day Harry would train his body, then his magic, then go over history, then his mind.
James had asked how Harry could think his body was going to break if he fought Voldemort when he could run through the snowy tundra of Antartica for an hour at a time.
"It's a ritual. Keeps my body strong and limber, in exchange it constantly taxes on my magical power. Doesn't mean working out doesn't help though."
James gaped.
"Could I do that ritual?"
"Hmm. Maybe one day, but it's not good when your body is still developing, it could cause magical cancer."
What was cancer?
While James had been pretty proud of his body before, he did after all have a nice four pack, and was fit from Quidditch practice. He realized that there was so much more to fitness than just muscles. His body moved smoother now, he was more balanced, it reminded him of how Remus would move sometimes.
Then there was the magical training.
It had only been two weeks, but James felt like he learned more than he had from the entirety of his last school year. Dueling, Transfiguration, DADA, CoMC, Runes, Arithmancy, even Charms, which sadly was not his best, had grown by leaps and bounds.
Though he did learn one thing about Harry. Harry was pants at potions, which made no sense to James. Most of potions was just cooking, and Harry cooked better than any restaurant James had ever been to. When asked, Harry just said that he never got over his shitty potions professor.
Couldn't have been Horace then, for all he was a arse licker the man could teach.
Then there was the history. Not history like Binns, but what Harry knew of the war to come. Harry would invade James's mind, and it reminded him of the time he had used a Pensive to show his parents his first Quidditch win.
They stood in 12 Grimmauld place, something that only furthered James's belief that Harry was Sirius's son. Despite the obvious, Harry still had the younger him's face obscured. Which looked like a pasty skin colored cloud.
Alastor Moody, who James had met, but not had a fake magical eye and a peg leg was pointing to a picture.
"That's Marlene McKinnon, she was killed two weeks after this was taken, they got her whole family…"
"Fuck," James said, and Harry paused the scene.
"You know her?" Harry asked.
"Same year as me, one of… one of Lily's friends."
He could also see Lily in the photo, as well as himself. They stood next to each other, but Lily also stood next to Marlene and Dorcas while James stood next to the rest of the Marauders. It could have just meant that those from their year were standing next to each other for the photo.
"Hmm."
The scene skipped around as Harry showed a few more things from it. Like Dorcas Meadows and how Voldemort had killed her personally. Or the Prewett twins, dying to five Death Eaters. But the entire time James's thoughts were on Lily. Harry hadn't spoken too much about the Marauders since that first day, and hadn't mentioned anything about the rest of his school year classmates.
Harry sighed and suddenly they were back in the real world, sitting in the same two camping chairs, Harry had told him their name, as they had the first day. Thankfully it wasn't snowing anymore, so beautiful blue skies with a touch of starry black covered them from above.
"What?" James asked, squirming in his chair.
How Harry could sit still for hours on end was beyond James. He needed to move around, though he wasn't as bad as Sirius was.
"You weren't paying attention."
James opened his mouth, closed it, then shut his eyes and let out a heavy breath.
"Do you know who Lily Evans is?"
"Yes."
"D-does she die?"
"Yes."
James felt his heart stop, only unlike when it usually did when he thought of Evans, this time it was full of fear and anguish.
"I- I mean does she die in the war with Voldemort."
"Yes," Harry said calmly.
James looked into his eyes, but couldn't read anything, so he just threw a guess.
"You know how I like her?"
If eleven year old James could hear him he would be screaming in shock. The crush, or as Remus would call it, infection like infatuation, was slow growing. It wasn't until the end of their third year that he realized he liked her. All because he could never get that first image out of his head.
"Yup."
"Did we-"
"James," Harry cut in.
James gulped, feeling much like when his father or mother scolded him.
"Yes?"
"I am not going to play matchmaker for you. I am not going to give you love predictions like some side walk fortune teller. Some of those people you saw in that photo were people I knew. Others I didn't, dead before I was born. Those that lived? Some had children of their own that I grew up with, fought with, and watched die. Time is a tricky thing, one not explored enough for me to make accurate predictions. The moment I came back I accepted that everyone I ever grew to care about may never be born. Their parents may never end up together, and even if they do and they have children, those children could be completely different people. Born on different days, raised differently, whatever. I know I may not be born, and that's fine too. So I will not give you some second hand story about your young love so you can try and twist it to work out in your favor."
James looked down, ashamed. Harry had lost everything, and he was pinning the entire future of the world on James. For James to fight and defeat a monster in human skin. Millions, no billions of lives rested on James's shoulders, everyone Harry ever lost. Love really wasn't important in comparison was it?
Harry sighed again, moving his deceptively limber body so he knelt in front of James.
"James," Harry said, in the softest voice he had ever heard the man speak in.
James looked up to see a small smile on the old man's daily changing face.
"Love is a beautiful, but messy thing. Its not something you can control, or manipulate to work. You can work on it for it to work, but you can't force love. I don't want you to approach someone you're interested in and do something like that to them. If you like Lily Evans than go for it."
"Even with all you need me to do?"
"Yes. I didn't fight Voldemort because I needed to defeat him, no matter what the prophecy said. I fought Voldemort to save the people I cared about. To protect my friends and family. Don't become some mindless machine that you think can't deal with love because other things are more important. Those things are only important because you have someone you need to protect. Now if you need advice for the girl you like, sure, ask away, but don't ask for answers to a test."
James blushed, but he tried to hide it with a grin, running a hand through his hair.
"Hmm, I'm not sure if I need advice."
Harry rolled his eyes, a smirk on his face.
"If you didn't need advice you wouldn't be looking for answers."
"Ugh, its just embarrassing to ask those kinda things ya know?"
"Yeah, but think about it like this. Who in the hell can I talk to about what you say? Not only are we alone on this continent, I'm also going to die soon."
A brief flash of pain ran through James. He didn't want Harry to die. In a lot of ways Harry reminded James of Remus. Someone with so much pain in their mind, but also was so deserving of love.
"Do you have to die?"
Harry laughed.
"James, I've lived a long time. I've fallen in love more than once, I've had a family, even a found family. But I'm also tired, I'll let love and loss be your burden now."
James grimaced.
"Well that sounds like a Dungbomb deal."
"Indeed it is, but it's worth it."
After history came mind training. Which was of course Occlumency, but also Legilimency. Harry quite plainly said that the best way to get information was to dose someone with Calming Draught and Veritasium then mind rape everything you needed. Terrifying. Harry could be terrifying.
His shields were still unable to stop Harry for even a second, but Harry told him he'd now be able to notice probes from the likes of Dumbledore and Voldemort.
Harry was a really good teacher.
—
It had been three weeks, and Harry had decided to tell James Voldemorts biggest secret.
"Voldemort created something called Horcruxes, they are vessels of the soul that hold a piece of a person's soul so they become immortal. I don't know exactly how it affects aging, but I assume that Voldemort either had another way not to age or Horcuxes make age not effect them."
James remembered the visions Harry had shown him of Voldemort. Snake-face was an apt nickname for the guy. Ew.
"That kind of sounds cool actually. Being unable to die and all that," James said grinning.
"Well it takes a long convoluted ritual followed by ruthlessly murdering an innocent person in cold blood to tear off a piece, but by all means be my guest."
James grin fell.
"Ugh, can something this guy does be not terrible?"
"I honestly think he gets off on it."
"Please don't put those images in my mind."
"Ugh, now you put those images in my mind. I don't remember being that much of a degenerate at your age."
"Really? With Sirius as a father I'd assume you'd be full of dirty thoughts."
Harry's eyes widened in shock for a moment before settling on a scowl.
James smirked, but Harry just rolled his eyes and didn't say anything on the subject.
"Anyways Horcruxes. You would think one would be enough for Voldly, but no he wanted, or I guess now wants to create six."
"SIX! How paranoid can a bloke be?"
"I mean I did end up destroying them all so not paranoid enough apparently. So today we are going to get one and destroy it."
Harry held out a hand to show a ring with a large black stone in the center, a familiar insignia on the stone.
"This is a copy of the Horcrux. When one is destroyed there is a chance that Voldemort will feel it. Especially as his body is still whole. This little thing will act as a failsafe. It has the same curses on it-"
Harry slapped James's hand away, who didn't even realize he had been reaching for it.
"One of which is a compulsion curse. It also emits waves keyed to Voldemort's soul signature, don't ask. I don't know what that means either, my wife is the one to show me-"
"Hermione?"
"No Luna, my first wife. Anyways once the real Horcrux is destroyed this one will mask its destruction just in case Voldemort did feel it. Now, we are going to go back to Britain for today. That means no saying Voldemorts name, Call him Moldyshorts instead."
James laughed.
"Thats amazing."
"Thank you. Also while the Trace has been deactivated for your wand you better not try and send any messages to anyone."
James had sent several letters to his parents over the past few weeks. Each time he tried a different way of either giving a secret message to them or a tracking spell.
At first it was a sense of, well duh he was kidnapped regardless of the reason. Now it was more a game to see if he could get anything past Harry. He hadn't yet.
"I'm serious James. We are going to one of the known Horcrux locations. If someone finds you. Even if they're trustworthy, there is a chance it will get back to Voldemort, who will then know someone has knowledge on his secret. He might either change their locations, ruining my knowledge of the future, or go after you and your family."
That took any idea of pranking Harry out of his mind. Bastard couldn't let him have any fun.
With that Harry took James's hand with his own weathered, but strong and reassuring hand. They disappeared without a sound, appearing in a worn down, overgrown wooded area.
"This is Little Hangleton, where the Gaunt Family once was. The Riddles, who are all dead by the way, lived a little ways off from here. And this is where Tom stored one of his Horcruxes."
James's face took on a look of disgust.
"Theres no way."
"What?"
"He stored a piece of his soul in a, while yes dilapidated old building, a place that he has a direct connection with? Didn't you say he was a genius?"
Harry laughed, holding James in place as he made to move forward.
"Trust me I thought the same while hunting for them. Turns out it's a part of the ritual. The Horcruxes need to be stored in a place of importance to the user. It keeps the soul fragment stable, like the childhood teddy bear still on your bed it roots them to this place."
James blushed.
"Shut it."
"Aww, widdle Jamie all embarrassed."
"Don't talk like Bellatrix."
"Ugh, now you ruin my fun."
James grinned.
"Even if the Horcrux is moved it wont die or anything, but it will weaken, and in turn weaken Moldyshorts as a whole.
-
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