Harry Potter and the Prince of Slytherin

Chapter 54: The Fall of the House of Potter (pt 2)

Hogwarts
30 March 1994

The Sunday Prophet, incendiary headline and all, hit Hogwarts via owl delivery at eight o'clock. The resulting pandemonium would have thrilled Rita Skeeter had she been there to see it. All the students present were deeply upset over the death of Rufus Scrimgeour, who'd been one of the more popular and competent DADA Professors in recent years. But the Gryffindors were further shocked to learn of the death of Auror trainee Tristan Brown, Lavender Brown's older brother who had been a Gryffindor prefect a few years before. The Ravenclaws were more solemn, and their Second Year housemate Marietta Edgecombe wasn't at breakfast. She'd already been taken to the Hospital Wing the night before and given powerful sedatives after she went into hysterics upon learning of her parents' brutal murder.

The Boy-Who-Lived was not at breakfast, which some of his in-house detractors attributed to his connection to Peter Pettigrew, or "The King of Rats," as the Prophet had christened him. In fact, Jim Potter had different reasons for skipping breakfast. Earlier that morning, Jim Potter had been summoned to his mother's quarters. James was still there, and over a breakfast delivered by house elves, the boy's parents told him everything.

First, they swore him to the family oath. Then, they told him about the Potter Prophecy and Harry's possible role as the Last Potter and the Prince of Slytherin. They told him about everything that had happened the previous night at the Ministry. They told him that Harry was affected by the Oath of Enmity, which was why he had reacted with such hostility to Jim the previous day. They told him that Peter had essentially bankrupted the family. They told him that James was now unemployed and effectively flat-broke. They told him that James was also at serious risk of losing his magic. Or of being sent to Azkaban. Or of losing his magic and being sent to Azkaban. And the only hope of averting those terrible options was if Harry Black showed him mercy despite the Oath of Enmity.

By the end of breakfast, Jim couldn't even look at his parents. He felt numb.

"What ... what do you need me to do?" the boy asked bleakly. Lily and James looked at one another in confusion.

"Nothing, son," James answered. "Your mother and I will handle everything. We just realized it was time to stop hiding things from you. There will be a lot of difficult days ahead, and it's only right that you know everything now. But we want you to know how much we both love you and that we're going to get through this somehow. As a family."

Jim nodded as he absorbed that.

"I have a couple of questions," he said after a long pause.

"Of course," Lily said expectantly. Jim looked up and gazed deeply into her eyes.

"First question: Who were you going to choose? Back in the Shrieking Shack, when Uncle ... when Wormtail told you to choose which of us was going to get bitten by Remus. Who would you have chosen?"

Instantly, Lily's face was stricken with shame, even as James looked at her in surprise and then shock. Jim just nodded.

"Okay, there's your answer, I reckon."

"Jim," Lily spoke up hesitantly. "It wasn't like that."

And then she explained everything that had raced through her mind in the few seconds she'd had to consider Pettigrew's diabolical choice. That she didn't really think Peter would let Jim be hurt, and so choosing him to be bitten might have given her an opening to do something. That Jim's hidden power might well protect him from a werewolf just as it did from You-Know-Who. Or at the very least, it might protect him from contracting lycanthropy.

Despite himself, James couldn't help but look at Lily with reproach. But then, Jim turned to his father.

"Second Question: Who used the Imperius Curse on me?"