It has been over a year since the murder of his wife, Lily, and James Potter wishes every day that it is simply a nightmare that he will wake up from. Unfortunately, it isn't and in the wake of her death, James finds himself as a single parent to th...
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James had never apparated so many times in one day and across such a vast amount of distance, to the point where he was left exhausted and on the brink of vomiting. Every so often when he and Sirius reached a new location, one or both of them would fall over, claiming they were extremely dizzy and they had to take several moments to rest. The risk of splinching was heightened and James swore he could hear Professor McGonagall screeching in his ear about what they were doing was "beyond reckless." A common phrase she often used whenever dealing with the boys back when they were in Hogwarts.
"Oh, please tell me that there isn't much further to go," Sirius whined, " I'm dying here, James."
Glancing over, James could see that Sirius was still resting on the ground from where he had fallen over earlier from his dizziness. The trip was definitely taking its toll on the two of them and James nearly smacked himself a million times over, wondering why they just didn't take to flying their broomsticks. It seemed during such crucial moments, he always jumped on the first option that came to his mind, rather than thinking it through and considering other options.
But they had already travelled a great deal, they were in Italy finally, the rest of the distance didn't really matter at that point. Pulling out the small map that the two had picked up to pinpoint their designated stops, James rubbed his fingers over his eyes to rub the sleepiness away.
"We're in Turin now," he yawned before sitting down next to Sirius, " which puts us closer to Parma from what we mapped out. It's almost a straight shot from there."
"James, we need to rest," Sirius told him, " we're not going to be of any use if we show up exhausted to a fight. We need to be on our best, especially if we're possibly facing the idea of taking down a cult."
James didn't want to stop and rest, but at the same time, he perfectly understood where Sirius was coming from. They were both disoriented from the choice of travel and it was already nighttime, meaning that even if they arrived in Parma soon, the majority of shops and restaurants were still probably closed. A heavy sigh escaped him as he had to give in to actually stopping for the night as he leaned against Sirius' shoulder.
"You're right, we should stop for now," he said, "I just wish we could have solved it all in one day's time. I feel like the more time that passes, the greater danger Renata and Adelmo are going to be in. I have no idea what Alcina has in store for them."
"This is all my fault," Sirius admitted as he picked up a small rock off the ground and tossed it into the nearest bushes. "I should have told you when we found out she left. I just thought for once that I could handle things without you having to swoop in and save the day. Well, I don't mean it like that, I meant...I don't know. You've done so much over the years, James, always helping everyone out. I just wanted to do the same for you."
With a small smile, James reached his hand up and patted the top of Sirius' head. "There, there, Padfoot, there's no need to be so hard on yourself. I know what you were trying to do and it probably would have worked if we weren't dealing with a woman who is completely evil and mental. Under regular circumstances, I'm sure that Adelmo would have been able to bring Renata home on his own, but it just goes to show you what we're about to go up against."
