Harry Potter and the Legend of the Twelve

All I've Wanted

By the lake, under a familiar tree, five members of the New Marauders sat as the late afternoon sun slowly dipped towards the horizon. All were working on homework, spread out in a circle in the shade of the tree. It was mild for November, and all were trying to enjoy the last spell of good weather they would likely have for a while.

All had been to visit Albus many times in the ten days since the incident in the Gryffindor Common Room. Now into the eleventh day, even as they worked on their lessons, it was impossible to push Albus from their thoughts.

A few yards away stood another member of the New Marauders. Though no one said it, if the group were to have officially selected a leader, he would have been their unanimous choice. James was a natural leader, whether it was on the pitch, or with the New Marauders, people just followed him.

James stood looking out at the lake, occasionally picking up a stone and skimming it across the water. He stood silently watching the ripples the rocks made as they broke the calm surface of the lake. He had no more homework that day. Unlike he had done so often in the past, when classes had ended he had completed his homework as soon as possible, so he could do what he had done most every day for the last ten days, skim rocks across the lake, and watch the ripples.

James had refused to speak about Albus to anyone. He said nothing when they went to visit him. James just sat silently and watched Albus sleep. Since his brief breakdown when Sirius returned from his trip, James hadn't shed a single tear.

Under the tree, his friends slowly completed their homework. Danny and Jason were working on Transfiguration, while Rose was making duplicate copies of her notes from History of Magic so Albus and Carly would have them when he woke up. Lily and Hugo were finishing the mathematics homework Hermione had left them before going to visit her parents.

One by one, books were closed, and parchment was rolled up. Inkbottles and quills were put away, and the five just sat there in silence, all wanting and all needing to talk about what was on their minds, but none of them willing to bring it up. It was as if to speak about it would make it real, and that was too hard to face.

As they sat silently, they heard footsteps approaching and looked up to see Neville, Ron, and Sirius coming towards them. The three men dropped down on the ground among the group. Lily got up and sat in her godfather's lap.

"So, how goes the homework?" asked Ron. "All done?" He was met with slow nods from all around, and really wasn't sure what to say next.

"How's Quidditch practice?" asked Neville. "I know you have a big game this weekend with Hufflepuff."

"Been pretty good," said Jason with a shrug. "Victoire, Danny, and Rose make quite a team at Chaser, and Fred and I are doing very well. James is the best Keeper in school."

"And it means nothing," said James from where he stood a little bit away. His voice was cold, and had an edge to it that none of them had ever heard from James before. Anger dripped from every word. "Without a Seeker, we may as well forfeit and be done with it."

"I know," said Ron, knowing full well that the lack of a Seeker was not why James was so upset. "I'm sure you can find a replacement for this match."

"Albus Potter is the Seeker for the Gryffindor House Quidditch team, end of," snarled James, his eyes flashing with anger. James threw the stone he was holding to the ground, and walked away down the bank.

"I'll go talk to him," Sirius offered. He transformed into Padfoot and immediately took off after James.

"You guys know Al is going to be all right, don't you?" asked Ron softly. He was trying to put on a reassuring smile, but it didn't quite reach his eyes.