downfall // marauders era

t w o

James Potter was sitting in the Gryffindor common room playing a game of exploding snaps with Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew as Remus Lupin sat beside them reading.

"Oi, that one almost burned our eyebrows off!" Sirius yelped. James was just about to respond when a flustered yet happy looking Professor McGonagall walked in. Every student who was in the common room on that Friday afternoon immediately stopped talking and looked at one another, wondering why their head of house was walking in with such a strange expression. In fact, it was rare for her to come there at all.

The Marauders exchanged glances as she began to approach them. They all prepared themselves for the detention they were probably about to receive before she reached them and looked right at James.

"I swear, Professor, whatever you think I did this time I actually didn't do-"

"Mr. Potter, you're not in trouble. If you would follow me to the headmaster's office for a moment, we can discuss why I'm here. There's someone I think you'd like to meet, but keep in mind, this will be quite a shock."

James furrowed his eyebrows, exchanging confused glances with his friends before hurrying off behind the professor. As they walked through the hallways, James struggled to keep up with her. James could only wonder who was waiting in Dumbledore's office that made them be in such a rush. He couldn't for the life of him figure out who would be in there.

After what seemed like a year to James, but was really only about 5 minutes, the pair reached Dumbledore's office. McGonagall gave the password, which happened to be Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, and they all walked up the winding staircase into Dumbledore's office.

McGonagall paused in the doorway before moving aside, and while James wasn't sure what he expected to see, he knew that he definitely wasn't expecting to be looking at his mother and father crying over a random girl. The mysterious girl had waist-length jet black hair that was messy yet still looked good, just like his. Her eyes were the same hazel shade as his. They both had the same high cheekbones, the same style of glasses that suited their similar face shapes, and the only difference James could find between them at the moment was that she was shorter and a girl, obviously. The fact that she looked so much like him didn't settle right with him, especially since he had no clue who she was.

Upon hearing his arrival, Fleamont and Euphemia Potter both stepped back from the girl who looked majorly dazed and confused. Euphemia looked back and forth between the girl and James and began crying harder while Fleamont rubbed her back comfortingly. She walked away from her loving husband and reached up, taking her son's face in her hands while whispering, "Oh, please don't hate us, my love. We only kept this from you so we wouldn't hurt you. We should have told you, we just never thought we'd get her back. Oh, I'm so sorry, dear."

James backed away from his mother, focusing all of his attention towards the girl. She seemed so familiar yet so unfamiliar all at the same time. James finally plucked up enough of his Gryffindor courage to speak, "What the bloody hell is going on? Who is she?"

"Do not speak with that language, James Potter!" Mrs. Potter scolded her son before slapping her hand over her mouth as she realized him saying that was the least of her problems right now.

"If you'd tell me what's happening I wouldn't need to!" James retorted.

Mrs. Potter sighed, glancing back at her husband and the girl. She took a deep breath before taking James' hand and leading him over to the chair, "Why don't you sit down?" She turned around and asked the girl, who still has not been named, to do the same. The girl sighed before walking over and taking the seat next to James.