The Alternate | A Harry Potter Original Fanfiction by Ameliapondicus

Chapter 4

"That was crazy." James flopped backwards onto their bed. His rectangular glasses were sitting crooked on his face.

Lily fell onto her stomach beside him. "I agree."

He turned his face toward her; she truly was beautiful. Her green eyes were hidden underneath pale eyelids framed by dark red eyelashes. Freckles dotted her thin nose and large cheekbones. James drew constellations with his eyes, pushing her dark red hair behind her ear when it fell across her face.

Lily let out a deep sigh and relaxed underneath his gentle touch. Her eyes opened slowly and they stared at each other. James lost all track of time when he looked into her eyes. "We should sleep," he muttered.

Lily shifted and tucked herself into James' side, her head resting on his sturdy chest. "Probably," she agreed. "Harry needs school supplies soon, and I was thinking we could head into London. I need to get to Diagon Alley-" She was cut off by James' lips. He was kissing her softly, his eyes closed and breathing quiet. "Stop talking." He told her. "I'm trying to sleep."

Lily giggled. "I can't sleep now." She sat up beside James, who grumbled and sat up beside her. She swung her leg over his and sat in his lap. "You've woken me up."

"Well, now that I'm awake..." James grinned and kissed her jaw. Laughing softly, she put her hands on James' shoulders and pushed him down to the pillow.

******

"Mum!" Harry cried out. "Dad!"

James sat up quickly in the night and blindly reached for his glasses. Lily was still sleeping beside him, her smooth shoulders pale in the bright moonlight. Letting her rest, he pulled on a pair of pyjamas and went to grab Harry.

"Hey, buddy." He sat down on Harry's bed, his hand rubbing Harry's wild hair. "What happened?"

"You were gone." He sobbed, clutching to his father's arm. "I was left behind."

"Oh, Harry. That would never happen." He pulled Harry into his arms and carried him over to the rocking chair. "Too many people love you."

"Someone was after me. He had a scary face, and red eyes."

James became quiet, still rubbing circles into Harry's head. "He will never find you." He said.

"Promise?"

"I promise."

Harry sniffled, and put his head against James' chest. They sat together, Harry slowly falling asleep, and James following him.

******

Lily woke with a start. James' side of the bed was cold, and his slippers were missing. "James?" She called, just in case he was in the toilet. There was no response. Shivering slightly, she pulled on James' Gryffindor sweater and loose sweatpants with wool socks.

Quietly, Lily opened the door to Harry's room. James and Harry were sitting in the rocking chair, Harry sitting in James' lap with his head against James' bare chest. The dark haired boys were fast asleep, James snoring softly. Smiling to herself, Lily closed the door on them.

The kitchen was somewhat cleaned up from Harry's birthday party last night. Choosing to ignore the dishes, she made her way to the coffee maker and started the process of making the caffeinated liquid gold.

"Where's James?" The front door slammed shut and Sirius appeared in the kitchen. His face was covered in scratches and his hair was matted. "I need to talk to him now."

Lily set down her coffee quickly and shushed Sirius. "Harry and James are sleeping," she said. "Keep it down." She poured him a cup of coffee. "What happened?"

He gulped down the bitter liquid and grabbed a muffin off the plate on the counter. "It's about Peter."

Lily's eyes got wide and she sat down on the stool. "Did you find something out?"

"Boy, that smells good." James yawned through his words as he stumbled into the kitchen. "Hey, Padfoot." He stretched out a kink in his back. "Geez, I'm too young for back pain."

"You're a Quidditch player, its an occupational hazard." Lily summoned another cup and poured coffee into it.

"True," James took a sip and made a face, Lily pushing the sugar into his hands. "Thanks, Evans."

"Potter."

"Right."

"Prongs," Sirius interrupted. "I found something out about Peter."

James woke up quickly after that. "Peter?" He said. "You're still convinced Peter betrayed us?"

Sirius didn't move. "I saw him."

A pin could've dropped. "What do you mean, you saw him?"

Sirius hit the counter. "I SAW HIM!" He yelled, miraculously not waking Harry. "He was skulking around Borgin and Burkes in Knockturn Alley."

"Where's Remus?" James demanded. "Does he know?"

Sirius shook his head. "He didn't come back to the flat after last night. I forgot it was a full moon and wasn't there with him."

"He was alone? During full moon?" Lily cried. "Did he take his Wolfsbane potion?"

"That, I know that he did take." Sirius poured himself another cup of coffee and took a large sip. "A bottle was missing when I came back this morning. He should be back soon."

James ran his fingers through his hair. "I need to go to Knockturn Alley," he said. "I'll take a team from the Order with me."

"I was planning on taking Harry up to London anyway," Lily said. "He needs some stuff for school."

"Is it still safe?" He asked. "We know that Peter's still alive."

"James, we can't just keep him in the house forever." Lily argued. "He's down the street. I'll set up wards on the school."

Sirius nodded. "He'll be okay, Prongs."

"Fine," James threw his hands up. "Go get changed. We leave in ten minutes."