The Marauders: Year Six #Wattys2017

Neid, Calc, 273

Neid, Calc, 273

Charlus Potter was up before dawn on 9 September. He stood in the bathroom, staring at the mirror and breathing the most unsteady breaths he'd had since the miraculous healing from the dragon fire. He stared into his own, dark brown eyes.

A boy's life was on the line.

He was the only person that would stand between Jasper Odair and the dementors of Azkaban.

His hands were shaking as he tied his tie.

Dora snuck up behind him and reached around him, her hands threading the silk fabric about neatly. "You brave man," she whispered, her mouth close to his ear as she worked at it.

Charlus's throat burned and when she'd finished knotting the tie, he turned around so he was looking into her cool grey eyes. He reached his palm up to cup her cheek and stared down at her. "What if I fail him?"

"You won't fail him," Dora replied.

Charlus brought his face down to bury it in her hair, his mouth softly placing a kiss on her forehead. He felt tears threatening him. "But what if I do? What if he goes to Azkaban? How will I tell James? How will I ever look in that blasted mirror again, knowing where that boy will go, knowing what it's like there, what he's going through?"

Dora pressed her cheek to his chest.

"I spent less than twelve hours there, Dora... less than a day... and here I am - nearly two decades later - and I can still feel it in my bones."

"Shhh," she whispered.

He clung to her.

"Charlus, you'll do everything you can. You've always done everything you can to save the broken." She pulled back and stared into his eyes. "You've always saved those who couldn't save themselves." She stood on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his chin. "Whatever that idiot Crouch decides, you were there for a boy who needed you. Even if you cannot save him from it, you've been there for him through it, when nobody else was. And that's how you'll face yourself."

Charlus hung his head.

Jasper Odair was sitting on the bench in his cell when the door at the top of the stairs that led into the dungeon opened. He didn't even look up as the footsteps came down the stairs, as the cell door clanged with the keys that hung from the guard's loop. Charlus Potter walked into the cell and over to Jasper and he knelt down in front of the forlorn teenager and put his palm on Jasper's knees, staring up into his blank, unfocused eyes.

"Hey buddy," Charlus said.

Jasper's eyes focused on Charlus and he blinked, staring.

"I wanted to talk to you one more time about what happened before we go for a walk to that courtroom," Charlus explained. "Just you and me." Jasper's eyes followed Charlus as he moved, sliding to sit down on the bench beside Jasper, their shoulders touching. Charlus stared at Jasper a long moment, then said, "You've got to know that this is really serious by now. I know you do. We've talked about how serious it is already."

Jasper nodded.

"Do you have anything - anything at all - that you need to tell me about that night? About what happened? About why?"

Jasper's lips pressed tight together.

Charlus sighed. "Jasper... you could end up serving a life sentence at Azkaban for this. Do you realize that? Because you were over seventeen at the time of the attack, if you admit to this - if you don't fight this - you face life in Azkaban." He stared at the boy.