James Potter and the Half Blood Hallway

One

James Suirus Potter sat in his room upstairs over looking a small peice of parchment he had recived from Professor Jackson. He hadn't told his parents yet, of coarse. He did not think much of it until a few nights ago when the owl flew in....But still James did not know the meaning of the words on the parchment and he wasn't sure they meant anything, rather just terrifing words. He thought it best not to inform his dad, the head of the Aurors, until he knew for curtian that it was a threat.

James was pasing in his room, trying to deturmen the meaning. Perhaps he could ask his cousin Rose Weasley? She had been there when Professor Jackson delivered it to him, along with his brother Albus...
He shook his head and read it once more over.

A hero's mark on the stone,
And the ashes turn to bone,
You shall see the halls
But only you may see the falls.
Others may ask
A leak, you shall fail the task.

A sudden knock on the door caused James to jump ten feet in the air and hurridly hide the parchment behind his back, then brought it back out when he realised it was only Albus and Rose, who were gigling with laughter. James scowled at them.
"Don't scare me like that!" said James. Rose giggled and then sat on the bed.
"Sorry," she said. "Have you figured out the poem yet?" James looked down at the parchment. A poem? He hadn't thought of it like that. He shook his head.
"And you still haven't told Mum and Dad?" asked Al. Again, James shook his head.

"I'm not sure they'll want to be bothered by this," said James. "Besides, it's probably nothing."
"Well, it's got you all worked up," said Al. James just rolled his eyes, though he knew that he was right.
"Well, " said Rose in her thinking voice. "Let's start with the first line of the poem. What does it say again?"
"A hero's mark on the stone," read James. "But that could mean anything." Rose paced the room.
"Alright," she said. "Well, obviously, there's some kind of hero....Perhaps, he is famous for something? Your dad's the biggest hero I know!"
"Yeah!" agreed Albus. "I bet it's him!" James frowned at the parchment.
"I don't think so," said James.

"What does the next line say then?" said Rose, clearly miffed.
"And ashes turn to bone," said James.
"What does that mean?" asked Al. Rose thought for a moment.
"Hmm...If it's about your dad then, it could just be refering to all those who died in the war nineteen years ago."
"But then this next line," protested James, as he did not think it was about his father. "It says You shall see the halls. What's the halls? And how does that have to do with anything about my dad?"
"I don't know!" said Rose. "I'm just saying what it could be, James!"
"But only you may see the falls," read Al over James's shoulder. " Others may ask / a leak, you shall fail."

The boys looked to Rose in curiosity. Rose frowned, thinking hard.
"Falls could actually mean a water fall. Maybe you have to see them? That might be the task it mentions in the last line there, but it could also be an alliteration, meaning the falls takes place of....deaths. It could mean the one's who were lost in battle nineteen years ago..."
"But everyone already knows about that," said James. "Why would they want to ask?"  Rose shook her head mystified.
"I don't know," she admitted. "Life at home maybe?" James didn't think so. Al shrugged, indicating it made sense, which it did, but James didn't agree.  

"Well, whatever the task is I think I'm going to fail it anyway," said James. "It says in the last line. 'A leak, you shall fail.'"
"Not necessarily, James, it could just mean that, should you tell any one about the task, you will fail," said Rose knowingly.
"That makes sense," said Albus. Then, he spoke what was on everyone's mind.
"Why would Professor Jackson give that to James?" said Al.

There was a long pause in which none of them seemed to be breathing. Why had Professor Jackson given it to James? Why not Albus or Rose? Rose was clearly intelligent and on top of things. But why, of all people he could've given it to, did he pick James? He would have to question him of this once he got back to Hogwarts.

"We could go with you if you'd like," suggested Rose, as if reading his thoughts. " To ask him." James nodded. The thought of his cousin and brother being with him took of a lot of pressure that he hadn't realised was there until it was gone. James sighed with relief...until his dad said,
"Ask who what?" said Mr. Potter.
"Oh, we were going to go with James to ask Professor Jackson about some homework he assigned," said Rose, not entirely lying, though James that his father could see that it wasn't entirely truthful either. Instead of saying anything, however, and much to James's relief, Mr. Potter merely nodded.

"Alright," said Mr. Potter. " Well, you kids have fun with that then. Dinner's nearly finished, and we're leaving for the station first thing Tuesday morning, so have your bags packed."
"Okay, Dad," said Al. "We'll be down in a minute." Mr. Potter smiled and again nodded, before going back down stairs.

"That was close," muttered James.
"Really close," agreed Rose. "But honestly, James, your going to have to tell him sometime, otherwise he and my parents will figure it out on their own!"
"I know, I know," said James hurriedly. "But not yet, alright? I've got to figure what it means first. I want to talk to Professor Jackson before we tell them."
"We should head down there," said Al.
"Right," agreed Rose. With that, the three of them head down for dinner, laughed, played wizarding chess, told both wizarding and muggle stories of the holidays. The curled up by the fire in the fireplace of the den. They opened presents and when things were finally calmed down enough they all went up stairs to bed.

But the children didn't see their parents as they watched them sleep, as they crept back into the den to talk about their worries.
"Remember what Malfoy said about Jackson?" said Harry.
"Yeah," said Ron. "But that's just Malfoy. Probably just a rumor."
"I don't think so," said Harry. "I overheard Albus, James, and Rose wanting to go see him about something. They said it was an assignment, but I could tell it wasn't all entirely the truth." Hermione frowned.
"What could they be wanting to ask him about?" she wondered. Then, her eyes widened, as if she had put it together. "You think it has to do with what Malfoy said don't you? Oh, Harry..."

Ginny screwed up her face, as if thinking really hard. "Do you think it could be about that letter we got from that Poseidon block?" At this thunder rolled in the sky.
"I don't know..." said Harry, frowning at the strange weather.
"Let's try to sort this all out in the morning, shall we?" said Hermione. "We might be able to think straighter. It's been a long day. We all need rest." Everyone decided that they could agree to that. It had, in fact, been a long and tiring day. Reluctantly, they all climbed up the stairs again and headed for bed.