Afterlife

Realisation

"James." Lily whispered softly. James looked up.

"Voldemort got in. Peter betrayed us."

James clenched his fists and geniuses his teeth.

"Why? Why would he do that, he promised, he promised! Bloody hell, why? Why would he? He was a Marauder, we treated him as one of us, and he goes and stabs me in the back, barely even metaphorically. Why?"

"We should'be stuck with Sirius."

"Oh god, Sirius. Sirius is going to....Sirius could look after Harry, he could! What did we write to happen? Surely we wrote a...."

"James, we didn't. We didn't write a will. Our parents left one, we were to busy with the house and Harry, we didn't have time to update it, to change it to Sirius. James, it rightfully goes to your sibling, any children you have....James, you don't have a sibling."

"No....no!"

It had sunken in.

"They're going to take him to Privet Drive, James."

"We should've stuck with Sirius."

"Why does everything go so wrong? We're dead, our friend is a traitor, Snape loves you, Harry's left an orphan, with Petunia and Vernon as family, and their awful son Dudley. We left him alone in the world, and for God's sake, Vernon will try to stop Harry going to Hogwarts, we all know it."

"There's no way we can change it, though. We ant do anything, anything at all. We just have to sit here, and hope things fall into place."