James Potter and the Half Blood Hallway

Twenty - Seven

As the days wore on things began to seem normal again. Scorpius, James, and Albus still visited the Half - Blood Hallway, of coarse, though the focused more on their school work now, as Neville had instructed them to. Route appeared to have lost intrest in them... for now. Months went by and everything seemed to be at ease. James played Quidditch Games, Rose and Al cheering him on. Scorpius and Albus spent the weekends roaming the halls, discussing things, muggle and wizard worlds alike. On the week days Rose had repetedly scolded James for not having a 'serious' adittude about his homework.
"Calm it, Rose," he told her one night. "My middle name is Sirius!" She rolled her eyes at this, while Al just snickered and turned back to his own potions homework.

However, on the week before final exams, James began to get "the feeling" again, the feeling that someone was watching him. He had woken up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat. The moonlight was shinning through the window, but dispite that the place still seemed pitch black. James looked around wildly. He hadn't felt the presence in a long time. The knowledge of it still lounging around was all the more creepy. James shuttered. There was a thud on the floor. James jumped, falling out of bed himself, nocking the bedside lamp over in the proccess, causing it to crash to the floor. His dormmates flipped on their lamps.
"What the ruddy hell?" shouted Route.
"What're you doin' on the floor?" asked Micheal Thomas, tiredly.
"I - er - heard something," said James.
"What?" asked Route.
"Nothing!" Then, under his breath he mumbled. "I hope." Micheal just shrugged and went back to sleep. Route, however stared at James.
"What?" said James. "Do I have something on my face?" Route shook his head and went back to sleep. Lucky Micheal and Route.... James did not sleep for the rest of that night.

        To make matters worse James was relucdent to tell anyone of this, especially Al and Scorpius. He didn't want to scare them any more then they possibly already were.
"James?" said Al, shaking his brother''s shoulder. "James!" James's head snapped up.
"Twenty - Four! Er- what?" Al gave him a funny look. They were in the library again, discussing Rocky, as Tyson had called him. James had found it so quiet and peaceful, that he went to sleep without meaning to.
"Sorry," said James.
"Didn't you sleep last night?" Scorpius asked.
"Yes! Alright fine, no."
"Why not?" asked Al.
"Just...You know..." James was struggling to come up with a good lie. Luckily, he was saved by Scorpius, who had changed the topic back to Rock Man.
"Doesn't matter," he said. "What do you think Rocky has to do with anything?"
"Dunno," said James. "But Tyson seems to think it's important."
"I don't know how we're going to figure this out before the end of the year...We're running out of time!" said Al.
"Let's talk to Jackson tonight," suggested James. "He might know something."

So, on that night, that's what they did. Scorpius met the Potter Brothers outside the Gryffindor painting of the Fat Lady and together they walked to Jackson's office. James was releeved to have this two has companions, as now the feeling only seemed to come around when James was completly alone. They talked to Jackson, though he seemed to be just as clueless. When he sent them back, however, he had asked James to stay behind so that they could talk in private. Now, they sat alone in his office, just the two of them, for the first time, James realised. All the other times there had been someone - Neville, Al and Scorpius, Al and Rose - but now, it was just the two of them.

"You know you're going to have to be the leader, right?" Jackson asked after awhile, seemingly struggling for words. James nodded.
"Because I'm the oldest." Jackson hesitated.
"Or the strongest," he said finally. That seemed to surprised James.
"Maybe it was just a coincidence that you were the oldest," continued Jackson. "But I think you'd make a great leader."
"That's a first," muttered James. Jackson half grinned at him. Finally, he just had to ask.
"Is something bothering you?" James stared at him for a long time, trying to decide weather or not he should tell the truth. After all, this was Jackson....But what if he told Al and Scorpius?
"James," said Jackson, interupting his thoughts. "If something's wrong just tell me. I'll help you figure it out."
"There's this, I dunno, voice thing," James started before he could stop himself. "It started when I was in the Hospital Wing that one time, but then it stopped, so I thought it must have just been all in my head, but now its back again! Please don't tell Albus and Scorpius! I don't want them to worry about anymore than they have to." Jackson looked worried, though somehow managed to flash the young wizard a reassuring grin.
"Okay, James. I won't tell them. Just...let me know if you hear it again. What does it sound like?"
"Well, it's not really words....It is, but I can never really understand them. It sounds far away...Like from somewhere deep in a cave or something. It's more just like a feeling that someone's watching me really." Percy nodded. He had that feeling a few times before.
"Okay," he said. "Try to ignore it." James nodded and stood up to leave.
"I'll let you know if I find anything out," said Percy as he reached the door.
"Alright," said James so quietly he wasn't sure if the older boy had heard him.

Something strange happened on his way back to the common room. James had ducked into an empty classroom to aviod being caught by Filch and Mrs. Noris, when the voice/feeling came about again. He froze to his spot by the door, trying to make something of it. He strained his ears, trying to make out the words. That's when he realised the reasoning behind his not being able to understand it - it was in another language. Persumably, Ancient Greek or Latin, as those seemed to be the relitive language revolving around everything. James just stood there, listening, dispite the fact that he had no idea what the voice was saying. Perhaps he thought that if he stood there long enough it would eventually make sense. No such luck, though he did have a strange sense that whatever the voice was talking about had something to do with the Half - Blood Hallway.

As the words grew louder, more intense, James spotted something on the floor - a sort of golden dust. It seemed to be leading somewhere, so James followed the trail. Probably not the smartest thing he's ever done. The trail lead to the back of the room, where James found cabinet made of pure white glass. Looking around, he realized this wasn't a classroom at all. It was a large circular room. The floor was made of freshly put down brick, the walls a shiny marble. That seemed a bit backwards. James always thought it should be the other way around.

"Hello, James," said a cold voice from somewhere in the shadows of the room. James jumped.
"Wh - who's there?" James asked in a shaky voice. The owner of the voice chuckled.
"You'll know me in due time, wizard. Now, tell me, how far are you to discovering the secrets of the Sphere?"
"I - er - I can't tell you that."
"I see..." A dark cloked figure appeared directly in the middle of the room. James backed away, bumping into the cabinet.
"No need to fear me, James," said the figure calmly. "At least not yet." The figure radiated darkness and power. It was obviously a male, his body was more muscular, his voice deeper than what a girls should be. His cloke loomed there in the darkness, seemingly calling all the shadows to him. Whoever he was, he didn't seem to take up any actual space at all, as if he were just there, like a void, sucking everything in. James could just see the lower part of his face underneeth the hood of his cloke. The figure smiled creuly at him.
"There's a prophecy about you," he told him.
"I heard," mumbled James.
"Join me, it will make things much easier for the both of us."
"I don't even know who you are!"
"Fair point," said the figure. "But not the right time. Soon."
"How can I join you if I don't know who you are?" demanded James.
"You do not know much about my world do you? Do you really think you can trust that son of Poseidon? He has caused more distruction to the world then the gods themselves! They'll only betray you, make you their puppets just as they have done to their own children! Do not become a puppet James Potter!"
"Don't worry," said James. "I won't. Sputefy!" The hooded man flew back into the shadows and James ran for the door. He honestly, didn't expect that to work. He had only ever seen the spell done by his father, and more recently Neville Longbottom. He had thought the spell was for more advancted wizards.
James ran and didn't stop running until he reached his dorm room, the door closed and locked behind him.