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-- Hullo, Harry. Um. So? [ wow, be more awkward, Evans. ] James just arrived on the ship. [ ...... is she going to say more? no. because that's the news, that's what she has to tell him. well, warn him about. not that she'll tell Harry it's a 'warning'. okay, maybe she will. eventually. Harry, darling, your father is a loon and we need to approach this delicately doesn't seem like the right thing to say, so she'll wait. ]
Oh.
[There's a pause. He sounds a bit quiet as if it's a great effort to try and think through what he's going to say before he says it.]
I guess that makes sense. Getting everyone here, I suppose.
[There's a pause. He sounds a bit quiet as if it's a great effort to try and think through what he's going to say before he says it.]
I guess that makes sense. Getting everyone here, I suppose.
Right, yes. There's some logic to it, I'm sure. I'm honestly surprised the wonky Space Powers That Be took this long to bring James along with Sirius and Remus in the first place. [ but that's probably not the cause of that short pause between his first answer and the second bit, and Lily chews her lip for a second, trying to figure out how to approach this as well ] A part of me wants to introduce you two right away, you have to believe that. It honestly feels really wrong to try and think of any other way to handle this. But. It's a bit complicated? Mostly in that- it's a little intimidating. All of this. But only because I'm just not ..at the point in my life where being with James like that is a.. thing. I suppose. [ she huffs, a tiny little puff, entirely at herself ] I'm so sorry, this must sound mad to you. I wish I could just explain all of this to you, but I'm not sure that's a great idea. [ yeah, Lily has no idea Harry's seen any of Snape's memories, so she's just worried about, er, crushing how he might have imagined his parents were like. ]
And it might not be a thing. I've been doing a lot of thinking about time and how this all works and it's not really anything I'm good at, but we've changed things by being here.
[There's a shuffling noise as if he's getting up to walk while talking. He needs to move to really, properly think. Harry's sure that this is an important conversation and he doesn't want to mess it up.]
You can and should do whatever you like -- whatever makes you happiest -- and even though I don't know you, I have confidence that you're bright and brilliant and good-hearted and, most importantly, not bound by someone else's nonsense concept of what 'fate' must be.
And, if that miserable bastard fate is real, then you're smart enough and strong enough to say 'to hell with it' and make it bend to what you know is right.
[There's a shuffling noise as if he's getting up to walk while talking. He needs to move to really, properly think. Harry's sure that this is an important conversation and he doesn't want to mess it up.]
You can and should do whatever you like -- whatever makes you happiest -- and even though I don't know you, I have confidence that you're bright and brilliant and good-hearted and, most importantly, not bound by someone else's nonsense concept of what 'fate' must be.
And, if that miserable bastard fate is real, then you're smart enough and strong enough to say 'to hell with it' and make it bend to what you know is right.
Oh, um. Thank you, really. [ o-oh, aw, Harry Potter. she doesn't really know him either, but the more she talks to him, the more she likes him. oddly, he even sounds like James in some ways, but she's not letting herself think about that just yet ]
I just don't want you to think that I'm unhappy with what you've told me of the future in regards to, er, our family. Because it's not that, it's not. I am more than happy with the idea of "fate" leading me to this point of getting to meet you and talk to you, and that you're- you know, here, alive in the literal sense. There's actually some insane part of me that wants to introduce you to every single person I know, if they were here. It's just a little tricky with James.
I just don't want you to think that I'm unhappy with what you've told me of the future in regards to, er, our family. Because it's not that, it's not. I am more than happy with the idea of "fate" leading me to this point of getting to meet you and talk to you, and that you're- you know, here, alive in the literal sense. There's actually some insane part of me that wants to introduce you to every single person I know, if they were here. It's just a little tricky with James.
You've the right to be happy, unhappy, uncomfortable, or anything else.
[Along with free will as a nebulous, possibly divine concept, Harry has some pretty strong opinions about paternalism.]
You're, umm, you're welcome to introduce me to anyone you'd like, but I'd like to just chat a bit more first. Find out what you like to do or, I don't really know, whatever it is that people know about each other?
[Along with free will as a nebulous, possibly divine concept, Harry has some pretty strong opinions about paternalism.]
You're, umm, you're welcome to introduce me to anyone you'd like, but I'd like to just chat a bit more first. Find out what you like to do or, I don't really know, whatever it is that people know about each other?
Not at all.
Is there anything you'd like to know?
Is there anything you'd like to know?
[He's slow to type and needs the connection of voice to get his point across.]
You actually want to know?
[Harry sounds shocked. As if he didn't really expect it.]
Of course, I'll tell you anything. Everything. And there's no guarantee that it'll end the way it did for me. Do you see now? Why I'm so hung up on the chance that you can go back and maybe chance whether...whether you've eggs or muffins for breakfast.
I went to Hogwarts, but I didn't finish.
You actually want to know?
[Harry sounds shocked. As if he didn't really expect it.]
Of course, I'll tell you anything. Everything. And there's no guarantee that it'll end the way it did for me. Do you see now? Why I'm so hung up on the chance that you can go back and maybe chance whether...whether you've eggs or muffins for breakfast.
I went to Hogwarts, but I didn't finish.
Edited 2013-04-15 00:21 (UTC)
Honestly? [ his voice probably sounds a little ragged, exhausted even. ] No. But I feel like I'm the only one on this ruddy ship who doesn't know. So let's hear it.
[ James is quiet for a minute, before he actually laughs. ]
I just gotta find out which one's the original and pick the other, yeah?
[ He's sure, given time, he'll be a lot more hung up on the idea of changing it all. On heading back home and and fixing whatever it is he did wrong. On stopping Peter-
But for now, he's just curious. He was angry and he was hurt and he was terrified but now he's just tired. Tired and curious. ]
Tell me you weren't in Slytherin. For the love of - please just tell me you weren't in Slytherin.
[ James is quiet for a minute, before he actually laughs. ]
I just gotta find out which one's the original and pick the other, yeah?
[ He's sure, given time, he'll be a lot more hung up on the idea of changing it all. On heading back home and and fixing whatever it is he did wrong. On stopping Peter-
But for now, he's just curious. He was angry and he was hurt and he was terrified but now he's just tired. Tired and curious. ]
Tell me you weren't in Slytherin. For the love of - please just tell me you weren't in Slytherin.
Like I told the others, I can give you information to tell Dumbledore and Moody. If you're lucky, it might end the war quickly. I...
[His voice cracks and trails off for a moment. He hasn't told anyone this, but he just doesn't care about school houses. Harry worries at a bit of skin beside a fingernail while he remembers Hermione telling him (over and over) that the Houses were meant to provide ways for all children to excel and feel included, but that doesn't really happen.
Gryffindors are good, obviously, Ravenclaw too smart, Hufflepuff not as swift, and Slytherin born bad. But, are fully a quarter of all wizards just innately bad people? Harry isn't sure, but he has doubts. ]
I was given the choice of Slytherin or Gryffindor and without really knowing what that meant, I choose Gryffindor.
[His voice cracks and trails off for a moment. He hasn't told anyone this, but he just doesn't care about school houses. Harry worries at a bit of skin beside a fingernail while he remembers Hermione telling him (over and over) that the Houses were meant to provide ways for all children to excel and feel included, but that doesn't really happen.
Gryffindors are good, obviously, Ravenclaw too smart, Hufflepuff not as swift, and Slytherin born bad. But, are fully a quarter of all wizards just innately bad people? Harry isn't sure, but he has doubts. ]
I was given the choice of Slytherin or Gryffindor and without really knowing what that meant, I choose Gryffindor.
Whatever you wanna share, mate. I'm just curious as to what the world is like for you.
[ He notices the voice cracking, suddenly wonders if he's overstepping some kind of boundary. He just met this kid - but he's not really a kid, he's older than James - the day before. ]
Hey, if this is too much- [ we can do it another time? you don't have to do it at all? Neither option sounds good to James, so he starts over. ] Would this be easier in person?
[ but then it's quiet, and James waits. It's silly, to think he's so worried about what house Harry was in. This is his son, in some strange future that hasn't happened to him yet, and rather than ask him how his life was, who raised him, what happened in the war...he just wants to know his house. Know if he's a slytherin, like snape and the other blacks, or if he's something else. something better - because when you're seventeen and were just told you're going to die, it's easier to concentrate on stupid house competitions.
James can't help but grin a little on the other end of the line - maybe out of pride. Pride for his house? Maybe, but some part of him doubts it. ]
Good choice.
[ He notices the voice cracking, suddenly wonders if he's overstepping some kind of boundary. He just met this kid - but he's not really a kid, he's older than James - the day before. ]
Hey, if this is too much- [ we can do it another time? you don't have to do it at all? Neither option sounds good to James, so he starts over. ] Would this be easier in person?
[ but then it's quiet, and James waits. It's silly, to think he's so worried about what house Harry was in. This is his son, in some strange future that hasn't happened to him yet, and rather than ask him how his life was, who raised him, what happened in the war...he just wants to know his house. Know if he's a slytherin, like snape and the other blacks, or if he's something else. something better - because when you're seventeen and were just told you're going to die, it's easier to concentrate on stupid house competitions.
James can't help but grin a little on the other end of the line - maybe out of pride. Pride for his house? Maybe, but some part of him doubts it. ]
Good choice.
I don't actually talk about me very much. Ever.
[There's a pause as Harry gets up to move around while he speaks.]
If you want impersonal, who to fight, who to trust - that I can do in person - but, for the rest, the phone might be better.
[Even with the false sense of distance that the phone brings, it might be telling that he's far more comfortable offering up a battle briefing than discussing school days. There's a sense of obligation here, that he owes personal information to a man that might one day be his father -- no, strike that, that might be the father of some other Harry Potter.]
School was fine. I was always very busy and didn't do too well, but I've a couple friends and, and I really wish you could meet them. I think you'd like them a lot. Hermione is brilliant. She's so smart and remembers everything she's ever read and won't let you forget that she's read it. And Ron, he's my other good friend, he's solidly good and smart in a whole different way. He knows who everyone is and which Quidditch team they cheer for.
[It's unintentional, but Harry lets the conversation slip away from himself and over to other people.]
[There's a pause as Harry gets up to move around while he speaks.]
If you want impersonal, who to fight, who to trust - that I can do in person - but, for the rest, the phone might be better.
[Even with the false sense of distance that the phone brings, it might be telling that he's far more comfortable offering up a battle briefing than discussing school days. There's a sense of obligation here, that he owes personal information to a man that might one day be his father -- no, strike that, that might be the father of some other Harry Potter.]
School was fine. I was always very busy and didn't do too well, but I've a couple friends and, and I really wish you could meet them. I think you'd like them a lot. Hermione is brilliant. She's so smart and remembers everything she's ever read and won't let you forget that she's read it. And Ron, he's my other good friend, he's solidly good and smart in a whole different way. He knows who everyone is and which Quidditch team they cheer for.
[It's unintentional, but Harry lets the conversation slip away from himself and over to other people.]
No?
[ Seems a little odd. James is about to ask him about it when Harry continues, mentions warfare and then personal and James can't shake how strange it is. He's speaking to what's going to one day be his son and he's asking if he wants to know battle plans. ]
Like I said, whatever you prefer.
[ But talking about school - about friends and that he has, Quidditch and magic - makes James feels more comfortable. Makes it feel less like a briefing and more like they could just be friends. ]
Honestly, even if you weren't busy doing well's not all that it's cracked up to be. [ Thinking back to all the things they had to do to get Remus to have a life and not study. Really, not all that important. ] Yeah? That's brilliant - crazy how girls always end up with those kinds of smarts, isn't it? She sounds just like Lily. [ your mother. Merlin, is this ever going to get easier? ] He sounds like a good bloke to know, though. Probably even a better friend. Did he play Quidditch?
[ Seems a little odd. James is about to ask him about it when Harry continues, mentions warfare and then personal and James can't shake how strange it is. He's speaking to what's going to one day be his son and he's asking if he wants to know battle plans. ]
Like I said, whatever you prefer.
[ But talking about school - about friends and that he has, Quidditch and magic - makes James feels more comfortable. Makes it feel less like a briefing and more like they could just be friends. ]
Honestly, even if you weren't busy doing well's not all that it's cracked up to be. [ Thinking back to all the things they had to do to get Remus to have a life and not study. Really, not all that important. ] Yeah? That's brilliant - crazy how girls always end up with those kinds of smarts, isn't it? She sounds just like Lily. [ your mother. Merlin, is this ever going to get easier? ] He sounds like a good bloke to know, though. Probably even a better friend. Did he play Quidditch?
He does! And he's Keeper. I played a bit, too, Seeker, but it's been a while since I've done anything but the occasional pick-up game.
[That he's pleased and relaxed shines through in his voice. Talking about sports is harmless and he can do it easily.]
I wish you could see the broom I had. They've really done some great things with the charms in the last couple of years.
[That he's pleased and relaxed shines through in his voice. Talking about sports is harmless and he can do it easily.]
I wish you could see the broom I had. They've really done some great things with the charms in the last couple of years.
Ah, yes. Keeping's bloody difficult - I could never just sit in the hoops like that, you know? But oh, seeking. I always wished I could do that but I never had the patience. Or the attention span - snitches are fantastic but I couldn't find one in the middle of a match. Not when they're left to fly off everywhere like that.
[ Quidditch is easy, quidditch is one of James favorite things to talk about. So if he's feelings just as pleased and relaxed and it happens to come through just as much on the feed, well. Good for them. ]
What broom did you have? I just about convinced my mum to let me get the new Nimbus 1001 - she was a little wary what with the testing stages being what they were. But it's the newest broom since the 1000 and it would do wonders for the team.
[ Quidditch is easy, quidditch is one of James favorite things to talk about. So if he's feelings just as pleased and relaxed and it happens to come through just as much on the feed, well. Good for them. ]
What broom did you have? I just about convinced my mum to let me get the new Nimbus 1001 - she was a little wary what with the testing stages being what they were. But it's the newest broom since the 1000 and it would do wonders for the team.
I've had two, a Nimbus 2000 and a Firebolt, but they're both in bits. When I came here, I'd heard that they were just starting the new post-Firebolt series, Phaetons, and that they were something wild.
[More than anything else in the wizarding world, Harry loves to fly. At times, he's thought about it and the mere fact that he was able to do so always lifts his spirits and has provided more than one patronus.]
May I ask you something?
[More than anything else in the wizarding world, Harry loves to fly. At times, he's thought about it and the mere fact that he was able to do so always lifts his spirits and has provided more than one patronus.]
May I ask you something?
Nimbus 2000? Blimey that's - I can't even imagine that. Could you think of the games? The entire sport would change! [ and that's just excitement, through and through. He loves this game, okay. ] I'm going to assume the Firebolt's something else entirely.
You mean there's something you don't already know? [ That's supposed to be a joke, but even James' laugh falls a little flat. Oh well. ] 'course. What'd you want to know?
You mean there's something you don't already know? [ That's supposed to be a joke, but even James' laugh falls a little flat. Oh well. ] 'course. What'd you want to know?
Several things; it may surprise you to learn.
[James might not pick up on it, but that was a perfectly delightful impression of Hermione and he should be impressed.]
I always wanted to learn how to be an animagus and I know that you know, so maybe, if you're interested, you could show me a bit sometime?
[James might not pick up on it, but that was a perfectly delightful impression of Hermione and he should be impressed.]
I always wanted to learn how to be an animagus and I know that you know, so maybe, if you're interested, you could show me a bit sometime?
[ he might not know Hermione personally, but he can recognize it as an impression and laughs a little for himself, before pausing to think. ]
It's not easy, you know. Took Sirius and I nearly three years to master it. Of course we were doing it in secret since it's not technically allowed... [ James shrugs, not that Harry can see it. ] But I don't see why not.
It's not easy, you know. Took Sirius and I nearly three years to master it. Of course we were doing it in secret since it's not technically allowed... [ James shrugs, not that Harry can see it. ] But I don't see why not.
Brilliant. I've always wanted to give it a go. I'm not great with books, but I'm a quick study if I can get my hands on something and actually, I guess, work through it by doing?
[Harry wonders if it's true that an animagus can only ever learn to shift into the form of their patronus and, if that's so, will he always have the same patronus he did as a child? That might be a touch awkward to explain.]
[Harry wonders if it's true that an animagus can only ever learn to shift into the form of their patronus and, if that's so, will he always have the same patronus he did as a child? That might be a touch awkward to explain.]
If it had to do with books, we never would have got it. No, hands-on is much more helpful if you pick up things like that. Might be interesting to see what you end up as, though. Animagi always interested me that way - how good were you at Transfiguration? Better yet, does McGonagall still teach that class?
[ So yes, Harry spoilers but your dad had a favorite teacher and a favorite subject and everything. Turns out he really does love playing with magic, just would rather it had less to do with reading most times. ]
Have you conjured a patronus before?
[ So yes, Harry spoilers but your dad had a favorite teacher and a favorite subject and everything. Turns out he really does love playing with magic, just would rather it had less to do with reading most times. ]
Have you conjured a patronus before?
She does and I did solidly well-enough in her class, but she said that was more to do with a lack of studying and 'applying' myself than anything else.
[Which isn't entirely wrong, but to be fair, Harry did have other things to worry about beyond his O.W.L.S. and N.E.W.T.S.
He's about to say something and James might notice a noise of surprise. Of course he can do a patronus; with the threat of Dementors having been so pervasive, it's pretty much bog standard for any student to learn as soon as they can.]
Yes, I got it a few years ago.
[Which isn't entirely wrong, but to be fair, Harry did have other things to worry about beyond his O.W.L.S. and N.E.W.T.S.
He's about to say something and James might notice a noise of surprise. Of course he can do a patronus; with the threat of Dementors having been so pervasive, it's pretty much bog standard for any student to learn as soon as they can.]
Yes, I got it a few years ago.
Course you did! She's a brilliant witch. Talented and beautiful beyond her years.
[ Someone has a favorite professor, but don't tell Dumbledore.
If he notices the noise of surprise, he doesn't say anything about it. When James was in school, the threat was much less physical than Dementors on your doorstep. ]
That'll make it easier, for sure. Just knowing what to work toward. They say it's got more to do with your 'inner spirit', but I needed something a little more concrete when I was working on mine.
[ Someone has a favorite professor, but don't tell Dumbledore.
If he notices the noise of surprise, he doesn't say anything about it. When James was in school, the threat was much less physical than Dementors on your doorstep. ]
That'll make it easier, for sure. Just knowing what to work toward. They say it's got more to do with your 'inner spirit', but I needed something a little more concrete when I was working on mine.
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