9Summary: Bloodshed, tears and sleepless nights... they're all a part of life for normal people. But how much should a 17 year old boy have to suffer in one year? James Potter is just about to experience the most chaotic year of his life, but will he look back on it as his finest hour or an unforgettable tragedy? Please read and review.
Disclaimer: As much as I'd love to say I do, I don't own Harry Potter. All characters, except those who haven't been mentioned in the books, belong to JKR. Rated T, just in case. Slightly dark (and uneventful) at the moment, but it'll get lighter and lengthier as it progresses. Review and I'll give you a muffin.
Drip. Drip. Drip. Crimson blood trickled slowly down the right hand of a solitary figure. The outline of James Potter was barely visible as the dust began to lift from the wreckage of what was his former family home. His left hand clutched his wand, so very tightly that his knuckles had long ago turned white. The right hand clutched a hopelessly shattered, moving family photograph. Although the glass was digging into his palm, the raven-haired boy seemed too numb to his surroundings to even feel it. After scanning through the ruins for a few seconds, James had already concluded what had happened, but the horror continued to rise in his stomach as he slowly raised his eyes to greet the malevolent, glittering emerald symbol overhead...
James woke with a jolt, breathing heavily as the cold sweat began running down his sweat-beaded forehead. Frowning slightly, he sat up slowly, trying to slow his breathing. It was just a dream, James. It isn't happening to you again. You can't lose someone twice… Despite this thought, this was exactly what had happened. After losing his parents barely a week into the school holidays, he had relived the horrific scene he had come home to find almost every night in his nightmares.
He glanced out the window, allowing his hazel eyes to linger on the waning crescent moon and the star studded background that was the night, if only for a second. A soft sigh escaping his pale pink lips, he tore his eyes from the velvet sky and looked to his bedside table. Rubbing his eyes, he placed his glasses on and squinted to make out the time on the clock face. It was early in the morning, too early to be getting up, but James knew that all chances of sleep were non-existent anyway. Sighing heavily, he took off his glasses and replaced them on the table, lying backward and resting his head on the pillow once again. From the other side of the room, he could hear the gentle snoring of his best friend Sirius. An odd thought crossed his mind. This time tomorrow he would be back home, at Hogwarts castle for his 7th and final year. Whether he would return to stay with his friend during the holidays again… well, only time could tell.