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Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 199: Grave News
The mood at the Great Hall was one of excitement. After all the craziness the students had experienced over the school year, it was finally time to return home for the summer and take a deserved long break.
James was minding his own business and eating breakfast while thinking about what he would do after leaving school.
'It feels like it's been a lot longer, but it's been less than a year since I woke up in that hospital bed and started this strange second life.' He still had not found any clues about the reason for this pseudo-reincarnation that he had experienced, or even if there was any special purpose behind it.
Should his only goal be to defeat Voldemort before this one caused all the damage he did during his original timeline, or was there something more?.
James had focused most of his efforts on recreating some of his old alchemic creations, as well as making some new advancements that would aid him in that final goal.
'What will happen once Voldemort is no more?' He had never stopped to consider that.
What was he supposed to do afterward?. He didn't want to just repeat the same life he already had.
His eyes went for a moment to the Slytherin table.
Bella seemed to be having an animated conversation with her two sisters and even seemed to smile a bit.
'She looks… happy.' This was very different from the Bellatrix Black he had met nine months ago, on the train ride to Hogwarts.
'Am I crazy for even thinking about it?...' He wondered for a second if the two of them could have a future together.
The whole engagement had been nothing but a political move to bring the House of Black away from Voldemort's side and into his own.
However, despite knowing this, he could not deny having developed some feelings for that girl. Before realizing it, James had come to truly care for Bella.
He had a new life now, a new chance to make things different from how they were in his previous one.
His life as Harry Potter had been filled with great achievements, but it had also been somewhat lonely at times. His students filled that void to a certain degree, but in the end, it was not the same.
What Ginny had made him lose, he never recovered.
"James, look."
He felt Sirius tapping his shoulder and calling for him.
James followed his friend's eyes to discover what he meant.
There were dozens of owls entering the hall, carrying newspapers in their claws.
This was not an unusual event in itself. Students often received news in such a way.
What he found unusual were the strong reactions that students were having after receiving and taking a single glance at the paper's front page.
"There is something going on," Remus said.
"Is none of you subscribed to the Daily Prophet?" Peter asked, wanting to receive a newspaper right now.
"You know we are not." Sirius frowned. Most of the time, there was nothing noteworthy in that paper, and he considered it a waste of money.
They then saw Charlie Bell, their Quidditch team captain, having a paper delivered in front of him and reacting the same as the rest.
James noted the look of fear in the boy's eyes. "Charlie, what happened?"
Charlie merely turned the paper around and lifted it up a bit so they could all see it.
The students at the table got closer to take a better look, as they all felt extremely curious.
This was quickly followed by a series of exclamations, shouts, screams, and gasps.
James read the headline and felt goosebumps.
"Disaster strikes Diagon Alley. Mysterious masked men attack the London Magical Shopping District."
There was a large picture of the damaged shops and streets. It appeared to have been hit by demolition charms.
"Twelve people missing, and over thirty in the hospital," Remus muttered.
"Masked men?..." Sirius repeated.
"Did someone die?" Peter asked.
James examined the paper a bit closer. "No… There is no mention of any dead. But the aurors stated that the twelve missing individuals were taken away by the…" It was then that he noticed something near the bottom of the article.
It wasn't a picture but a drawing instead. The caption at the bottom indicated that it was a recreation of a symbol that some of the witnesses claimed to have spotted in the sky moments before the attack.
It was one that James had seen before, in his previous life. A skull with a snake coming out of its mouth and wrapping itself around.
'It has begun… the war.' It was earlier than he expected.
'Is this because of my actions? Have I forced the Dark Lord to accelerate his plans?' Since he appeared to be the only variable in this timeline, it was the most likely reason behind this change.
This changed things for him. If Voldemort was going to expedite the war, he would need to resort to more extreme measures to stop him.
"Excuse me for a moment," James said before standing up from his chair.
"Where are you going?" Sirius turned to him.
"Yeah, we are supposed to pack our things after breakfast," Peter reminded him.
"My things are already packed," James responded. "It won't take long, I promise. Just go back to the room and get started."
After saying that, he made his way to the professors' table.
Everyone was too preoccupied with the newspaper to even notice him.
James glanced at the table. Most of the professors were there, but the Headmaster was missing, and he was the one James needed to speak to.
'His office then,' James thought. For a moment, he considered asking McGonagall for the password, but decided against it.
The woman would want to know the reason for his request, and this was not something he wanted to speak of right here in the hall.
So he continued walking and crossed the open gates leading outside the hall before taking a turn towards the stairs.
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