Potter Castle | 21st June 1977 | 9:00 PM
Wails echoed through out the Potter castle. James Potter stood outside a room with a tensed expression. A lot was going on in his mind. Beside him, his best friend, Sirius Black, tried to comfort him.
"Nothing's going to happen Prongs. You know Lily, she's a strong woman. You know that she can-"
He was interrupted by a loud wail from inside the room. James looked at Sirius, effectively making him shut up. He stood up and started pacing. He started to think up names for his child. He desperately needed to distract his mind from the fact that his wife was in a lot of pain.
At this point, a Phoenix Patronus entered the room and gave James a message.
James, after hearing the message, suddenly paled and then slumped on the bench he was previously sitting on. Sirius was worried and asked James, "What happened?"
"Dad, he died."
James started sobbing and Sirius gave an arm to him and started consoling him. James' mother had already passed away after she caught a sever case of dragon pox, but his father had persisted on. Sirius' eyes were about to tear up, but he understood that he needed to be strong for his friend.
"He was a great man. He probably died an honorable death. No one less than Voldemort could kill him. Think about it, he's with Dorea now."
James' eyes suddenly blazed with anger. He got up and shouted, "I will go after that bastard! How dare he kill my father!"
Sirius smacked James' face and said, "And what? Leave your family? Is that what your father would have wanted? For you to go and get killed by Voldemort, all the while leaving your wife widowed, and son fatherless?"
At that moment, a light wail was heard. And then, a wailing sound woke James from his anger. He darted into the room his wife was in, just in time to see his first child in the arms of his mother, slowly calming down. He looked at his child and saw his father's blue eyes in him. The baby had dark blonde hair, borderline brown, and there was a hint of green in his eyes too, but it was barely visible. The baby was already clean, so he thought the midwife cleaned him with a simple spell.
"You can leave now. I gave you permission to apparate out," James spoke to the midwife. After the midwife apparated away, he looked at his child and then at his wife.
"Can I name him?"
Lily weakly nodded. James saw this but continued to stare at his son, capturing every detail, from the mole on his neck to the patch of unnatural strands of light blonde hair sticking out from his son's other wise dark blonde hair.
"Charlus," he suddenly said. "Charlus Potter, heir to the Potter family. Let the legacy of my father continue through you."
Saying this, he leant forward, took the baby from the weak hands of his wife and kissed his son's feet softly, as if he was requesting, no, pleading him to adhere to his request. He then turned towards his wife and lightly kissed her forehead. "Sleep, you are very tired right now. You should take some rest."
Lily hesitantly closed her eyes, and quickly drifted off to deep sleep. James went outside with his son and proudly presented his son to Sirius. The rest of the marauders came into the corridor then.
"James, we rushed when we heard that Lily went into labor. I trust nothing went wrong," Remus said. He then looked at Charlus in James' hand and said, "He's beautiful Prongs. And those eyes, they remind me of your father. Charlus will be proud and happy. What's his name? Have you decided yet?"
"He's dead. Dad is dead. I named him Charlus after dad."
After those words, James gave the baby to Sirius and slumped into the nearest chair. Remus and Sirius quickly tried to console James, but Peter simply watched on. There was a cold glint in his eyes as he looked at Charlus. It was as if he was contemplating whether to kill the child or not.
The night slowly crept into the castle. James stood up and said, "Sorry, I'm just not in my right mind. Dip! Ready the rooms for my friends to say." A house elf suddenly popped in and said, "They are already ready master. Should Dip lead masters Sirius, Remus, and Peter to their rooms?"
"Yes."
James took the baby from Sirius and then left the corridor to his father's room. Dip lead the rest of the marauders to their rooms. James entered a study and then took a look at a huge portrait covered with a dark blue cloth on the wall opposite to the entrance. He swept away the cloth and took a look a look at the portrait. It was a magical portrait of his parents, the only one they had ever had taken. It was from when they were 40. He was 7 years old at the time, if his memory served him right. He cried that day because they didn't take a portrait of him.
The 7-year old version of him did not know what it meant, getting a magical portrait. It was an acceptance of death. He sighed and went forward. He took out his wand, 11 inches, Mahogany with a Dragon Heartstring. He tapped the portrait 4 times and uttered, "Expergisci." As if a clock just started turning, a low rumbling sound came from the portrait. After a few seconds, the couple in the portrait came to life.
Charlus said, "So I have died. It was just a matter of time, but I'm curious, how did I die James. And more importantly, how are you coping. If I am to believe this influx of new memories, you should be expecting!"
"You were stabbed in the back by a Beatrix Lestrange. One of Sirius' cousins who joined Voldemort. And my wife just gave birth. It was a boy, Charlus. I named him after you. Why did you go dad, why did you join the war when you knew the risks?"
"Ahh. A boy. What wonderful news. I hope you bring him up like we did you, with care and affection."
"Answer me dad, why?"
"Ohh! A boy! That's wonderful news! But did Lily have a say? You should take her opinion too darling, she's your wife." James heard his mother's voice for the first time in 4 years, but he didn't let it distract him. His eyes were still focused on Charlus.
"Since you don't plan on telling me, I will take my leave father," James turned around and was about to leave.
"Everyone makes choices. The most important choice is choosing who you want to soend the rest of your life with," Charlus started slowly. James turned around and looked at his father. "I had Dorea. You have Lily. When Dorea died, she took part of my heart with her. I couldn't bear to be away from her. I couldn't abandon you though, so I continued on as a shell. But when I heard that you were married, I went to the frontlines again. Now, you have a family. You have a child. You made me proud boy. So I decided to await death with dignity, knowing that my child was reasy for life. It saddens me that I could never see my grandson, but a man cannot get everything in the world."
What Charlus didn't see till then was that James hands were crossed to his chest the whole time and there was a blanket on his hands. Charlus Jr. who was in James hands the whole time slowly stirred from his nap. James held his child with one hand and took out the jacket covering him with the other, showcasing him proudly to his parents.