entrancelogs | Adventures in Door-Opening

Entry tags:

Adventures in Door-Opening | Closed

Who: James (

eatsyourscience)
Where: The Library, third floor, James' door.
When: December 25th
Rating: PG-13
Summary: James goes through his door and Souji comes with him because they need to hang out more, obviously.
The Story:
James is relatively sure the door in front of him is his. It's large and wooden with oversized iron hinges, and it really stands out in the library. But it looks like the kind of door that would hide something very secret at Hogwarts, and that's good enough for him.

He looks around, making sure there are no Mirrors nearby, and pulls out his key - it's also large and iron, and he had been wearing it around his neck all event, underneath his clothes. If the Mirrors want them so badly, then these doors must be holding something interesting. James had to keep his.

Of course, the thought of not opening it crosses his mind. He can almost hear Coach Beiste insisting that it's a bad idea, that it could possibly kill him or something. But James just can't handle that kind of curiosity.

The key fits the lock, and he's just about to turn it when he looks up. There's someone else there.

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That someone else, of course, is Souji. It's a coincidence, mostly, that he happened to approach just as James put his key in the lock, but he holds up a hand in a short wave to let James know he's got no ill intentions.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt."

James eases considerably when he sees that it's Souji. He laughs a bit and waves back.

"No, no - it's fine, so long as you're you!"

But James is kidding - he has no doubts about which Souji this is. He gestures him over closer.

"Have you heard what's behind these doors yet?" he asks. "I've been cooped up on the Mirror side of things, so I sort of missed a lot."

"I was over there for awhile, too. But I saw a little of what might be in there."

James thinks on this.

"Hm...on a scale of one to ten, how dangerous do you think it'll actually be?"

"Pretty low. It just shows you scenes, but you're not part of them. That's what I saw anyway."

"Well, that doesn't sound so bad!"

He turns the key all the way, and pulls the heavy door open. Then, he stares into it for a moment before turning back to Souji.

"Want to come with me?"

James isn't scared. James Potter doesn't get scared. But, some company would be nice, and it's not very friend-like to just ditch Souji in the library while he goes on an adventure.

Souji's surprised by the invitation, but he steps closer.

"If you're sure, I don't mind."

"I'm definitely sure," he says. "Why adventure alone when you can adventure with someone else? Besides, it sounds like you didn't get to have a good look yourself, right?"

He takes a step through, but he holds the door open behind him for Souji.

"Come on, it'll be fun!"

Souji smiles just a little and follows behind James.

"We'll see."

He has no idea what to expect, but he's bracing himself mentally.

Once they're inside, they're in the front hall of a small house, but it's one James doesn't recognize. It's a bit cramped, and there's a pram pushed up against the wall taking up too much space, as well as some stairs. It's night, but despite being a fairly modern-looking house, it's lit by unusually bright candle light.

"Well...I suppose it's not dangerous so far?" he says.

There's some soft laughter coming from the sitting room to their right - the unmistakable giggles of a baby, along with some odd popping noises that can't quite be defined by sound alone.

Souji glances around. It's cramped, but he's used to that. His uncle's house wasn't exactly spacious. The baby's laughter catches his ear right away and he looks in the direction of the sound.

"We can go further in."

James nods and hurries over to the doorway, but stops just inside the room. The sight before him has him halted in his tracks.

He was staring at himself.

If the James Potter in front of him was older, then it wasn't by very much - he still looked very young, though a little tired. He was standing in the sitting room, grinning as he whispered some spells that made colorful clouds of smoke burst out of his wand with a pop!

And the baby was sitting up on the floor, laughing with each new cloud, and trying to catch them in his hands. His hair was messy and black, and he couldn't have been older than one or so.

Both of them looked terribly happy in that moment though, and neither of them seemed to be able to see Souji or James standing there.

Souji steps up and watches over James's shoulder in silence for a moment.

"...You and your son?" In the future, obviously. The figment James may still be young, but he is clearly older or at least more worn than the James Souji knows.

James snaps out of it a bit, looking at Souji.

"Yep. That's us. I've heard his name's Harry. Harry Potter..."

It's clear the figments can't see them, and that they can't affect anyone there, so James rushes over to his future son. It's astonishing how much of himself he can see in this baby - himself, and his father, and his mother, and Lily too. His eyes are just like hers, just like the books have said. James reaches out to touch Harry, but his hand passes right through. He laughs anyway though.

"It's like we're twins! Look at that."

Edited 2012-12-29 05:13 (UTC)

Souji remains in the doorway.

"Yeah. Look what you did."

James beams at that, clearly proud of this accomplishment. He's going to have a baby! Any lingering thought that those books might not be at least somewhat accurate is gone.

Without much warning (since doesn't really need any warning when it's her house, a red-headed young woman walks into the room, right through Souji as if he isn't there, over to her husband. James just gasps.

"And that's Lily!" He takes his hand away from his mouth and instead points. It's not rude if they can't see him, right? "That's Lily! I've been telling people we'll get married someday, but no one ever listens to me! I wish I could take a picture.... Merlin, she's beautiful!"

Having someone walk through him is disconcerting, but Souji shakes it off.

"Yeah...she is." He smiles a little. "It sounds like she might have taken some convincing if no one believed you."

He pouts in Souji's direction, but eventually concedes and nods.

"She didn't like me at all when we were younger. Something about me being an 'arrogant toerag' or something," he says. "But I was always madly in love...even if I was a bit of a prat back then."

Just a little bit. The figment James and Lily have been talking, and that James suddenly scoops up Harry and gives him to his mother. Something about it probably being time for bed. Figment James gives Lily a quick peck on the cheek, and she smiles, before carrying Harry out of the room and presumably off to bed. The figment James doesn't follow though - he lazily tosses his wand on the couch before sitting on it himself and yawning loudly, with an exaggerated stretch.

Outside, the gate creaks.

"How long ago was 'back then'?"

The sound from the gate catches his attention and he turns his head in that direction even as the last words are leaving his mouth.

James doesn't have a chance to answer - he heard that gate creak too, and his heart nearly stopped.

"I think I know when we are," he whispers.

The figment James isn't having such an epiphany. He looks very comfortable there, probably waiting for Lily. But that moment doesn't last.

Fears are confirmed when, back out in that front hall, the front door is blasted open with a bang! It shakes the whole house.

Edited 2012-12-31 00:32 (UTC)

Souji doesn't jump, and he has to resist the urge to summon a Persona, though he isn't fast enough to keep the card from appearing in his hand. He knows it wouldn't do any good to summon. He can't keep this from happening. It's just an illusion.

With his free hand, he grabs for James's shoulder. "We don't have to watch this."

"I know," James says. "...But, there's one thing I want to see."

He doesn't move away from Souji. The figment James, at the sound of the blast, jumped up off the couch immediately and ran to the front hall.

Without his wand.

Without

his

wand.

James just stares at it on the couch, and it feels like time stops all together. He can't stop himself.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

But figment James doesn't hear him. He just shouts for Lily to take Harry and go. Go, he'll hold him off. He'll hold him off without his wand; how could he do something so completely stupid?

James shuts his eyes tight. He knows immediately what's going to happen, but he really can't watch anymore. Besides, the door they came through was in that front hall, and...no. The Killing Curse is spoken, and there's a flash of green light that James can see even with his eyes closed.

And then, there is the thud of a body hitting the floor.

Souji doesn't close his eyes. His eyelids don't even twitch. He doesn't see what was so obvious to James until James yells at his older self and he sees that the older James's hands are empty.

His grip on James's shoulder tightens. The green flash casts strange, distorted shadows.

James doesn't open his eyes until he hears his murderer go up the stairs, to where Lily must have run with Harry. But James can't watch that. He can't even listen to it. He looks over at Souji.

"Alright. I think that's about enough of that, don't you?"

He smiles as much as he can (which isn't much at the moment) and gives Souji a light, friendly clap on the back before heading back the way they came. He spares only one look at the body on the ground - just enough to satisfy his curiosity without burning the image into his nightmares. To his future credit, he fell straight-backed and proud. He looks like he was unafraid in that last moment.

He does not dwell on it. He refuses. James steps over his corpse, and out the door leading back to Wonderland.

Souji follows James, but he lingers for a moment, listening to the noise upstairs, before stepping back through the doorway.

Once Souji passes through the door, it vanishes like it was never there at all, and they are back in the library.

"...Sorry." It's a hard word for James to say. "I'd, err. I'd heard something like that was going to happen to me, but I wanted to know how. ...And I guess I have my answer now."

Souji realizes he's still clutching a card in one hand. He releases it; opening his hand, he lets it disappear.

"I don't know what to say."

James only just now notices there was a card in Souji's hand at all, and gives him a bit of an odd look when it disappears.

"There's not a lot to say, really," he says. But he elaborates anyway. "I found out here that...I'm supposedly going to die in about four years. So is Lily. And that little boy, Harry...he's going to go live with her rotten relatives. They're going to make him live in the cupboard under their stairs!"

It's not an exaggeration - the thought just distresses James that much.

"And...I keep thinking that there must be something I can do differently when I go home. Something that will change things. ...I'd have to remember this place when I leave though, and I don't know if that's even possible. But, that's why I wanted to see it."

Souji nods. "...I made a promise to remember when I get home. So I could change something."

So he can relate, just a little.

James grins. "You get it then! Good."

He's light-hearted about it, but it's actually a huge relief. Pretty much everyone who knows about this has been warning him that it's a bad idea, and that he probably won't remember it. That he's needlessly making himself miserable. But Souji needs to remember something too, so James feels sort of validated.

"Well, good luck," he says. And he means it. "I hope you remember whatever it is when you get home."

He could ask, but he doesn't. If Souji wants to tell him, then he will. But all James really needs to know is that it's important, because it's a promise that can only be kept by breaking the rules. And James has made promises like that before, for very good friends.

"You too." Souji smiles a bit. "I believe in you."

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Adventures in Door-Opening | Closed

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