Harry Potter: The Invincible Stag

Disclaimer:

Harry Potter and all its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.

I own nothing but the original characters I create.

"Dialogue"

'Thoughts'

-Author notes-

Chapter 07: A New School Year

"Yes, come in!" Sirius welcomed them with a playful grin.

Alice stepped in and happily sat down next to Frank, and Sirius moved aside to make room for Lily to sit between him and James.

Sirius coughed a few times, catching James's attention.

When James glanced at him, Sirius gave him a playful wink and flicked his eyes toward Lily.

James felt the urge to smack him on the head.

'Is he expecting me to… oh dear…'

Noticing James's silence, Sirius decided to intervene.

"So, Lily… did you have a good summer? James had a very interesting one."

"Right! I heard about what happened from Frank," Alice said, turning to James. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm totally recovered now, thank you for asking," James replied politely.

"You were sick? How serious are we talking?" Lily asked, raising an eyebrow. It seemed no one had told her the full story.

"It was very serious!" Remus chimed in.

"Yeah, James was in a coma for, like, two weeks," Peter added.

"The healer didn't think he was going to make it, but then...bam! A miraculous recovery!" Sirius exclaimed dramatically.

Lily glanced at Alice, seeking confirmation, as she had little trust in their word at this point.

"Well, I wasn't sure if you'd want to know," Alice admitted, "because… you two had a big fight at the end of last year."

"Still…" Lily looked at James with a mix of emotions. "I'm glad you're okay, James."

"Thank you…" James replied awkwardly. He had no idea what they had fought about, but if he had to guess, it probably involved Snape.

Lily nodded and looked down at her bag. She pulled out a small book and began reading.

James wanted to talk to her more but hesitated, afraid of giving her the wrong impression. It seemed their relationship was already tense.

The cabin fell into an awkward silence for a few moments before his friends resumed their usual chatter and jokes.

A few hours later, they arrived at Hogwarts.

As fourth-years, they traveled to the castle by carriage. James realized that he was probably one of the few students who could see the Thestrals pulling them.

The entire journey felt deeply nostalgic, and finally being back at the castle filled him with a flood of emotions.

"James? You've been unusually quiet this whole trip. Are you sure you're okay?" Remus asked, concern evident in his eyes. "You can tell us if something is wrong."

"Yeah, if you're not feeling well, we can take you to the infirmary," Peter added.

Sirius said nothing but watched James closely, clearly, he was also worried.

James knew his behavior was making his friends uneasy, and he felt bad about it. But there was no way he could tell them the truth...not now, and not ever.

Not even to the wise Dumbledore, who had trusted so much in the past. No one would understand his situation. And to be fair, even he didn't fully understand it himself.

'What am I supposed to tell you? That I feel nostalgic because I'm back at the school I attended in the future, in an alternate timeline, as the son of the person I am now?' Even thinking about it, made it sound absurd.

"I'm fine, just a bit of a headache. The healer said it's normal…" he lied, grasping at the first excuse that came to mind, and this seemed to satisfy his friends, for now.

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At the Gryffindor table, they sat in their usual spot and listened to the Headmaster's speech.

James's eyes scanned the teachers' table, recognizing several familiar faces: Hagrid, McGonagall, Flitwick, and Slughorn, albeit much younger than he remembers.

And, of course, Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, who at this point had only been headmaster for a few years.

Dumbledore introduced the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, a woman in her late thirties named Valeria Walker, a retired Auror.

James didn't have to wonder for long why she had retired so young. By the way she walked to the podium, it was clear there was something wrong with her right leg.

"Oh, the new professor's got some great looks!" Sirius whispered.

"She's a bit old for you…" Peter pointed out.

"Bah! Nonsense. The older they are, the more they can teach you," Sirius grinned.

"Right, because you already know so much about that…" Remus said with an amused smirk.

"More than the rest of you! Last year, I kissed a girl," Sirius boasted.

"Where?" Peter asked, leaning in.

"In one of the broom closets," Sirius replied.

"No! I mean where did you kiss her?" Peter exclaimed, a bit louder than he intended, drawing the attention of nearby students.

"On the mouth, of course!" Sirius slammed his hand on the table.

"There's no way that's true," Frank chimed in, laughing.

"I agree. If that were true, you'd have been bragging about it all year—and all summer," Remus added, raising an eyebrow.

"Right, James?" James smiled. "Yeah, that does sound like something he'd do."

"It's true!" Sirius insisted.

"And what was the name of this unfortunate girl?" Lily, who had been sitting a few spots away, asked with a sly smirk.

"Her name?" Sirius hesitated.

"Yes, surely you'd know the name of a girl you were kissing… on the mouth," Alice added, her tone dripping with mockery.

"That's enough about me!" Sirius declared, puffing out his chest.

"I'm respecting her privacy and won't say anything more about it."

"He's such a gentleman," Peter said with a look of admiration.

"You're too naive…" Remus muttered under his breath.

The conversation shifted to other topics as they enjoyed their first dinner of the year.

James remained mostly silent, still unsure how to interact with everyone without sounding out of character. He expended the time reflecting on his new life and this fresh start at Hogwarts.

'What kind of year is this going to be?'

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