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Something Wrong


James lay face-down on the floor of the cell. His skin felt like it had been severely sunburned, all raw and sore. He hadn’t moved from where Voldemort had left him hours before, like a toy abandoned by a child at play.

He was dreaming… dreaming of Lily Evans. He could see her red hair in the sun, shining… her bottle green eyes. In his dream, she was sitting beside him - they were in the common room at Hogwarts… she was reading a book. It was the book Sirius had brought to the hospital over summer. A Wrinkle in Time, and Lily was reading the part when Charles Wallace invites Mrs. Whatsit inside and Meg makes her a sandwich. James leaned over and moved her hair behind her ear, and he could smell Lily Evans and ---

Suddenly, he was nudged, his chin moved by the toe of a foot and he opened his eyes to see “Voldemort’s feet and robes shuffled by slowly… James’s eyes moved, but the rest of his body was far too tired to move.

Time for another round, he supposed.

“Nobody knows you’re gone, Potter,” Voldemort whispered. “I could do to you whatever I please.”

James voice was muffled by the stone, “Do it then.”

“Call for Mopsus. Call for him to save you, Potter.”

“I don’t know how,” James murmured.

“Crucio!”

And as the curse struck him, he cried out the name of the only face he wanted to see…

“EVAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANS!!!!”




“JAMES?” Lily had awakened that morning to the sound of James Potter screaming her name in a dream.

She clutched her pillow, her heart beating so hard it felt like it might crack open her rib cage and walk right out of her chest.




Jasper Odair handed a peppermint stick ice cream to a little girl and smiled as her mother threw several sickles and a couple knuts onto the counter. “Happy Christmas love,” he said, and he wiped his hands on the white apron he had tied about his waist and slid the coins off the counter and into the till beneath the counter with a flick of his wand. The door jangled open, and Jasper looked over, “Hullo! Welcome to Fortescue’s!” he called, wiping the counter before he looked up. “We have a load of delicious new seasonal flavours, only available for the hoildays!”

“Just waiting for someone, thanks,” said a voice.

Jasper looked up. He knew the voice, but not the tone, and it threw him off a moment so that he stared at the face. “Potter?” he asked, and when James looked at him, his grin widened, “James Potter! Happy bloody Christmas to you!” he ran over and pulled James into a hug.

“What are you doing?!” James exclaimed, “I thought - wait I thought you went to Azkaban? How did you - why are you here?”

Jasper pulled back, looking at James in surprise, “Your - your dad. He helped me.” His eyebrows pinched together and he looked James over with confusion.

James’s face paled. “Oh. Right. Yeah, I remember now…”

“Are you alright?” Jasper asked. “You don’t look like yourself.”

Severus Snape wondered if he’d somehow missed the hour. But he had not.

“Of course I look like me,” James said, “Messy hair and thick glasses…”

Jasper half laughed, “Yeah, I s’pose… So… so who are you meeting? Anyone special?”

“Lily Evans.”

Jasper stared at him for a moment, his hands falling away from James’s shoulders. “Lily Evans? She’s… Lily’s coming here?” He blinked back his surprise.

A smile suddenly crawled onto James’s mouth. “Yes… Lily Evans is coming here to meet me, Jasper. Do you have a problem with that?”

Jasper’s eyes diverted from James’s face. The thought of seeing Lily Evans again both comforted and pained him. She’d been the only one who had tried to write him while he was held in the Ministry cells. He still loved her so much, even though she’d left him over the summer. He’d spent many nights crying over losing her -- well, that is, until he had other things to cry himself to sleep over. If she was going to be with anyone, James Potter was certainly a good one to have chosen… and honestly, more than anything, Jasper just wanted her to be happy. But blimey, it was going to be hard to see her… to see her moved on… His throat ached with the idea of it.

The smile on James’s face deepened.

It wasn’t a kind smile, though.

It was a cruel sort of smile.

Jasper tilted his head in question and the smile faltered as he realized that smile was familiar to him… where had he seen it before? … and the bells over the door jangled again and they both looked up to see Lily Evans in the doorway.

She stared, her jaw dropped, at the two boys facing one another before the counter.

She didn’t know which name to say first.

So she said the one that seemed the most shocking.

“Jasper.”

“Hi Lily.”

Lily stepped up to him, her eyes wide, happy tears collecting in them, “You’re here. You’re free. You’re not in Azkaban any longer. Oh my stars.” She wrapped her arms around him, pulling him tight to her. “You don’t know how happy this makes me to see you!”

Jasper felt awkward as Lily hugged him and his eyes met James’s over her shoulder and the look in James Potter’s eyes were dark and angry and Jasper felt as though there were threats in them, vows of vengeance and he pulled back from Lily’s hug and said, bright as he could after such a glare, “Yeah it’s… it’s good to see you as well… and… and you two… together?”

Lily flushed.

“Yes.” James grabbed her hand.

Lily looked surprised. She looked down at how his hand had closed around hers. “James,” she complained, tugging her hand away. Or trying to. He had a good grip on her. “Let me go,” she commanded.

He hesitated. Then, after a beat or two, he finally released her and she rubbed her hand because of how tightly he’d held it, and she stared at him, feeling… odd.

There was something wrong.

Jasper could see it, too, it was written on her face.

“Do you want some ice cream, Li - Evans?” asked James.

Lily looked up at him, her eyes searching his face a moment, then, “Yeah… yes, of course, that’s… why we’re here. And to talk.”

“Very well.” James looked up at the menu. “Two cups of Raspberry please.”

“Actually, I rather liked that popcorn thing you did last time we were here,” she said, flushing. “Remember?”

James hesitated, “Right… yeah, of course. Of course I do.”

Jasper had gone back ‘round the counter and he stared at James expectantly.

“Buttered popcorn flavor,” James said, staring up at the menu, hoping that’s what she meant.

“With caramel…” Lily pressed. “You said it was your favorite.”

“It is. Two of those please,” James said, and he fished in his pockets for the coins.

Lily looked at Jasper.

“It’s on the house, mate,” Jasper said, waving away James’s money. “I’ll bring them to your table in a second,” and he turned, waving his wand to get the scoops started.

Lily laughed as she led the way to the table where they’d sat last time. “At least you won’t ruin my blouse this time.”

James half laughed.

She paused, biting her lip. She’d expected that to be funnier to him than it seemed to have been. She asked, “James? Are you alright?”

“Yes. I’m fine.” He paused, then, “What did you want to talk to me about?”

Lily hesitated. Then she reached across the table and took hold of James’s hand in her own. “James, we’ve known each other a long time…”

Internally, Severus Snape felt himself recoil. No. She can’t like him. She can’t. She has to hate him. She can’t like James Potter. Please, anyone but James Potter. I’d rather you like this idiot ice cream attendant than James Potter. Please not James Potter.

“...and we’ve been through quite a lot together,” she was continuing.

Severus wanted to throw up.

And then his arm burned. The warning for the hour.

He need to take the Polyjuice.

“And there’s a lot of bad things that have happened and --”

“Hold that thought, Lil,” he said, wrenching his arm away from her. “I’ve got to go to the loo.”

Lily looked surprised. “What?”

“The loo.” James stood up just as Jasper was coming over. “Where’s the loo?” he asked, and an air of panic was in his voice.

Jasper nodded in the direction, “Right over there, through those doors…”

James ran off.

Jasper put the cups down on the table. “Is he okay?”

“I don’t know.”

“He’s acting… odd.”

“You noticed it too?” Lily asked, looking up.

“Anyone could notice it,” Jasper replied. He turned to stare after James and he said, “I’m going to go check on him.”

“Please,” Lily nodded.

Jasper hurried across the brightly coloured shop and pushed open the men’s loo door and stepped inside. “James, are you alright? We’re both pretty concerned --” he stopped mid-sentence, just a few steps in the room, the door just closing behind him…

Severus Snape stood before him wearing James Potter’s clothes and Jasper realized - in a sudden flash of memory of glances from the Slytherin table, where he had seen that cruel smile before.

“You! You’re… you’re not James. You’re -- no wonder -- Lily needs to know.” Jasper backed up, turning for the door.

Severus hissed, “Colloportus!”

The door clicked locked.

Jasper reached into his apron pocket for his wand, but he was too late.

“Obliviate!”