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The Phoenix Rises	By : greenwizard11 Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male Views: 44621 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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The rest of the holiday passed by fairly quietly.� Arthur was released from the hospital after a
few days when they finally found an antidote to whatever was keeping his wounds
open.� Harry was still seen as a hero
even though he didn�t feel much like one.

James decided to sit Harry down one evening after dinner to
teach him a few Occlumency basics.�
�Okay, out in the real world you won�t have time to prepare yourself,
but for now, close your eyes and take a deep breath.� Now empty your mind of everything.�

He watched as Harry tried to follow instruction, but it
wasn�t easy.� Harry had way too many
things on his mind.� Eventually he did
manage to clear his mind of almost everything.�
James waited until Harry looked like he was as ready as he was going to
get before gently prodding his mind.� He
knew Severus wouldn�t be nearly as patient or gentle.

�Try to push me out,� James instructed as he flipped through
some of Harry�s most recent memories.�
The two he found most interesting were Harry�s kiss with Cho, and the
very fuzzy memory of Draco declaring his feelings for Harry.

Harry saw what James was seeing, and he nearly fell off his
chair when the memory involving Draco came up.�
�Oh gods�� Harry groaned.

James sat back, not sure what to think about either
memory.� Had that kiss been Harry�s
first?� And if so, why hadn�t Harry said
something to him?� Wasn�t a boy�s first
kiss something he shared with his father?�
James never had, but Dumbledore had never really been there for him.

He couldn�t really blame Harry though.� The boy had grown up without him.� Even though James was hurt, he did what he
always did in such situations; blamed Dumbledore.

�Want to talk about it?� James asked, hoping Harry would at
least confide in him about the memory involving Draco.�

Harry was quiet for a moment.� �Not really much to talk about.� I knew he was upset about something when we
left.�

�So you didn�t remember until now?�

Harry shook his head.�
�No, I didn�t remember anything.�
I�m such an idiot��

James chuckled softly and patted Harry on the shoulder.� �No, you�re not.� You were very drunk.� I probably shouldn�t have let you drink that
stuff, but I drank when I was your age.�
I was always determined to never be a hypocrite.�

Harry gave him a small smile.� �Dad, I know you wanted to practice with me,
but I need to go and do some thinking.�

James returned the smile and nodded.� He suddenly felt like a real failure, but he
shoved his feelings back down below the surface as he watched Harry walk away.

James saw Ron moping around and thought maybe he could help
at least one teenage boy.� �Ron, could
you come here for a moment?� he asked the redhead.� Ron followed James into the room and when
James shut the door Ron looked up at him questioningly.

James sat down and motioned for Ron to seat himself in the
other chair.� �A little birdie tells me
you�re very good at quidditch, but you choke when you let others get to you.�

Ron bowed his head and was quiet for a moment.� �Who was the little birdie?� he asked.

�Does it matter?� James asked as he shifted a little in his
seat.

�I guess not,� Ron mumbled.�
�But I really am no good.� I
should�ve never tried out for the team.�

James let out a deep sigh.�
�Don�t say that.� Look, I might
not have had trouble with quidditch, but I do know what it�s like to be
taunted.�

Ron looked up with a surprised expression.� James chuckled softly.� �I know, when Sirius and Remus talk about me
they like to paint a perfect picture, but believe me, that wasn�t the case.� The Slytherins gave me a nickname.� I was the Hogwarts Whore.�

Ron lightly blushed at the name.� �Why�d they give you that name?� he asked,
not sure he wanted to know.

James shrugged.�
�There were a lot of rumors.� Some
of them were true, most of them weren�t.�

�What does this have to do with me?� Ron asked
confused.� �The whole school witnessed
how much I stink.�

James shook his head.�
�The whole school saw you choke because you were being taunted.� You let them get to you.�

�They were all singing�.� Ron whimpered.

�So�� I guess since
lots of people called me a whore I really am one then.�

�No!� Ron protested.�
�I�m just saying�� How can I
ignore it when it�s so loud?�

�By knowing that it isn�t true,� James answered.� �Easier said than done I know.� I couldn�t do it.�

Ron raised an eyebrow.�
�Then why are you telling me to do it?�

James was quiet for a moment.� �Because I don�t want to see you fall down
the slippery slope.� Once you start
believing the bad things people say about you there�s no going back.� Remus and Sirius paint a perfect picture
because I was very good at suppressing my feelings.� I met the world with a cocky attitude, so no
one had any idea anything was wrong.�
Well, almost no one.�

�Who knew?� Ron asked curiously.

�Lily,� James answered.�
�It�s kind of funny actually.� She
started off detesting me but��

�But what?�

James stared out the dingy window and smiled softly at the
memory.� �She caught me in a weak
moment.� Actually, she was trying to
catch me out of bed, but she ended up surprising me.� But as I was saying, I still have
issues.� Ron, you are a good quidditch
player.� That comes from Harry and your
brothers.� And since Harry won�t be
playing for a while your team needs you to play at your best.�

�For a while?� Ron raised an eyebrow.� �But Harry was banned for life.�

James grinned wickedly.�
�Oh, I don�t expect that to last long, but I�ve said too much
already.� Just take my advice and ignore
the Slytherins.� I really wish I�d
ignored my Divination teacher.�

James gave Ron a pat on the back and went to find
Lucius.� His knees were shaking from
dragging up a lot of painful memories, but hopefully it had helped Ron.� Maybe one day he�d be able to help Harry.

Ron wondered what had happened with the Divination teacher,
but he knew he shouldn�t pry.� James had
already divulged quite a bit of personal information in an effort to help
him.�

�James, what�s wrong?� Lucius asked when he saw James walk
into the kitchen.

�Nothing�� James mumbled as he crossed his arms and leaned
his back against the wall.

�Don�t lie to me,� Lucius sighed as he moved to pull James
into a hug.� Ron, who had followed James
into the kitchen, was the only one to notice James� body stiffen slightly as he
was touched.� It made the red head even
more curious, but he remained quiet.�

�Could you stay tonight?� James asked Lucius just barely
above a whisper.

�Of course,� Lucius answered, hugging James tighter.�

Harry continued to study Occlumency with his father, but it
seemed like he was getting worse instead of better. �He couldn�t seem to get Draco out of his
mind.� James noticed the blonde boy
seemed to always be on Harry�s mind, but he didn�t know what to say.� Love was something Harry was going to have to
figure out on his own.

Unlike the first day of term, everyone seemed depressed when
the kids packed up to go back to school.�
Neither James nor Sirius wanted them to leave, and the kids didn�t want
to go back to Umbridge.�

They said their goodbyes and Remus and Tonks escorted them
back to the school on the Knight Bus.� Grimmauld
Place became empty and quiet once again, and the
inhabitants went about their business.

Severus mumbled quietly to himself as he entered his rooms
after his Occlumency lesson with Harry.�
Harry had been awful as predicted, though if Severus was really honest
with himself, he knew it was because he hadn�t exactly been encouraging.� His and Harry�s relationship had improved for
Lucius� and Draco�s sakes, but he still didn�t like the brat.

He stopped and stared at James, who lay stretched out on his
bed.� In the center of the room there was
a little table set up with one white candle and what looked and smelled like a
delicious dinner.�

Severus cautiously entered the room, expecting some sort of
trap.� �James?� What are you doing here?� he asked when he
reached the bed and hadn�t been attacked by anything.

James sat up and shrugged.�
�I felt like being nice.�

Severus let out a deep sigh.�
�What do you want?�

James frowned.� �What
makes you think I want something?�

Severus sat on the edge of the bed.� �The only time you�re nice to someone you
don�t like is when you want something.�
So out with it; I haven�t got all night.�

James rolled his eyes.�
�I don�t want anything.� I just
decided to do something nice for you.�
Why can�t you just accept that and say thank you?�

Severus couldn�t bring himself to believe that James was
being nice to him for no reason.� �Then
why?�

James grumbled softly under his breath.� �Because I was doing some thinking about
something Hermione said.�

�Miss Granger?� Severus raised an eyebrow.� �And what did she say about me that made you
think?� he mused.

�It wasn�t about you,�
James answered.� �It was what she said
about Kreacher.� While that little slime
ball deserves to be lit on fire and thrown out a ten story window, Hermione was
right about one thing.� All living
creatures deserve at least a little kindness.�
You�re a human being� sort of� and Lily told me some stuff.� Then I started thinking about how you turned
spy.� That can�t be an easy life.� Lucius shared a few details about that.� And Umbridge��
She�s driving everyone crazy.�

Severus listened to James talk, hardly able to believe what
he was hearing.� When James finished
Severus was quiet as he let everything sink in.�
�So, I�m sort of a human being?�

James gave him a soft smile.�
�Baby steps Sevvy.� I also
realized that I can�t expect you to be nice to Harry when I�m not very nice to
you.�

Severus couldn�t help but smile a little himself.� �You know, James, there may be hope for you
yet.�

�Gee, thanks,� James said sarcastically and stood up.� �Your dinner is getting cold.�

Severus got up and headed over to the little table.� �What are we having?� he asked.

�Your favorite,� James smiled.� �Garlic lime chicken with
wild rice pilaf and strawberry almond pie for dessert.�

Severus� eyes went wide as he sat down and looked at all the
food.� �This really is my favorite!� he
said in shock.� �How did you know?�

�I told you, Lily told me some things, and Lucius told me
some things,� James said as he sat down on the other side of the table.

�It�s poisoned isn�t it�� Severus frowned.

James growled and reached over the table to lightly smack
Severus.� �Oh would you stop!� It�s not poisoned.� Lucius would get upset if I poisoned his only
friend.� �I might poison Umbridge later though�� Now shut up and eat your food!�

Severus let out a deep sigh and started to eat.� He found that everything was as delicious as
it looked.� James ate quietly on the
other side of the table.

Severus had to admit to himself that having dinner with
another person was nice.� While he was
usually among a crowd in the Great Hall, sharing a meal with just one other
person was different, and something he hadn�t done since he went on a picnic
with Lily.

He found himself watching James and seeing him in a new
way.� Maybe James wasn�t the awful git
Severus had always thought he was.�

***

A/N:� Thanks for all
the reviews!� Keep
�em comin!� I think I know who Severus is going to end up
with, I just haven�t figured out how yet.�

�

�
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The Phoenix Rises