Here was a kid with his act down pat
From zero to hero in no time flat
Zero to hero just like that
26 : Zero to Hero (edited)
1 YEAR AND 2 MONTHS LATER
OCTOBER 1979
Catherine lay in bed, fiddling with her wedding ring with James's arms secured around her. It was a gold band with the word Potter's engraved on it. James's was similar to hers, except with the word Valentine's. Her stomach was filled with uneasiness that night, causing her insomnia as she tossed and turned in bed.
James groaned, waking up from her constant movement as he reached up to smooth down her hair. "Go to sleep, love," he told her in a husky voice.
"I can't," she mumbled back, snuggling against her husband's chest as she tried to get a shut-eye.
James opened an eye to glance at the clock on their bedside table. "Valentine, it's three in the morning. What's wrong?"
Catherine sighed and shook her head. "Sorry, nothing's wrong." She reached up to kiss him on the cheek. "I'll go check on Tessie, maybe I can sleep after."
James nodded. "Alright. Kiss her goodnight for me."
Catherine smiled at that, he spoiled Tessa way more than Catherine did. Sometimes, they would even have an unspoken competition on who could spoil her more. She slipped out of bed and yanked a shirt over her head. Only then did she realise it was a shirt that belonged to James when it fell past her shorts.
Leaving the bedroom, she walked in the next room to find her daughter fast asleep in the crib. She was two weeks old already, having been born in the early days of October. Catherine cooed gently at her baby. She was so beautiful with hair the colour of blue-black just like Catherine's and eyes a shade of hazel like James's.
After a couple more minutes with the girl, she got up and carefully stroked Tessa's soft arm. She stirred in her sleep for a while, her little hand reaching up to grasp her mother's finger.
Suddenly, Catherine felt a jab against her gut, a feeling so familiar she never thought it would happen again. She was thrown into a new place, her knees buckling as she fell to the ground. Catherine was breathing heavily, her heart hammering against her chest as she looked around with wild eyes.
"Where the fuck am I?" she blurted out loudly upon seeing that she was in what looked like a dining room with a long table at the center. It was empty and the temperature had dropped by several degrees.
"And so she appears," a cold, chilling voice mused from behind Catherine, causing the hairs on the back of her neck to rise in fear. "The great Catherine Valentine."
"Potter," she automatically corrected before rising to her feet and spinning around the face the man who just spoke. She narrowed her eyes at the cloaked man. "Voldemort," she spoke his name unflinchingly.
He chuckled. "You're not afraid of standing before the Dark Lord?"
She raised her chin up high. "I have no reason to fear you."
"My, my. What a brave little thing you are."
Fired up, she snapped at him. "Why the fuck do you think I was sorted to Gryffindor?"
Voldemort refused to show her his face as he walked passed her to sit at the head of the table. "Years ago, I had Bellatrix and Lucius bring you to me."
Catherine's blood turned to ice as she suddenly became conscious of the words still scarred into her back. She swallowed shakily before asking, "What do you want from me?"
"I have an army, Potter," Voldemort proudly stated. "An army of Death Eaters."
We know, Catherine thought to herself as she remembered taking a picture with the other members of the Order.
"An army in which I want you to reinvent," Voldemort paused, "with your other powers."
Catherine stumbled lightly backwards, her eyebrows furrowing. "You're not telling me to — "
"Yes," he interrupted, "I mean exactly that."
She balled her hands into fists. Her anger and pure hatred for the Dark Wizard skyrocketed as she growled lowly, "I am not going to be your little chef and cook up some wizards who can spout out magic as I can. I am not a bitch who you can bark at and string along all day. I am Catherine fucking Potter, and I will not enslave myself to you." She paused to steady her ragged breaths. "If you excuse me, I shall take my leave, Lord Voldemort," she said mockingly as she spun around to disapparate.
"That Potter girl," Voldemort's next words stopped her, "your daughter."
Catherine felt numb all over as she refused to say a word, fear shaking her body as she pressed her lips together.
"I wonder if she inherited the same magic." Voldemort clicked his tongue mockingly. "It would be such a shame to see the light go out of her eyes in a such a young age — "
"YOU WILL NOT TOUCH MY DAUGHTER!" Catherine spun around to scream at the man. Unexplainable rage filled Catherine from head to toe and before Voldemort could even say anything, she exclaimed, "Forbearnan!"
She thrusted both of her hands at the sides as waves of fire shot out of nowhere and licked the dining room. It began to engulf the house in extremely hot flames as Catherine immediately disapparated with Voldemort sitting calmly at the head of the table.
She apparated into the bedroom she shared with James, collapsing on the carpeted floor with a loud gasp that woke James up.
"Valentine, what the hell happened?" He dropped on his knees as he grasped her forearms, checking her body worriedly for any injuries.
Catherine panted, shaking her head as she stood. "Shrieking Shack. Get the others and my brother." Before James could say anything, she disapparated immediately.
James blinked to himself in utter confusion, having no idea what the bloody hell was going on. He sent everyone a message through his Patronus, knowing that it was faster that way than an owl. Snatching a jacket from the table, he shrugged it on and casted a charm in the house that would prevent anyone from entering. Saying a quick goodbye to Tessa, James immediately disapparated to the Shrieking Shack.
Catherine fell on her knees, unable to steady herself as fiery pain surged throughout her back. Her scars were hurting as though on fire, and she knew this was because of Voldemort. She cried out in pain as she rolled over to her side, sweat forming in her forehead.
She closed her eyes, tears slipping down her cheeks and onto the hard wood flooring as she realised what it was she had to do to protect Teressa and James. Despite the pain washing all over her body, she forced herself to stand up, leaning against the wall for support.
James arrived shortly, lunging forward to engulf her in his arms. "Valentine, what happened," he whispered in agony, his voice breaking once he realized the state she was in.
"Voldemort," she breathed out, gritting her teeth when it felt as though someone was dragging a knife through the scarred words over and over.
A frustrated grunt left his lips, his hands curling to fists as he screwed his eyes shut.
"James."
He opened his eyes immediately to find Catherine looking up at him and that her breathing was coming in short, shallow puffs. "Yeah," he whispered back.
"I'm scared."
"Of what?"
"Of not being with you anymore."
James couldn't help it as he choked on his tears, his shoulders shaking as he continued to cry. He leaned over to hug her tightly. "No, baby, that won't ever happen."
Life was so damn unfair to James. He only just started living with the one person he loved more than anything in this world. But fate had a cruel way of playing tricks to him. It just had to snatch her away from him.
Remus and Sirius arrived together, stumbling in their pajamas as they huddled over to Catherine who smiled up at them. Lily arrived a minute before Alice and Marlene did, bawling as she gripped Catherine's other hand. Kasi was the last, his hair sticking up in all directions as his eyes wildly glanced around the shack.
"Thank you," Catherine whispered in the silence, her eyes skimming through each of their faces, not wanting to forget any detail, "for coming here so late at night."
"Valentine, please," James spoke desperately, stroking her hair away from her face. "What's happening?"
There was a short pause before Catherine said, "I saw him tonight — Voldemort." Everyone fell in a tensed silence. "He wanted me to use my Merlin magic on his followers — to make them powerful."
Alice's hand flew up to cover her mouth. "What did you say?"
"No, of course." Catherine chuckled bitterly. "Obviously he didn't take it too well." She winced at the flaring pain that stabbed her back. "He threatened Tessie."
James sucked in a sharp breath, his hold tightening around Catherine.
Catherine looked over to her brother, locking eyes with him as she said, "If anything happens — "
Kasi nodded. "I will." He didn't even need to hear her request to know what she was asking. "I'll take care of her." If anything happens to James — Kasi would be the one to raise Tessa.
"As a Valentine," Catherine added. "He knows her as a Potter."
Another firm nod from her brother.
She let loose a long, ragged breath. "If I stay . . . he's going to . . . "
Realization dawned on James as he blurted out, "No. Absolutely not."
Marlene and Alice shared a look of confusion as Remus cocked his head to the side. Sirius didn't understand what was going on as Lily and Kasi exchanged questioning glances.
Catherine swallowed the lump in her throat. "I can't stay in a world where my powers can be used for evil." She shook her head. "I won't let that happen."
Cries of protest echoed throughout the shack when they finally caught on.
But Catherine had already made up her mind ages ago on what to do if ever this situation arises. Nothing anyone says would make her change her decisions.
And as much as it ripped her apart — not even James.
"I love you," she simply said, gripping James's hand tighter. "All of you."
Wordlessly, she went around her loved ones and embraced them. Her face was damp with tears by the time she reached Lily.
"Lils," Catherine said gently, squeezing Lily's hand tightly, "you know I love you. I always will. But I hope you find it in you to learn to love James the way I do." She reached for James's hand, turning to him. "And I hope you can love Lily again."
James shook his head wildly, his dark hair messily tumbling over his forehead. "Valentine, no, I can't — "
"Yes," she reached up to cup his cheek, "you can." Catherine let go of Lily, placing both hands on James's face as she pressed her forehead against his.
James exhaled shakily as he whispered. "Why are you leaving me?" He sniffed. "I want to be selfish — just this once. You don't have to be the hero — why do you have to do this?"
Catherine was crying, her heart wrenching painfully. "Because if I don't, everyone we love will die." She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him tight against her. "Please — love Lily. I don't want you to be lonely. Marry her. Tessie needs a mother to guide her."
James was breaking down. He could feel her already slipping away from his grasp. "I love you — always have and always will. No matter what life we may end up in, I'll find you. I promise."
She sighed, closing her eyes contentedly. "It's time now." Letting go of James's hand, Catherine took a couple of steps away from everyone else as she stood at the center of the room. With a small smile, she whispered, "I'll see you again."
With that said, Catherine let out one last breath, reaching deep within to summon every bit of her Merlin magic. Gold flames surged upwards and enveloped Catherine's body as she disappeared before them, leaving no trace but wispy smoke that took the form of a tiger that ran around the Shrieking Shack once before diving into the very same spot Catherine had just disappeared.
What they didn't know was that Catherine had preserved her body into a deep sleep in another realm — spiritual realm where only she resides. And what they didn't know was that only a person with the same magic could bring Catherine back to life.
That night as they lost a friend, sister, mother, and wife, the only sound that could be heard was James Potter's cry of complete anguish as he slowly fell to the ground, his fingers tracing the spot where his wife took her last breath.
««•»»
1 MONTH LATER
NOVEMBER 1979, GODRIC'S HOLLOW
Tessa softly squealed in James's arms as her father hugged her tightly to his chest, cooing words of comfort to her. He was standing by the window, looking out at the night sky with Tessa in his arms when Lily approached him.
"You're still up?" Lily asked, resting a hand on James's shoulder and giving it a squeeze. She leaned over to give Tessa a peck on the forehead, adoringly gazing at the child.
James nodded as they both shared a silence in which they were both thinking of the same person. They respected Catherine's last wish and had a short ceremony. They didn't want a wedding, so they settled on signing papers for their marriage. And because there would be no time to delay due to preparations for the war, they had no choice but to get it over with as soon as possible.
James loved Lily once in his life, but he will never be able to love her in the same way he does for Catherine. He still does and his heart aches for her every night.
Lily smiled sadly at him as James sighed, leaning down to press a kiss against Tessa's forehead. "Don't worry, Tessie," he told her as she squirmed in his arms. "I promise, everything will be alright."
— the end —
AUTHOR'S NOTE
HEY GUYS OMG MISCHIEF MANAGED FINALLY ENDED. I'm gonna miss writing about James and Catherine. Ugh my heart, excuse me while I pick up the broken pieces.
Anyways, surprise surprise! A sequel will be out which follows Teressa Valentine in the Golden Trio Era! A sneak peek chapter follows this current one, so go check it out!
So if you guys noticed, the chapter titles of this book are song titles from A-Z. And I was wondering if you guys have any ideas on what should I use as titles for my next book?
Btw if you guys noticed, this book started with the word Alright and ended with Alright ;)
Lastly, RECKLESS AND BRAVE will be coming soon on September 2017, so stay tuned! Anything you want to see happen in the sequel? (2021 update: Reckless and Brave is complete yes BUT will also be undergoing some minor editing. and bc there's 84 chaps, i'll probably be posting very sporadically w/ no fixed number/day of update)
Thank you so much for all the love and support for Mischief Managed, you guys! I love you all to bits and pieces!
Edited Note (05.25.17)
Hey, guys! So, I know a lot of you are upset about the one month issue. I just want to clear things up. Had it been any later than a month, Harry's birth would've been altered and he wouldn't have been born on July 1980. If I had made Tessa's birthday earlier, she would've been too old to attend Harry's year and would have to go to Hogwarts a year earlier than the Golden Trio. Also, Hermione's birthday is on September 1979, a month before Tessa's. So that makes Tessa qualified to be on the same school year as the Golden Trio.