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It was the final quidditch game of the season and the gryffindors were put up against the slytherins. Both only needed this game to win and the loser of this match would be second in the overall standings. After about half the game the score was 90-80 for gryffindor. The seekers had yet to catch the snitch.
James had just barely noticed the bludger when it was already too late. The hit he remembered hurt quite a lot, but should have been bearable had he not lost focus and the broom had been doing what he wanted. Unfortunately he lost complete control over the broom and fell. James knew that if he wasn’t caught he would get seriously injured when he landed on the ground. That never happened.
When he was about halfway through the fall, he could see Sirius already flying towards him, but he wasn’t allowed or at the time capable of catching him. The golden boy of gryffindor just accepted his fate and was preparing for the absolute pain of the connection with the ground.
Above all of them he could hear a storm starting. Which confused him quite a bit considering it had been clear just a few moments prior.
The lightning struck him.
Later on when James was questioned the only thing he could remember from the lightning strike was the pain like his veins were being torn upon one by one by the lightning, the feeling of all his nerves just shutting down, and the pain of being caught by someone and hitting the broom.
Wait, what? Oh well, it doesn’t matter that much, does it?
The moments after James just felt, remembered and saw memories he had long forgotten. Like the universe was saying “sorry for the lightning, but hey, you get the memories you lost after them being wiped by God knows who/what.”
He saw his time at Camp Half-Blood and the Twelfth Legion fondly, he truly did, though the battles and wars quite ruined it. Through the memories sometimes he could taste and smell the horrible healing potions that were (probably?) given to him
After the memories he just looked at his body, he could still see the connection between his body and his soul, he wasn’t dead yet, and that he was still breathing, both really surprised him. ‘Cuz, it hurt really bad.
He was sorry about a lot of things while he had the time to think about everything. He didn’t actually like Lily hadn’t done so in quite some time and he realised it was just wrong to continue acting like he did.
But of course when you have almost unlimited time to kinda watch over yourself you find things out about your friends. Peter almost never came, like at all. And if he did, it was forced by Sirius, he knew because he always complained about it.
Sirius on the other hand was there almost every day and had stopped getting into trouble just so he could keep seeing James and not instead having to go to detention. Remus was with Sirius a lot but when he came alone he talked about what was happening in the castle while he wasn’t there to see it.
Lily, well she came? That was about it, she just looked at James and then she would leave. Which by the way really sucks if you’re watching yourself and your soul apparently is stuck in the infirmary. Like come on, tell me gossip or something.
Anyways, back to Remus. He talked about how he and Sirius finally! got together. And afterwards about the dates they would go on with the specific details Remus had written on a scroll so that he would remember because he knew James always liked those parts about a story. And a lot of other things, what they were learning, what potion they had managed to explode, how Mcgonagall had started looking at them weirdly now that they stopped doing any pranks.
All those kinds of things and James was glad for it, he was bored where he was stationed. After a few weeks though, apparently even the slytherins had just started to get curious or something. They always got some stupid injury and then would just stare at James like he was an interesting specimen to be studied, nevermind that the ravenclaws did the same, but that could be expected, you know? How many times does someone get hit by lightning and then just not wake up? Or die? Not many I can tell you.
Regulus visited too, James just couldn’t understand why. He also didn't want to find out. Especially with his embarrassing crush on the little brother of Sirius. Let a man dream will you?
The boy just always looked sad, fantoming* James speechless. What did he have to be sad about? James had really fucked up with him and never quite made it up to him, so to see him like this was too much to handle at times.
Over the coming weeks and maybe months, everyone who visited just looked sadder and sadder. James had had enough when his best friend just started crying, luckily Remus was there to comfort him. James was angry he couldn’t do that himself, instead he was stuck watching and being unable to do anything. He would formally apologize to every ghost after this in the Hogwarts castle. He definitely realised how much this could suck even more.
His body on the other hand looked serene, like he was in the most peaceful state that life and death could give him. He heard Regulus talk about how his soul was maybe stuck in the veil or something like that. He had zoned out at that point.
Some time after that even Minny started coming. Which, is it really that bad? James thought it must have been.
Some ghosts had also been visiting, some dead souls from people he had met at camp and stuff. Talking to them was at least a new high light, but what did that mean for him? Was he actually dying?
To be honest, James Fleamont Potter didn’t want to die, but if it comes it comes. That had always been his motto, at least in his head. So now that he realised that he didn’t know if he was going to live through this, he felt as if he should be panicking or something of that kind. James did realise why he did not. Fighting in those wars and seeing all that death and carnage, he just didn’t fear it any more. As if knowing that you’ll be seeing lost ones in the Underworld who you should've been missing greatly just sweetened the deal. He really didn’t want to die.
Something strange happened today, a boy came into the infirmary looking like he was the reincarnation of the sun. He had bright curly golden hair that sat as a halo around his hair, his skin was tanned like a surfer's and he had blue eyes that seemed to reflect the sky itself. He stood by his bed and sang an old hymn. This would’ve been very weird to James had he not realised that OMG, the GReek gods are real.
How did he forget that, like earlier mentioned, memory wipe. And just silently freaking out about the fact that he could see his own body. This of course gave him a lot of realizations like the fact that was the reincarnation of the sun. That was Apollo for the gods’ sake. Who just healed him, I think. Wait a second, did Zeus strike him down?
The gryffindor’s only thought was ‘what is my life’. The groan that accompanied it was eligible for a fucking grammy. That night Apollo’s healing really struck into action, with it actually helping. James felt that he was going to wake up for the first time in, well three-four months or something. Jeez, that was long. Also, Regulus visited that night. At the very moment James actually woke up. It was almost as if Regulus was Annabeth in disguise with how he was punched in the face and then hugged (?). Anyways Regulus kissed him, after he decided that James had already been through enough. REGULUS kissed him, and then in true Regulus fashion left with a ‘we’ll talk later’.
When James woke again he believed it had all been a dream, till he saw the new bruises on his arm. When Poppy saw him sitting there awake she thought she herself had finally gone insane with how these students kept hurting themselves and getting into trouble. Only this time when she blinked he was still sitting there, staring intently at her as if he hadn’t just been in a coma for three months. She dropped whatever she was holding. She couldn’t even remember what it was, except that it made a loud crack when it landed on the floor. What she did remember was checking James over multiple times that besides the lightning scars he had over his chest, arms and neck he truly had no other wounds. Except a few bruises on his left arm. She knew he had way more injuries and wounds the day before but she wasn’t going to look a gifted horse in the mouth. She ordered James to just rest and that he’ll be released at the end of the week and left. The moment she went to Minerva to tell her the good news, she herself was vibrating with energy. Minerva looked up, seemingly surprised at her good mood until the words came streaming over her lips: “James woke up, he’s awake!” And then she was out the door with a “I’ll call the rest of the Marauders down and tell them”.
For James the months afterwards were strange. Him and Peter’s friendship had soured, and he and Regulus got together. He only got beat up a little by Padfoot, Moony was just happy for them and had stopped Sirius from doing worse. With his memories intact James went on to live a happy life after he and his friends killed Voldemort. He and Regulus adopted a demigod child who had been abandoned, even though Reggie didn’t know that particular fact and he and the child didn’t plan to tell him they were in fact half siblings.
Some things are better kept secret. When Harry finally left for camp when he was ten for the summer, James went with him. Chiron was just as how he had been when he left, though a bit emotional. Apparently someone who you think has died standing in front of you tends to do that. Who knew? Will did. When Will saw his older brother standing there with their youngest cabin member, he seemed to realise who he was. The judoflip was definitely worth it to see the smiles of Will, Kayla and Austin. Mr. D just sat there and asked him if he was planning on bringing more brats to camp and that if he did he would be turned into a dolphin.
They all died in peace, or did they?
That’s a story for another time.