Some Say This Can't Be Real (Jay)

[James "Jay" Prewett]

James could not help but smile at Pyre as she slightly blushed as he mentioned George and their possible relationship. So it seemed he'd get his Italian aunt anyway. Good. "Uh… I see." He replied to how she got to know half of the Weasley twins. The story he knew was different, but with the time travel and all that who knew what hadn't changed already. Thankfully things were going in the same general direction in this situation anyway.

"I so totally understand, Pyre." James said in his jovial tone of voice. "I think my baby sister, Lily, feels a bit like you do on the over-protectiveness of older brothers too. I can say I also don't like certain types orbiting her, but she is a strong-willed girl and will do only what she wants in the end. I guess you happen to be similar or the same… Right?" He continued with a smile, knowing there was some truth in it.

Lisette Weasley. James remembered that name. She was someone who had resurfaced from the dead records soon before the time shift. Unfortunately not something that happened frequently. She was Fred's and Anelisa's supposed lost child for what he could recall. Anyway… that was not an information he could share with Pyre, so he just let it slip to the back of his mind.

"Nice. My brother's name is Albion." James spoke naturally, giving Al's chosen alias as if it were the real one. He had to confess that he liked that name too. "I guess it's that way in every family and I thank the heavens for my uncles, aunts and cousins because of my core family, which comprises my father, brother and sister, I'm the only one who is much like myself. Everyone else is on the quieter side in different ways, but quiet nonetheless. Dad says that, for what he was told, I seem to have taken after my grandfather, whose name I also carry around…" He revealed and then laughed.

When Pyre said that there was a lot that her family had issues talking about, that phrase sent James back down the memory line. It was the same for him. The war effort, his mum's death, his gift and those of his siblings', the whole Voldemort ordeal, the memory manipulation deal… There was a lot that had happened as he grew up that was not talked about as much as it should have or at all in some cases. He could relate to her in that.

"Maybe this is what living in a war state means, Pyre. It's do or die or see someone you love die. So you do and then you keep doing. There is rarely time for talking in between actions… Let's just say that I understand this kind of situation. It wasn't that much better where I came from." James shared honestly, regretting it a bit. If she asked what kind of war he saw in America, he'd have to think up some lie on the spot. Not that his fertile mind wasn't capable of such deed, but it would be best if it was not needed. It was the consistence needed throughout the recounts of all his family that were the actual matter.

"Yeah… It's probably that." James replied about Jared feeling isolated and scared due to his muteness. "Wonderful!" He replied in a bubbly way as Pyre said she'd talk to her uncle and aunt so he could meet them. He did not remember having met them before, so it was a chance to know some more family. Just like he had had the great chance of knowing his mother, Ginny Potter though still Weasley by now, a bit better since he was yet very young when she died in the unaltered timeline.

"I can imagine how difficult it must have been for you, Pyre." James replied nicely. He did have his moments of kindness when the mischief died down and his better angels just came out to talk. "Good that it's all in past and will just get further back each day a bit more. I guess there would be some people willing to learn Italian from you, if you're willing to teach them too… sure. That's how I've learnt the little I know of it… Maybe something to think about?" He offered his opinion and then an idea. Maybe she would feel more confident about her language skills doing that. She certainly seemed to like to teach him and Al her native language in the future. Though there were many years between now and then.

"From our mouths to the heavens then… There has been enough of war already." James said truthfully. All his life he had lived in a war state, much like Pyre herself. He sure did not want that to repeat itself and unlike her he had the option of sparing himself the experience and intended to grab such chance with both hands.

[Pyre Maria della'Rosa]

"It's not a very interesting story, I know," she admitted with a sheepish laugh. "It's just odd. Back home, we stick to a lot of Victorian conventions, at least where polite society is regarded, so a lot of first encounters in my family are at chaperoned events. My mama and papa met during Carnevale at a masquerade ball in Venice that my great-aunt Madeleine threw...which I suppose is a more interesting story than the one I just told you...at the very least, it's probably more romantic."

There had been more time for that sort of thing back then, though. Pyre's aunt Madeleine hadn't thrown a party in nearly twenty years; it sometimes felt like ltalian culture had paused for most of Pyre's life. Culture gave way in the face of such a lengthy civil war. She hoped that they'd all know what to do when things were finally peaceful again...

"Well, that's what my brother says," she agreed cheerfully. "I'm not sure. I tend to think that I'm a bit of a pushover...I guess the Sorting Hat agrees because it said that I would've been well-suited to Gryffindor if I was less spineless...well, not in those exact words, but that was the gist of it. Is your sister nice? I don't think I've ever heard of her. That's not exactly shocking, though; I didn't know who Harry Potter was until Aunt Celesta explained it."

She'd never paid much mind to Western news that didn't concern the US. There was too much else to think about; it would've gone through one ear and out the other, anyway. So many strategies to remember, so many deaths to record...she sometimes wondered how anyone stayed sane in that kind of situation. Maybe they were all insane, and that's how they did it. She'd already been notified of the counseling that she would be forced to attend after the war ended; the fact that anyone was thinking about that told her that they expected it to be over soon. God willing, they wouldnt be wrong.

"My immediate family is...a little weird. My mama, she's famous for her actions during what the British call the First Wizarding World War and the Italian Civil War that preceded it. The rest of the world calls her the Demon of Rome. Ever heard someone say that the reason You-Know-Who never got past Rome's gates is because he couldn't find a Death Eater willing to face the demon? They were talking about my mama. Her and Jared...they keep to themselves. It's just how they are. My Papa is an artist, though; I get most of my personality quirks from him," she laughed.

"I'd heard that things were bad in America...we wanted to help, but everyone was tied up in south Italy. The north has had it easier since the Auditore are based in Sicily," she explained. "Most of the Italians stationed in England now were stationed in citites throughout the south until a few days before their transfers. My brother and I were stationed in Ercolano until the day of our transfer."

It was such a nice city...she wished that she'd had a chance to visit Herculaneum. Unfortunately, Ercolano had been heavily under siege for the majority of the two and a half years she'd been there. Things had just started cooling off when Pyre and Jared were transferred. It was a pity, really; she'd wanted to help rebuild the city.

She smiled and clapped happily a little when he seemed happy about meeting her aunt and uncle. E'stato fantastico! ((It was great!)) They would be so happy to meet him! Maybe they'd get along well and then Aunt Celesta and Uncle Nando would have more visitors than they usually did! That'd be even better! Yay! This was a step in the right direction where repairing the ties between their people was regarded, si?

"Ah...teaching...I would like to be a teacher. My grandpapa, Gio, he's a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor here. He was for decades, then he retired, and now he's unretired. He wrote a lot of books about his theory on the nature of magic, and I guess everyone considers him an expert on the subject. Anyway! I used to want to be like him as a kid. I wanted to teach Transfiguration, but...it's a bit of a pipe dream right now," she sighed. "I'd love to have a chance to be a teacher, though..."

She thought she would be good at it! She liked people and she liked being helpful! Anyway, she was good at Transfiguration! It was just...she'd never be a teacher, ever. She didn't see any end in sight to all of the wars, and she would fight as long as they happened. She was a member of the Italian Army, after all...

"Too much," she corrected sombrely. "Any war is too much war, but this is especially true of the recent ones."

[James "Jay" Prewett]

James offered Pyre a shinning smile. "Actually not, Pyre. Our story is always interesting because it is ours, no matter how colorless it might seem. If I told you how I've met the girl who is the owner of my heart, you wouldn't be very impressed too… but it is important to me. I think I want to say that I get you… We always want a better story to tell the children to come, but we only have what we have…" He said as a reply and shrugged at the end.

"By the way, your parents' story is cool. A romantic story in my family I guess would be my grandparents'. The hate that turned into love…" He said smiling. The story had been told to him by his father as he grew up as it had been told to Harry before by Sirius and Remus. It was a nice love story even for a young man's perception and a source of inspiration for James when it came to his situation with Arabelle Malfoy.

The young Gryffindor knew what a permanent war state was like throughout one's life and what it meant to those who lived through those times. There was rarely any fun to be had, almost no parties but for the ones to uselessly try to raise general morale after a great hit. War times were horrible times to be alive. It was a miracle that some of them even actually learned to have fun under their circumstances, himself included. James thought that some people just come to the world wired to be a certain way, no matter how horrible their life experiences are as they grow up. He actually thought that such was his case. His general happiness was more a question of internal wiring than lived history.

James smiled again at her cheerful reaction to his words. This conversation was going on like so many others they'd shared in the future. Pyre was one of his aunts who always managed to make him laugh since he was a small boy, reason why he liked her so much. "I guess you just need something to hold on to in order to show your personal resolution. When we live in a war state for so long, we become used to follow orders or plans and kind of forget our own needs. We kind of loose the oomph to fight for the little things when so much bigger ones are taking precedence. I'm sure that now that you have George to fight for you'll show the other side of Pyre." He offered smiling kindly and understandingly.

"Not to mention that Hufflepuffs are loyal and brave in their own way. We Gryffindors are just louder and more on people's faces with that and our beliefs most times." James said and then laughed. All his family had been or were currently Gryffindors except for Albus, who was a Slytherin. "Yeah. Lily is a little too nice for her own good sometimes…" He said as he thought her willingness to always give people a chance to be dangerous under their situation.

"Oh my…" He interjected humorously. "I think you're the only person here who didn't know about Harry Potter…" He laughed openly after saying that. He had grown up under the huge shadow that his father casts. Maybe that was one of the reasons why he was so rebellious. He wanted his own story to tell and not to bask in the light of his father's fame like Albus was mostly happy to do. It was a bit weird that someone who was family hadn't always known of his father too. He shrugged it off mentally.

James' semblance closed for a moment at Pyre's next words as she explained about her mother. He felt a bit of jealousy he could not avoid. "I just wish we had someone like your mama, Pyre. Someone that the Death Eaters feared enough to just fly away. We had a fighter who they feared, but not to the point of running without a fight. I guess he just wasn't wired to be the scary guy he was meant to be most of the war time… Even though he did turn into a very scary guy in the end. Maybe a bit too late? Anyway… No point crying over spilled milk, right? Not to mention it's not exactly good to loose your kindness and innocence. No one should pass through this." James confessed and immediately regretted it. What if she asked who that person was? He didn't know what name to give. His thoughts then went to the younger version of his father and how he was still much of a believer instead of the hardened man he knew as his father.

It's true that the name of Marissol della'Rosa was known to him as The Demon of Rome and it wasn't just because Angelina was family. Her fame preceded her even in the future. "I've heard stories about your mama. Not sure if all of them are true though…" James said smiling, trying to sound like he didn't know for a fact they were true because they had come from a reliable source. Pyre herself. It was difficult to kind of lie to her like that, but necessary.

"It's OK, Pyre. I'm sure we also wanted to help, but were just too tied up with our own issues too. It's no one's fault. No. It's that SOB's fault. Sorry for the language, Pyre. It's that I really hate the guy. See… We're all here not living our lives and settling our own problems because of him. I wish he had never existed. Everyone would be happier…" James said, his rebellious side showing through in the end. The future Potters had done a slight research on the situation in America when they decided to pose as such. So James knew enough to live his lie up to a certain point.

Sure, her words about wanting to be a teacher were not a surprise to James, but he smiled anyway and played up the part of the slightly surprised conversational partner. "Wow. So my suggestion was kind of spot on then." He said cheerfully. "Well, you might just get your wish in the future." He said in a nice and knowing way.

"I guess by Gio you mean Giovanni Cavaliere? My brother is a fan of his books. He's read all the ones he could get his hands on. Brainy type, you know. It doesn't suffice him to know that something works and how to make it do so. He has to know how it works too. Not that Lily and I aren't smart too, we just aren't overly obsessed with things…" He said keeping his previous tone of voice.

"I guess your gramps decided to pack and look for greener pastures when the DADA professor position got cursed, right? I've heard some stories about it since I've arrived last year… It's amazing how people tend to talk here. It doesn't take long for you to know everything." He revealed after his question.

James nodded and his smile disappeared for a moment. He agreed with Pyre. "You're right. Sometimes it seems like this nightmare is never going to end, but I believe in keeping an open mind. We might be surprised by good things that way." He said hoping that the future could truly be changed. If not, it meant that the Voldemort situation would become a huge problem, the Italian Civil War would last at least eight more years and kill a lot more people and many people's lives would be hell all over again, including their own.

[Pyre Maria della'Rosa]

She thought about what he'd said for a moment before beaming and nodding her agreement. She'd once been informed that if she smiled too much, everyone would think that she was an air-head, but she'd ceased caring at this point. She enjoyed being happy; everyone should be so lucky as to have an impenetrably sunny outlook on life. It made life so much more enjoyable.

"I guess you're right! With all of the stories I have to tell my children, though, I think they'll forgive me for not meeting their father at a masquerade ball," she noted with a laugh.

"Oh, that is romantic!" she agreed with a bob of her head, electric blue bleeding through her hair and replacing its natural black, clapping a little and bouncing on the balls of her feet. "I just love stories like that!"

She and her elder brother and cousins had to be creative when they were growing up, otherwise they would've wound up manic-depressive and suffering from PTSD. Some of them had developed defense mechanisms like Ally's smart-assness, others (most notably Alissia) smoked like chimneys or drank a lot (like Stefan). As for Pyre, she was just wired to be almost eternally happy. She'd almost always been the way she was at that moment.

"Oh, I hope that the Other Pyre isn't nearly as much of a clutz," she noted happily. "I fell off of rooftops twice within less than a week of transferring to England."

She laughed at his take on the difference between Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs. She liked to think of it that way, she had to admit. She decided that she would adopt his viewpoint.

"I like that; I think I'll go by that from now on," she informed him. "And maybe Lily's just nice enough, and it seems to you that she's too nice. I don't know; I'm thinking of it from the perspective of someone who's frequently accused of being far too nice."

She smiled and shrugged when he pointed out that she was the only one that didn't know of Harry Potter.

"I'm new; give me a break!" she laughed.

She sighed and rubbed the back of her head when he said that he wished that they had someone like her mama. She loved her mama, really she did, but how was she to explain what it was like to be raised by someone like that....?

"From the perspective of a soldier, si, it's great to have people like Mama around," she agreed. "She's a great soldier, and the enemy fears her so much that they outright refuse to face her. There are flee-on-sight orders regarding my mama back in Italia. Remember, though, that all wars eventually end. I worry about my mama after the war has ended; I don't know how she'll transition from fighting constantly to peace-times. That's the problem with great soliders like Mama, you see...they only know how to be great soldiers, but I'll assure you that the stories you've heard about her are probably true."

She smiled a little ruefully. Pyre had admired her mother so much as a child, until she realized how broken Marisol had been by the war, by the losses. She sometimes pitied Marisol.

"Oh, I know that there was no logical way that we could've helped, but I still feel bad. I hate leaving anyone in a bind," she admitted with a soft laugh. "I think it's a bit of a curse that I was born with the ability to use magic. I'm prone to over-extending myself."

She tsk'ed and waved her index finger at Jay jokingly. She really didn't care if anyone else cursed; she just didn't, herself. She always felt icky afterwards.

"He sounds like a boy after my grandfather's heart," she commented. "Grandpapa Gio believes very firmly that magic is a higher science. There's a lot of mathematical equations and laws of physics involved with proving his theory...I don't really understand a lot of it, but it sounds interesting. Actually, I think that the position became cursed immediately after my grandfather retired. Weird, huh?"

She'd had a few experiences with the Hogwarts rumor mill. It was shockingly effecient...so much so that it kind of bothered Pyre. She disliked gossips as a rule, especially seemingly omniscient gossips. They freaked her out.

"I think that everyone has at least a little bit of good in everyone," she confessed. "Even You-Know-Who and the Auditore. I...I wish that we could all resolve everything without anyone dying...and I hope that these conflicts can be resolved with minimal bloodshed. Even if we think that they deserve to die...hasn't there been enough death, already? I lost three older brothers and a lot of other family to this Civil War. I don't care who they are or how much I dislike them, I don't want anyone else to die."

[James "Jay" Prewett]

James nodded at her words, smiling. "Oh, surely…" He said and then followed with laughter of his own. "You certainly will be forgiven, even because who will guarantee their own stories will be much better than yours?" He let some of his experience slip through his words, but Pyre had no way to know that the lives of her future children would not be that different from her own and James would not be the one to tell her that.

James laughed again at Pyre's reaction to him telling her a bit about his grandparents' love story. "Yeah. When two people are meant to be together nothing gets in their way, Pyre. They just crash through all the walls in their path, be it senseless prejudice or any other of those nonsenses which are highly in trend for a couple of decades now…" He said to encourage her to fight for her love.

James chuckled at Pyre's remark about being a klutz. Somethings would never change. He had so many fun memories due to her klutziness. "Well, I certainly hope you can spare yourself from serious injuries, but a klutz is always fun to have around." He said with a big smile. Would it be too disrespectful if he pulled a prank on his future aunt? She didn't know she was his aunt and it would be fun. He started to think seriously on this possibility as he listened to her.

"Oh well… That is the truth." James reinforced his views on Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs. "In good time everyone learns that being too nice is a recipe for disaster, but it seems to be taking Lily a bit too long to get that. So, yeah, I worry. Even because I'm meant to take care of my siblings and keep them safe. A long ago self-assigned task, Pyre. She doesn't make it easy sometimes…" He revealed. As the oldest, James always took upon himself to be the guardian of his siblings in the absence of their father.

Again James accompanied Pyre in laughter. His was easy as he enjoyed it and feeling happy. Though it did not mean that he couldn't be serious when needed and he has proven himself able to make hard choices, even if he is the only one that remembers it now. "Don't know if I'll let it be or tease you to kingdom come about it. Still deciding…" He replied in good humor. "Yeah… Since you're so nice and fun… I think I'll give you a small brake." He teased her about not knowing who his future father was.

It was not that he didn't understand what Pyre was saying about her mother. He understood well what it meant to live and be raised beneath the wing of someone like that. It took Harry time and losses to get there, but he eventually did and James had seen it all and in a way got a bit hardened himself too in the process, just not in the same intensity.

"Some people have fought for so long that they have forgotten how to relax, kick back and have fun. Always waiting for something horrible to happen… and it generally never fails to arrive to make bad worse… I know well what you mean, Pyre." He said and then added. "I had a feeling the stories were true. Legends are usually created from some real fact." He justified his opinion as he could not say that she was the one who told him about her mama in the future.

James chuckled again and then nodded his agreement. "That is a feeling shared by many where I come from. As my dad once told me when I was a kid and I agree with him, I now paraphrase…" He said with a smile at the memory recalled. "I don't see my magic as a curse. It's fun to be able to do magic. The curse comes from its corruption by minor souls seeking to make of it a weapon to destroy…" He took a deep breath as his smile faded. "The worst is that I don't even know if he still thinks that way right now… Probably not, but I still do." It has been more than ten years since he had had that conversation with his father. Both of them had changed a lot since then.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry…" He apologized jokingly as Pyre waved her index finger at him. "It's just that… the only thing that truly makes me mad, besides seeing someone messing with my siblings and cousins, is the fact that such a person is allowed to exist. Nothing good ever did or will come out of him." He tried to justify his previous swearing again.

It was doubly hard for James to live through all of this again as it kind of made it useless the fact he had already sent Voldemort to his rightful place, hell. He didn't want to have to do it again, but he would if it meant that his father could keep his innocence to later teach him to be innocent when he was born again. That innocence that was stolen from him by the war and the constant deaths and attacks. Being a Potter was not something safe at all.

"Like I said that is Al's thing… He tried to explain it to us a couple of times. I won't say I completely grasped it or Al, but I'm sure that he's running after your grandpapa to ask him now that he is back at Hogwarts…" James said and then laughed. He could see in his mind Al at Cavaliere's office making him a billion questions. "Looks like someone didn't take well at being refused to fill in his spot. Not mine, not anyone else's…" He offered as an explanation as he didn't know that it was Voldemort himself who had cursed the DADA position.

"I beg to disagree, Pyre. There is no good in Psychotic V! That's how I like to call him when I manage not to swear." James said in a harder and even anger filled tone of voice. "I honestly don't know much about the Auditore and you could be right about them. Even about some Death Eaters also, but not him." He reinforced his previous words.

"Well, the world may not go to hell again. There is a slight chance it may not. Let's cling to it." He said and smiled hopefully. "It would be great if the deaths could stop now…" He agreed with her, looked down for a while and then kicked the field's grass slightly. This situation was a bit frustrating to an energetic young man like James. He wanted to be active, to do something that would change what he knew was coming. He wanted to be born again and not grow up to be a slightly neurotic young adult.

[Pyre Maria della'Rosa]

For once, the laughter and smile vanished from Pyre's face. Pensively, she kicked at the grass. The happy electric blue receded from her hair rapidly. After a moment, she sighed and shook her bangs out of her eyes.

"I hope that their stories are better," she mumbled. "It is hard, being a child during a war. Hard to be happy. Hard to cope. I do not want that for my children."

She still had some hope for the future. It couldn't be any worse than what she had come from, at least she hoped that it couldn't. The part of her that was tired and just wanted to rest pesimistically asserted that things were generally much worse before they were any better, but she ignored that. She would not let herself fall into despair; that was the worst thing that could happen. She'd seen it in her family enough for a lifetime.

She shook off her momentary lapse and returned to her usual cheerful demeanor. Somewhere, deep, deep down, she knew that she wasn't as happy as she pretended to be, but it was easier to go through life always looking at the bright side. It kept her sane.

"I don't think that showing compassion to those around you is ever a recipe for disaster," she argued stubbornly. "I am religious, remember. I believe that there is no soul beyond redemption. It is for the Lord to judge, not us. Try to see it from Lily's point of view; that's how Jared and I worked things out when we had the same issue."

She knew plenty about fighting for so long that you didn't know how to do anything else. In the depths of her heart, she knew that she was terrified that she wouldn't be able to adjust after the fighting was over. She wanted peace desperately, but she feared it. In the end, she trusted that God knew what was right and that things would work out for the best. It was difficult, though.

"God takes care of His children...and Mama is strong. I am sure that she will be fine," she decided. "We all will be. You'll see. Italia will heal; we just need to achieve peace."

She laughed and rubbed the back of her head, smiling sheepishly. She knew that magic wasn't a curse; it was a tremendous blessing and burden. She hoped that she used it correctly. She would hate to disappoint her family.

"Magic is a great blessing," she agreed. "As long as it is used properly. Lately, it can feel like a curse sometimes...I'm never sure who to save and who to leave and who is just beyond what I can do, so I try to help everyone. Magic allows me to do that. I'm grateful for the ability I have been granted for that reason, but I know that it annoys my brother when I over-exert myself. Still trying to strike a balance, there. What about you? It is the actions that define man. What do you think of yours?"

Pyre had mixed feelings on Voldemort. He was evil, and his actions flew in the face of God, but he'd been her grandfather's friend once. It made making a decision on how she felt about him for sure hard. She wanted to hate him like everyone else did, but then she thought of Gio's sad little smile as he told her stories about his school-friend Tom Riddle.

"I think that Grandpapa is probably flattered," she laughed. "Not many people understand the way that brain of his works. Even his family."

She sighed heavily and kicked at the grass once last time as she thought over what she'd say.

"He was my Grandpapa's friend, you know," she finally told him softly. "Once, a long time ago."

[James "Jay" Prewett]

James kicked himself mentally. He had managed to make his aunt depressed for a moment, yet that had not been his intention at all. He had a plan he believed would work to change things for the better. It was a good plan, in his biased opinion, though he had conscience that many things could go wrong with it.

James also understood exactly where Pyre was coming from and agreed with her words with a nod of his own. It was extremely hard to grow up during a time of war, especially if you are one of the most wanted targets, surpassed completely only by your father. That fear James had always carried after Ginny's death that he'd be totally orphaned one day and have to raise his siblings himself, sure with the help of the people around them, even though he wasn't that much older than them at all, haunted him throughout his adolescence. Actually Harry's dead body was his Boggart for a long time now due to exactly that.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to lead this conversation to the doom and gloom territory. It just has nothing to do with whom we are…" James offered with a smile to try to fix his previous mistake. He felt responsible for her current state of mind. It was easy to see when metamorphmagi were unhappy. It pretty much showed itself like had just happened. Teddy was the same. "…I mean with whom I am and guess you are…" He fixed fast. He wasn't supposed to know her at all anyway.

"No one wants that. Things will get better… We just need some faith and then more hard work to get the peaceful life we wish. Sure, a bit of harmless pranking and fun doesn't hurt anyone while we're at it and is good to strengthen the soul for the fighting to come." He said in a brighter tone himself. Sometimes he had to remind himself of the great chance that had been given to all of them by whatever had brought them back from the future.

James smiled as he saw his aunt's usual behavior return to her. He was glad he didn't manage to completely spoil this chance encounter with such idiotically placed comment. "Maybe in another setting it wouldn't be so… but when your enemy knows nothing of such a thing as compassion, it might become… I could try what you suggested and do you know what I see, Pyre? I see my only sister giving herself up to wolves in sheep's clothing. Just waiting for us to open up our guard to do even more damage to our family. I guess that is what I have an issue with in her behavior. She opens up her guard too much and to too many people as well. That isn't safe at all in our situation." If only he could get how paranoid he sounded right now. It was easy to see enemies and hard to see potential friends on anyone outside the camp, the people he had grown up with. Even then family history proved that not all close friends can be trusted. Well, he just wasn't that much of a trusting guy when it came to strangers. Could anyone actually blame him?

James smiled charismatically. He preferred to see people happy, smiling and hopeful rather than the opposite. Maybe it was the reason why he pranked and joked so much. Because it made people happier and it was good for general morale, including his own. "Yeah. Sure. I have no doubt." He said firmly. That the Italian Civil War would end someday in the future was a sure fact and he could give Angelina's current self a precise date, but off course that wouldn't be prudent at all.

"If only peace could be achieved sooner for you. What exactly caused your Civil War? Did it start out of a real reason or just someone's nonsense like ours… or the Brits'?" He remembered just in time that he was supposed to be playing the American boy part and added the British situation to his question using an American slang he had picked up. James was really curious about the Italian War. He had never been told a lot about it. He always guessed that it had left his aunt with too many sore wounds for her to wish to mention it beyond the fact issues had been settled in her homeland unlike theirs in the future, or actually right now as well as Voldemort was wracking havoc already.

James' smile grew huge as she seemed to agree with him about the fact that magic wasn't a curse at all. It was more like a burden they had to carry right now. One that forced them to choose a side and fight for it. "Well… I have to confess I have a love/hate relationship with some aspects of my magic, but all in all I love it. I have fun with it. I've saved others with it. I've kept my family safe because I could use it. Yeah… Certainly a blessing." He said as he thought it through, then he remembered the fact he had done pretty bad things with his magic too like killing someone, though that someone deserved what he got, and playing with his father's and siblings' memories. He still felt a lot of guilt due to that.

"And about that over-extension problem of yours? Not exclusive to you at all. I guess everyone has felt like that at least once. Not knowing where to stop and what or who to let go. It's hard to cope with the thought that you could've tried something, even though you logically know that it wouldn't have mattered anyway." He took that out of some of his own experiences growing up and some of the losses he had suffered.

"Don't worry, Pyre. Al will certainly manage to inflate your grandpapa's ego a lot… He thinks he can give us all the answers to the questions we've had since each of us were thirteen. I'm more skeptical about it. Maybe I just don't want to know why certain things have happened. Well, it's that love/hate relationship I just told you about actually…" James replied in good humor. His smile though was less shiny than before.

James actually feared the power he and his siblings had received, not because he thought he would loose control and hurt people, though it could happen as his control over his at least was not that perfect at all. His real fear though was that it could mean that he, Albus and Lily might have themselves a special destiny. Recent family history had showed that a special destiny was not always joyous or easy to bear. After all his own father has a special destiny and everyone could see where it had taken Harry so far.

James got taken aback with the revelation Pyre was just making. What? Giovanni Cavaliere and Voldemort were once friends? That made him wary of the man somewhat even though he logically knew that the Italian man was probably deceived by that snake! He had heard that Voldemort was already a master deceiver during his Hogwarts years and all but the most wary tended to believe his lies and trust him when he spoke. "I guess that was probably before psychotic V chose to become a monster and abandon the little humanity he had ever had. If it all wasn't just a deceitful play with your grandpapa's young mind to begin with. I wouldn't put it past him at all…" James said in a resentful tone of voice.

It was just hard for James Sirius Potter to believe there is or has ever been any good within Voldemort. He was too scarred by everything the Dark Lord had done against him and his own, not to mention that convincing himself of such fact made it easier for him to live on. Knowing that nothing good ever could have come from him was James' way to cope with what he had done by killing him in the future and how he had done it as well.