Edited 2/2/2022

Warning: there will be triggers in this chapter just so everyone is aware.

Chapter Two, Nightmares

Josie tossed and turned in her sleep small whimpers escaping her lips, unable to wake up, trapped within her own mind as she watched her parents die until it changed to whatever she was seeing now, that kept her locked in.

A snakelike man with blood red eyes stood outside a small cottage watching a dark haired bespectacled man playing with a dark haired baby boy (who looked so much like the man, his father perhaps?) - the boy he's come to kill. The boy didn't look like anything special as he giggled and tried to reach for the coloured puffs of smoke that were emitting from his father's wand. Having seen enough he used his wand to blast open the door causing the man to run out and greet him, wand raised. Though, as soon as he locked eyes with Lord Voldemort, the man froze, his eyes widening in fear for a moment before a hardened resolve settled over him.

"Lily it's him! He's here! Take Harry and run to Josie! I'll hold him off!" The man cried, who was revealed to be none other than James Potter - not taking his eyes off of Lord Voldemort as he called desperately to his wife. A ferocious battle started between the two powerful wizards. One driven by madness and domination, the other by love and desperation to protect his family. As they were fighting James knew he was losing and was going to die but he'd hold off as long as he could, until he saw his wife run past him and up the stairs with their son in her arms. That was when realisation struck him, she couldn't get out.
"Enough of this!" Lord Voldemort snarled. "Avada Kedavra!" He said as he flicked his wand at James, a sickly green light coming out of his wand and striking James in his chest where he crumpled to the floor in a heap on the stairs.

The blood that had been pouring from his wounds ceasing with the immediate stopping of his heart, his wand fell from his limp grasp, his eyes glassy and unseeing behind his askew glasses.

In her bed Josie let out a scream for the death of her beloved brother alerting everyone in the Manor to her, but still she did not wake as another vision just played in her mind, keeping her locked in. Tormenting her.

It seemed fourteen years had passed since the previous vision and Harry, her nephew who looked so much like James it made her heart ache, had lived from the encounter with Voldemort. But this time he was fifteen years old and in the Department of Mysteries with a group of teenagers his age and she wondered what he was doing there.
"Where's Sirius? Harry asked an approaching Death Eater, who turned out to be none other than Lucius Malfoy. Then Bellatrix Lestrange appeared a moment later.
"Bellatrix Lestrange." A boy slightly taller than Harry gasped, who looked like the perfect mix of Alice Fortescue and Frank Longbottom.
"Neville Longbottom is it? How's Mum and Dad?" She mocked before she turned to Harry with the same look in her eyes, one yearning to cause as much pain as she could.

"Harry, how's Aunt Josie?" Bellatrix mocked with deranged laughter.
"They're going to be better now they're going to be avenged!" Neville snarled, as he pointed his wand at Bellatrix only to be held back by Harry, though he too looked like he wanted to attack the deranged witch who was being held back by Lucius Malfoy. Josie couldn't help but wonder what happened to her, Alice and Frank as she watched the scene play out. Pride swelling in her as she saw her sweet nephew had gotten his grandfather's duelling skills, she knew that would make her Papa happy. Her breath caught in her throat a number of times as she watched the Death Eaters attack the teens when The Order finally arrived and rescued them. Sirius who looked rather gaunt and haggard, much different to how he looks now, rescued Harry from Lucius.

Sirius and Harry duelled Lucius and Antonin Dolohov, Sirius covering Harry as much as he could to avoid Harry being hit. Although the love between Harry and Sirius was obvious for everyone to see, Sirius' eyes didn't shine and sparkle like they used to, there was no life in them. She knew Azkaban had taken its toll but she wondered what else had happened to her love?
"Nice one Harry!" Sirius praises his Godson who had sent Dolohov flying to the other side of the room as he sent Malfoy flying after him. As he turned to Harry with a smile on his lips, Bellatrix appeared and shot a curse at them.
"Avada Kedavra!" She shouted, flinging the sickly green spell at them. Sirius jumped in front of Harry, the spell striking him in the chest, much like it did to James.

A smile was still on his lips as he and Harry connected eyes one last time before he fell back into The Veil of Death. Just as Harry went to run in after Sirius, Remus appeared and held him tightly as Harry screamed and fought against Remus. Although, tired and haggard with tears running down his own cheeks Remus held on to Harry tightly as Harry screamed silently.

In her bed Josie let out a scream for the death of her beloved. Her parents, Sirius, Remus and her brother all tried to wake her but it appeared to be futile.
"Please baby wake up." Euphemia cried desperately, as she ran her fingers through her daughter's damp raven hair as she tossed and turned in her bed, pain etched upon her face. But still she did not wake.

Sucked into another vision that appeared to be two years later and at Hogwarts: Josie watched as her best friend, who looked older and more tired but there was happiness that hadn't been there before and a resolve that James had held along with a golden wedding band on his finger.
"It is the quality of one's convictions that determines success, not the number of followers." Remus said to Kingsley Shacklebolt who was a Ravenclaw and two years older than them.
"Who said that?" Kingsley asked curiously, in his deep baritone voice.
"Me." Remus said simply as they heard running behind them.

The pair spun around to see a woman dressed in punk and leather clothes, similar to how Sirius dressed, and who also had a golden band on her finger. Josie noticed that she looked like Sirius's cousin Andromeda but with shorter hair, as she ran towards Remus and wrapped her arms tightly around him.
"You shouldn't have." Remus said tightly, as he pressed his face into her neck. "What about Teddy?" He asked fearfully, when they pulled apart.
"He's with my mother and he'll sleep until dawn." She answered. "Like his father." She teased making the couple laugh, before they hugged and kissed once more and took their positions around the tower as the protective enchantments started to break. Remus and his wife reached out towards each other as the enchantment broke and Death Eaters appeared, dozens of them.

Remus and his wife along with others in the tower fought valiantly but the pair soon succumbed as an all too familiar spell shot towards them; they reached towards each other wishing to hold hands one last time, only to die nearly holding hands and leaving another child an orphan.

Josie screamed again as her best friend died scaring her family as they couldn't do anything to help her, nor could they wake her.
"We have to help her!" James cried, tears pouring down his cheeks.
"We're trying Jamie!" Fleamont exclaimed as he ran his hands through his hair in frustration, anger and fear. He hated this. He hated that he couldn't help his baby girl. Why did she have to get the dreaded power? Why couldn't he have it? He didn't want her seeing whatever it was she was seeing, he'd give anything to take the pain from his daughter. Euphemia placed a hand on her husband's arm restraining and comforting him as he apologised to his son. But James didn't care, he understood. He understood how his Dad was feeling as Remus and Sirius watched ashen-faced as they too tried to help.

Josie was with Alice as they went searching for Frank. Josie had been visiting Alice and Neville after Alice had insistently invited her around after the previous day's events, but now they were searching for Frank as he hadn't returned home after work. After using one of his scarves and point me spell, they found him crumpled on the floor in the woods just outside of the wards of the Longbottom estate.
"Frank!" Alice and Josie exclaimed, as they rushed to their husband and friend respectively, Josie resting her hand on the slight swell of her stomach. She was three months pregnant with twins and she never got to tell her big brother, the only ones who knew were Sirius who now resides in Azkaban and now Alice and Augusta.

She didn't believe that Sirius betrayed James and Lily, he wouldn't and he wasn't even the Secret Keeper, Peter was. But no one would listen to her.
"Frank! Frank! Frank!" Alice cried to her unresponsive husband. Josie tensed as she felt someone hiding in the trees, she knew why he was like this and she had a feeling they just walked into a trap.
"Alice, we have to get out of here." Josie said nervously, tugging on her friend's arm the other over her stomach protectively.
"Is wittle Josie leaving so soon?" A baby voice mocked them as Bellatrix stepped out of the trees with her husband Rodolphus, her brother-in-law Rabastan and Barty Crouch Jr.

"Oooh, look at this!" Bellatrix exclaimed gleefully as she pointed at Josie's stomach. "Wittle Josie Black is pregnant. Too bad we want answers!" Bellatrix snarled a dark twisted look on her face. Neither Josie or Alice had time to protect themselves as Bellatrix fired a curse at Josie the same time Rodolphus fired the same one at Alice, while Rabastan and Barty Crouch Jr laughed maniacally.
"Crucio!"
"Crucio!"
"Where is the Dark Lord!? He paid your brother a visit last night, Josie? Crucio! Where is he? Where is he? Crucio! Crucio!" Bellatrix shouted as Josie and Alice screamed in agony. Rabastan and Barty now joining in with torturing them, increasing the pain to even more unbearable lengths.

Josie screamed and screamed as she felt the lives die inside her. Blood ran down her legs as tears ran down her face the more she was struck with the curse and she felt herself die inside. Having no will to live anymore. Why should she? She's lost everyone. She's lost her parents, her brother and her friends, her husband and now her children. She didn't want to live anymore. She barely noticed when they stopped torturing her and Alice leaving them both in the same state as Frank; tortured into insanity. She didn't notice when they were found by Algae Longbottom, Remus Lupin and Albus Dumbledore an hour later.

Nor did she realise when it was discovered the miscarriage she had endured due to the torture, nor Remus crying over her as he held her tightly as he apologised to her wishing he had believed and protected her and nor did she realise when the three of them were admitted into the closed ward in St Mungoes leaving Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom all alone.

Josie gasped as she awoke her throat sore from all the screaming and tears poured down her face as she threw up and was pulled into her mother's arms as she cried. Fleamont vanished the sweat and vomit before he raced out to get her some potions only to stop outside the room when Lou-Lou appeared with the potions he had needed.
"Thank you Lou-Lou." Fleamont said gruffly as he took the basket from her and went back into his daughter's room Lou-Lou behind him with a wet towel that she dabbed across her young Mistress' forehead.
"Come sweetheart. Drink this you'll feel better." Fleamont coaxed as he and Euphemia helped Josie drink the Stomach Soother, a potion for her throat and a Calming Draft.

It was another hour until Josie finally calmed down from her heart breaking sobs and just lay in her parents arms while the boys sat worriedly at the bottom of the bed and Lou-Lou watched worriedly as she dabbed her head with a wet cloth.
"What happened darling?" Euphemia asked sadly not knowing how she could help her daughter.
"You need to stay away from Peter." Josie croaked to the boys, her eyes showing no life in them, scaring all in the room. "They died Mama." Josie whispered, looking up at her mother with watery eyes. "My babies. Bellatrix and Rabastan killed them." Josie cried, as she sobbed once more.

"Oh my baby." Euphemia cried, pulling her daughter closer to her as tears slipped down her own cheeks. She knew how her daughter felt due to the many miscarriages she and Fleamont suffered before she fell pregnant with Jamie and Josie, but not to this extent.
"I watched Jamie die by Voldemort, I watched Siri by Bellatrix protecting Harry. Remus and his wife died leaving his son an orphan. You and Papa died. Frank was tortured into insanity by Bellatrix, Rodolphus, Rabastan and Barty Jr, then they tortured me and Alice not caring I was three months pregnant with twins. They taunted me that they would and had killed my babies, I wanted to die. They thought we knew where He was, Sirius was in Azkaban and I was tortured into insanity with Alice. Leaving Harry and their son Neville alone. Remus found us." Josie cried.

"It's not going to happen Josie." James said tearfully as he grasped one of her hands, Sirius grasped the other and Remus placed a hand over her knee. All three of them had tears running down their faces but had a hard look on their faces. "I promise none of the visions you had are going to come true. I not going to die, neither is Sirius or Remus and you are not going to lose your babies or be tortured. I swear it. I will always protect my baby sister." James swore seriously. "And we won't let that happen to Frank and Alice either, what happened to Mum and Dad?" James asked.
"James!" Sirius exclaimed, slapping him around the back of the head.
"Dragon Pox and old age." Josie said softly.

"Unfortunately there's nothing we can do about our deaths except try to prevent the Dragon Pox, I'm so sorry you had to see all of this sweetheart." Fleamont sighed as he held his daughter tightly.
"Can you stay here?" Josie whispered not wanting any of them to leave her.
"We're not going anywhere, Josie. I promise." Remus swore as he pulled her into a hug while Merlin came into the room and jumped on to Josie's lap rubbing his head against her chin. Euphemia created sleeping bags on the floor for them while she and Fleamont would sleep on either side of Josie in the large bed.
"I'll fetch some warm milk with Dreamless Sleep." Lou-Lou said before she disappeared and reappeared a moment later with the drinks with the potions mixed in.

"Thank you." Josie said softly. "I'm.."
"Don't you dare apologise Mistress." Lou-Lou said sternly before anyone else could as she pointed her finger at Josie. "You try to sleep now, Miss." She crooned, as she gently brushed Josie's hair out of her eyes before she disappeared again.
"It's alright darling, try and sleep. We'll be here when you wake up." Euphemia coaxed as she helped Josie lay down and place a kiss to her forehead just as Josie's eyes were closing. "Goodnight Josie." Was the last thing she heard.

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I'm crying 😭