Chapter 5
Harry was found in Fred and George's room, perched on the window sill, staring outside in a rather depressed state. He didn't even look up, when the creak of the bedroom door announced the arrival of his friends.
Hermione, Ron and Ginny shared looks, silently urging each other to say something, but after a long pause in which Harry did nothing to acknowledge their presence at all and none of them made a move to break the increasingly oppressive silence, Hermione sighed and strode forward.
“Harry.” She said softly, sitting down next to him, hand on his arm. “Are you alright?” When he didn't answer, she continued in a voice so gentle it only served to set Harry off. “I know this must be overwhelming, but-”
“I've got so much going on already.” Harry interrupted, still not looking up. “I don't need this right now. There's the war, the prophecy and whatever Dumbledore's gonna teach me... and then there's whatever Malfoy is up to... the last thing I need is this complication.” He was silent for a moment, before he mumbled: “My life's complicated enough.”
“Harry,” Hermione said reproachfully. “They are your parents . This... this is the opportunity of a lifetime. To meet the parents you never got to meet. I think that is more important than Malfoy .”
“And Sirius is here.” Ginny added, walking over too, to sit on one of the many boxes stacked in her brothers’ room. “I mean, it still sucks that our Sirius is gone, but isn't this the next best thing?”
Harry finally looked away from the window, revealing a frown on his face. “This Sirius is nothing like our Sirius.” He said, looking almost angry.
“Yes he is.” Ginny frowned. “You heard what Professor Dumbledore said. This is Sirius, but then young.”
“He's not our Sirius and those people... those are not my parents.”
“Harry! That's just untrue.” Hermione said, looking taken aback by his outburst. “I don't understand... why are you upset? All those years ago, the mirror... I thought seeing your parents was your greatest desire.”
Harry opened his mouth. Whether to explain or to shout, he didn't even know. Nothing came out. Instead he felt his eyes burn and he turned away.
“You can miss Sirius and still get to know this other version of him.” Ron said, from where he was still standing in the doorway, surprising the girls with his insight in Harry's emotional turmoil. “He wouldn't mind. And neither would your parents.”
Harry looked at his best friend, eyes wet. Ron walked over, expression soft. “You're right.” He told Harry seriously. “The people sitting downstairs... this James and Lily didn't die for you. And this Sirius isn't the godfather you miss and want back. But they can still be your family.”
Hermione and Ginny silently watched the moment between both boys and realized, that just because they didn't talk about their feelings a lot, didn't mean they didn't understand each other.
“I just... I don't know how to feel.” Harry confessed. “My parents are dead . Sirius is dead . Hanging out with these other versions of them isn't going to fix that.”
“Of course it isn't.” Hermione said softly, when Ron appeared at a loss of what to say. “But Harry, death isn't usually reversible in any capacity . You have the chance to meet a version of your parents and be with a version of Sirius. I think a lot of people would kill for a chance like that. Don’t throw it away because it isn't perfect. Don't waste it, because it isn't enough.”
“I'm homesick.” Peter mumbled, from where he was laying on the sofa, huddling under one of the knitted blankets Mrs. Weasley had brought them for the night. James, who was laying on a make-shift bed made of a bunch of pillows next to the couch, reached up his hand for Peter to latch onto for comfort.
“It's just a few nights.” Lily told the boys she was leaving to camp out in the living room, while she went upstairs to bunk with Ginny Weasley and Hermione Granger. “September 1st , we'll be back at Hogwarts, which is basically like home.” She hesitated in the doorway, before adding: “And... we won't have to impose on Harry so much, then.”
“He hates us.” James was still pouting about it, even though it had been ages since Harry and his friends had gone up to their rooms, not even coming down for an awkward dinner much later. “Our son hates us, Lily, how can you be so calm about this?”
“He's just overwhelmed.” Lily repeated the same thing she'd been repeating like a mantra ever since Harry first stormed out. “How would you feel, if the teenage version of your parents and their friends barged into your life after being an orphan for sixteen years?”
It was a fair point.
“I'm going up. Good night.” Lily announced, waving at the boys once more and flicking off the light, before she disappeared down the hallway.
It was quite dark all of a sudden. Peter sniffled and crushed James’ hand. Severus hugged his pillow closer to his chest where he lay curled up on the loveseat.
Sirius shifted on the carpet to find a more comfortable position, staring up enviously at Remus, who was laying on the second couch. Remus huffed in amusement at Sirius’ glare and scooted over to make room. “Come here already, Pads.” Sirius would deny it if anyone ever asked, but ever since he turned into a dog animagus he really didn't mind laying on the floor much. He just really could use the comforting cuddles right now.
Silence returned, for a moment.
“Seriously, how are we supposed to sleep?” James complained, then. “We just time travelled two decades into the future and learned that we're never going home. There's no way I'm sleeping tonight. Add to that, that there's a kid upstairs that's apparently mine .”
“We should at least try, we could all use the rest.” Remus mumbled, from where his face was pressed into the back of Sirius’ neck. “We pretty much skipped a night because of... you know. Time travel.”
“I just wanna go upstairs and force Harry to talk to me.” James admitted.
“That's a sure way to make your kid hate you.”
“Why, he hasn't even given me a chance, he just decided to hate me on principal.”
“Forcing him to do anything makes you the enemy, Prongs, it's literally parenting 101.”
“Oh really? Since when were you a parenting expert, Moony?”
Sirius sighed, shifting on the worn couch. “At least let him sleep on it. Lily's right, he's overwhelmed. And he's been through a shit ton. So... let's give him a moment to process. And. You know. It's not like we're going anywhere, so you pretty much have the rest of your life to work on your father-son relationship James.”
Peter sniffled at the reminder of the fact that they wouldn't be going home.
“As touching and fascinating as it is to see the inner workings of the famous Marauders, kindly shut up.” Severus mumbled.
“You know, if I was in your shoes, I'd be trying to be a delight.” Sirius said.
“Fuck you, Black.”
“Fuck off, Snape.”
“You know,” Peter whispered into the subsequent silence. “I'm kinda glad at least this one thing hasn't changed.”