Chapter 2
They sat in silence for the next few hours as they waited for someone to tell them what was happening as the only other two occupants in the house were passed out. James desperately wanted to go snoop or even wake the juvenile upstairs but he didn’t think either of those would make good first impressions should he be caught.
Finally, his curiosity got the better of him and he slowly ventured deeper into the house away from Lily’s hissed refusal, though he remained on the first level out of courtesy, of course. The house was all dark hallways and grim corners and James felt like he constantly had a pair of eyes trailing him every time he turned.
He felt like Voldemort would lunge out of a cupboard or from behind a tapestry, ready for round two. It was only after James dismissed that thought that something far worse happened.
“Blood traitor scum in the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black!” a shrieking voice filled the hallway and James nearly jumped out of his skin as he turned around and was greeted with the lovely image of Walburga.
“Shush woman, people are sleeping” he scolded her which only caused her to puff up in anger.
“I will not be silenced in my own home! You have no right entering onto my property you degenerate!”
“Okay I get it but it’s three in the morning. Gods you’re a pain in the arse” James complained. He brought a finger to the portrait just by Walburga’s face and she jumped back in her seat as if James was going to punch her. She looked like a gothic silkie in her black ruffled dress as she sat imperiously on a stool.
He shut her curtains with a swish and when she tried to open them again, he whacked the portrait and she remained silent.
Pleased with himself, he went back to his spot by Lily and resumed their silent trial. They must have dozed off at some point in the night because the next time they opened their eyes, the sun was streaming in through the glass windows in slits, highlighting the dust motes that drifted aimlessly through the air.
James stretched, lifting his neck that had gone over the back of the sofa and was now stiff and begging him to stop moving. He had to set his glasses to rights as Lily grunted and lifted her head from James shoulder.
“Did we fall asleep?” she asked languidly.
“Mhm” he affirmed.
“Bathroom” was all Lily said before staggering away in search of one.
The floo in the room roared to life as James looked blearily into the flames, unable to muster the energy to perk up. He used the entirety of his energy and adrenaline reserves yesterday and was now in the deepest crash of his life.
“Mate, my hangover has a hangover, '' a redheaded man said as he stepped into the room with a dopey smile. “Did you fall into your hearth getting back here or what?” he asked as he scanned James head to toe.
“Listen, I just came to drop by some hangover potion ‘Mione brewed last night, see you at work yeah?”
James just nodded as the man dropped some green vials on the table before stepping back into the flames.
“Who was that?” Lily asked after returning a moment later.
James shrugged, “Dunno, he left something on the table though.”
“James!” Lily complained.
“Lily, I still don’t know what’s going on, forgive me for not interrogating the mailman,” James said irritatedly.
The man from yesterday trudged down the stairs in a pair of joggers and a hoodie. He was rubbing his eyes, smudging up his glasses and his hair remained unruly though slightly damp as though he had taken a shower.
James was alert then, scrambling up to attention when he saw Harry.
“Listen kid-” he began and the boy nearly tumbled down the stairs when he saw them, as if he hadn’t seen them a few hours prior.
“We don’t know who you are and sorry for kind of intruding but we need some help” James said in his most authoritative and pleading tone.
“Who are you? How did you get in? Kreacher!” the boy said these all in tandem.
When Kreacher didn’t show up James figured he must still be convulsing somewhere, “He kind of short circuited a while ago so he might be out of service.”
“Who-” he repeated.
“Who are you?” James spoke over him.
The boy looked at them like they were crazy. Like he was the Minister of Magic and they obviously should have known that.
“Are you a Black?” Lily asked tentatively, wanting to see where his loyalties lied before revealing their identities.
He continued to stare at them and James swore he saw his left eye twitch and his hand tighten around something in his pocket.
“I’ll take that as a no. We need to speak to Dumbledore, can you get us in contact with him? Or maybe Moody, he’s an Auror” James spoke up hopefully.
“Who are you?” the boy asked fully now, clearly not going to answer their questions until he gets his answer. He looks to be about James’ age but he couldn’t recognize him from Hogwarts, he must’ve gone to one of the other wizarding schools though he didn’t have an accent and he didn’t seem like a Durmstrang type of lad.
“Yeah sorry, I’m James and this is Lily” he supplied, “And you?”
Kreacher popped in then spluttering, “Mr. Potter, two Mr. Potters, last night Kreacher was cleaning and this Mr. Potter came! Broke into the most Ancient and Noble House of Black he did!”
“What do you mean two Mr. Potter’s?” the kid redirected to the elf, glancing suspiciously between the elf and them.
James thought this kid had serious trust issues. Alright, they broke in and that may be in poor taste but his parents ingrained the whole ‘help thy neighbour’ mantra in him while growing up so this was a bit off putting.
“You Mr. Potter and him Mr. Potter. Blood traitor Master Sirius’ friend and young Master Regulus’-”
“Alright thank you for the introductions Kreacher” James cut him off quickly.
“Mum? Dad?” His voice was barely above a whisper as his eyes cleared as if seeing them anew and he scanned his green eyes along their forms, his eyes catching on something every now and then. His face crumpled and his grip on the bannister faltered as he dropped to the last step and stood directly in front of them.
What was this kid on?
“I’m Harry…Harry Potter” he said in a tight, shaky voice.
Three gasps echoed in the room.
“You-How-” Lily choked, her arms tensing at her sides as she wished to reach for Harry but was being held back.
“You’re not Harry” James stepped back, wishing desperately for his wand. “We need to speak to Dumbledore, if you help us now we won’t turn you in” James ordered. He had nothing to turn the kid in for but it sounded serious so he hoped it would work.
“He’s dead,” the boy spoke bluntly.
“How?” James gasped, wondering if Voldemort had levelled the world in a single night.
“He died three years ago” the boy informed them as if that had meaning to them.
“Moody then?”
“Moody died three years ago too.”
James felt like the floor was falling from beneath him because the boy looked like he could be Harry in a distant way. Lily just swivelled back and forth between the two, not quite believing her eyes as she marvelled between them.
“Who’s leading the Order then?”
“No one…Voldemort’s gone” he said looking wildly confused.
James and Lily couldn’t process anything that was happening.
“What date do you think it is?” the almost-James boy asked.
“It’s October 31, 1981…or November 1st now” Lily answered.
“Holy Merlin and Hecate,” the boy cursed, “It really is you…” His eyes filled with tears then, causing them to shine like crystal emeralds.
“What is it then?” James asked, not knowing whether he actually wanted the answer or not.
“It’s June 6th 2000.”
James almost truly passed out then, holding onto Lily for support, “I don’t believe you.”
The boy took his wand out then and cast a quick Tempus where the letters and numbers shined brightly above his wand reading out: 6 June 2000; 8:37:21.
Harry walked past them to the sofas they had slept on and they followed, tentatively taking a seat, Harry on one sofa while James and Lily perched on the one directly opposite him.
“When is your birthday?” James asked quickly.
“July 31st 1980.”
James looked up and away then, doing a bit of mental maths and it’s true that Harry would have been 20 and the boy in front of him looked about the same age as him. He couldn’t help but think it was daunting, it was like walking around with a constant mirror held up to you and it was impossible to look away. To the untrained eye, they would be twins but there were minor differences- James’ nose was stronger with a slight bump on the bridge unlike Harry’s more delicate nose, his jaw was stronger whereas Harry’s was wider, and James’ hazel eyes seemed to pale in comparison to his green.
That was too easy of a security question to ask, if Voldemort really had Harry and set up an imposter, he could’ve easily found out his birthday. James stared at the boy but he didn’t know anything about him, there wasn’t a security question he could ask and know the answer with 100% certainty.
At the same time, the uncanny similarity between them was enough to sway James that this boy may be telling the truth.
James redirected then, “Kreacher, can you sit down please.”
The elf remained standing by the door but he was listening attentively. Him and Kreacher had an odd sort of relationship. The elf didn’t much like him but was civil with James for the fact that he had a relationship with Regulus who he always favoured greatly. Regulus had called upon Kreacher multiple times when they were together and James saw the elf in passing. There were even times when Kreacher was the only one to pick up Regulus at the train station and saw James walk with him off the train. It seemed that his dedication to Regulus remained as he was still listening when he would normally shout a slur and slink away.
“Is this our son, Harry Potter?” he asked.
“Kreacher can see the bonds, yes” he answered before spreading his hands out wide.
There was a thick golden rope tying James, Lily, and Harry together, starting in their magical cores before being drawn taut to the next individual forming an equilateral triangle. There was another thread, white and iridescent that tied between James and Lily. James had a thread that shot out in another direction that was thin and grey but existed nonetheless. Harry had a dark green cord that also shot out somewhere beyond their knowledge.
Kreacher took a few steps forward before beginning, “This is a family bond it is,” he thrummed the chord and all three of them felt it resonate and vibrate within them. “Marriage bond” he pointed to the pearly thread. “Prevailing love” he pointed to Harry. “Lost love” he pointed to James though when he came up to this chord, he only ran a small wrinkled hand along it tenderly, almost reverently.
“But Voldemort- I heard him say the words, he- he killed you” Lily babbled as she stared at the complex maze in front of them.
Harry ran a hand through his hair and revealed a lightning shaped scar. It wasn’t clear by any means but rather it spread towards the centre of his forehead down to the peak of his nose and out wide, a tendril of lightning creating a slight slit in one brow. It was a few shades lighter than his skin and looked like a distant shock of lightning you’d see while standing in the centre of a clear field as it branched out across the horizon. It wasn’t gruesome by any means but rather, added to the boy’s already unique features.
“He tried to kill me but you…what do you remember from that night?” Harry asked genuinely.
“Peter knocked on the door, I went upstairs to where Lily and Ha- you were, he hexed me so I couldn’t move and Lily,” James turned and put a hand on Lily’s knee, squeezing gently as he remembered her willingness to sacrifice herself, “Lily stood in front of us both and while that happened, I felt something in my hand and it was some necklace that Dumbledore had given us. Next thing I know, he cast the killing curse, they were screaming, and then we just woke up there, on the floor of the cottage with him gone.”
Harry’s jaw went slack listening to him. He didn’t know what to make of any of this. He had a weird life, that much was very clear, seeing dead relatives was a pretty usual thing for him but they were sitting here, in front of him, and looking at him like he had all the answers, like he could clear up whatever dream they were still in.
Unfortunately, Harry had nothing to say. When he saw them last night, he thought it was just from being wildly pissed, he didn’t realise they’d still be here in the morning.
“What do you think happened that night, 20 years ago?” Lily asked, peering into him.
“The story starts the same way but you, dad er, James, died on the staircase. Voldemort went past you up to my nursery where mum was in front of my crib. He killed you” he turned to Lily, “but your sacrifice saved my life so the Killing Curse rebounded off of me onto him and he died that night. Well not died but “died” Harry finished with air quotes. He opened his mouth as if to say more but held back, only wringing his hands.
James and Lily listened in horror at themselves dying. It was odd to hear a part of history that didn’t even exist in their version of events. Their son had spent some 20 years thinking they were dead? Iit was impossible to think about this in a way that seemed logical.
“We just spent the entirety of yesterday looking for you. When we woke up, the blanket you were in was empty, you were just…gone. Sirius, Remus, or Peter didn’t answer, the manor was empty, we ended up going to Frank’s mums but no one was home. We just saw a letter talking about Grimmauld, that’s why we asked if you were a Black. I know the Blacks all died but it was our only lead.”
Lily remained silent as James recounted the story. She analysed Harry in great detail the same way Harry was looking back at them. It was eerie to see the eyes he looked in so often in his son’s.
“Your eyes…”
“Everyone always said I had my mum’s eyes,” Harry said wetly.
“When you were born, you had the same blue eyes as all babies do, we always wondered whether they’d turn out hazel or green” James smiled. “I won,” he shrugged as his lips wobbled.
“Can I?” Lily stood up, walking over and sitting by Harry.
He nodded and Lily lifted a freckled hand up to Harry, brushing aside his hair and running a finger along the scar there, “What happened to you my boy” she whispered.
“That was all that I had left of that night, of you” he whispered and Lily just sighed sadly at that, as if the breath rushed out of her, begging to touch the boy across her.
“Can I hug you please?” the boy whispered so quietly as if scared that Lily would reject him. He looked so young, even younger than James then with his shoulders cowered over while his feet tapped incessantly at the ground. It seemed he got that from James, the inability to sit still for longer than a few moments, especially when in a stressful or emotional situation.
Lily nodded quickly and embraced Harry so fervently that Harry rocked back with the motion before gripping her as well and both of them began crying in earnest.
“We were so scared, we thought you- Oh Merlin we thought he’d taken you and yesterday you just-” Lily couldn’t even finish a coherent thought at the relief flooding her veins at being able to hug Harry. Their baby boy had somehow grown up in the span of a single night while they remained the same.
Harry pulled back only slightly to look at James. He stood up and held a hand out to shake James’ hand but James only grasped his forearm and pulled him down to the sofa, tackling him into a hug, their tears and laughs mingling into a soppy melody.
“Oh Haris” he mumbled into his hair. His horribly messy hair was just like his and he almost felt like apologising to him for it.
When he pulled away, there were tears rolling down his cheeks and James gently brushed them away, setting his glasses to rights. It was odd, consoling a boy that was his age but his parental instincts overpowered all his other emotions. The boy in front of him was still the baby that cried when put to sleep, that squealed when James threw up a snitch, who babbled “mama” incessantly until Lily picked him up.
This boy was still his baby. His Harry.
“Do you live here?” he asked, looking around in disbelief.
“I- yeah. Sirius gave it to me and after everything it just felt right.”
“I can’t imagine why Sirius would ever give this place to you. He and Regulus hated it here- oh I need to talk to him,” James reoriented himself, “Sirius, we need to tell him about Peter, about what happened. Does he think we’re dead too?”
“Oh shite,” Harry sighed.
Before he could continue, the floo roared to life and a face appeared through the flames, “Potter!” a voice shouted.
Harry’s eyes widened as he scrambled to the fireplace, “Malfoy?”
“Where the hell are you, Robbards has been asking for you for an update on the case, I said you were in the bathroom and he’s just come by again. Either you come here now or I have to come up with a very unfortunate story that’ll be embarrassing for both of us, mostly you.”
“I can’t come in now,” Harry said nervously, turning back to his parents.
“Why not? I don’t care if you're hungover. Actually, Weasley just said he came by this morning and saw you on the sofa so drink the potions and get over here.”
Harry turned again in question over his shoulder and James sheepishly nodded, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Ron came here? And saw me?”
Malfoy’s face disappeared and there was a sound of protest before Ron’s face filled the flames, “Yeah mate, I told you ‘Mione just made them, you were awake then.”
“I must’ve forgotten…tell Robbards I had to go home. I’ll talk to you soon” Harry said, readying to end the call without further explanation.
Malfoy reappeared, “You better not miss tonight.”
“I won't,” he assured Malfoy. He leaned in closer and whispered something in the flames before abruptly shutting them and James wondered what he might’ve said, hopefully not calling the Auror office here to apprehend them.
“Did you say Malfoy?” James asked suspiciously. “What Malfoy?”
“Draco Malfoy, er-Lucius’ and Narcissa’s son.”
“Of course he made another devil spawn,” James said exasperatedly.
“Hey Narcissa was nice enough” Lily retorted.
“That’s only because we never interacted with her. You remember what Lucius was like especially with Sirius and Regulus, he was a prick.”
Lily hit his arm, not wanting to curse in front of Harry.
“Back to Moony and Pads, or er- Sirius and Remus, did they tell you about that? Oh my gods, did they raise you then? I can’t wait to see them” James laughed and Lily smiled along at the thought.
“We have a lot to go through but erm, do you want to maybe shower or anything, I can’t imagine you two are really comfortable?” Harry asked his guest-parents.
“Oh right” James remembered and realised with a grimace that he and Lily had left James and Lily sized soot imprints on the sofa.
Harry led them to two bathrooms upstairs, ensuring they had towels and soap and gave them their space.
Once they were in, he ran downstairs and out the door so he was standing in the small yard outside. He was barefoot and the earth was warm and doughy under his feet but he barely noticed the uncomfortable feeling. The air was temperate but it felt oppressive as he paced back and forth.
He lived with the Dursleys, he fought for his life every year at Hogwarts, had friends die, had family die, had fought Voldemort, died and came back to life. He had done a lot of things and had a lot done to him but he thought he was finally free from it all.
Not once did he think his parents would show up very much alive and young in his living room from some magical necklace Dumbledore gave them. It was especially odd because his parents looked so young. When people think about their parents, they imagine older people, like Molly and Arthur for example and so he always imagined his parents that way but seeing them had his heart breaking.
They were just about Harry’s age when they died, it was as if Ron and Hermione suddenly dropped dead, their entire future wiped away.
Well he supposed his parents still had a future? He didn’t know how to inform them that none of their friends had survived the war, had their futures cut from them. He didn’t know how his parents had gotten a second chance but Harry wasn’t surprised to hear that Dumbledore had some involvement in this.
He always had a way of meddling with things and then acting clueless when it went exactly his way.
He was surely going to be bald at 30 the way he kept pulling and pushing his hair, a nervous habit he had adopted. And how would he tell Ron and Hermione, Draco, the entire world that James and Lily had not died? How would everyone react?
“You look like James before a Quidditch match” a feminine voice called from the doorway. Lily was leaning against the doorframe in a pair of plaid pyjamas pulled up high and a black top. It was all Harry could really offer but it fit her snugly.
“I’m sorry it’s just all a lot right now, there’s so much to talk about and-”
Lily stepped out, foregoing shoes and put her hands on Harry’s shoulders, gazing into his eyes deeply before saying, “Don’t apologise, we’ll get through it together. You know when we came here, we thought you were gone,” she wiped a stray hair away from his forehead, showcasing his eyes, “To be able to see you, here, is a gift I could never have imagined and I know you might not see me as your mum really but…I am happy to be so” she professed.
“There’s so much you don’t know mum…I don’t even know where to start” Harry stressed.
“We can start at the beginning and go from there, it can’t be so bad can it?” Lily assured serenely.
It actually can be so bad, perhaps even worse than she could imagine but the way Lily leaned forward to embrace Harry, with complete devotion, had Harry forgetting his fears. Nothing else mattered beyond this moment.
Hugging Lily was entirely different from Hermione or Molly. He felt a sense of comfort and belonging he had never felt before. He was all sniffly and shaky whereas Lily was overbearing and a bit sticky from her shower and the mud was starting to give way beneath their feet so the hug was by no means perfect but it held the unembellished and indefinable feeling of love.
He could feel his soul lightening and inner child healing through this simple action and thought maybe she was right.
Maybe they’d be okay.