Chapter 3
After Lily and James were showered and refreshed, they sat at the counter while Harry began preparing a meal for them all to help alleviate some of the lingering tension…and because emotionally charged events tended to make him hungry.
“How’d you learn to cook?” Lily asked from her spot at the stool, peering over and around Harry as if itching to help but restraining herself because Harry had kindly demanded they all sit for this next portion.
“Just did a lot of it growing up” Harry mused quietly.
“If Sirius taught you then I don’t know if I want to eat this,” James laughed jovially.
It genuinely pained Harry to hear James bring up Sirius like he was still here and he did so quite often. He was beginning to really see the nature of their relationship now more than ever, it was more than just a friendship or a familial relationship, James and Sirius complemented each other in a way that not everyone gets to experience. They were truly twin flames and he was able to start piecing together Sirius’ actions when he left Azkaban and met Harry.
Harry always felt Sirius’ lingering looks or the way his large smile would falter the minute Harry didn’t quite get what he said or said something ‘out of character.’ Sirius would see so much of James in Harry that it was like he would get caught up in the moment and was forever torn between being his best friend and being his godfather. Harry didn’t mind it though, he loved Sirius too but he didn’t look forward to how James would react. Atleast Sirius knew that James was dead by then.
Harry figured now was the time to talk about it and he was glad to occupy his hands and attention while he did so. He was facing them as he began to peel potatoes.
“You’ve mentioned Sirius a couple times now and I think we need to talk about that” he sighed. “So as you know, in your timeline, you two…died. Around that same time, Sirius went to check on Peter and saw that he wasn’t there and went to the cottage. He saw what happened and put it together that Peter had betrayed you both since he was the only other one who knew your location.” James and Lily were following along with rapt attention which nudged Harry to continue.
“Dumbledore also figured out what happened and ordered Hagrid to retrieve me. Sirius gave him his magical bike to do so while he went and found and chased Peter to a muggle street where a fight broke out, causing them to break the statute of secrecy for one. Peter then cast a blasting spell at Sirius and while he survived, twelve muggles did not. Muggle as well as magical authorities showed up and they believed he was the one who betrayed you two, since no one knew you had changed Secret Keepers, and they took him straight to Azkaban. They believed him crazy since they found him laughing after it all happened and never received a trial based on ‘irrefutable evidence.’
James looked murderous as his hands clenched on the edge of the counter, “They took him to Azkaban! We have to get him out, we can tell him what happened, oh my gods has he been there for 20 years?” James had a look Harry knew he often wore when at school, a look full of passion and determination to do something. Draco always made fun of him for playing the hero and he saw that James seemed to have the same affliction.
He knew it wasn’t their fault but James seemed to have forgotten that he travelled so far into the future. Harry was detailing events that happened more than a decade and a half ago and Harry worried about his blood pressure for every time he said something, James got very passionate and hyper just to be shut down again.
Harry put a hand out to stop him from jumping up, “But…it turned out that Peter survived. He just cut off a piece of his finger to leave at the scene to fake his death. Sirius spent the next twelve years in Azkaban and while in there, he got his hands on a newspaper left behind by one of his guards. In the picture was the entire Weasley family including Ron’s pet rat who was missing a finger,” gasps slipped from the other two, “Sirius realised it was Peter in animagus form and using his own form, Padfoot escaped Azkaban and came straight to Hogwarts. Him and Remus found Peter and eventually Sirius was cleared of his charges.”
“That fucking rat” James ground out. “How could Peter do that? Why? He lied for so long. And twelve years in Azkaban? How did he even survive that without getting kissed.”
“Peter claimed that he was scared and Voldemort could offer him power and safety. As for Sirius, I think he really only survived on rage.”
The potatoes were all peeled and Harry dumped them into a pot of hot water, now getting chicken out of the cold cabinet to cut and season.
“Wait, if Sirius was in Azkaban, who raised you? Remus?” Lily asked, still reeling from his story.
“The Dursleys.”
Lily was thoroughly shocked then, raising a hand to her forehead and cringing, “No they didn’t! How? Why? Oh my gods Petunia and Vernon.”
“Dumbledore sent me to them right after it all happened and they raised me with their own son. They almost didn’t let me go to Hogwarts but Hagrid came and got me, all but kidnapped me to Diagon Alley. They tried to stop me every year but it never worked” he said with a small smirk of victory.
“Where was Remus?” Lily asked and it was a very good question actually. Harry didn't know the specifics but he had spoken to Remus about it before in a moment of vulnerability with Sirius. Remus stated he was in no condition to raise Harry with no money or support system. His lycanthropy rendered him as a liability and worst of all, perhaps the killing blow, was that Dumbledore outright denied him custody of Harry for the aforementioned reasons. The sorrowful look in Remus' weary golden eyes was enough to prevent Harry from inquiring further.
“I don’t really know. I only met him in my third year when he was our Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, that was the same time Sirius broke out of Azkaban. He was the professor until Snape outed him for being a werewolf and parents started protesting.”
“Snivellus,” James automatically responded as if that was instinct to respond with an insult when he heard his name, rolling his eyes.
“Remus was a professor?” Lily noted with a small smile as if that was perfect for Remus and Harry had to admit he agreed. Out of the long list of DADA professors they had, Remus stuck out to him, not only for his intelligence but for the way so many students felt at ease around him and how he put genuine care into each of his lessons. When it became clear that Remus was a werewolf, Harry couldn’t even find it in himself to care.
"What about now? Where is he?" she asked hopefully.
Harry redirected, “To tell the rest of the story, I have to go back a bit to give the entire picture so it’s going to take a while” Harry warned but Lily and James only nodded, eager for him to proceed.
“In my fourth year, Hogwarts hosted the Triwizard Tournament and a boy from Durmstrang, a girl from Beauxbatons, and a boy- Cedric Diggory- was the Hogwarts champion. My name also came out of the goblet and I had to compete as well.”
James slowly smiled at that, “No way, Sirius and I dreamed of competing in that.”
Harry regaled the tale of him in the Triwizard Tournament, how he had managed to survive, how Cedric died, how Voldemort was resurrected, the shock they all felt when it was revealed that Barty Crouch Jr. was behind it. Harry had the weird sensation of laughter bubbling up within him. It certainly wasn’t appropriate but it was just so insane that this was his life and that it was all just a memory now, gone with the wind.
“You fought Voldemort and made it out? That’s…” James couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
“Nobody believed me but anyways, the year ended then. Tension grew outside of Hogwarts as death eaters flocked back to Voldemort and eventually the Order of the Phoenix came together again. It was a good year as I got to get to know Sirius more…I never had any other family so having Sirius around was nice” Harry began to trail off.
“Voldemort was able to speak to me using our connection that happened the night he tried to kill me, or tried for the first time atleast. He could read my mind and I could feel his emotions and thoughts. Snape tried to teach me occlumency but it didn’t work out. The summer after my fifth year, I had a vision that he had captured Sirius and was planning to kill him at the Department of Mysteries and I believed it…” Harry still felt so ashamed talking about this part of the story. He knew it wasn’t entirely his fault but he always wondered ‘what if?’, plagued by the possibilities if he never went that night. If he had just opened his present a bit sooner, he would have communicated with Sirius through the mirror but it was too little too late.
“I went after him with some of my friends. Turns out, the death eaters were there to get their hands on the prophecy that I’m sure you know about, it was destroyed in the end. A fight broke out between us and them and it came to a peak in the Chamber of death.” Harry was surprised to feel his eyes begin to burn and he paused to control his breathing, tilting his head back to look at the ceiling before continuing. The pain never subsided, “Sirius and I fought against them but Bellatrix fired a curse at Sirius and he fell through the veil. He died then, whether from the veil or the curse…I don’t know.”
James and Lily had gone pale, James’ normally rich skin had looked faded while Lily’s freckles popped out of her skin at the stark contrast.
“No…” James gasped as his lips pulled downward and he clutched a trembling hand to his chest as if trying to gather the broken pieces of his heart. His nostrils flared as his lips wobbled and he slowly dropped out of the chair to stand on shaky legs before collapsing, as if his body protested all movement. His body simply couldn’t muster strength in a world without Sirius, the thought was so foreign to James that he felt his brain liquifying and he was more certain now than ever that he was in a simulation or trapped in some nightmare in which his son was an adult and his friends were all dead.
James’ sobs grew louder and Harry flinched at the sound. He had to remember that for them, this was fresh, Sirius was still 21, was still their best friend, and most importantly, was still alivel.
“When was this?” he gasped out.
“June 18, 1996. He was 36,” he murmured. Harry absently rubbed his arm over the tattoo of that date that rested right along the side of his forearm, where Sirius had a twin tattoo of Harry's birthday. At some point just after the war, Harry had gotten a bit tattoo-happy and had small ones littering his arms and midsection and they had helped soothe some part of his pained soul that demanded retribution and acknowledgment.
“Sirius is dead” James said though his face scrunched up as if he had smelled something bad. He couldn’t quite believe the words himself and Lily just silently cried alongside him, laying a small hand on James’ shoulder.
“What happened after?” James grunted as he laid his head in his hands so his face was out of view. His foot tapped incessantly on the floor and he pulled at the sleeve of his top, wanting to free himself from the collars that felt like they were shrinking and closing in on him.
Harry didn’t want to continue but there wasn’t much of another option, “The second war really began in earnest. The minister for magic resigned and death eaters took over. Draco Malfoy received his mark at just sixteen since Lucius fell into disfavour with Voldemort after the fight, I think he was the youngest death eater ever. Well he was basically going mad at school and it turns out, Voldemort gave him the task to kill Dumbledore but he couldn’t do it- he was meant to fail. To die.”
No one could see James' shock at that moment as he couldn't help but draw similarities between the first war and this one, it was nearly identical. How he had lived in this exact situation with Regulus, how Regulus had received the mark at sixteen after Sirius refused it and the Blacks offered Regulus up to take it instead. He remembered Regulus rambling about his mission and how he had to leave, never explaining himself in full.
He remembered finding out that Regulus had died.
James’ heart lifted slightly to know that history did not repeat itself in this sense. Draco was alive, despite the mark and Voldemort, he lived, James remembered the young Malfoy popping his head into the flames and speaking to Harry despite his familial ties. He managed to slip out of the clutches of the war and lived to see the sun rise and fall, taking the place of those that had not had the same luck.
“He couldn’t do it so he ended up working on a Vanishing Cabinet that he had found at Hogwarts and he let death eaters in. Snape covered for him and killed Dumbledore himself.”
Harry just swished his wand to instantly mash the potatoes and the chicken was cooked but they were far too deep in now to stop so Harry put a stasis charm on it and put out biscuits and tea while they continued, needing to do something to stave off the quiver in his hands.
“After death eaters overran the school, it was inhabitable. Around the same time, we found out about horcruxes. They were basically bits of Voldemort’s soul that he imbued in objects that rendered him immortal. If we destroyed those, there was a chance that he could be killed. There were seven in total and we already had some but we needed to head out for the others. Before Dumbledore died, we found one together actually, it was a locket-”
James gasped deeply and all eyes turned to him but he just shook his head, mumbling for Harry to continue though he looked shaken.
“Regulus Black had been given the locket to hide but when we got there, we found it was a fake. In the note was a message from Regulus saying he had hidden the true locket so that Voldemort’s true match could find it and destroy him. He defected in the end and died in the cave that was overrun with Inferi.”
James just began to slowly shake his head from his spot on the ground. Lily placed her arm under his to help him up but he refused. He remained rooted to the spot and Lily whispered something in his ear that he continued to express his refusal for. After a moment, “I’m sorry Harry, continue” he pushed without an explanation.
Harry detailed the search for the locket, the battle in which Moody and hedwig died, the horcrux hunt and inevitable demise of Peter Pettigrew. His parents didn’t seem nearly as pained at the news of his death, rather just defeated and disappointed for their friend to meet his demise that day.
“We realised the rest would be at Hogwarts and we snuck back in. Turns out Voldemort found out and summoned all his forces there. The final battle happened there, all of their forces versus all of ours. We destroyed all the horcruxes but we found out near the end that I was one as well.”
Another jaw dropping moment as Harry recounted a lifetime of memories in the span of about an hour or two.
“When he tried to kill me as a baby, he inadvertently embedded a piece of his soul into mine and he Avada’d me at the battle.”
“No” Lily gasped as if Harry wasn’t still standing very much alive in front of her.
“I survived, clearly, I have a talent for that” a huff of laughter, “And eventually we duelled and he was defeated on May 2nd, 1998.”
James and Lily sagged now that he had reached the end and Harry just had to rip the plaster off and end their suffering once and for all.
“Remus died in the battle too.”
For a beat there was just silence in the room until Lily and James both began to cry hard again. They produced silent tears and gasps throughout Harry’s story but now their sobs filled the room, wet heaving breaths and Harry began to cry as well, not only exhausted from telling the story but also the reminder of all he had lost. The war was still as fresh in his mind as it was when it happened.
“ Nonono ” he heard Lily repeat like a broken record and James just scrubbed harshly at his face.
There were no words for the grief Lily and James felt at this moment. At hearing what Harry had gone through, at the loss of all their friends, at hearing no one had made it out of the war except them, by some horrible twist of magic. They couldn’t even process Harry’s grief because sorting through the muddled story would take time, but to hear the last statement so bluntly struck them, slicing through them cleanly and leaving behind an open wound.
Lily stood up and walked around the counter to hug Harry tightly and Harry melted into it as James came and wrapped his arms around them both.
Harry silently plated the food and after they had replenished their stores somewhat, Harry began, “I think we all need to take a break yeah?”
They nodded silently and they each went upstairs to their rooms, Harry had taken over Sirius’ and Harry led them to an extra bedroom far down the upstairs corridor. He planned on leading them to Regulus’ but he figured that would have been a bad idea after his dad’s earlier reaction to hearing Regulus’ name and what he had done.
They quietly shut their doors and they all fell into a fitful sleep to heal their broken hearts and soothe their aching souls, both nearly impossible.
Only Harry didn’t have time to wallow, he had to get to a party, if only he remembered that small detail. He really should invest in a calendar.
_____
When Harry woke up it was about half six in the evening, the sun angled brightly through his windows, casting long shadows into the room. Sirius’ room was nice once he took the bars off the window, lightened the paint, and cast over a dozen cleaning and mending charms. He didn’t feel at all comfortable taking the master bedroom, dark magic still festered in that side of the house and he cringed thinking at what Walburga and Orion had gotten up to in there.
He groaned inwardly when remembering what he was to expect once he left his room. He was so used to waking up to a silent and empty home, no one to see him nor question him, that he was scared of what was to come.
However, he was also a bit exhilarated? Excited?
After this reprieve, he was able to really consider what had just happened. His parents were very clearly not dead and were here, young and alive, in his apartment. Not just apparitions caused by the stone or images created by the Mirror of Erised but real physical beings.
He never had someone to greet him when he woke up or give him kisses before sending him off to school. He had done without so and wasn’t expecting a kiss on the forehead before he went to the Ministry for work but it was exciting to have a semblance of family around despite the fact that his parents were also nearly his age.
Though he suspects the grief that they all experienced today has aged them up tremendously.
He staggered out of bed, rubbing his eye and gaining his bearings. He always felt off after a long nap, sweaty and stiff, and in need of a shower so he did exactly that before venturing out.
His parents were likely still sleeping because the house was silent as he tread downstairs on light feet but when he looked over, Draco was standing there, causing Harry to jump and miss a step on the stairs, again. It was like the trick step on Hogwarts all over again, he really needed to fix this place up. Or perhaps stop getting surprised while walking down the stairs.
“‘ Let’s go out for your birthday Draco.’ "It'll be so fun’ ‘We deserve to celebrate’ ‘I love you ’ were those all lies then?” Draco asks with a significant attitude as he frowns at Harry.
“What?” Harry mumbles, wondering if he’s also a figment of his imagination. Also rolling his eyes internally at the last addition as if Harry’s love was as facetious as the rest.
“You were supposed to pick me up at six. You and your band of Gryffindors insisted on having a birthday celebration and you were what? Taking a nap?”
Harry panicked, it had completely slipped his mind but he was slightly more concerned with the fact that his parents were right upstairs at this exact point in time and he didn’t fancy exposing their magical reincarnation just yet, he knew better than to take attention off of Draco on the day of his party.
“I’m so sorry, I didn't even realise. I can meet you at Hermione’s though!” Harry rattled hopefully.
Draco just sat on the sofa, one leg crossed over the other, fingers steepled together atop his knee imperiously, “And deal with all of them on my own? Absolutely not.” He looked like he was carved out of marble in his black trousers and white button down shirt, all clean and crisp edges with his dragon hide boots. Harry was practically watering at the mouth at the sight but he didn’t have time for this.
It was his fault they had plans after all. Draco and Harry had gotten together quite recently, after testifying for Draco at his trial, they spent significant time together and had to work through major issues but they found themselves falling for eachother quickly, acting on emotions they had harboured all throughout their time at Hogwarts. Introducing Draco as his boyfriend to their friends proved troublesome, some were happy for them while others were furious, Ron was outright murderous for days and Harry made himself especially scarce until Ron showed up with an angry Hermione in tow, always the voice of reason.
Harry scrambled up the ancient steps as they creaked underfoot. He dashed up to his parents room and knocked lightly but rapidly. James opened the door and Harry rushed in, closing the door behind him before casting a silencing charm and he looked at Harry in concern.
“I forgot I made plans tonight and I’m sorry but I can’t miss them. I’ll be back tonight and we can talk some more but I’ll close the floo behind me and if anyone knocks on the door, don’t answer. There’s a lot to talk about so I don’t think it’d be a tremendously good idea. Sounds good?” Harry rambled.
“You’re leaving? Is it safe? Who are you going with?” James jumped in typical dad fashion.
“I know I was talking pretty quickly before but I killed Voldemort, it’s quite frankly never been safer. I’m just going to a birthday party with friends” Harry rushed, having to explain himself to his parents.
“Have fun” Lily smiled wearily.
“Is it bad that I kind of want to catch you doing the walk of pride?”James asked mischievously, clearly saying it wrong on purpose.
Harry laughed and in a split second decision, rushed forward to brush a kiss to Lily and James’ cheeks and they both smiled in response. Harry could tell they were still a touch tight around the edges, clearly going with whatever Harry was telling them as they were placed in an entirely new setting and he admired their adaptability.
Harry shut the door behind him, running back to his room to find a change of clothes. He put on a pair of black denim trousers and a maroon top with his usual trainers as he bounded back down.
“Why were you up there running around and slamming doors like you're being chased by something” Draco asked.
“Couldn’t find my shoes at first” Harry smiled crookedly, “But I found them under my bed.”
“Oh no that would have been such a tragedy, thank gods you found them in time” he said sarcastically as he cast a look at Harry’s ratty shoes. Harry remembered the time Draco ‘accidentally’ set them on fire, thankfully Harry was good at restoration spells.
“Don’t lash out at me because you have to be social for a night”
Draco just rolled his eyes because he knew Harry was right. Harry leaned in and pressed a kiss to his lips, placing a soft hand on Draco’s cheek and Draco melted into his touch as he kissed him back, his body relaxing slightly. They jumped into the floo together and went straight to Hermione’s where everyone was waiting for them.
It was still odd, having gatherings like this. Harry could see Ron’s eyes trail over the crowd and catch on George but he’d continue to scan for Fred until he remembered and his eyes would just unfocus for a moment. George on the other hand seemed to have a perpetual habit of looking to his right whenever he was chatting with someone, as if waiting for Fred to jump in with a witty follow up but he’d always come up empty.
Lavender was much more subdued than before, constantly checking her appearance and reapplying glamours. Her body was scarred just as Remus’ was and she had not yet become accustomed to the changes she had to face. Parvati stayed by her side throughout it all but Lavender would have to heal on her own. Cho was still single and seemed content being that way, Harry didn’t know whether she didn’t want another partner or simply couldn’t bring herself to yet.
But at the same time, Neville had gotten together with Hannah Abott, the two of them very happy together. Luna revealed that she had been dating Blaise for years which caught everyone off guard. Andromeda also came with Teddy who chattered excitedly and toddled around the room, excited by having so many people around. It was an all around lovely atmosphere and Harry was content to bask in it and celebrate Draco’s birthday in a way that he deserved.
After everyone was sufficiently buzzed and full, Hermione brought out a large chocolate fudge cake and Draco’s eyes lit up until Hermione took out candles and started placing them into the cake and his face abruptly dropped as he turned around trying to find the restroom.
He almost made it but Ron and Ginny both stopped him on the way and hauled him back, settling him into a chair while everyone crowded around the table singing Happy Birthday. He started turning as red as the Weasley’s hair until finally it was time and he blew out the candles before abruptly leaning back and dodging Ginny’s hand that was about to wrap around Draco’s head.
Draco laughed gleefully at not allowing her a chance to repeat last year’s events until he turned back where Ron was waiting with a much smaller cake and his face connected with the cake with a smash, frosting and cake flying everywhere.
Draco looked outraged for a brief moment as rainbow frosting was smeared across his face and hair, dripping onto his clothes to mix with the rainbow sprinkles that had fallen there. That is, until a sickly sweet smile had taken over his face and he slowly stood up, “You know Weasley, I know we’ve always had our differences but I wanted to thank you for tonight, let me give you a nice big hug.”
Ron started pushing back through the people, running out of the house while Draco chased after him, arms spread out wide. Everyone was howling with laughter and Ron paused after he was sufficiently far away from the house, thinking he was safe, until Draco popped up and jumped on his back, tackling Ron to the ground. They both came back inside a few moments later, covered in frosting, grass stains, and bits of cake.
Ron went over to Hermione to press a kiss to her cheek and was met with a sharp finger to his lips, angling his head away. Draco did the same and Harry accepted it gratefully, the quintessential taste of Draco mixing with the sweet frosting combining into a delightful medley that made Harry lightheaded.
Throughout the night, it would hit Harry that he should get home. He wondered if his parents would be okay both emotionally and physically. Kreacher would surely make them food but they’ve had an incredibly difficult two days and Harry felt like he had just abandoned them though he didn’t allow his feelings to intrude on Draco’s evening as he watched him chat to Blaise, Theo, and Neville.
In Hogwarts, that group would never be seen together for it would be world war III but now, it was typical and it pleased Harry to see him so comfortable when he spent so long after the war hiding at home or only going out if he transfigured himself.
“Are you feeling alright?” Ron sidled up where he sat on the sofa, drinking a butterbeer.
“Yeah why?”
“You seemed confused this morning and never came in?”
“Oh right, just had a weird morning I dunno.”
“Malfoy told Robbards you were in the bathroom dealing with a number 7” Ron stifled a laugh.
Now Harry knew what a number one was, a number two, he could even venture a guess as to what a number three was but seven…he didn’t even want to know what his boss thought. When he tried to chastise Draco for that terrible lie, he just stuck his tongue out and Harry pinched him.
The evening began to wind down as everyone started saying their goodbyes. Harry and Draco were among the last to leave, hanging around to help Ron and Hermione clean up and drink water to sober up, not wanting a repeat of last night.
After they had finished, Draco and Harry talked about what their plans were for the rest of the night. Harry had to muster all of his strength after Draco suggestively asked if they should go back to his to keep the party going.
“I can’t. Robbards sent me a stack of paperwork I missed today, I’ll come round soon though okay? Promise” Harry said, trying to sweeten the deal by pressing a lingering kiss to Draco’s lips.
Draco pouted dramatically, muttering a fine before disappearing into the flames with a middle finger pointed at Harry who only winked back at him.
Harry stepped in behind him to go home and was met with a unique sight. James and Lily were sitting next to each other on the floor with a parchment and ink pot set in front of them. They had ink marks up and down their hands as well as on their cheeks and they spoke in low tones, scribbling on the parchment. Kreacher just eyed them as they absently took bites of a sandwich he must’ve put together for them.
They looked up at his arrival “Harry!” They peered behind him as if waiting for someone else to come but when no one did they just refocused on him with matching grins.
“So we’ve come up with a list of questions we wanted to ask you” James said excitedly and Harry just took a seat across from them, ready to have some guiding questions to explain how the rest of the world had gone to shite instead of giving a vague overall story.
“Shoot,” Harry began, heart pumping wildly, from the alcohol or the forthcoming interrogation he wasn’t sure but he’d face whatever it was head on and was excited to start getting into the details of his own life as well as learn more about his parents, not from the rose-colored glasses of their admirers but from the source themselves.
Harry silently thanked whichever God that took pity on him and sent him all these gifts after a very lonely and hopeless childhood and he wished he could go back in time to tell eleven year old Harry how fruitful his life now was, despite the bumps he'd had to face along the road.