Chapter 6
“Mr. Potter,” McGonagall tutted from where she bustled in from a back door, presumably the Headmasters quarters. She was wearing a plaid robe tied tightly around her waist and her hair was slightly unbound from its normally tight bun but her eyes were wide and alert behind her spectacles as she observed Harry. “What on heavens has you bursting into my office at this hour,” her Scottish brogue especially strong at this hour.
“I’m sorry Headmistress” Harry breathed, remaining awkwardly standing in the room in his loungewear he hadn’t bothered to change out of. It was quite at odds with the ancient office that looked just as it always had though slightly less chaotic under new leadership. The bowl of sweets remained and this time it was full of chocolate flowers, a stagnant and calmer counterpart to chocolate frogs.
“We are long past formalities Harry but you do seem troubled, are you alright?” she asked concerned and she was right as she always was.
A simple shake of Harry’s head was enough to have her wrapping her arms around him stiffly before setting him down in a plushy chair to regale everything that had happened to him.
Harry finished by saying, “And I will take you to them Professor, but I need to speak to Dumbledore about this first.”
That was enough to have McGonagall tapping Dumbledore’s portrait incessantly until he woke up from his slumber. His eyes opened slowly as he took a cursory glance around the room but he started upon seeing Harry and sat up straighter, his eyes brightening somehow in the midst of the paint.
“Harry, lovely to see you here” Dumbledore smiled serenely. Harry didn’t know how sentient the portrait was but he knew some portraits were imbued with a sense of awareness and he hoped Dumbledore’s would be the same.
“Albus, Harry had just told me a very interesting story in which James and Lily Potter survived Voldemort’s attack in 1981” McGonagall announced stiltedly. Harry could tell she was using all of her power to not lash out and remain composed during his story and her patience was now waning.
Dumbledore’s grin widened and Harry swore his painted eye twinkled, “Did they really? That is wonderful.”
Would it really be that bad if Harry threw his portrait to the floor? Perhaps stepped on it a bit, shot a few hexes at it? He didn’t even show an ounce of shock or concern, just usua; wonderment.
“Sir why did you do it?” Harry asked desperately. That was a question Dumbledore had likely received millions of times over his lifetime as he never explained why he did things. One was lucky if they even received a roundabout metaphor by way of explanation.
Harry glanced to the side for a moment and noticed Snape’s portrait had also woken up and he was now watching the scene unfold as a silent spectator. Upon noticing him, Snape simply dipped his head and Harry offered one in return before turning back.
“I had long held suspicions that your father was in possession of one of the Hallows, the Invisibility Cloak, and at the time, I was quite involved in my research of ancient artefacts and had asked Mr. Potter if I may borrow it. I didn’t simply want to take it and so I offered one of my devices in return, as a gesture of goodwill.”
That explained nothing.
“But what was the device ?”
“Oh yes, I believe it was akin to a Time Turner. The war was afoot then and we were in a time littered with unsureties. Voldemort was gaining power and the Order was on unstable footing but it felt as though we were on the cusp of something large. I wondered if it may be possible to go into the future . Now, granted, time travel itself is cumbersome and can have large consequences but the possibilities were endless. I genuinely did not know if the device worked or not, it was simply all I had on my person at the time. Am I correct in assuming your parents are with us now?”
A fervent nod.
“And they are still 21 years old?”
Another.
“Astounding isn’t it?”
Harry decided to take that as a rhetorical question.
“Were they able to tell you what happened to them on that unfortunate night?” It appeared as though Dumbledore tried to infuse sympathy into his tone but the way his fingers curled around the armrest and his face lit up seemed otherwise.
McGonagall just seemed so shocked that she dropped into her leather chair and Snape was listening with rapt attention, catching every detail. The fish in the tapestry next to Dumbledore continued to blow bubbles and Harry envied it for its life of simplicity.
“Everything went the same but when Voldemort got to my nursery, the necklace showed up in my dad’s hand and when Voldemort shot my mum, he missed and hit the necklace directly instead and next thing they know, they woke up in the present, just a few days ago actually.”
He nodded, rubbing a hand along his white beard, “I did not think it possible to travel so long into the future but the power emitted from the killing curse must have fired the device enough to throw them into the present. Where is the device now?”
“Gone. When we went back to the cottage, it was nothing but ash.”
“That is unfortunate” Dumbledore sighed, looking away.
Harry wasn’t inclined to agree considering it saved his parents life.
“Sir, why did you never tell me about this, or any of us, that this was a possibility?”
“Well when they never showed up, I assumed it hadn’t worked” he shrugged.
“You never even saw their bodies, you didn’t think that was suspicious? I was still in the crib, Hagrid must have told you.”
“He did but the wall had also been blasted, I assumed their bodies had been destroyed as well.”
“You assumed” Harry started to fume now. This was just another one of Dumbledore’s secrets that Harry thought he was finally free from.
‘The straw that broke the camel's back’ wasn’t enough to describe the wave of anger that rushed through Harry and filled his veins. He was already broken and bruised, he was just now finding the strength to stand up and this was a boulder, piled high atop the others he struggled to carry.
“You are upset” Dumbledore stated rather than asked.
“Yes sir, I am upset. You once promised no more secrets and I spent all this time thinking it was inevitable that they died, but you had given them a way out but you never even told them what it did, they survived by dumb luck.”
“I believe luck has served you well my boy. And in any case, I did not tell them just because I didn’t know if it would work. If it did, why are we questioning it? It is simply a happy accident.”
Harry turned to Snape who just shook his head in response. Harry reached for a chocolate flower, watching it unfurl in his palm before putting it down, he didn’t even want it anyways.
“Why’d you take their cloak?” he pressed.
“As I mentioned, my research-”
Harry cut him off, “Okay you had research, but that cloak could have saved their life that night. You took the cloak when they were at their most vulnerable all for a science experiment? You compromised their safety over it.”
“I must apologise, I do not understand why you are upset, it feels as though you are blaming me that they survived?” Dumbledore said, shocked.
That was it. The way Dumbledore seemed surprised that Harry wasn’t thanking him for managing to save his parent’s lives. He wanted Harry to grovel, maybe even shine his wooden frame, and award him for saving James and Lily.
Harry still grew up without parents. He was still put with the Dursleys, by Dumbledore, was forced to fight for his life every single year, because of Dumbledore, was put in the Triwizard, by Dumbledore. He is the very reason Tom Riddle exists. He raised Harry just for him to die in the end.
This ‘happy accident’ does not make up for a lifetime of pain and suffering.
Harry could see Dumbledore clearly now. He was not the wise and powerful man he may once have been. He was nothing more than a weak old man who ordered others to fight for him because he feared his own power. He was a man unable to resist the temptation of a single horcrux when Harry had defeated multiple.
“I am blaming you because now my mum might die because of you! ” Harry shouted. “Did you even want them to live sir? Because it seems you did everything in your power to prevent that!”
The room went silent, even the silent buzzing and whirring of objects in the room seemed to have halted but Harry couldn’t be bothered to care.
“Lily is in the hospital now and they don’t know what’s wrong with her because something like this has never happened before!”
“I fear I do not have an answer for you Harry.”
Harry looked at McGonagall in disbelief and she was similarly stunned.
“So what?” Harry asked, holding his arms out wide and shrugging his shoulders, “That's it then? She just dies because we don’t know what the fuck happened.”
Dumbledore took a deep breath, “The healers at St. Mungo’s are very qualified, I am sure they are well equipped and will be able to treat Mrs. Potter appropriately.”
Mrs. Potter? He wouldn’t even deign to say her name? It was as if he aimed to dehumanise her and separate himself from the situation now that he knew her life was at risk because of him.
Harry would not allow him that comfort.
“You better hope she lives because I will not hesitate to burn your portrait and toss it into the lake if she doesn’t, Sir .”
Harry stomped out of the office, not even bothering with the floo there. He had made it a few steps down the main corridor before he heard rushing footsteps behind him.
He turned to see McGonagall back in her normal work robes and she hurried to catch up to Harry so he slowed his pace for her.
“Mr. Potter you-”
“I’m sorry Professor, I know I was out of line and I shouldn’t have but-.”
She put a hand on his arm to stop him, “I meant to say, Mr.Potter, that I am sorry you had to go through this. I know as well as anyone that Albus had his secrets but this has thoroughly shocked me. If you will allow me, I would like to help your parents in any way I can…their deaths have uniquely affected me. I feel their loss even today,” she intoned sadly and Harry was now the one who had to support her.
“I’m heading back there now if you would like to come?”
She nodded and they were off at a brisk pace to their nearest floo.
________
Harry slowly opened the door to the waiting room they had all been locked up in.
The sky had turned into a watery grey colour as the sun began to rise and Hermione and Ron were curled up in their chairs, their eyes closed as they lightly dozed. Draco was sitting next to James now in silence, in the sort of daze where they were too tired to stay awake but too awake to sleep.
They looked up at their arrival, and James perked up when Harry opened the door further to reveal McGonagall.
She gasped behind him and Harry quickly moved out of the way but she didn’t move. She didn’t seem to even breathe as she just gaped at James, so unlike the stern mask she always wore. James stared at her in turn, so happy to see her.
He didn’t carry any of the pain she did for he probably saw McGonagall a few weeks ago at an Order meeting or wherever.
But to Minerva, James Potter was dead for more than two decades.
The young James Potter who walked up to the stool on the first day with the biggest grin on his face that she couldn’t help but smile as well. The boy who excelled in Transfiguration but never bragged about his scores, only hiding his exam when he saw his friends hadn’t done quite so well and saying they’d all ‘get it next time.’ The boy who pulled off pranks flawlessly and hadn’t even an ounce of shame when he got caught and McGonnogall couldn’t even find it in herself to be upset because the pranks were so magically complex, it was a marvel they could even pull them off half the time.
He was also among her kindest students, always helping others when they fell behind on their studies or fighting another student if they were being picked on.
It didn’t go beyond her notice that James had been spending time with Regulus in the days following the report of a duel in the halls between him and the Slytherins. Or that James was quieter when Sirius would come back from school over the holiday breaks, instead choosing to speak to him in low tones at the table and fill his plate for him. Or that he was the first to show up in the Hospital wing for Remus the morning after a full moon.
James Potter was the magical boy who had been taken from the world too soon and McGonagall couldn’t fathom another one of her students had died. The pain was only magnified when the other Marauders died and she couldn’t help but feel like it was somehow her fault, that she should’ve saved her kids when they couldn’t help themselves.
But James was back, he was standing alive and well in front of her and she couldn’t believe her eyes.
“Minnie” James croaked.
That was all it took for McGonagall to break down.
Harry slowly guided her into the room, shutting the door behind them, and James stood up and met them halfway, reaching a hand to gently grasp her thin wrist.
Hermione and Ron had woken up now and they all watched the moment as James wrapped his arms slowly around their normally steadfast professor who only cried harder at his touch.
“James” was all she whispered.
“Minnie” was all he responded with as he hugged and supported her.
“I couldn’t believe it when Harry came into my office. When he said you lived, I- oh Merlin, you don’t know what it means to me to see you.”
James only shook his head because he completely agreed with her.
She rested her hands on either side of his face and he just put his hands atop hers, the moment stretching on for minutes as they calmed down, grounding themselves after this inexplicable moment where the past meant the present as the future continued to mould itself to fit them all.
Once they had all settled down, James asked what Dumbledore said and Harry had nothing to say, because there was nothing to do.
He explained Dumbedore’s little device and how whatever afflicted Lily had nothing to do with it and that all they could do now was wait.
_______
The Healer walked in some time later when the sun began to shine and people left their houses to amble on the street just outside the window.
Harry was jolted awake at the sound of the door clicking and he repositioned his glasses to focus on the Healer in his professional robes, golden pin gleaming on his breast.
“Mr. Potter” he addressed them both as well as nodding to everyone else in the room. “My name is Healer Armas and I have been assigned to Lily’s case. She has been stabilised and Head mediwitch Shields has informed me of your situation and told me that you had gone in search of information. Is that correct?”
Harry nodded, “I did but unfortunately, that has no effect on my parents, they were a case of time travel essentially.”
“I see,” he nodded, jotting a note down on his clipboard. “Well, you are free to visit her now. She is still not awake and the drugs we have administered have made it so that she will not wake up for a few hours but she is responding positively to treatment. I will contact some specialists in the meantime and continue to monitor her condition, please do not hesitate to ask Mediwitch Shields or any others for any questions you may have. She is in Room 3142.”
He left as quickly as he came and they all got up to transfer their camp to that very room.
Lily looked much better than she had a few hours ago when she collapsed at the table, the colour slowly returning to her cheeks though her forehead glistened and her face had a thin sheen on it. Her pyjamas had been switched with the standard blue patients gowns and the blanket was pulled up to just below her chin, her arms spread on either side of her with needles attached to them, connected to various bags of potions and liquids.
James took the chair closest to her, holding her hand tightly while everyone else sat in various spots around the room, Harry opting for the window sill by Draco who wrapped an arm around him, threading his fingers through his hair and lulling him to sleep once more.
________
Everyone else had left a little while later, needing to catch up on sleep and freshen up for work while Harry and James remained by Lily’s side in an unspoken agreement to not leave until they could all leave together.
Mediwtiches continued to check in every once in a while, casting diagnostic spells or refilling Lily’s potions before leaving again in silence.
Healer Armas entered a short while after and gently asked James and Harry to head down to the cafeteria and grab some breakfast while he performed some tests, needing both space and privacy and though neither of them were hungry, they obliged.
A muffin and a coffee later, James and Harry trudged back upstairs and waited in their special little room until the healer came back to retrieve them.
“Lily is awake now and I believe we have found the source of her medical episode last night.”
They rushed into the hospital room to see Lily awake, propped up on some more pillows, with life in her skin again.
Harry and James both sagged with relief before hugging Lily, who embraced them back as tightly as she could, which wasn’t much. She seemed much smaller in the bed than before but the fact that she was still here was more than Harry could have dreamed for.
“So, I have consulted with some of my colleagues who specialise in Curses, Time Travel, and History, which gave me a broad range of answers that I have been able to compile. What caused Lily’s episode was the fact that her magical core was so weakened that it was forced to leech off of her physical reservoirs to maintain itself. When you mentioned Time travelling, it explained why her core was so weakened in the first place. See, your magical core is a sort of muscle, as vital to you as your heart and your brain, and you need to exercise it before you lose function of it. Miss Evans, I was made aware that you were an exceptionally strong witch who was also hit with the killing curse, which depleted your core and left you weak. That, coupled with the fact that you have essentially gone more than 20 years without using your magic, your core was dying. Your magical core did not seem to process the sort of instantaneous time travel that your body did.”
Harry could barely manage to keep up through the Healer’s explanation but he managed the gist.
“But my dad travelled the same amount of time and he’s fine?” Harry inquired.
“Ah yes, well it appears the protection Lily offered you in her willingness to sacrifice herself coupled with the dark magic, weakened her further. The sudden infusion of direct magic into her body by our staff has been sufficient in recharging her battery so to speak but both you should work on your magic as soon as possible. Magical anatomy is slightly different than non-magical peoples as our overall health depends on our magical health, especially those of us who rely almost entirely on it. I don’t believe an incident will happen like this again so long as she works on her magic and rests and if she remains stable for the rest of the day, she is free to be discharged tonight.”
They all shared happy grins at the news and Harry wanted to get up and squeeze the Healer but knew that would be entirely inappropriate.
“Thank you Healer Armas, truly, for saving my wife,” James thanked earnestly, standing up to shake hands with him.
“The honour is all mine Mr. Potter, truly.”
Harry did the same and he continued, “And thank you Mr. Potter, for all you have done for us. Again, none of our staff has notified the public of your situation and intend to keep it that way. We are just happy to see you all safe and healthy once more.”
Harry felt like this was the first time he could breathe since last night. Lily was fine, no life-threatening injuries or maladies, nothing to lose sleep over. He just had to go back for their wands which Dumbledore locked somewhere in that office, he might just ask McGonagall to look for them instead since she probably wouldn’t appreciate him rifling around anyways.
They spent the rest of the day chatting and complaining about the hospital food. James talked about the food his parents made for him growing up, various spices and herbs combined to create a lovely curry to be eaten with bread or rice, while he stuffed boiled peas and chicken into his mouth. He promised Harry he’d teach him some family recipes and he just couldn’t wait.
As they talked, Harry remembered Neville’s parents would be in the Janus Thickey Ward and when he mentioned them, his parents jumped on the opportunity to see them and so once Lily was cleared, they all went home to wash and change before heading immediately back.
Harry said they could wait a day or two before going but they were adamant about seeing them, complaining that they hadn’t gone sooner.
________
The Janus Thickey ward was very quiet, nothing beyond quiet conversations between mediwitches or the light tune of music was audible. The walls were creamy white with tapestries and paintings of nature scenes hung in various spots in the corridors to break up the endless stream of white walls and doors.
The calm was quickly interrupted by a man stepping right in front of them, he was tall with wavy blond hair and bright blue eyes. His smile stretched from ear to ear as he bowed deeply, “Gilderoy Lockhart at your service. I believe you are here to see me, yes?”
James and Lily were bewildered to put it simply.
“Gilderoy?” James gaped.
“The one and only. I hope you brought parchment, I just ran out this morning signing so many autographs of course” he grinned.
“Just go along with it,” Harry whispered.
“Er yeah, let me just get some,” James said, grabbing some off a side table.
“And who should I make it out to?”
“You know me Lockhart, we went to school together” James explained dumbly.
Gilderoy looked at him, scanning him from head to toe, “Did we really? I must not remember you, I was quite popular you know.”
“I’m James.”
“Ah right, James then, an exceptionally mediocre name,” he commented before flourishing his signature across the blank parchment. “And you my dear.”
“Lily, please” she smiled warily, still hanging on to James’ arm for support.
“Ah! What a beautiful name for a beautiful woman, Lily” he said, writing his signature again.
“It’s time for lunch Gilderoy'' a young meditiwitch came forward to save them, giving them a pointed look before smiling blandly at her patient.
“I’m afraid I have other matters to attend to, you must excuse me” he explained before skipping down the hallway repeating ‘Lily’ in a singsong voice.
“What the hell happened to him?” James asked with wide eyes. Harry was sure he meant it as a rhetorical but as he was unfortunately the cause, he just reassured James he’d tell him later.
Soon after, a medi wizard led them to the Longbottoms rooms, knocking once before opening the door and letting them in, closing it behind him.
From the back, all seemed normal, Frank and Alice Longbottom were sitting side by side, staring out of the window in front of them, watching the clouds meander across the sky. Except they didn’t turn around, they didn’t even move when the door opened. They did nothing more than just breathe mechanically.
Lily and James shared a look before proceeding forward, coming into their view and Harry saw their eyes refocus on their figures though they didn’t jump up to hug them or gasp at their arrival like the others, they just didn’t react, it was as if they were staring at a wall.
Harry remembered coming here years ago after he’d run into Neville and Augusta while visiting Arthur. The way Alice had looked so thin and pale, wandering the halls in a nightdress, looking nothing like the woman in the old photographs he had seen of the Order.
Alice looked much the same and Harry realised with a start just how different his parents and Neville’s looked. They had twenty years between them as James and Lily still looked quite young whereas Alice and Frank had aged, their hair growing white and wrinkles deepening into their serene faces.
What had they looked like when they were first brought in?
They were only kids, just like James and Lily were.
Lily was holding back tears as she crouched in front of Alice’s chair, “Hi Alice” she whispered.
She didn’t respond but Lily continued, “Harry told me what happened and I just…I wanted to say how proud I am of you. You and Frank are so brave” she said through tears, her voice becoming watery as she held her friend’s hand. “I wish we came sooner…”
James was crouched in front of Frank, shaking his hand with both of his own, “Hey Captain,” he greeted. “It’s been a while since we had a match huh?” he jested but Harry could see the way his eyes shone and his brows furrowed as he fought back tears, trying to stay strong for a man that wouldn’t have noticed otherwise.
“Harry told me about Neville, about how he helped take down Voldemort. Your son is a hero and I just wish you were here to see it” Lily cried. “I know you’re in there somewhere, I see you Alice, and I want you to know that you are not forgotten. I still remember you as not only one of the strongest witches of our age but as one of my best friends.”
Alice slowly began to move then, reaching a hand into the pocket of her lilac gown before pulling out a gum wrapper.
She slowly extended her hand and placed it in Lily’s waiting hand without word or ceremony.
He remembered that she did the same thing to Neville, who kept every wrapper she gave him. The wrapper was just a piece of rubbish to anyone else but to Neville, it was the only way his mother could express that she knew him and loved him.
Alice never gave a wrapper to Augusta or Harry or anyone else who had been standing there as well when he visited, just Neville.
So the fact that she gave one to Lily proved her awareness.
Frank did not move however. Neville explained that he took the brunt of the curse in an effort to save Alice and Neville and he wouldn’t give up. Unfortunately, he lost the fight and wasn’t left with even a shred of consciousness but Neville loved him just the same.
Harry stepped out to give them privacy together and ran into Neville who was walking in from the entrance.
“Neville!” Harry bid.
“Harry?” he said confusedly. “The mediwitches notified me that you had come by with visitors?”
Harry just tipped his head to walk back into the room and make introductions.
_______
Lily absolutely loved Neville.
She watched him in the same way she watched Harry and interacted with him similarly. She asked him questions about his time at school and his time now as Professor of Herbology and shared her own love for the subject and her knowledge on the topic.
James was reminded of his mother, Euphemia, and the way she spoke with Sirius. She was well aware of his home life and the way he grew up in a house without love or any real family. She was the one who congratulated him when he passed his OWLs, who cooked for him when he had gone an entire holiday without food, and she was the one who showed up for both James and Sirius on their graduation day.
She took up the mantle that Walburga dropped and he could see Lily doing the same for Neville. She simply had so much love in her heart that she could afford to spare it for another boy who’s life had been torn apart by a war.
James also felt fond for the boy who detailed his blunders in Potions or ineptitude in Charms. Who accidentally let out the Common Room password that allowed Sirius entrance or broke his wrist on their first flying lesson. But he was impressed by his tales of defying the Carrows when the death eaters had taken over Hogwarts or joined Dumbledore’s Army despite knowing the risks. The boy who had stood up to Voldemort, boldly denying his offer to join him and who killed Nagini, his most favoured horcrux with Godric Gryffindor's sword.
He was also one of Harry’s best friends and that is all that was required for James to pull him into a hug before they left.
He filed out of the room with them, casting one last look at Lily who was whispering something to the two of them before following behind.
She joined them a minute later with a smile, gripping James’ hand as a sort of reminder that he was still here with her.
_____
“I’ll watch over him for you two, I promise. You raised an amazing boy and though I could never imagine to replace you, I vow to be there for him in times of need or joy. I will be there for him for whatever he needs and I will tell him about you two so he may know you more than what Bellatrix has made you. You are not ‘Bellatrix’s victims’ but Frank and Alice Longbottom, our best friends, loving parents, and long-time champions of 'best couple of the year' at Hogwarts,” she ended lightly.
She received another gum wrapper in response and she pocketed it gratefully, knowing Alice had heard every word she said.