Knowing and Changing

George entered the room and Harry looked at him to find him shaking slightly and tears in his eyes. 

“I take it Luna told you about the stone,” Harry said, his voice quivering slightly. 

George nodded and moved over to Harry, looking at the stone laying innocently in his hand with trepidation. 

“Do you want to talk to him?” Harry whispered, he needed to make sure. 

“I need to talk to him. To see him. At least this once before we go,” George said, his voice also shaking. 

Harry nodded in understanding before looking back at the stone in his hand. He couldn’t quite bring himself to turn it yet. 

“How does it work?” George asked, curious. 

“I flip it over in my hand three times, thinking about who I want to see, then their spirit comes,” he muttered in response, not really focussing all that much on anything, his mind spinning with everything. 

“And, erm, are we taking it with us to the past?” George said and Harry looked at him and nodded.

“It might come in handy,” Harry said, looking back at the stone. 

George took a shaky deep breath and placed his hand gently on Harry’s arm, “We should do it, get it over with. We both need this and the sooner we do the better, otherwise we will just be thinking about it too much,” 

Harry nodded in agreement and yet didn’t move to flip the stone, he needed a few more seconds to at least attempt to ground himself. 

With a deep, terrified breath he flipped the stone in his hand; once, twice, three times. Thinking about Fred, needing Fred. He kept his eyes closed, even as he heard George’s shuddering gasp. 

“Harry,” he heard in a familiar voice as a cool breeze flitted across his cheek. 

He opened his eyes to see the pale blue, eerie form of the man he loved in front of him, looking down at him with sad eyes. 

He could tell that Fred was holding… someone, a small someone, but he daren’t look down at the bundle just yet. He couldn’t. Just seeing Fred was hard enough. 

“I’m sorry,” Harry said. 

“No, Harry, it wasn’t your fault. None of it was your fault. You didn’t want to fight in the first place. You were forced into it. And I went into it knowing I might die, but it was okay, because I needed to help you, fight with you, know that you were okay. I am sorry, though. If I had known about our little girl I wouldn’t have gone,” Fred said, looking lovingly with sad eyes down at the bundle in his arms, stroking the tiny head gently. 

“I know,” Harry whispered, still fighting the urge to look closely at the bundle of ghostly blankets. 

“Georgie, come meet your niece,” Fred said, looking painfully at his old twin who was staring at his brother with tears streaming down his cheeks. 

George nodded and shuffled forwards towards his brother. He gasped as he looked down at the blankets, love and awe, yet also a lot more pain, filling his face. 

“She’s gorgeous,” George whispered, “I knew you and Harry would make beautiful children. I am sad I can’t see who’s hair or eyes she has, though,”

“She has Harry’s eyes and my hair, thankfully,” Fred said, a small chuckle escaping him. 

Harry’s eyes widened, even as he battled the urge to look at his daughter. It was all too painful, he didn’t think he could see her properly without actually breaking down. 

“You would have been a little heartbreaker, wouldn’t you have?” Fred cooed, tickling the little stomach causing the most beautiful and haunting laughs Harry had ever heard to erupt from the baby. Their baby. 

Harry choked on a sob as his knees gave out under him. It was too much. Everything was too much. 

Fred and George collapsed in front of him, looking sadly at each other before looking at him. 

“Harry, it’s okay,” Fred said. 

“How is it okay? You’re dead. Our daughter is dead. Everything I knew was a lie. I can’t… How am I supposed to..?”

“Harry, look at me,” Fred said, his voice rather stern, and Harry looked at him, “Harry, I am okay. I mean, do I wish, more than anything else, that I hadn’t gone to the battle so that we could have been a family? Yes, I do. But I am okay here, in the afterlife, with our daughter, watching over you, and helping you when you need it. I… I love you so much, Harry, I really do. And I wish to Merlin that things had been different so I could have given birth to our little girl and we could have been happy, but things just weren’t meant to be that way, apparently, and I have come to terms with that, somewhat,

“Harry, you have been given this opportunity to go back in time and save lives, with George at your side, and I know that you both, and your family, will succeed in saving the world and whatever else you put your mind to. And I know that you can be happy there also, both of you. If you just allow yourself the chance to find happiness, you will find it,”

“But…”

“I know you will always love me, Harry, and our daughter. We will always love you also. But you are an amazing person who has such a large capacity for love that there is plenty of room in your heart for new people. A husband perhaps, and more children, whether you carry them or your husband does, or you take turns. And we will be watching on, and coming to help or see you whenever you need us to. You deserve this chance to be happy, Harry, so does George. And yes, it will be difficult at first with Dumbles and Voldie skulking around still, but you will be free. You will be happy. I know it. We all know it. And we all have faith in you all that you will succeed in saving the world, and in being happy,”

Harry couldn’t speak. He didn’t know what to say. 

Everything hurt too much. 

“Look at our daughter, Harry,” Fred said gently, and Harry couldn’t say no. 

He slowly turned his head down towards the bundle of blankets in Fred’s arms and gasped at the sight of the small being. She was the most beautiful baby that Harry had ever seen, not that he had seen many babies. The only ones he had seen were himself and Teddy, and even they were in pictures, or in memories. He could picture her with Fred’s hair and his eyes easily, and it hurt that he wasn’t able to actually see them. 

He couldn’t stop himself as he reached out to touch her, only to cry when his hand went through nothing but cold air. 

He just wanted to hold his baby girl. 

Was that so much to ask for? 

Why did everything have to hurt so much?

Why?

“Harry,” Fred whispered, “I love you,”

“I love you, too,” Harry choked. 

“I know. And I believe in you both. And you will be okay. Both of you will be. You can call on us whenever you need to with the stone. Just promise me, both of you, that you will allow yourself to find love and happiness,”

“Fred,” George said, his throat hitching. 

“I know it will be hard, Georgie, but you both deserve happiness, more than anyone else I know. And I can’t have two of my three favourite people being alone their whole lives. Plus, this little cutie of mine needs some siblings and cousins to watch over. You will both make wonderful parents one day, if you let yourselves find that level of happiness again,”

“You would have been a wonderful mum, Fred,” George said, his heart breaking more as Fred gave him a sad smile. 

“I like to think so, yes. Though I was kinda worried when I saw her that I would be like Molly. She is the only example I have after all. But I think I am doing okay, and according to others here she will age normally until she reaches my age. So I am glad I get to give it a good try. I think we should come up with a name for her, though. I didn’t want to until I could speak to you, Harry,” Fred said. 

Harry choked again, but nodded as he continued to look at their child. Their precious little girl. 

“What names do you like?” Harry asked, his voice wavering. 

“I always kinda liked the name Rosalie, and I think it goes well with Black as a last name,” Fred said, “You can choose a middle name for her, if you like that name, anyway,”

“Rosalie is a good name,” Harry swallowed deeply, “I-I’ve never really thought of names before, I didn’t really think I would ever had a child. But… I like the name Phoenix,”

Fred smiled and nodded, “I love it. Rosalie Phoenix Black. Our perfect little girl,”

“Perfect,” Harry whispered, looking at his daughter in awe. 

She was perfect, in nearly every way. 

“Now daddy and Uncle George just need to promise us that they will find themselves some happiness, isn’t that right, Princess?” Fred cooed to the baby in his arms, rocking her gently. The baby let out a little laugh which both thrilled and stung Harry’s heart. 

“I’ll try,” George whispered, looking lovingly at his brother and niece. 

“That is all I can ask, from both of you,” Fred said, looking at George and Harry with love and pain in his eyes.  

“That is all any of us can ask,” another voice said and George and Harry looked up, shocked, to find Regulus, Barty and Severus standing behind a smiling Fred. 

Harry stood with shock soaring through his body as he looked at them. 

“Mum, dad, Severus,” he whispered, “Wait, Professor Snape, sorry,”

“You may call me Severus, Harry. You would have grown up calling me that anyway had things gone the way they were supposed to,” Severus said, a sad smile on his face as he looked between his friends and Harry.

Harry was in awe of the way his parents were looking at him. With so much love and care in their ghostly blue eyes. 

“My sweet baby boy, I am so proud of you,” Regulus said. 

“We are both so very proud of you,” Barty said, squeezing Regulus’ hand gently. 

No one had ever been proud of him before, not really. Definitely not enough to say it to him. 

“And I am so very sorry to put all this additional pressure on you,” Regulus said, choking up a little, “Especially after everything you have been through since James and Lily died. But I know you will do amazingly. You are so very brave, and I know that you will do everything you set out to do and more. And I know that, if you and George just allow yourself, you will both find great happiness in the past. Even if it will hurt for a while at first,”

“And I am sorry for your fourth year. I wasn’t quite in my right mind after Azkaban and being under the Imperius curse for so long, including for a lot of the time during that year. I managed to fight it off for a few seconds at a time but it would always come back more powerful. I found out who you really were just before I got the Kiss. Dumbledore lifted the curse and was a right bastard about it all as you can probably imagine,” Barty said. 

“It’s okay, dad,” Harry said gently. 

“It’s not, but thank you,” Barty said. 

Harry noticed that Fred had moved to stand with the adults and he saw how they welcomed him and Rosalie with love and care, the awe in Regulus’ eyes as the man looked at his granddaughter was astonishing to Harry. 

“She really is beautiful, Harry. I am sorry you lost the opportunity to be her parent. You shouldn’t ever have had to feel that kind of pain,” Regulus said. 

“Neither should you have,” Harry said, “None of you,” he looked at both his parents and Severus knowingly. 

“Well,” Severus cleared his throat, emotion in his eyes, “I am with my son now,” 

Harry nodded, wishing that he was with his daughter now, he just wanted to hold her. 

“And you will be with our past selves shortly. Of course, though, you can call on us whenever you want to. We will always be happy to help you as much as we can. And we will be looking after Fred and Rosalie for you so you don’t need to worry too much about them. We will be waiting to be properly united with you when you are old and grey,” Regulus said, smiling brightly at his granddaughter as he ran his fingers gently through her hair. 

Harry really wished that he was truly with them at that moment so he could do the same thing, and hold her, smell her, breathe her in. See her hair and eyes as they truly were and not the ghostly haze that was before him. 

Why did everything have to hurt so much?

“I do believe it is almost time for us to go,” Severus whispered, and Harry noticed with a chilling, terrifying feeling that he was right. They wouldn’t be able to stay much longer. 

He shook his head, trying desperately to deny the truth of the matter. 

They were his family. He needed them. They couldn’t just disappear. 

They couldn’t just disappear. 

“Harry, baby, it’s okay,” Regulus said, stepping towards Harry and reaching his hand out to graze a cold breeze down his cheek. 

“No, it’s not okay,” Harry shook his head, trying to fight down more tears. 

“You can call on us whenever you need us, baby, we will always come to you,”

“But I will always need you. Not just when I call you,” he whispered, pain seeping from his bones. 

He hated how weak he was, he had never been this weak before. Never been given the chance to show weakness. But he couldn’t help it. He needed them. More than anything else. He needed his family. He needed this thing he had never had before. It couldn’t just be taken from him like that. 

“I know, baby. I know it hurts right now, but you will go back in time soon, and you will always have me and your father, and Sev, and everyone else there for you even if we don’t know who you truly are to us,”

“But… What if I mess up? What if I call you mum and dad? What if I can’t save Sev? What if I fail? I don’t know if I can do this,”

“Harry, we all have every faith in you and George to be able to do what you need to do. I know that you are both amazing people and have all the abilities, intelligence and power to be able to do this. We believe in you. And even if you make mistakes, which is a human thing to do, we will still love you both and be incredibly proud of everything you are able to accomplish. And we know that even though you will try your very hardest, you won’t be able to save everyone from everything. But you trying, and you helping in the aftermath, will help tremendously. I know, my sweet baby boy, that you will not fail in this task, or any task that you set your mind to, because you are too stubborn to do so. Yes, you won’t be able to save everyone from everything. But that doesn’t mean you have failed. So long as the world is rid of Voldemort and Dumbledore, and the Ministry is no longer corrupt, you have won. And I have all the faith in the universe that you will get there,”

They were starting to fade, Harry could tell. And it killed him to see it. To see his parents, the man who should have had a huge part in his upbringing, and his lover and child starting to disappear.

“I love you,” Harry whispered. 

“I know. And we love you, too. Both of you,” Regulus said, looking at both Harry and George, “I mean, George is somewhat my son now since the blood adoption. And we will always love you, both,”

“George, Harry,” Fred said, causing both the emotional new twins to look at him, “Look after each other. And we will be back, whenever you need us, just remember that,”

“I need you, Fred,” George said. 

“I know. But I have every faith that you will be okay, Georgie. Just look after Harry for me. I don’t want to see either of you up here until you are both old, grey, and have lived a very fulfilling life,” Fred said sternly, almost glaring at them. 

The two nodded, too taken by the fact that their family was disappearing before their very eyes. 

They were gone. 

Gone. 

…

The next day Harry and George stood in a room in Gringotts, surrounded by the goblins who had helped them, and the remaining members of their family. 

This was it. 

They were going back in time. 

They were going to try and change the world. 

They were going to try and save people. 

They were both beyond nervous. 

“We believe in you,” the room chorused. 

And that was the last thing they heard before time swept them away.