Disclaimer: Is it just me? Or does this seem wholly unnecessary at this point? Oh well, (sigh) anything that exists in a series of books titled Harry Potter and the... is not mine! They, and anything contained therein, belong to J.K. Rowing, her contracted publishers, etc. Anything you do not recognize is mine, but I'm not making any money. This is strictly for the fun of it. Judging by the evidence, I don't think Jo minds us doing this that much, so please don't sue me! It would be a giant waste of your valuable time!

Summary: (Majorly!) Alternate Universe (AU) A stag and a cat make the astounding discovery that they are humans who have been dead, as in as a doornail, for nearly fifteen years! Set in 6th year.

Genre: Romance/ Spiritual

Rating: PG to T (In other words, somewhere in the middle.)

Spoilers: Even though I started writing this fic before Half-Blood Prince came out, some of what's in here could be considered spoilers for the said book. It's all stuff at which I was guessing, was going to put in anyway, will merely be changing a few of the details so they match Jo's account, and keeping a few of the details as I have them so they don't.

(Edit: A/N: Now that Book Six is out, this fic is so incredibly AU that some of you might think that I won't be finishing it. That would be where you are wrong. I have no intension of dropping this fic nor skipping strait to the last chapter just so I can have a happy ending. (Such is an option that some have used to great effect, but that I simply don't have the heart to do.) I am continuing this story to the bitter end whether or not anyone reads and reviews. It's more for my benefit anyway.)

A/N: This is another one of those Lily-and-James-aren't-really-dead fics. I know, I know, over-used plot line. But maybe (just maybe) I've managed to do it just differently enough that it won't be too boring. Besides, if you're like me and actually enjoy this kind of thing… If you don't like this kind of thing, don't read it. But if you do read it, and think I followed the cliches, or went way out of character, or my spelling and grammar are atrocious, or any number of other really big fan-fic no-no's, or if you wish to congratulate me on avoiding any of these traps, I would be more than happy to receive a revue or two. In other words, constructive criticism is welcome; flames are not

By the way, this is actually my first fic ever. I'm working on a Marauder fic, but it's still in the pre-outline,-brainstorming,-nothing-makes-any-sense,-you-don't-want-to-know-how-bad stage. (Edit: This fic has transformed into what can now be read as "I'll Be Seeing You," which is a Sirius Black/ original character romance and an indeterminate number of flashbacks featured in both fics that will have Marauder elements in them.) It'll come around eventually. (Edit: Quite recently.) But in the mean time… maybe I can use some of the criticism from this one to improve the final result.

Other Note-Worthy Material:

Well known or widely excepted facts about the deaths of Lily and James Potter (In other words, things my story does NOT contradict)…

Fact 1: Lily and James both died by way of the killing curse, Avada Kedavra, on the night of October 31, 1981.

Fact 2: Said curses originated from the wand of "Lord" Voldemort, and most likely were cast by him as well.

Fact 3: Lily's death was not necessary, and therefore, it resulted in forming a protective shield for baby Harry that caused the curse, when aimed at Harry, to rebound upon Voldemort and "kill" him.

Fact 4: James and Lily's bodies were still there when Sirius came by "on that flyin' motorbike 'e used ta ride" and had his talk with Hagrid.

Things we don't know for sure one way or the other that will be discussed in this fic:

Question 1: How does the killing curse work? You know, logistically.

Question 2: How dead did Lily need to be to save Harry?

Question 3: How does the animagus transformation work?

Question 4: Where is Godric's Hollow?

Some other things to note: If it's in Italics, it's thoughts. If it's in quotes, it's the exact words used by the character, thoughts or not. If it's in Italics before the title of the chapter, it's me. And. Oh yeah! If it's me, it's written as though I were speaking, so grammar doesn't count (as much). (Edit: If it's me and it's in parenthesis and marked edit, it was written during or after the writing of chapter 12.)

And now without further ado…

Seems Like Only Yesterday

Chapter 1 In Which a Stag Wonders Why He's Eating Grass

On the edge of a deserted moor, in a thickly wooded forest, teeming with life but with a calm serenity, a stag with a magnificent rack of antlers stood in majestic silence. He eyed his surroundings anxiously, ears cocked, listening for the slightest noise that could indicate the approach of danger. Sensing nothing, he slowly made his way out of the shelter of the trees.

He might not normally have taken such a risk, if it were not for the call that the lush green grass, now not more than five feet away, provided. Cautiously, he stepped out to where he could reach the nourishing vegetation. Now completely exposed, if there had been any hunters around, he wouldn't have lasted very long. It was lucky for him, that this particular patch of forest was strictly guarded against such intrusion. Not that it didn't have its dangers, however.

Slowly, the stag lowered his head and opened his mouth to…"Why am I eating grass?" he wondered to himself. He suddenly felt very odd, standing there on all four limbs, putting forth so much effort in the hope of filling his stomach with the earthy blades. The feeling so unnerved his already weary brain that he bolted back into the forest.

"What am I running from?" He demanded of himself, "What am I so scared of?… Where am I going?" He stopped running and took in his soundings: trees, rocks, dirt… a forest. Forest? "That's not right." he told himself, bewildered, "I shouldn't be in a forest." But for the life of him, he couldn't remember where he was supposed to be. "What's going on? Am I suffering from amnesia? Do people suffering from amnesia wonder if they're suffering from amnesia?"

The whole situation was thoroughly confusing him. "And why do I have hooves?" Suddenly, an image came flooding back to him, an image of himself transforming into a stag. Himself? Was it himself? It certainly didn't look much like he did now. And then he remembered. "Animagi!" he told himself, "I'm a human who can transform into a stag at will!" And with that, James Potter was standing where the stag had once been.

"That!" James told himself aloud, "Was definitely odd." He looked down at his now fully human body, silently thanking the powers that be that the animagus transformation included clothes. "Now what?" he asked no one in particular. "Ok," he said, trying to make his frazzled mind think clearly. "If I'm a human, I must have a name; I'll start there." He thought for a moment before coming up with an answer. He felt the need to say it out loud, as though it would make it easier to remember that way. "My name is James Potter. I live at…"

He couldn't even remember his own address! He muttered a mild expletive before he remembered that he wasn't supposed to use words like that in front of the baby. Baby? Harry! His son, Harry! "Where is he? What happened to him? Who's his mum?" The last question at least was easy enough to answer. Even as he said it, an image of an auburn-haired beauty with emerald eyes danced into his mind. "Lily," he whispered as he collapsed on to his knees. "Where are you?" But more importantly, "Where am I? Why am I out here, instead of with you… and our son?"

What madness had driven him to abandon his wife and son? For surely it was madness that had done it! He could never have done it willingly! Never! Even now, as he knelt on a bed of crushed and trampled leaves, he felt a kind of madness pulling at him. He'd spent far too long as a stag, he realized. It was long enough to have completely forgotten who he was… who his family was. "NO!" He shouted into the trees, jumping to his feet, causing a flock of sparrows to vacate the tree nearest him. "No," he muttered, almost as a plea. He had to find them. He had to know what happened to them. Even if the truth was terrible, he had to know.

But where to look? Merlin! He didn't even know where to start! Desperately, he racked his brain, searching for anything that would help him locate his family. "What's the last thing I remember doing as a human?" But that was just the point, he couldn't remember doing anything as a human. He couldn't remember much of what he had done as a stag either. His conscious memory seemed to start when he had decided he wanted grass from the meadow for breakfast that morning. His stomach growled, but he had more important things on his mind. "Obviously, I have memories from my life before. I just can't seem to access them." He was speaking aloud again, trying to force his thoughts to make sense. "I have to go home, but where is home?" He started pacing between the trees as he fought to focus his thoughts.

Lily's face kept swimming into view. Not that he minded thinking about her, but the longer he thought of her, the longer it would take to remember how to find her. He was caught in a whirl of memories of sensations and feelings long forgotten: the sight of her eyes, the sound of her laugh, the smell of her hair, the taste of her kiss… the feel of running his hands through her silky waves of hair and all the way down her back to their tips… the warmth of her body as he held her close…

Simply remembering these things was enough to make his whole body ache to be with her. He loved her. He knew he loved her. "So, why did I leave her?" he shouted to the open sky. No answer came. "Or did she leave me?" But in his heart, he knew that wasn't right, even as he said it. There must be a reason, some inexplicable reason. Then an answer came, but not an answer to his question, more somewhere he could go to find that answer. "Godric's Hollow," he said, "Home! Or the name of the village at least." He screwed up his face in concentration, once again bullying his brain into remembering. He could see it, a small two-story cottage. "But how do I get there?" and it came. "Apparate," he said, and he did.