A/N: I know! Quick update this time. But, it's a short installment. All throughout writing this chapter I was thinking of the line from Into The Woods, "Be father and mother, you'll know what to do," and it made this chapter easier to write. As always, please review.

Disclaimer: Do I really need to do one at this point?

James groaned, his head pounding. He turned from his side on to his stomach and shoved his face into the pillow. In addition to a terrible hangover, he'd had the worst nightmare. He tried to push the details from his mind, the image of Lily dead on the floor, the crippling fear of having suddenly become a single father. Harry,he thought to himself, he hasn't woken up yet. He pushed himself up quickly and regretted it instantly. He turned to Lily's side of the bed, and saw that it hadn't been slept in. In fact, it wasn't even his bed…

"No." James groaned. "No no no no no."

He scrambled out of bed, ran to a door in the room, and pushed it open. He suddenly found himself standing in Dumbledore's office.

"Ah, James, you're awake," said a voice to his left.

He turned and saw the headmaster looking at him with concern.

"Harry-" he croaked.

"Is in the hospital wing with Madam Pomfrey. I thought it best as you needed rest and he needed to be checked for any possible injury." Seeing the look of panic on James's face, he quickly said, "He is in pristine health. The only thing unusual about him is that scar."

James felt his legs start to shake, and Dumbledore put a surprisingly strong arm underneath him and helped him to a chair. James buried his face in his hands.

"It's my fault. I should have been there to protect them." He said in a muffled voice.

Dumbledore sighed. "Blaming yourself won't help them now, and it definitely won't help you."

James looked up. "What do I do now?"

"You love Harry, you teach him to be a good person, you show him the ways of the world. You be a good father to him." Dumbledore answered easily.

"I don't know the first thing about being a father. Lily was the one who was good at parenting, not me. I was going to be the cool, fun dad, and Lily was going to be the strict parent." James said miserably to the old man. "I don't know if I can do it without her." He looked down, tears streaming down his face.

Dumbledore didn't respond. He let James shed his silent tears for what felt like eternity. James looked up when he heard a door open. He turned around and saw Madam Pomfrey walking in carrying a small bundle. She placed Harry in James arms, patted him on the back and left.

Dumbledore stood up. "I'll leave you two alone." He went out after Madam Pomfrey, shutting James and Harry in the office.

James looked down at Harry. Harry had his eyes open, and for the first time he seemed to notice Harry's eyes. They were a beautiful almond shape, and were the brightest color of green he had ever seen. They filled James with a sense of peace and love that only looking into Lily's eyes had ever brought him. Everyone always said that Harry looked just like James when he was young, but James knew that he had inherited Lily's eyes.

Harry pulled his arm out of the blanket that he was wrapped in, and reached for James's glasses. James put his finger out into Harry's outstretched fist, and when Harry grasped his finger, James smiled sadly.

He stood up and walked over to the window and looked out on the Hogwarts grounds.

"I don't know how we're going to do this Harry," James began. "But, we are going to get through this, all of it, together."

Harry gurgled up at James, and for a moment, James felt hope that he would be able to fulfill his promise.