Disclaimer: I do not own HP or OHSHC

Author's note: To make this story work with Ouran's very sketchy timeline I've bumped up the HP timeline by six years (Thus, Harry was born July 31st, 1986). The Ouran timeline starts in 2003 (I'm basing this on when Ouran was published) Haruhi started school at age 15, so Harry will be 17 (the same age as Tamaki) when he's in Japan. Oh, and for clarification, Lily died in April of 1992.

I'm kind of surprised by the lack of reviews I got for the first chapter of this story, but now that I think of it, I'm guessing numbers will be low until Harry leaves England. Enjoy and again, remember; this story is based off a Grimm fairytale, and those guys were pretty damn twisted. Prepare for the classic timejumps!


July 31st, 1993

James couldn't believe it had only been a year since Lily's… since Lily passed. He couldn't deny that for the first six months afterwards, he might as well have died with her. Remus and Sirius practically raised Harry themselves while still managing their own lives, they even saved James' job when he had been in danger of losing it due to his poor attendance. It was Harry that finally knocked some sense into him though, in a small moment of clarity James had been walking down the hall and heard a sound coming from Harry's room. He had quietly nudged open the door and looked on in dismay as his son talked to his stuffed bear with tears streaming down his cheeks, begging for his daddy not to leave him like his mommy did.

He couldn't help but smile though as he took in the red and gold streamers that decorated the sheltered picnic area at the local park they had chosen as the hosting spot of Harry's seventh birthday party. He had been so busy at the police department as of late, but it took the quick interference of his great friend Remus and the mother of Harry's best friend Ron to get everything done in time. The park was full of happily screaming children, so James would call the event a success.

"Jamie! I was wondering where you were hiding old man! Leave the clean up to the ladies and come join the fun!" The strong arm of his best friend Sirius wrapped around his shoulders, pulling him hard against the man's lightly muscled chest. "You're even missing out on Harry riding his new bike! Sans training wheels; he's a Potter after all, he'll be a natural."

"…Without training wheels?! Sirius what the hell are you thinking? He's not ready for that!" James tried frantically to get free of his best friend's hold, but the slightly taller man just gripped him tighter.

"Jamie do you really not remember what we were like at his age? You really need to loosen the reins, you're not giving that boy any room to breathe," Sirius ignored the snarl his best friend gave and simply leaned heavily against his shoulder. "You're too tense, you need to relax Jamie… There's this girl at the coffee shop by my house, she's a real cutie and you should see the size of her –"

"Sirius! I'm not ready for that yet. It's only been –"

"It's been over a year James. I loved Lily, I really did. But you're still a young man Jamie; I think it's time you moved on. Think of Harry."

"You don't think I have Sirius? But every time I look at another woman I can't help but compare them to her… they can't match her, they come nowhere close. I have to keep my promise."

"Just think about it alright?"

"Yeah… Okay Siri."


March 1996

James Potter quietly slipped into the music hall just a few minutes before the performances were about to begin. The lights were already dimming and James barely saw Remus' tanned and lightly scarred hand waving for his attention over on the left side of the hall. He carefully moved through the crowd, sliding past seated people in an attempt to get to the free seat, only to be cornered by his son's piano teacher Ms. Ashby once he finally took his seat.

"I'm so glad you made it to the recital today Mr. Potter, you must be very proud," the woman smiled and adjusted her glasses. Ms. Ashby came off to most as a rather stern older woman; her dark brown hair had heavy gray streaks that were easily seen even with her hair pulled back in a severe bun.

"Thank you, I am," James' returning smile was much bigger than the other woman's, although he was surprised that she kept up conversation even as a young girl walked out on stage – she must have not been one of Ashby's students.

"I hope you enjoy the performance today, I know Harry's been excited and he's been practicing so hard," Ms. Ashby practically gushed as she lightly laid a hand on James' arm. "I'm excited as well for the other teachers here to see him perform. I wouldn't exactly call your son a prodigy, but he has such a talent for the piano. I don't think I've ever seen a young boy his age play Chopin so well. I hope he never gives it up."

They continued talking quietly in between (and during) the other children's performances, only stopping when Harry finally came out on stage, clutching his sheet music close to his chest as he stumbled his way towards the large piano in front of him. James couldn't help but grin as he took in his shy son's appearance; Harry looked absolutely adorable in his little three piece suit. At ten years of age Harry was still quite small, and even though he hadn't hit puberty yet, it was obvious that he would never be overly tall.

Harry had finally sat down during James' musings and began to play, and the soft sound of Chopin's Nocturne No.2 filled the silent hall. Harry looked so angelic as he focused on the piano keys, his small delicate fingers moving carefully to hit the right notes, and yet he seemed so confident in his movements. He could remember Lily sitting at the piano years ago with Harry barely three years old sitting quietly at her side. Harry must have gotten the ability from her side of the family; there was no way it came from his.


June 2000

The house was dead silent when James stepped through the front door, which was very concerning since his thirteen year-old son had his now fourteen year-old best friend spending the night. Leaving his coat on the back of one of the dining room chairs, James made his way up the stairs silently, not knowing what to expect when he came to his son's door. His grip on the doorknob was tight as he quietly turned the door and carefully slid it open, looking in on the sleeping face of Ron Weasley in his son's bed. Harry was nowhere to be found however, so James turned his attention farther down the hall towards his room since he knew he wouldn't be surprised at all to find his son there fast asleep. After all, who wouldn't want to escape that bedroom with Ron snoring louder than a train engine?

Looking into his own bedroom he saw Harry sitting at the foot of the bed, looking down at something in his hands that was difficult to see even with the light of the moon shining in through the window.

"Harry? What's going on son?" James let the door shut behind him, trying not to snicker as Harry nearly jumped up from his seat, having not heard his dad come in.

"Oh! Nothing dad, not really anyway. Just looking at a picture of mum." James sat down on the edge of the bed next to his son and looked at the picture of Lily that he had kept at his bedside, even after all these years. "She's so beautiful…"

"Yeah, your mom was the prettiest girl in school, and the smartest. It took me years to get her to go out with me," James slid an arm around Harry's thinner shoulders, hugging the teen close as he kissed his forehead. "You remind me of her a lot squirt."

"I'm not a squirt! You haven't called me that name in forever!"

"It might have been awhile, but you're still a squirt. Now come on, I take it you're not going back to your room anytime right?"

"Yeah, I think Ron might be coming down with something… He's louder than usual."

"Then come tuck in, you can sleep with me. It'll be just like when you were little." James got up to pull down the blankets before grabbing his pajama pants and a t-shirt. "I'll be right back, you go ahead and get in."

"Alright, night dad,"

"Night Harry,"

The next morning Harry woke up bright and refreshed, and James couldn't understand why he couldn't sleep that night.


November 2002

When the front door slammed open James fell off of the couch where he was taking a nap and was up again once the door slammed shut. He was ready to start yelling at his son for his unusual behavior before he took in the teen's angry face. Harry was practically shaking with anger, and James barely noticed the watch cap he had never seen before as he studied his son.

"Harry what the hell happened?"

"Fred and George," Harry snapped and turned to take off his coat, not even noticing his father jerk back in surprise at Harry's reply.

"What did they do? You normally like their jokes… hell you usually take part in them. Just like your old man did –"

"Well did you ever do this?" Harry ripped off the cap that had completely hidden all of his normally thick black hair, but today that black hair had suddenly become dark red. "Fred and George wouldn't even apologize! All they said afterwards was that they didn't expect it to be such a dark shade of red, and that they had been aiming for a more ginger color like theirs!"

"…" James stood frozen in place as he took in his sixteen year old son standing in front of him. Harry was on the cusp of adulthood, and while Harry's normally black hair came from him, the rest was all Lily. The height, the way his small nose would end in just a barely upturned point, his beautiful smile, those full lips… his sweet personality, his fire, his talent. It was all Lily. How had he never seen it before?

"Dad…Dad? Are you alright?"

God, even the confused tilt of Harry's head was the same as Lily's. As those delicately smooth hands came up to brush against his forehead it took everything he had in him just to stay still. Those were Lily's, Lily's angelic hands. He had tried to date in the past, find another woman that could fill the hole in his heart that Lily had left behind. No one could fill that hole though, not properly, not enough to keep the promise he made to Lily on that horrible day so long ago.

"You're young James, you have more than enough time to marry again and live a happy life. Just... as my last request; I want your next wife to be like me, similar at least. In nature, personality, and beauty to me. Find someone like that James, marry and never let them go."

It was in that moment that James realized he had been searching in the wrong places this whole time, the answer to who would take Lily's place was right in front of him. Her son.


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