"Dum-Dubble-Dumbledore?" Sirius stuttered, obviously still quite shaken.
"In the flesh," Dumbledore acknowledged with a small nod.
"What is going on here?" James wheezed, clutching his chest.
"Well," the headmaster of Hogwarts then said, " I have just had contact from the future, giving me rather grim news. And that's not the only thing from the future, might I add."
Sirius and James gave him questioning looks. Sirius's eyebrows were raised, and James's were furrowed. Harry nervously stowed his wand in his pocket. So Dumbledore knew he was here...
"What was that thing that attacked us?" James demanded.
"Alas, I do not know who for sure," Dumbledore sighed. "But I do know that he was an assassin."
"Someone's trying to kill us?" Sirius squeaked.
The old man shook his bearded head. "No, not you," he said. Then he looked straight at Harry, and Harry felt his penetrating gaze... "You may come out, Mr. Potter."
Sirius and James exchanged looks, but Harry's heart was pumping madly against his rib cage. He was going to be punished, he knew it... He shouldn't have come...
"Er, headmaster," James muttered cautiously. "I'm right here. Unless you're talking about my dad... Isn't he in the house? Unless he's under the Invisibility Cloak?"
"He is," Dumbledore stated simply. "But he is not your father. Come out, Harry."
Reluctantly, Harry pulled off the cloak and stood there, refusing to look at anyone, anything, but the grassy, broken ground at his feet. He could feel James's and Sirius's eyes boring into him, gaping at him...
"Oi," Sirius mumbled. "He looks just like you, Prongs..."
James just stared at him. Harry felt disappointment course through him. He was disappointed in himself, he should have gone straight to someone who could help, he shouldn't have come here...
"James Potter," Dumbledore said, with a small smile. "Meet your son."
"Meet your son."
Those three words echoed in James's mind, bouncing off the walls of his brain, not entirely registering. The words seemed to haunt him... It didn't make sense. He was only sixteen... and this boy looked about his age... In fact, the boy looked so much like him, it was scary...
"He's from the future," Dumbledore added, "He accidentally got sent here by a broken Time-Turner."
James continued to gape at the boy. He took in the finer details, and soon, it all added up in his mind.
This boy had the same hair, the same look, the same build... He had a slightly shorter nose... He had round, cheap glasses... He had Lily's eyes. The way he held himself, it was like a combination of Lily and James.
"Prongs?"
And James instantly zoomed back onto the planet Earth, smiling like an idiot at his newfound realization.
"Prongs, are you okay?"
James grinned and said, "Hello, son."
Harry looked up abruptly and his eyes widened a little, as if he couldn't believe his ears, as if he couldn't believe someone was addressing him as "son". James vaguely took note of this. Harry smiled at his father, and looked up at Dumbledore.
"So... does this mean you're sending me back?"
James's heart fell a little bit. He had just met his son... His son, Lily's son... and he was going to be sent back to the future rather abruptly.
"No," Dumbledore said, with the tiniest trace of a smile. "Time travel is a very risky, and you have just traveled a great deal back. Most time travelers only journey back for hours, but in your case, it's about twenty years. Sending you back, first of all, would be incredibly difficult, and doing it right away will tear the delicate fabric of the space time continuum."
James looked at the sky, thinking.
"Can he stay here?" He asked hopefully. "I mean, he is my son, and mum and dad would love to meet him, and..."
Dumbledore smiled. "Of course he can stay here." Then he looked very seriously at Harry. "As long as he does not reveal anything about the future that could ruin your lives. Do you understand me, Harry?"
The joyous look on Harry's face - that appeared when James asked if he could stay - fell a bit. He nodded reluctantly, and pocketed his wand absently.
"But why not?" Sirius demanded. "The future... It's... Wow. C'mon, Professor!"
"Yeah, sir!" James added. He had really wanted to know more about the future. About his future. With Lily. "We... We'll... We won't make it ruin our lives! We promise!"
The headmaster looked thoughtfully at the clouds, then sighed.
"Oh, very well," He said, giving up at the boys' determined looks. They all cracked into huge grins, and he added hastily, "As long as you promise to live life as normally as possible, as though you didn't know anything."
"Yes, sir!" James and Sirius said dutifully, saluting.
Then they turned and grinned at Harry.
"Well, come on in, son!" James said, swinging his arm over Harry's shoulders. "Mum and Dad would love to meet you!"
"Yeah, Prongslet," Sirius said, clapping Harry's back. "This should be bloody well brilliant!"
And with that, the three boys made their way into the manor, leaving the garden in a state of ruin, leaving the headmaster to chuckle amusedly and fix the ditch and lake with a flick of his wand.
Harry had never been happier.
-oOo-
"Mum! Dad!" James called as they entered the house. James and Sirius were still holding their broomsticks, and Harry was still clutching his small pack.
"Yes, James, dear?" Mrs. Potter's voice called from across the living room. "We're here in the kitchen."
James motioned for Harry to stay outside for a while, and the two Marauders entered the kitchen, still soaked from head to toe from their encounter by the lake.
"Goodness, did you just manage to fall into the lake from your brooms?" Mr. Potter chuckled, and with a flick of his wand, the boys dried up.
"Well, funny story, actually," Sirius began, smiling like a mishievous little schoolboy who had a secret.
"What?" Mrs. Potter asked. James drew in as much breath as he could.
"Well, Padfoot and I were flying around, having a good time, when suddenly there was this loud explosion from the lake, like BOOM! And then we landed and tried to find where it came from, and there was another explosion, like BOOM! It knocked us off our feet, and this cloaked figure came out and attacked us, but this invisible dude tackled us to the ground and dueled with him, and it was awesome! Like, BOOM and CRASH and PEW PEW PEW! And then Dumbledore came and the assassin dude Disapparated away and Dumbledore explained to us what happened."
James said that all in one breath, and he was panting when he finished.
"Goodness!" Mrs. Potter exclaimed.
"Well, what DID happen?" Mr. Potter prodded them to go on.
The Marauders grinned and James pulled Harry in. Mr. and Mrs. Potter were in confused shock.
"Mum, Dad," James said. "Meet my son from the future!"
-oOo-
"So did you get the message to younger Dumbledore?" Ron said, closing the dusty old book entitled: "Through the Ages: A Message through Time."
"Yeah," Hermione said, opening his eyes after concentrating. "He said he'll handle everything. No need to worry."
"Ah," Ron said, leaning back on his chair and placing his feet on the table. "See? And once again, the day is saved by one very brilliant Ronald Weasley!"
Hermione glared at him.
"And... alright," Ron said. "With a little help from Hermione Granger. Happy?"
Hermione pushed Ron's seat backward, and with a loud "THUDSMACK", he fell to the floor.
"...Ow."