Chapter VII

Remus sat in the living room, his tea untouched as he stared at the two young people telling him this story. It was unbelievable. Incredibly far-fetched as well and if Remus didn't know that Harry would never joke about something like this, he would have thought he was being pranked.

"Well?" Harry asked. "What do you think?"

Remus gulped. "I don't even know how to respond. They're coming here? For dinner?" When Harry and Ginny both nodded, he closed his eyes. "They've been alive this entire time? Why haven't they ever contacted anyone?"

"Apparently Dumbledore didn't want anyone to know that they were alive." Ginny replied.

"You know, when we reopened the Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore did mention that he had been working with people over the years since Voldemort's downfall on finding ways to destroy him when he came back. We never thought much of it at the time, as Sirius and I both remembered that there were secret members of the Order in the first war as well. You don't think they were … James and Lily do you?" Remus asked.

Harry nodded. "They must have been. Remus, look, I wrote a letter to them inviting them over. I explained a bit about everyone and their families but I haven't seen them yet or actually spoken with them either. I needed you here with me, mostly because I don't think Gin would have stopped me from cursing them."

Ginny laughed. "No … well, I might have, after all I already did yell at them. And who knows, if Dobby hadn't shown up and told me that Harry was in St. Mungo's I might have done some damage myself. But I don't think there should be any cursing, you need to talk to them."

The doorbell rang and Harry froze in his spot, his tea halfway to his lips. Remus grabbed Harry's arm and nodded at him. "We're in this together."

Ginny smiled. "You two stay here. I'll go get them." She stood up and went into the hallway, taking a deep breath as she ran her fingers through her wavy curls. She wondered if maybe she should have put her waist length hair up. She shook the stupid thought from her head. She had more important things to worry about at the moment. Ginny pulled open the front door and put her most charming smile on. "You guys found it."

Sirius smiled at her. He looked more handsome then ever. His dark hair casually waved around his face in a look that obviously didn't take any effort. Now that she wasn't in shock at seeing him she realized that he looked really good. That pale and gaunt look that he had about him when coming out of Azkaban was gone and he looked healthy. "Hey beautiful, is there still room in the insomniacs club?"

Ginny laughed. "Maybe." She then turned her attention to James and Lily Potter. James looked so much like Harry. His hair was still black and thick and messy, sticking up in every which direction. Ginny knew that it would be exactly like Harry's where it just would not lay flat no matter what you did to it. His eyes were a deep hazel and were filled with worry. She understood that he was nervous to meet his son. Lily Potter was beautiful. Those same emerald green eyes were slightly misty and Ginny got the idea that she was holding back tears. Her hair was a beautiful auburn red that Ginny had always wished her hair was. Ginny always thought that it had looked like her head was on fire, while Lily's hair looked beautiful and exquisite. She managed a small smile for them. "Mr. and Mrs. Potter, please come in."

They stepped inside and James smiled at her. "Thanks for having us and you can just call me James."

Lily nodded. "And me Lily. We don't want to be any trouble."

Ginny smiled, she could feel the guilt of everything she had said to them going through her. She was glad that they were here, but if they ever hurt Harry … "You won't be any trouble at all. I want to apologize for before as well, for saying that you didn't deserve Harry. I was angry and I didn't mean that." When the three of them just nodded she smiled. "I hope that you like spaghetti and meatballs, that's what Harry insisted on for dinner tonight. Can I get you anything to drink?"

Sirius looked over at his friends and shook his head. "I think we're alright, Gin. We'd just like to see Harry."

Ginny nodded. "Alright, well come on." She led them to the doorway of the living room. She was going to go check on the sauce, she had a feeling that Harry and Remus would appreciate being alone with them for a few minutes. "They're in there."

"They?" Lily asked.

"Yes. I'll be in the kitchen if you need me." She turned and headed in the other direction.

Harry continued to stare at the doorway with Remus holding his arm. He wondered if Remus realized that both of them were holding their breath. He heard voices in the hall and then Ginny say that she was going into the kitchen. Then they stepped into the room. No one said anything; they all just looked at each other. Harry's heart was beating so quickly he wondered if they could see it pounding through his chest. He took a deep breath and looked up at his parents.

They were standing there; his mum had tears pouring down her cheeks, as did his dad. Sirius was just grinning at him, that familiar mischievous grin that Harry remembered. And for some reason, Harry couldn't help but grin back at Sirius, but he was still a little nervous to face his parents. Finally Harry seemed to find his voice, though it came out a little higher then normal.

"Make yourselves comfortable."

They sat down, but still no one spoke. Harry wondered if it was supposed to be this uncomfortable. But he didn't know what to say. He wanted to yell at them. To demand answers to questions that had been bothering him, but he didn't seem to know how to speak. Then he turned at the sound of Remus clearing his throat.

"Ginny explained everything … but I think that Harry and I would both like to hear it from you."

James nodded. "That's understandable, Moony. You look wonderful by the way. Healthiest I've ever seen you."

Remus nodded. "Thanks."

James managed a small smile. "Well, I guess the story starts with Lily's pregnancy. You both know about the prophecy?"

Harry nodded. "Well, it was about me." His voice had sounded angry and distant but no one commented on it.

"Alright. Well, Lily was five months pregnant when Dumbledore came and told us about it. He said that it could either apply to us or the Longbottoms. But he seemed pretty sure that Voldemort was going to choose us. I didn't tell anyone about it at first. I just didn't know how too. Then when Harry was born, Lily and I were so happy and as she was smiling down at him, it hit me. If Voldemort wanted our son dead, then how long would we have with him? I told her everything. Lily was in shock and she was really angry with me for not telling her. Well, at the time, we were both already members of the Order. We didn't tell anyone about what was really going on. But we began to experiment with potions and we created jinxes and things … we were determined to find a way to survive the killing curse." James explained.

Harry shrugged, anger bubbling just under the surface. "Well, I did."

Remus placed his hand on Harry's arm again. "Harry, let them explain."

Harry merely closed his eyes for a moment. He wanted Ginny in here. As if he had willed it, she stepped into the room. Harry opened his arms to her and she walked over and sat in his lap. She felt him relax as his arms came around her. He closed his eyes again before he spoke. "Okay, go on."

Lily spoke this time. Her soft voice bringing memories back to Harry. "Well, we experimented with everything. We talked to Horace Slughorn who told us about horcruxes, we asked him if someone could survive the killing curse if their soul was split in two. He said yes of course, but they would never truly be whole. We looked deeply into that idea, trying to change it somehow. Neither James nor I were willing to kill someone just to survive. And we weren't too keen on splitting our souls either. Anyway, we tried hundreds of different things, drinking potions and wand movements. But the thing is we didn't know if we had succeeded."

Remus nodded. "Because you had no way of testing it."

"Exactly." Lily replied. "Then, even though we had taken precautions, someone betrayed us and Voldemort found us. When Sirius came to the safe house five years ago we were furious. Dumbledore had informed us that it had been him so long ago who had betrayed us. But he explained that it had actually been Peter. We should have known, after all, we did make Peter our secret keeper but … well rumours were believed."

James' fists clenched at his sides. "The man always was a rat! I'd like to get a hold of him myself!"

Lily grabbed James' hand. "That's over now. Anyway, like we explained to Ginny before, the spells seemed to have worked. But we did die! It was like we came back to life. But by the time we awoke, a shocked Dumbledore told us that he had already delivered Harry to the Dursleys and that it would be best if the world thought we were dead."

Remus shook his head no, glancing at Harry, who had his head resting on Ginny's shoulder. His hands were shaking in Ginny's but he didn't speak. "That's what is bothering me the most. Why the hell would Dumbledore think that it would be best for us all to believe that you were dead? Harry was famous for surviving, the Boy Who Lived he was called. I understand Dumbledore wanting him away from the magical world and away from the fame but why keep you away? Where is the logic in that?"

James shrugged. "We don't truly know. He seemed to think that it was best. We had no one else to turn to, Remus, he was the only one who knew that we were alive and he was insisting that we do this. He swore that it would be in Harry's best interest in the future. He said that Voldemort might be missing but he was far from gone and when he returned, Harry would need to destroy him. He said that by us keeping our distance and to have Harry believe we were dead we would be … helping him in some way. We disagreed. Lily and I fought with him for weeks about it. But he wouldn't let us anywhere near Harry. We knew that what he said must have some truth to it, after all this was Dumbledore. If we couldn't trust him then who were we supposed to turn to?"

Lily nodded. "Dumbledore came to see us this afternoon and told us that he had a meeting with Harry. He apologized for his decision but he said that he still believed that he did what was right. I'm not sure that I agree."

"And you, Sirius?" Remus asked.

Sirius shrugged. "I fell through the arch and was knocked out but I wasn't dead. Dumbledore found me later on and brought me to this safe house. I got the shock of my life when James and Lily walked into the room. I thought I had died. I learned everything then. About how they had been secretly working for the Order and how Dumbledore was keeping them hidden. I was just as angry as you guys are, but mostly for Harry. But Dumbledore made me stay hidden as well and well I was working for the Order too."

Ginny could feel Harry's heart pounding against her back. She squeezed his hands gently to try to reassure him but she knew that it was too late. He was angry and he was going to start yelling. "Harry," she said calmly. "Honey, don't —" But that was as far as she got because he slid her on the seat next to him and stood up.

"I don't know how I'm supposed to react to this. There's one side of me that wants to throw myself into your arms and cry like a baby. Then there's the other side that wants to curse you until you can't move." He felt Ginny grab his hand. "Damn it, Gin! I told you not to touch me when I'm angry. I could hurt you!"

Ginny stood up and stayed at his side. "You could never hurt me, Harry. Now calm down."

"I can't calm down! I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE HELL TO DO! I'VE TRUSTED DUMBLEDORE WITH MY ENTIRE LIFE! HE'S BEEN A MENTOR AND A FATHER TO ME! LIKE A GRANDFATHER! I'VE LOOKED AT HIM LIKE A RELATIVE! HE WAS ALWAYS THERE TO EXPLAIN THINGS AND TO HELP ME WHEN I NEEDED HELP BUT HOW COULD HE DO THIS TO ME? HE EXPLAINED IT, OH YEAH, BUT HIS EXPLANATION IS ABOUT AS GOOD AS YOURS! IT DOESN'T EXPLAIN ANYTHING!" He yelled.

Ginny reached for his hand again. "Harry –".

Harry closed his eyes for a moment. "Yeah, okay, so you've been working for the Order and Dumbledore didn't want you to see me because he thought it was for the best … that's crap! What about me? I lived in shit for the first ten years of my life! I don't remember anything about my life before the Dursleys other than the night that you supposedly died, which the Dementors dredged up for me in my third year! My life was hell! I could have actually had a somewhat decent and normal childhood with people who loved me but I guess that's just asking too damn much! You know, if it hadn't been for the Weasleys and Hagrid only God knows how I would have turned out! Then, I think my life is getting better, I mean, I meet two of my dad's best friends when I'm thirteen! Then I learn that Sirius is not actually trying to murder me but to murder my best mate's rat and that he is actually my godfather! He suggests that maybe I can move in with him and I begin to think, hey, my life's getting better; I can leave the Dursleys – NOT! Naturally something happens and Sirius' name isn't cleared, not that it mattered anyway as Dumbledore basically told me that I HAD to live with the Dursleys until I turned seventeen! How much abuse can one person take in life? I was locked in cupboards, beaten with bats and fists, refused food, worked until I couldn't move – yeah, that WAS my childhood! Did Dumbledore tell you that? Or did you just laugh about it, thinking that it was a good thing that you got rid of that stupid kid you didn't want anyway!" He stopped then and stormed out of the room.

James, Lily, Sirius, and Remus all stared after him in shock. Ginny spoke up. "He's hurting; you have to give him time."

"Abused by whom?" James asked, his fists clenching again at his sides.

Ginny glanced over at him. "Vernon and Petunia Dursley. Though from the few things that I've actually gotten out of Harry, it was mostly Vernon. From what I understand, once he had been accepted to Hogwarts, the beatings stopped because they were afraid of him doing magic. But they did more to him then physical abuse. Harry didn't even know what love was. The day I told him that I loved him; he wasn't sure how to respond. He told me that he thought he loved me but he couldn't be sure because he had never been loved or loved anyone before so he didn't know what it felt like. At that moment in time, I wanted to strangle the Dursleys with my bare hands for making him question his own feelings. Now excuse me." She hurried out of the room and she found Harry standing on the back porch. She slipped her arms around his waist, resting her cheek on his back. "Its okay, Harry."

He tensed only slightly. "I was determined not to give an outburst but obviously I'm incapable." He turned to look down at her, placing a hand on her stomach. "What kind of dad am I going to make when my own father didn't even want me?"

Ginny framed his face with her hands and kissed him softly. Both of them were unaware that James had stepped out onto the porch to listen to their conversation. "Don't talk like that. You're going to make a wonderful father. And your father did want you, Harry. What happened nineteen years ago is the same thing that you ended when you destroyed Tom. A war has been going on and there were problems and tensions. Why would you say that James Potter didn't want you?"

Harry shrugged, pulling her closer and burying his face in her hair. "Well, they left me with the Dursleys, didn't they?"

"Harry, it wasn't their choice. Dumbledore believed that he was making the right decision. Dumbledore is a brilliant wizard, Harry; I don't think that he would have done something like that unless he was truly serious that what he was doing was for the best. He obviously believed so. But the thing with Dumbledore is that he is a brilliant wizard and no one has been around to tell him that he is wrong for a long time. But now you've been rewarded with a wonderful gift! You're parents are alive and they want to be a part of your life again. They love you."

He closed his eyes, holding her close for a moment. "But they didn't love me enough."

"That's bullshit." James replied from behind them, his eyes flashing.

Harry opened his eyes and looked into the hazel ones of his father. Their faces were so alike it was almost eerie. Harry stood an inch or so taller but they were almost identical, except for the eyes. Harry also noticed that his father didn't have his mouth, he wondered if he had his mum's lips. Ginny stepped out of Harry's arms, reaching up to kiss him softly before she went into the kitchen.

Harry turned to his father. "Bullshit, eh?"

James nodded. "Yeah, bullshit! Lily and I loved you so much that we barely let you breath. You were spoiled rotten and we loved everything about you. When you said your first word we were ecstatic and we ran around the house screaming in joy as you laughed at us with this knowing look in your eye. Lily thought you were thinking that we were crazy loons. When you first crawled into my arms, Lily cried tears of joy. And as you toddled around, just learning how to walk we were so proud of you. We loved you to death, Harry; you are our only child and our only son. I've never loved anyone the way that I loved that little boy that used to curl up on my shoulder at night with his thumb in his mouth or the way that I loved that little boy who used to scream Da at the top of his longs until I looked over at him and he'd stick his tongue out at me. I've never loved anyone the way that I loved that grown man that I saw in the living room yelling at us and basically telling us to go to hell for the pain that we've caused him. I've never loved anyone the way that I love you, Harry."

Harry stared at his father, lost for words. When he felt something wet hit his cheek he was alarmed to realize that they were tears. Then he was grinning foolishly. "I love you, Da."

Tears rolled down James' cheeks as he pulled his son into his arms for a long hug. At long last, he had his son back.

Ginny watched from the kitchen window as she began to boil the noodles and make the salad. She turned at the sound in the doorway, wiping tears from her eyes as she did. Lily stood there.

"Can I help with anything?"

Ginny shook her head. "No, I think that I got it covered. But I think you might be able to help them." She pointed out the window to where James and Harry were hugging and crying.

Lily placed a hand over her heart. "Oh, look at them!"

Ginny smiled. "Lily, I think Harry needs his mum too."

Lily smiled warmly at Ginny before she headed out onto the back porch. Harry broke away from James when he saw his mother come out. She smiled at him. "Hello Harry."

He nodded at her. "I'm uh … I'm sorry for my outburst."

Lily nodded. "It's alright. You were more then entitled to it. It's nice to know that you inherited my temper."

James laughed. "You can say that again! As soon as he started yelling I just thought oh no, he's got a fuse like Lily."

Harry grinned. It was nice to hear his parents having a conversation around him and with him. He wiped a tear from his eye before he spoke. "Mum, I love you."

Tears poured down Lily's cheeks before she could stop them. "Oh, I love you too, sweetie, I love you, too." Then she was covering his face in kisses as she hugged him, sobbing uncontrollably in his arms as James just grinned. His family was finally back together.

Meanwhile in the living room …

"So uh, Harry mentioned that you found a cure and that you're married?" Sirius replied, glancing over at Remus now that they were alone.

Remus nodded. "Yeah, I married Tonks. She's crazy but she keeps me going. I've got two sons too, Daniel and Aiden. They're coming down with some colds though, which is why Tonks and the boys didn't come tonight. I wasn't going to come either, but Harry begged me to come, said he needed me. Now I understand why. The cure is a potion from a warlock in Bulgaria. I take it everyday."

Sirius nodded. "You look good, Moony, you look happy."

"I am."

Sirius closed his eyes for a moment. "Are you ever going to forgive me?"

Remus shrugged. "I was thinking about it."

Sirius laughed and pulled Remus into his arms. "I missed you, Moony."

Remus grinned. "I missed you too, Padfoot. Now no more disappearing, no more going to prison, and no more pretend dying!"

Sirius laughed. "Okay, I'll behave."

Ginny smiled warmly to herself as she began to set the table. Everyone was happy again, the way it should be.