Disclaimer: I still do not own Harry Potter.
Wow! Thanks so much for all the reviews. As you can see, they've inspired me to get this chapter out ASAP, even though it's my shortest one yet. It's taken me all day to write, so I hope you enjoy it. This chapter is for my best friend Kerry, for finally coming back from Africa. I missed you so much!
Previously…
The black haired boy moved forward, entirely out of the sunlight. As he came to Remus' side and looked up, both James and Sirius gasped. The boy stared at them with inquisitive green eyes.
Green eyes.
Just like Lily.
"James, Sirius… I'd like to introduce you to Harry Potter."
Chapter Nine
Earlier that morning…
Harry dragged his trunk up the narrow staircase of Remus' house. He pulled his trunk up the final step and dumped it on the bed in the spare room. His hands were shaking slightly as he undid the silver buckles and opened the lid. He pushed aside a box of Owl Treats and fished out some new clothes to change into. He wanted to make a good impression when he went to visit the Weasleys and their "guests".
He slipped on his favourite pair of black jeans and a pale blue t-shirt. After leaning down to lace up his trainers, Harry slid into his favourite pair of robes – deep blue with gold braid around the edges – and walked over to the mirror.
After spending a couple of minutes in a futile attempt to tame his hair, Harry made his way back downstairs, where Tonks and Remus were waiting for them, talking in low voices. They broke off their conversation as he entered the room.
"Ooh, Harry," Tonks said, smirking. "Very swish."
He gave her a sheepish grin. "Thanks."
Remus groaned. "Leave him alone, Tonks. You look fine, Harry, don't worry." He glanced down at his watch. "We should set off now if we want to get there before lunch."
As Remus locked the front door, Tonks linked her arm through Harry's. "Scared?"
"More like terrified."
"I don't think you should worry too much. I'm sure it'll turn out fine. I mean, when you're involved, things have a habit of doing that."
They walked down Belladonna Lane in silence. Harry wasn't feeling very reassured by Tonks' words and felt the bile ride in his throat as they approached the Apparation point. Remus and Tonks smiled at him as they span around and disappeared from the alleyway. He closed his eyes and vanished with a small pop.
"Harry…Harry Potter?"
Harry moved forward, next to Remus, and nodded his head gently in consent, his vivid eyes darting between Sirius and James. They looked so familiar, he thought to himself, especially Sirius. Just a few years older. My dad and my godfather, standing right in front of me.
And I don't have a clue what to say. No idea what to do.
For a few seconds, no one moved, and when Sirius glanced at Tonks he saw her biting her lip in anticipation, staring at Harry worriedly. There was a long awkward silence, and then Harry finally spoke.
"Remus said you came from another world. Is –is that really true?"
James continued to stare at Harry in shock, and as Sirius spotted the sudden glassiness of his best friend's eyes, he decided to intervene.
"Yes, that's right. It's…um…nice to meet you, Harry."
He held his hand out for Harry to shake. Harry reached out and took it. He gave a gasp as he took it, and the warmth from Sirius' hand travelled up his arm. Harry stared down in shock as Sirius released his hand, staring at Harry strangely. Harry didn't notice.
Sirius. He's real…
James snapped himself out of his stupor as Harry turned his attention to him, and James stepped closer to his son. He didn't notice Harry stiffen as he held a hand up to Harry's cheek, and before James could stop himself, he had pulled Harry into a tight hug, and he finally began to cry. For a moment, Harry stayed tense, but just as James was about to let him go, he realised that Harry was hugging him back, and that he was sobbing just as hard as James.
"Dad," he heard Harry choke into his shoulder, "it's really you…"
As James nodded, he heard the back door open and caught a glimpse of Lily and some of the Weasleys standing on the doorstep, staring at Harry. James slowly released Harry and propelled him round so he was facing Lily.
"Look, Lily. Harry's come back. Our son's come back!"
Lily moved down off the step. She didn't seem shocked at all – in fact she looked calm and serene. The wind tugged strands of her red hair across her face, but even if she noticed, she didn't seem to mind. She kept her eyes fixed on Harry and he gazed back at her intently.
"Hello, Harry."
Ginny Weasley strolled leisurely down the Royal Mile in the centre of Edinburgh, her hands stuffed deep in her jean pockets. The cobbled street was crowded with people, and she sighed as she glanced at her watch. Her Portkey back to Ottery St. Catchpole didn't leave until five o'clock. It was only noon, so she another five hours to waste.
She had just left her last ever meeting with the rest of her group – Alpha One- because the Ministry had decided to disband the group and send them back to their normal jobs. That meant that Ginny would be stuck behind a desk in London again, filling out forms for the Department of International Magical Cooperation.
She was not looking forward to it.
Remus had sent them an owl early that morning, informing Alpha One that he had made significant progress on the Harry Potter case, and there was no need for them to carry on searching. She wondered what had happened, and what was going on back home. She was itching to get back there.
It was stupid, thought Ginny, that she wasn't allowed to Apparate between Scotland and England. But Wizarding Scotland was totally separate to England – it was even ruled by a different government. The borders were fiercely guarded and rogue Apparators were dealt with harshly. She wasn't going to risk it.
She spotted a bench a few metres down the street and made her way over to it. Ginny sat down and pulled a small leather purse out of her shoulder bag. She opened it and frowned. Only ten pounds left. She scowled as she remembered the many shopping bags littered across her bed in her hotel.
She sighed and leant back, closing her eyes and tilting her head back towards the sun.
All around her people were laughing and joking, walking past her without a second glance. She hoped Remus really had made some good progress on finding Harry. There were thousands of people here, in Edinburgh alone. When she thought about how many people there were in the world, the chances of finding Harry seemed incredibly slim.
"Ginny? That you?"
Ginny started in surprise and snapped her brown eyes open. "Charlie?! What are you doing here?"
Her older brother chuckled and sat down next to her. "Working, of course! We got some reports of a rogue Hebridean Black dragon up on the moors, so me and the others got dragged out here to catch it and Modify the memories of the Muggles that saw it. But what about you?"
"A meeting with work."
"Oh yes, your "I could tell you but then I'd have to kill you" job."
Ginny whacked him playfully on the head as she giggled.
"I wish you would stop calling it that. Anyway, I guess it doesn't matter what you call it now. Now we've completed everything we had to do after the war, we've been disbanded by the Ministry, and everyone's going back to their normal jobs."
"Oh." Said Charlie. There was a small pause, and then he asked, "Ginny…your work, was it something to do with Harry?"
She turned to look at him, puzzled. "Why would you think that?"
"I don't know, really. It was just a feeling." He shrugged.
"Well, you're right."
"I am?"
"Yes. My group…we were trying to find him. Only a couple of weeks we tracked him down to a little village in Bulgaria, but when our agents got there, apparently there was no sign of him. Then Remus – he does some work with us – owled us this morning, saying he'd made some important progress on the case. So it looks as if we're getting close. But – even if we do find him – I don't know what I'd do then."
"Why?"
Ginny turned to look at her brother fixedly. "It's been two years since I saw him, Charlie. I wasn't exactly his favourite person when he left."
"So he's have had two years to get over it. Don't worry, Gin. He hasn't turned up yet, so I'm sure he'll wait a bit longer. And in the meantime, why don't you let me buy you lunch? You look starving."
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