Chapter Ten
"I-I what?" Sirius said, not taking it in.
"You... you died. Sirius, now that you're here, though, you can come back with me and everything will be sorted out. Because you aren't actually dead!" Harry said, actually jumping towards the end.
"But Harry, I don't understand. Go back? Where are we that we have to 'go back'?" Sirius asked, his eyes filled with confusion.
"Oh, um, right. Well, we- that is to say Ron, Hermione and I-"
Sirius interrupted, "Ron and Hermione are here, too?"
"Yup. Well, we aren't sure what happened but as we were... you know what? I really should go back and help Lily finish up the Defense class. Then we can go to the Room of Requirement and I'll tell you everything. Stand still." Harry said, pointing his wand at Sirius and changing his appearance. His hair became short and blonde, his face thinned out a bit and his nose became shorter. His eyes were now a deep brown.
"There. Now lets go. I have a feeling you'll figure out where we are once we get there." Harry said, shooting his godfather a smile.
"Wait! What did you do to me?" Sirius asked, touching his face.
"I just changed your appearance a bit."
"But why? I'm rather gorgeous. I can't see why you would want to change that."
"Ha ha. You'll see." Harry said.
As they entered the classroom Sirius spotted Professor Tyler.
"Pst... Harry. Why does she look like she could be your sister?" He asked, indicating Lily.
"Oh, that's because her appearance is changed, too. Don't worry, Zach. Everything will make sense after we explain." Harry reached Lily by then, with Sirius trailing behind.
"Hey Lily? This is Zach and he will be sitting in on the rest of this class. Stay here when class is over." He said quietly.
"Zach. Sit." Harry said, conjuring a chair.
"Why am I 'Zach'?" Sirius whispered, spitting out the name.
"I don't know. It was the first thing I thought of. Now, shush."
"Um, Harry?" Sirius said, his tone of voice completely changed from what it was before.
"Sirius?"
"Why is James standing in the middle of the classroom? Or better question yet, why am I standing next to him?" Sirius asked in a deadly whisper.
"I'll explain later. I promise."
Sirius just shrugged. He believed Harry would tell him when he could and just filed the information away for later.
Harry continued the rest of the lesson, which only lasted for about ten minutes. When the bell rang, Harry turned to face the two adults (if you could call Sirius an 'adult').
"Let's go find Ron and Hermione."
"Harry, wait. Who is this?" Lily asked, looking searchingly at Sirius.
"Well, for now he's Zach. I can't really tell you right now, just in case someone can overhear us." Harry responded. He couldn't stop grinning.
"Well, then lets go! I can't stand not knowing!" said Lily, quite loudly.
"Alright! Alright!" Harry said trying to placate her.
"Keep in mind, Professor, that I don't know who you are either." Sirius said.
"Fine. Let's just go find them." Lily said, leaving the room in a huff.
"Bit mental, that one." Sirius said, sticking his thumb towards Lily's retreating back.
"Just as mental as you and me, Zach." Harry replied, knowing that if Lily heard him, he'd be toast.
"Hurry up!" Lily called.
"We're coming! Don't get your knickers in a twist!" Sirius called back.
Lily just rolled her eyes as she turned into the Charms classroom.
"Hermione and Ron teach Charms?" Sirius asked.
"Hermione is the assistant. Flitwick still teaches Charms."
"What do you mean 'still'?"
"Wow, you miss nothing." Harry said.
"Nope. Sharp as a tack!" Sirius said as he walked right into a suit of armor.
"Yup. Really proved it right there." Harry said, cracking up.
"Come on, you guys! I don't know how many times I've had to say that." Lily said, sticking her head out of the classroom door.
"Coming!" Harry called, walking into the classroom.
Sirius wasn't far behind, as he came in still rubbing his forehead.
"Harry, who's this?" Hermione asked spotting Sirius.
"Oh, um this is Zach. Lets go find Ron shall we?"
"Right here, mate." Ron said, walking into the room.
"Great! Now that we're all here, can you please tell us?" Lily begged.
"Yeah, let's just get to the Room of Requirement and then I can tell you everything." Harry said, grabbing Sirius' arm and yanking him out of the room.
"The what?" Lily asked, catching up with them.
"You'll see." Harry said, waggling his eyebrows.
"Harry!" Hermione said, smacking him on the arm.
"What? I'm enjoying this." Harry said with a smile.
"Wait, I don't know what this room is and I know everything." Sirius said.
"Zach, shut up." Harry said.
"Well, evidently you don't know everything." Lily said. This Zach guy reminds her way too much of the way James and Sirius acted when they swaggered around Hogwarts before Lily finally helped them see the light.
Harry just smiled as Hermione and Ron were staring at him.
"Why is it that almost every time we see you, Harry, you have someone new for us to meet?" Ron said, staring pointedly at Sirius.
"That's a pretty good point. I wonder why people just keep popping up. We should probably talk to Dumbledore after this." Harry said as they got to the seventh floor corridor.
He walked back and forth in front of the door three times. Lily and Sirius just stared at him like he lost his mind... until the door appeared.
"What the bloody hell is that?" Sirius burst out.
"Zach! Language!" Hermione and Lily shouted at the same time.
Harry and Ron looked at each other and then burst out laughing while Lily and Hermione chuckled. Hermione was constantly being told how she and Lily would have gotten along. It seems they were right.
Harry and Ron were still laughing as they entered the room. Lily and Hermione followed, smiles still on their faces. Sirius was last, his mouth hanging open as he took in what he saw.
Lily had somewhat the same reaction after she looked around.
"What kind of room is this?" They both asked at the same time.
"The house elves call it the Come and Go room. We call it the Room of Requirement. All you need to do is pace in front of this blank stretch of wall three times, concentrating on what you need the room to become. Not that difficult, see?" Ron explained.
"Ah. I wonder why we never found it. It would be perfect for the map..." Sirius trailed off when he noticed everyone staring at him. He smiled sheepishly.
"The map?" Lily asked.
"Oh, um..." He mumbled, stalling.
"You mean the Marauder's Map? But..." Hermione trailed off.
A moment later she gasped. "Sirius?" She said, no louder then a whisper.
He nodded.
"Sirius?" Lily asked, coming up in front of him.
Harry took his wand and tapped Sirius' head. As the magic on him faded away, Lily gasped as well.
Harry then tapped her on the head, too.
"Lils?" Sirius said as her transfigurations were lifted.
"Sirius, why do you look way older then you should be?"
"Lils, why are you here?" Sirius said, his eyes wide.
"Huh? I don't understand..." Lily said, staring at Sirius, confusion plain in her eyes.
"We should probably explain." Hermione said, taking a seat on one of the couches in front of the fire.
Ron sat next to her while Sirius, Harry and Lily took the fluffy, winged armchairs.
"Beware, this may take a while." Ron said, shifting himself to get comfortable.
Harry then explained the whole story with Ron and Hermione helping him along the way.
A/N- HELLO MAGICAL BEANS!
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-Lauren :)