AN: A…year? Shit. Hold on with hope, loyal folks. I can only say sorry and update a better chapter than this WAY sooner.
Disclaimer: Still J.K Rowlings.

Tumble through Time

''Whoa! Hey, wait – ''

''Harry, just – careful. Careful!''

Chest suddenly constricting way too tightly, Harry practically threw himself off Sirius' back, completely uncaring of the older boy's startled Whoa and Remus' worrisome words. Whatever blissful peace he had felt moments ago had been dashed aside, replaced with pure adrenaline-pumping terror. With a skill he'd long learnt with the Dursleys, he expertly dodged a selection of hands that attempted to steady his scrambling, knowing all the while he was being stupid.

Very, very stupid, Harry decided, for what seemed like the umpteenth time today!

He really hadn't been thinking during his little natter with Sirius. The impending doom of having the Dursleys find out didn't exist here, not in this wondrous era. Harry was relatively free…and, full of hot cocoa, he had been lulled by the close proximity and warmth that came with being comfortably placed on his dad's friend's back. It was such a pleasant combination after a long day that Harry hadn't guarded his words. Instead, much to the boy's abject horror, he opened up and let slip enough to spark, not just Lily's upset, but Remus' and Sirius' and –

''Here we go,'' a deep voice – Dad's voice – cut through the flare of panic, ''I gotcha, Harry. Let's just…''

James' mollifying tone was accompanied by his hands. Hands, Harry noted, that snagged a hold of him during his flailing getaway attempts. Had his to-be-father's grip been painful or rough, Harry was certain he would've spiralled into a bigger, messier mode of panic. Thankfully, James' hold upon his upper arm lacked the sensations Harry had long linked to Uncle Vernon's meaty, grappling hands or Aunt Petunia's pinching clutches whenever they grabbed him for a scolding.

The large, long fingered hand currently upon him showed no signs of committing any hurt. In fact, James' hand simply steadied Harry onto his feet and steered him a little ways away from the others who, for all intents and purposes, kept trying to close in and bombard him with questions. At least, the other Gryffindors did, until Harry's stumbled attempts of bailing coupled with something else made them finally stop and step back.

''Hey, hey, hey,'' James chanted to him softly. ''It's okay, Harry. It's okay.''

But it wasn't okay – that's what Harry wanted to say. Nothing about what he had accidentally said was okay. However, try as he might, his ability to speak wasn't happening right now. If anything, the ability to breathe wasn't happening either.

Harry could only scrunch his eyes up and suck air in harshly.

''…aving a panic attack?''

''What's that? Fuck. Should I grab a Calming Draft? Or – ''

''What he needs, Padfoot, is for you to stop looking ready to murder someone!''

''Says the guy who's growling at me! For Merlin's sake, Moony, I didn't meant to –''

The selection of panicky-angry-loud voices stopped being decipherable after hearing Lily's fretful speculation of a panic attack. Remus' and Sirius' words tapered off into a high-pitched ringing that coincided with the dreadfully loud thumping of his own heartbeat. Vaguely, Harry was aware of James' hands slipping to his shoulders, then steadying his back, before they suddenly tucked themselves beneath his armpits…

And then Harry was weightless, numb, his feet no longer touching the ground.

His little freak-out only lasted a moment, but it felt like a lifetime being breathless, blind and dumb to the world spinning around him. It was with a series of blinks and shuddering gasp that Harry's hearing returned; his breathing less ragged yet heartbeat still just as furious. The latter fell into the background, no longer pumping loudly in his ears, as the noise of hushed, unclear muttering filled his ears.

Said muttering was between Lily, Remus and Sirius; Harry could see them. The trio were huddled a few feet away, looking a good mix of disgusted and angry as they whispered frantically. Oddly enough, despite their conversation, their eyes all seemed to be trained directly towards him and –

Oh.

Him and Dad.

Harry startled, his quick blinking eyes landing on the young man standing directly in front of him. Dad. No, James. James was the closest to him and didn't seem as tall as usual. Momentarily, Harry boggled at the Head boy, completely baffled at the few inches in height difference, until his location hit home. Only then, with an embarrassing sniffle-turned-hiccup, did Harry realize that he had been placed into sitting upon the high ledge of an alcove that housed a musty-looking tapestry.

''…alright now, aren't we, kiddo? There we go,'' James was…babbling.

Babbling wasn't entirely the right word though, Harry noted. James' voice was smooth and lulling despite the tinge of poorly hidden nervousness. Yet, either way, the stream of phrases and words emitting from his to-be-father was babbling. It was almost like James had been trying to sooth him with his conversational, albeit encouraging, prattle.

Idly, Harry wondered if his dad had been rambling away to him the whole time.

''Alright, there?'' James smiled at sadly at him, catching his eyes.

A soft keen escaped Harry instead of words, causing him to cringe in embarrassment. Automatically, Harry ignored the silence that had fallen amongst Lily, Sirius and Remus and focused on ridding the warm blur invading his vision. He swiped at his itchy-raw-weepy eyes, frustrated and trying to remove the escaping tears with the overly long sleeves that engulfed both his fists. It was only upon snuffling wetly against the downy fabric that Harry stopped and stared down at the soggy combination of tears and mucus that adorned his right sleeve.

Great, the child thought, just great. Not only was he acting like a total baby, he had just smeared snot on James' borrowed dressing gown. Harry felt another wave of upset hit him hard in the gut as humiliation attempted to colour his face. Honestly, the day had been long and atrocious, nothing seemed to be going right today.

Today had been a big, awful mess, end of. Again, he had to open his big, stupid mouth. Harry feared being too much of a nuisance and having Dumbledore send him back sooner than planned to his parent-less future. It was safe to say that the urge to burst out into full blown tears was currently overwhelming, but he'd stay strong.

''Suh-Sorry,'' was all Harry could warble.

Gods, he was pathetic.

Not that James seemed to mind; the taller Potter let emitted a crackly sounding laugh and playfully thumbed Harry's wobbly chin. Harry could only gulp and swallow down the urge to blubber. He was used to keeping quiet when upset; tears could appear, but sound would not. It had been an action long born out of having both his Aunt and Uncle berate and silence his 'whinging and whining'. Harry wasn't too sure when he started to silence the sound of his cries, but it must've been years ago, back when he settled with not giving Dudley and his gang the satisfaction.

Either way, not bawling like a baby right now was hard. Maybe even more so, when James' gently smoothed a palm across the top of Harry's wild mop of hair and kept it there. That hand was like a warm weight that anchored him during his spiralling thoughts.

''You're fine, HarBear,'' James' gentle words snagged his attention. ''No one's mad at you, or anything. I swear.''

It was a nice thing to say, but that didn't make it true. Harry bit the inside of his mouth, avoiding the older Potter's warm, brown eyes. Looking at the tattered corner of the tapestry he was perched beside was suddenly far more interesting to look at, especially when Lily decided to speak up

''Er – maybe, Harry, maybe you can just tell us a Lil' bit of what you meant?'' she pressed.

Harry felt his insides lurch at Lily's request. He was twisted up with shame and frustration, particular upon recalling how, an hour or so before, Mum had said that she wouldn't push or question. She…what did she say? She said she'd…

''But you said you'd w-wait!''

The words left Harry's mouth louder and squeakier than he intended. But that hardly mattered when he thought he'd be unable to say anything in the first place. Still, that is what she had said, up in the dorms, after apologising for her previous actions of listening in on his and Madam Pomfrey's talk.

Not that Lily currently looked like she could recall that now. Her face looked pinched, her eyes narrowed in confusion while the trio of Marauders shared baffled glances of their own. Harry hated it – all this unpleasant attention – and desperately sought to remind his mother what she promised.

''Y'won't ask.'' Harry explained with a stuttering exhale. ''You said you'd wait, unless I wanted to…to talk.''

Everyone was staring at her now, not him. Harry silently tried to recover as he watched the Head girl's brain work and recall what he was mentioning. Lily totally blanked the confused yet questioning murmurs from James or Remus in favour of frowning at Harry. Said child knew the exact moment Lily put two-and-two together when she actually looked, for the briefest of seconds, angry.

Such an expression swiftly melted into wide-eyed upset, though. She even began to step forward, closer to him and James, before stopping in her tracks, looking momentarily lost for words.

''Oh, no,'' Lily sighed, soft and sad. ''Harry, no – I...this is – is different.''

''No, it's not!'' Harry yelped.

''Yes, it is.'' The Head girl stressed. ''Have you even told Dumbledore about what you just said?''

''C'mon, Harry-bean…'' Sirius added, cajoling.

The Black sounded somewhat apologetic, too, and distraught. Harry couldn't help but scowl. A small part of the young Potter wanted to blame the older boy, who had (kinda, sorta) tricked him, but he couldn't find the energy to be angry at anyone but himself at spilling stupid things.

''Harry?'' Lily carried on probing, shuffling a step closer. '' Is what you said what Dumbledore meant by a few mishaps at home? ''

Pressing his lips firmly together, Harry breathed harshly through his nose. He would not give his traitorous mouth the chance to reply to that. Besides, he had a feeling this Dumbledore knew of Madam Pomfrey's suspicions as opposed to his (suspected) oblivious Headmaster in his own time. Nonetheless, not answering at all would hardly help and his mother's conclusion seemed far better than the reality he had of returning to the Dursleys, so he offered a sharp nod.

The group seemed to make a quiet noise of upset in union, creating a further dip in the uneasy atmosphere. Typical, Harry thought, even when saying nothing, he still screwed up. He bit his lip, resisting the urge to rub his sweaty palms against his face in frustration and exhaustion – couldn't this day be done and over with?

Talk about a situation going from zero to sixty, James' mind supplied, glumly.

During the brief minute of watching Harry shatter on the spot had, in no polite terms, fucked them all up. It was a small blessing that Peter hadn't been around; the rat Animagus had a habit of joining in the panic as opposed to soothing it and, if Remus and Lily were hastily following Harry's suit, then it was safe to say Peter would've been in the same state as the ten-year-old James had attempted to calm down.

Everyone had questions and everyone had wanted to help, but a sharp look towards his friends had kept them away from Harry, effectively leaving James to sort stuff out. Sure, he would've loved to fire his own questions, especially at Sirius, but he had opted to focus on the result than find out what led to it. All James knew was what he had overheard: Harry casually telling Sirius about spending 'a weekend' in a cupboard he identified as his own and being 'whacked' with a frying pan over something that the kid never got around to announcing.

A small part of James' brain tried to rationalize what he had heard, but it made less sense the more he tried. Even when James nattered nonsensical things to ease Harry away from hyperventilating, he had inwardly been adding the various things that had been uncovered about the boy earlier in the day. Only then, amidst his growing anger and nausea, did the Potter conclude that there was no other way to take Harry's off-hand remark, not when coupled with the kid's panicky reaction.

Normal children didn't freak out over being asked simple questions. Questions, like, repeating what James and the others they had just overheard or explaining further. Either way, the Head boy had expected more of a reaction than wide, tear-shiny green eyes and a handful of stifled sniffles from the kid. Merlin knew if James was 10-years-old and in a similar situation, he would've wailed. Still, James instinctively continued to pat or rub at Harry's upper arm, half-listening to his short exchange with Lily.

At least, until the kid opted for silence.

Only then, when it became apparent their littlest companion was refusing to speak, did James think it was time to leave the chilly corridor and head back to their dorms. There would be no further progress tonight, that was for sure. Harry's jaw was set stubbornly shut while sad, emerald eyes blinked tiredly behind circular frames. James plucked Harry down from the perch within an alcove, ignoring the startled jolt it made said boy produce, and threw an arm over bony shoulders.

The little lad looked drained and, despite his tense posture, leaned heavily against James' side during the walk back to the dorms. It was late and the day had been long, Harry was probably ready for bed. James sure was, that was for certain, even if it was for a brief, emotional respite…

He had a feeling he wouldn't be sleeping much anyway. He just felt so…so…angry.

''Monday's always are the worst.''

Remus' dry tone cut through the thick, awkward silence that had engulfed the group of teens since Harry's last words. Lily couldn't help to smile, no matter how wan, at the werewolf's comment. It lightened the heavy weight that had resided in her chest somewhat. Although, a small part of her knew this horrid pressure within her chest wouldn't abate anytime soon – not without answers from Harry, and she certainly wouldn't be getting them tonight.

After all, upon their entry into the common room, the little lad had all but flew up the stairs to get to his dorm room. Lily didn't have to follow Harry to know the boy had, probably, jumped on his bed and darted under the covers to avoid them. It seemed like something he would do, given past actions, she supposed.

Still… Lily spared a tired glance towards the clock upon the mantle of the fireplace. Unable to help herself, she corrected, ''More like Tuesday, now.''

''Ah, just past midnight,'' Sirius perked up, sounding far brighter than herself. ''Been datin' our Prongs for only a short while and look at you, Evans! Breaking rules and stayin' up late!''

Lily shook her head in fond exasperation. Typical Sirius Black, always assuming she had never missed a curfew or spent many late nights. It just so happened her late nights revolved around studying to hurrying back from the library as opposed to causing mischief. She couldn't help but playfully elbow the dark-haired teen in light reprimand, unable to find the energy to scold.

Sirius jolted at the action, emitting a snort of amusement, loud and boisterous, in the otherwise eerily quiet and dimly lit common room. Remus echoed the noise, only lighter in tone while Lily emitted a hum of humour. The Black's laugh had, as of late, became far more infectious as opposed to something Lily had once found rude or annoying. Getting closer to James had opened her eyes in regard to the company he kept and, it was now, mildly laughing over nothing that Lily realised Sirius' moments of inappropriate laughter was more to do with expelling nervous, anxious energy.

One thing was for certain, Lily did feel a tad better. Even Remus and Sirius looked mildly relieved at the broken silence and dissipated tension. The same, however, couldn't be said for her boyfriend, James. Guiltily, Lily glanced towards the Head boy in question, and bit her lip.

While she and two Marauders had exchanged anxious chuckles, James had remained rooted upon the spot in which Harry had torn away from his side. Her boyfriend was only a few steps in front of her, and Lily didn't need to see his face to know that James was feeling just as raw and upset over their young charge's home situation as the rest of them.

His back was so straight, so tense…

''Hey, Prongsy,'' Sirius sing-songed; forever the clown in a bid of breaking tension.

Lily knew the moment Sirius' cheerful demeanour rubbed James the wrong way, and it just so happened to be when the Black simply opened his mouth. Instead of interrupting, she found herself unable to speak, transfixed with shock, as James' shoulders twitched with irritation before he whirled around to glare at, not just Sirius, but all three of them.

''Wh- Why – '' James fumbled, his tone both astonished and angry. ''Why the bloody hell are you lot laughing right now?''

She wasn't the only one to jump at the outraged look upon his face. Whatever tentative buzz of nervous amusement Remus' dry wit and Sirius' boisterous need to cheer up had conjured managed to vanish within an instant. Lily felt what tiny smile her face had immediately slide off as James continued to glower.

''Seriously? How can you laugh after what we just heard?'' James spat.

Remus recovered the quickest, clearly contrite. ''James, we…''

Yet, Sirius drowned out any calm explanation from the werewolf. ''Merlin, mate,'' Sirius huffed, ''Don't get your knickers in a twist!''

That, Lily noted, didn't help.

''So, we're just gonna laugh this off then, yeah?'' James snapped. ''Harry says that horrid stuff, and we just shrug it off? Oh, what a perfect plan!''

''No, James, we weren't,'' Remus began to pacify. ''We would never be so – ''

''Ah, fuck off,'' Sirius interjected with a snap towards James. ''You've been standin' there like a Confunded Troll for the past two minutes and I was just cheerin' us up!''

''Don't tell me to fuck off, you tosser!''

''Then don't kick off for no reason, you prat!''

''Piss off! You – ''

Lily tuned out the rest of James' fury; she could've sworn what intelligence the two Animagi had melted away through boiling anger. Over the years, she had seen the Marauders fair share of spats and sulks, but not so heated. Whatever serious arguments the group had tended to explode behind closed doors – or, at least, that is what Lily had gathered save a few incidents here and there. This time, however, she was not only privy to the bubbling pot of emotions spilling over, but she was also a part of it.

She, too, had laughed, after all. Yet, given Sirius loud mouthed ways, James had latched onto him to argue with. It was wrong, especially when the Black had simply been trying to help with easing the tense mood. For once, Sirius wasn't at fault and, it must've been a cold day in Hell, because Lily found herself doing something she never thought she would: Defend Sirius Black.

Then again, Lily had once thought the same thing about accepting to be James Potter's girlfriend. Clearly, life would forever always tip her upside down and surprise her further. Not that such thoughts currently mattered; not when her voice finally complied with her will the moment she spotted the yelling duo's hands twitched towards their wands.

''Can you two stop insulting each other and listen to what you are saying? '' Lily spoke up. For all that her voice came out as monotone, Lily knew her scowling expression belied her calm attempts to intervene. Nevertheless, her interjection did divert both young men from descending into physical attacks, and the pair's narrowed eyes darted towards her. ''Sirius didn't so anything wrong, James,'' she began. ''He – ''

''He – '' James cut her off, waving angrily towards Sirius, '' – said something to Harry in the first place. Did you see the kid, Lily? He looks like we pulled his teeth out!''

''Harry looked nervous,'' she sternly countered. ''He probably knew he said too much. Obviously, Sirius was easy to confide to. Is that a bad thing what we found out?''

James imitated a fish out of water for a moment; mouth opening and closing as her words sunk in and rage became replaced by prickly confusion.

''Yes – I mean, no. No, it's not bad. It's just…just…'' James looked lost, his eyes looking beseechingly at her own, like she could find the words for him. ''What Harry said,'' the Head boy tried to elaborate, looking suddenly sickly. ''What he said about a cupboard and – stuff. It's bloody messed up, okay?''

''And that's why we should go talk to the Headmaster about all this,'' Lily explained, happy to see the proverbial wind taken out of James' sails.

Well, for a moment, that is. Her comment made James' brows scrunch with frustration before he railed against her. ''No, we can't!''

Indignantly, Lily stood her ground. ''That's just irresponsible, James! Harry might've nodded when I asked if Dumbledore knew, but he could be lying.''

''If we go running to Dumbledore, Harry'll never trust us again,'' he protested. ''You said he seemed tight-lipped when talkin' to Pomfrey, and she's probably told the old man already! So – ''

''James, this is something that adults need to know,'' Lily interrupted, waspishly.

''Well adults didn't help him sooner, did they?'' James snipped angrily. ''I…'' he stalled, noticing his returning anger. ''Sorry. I didn't meant to shout. Just, Lils, it's – Harry's, like, eleven – or ten, whatever – and he's just shown up with Dumbledore now? If he was a friend to Harry's parents, why didn't he take him in sooner?''

Lily was stumped at that. Still, she had to point out the negatives of such a decision – until Sirius chimed in.

''Even I gotta agree with that.''

''Oh, shut up,'' Lily and James jointly said.

What they said lacked any anger, especially on James' part. Still, Sirius had always been on for dramatics, and Lily was silently grateful that the Black had cooled off during her and James' heated disagreement with James. In fact, Sirius made a point of loudly sulking, ''Awh, geeze, Moony, is it pick on bloody Padfoot day or what?''

''Keep quiet, you fool,'' Remus rolled his eyes fondly. He snagged a hold of Sirius by the elbow, already tugging him towards the staircase, all the while politely offering, ''We'll just head on up, now. Maybe check in on Harry?''

''Leave him be for tonight,'' James spoke sharply, only to catch Lily's warning glare. ''Uh, sorry,'' he amended with a wince. ''If he's sleepin', I just think its best leave him be.''

''But thank you, Remus,'' Lily added.

Sheepish, James rubbed at his neck. ''Yeah, thanks, guys. Sorry about before. I didn't mean to – er – be, y'know?''

''A complete arse?'' Sirius offered, dancing out of Remus' hold.

James said something of intelligible yet apologetic agreement. Lily really couldn't fight the smile tugging at her lips, nor did she want to, upon watching Black manhandle both James and Remus into an enforced group hug. The willowy werewolf managed to free himself with a chuckle the moment Sirius decided to grab James' face with two hands to plant a slobbery sounding kiss upon her boyfriend's cheek, and declare affectionately, ''But you're my arse, Prongs!''

''Gerroff, you plonker!'' James yelped, batting the Quidditch Captain away.

Remus led a cackling Sirius away as James scrubbed at his cheek, leaving Lily to genuinely smile. Her worry regarding Harry had not fled yet, unlike before, her amusement was natural, not forced with anxiousness. It felt beyond good… right up until she caught James staring at her with a troubled expression.

''Yes?'' she asked, tentative.

James' shoulders sagged as his face crumpled in such a boyish manner that it reminded her of Harry. Maybe even more so when the Head boy's cheeks became suddenly ruddy. He said something too quietly and quickly to comprehend, leaving her to instinctually hold onto one of his hands.

''…please don't break up with me,'' James repeated himself, eyes averted.

Lily was pretty sure her eyebrows almost skyrocketed off her brow. ''What the –? Why would I break up with you?''

''Uh...'' James blinked, and Lily could hear the obvious question: ''Where you not aware of what I just unfolded a few minutes ago?''

''Oh, my God,'' she scoffed a laugh, ''You really are a complete arse.''

Gawping at her, James struggled for words. ''I – but – I'm sorry!''

''For what?''

''Well, shouting? Gettin' mad and – '' James paused, noticing her amusement. ''Oh…'' he drew out the word, realisation evidently dawning on his face. ''Lils, we just kinda had our first argument.''

That certainly made her giggle. ''I wouldn't really call that our first argument.''

''You…wouldn't?'' James looked dumbfounded.

''Nah, not really,'' Lily shrugged and slipped her arms around his waist. ''You and Sirius argued and we've hurled worse words and insults at eachother before. But, this time, you and I had more of a lovers' tiff.''

''A lovers tiff,'' the male echoed. ''Lovers, huh?''

Lily ignored his cheeky banter in favour of delivering a quick, squeeze-like hug to him. It worked wonders with returning the Potter to his usual self. With an incredibly bright smile, he practically folded himself around her, burrowing his face against the curve of her neck, all the whole hugging her long and tight.

''M'sorry, Lils.''

Stretching up for a kiss, she silenced any of James' further grovelling. Honestly, she wasn't just dating a total arse – but one which happened to care an awful lot about those around him. The trait was beautifully attractive, far more than his bespectacled eyes, high cheek bones or toned body.