Chapter Eleven: Dinner and Unexpected Revelations
"Come on Dad, we're going to be late" Severus exclaimed, tugging harder on Orion's hand as they walked the short distance from their Portkey arrival point to the park where they would meet Lily and Rose. He didn't really need to be holding his father's hand, at eight years old both he and Remus thought they were too old for that, but it was a matter of perspective. From Severus' viewpoint, Orion wasn't holding his hand; he was holding Orion's, and currently using it as a leash.
Orion chuckled. "Slow down Sev, we'll get there soon enough. If I didn't know better I'd think you liked Lily," he teased gently. His son scowled at him and once more Orion was reminded of the future Severus that he had known. He bit back a smile as Severus glared and snapped, "I do not like her like that Dad, we're just friends!"
Remus grinned, seeing a chance to tease his brother. "Of course. That might change in a few years though." Severus momentarily abandoned his quest to pull Orion along at the speed of light to whip round and glare at his brother.
"Oh yeah Remy? What about you, will you find yourself a girlfriend as well?"
Remus blushed and then replied determinedly, "Maybe, if I can find one that doesn't mind my furry little problem." He saw Orion frown at this comment and said, "What? It's true Dad, if I end up marrying, it will have to be someone that doesn't mind my furry tendency."
Orion shrugged. "I agree, however you don't have to sound so fatalistic. There's plenty of time though, both of you are only eight. Leave those types of thoughts until you're older hmm."
Both boys nodded and then they reached the park. Orion winced as the cheer his sons made at the sight of Lily and Rose waiting for them almost deafened him. 'Note to self, review deafness charms in vicinity of excited children' he thought as he smiled at Rose and Lily.
"Hello you three. Where are James and Sirius are they not coming?" Rose asked.
Orion shrugged. "James and his parents are visiting a relative that fell ill unexpectedly while Sirius is currently grounded. I'm told that James protested rather vigorously at having to go, he wanted to be here with us, as did Sirius."
Rose nodded thoughtfully, before smiling as Lily bounced up and down beside her. "OK Lily, calm down," she said with a smile as Severus and Remus made their way over to them, followed by Orion. Lily nodded, her eyes bright and shining as the group made their way to the Evans' house. It was a bit of a walk, but the three wizards didn't mind. Orion was a firm believer in exercise, and hence both Severus and Remus spent some time each day outdoors. They didn't have to run around, but they did need to get outside and get some sunlight.
As they walked up the front path the door opened and a man stepped out, looking towards them. His face lit up in a welcoming smile, and Orion relaxed immediately. He was very good at sensing people's intentions and he sensed nothing other than welcome from his maternal grandfather.
"Hello, you must be the Potters, I'm Daniel," he said, holding out his hand for Orion to shake.
Orion smiled at him, shaking his hand firmly. "Yes, I'm Orion Potter and these are my sons, Severus and Remus. You have a lovely house Daniel, very nice."
Daniel grinned at him. "Yes it is isn't it. Come in, come in. I know Lily has been dying to show your boys round while we stuffy old grown ups talk – those were her words by the way," he added, laughing as his daughter's face grew red. "Dad!" she exclaimed, before grabbing hold of Severus' and Remus' hands.
"Come on, I might as well show you round. Tuney's here but she won't bother us," she said, almost dragging the two boys up the front path. Orion just smiled, watching as the three children disappeared inside the house.
"Well that was interesting" Rose commented. Daniel and Orion just exchanged an amused grin and followed their children inside. Inside, Daniel took Orion on his own tour of the house, while Rose headed into the kitchen to check on the dinner preparations. As Daniel and Orion walked up the stairs they heard raised voices. Without looking at each other they hastened their pace, Orion silently performing a charm to ensure they weren't heard. They reached the landing at the top of the stairs and saw the source of the noise.
Petunia was standing in the door of her room, shrieking about having "freaks" in the house, Lily was yelling back at her, while Remus and Severus were looking between the two of them and looking decidedly uncomfortable. Things took a turn for the worse when Petunia stepped forward and slapped her younger sister across the face.
As Daniel moved forward to break up the ensuing fight, Severus put himself between the two sisters. Petunia didn't seem deterred and slapped him since he was in the way. Severus blinked at the slap and then growled, his own hand rising to hit her back. He stopped though when he remembered what his mother had gone through at the hands of his father. Slowly, he let his hand fall back to his side. Through clenched teeth he hissed, "I didn't think it was good manners to hit one's guests."
"It's not," Daniel spoke from behind the quartet of children. Lily, Severus and Remus turned to look at him with shock while Petunia tried to look defiant. Orion walked up behind Daniel and stood beside him, thereby effectively blocking the hallway.
"Petunia, stay in your room until dinner," Daniel ordered. "Lily, could you finish the tour and then play outside for a while?" He stood aside so Lily, Severus and Remus could pass by. As Severus passed by him though, Orion gently stopped him.
"Would you mind if I had a quick word?" he asked. Severus looked up at Orion and then shook his head. Orion shared a quick look with Daniel who indicated the guest bedroom at the end of the hall. As Orion closed the door of the room, he saw Petunia's bedroom door slam closed. Turning round he quietly watched as Severus sank onto the bed.
"What are you going to do?" the boy finally asked. Orion frowned. "What do you mean?" he asked. Severus looked up, puzzled. "I know you must have seen what happened. I almost hit Petunia, Dad. Aren't you going to punish me?"
"Why would I punish you?" Orion queried. He sat down on the bed beside his son and put an arm round his shoulders. "I was actually going to say that I'm rather proud of you. Not many boys could resist hitting back at someone that had hit them. You might have raised your hand slightly but you stopped before you actually went through with it. And I'm very proud that you did so."
Severus looked happy at that. "Really?"
His father nodded. "Really. May I ask what stopped you?"
Severus shrugged. "I remembered what my father did to my mother. I don't want to ever be like him."
Orion just nodded. "I see. So you stopped because you realized that hitting Petunia would have made you just like your father?" A small nod was his only answer.
"Like I said Sev, I'm proud of you. Now, I think you'd better go rejoin Lily and Remus before they think I've killed you," Orion said with a grin. Severus saw the grin and grinned back. As they walked towards the stairs they heard voices from Petunia's room, and Severus scowled.
"Hopefully she doesn't call us freaks or hit us again" he muttered.
Orion smirked and replied thoughtfully, "Oh I don't think she will, her father didn't seem too happy that she'd done it in the first place. I rather think that Petunia will be on her best behavior for the rest of our visit."
The two Potters chuckled as they walked down the stairs and outside into the garden, Orion suppressing a shudder as he noticed that there was a small cupboard under the stairs. He didn't know however, that Rose had seen the minute shiver that still manifested in spite of his effort to hide it, nor did he see the way her eyes narrowed in suspicion and puzzlement.
While the three children played a game of hide and seek, Orion was looking round the garden and down the street. The surroundings were similar to Privet Drive but the people were nicer and not as snobby. He was so absorbed in his memories and comparing them to where he was now that he jumped when Rose tapped his shoulder.
"Sorry" she said when he turned to face her. "It's dinner time, I was just going to call in our kids." Orion smiled at her. "OK. Shall I go in then, while you round up our three explorers?" Rose laughed and nodded, so Orion headed inside the house, pausing once more to glare at the cupboard before walking into the living room and then through into the dining room.
"Orion, what would you like to drink?" Daniel asked, walking in with a bottle of wine.
Seeing the wine Orion grinned – it was his favorite brand. "A glass of wine would be great thanks" he said as he sat down. Noise from the entrance hall and then the stairs told him that Lily, Remus and Severus were busy cleaning up. They soon appeared, laughing and breathless from the game which had turned from hide and seek into a game of tag.
"Had fun?" Orion enquired, and was almost blinded by three dazzling smiles and a chorus of "Yes."
When they were all seated Remus looked round with a small frown. "Mr Evans" he said.
Daniel looked at him. "Yes Remus" he replied. Remus looked a bit uncertain and then asked "Is Petunia not joining us?"
"She should be, maybe she's not sure of how you'll take her being here," Daniel said.
Remus shrugged. "Oh." He was saved from having to say anything else when Petunia arrived. She chose to sit between her parents, and coincidentally right across from Orion.
Relations between Lily and Petunia were noticeably strained, which put a small dampener on the mood around the table, even though Daniel and Rose attempted to make up for it by asking many questions about the magical world. Some questions Remus and Severus answered, but the majority was answered by Orion. Once dinner was over, Petunia escaped back to her room, clearly not comfortable around the three wizards. Remus and Severus were dragged off by Lily so that "the old folk can discuss boring stuff."
"Old folk indeed" Orion huffed indignantly, but the amused grin he was wearing betrayed his real feelings.
Rose just shook her head. "She's quite the handful at times," was all she said. Orion had to agree.
"So, what else do you wish to know about the magical world," he said as he settled on the couch.
Daniel sipped his wine and looked thoughtful. "You mentioned it's something of a state secret. Should we be careful about mentioning it to anyone?"
Orion nodded. "Yes. In fact, I was wondering if you'd consent to me performing a secrecy charm on you which would prevent you accidentally letting anything slip."
"Would it hurt?" Rose asked.
Orion shook his head. "No. In fact, you shouldn't notice anything different at all. It's just to prevent accidental revelations."
"But most people would ignore anything strange, they're like that" Daniel put in, a bit confused.
Orion shrugged in response. "Yes, however the Wizarding World is very big on keeping the existence of magic a secret. They think that if the Wizarding World were to be exposed there'd be another witch hunt – or worse, scientists might try and dissect wizards and witches to find out how they can do magic."
"That wouldn't happen though" Rose objected.
Orion sighed. "Maybe the majority wouldn't but there will always be people who fear what they don't understand and fear breeds anger and hatred."
"You sound like you have personal experience of that," Daniel observed. He was very interested in learning more about magic, and he liked the wizard sitting across from him more and more as the night wore on.
"I do," Orion finally replied flatly after a brief silence. He ran a hand through his hair in frustration as he realized that his grandparents, although they didn't know of their relationship to him, weren't going to let it go.
"Alright. My parents were killed when I was a year old and I was sent to my mother's sister and her husband, both of whom were Muggles. They had a son around my age as well. My aunt had hated my mother because she was magical and my aunt wasn't, and she transferred that hatred to me. From the time I was dropped on their doorstep to my eleventh birthday, I was told magic didn't exist, that my parents were drunks who had died in a car accident, and that I was a freak whom nobody could ever love. My bedroom was the cupboard under the stairs."
"That's why you don't seem to like our cupboard," Rose commented after she'd got over her shock.
Orion just smiled rather bitterly. "Yes. Now, my aunt knew that magic existed, and instead of loving me and raising me like a member of the family, she chose to belittle me and actively encourage her own son in beating me up. Instead of accepting magic, she hated it. That's why the Wizarding World wants to stay hidden, because of people like my aunt and uncle."
"I see," Daniel said slowly as he digested the fact that Orion certainly had reason to dislike Muggles should he choose to. "May I ask why you don't dislike all, I believe you call us Muggles?" he said.
Orion smiled. "I had a wonderful friend, who I later ended up marrying, who was a muggleborn witch, very much like Lily in fact. She introduced me to her parents and they were very accepting of her magical ability, if a bit confused by it. They, and other people that helped me in this world, are the reason that I didn't join the Dark Lord of my time and kill everyone in my path."
"The Dark Lord of your time?" Rose asked. Orion paled, he'd just accidentally revealed something he didn't want them knowing. "Orion? What did you mean?" Rose questioned.
"Damn," Orion muttered under his breath before giving his grandparents a piercing look. "Before we go any further I am going to have to place that secrecy charm on you. The question is, do you want it to cover any knowledge of the magical world or just what I'm about to tell you?"
Rose and Daniel had a silent conversation and then Daniel answered, "Just what you're about to tell us. Petunia and Lily won't tell anyone we know about the magical world, and neither will we. We'll just say she got an invitation to attend a private boarding school for gifted children up in Scotland when she's eleven."
Orion nodded, sighing in annoyance at himself. He hadn't wanted his heritage revealed to this set of grandparents until Voldemort was dealt with but his own tongue had betrayed him.
"OK. I'll tell you the information and then I'll cast the charm. When I'm done, you'll know the information and be able to talk about it only with myself at the moment. You won't be able to reveal the information to anyone else and if anyone should come asking about it you won't be able to tell them either. Not that anyone will come looking, but still, I operate with a "hope for the best, plan for the worst" mentality with this information."
"What information" Rose asked, her curiosity now thoroughly roused.
Orion grinned. "I'm getting there," he replied, getting off the couch. Going to the window, he leaned out of it, seeing that Remus, Severus and Lily were busy playing some sort of game. "Guys" he called out.
"Yeah Dad?" Remus yelled back.
"I'm going to be discussing some things with Daniel and Rose for a while, so when you get tired and come indoors, can you find something to do that doesn't involve the lounge? I'll come and tell you when we're finished."
Remus and Severus looked at each other and then Lily. All three nodded and Lily grinned at Orion. "I was just about to introduce them to Monopoly, we can play it my room," she said.
Orion nodded to her. "Thank you Lily that would be very good. We shouldn't be very long."
"OK Mr Potter. Come on guys, I'll teach you how to play," Lily said enthusiastically, almost dragging her two friends inside. Orion just smiled, closed the window and returned to his seat, casting multiple anti eavesdropping charms, an anti-animagus charm, and a host of silencing and privacy charms. When the room was as soundproof and private as it was going to get, he ran a hand through his hair, mentally steeling himself for the conversation ahead.
"You want to know about my ill-advised comment just now, about the Dark Lord of my time," he stated. Two nods answered him. Smiling rather grimly he said, "You've just been introduced to the world of magic. Would you think that within this world, time travel is possible?"
"Yes," Daniel answered immediately.
Rose was staring at Orion calculatingly. "You're a time-traveler, probably from the future aren't you," she said.
Orion nodded wearily. "Yes. I can't tell you everything, nor should I, I just want to tell you one thing and then will you please let my story drop?"
Another silent conversation was held and then Rose and Daniel reluctantly nodded. Seeing this, Orion felt a bit better, he wouldn't reveal everything, just the relationship between them.
"OK. Like I said, I never knew my parents, as they died when I was one. My father was James Potter, and my mother was called Lily. Her maiden name, before she became Lily Potter, was Evans."
He sat back and waited for his grandparents to put two and two together. "Our Lily? Our Lily is your mother? That would make us your grandparents and Petunia your aunt," Rose said in wonder and a bit of shock. Orion nodded.
"Yes. When I came back to the past, I had to change my name. I met my paternal grandparents after saving my father from a group of wizards that were being idiots, and they know the truth as well, although my father doesn't. I will tell both James and Lily the truth when they're seventeen, hopefully they'll be able to understand why I've kept it from them over the years."
"They will," Daniel said absently. Sitting up straighter he suddenly asked, "If Lily is your mother, and James Potter, who I've heard about from Lily is your father then what relationship did Remus and Severus have with you?"
Orion smirked and then replied blandly, "Remus was my favorite professor and Severus my most hated one until we got past the misconceptions we had about each other."
Daniel choked on his wine. "That's going to be embarrassing if they know about it in the future," he commented once he'd recovered.
Orion just smiled sadly. "The future I come from will be overwritten as history changes. My memories will be the only remnant of the future I came from by the time they're all seventeen. I do agree though, that if they knew about it, their reactions would be amusing."
"So, what do we do now?" he asked after a brief time in which Rose and Daniel had been digesting everything they'd been told.
He was surprised when Rose hugged him tightly, an endeavor which Daniel soon joined in on. "We get to know you, under the guise of you bringing your boys over to play with Lily and us bringing her to your place," Daniel answered.
"We would like to know what you really look like though," Rose commented. When Orion gave her a surprised look she grinned, suddenly looking much like an older version of Lily. "It stands to reason that you would have changed your name and your appearance so you wouldn't be recognized if someone in the future did remember your appearance here."
Orion grinned back. "I'm going to give my father a heart attack when he finds out I think," he said. At the enquiring looks directed his way he removed the glamour charms and then gazed at his grandparents with his emerald eyes shining brightly.
Rose gasped as she recognized them. "Lily's eyes" she whispered. Orion just smirked.
"Yes. I was adopted into the Potter family by my grandfather, Charles Potter, as a way of repaying the life debt they owed me for saving my father's life. This allowed me to keep my last name of Potter legally and so I became Orion Potter. Then James said I needed a middle name and I could use his. Therefore, my name here is Orion James Potter."
"Why would he have a heart attack over that though?" Daniel asked, puzzled. Orion smirked again. "Because my real name is Harry James Potter, so he effectively named me about twenty years before he should have done, and then he asked if he could call me uncle."
"Uncle? Oh that's funny" Rose chuckled as she let go of Orion and abruptly sat down, laughing as the situation became clear. "You're right. Hehehehe, he's going to be so confused, his uncle is his son, oh dear."
"Can we be there when you tell them?" Daniel asked, a snort of laughter escaping him as he asked the question.
Orion gave in to the mirth that was bubbling inside him and joined them in laughing about the absurd situation he'd found himself in. "Of course" he finally answered.
"Your eyes are gold again" Rose observed with a frown. Orion shrugged. "I had to put the charms back on; I'm not going to let my true appearance be known to the kids until the time comes to reveal everything. It would wreck what I'm trying to do here."
"And what's that?" Rose asked. Orion looked at her and then stated bluntly, "Make sure that history doesn't repeat itself. If I do nothing then James and Lily will die when they're twenty-one. I refuse to let that happen." He glanced at the clock and his eyes widened. "It's got quite late, I hadn't realized. We have to be going, I'm afraid."
"Do you really?" Daniel asked.
Orion nodded firmly. "Sorry but yes. We can talk more at a later stage, just write a letter and send it in the post."
"Will it reach you? I heard from Lily that wizards apparently use owls," Rose asked.
Orion grinned at her. "Yes it will. I've set up a postal address outside the house, the postman will find it. Some wizard houses can't be found by Muggles, but mine isn't like that. The address is Marauder Manor."
"Marauder Manor. Got it," Rose said, writing it down and carefully tucking it away. "Will you do that charm now?" she asked.
Orion drew his wand in response. "Yes. I have to unfortunately; it's not the right time for any accidental revelations."
He smiled ruefully and held up a hand to forestall Daniel's inevitable question. "I know, this revelation was my own fault but I wanted you to know anyway, maybe not this soon but I would have ended up telling you before Lily's seventeenth birthday. No one else, apart from my other grandparents know the truth about the relationship between me and James and Lily. My boss at work knows my real name but not the names of my parents. As far as the rest of my world is concerned, I'm a time-traveler who was adopted into the Potter family and who works for the Ministry of Magic."
Flicking his wand he said the incantation for the secrecy charm, focusing on what information needed to be hidden, and the parameters of the charm, making sure that the Evans' couldn't speak of it to anyone other than him, Charles and Emma, and that no wizard who was skilled with Legilemency would find it, or even know that there was anything there to be found. Satisfied at last he opened his eyes, which he had closed in concentration and smiled.
"Done" he said, before being engulfed in another hug.
"Don't be a stranger" Daniel ordered as he let his grandson go.
Orion just nodded, trying to breathe through Rose's stranglehold on his ribs. "Rose – I appreciate it but I can't breathe," he finally gasped.
Rose let go, a bit embarrassed but she soon recovered. "We'll come and visit as often as possible, or you can come over here," she said firmly.
"I'd like that" Orion replied softly before opening the door to the lounge which cancelled the charms he'd placed on the room. "Severus, Remus, time to go," he called up the stairs. There was silence for a second before a yell of "Do we have to?" came back down.
Orion grinned. "Yes we do, it's almost bedtime," he yelled back. More silence before a pair of theatrical groans were heard and then what sounded like three elephants came thundering down the stairs.
"You're really going?" Lily asked, her eyes fixed on Orion's.
Orion nodded. "I'm afraid so Lily, but you'll be able to see these two demons another time."
Remus elbowed his father in the ribs. "We're not demons," he said indignantly.
"Of course you're not," Orion responded fondly, ruffling Remus' hair. Remus just growled playfully and attempted to fix the mess that his father had made out of his previously neat hair drawing a giggle from Lily and a smirk from Severus. A small cough was heard on the stairs which made the three children turn round and scowl.
"What do you want?" Lily said coldly.
Petunia flinched. "I, I wanted to apologise to Mr Potter and to Severus and Remus," she said. Lily glared at her, causing her to take a step back up the stairs.
"Stop glaring like that Lily, your sister wants to apologise so let her," Rose ordered. Lily gave her mother a mutinous look but stayed silent.
"Well," Severus demanded finally, only to be silenced by a frown from Orion. Petunia gulped, choosing to focus on Orion as if he accepted her apology, so would her sister's two friends.
"I was wrong to call you freaks, and I'm sorry," she finally rushed out.
There was an awkward silence before Remus stepped forward. Glancing at his father he received a slight nod. "Apology accepted" he said, holding out his hand. Petunia came down the stairs and gingerly shook it. She then looked at Severus. "I'm sorry for hitting you" she said, holding out her hand. Severus almost didn't take it, but a firm nudge from Orion propelled him forward and he shook the offered hand with reluctance. "Accepted" was all he said and he retreated to stand beside Lily.
Petunia then looked at Orion who inclined his head, his eyes never leaving hers. "Apology accepted Petunia. We're not that different you know and being different doesn't mean we're worse or better than you. Just remember that the next time you're about to judge someone because they're not like you." Petunia nodded and ran back up the stairs, not wanting to be near her sister any longer than she had to be until she calmed down.
As Orion, Remus and Severus walked down the drive, Lily ran after them. They stopped and Lily quickly hugged Severus before letting go. "Thanks for stepping in front of me," she said before running back inside the house. Orion grinned at the sight, while Remus snickered. Severus blushed but said nothing.
"Severus and Lily up a tree," Remus began with a wicked grin on the way back to the park.
"Oh shut up" Severus responded waspishly as they walked down the street.
"Both of you stop it," Orion said. He thought that the hug had been quite cute but he wasn't going to let Severus be teased about it. It wasn't the type of thing to be made a joke of. Both boys fell silent as they reached the park and Orion led them into the grove of trees nearby.
"Take hold" he said and when both of them had put a finger on the portkey he was holding Orion activated it. They landed in the lounge at Marauder Manor and predictably, in a heap.
"I hate Portkeys," Orion growled as he extricated himself from under his sons. "Both of you to bed now" he said as two yawns were heard from the pile of clothes in front of him. The pile resolved itself into two separate lumps, and Orion experimentally poked one of them as he heard a soft snore.
"Sound asleep," he muttered. With a thought, he levitated the two boys and floated them up the stairs and into their rooms, stepping over a pack of self-shuffling playing cards on the floor of Remus' room and almost breaking his toe when he accidentally kicked a cauldron in Severus'. "Mental note, make both of them clean their rooms tomorrow," he murmured. With a series of spells, both Severus and Remus were changed into their pyjamas and tucked into bed, a spell taking care of cleaning their teeth. It would do until the next day when they'd clean their teeth after breakfast.
As Orion turned to leave Severus' room in order to go to Remus' a hand snagged his robe. "Dad" Severus said sleepily.
"Yes Severus" Orion replied softly.
"That hug earlier - ," Severus whispered. Orion fought back a smile as Severus continued "– it wasn't that bad."
"No it wasn't. You and Lily are friends, just let it be that way," Orion whispered as he tucked a strand of hair away from Severus' eye. After checking on Remus he headed for his own room, where he fell asleep, dreaming of how different the future might be.