NOTE: A bit of a fluffier chapter in which we get some Harry POV for the first time! I've been thinking of putting a bit more scenes from Harry's POV in future chapters... how do you guys feel about that? Make sure to let me know, because I've already got a scene written for chapter 14 I think you will like! Cheers! xX

CHAPTER 13

September 9, 1976

Harry clambered onto the bench at the Gryffindor table, Sirius seated beside him and Peter and James opposite. He watched as James ran a hand through his already unruly (and intimately familiar, thanks to the fact Harry had had the luck to inherit it) mess of black hair, just as he'd done in Snape's Pensieve memory back in fifth year. It was still a bit unnerving every time Harry stopped to consider the fact that he was now living in the same era as his father- attending classes and meals with him, even living in the same bloody dorm. The two of them were decent acquaintances, by now- maybe even friends, especially now that most of the drama surrounding Hermione's werewolf secret was out in the open. There was still the whole 'I'm-actually-your-son-twenty-years-from-now' thing, of course- and that, in addition to a few other things, was leaving Harry feeling incredibly confused and guilty about his own emotions. For years- his entire childhood, really- Harry had desperately wished to have known his parents. He would have been elated to have the same opportunity he had now been thrust into. And in truth, he'd been savoring nearly every moment of it so far. Sure, things had been rough while Sirius was acting suspicious of them, but that was to be expected, given the shoddy cover story they'd been forced to cook up nearly on the spot. Now that the rest of the Marauders knew about Hermione, and she would hopefully have Remus to help her feel a little more well adjusted, Harry found himself looking forward to the opportunity to spend the time with James. Maybe even Lily, as well. But things aren't so simple, are they, he thought wanly. With one of his biggest immediate worries- Hermione- presently taken care of, Harry was left to think back on everything that had been left behind. The thoughts were creeping up on him and sending him into what seemed like a belated bout of panic.

When Dumbledore's mysterious golden cylinder had transported Harry and Hermione to this new timeline, they'd left an entire other one behind. One where- sure, a lot of his loved ones were no longer living, including his parents- but at least Voldemort was no longer a threat. Not to mention that they'd left Ron, and Ginny, and Sirius, and so many others… Of course Sirius was alive in this timeline, as well, but he didn't know Harry, not really. Dumbledore told them in no uncertain terms that the old timeline was no longer in existence and that they were a part of this one now, so surely wanting to assimilate wasn't a bad thing. It wasn't as simple as it had seemed, though. There was still a war raging, here. Harry had had enough of being the savior, the Chosen One, but it wouldn't be right to just sit back and let things happen when he had the knowledge to stop it. He wanted nothing more than to sit by and savor the time with his family and become close friends with James, Lily, and their friends… well, except for Peter, the traitorous fucking rat. What to do about Peter was yet another problem.

With all those thoughts filling his head and causing him no small amount of stress, Harry found himself zoning out at the breakfast table.

"Oi, Granger!" Harry snapped back to the present to find Sirius waving a piece of sausage impatiently in front of his face. "You alright there, mate?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Just a bit tired. I was up all night worrying about Mi- about Hermione."

At that, Sirius exchanged pointed glances with Peter and James. Harry very much hoped it was due to the fact that they had also been up all night, and not because of his near-slip with Hermione's name.

"Anyway," he said hurriedly, trying to detract attention from his idiocy, "did any of you do the Potions essay? I was too distracted to do it yesterday and, er… you know." Peter waved a hand dismissively.

"Moony will've done it," he said confidently. "We'll just copy right quick before we head to class."

Harry raised his eyebrows. "Remus did it even though he knew he wouldn't have to go to class today? And he'll let you copy? My sister's probably got hers done but she'd hex me if I asked to see it."

Sirius gave a snort that sounded suspiciously like "Bloody swot," making the other boys roll their eyes.

"Who cares about Potions," James said dramatically. "What we should be talking about is the fact we've got a Hogsmeade weekend, and I'm going with Lily."

"She said yes?!" Sirius exclaimed at the same time as Peter yelped "You've already asked her?!"

"Well… no," James admitted. "But she's going to. I know she will. I just… need to figure the best way to do it. Ask her, I mean."

"You can't think of a way to ask out Evans?" Sirius asked in disbelief. James scowled at him.

"I thought you and Lily were already together," Harry said, slightly confused. The fact that Lily was on good terms with the Marauders had left him to assume that his parents had already sorted their differences and become a couple. James ran a hand through his hair and gave a weak laugh.

"No," he sighed. "No, we're not."

"Not for lack of trying on Prongs' part," Peter supplied helpfully, earning himself a glare from James.

"Look, Lily is… I've liked her for a long time, right?" He ruffled his hair again, but his expression had turned earnest. "I've been a bit of an idiot to her in the past and so it's only been this year that we've started even hanging round one another. I'd really like her to come out with me though, but… I don't want to ruin whatever it is we've got now, you know? That's why I haven't asked until now."

Harry grinned. Sure, he'd heard from Sirius (in the past… future?) that his father would talk about Lily to anyone who'd listen, but surely the fact that James was asking for a bit of advice was a good sign for the beginning of their friendship.

"Have you tried just… asking her?"

"I've bloody well asked her hundreds of times since first year," James grumbled. "It's only recently she's stopped hexing me."

"No, I mean… just ask her. Not in front of an audience, not making a huge production of it or anything. No flowers, sweets, just… just tell her that you like her and ask her to come to Hogsmeade with you. Have you tried that?"

"I… no."

"Well, there you have it, then. I'll bet you a Galleon she says yes." It wasn't until after he'd made the bet that Harry remembered he didn't have any Galleons here, but James was already nodding enthusiastically, confident smirk back on his face.

"Right! You're on, Granger! I'll ask her tomorrow, then."

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

The boys returned to the Hospital wing to find the curtains around Remus's bed still open, the bed conspicuously empty.

"Huh," said James, "That talk of theirs is going a bit long, don't you think? Hope everything's gone alright."

They'd brought a heaping plate of bacon and the famed blueberry crepes as a peace offering- Sirius swore that it was the key to convincing Remus to let the four of them see his Potions essay. He strode confidently up to the drawn curtains of Hermione's bed and yanked them aside, talking all the while.

"Oh Moony, my love, my furry friend, my best mate ever! We've brought you some bacon, and we even made sure it's undercooked how you- hey!" He abruptly stopped talking when the four of them were met with the sight in front of them. Remus was indeed in Hermione's bed- but their talk appeared to have long since been over.

"Oi!" Harry shouted, though it was with a somewhat uncertain grin. "Get your bloody wolf paws off my sister!"

The two of them broke apart, both gasping for air.

"Harry," Hermione said exasperatedly at the same time as Remus said "Not so bloody loud!"

"There's no one else in the Wing besides Pomfrey," James said with a shrug. "Anyway, nice one, Moony! Are you in a good enough mood now to let us see your Potions homework or do you still want the bacon?"

"Of course I still want the bacon," Remus snapped. "Hand it over."

Sirius deposited the plate on the bedside table where the bacon was quickly dug into by a starving werewolf. Hermione reached over Remus to snatch a crepe and Harry tried (hard) to ignore the way his former professor was eyeing his sister as she licked the mess of filling from her fingers.

"Speaking of Pomfrey," he said loudly, "Has she not come to yell at you for being out of your own bed, yet?"

Remus waved a piece of bacon dismissively. "Nah," he said, "she's probably still in her office doing-"

Suddenly, a stern voice interrupted whatever Remus had been about to suggest that Madam Pomfrey was doing.

"She is right here," said Madam Pomfrey herself, gesturing with her handful of potions bottles. "And she is insisting that you get back in your own bed, Mr. Lupin, before I send for the headmaster!"

"But-"

"No buts!"

Something told Harry that Dumbledore wouldn't be as concerned with the two werewolves as Madam Pomfrey was anticipating. All the same, he held his tongue as Remus gave Hermione one last lingering kiss on the forehead before shuffling across the way to tuck himself back under his own blankets, breakfast plate in hand.

The boys held in their snickers until the disgruntled mediwitch had rounded the corner again, then burst into laughter.

"You'll shut up if you want my essay," Remus grumbled. The other boys immediately obliged. "It's in my bag," he sighed. "On my bed in the dorm."

"Right." James stood up with a salute, followed by Sirius and Peter. "There's only an hour until Potions, so I'm off. You coming, Granger?"

Harry grinned. "Yeah, just give me a few minutes. I'll meet you up there."

"Go easy on her, mate," Sirius said with a laugh. "Usually I'd tell you to blame the wolf, but seeing as there's two of them-"

"Get out of here, Sirius Black!" Hermione snapped from her place in bed. Her voice sounded absolutely vicious but the way her eyes were sparkling with mirth sent a rush of relief to Harry's chest. He watched as his father and friends made their way out of the Hospital wing, laughing all the way, and snatched a crepe from Remus's plate before sitting on the edge of Hermione's bed.

"Soooooooo," he said, eyebrows raised.

She reached over to shove at him and looked pleadingly across the way at Remus. "Could you give us a moment, Remus?" She asked, cheeks pink.

"Er, of course," he said. With that, Hermione pulled Harry the rest of the way onto her bed by the sleeve of his t-shirt and yanked the curtains closed around them.

"So," he said again. Hermione cleared her throat.

"We, um," she started, "may have been wrong about the pack bond." When Harry only looked at her questioningly, she turned even pinker. "It's apparently a mate bond."

"Mate bond?!" Harry spluttered. Loudly.

"I can hear you!" came Remus's voice from the other side of the curtain. Hermione rolled her eyes and cast a quick Muffliato.

"Yes, mate bond," she said. "Remus and I are… are mates. I mean- Harry, it would explain everything- why I was so awful before we came back, and why it feels different from the bonds with you and Sirius. It was never sealed because Remus- other Remus- never told me, which I'm quite mad about, by the way. But I could have died, Harry, it's probably why Dumbledore intended to send me here and-"

"Slow down, slow down! I believe you, Mini-Moony. It's just- it's a lot, you know? What do you even know about mate bonds?"

"Pretty much nothing," she admitted. "Just what Remus told me just now."

Harry snorted. "Yeah, which is also pretty much nothing, judging from what we walked in on."

Hermione hit him again. "Hush, you. I was hoping you'd be willing to help me research a bit once I get out of here?"

"Quality sibling research time?" Harry smirked. "Hey, don't look at me like that- of course I'll help you research. You wouldn't be Hermione otherwise."

"I can't believe Remus didn't tell me," Hermione moaned. "Before, I mean… This is the sort of thing that would have been great to know! Everything- everything could have been different."

"He probably felt weird about it because of the whole Professor thing… and the age difference."

"Well, he didn't have to lie to me! It was only nineteen years!"

"Yes, only," Harry drawled.

He watched as Hermione raised her eyes heavenward for what seemed like the millionth time in ten minutes.

"Look, Hermione, everything's going to be alright," he told her. "You… I mean, you like him, right?"

"Well… yeah," she said.

"Then what's wrong?"

"I…"

"Exactly. We…. Well, look, I know what you're thinking. I've got a lot I'm worried about, too… I mean, the war, and…" He trailed off for a moment. "Just, there's a lot. But… we're here now, aren't we? We might as well- I don't know, try to have a happy life here. At least until we look into the whole going-back thing."

Hermione looked stricken at the mere mention of going back. The words seemed strange even in Harry's own mouth, but he didn't stop to consider, he only leaned to the side to rest his head on Hermione's shoulder.

"Everything's fine," he said again. She leaned her head on top of his.

"I suppose you're right," she conceded. "For now."

Harry smirked. "Does this mean I can copy your Potions essay?"

"Harry Potter, you get upstairs and get it off your bloody godfather before I hex you."