This chapter title also annoys me, because it's not really Bathilda's Secret which isn't revealed until the next chapter, but Nagini's, but obviously you couldn't use that chapter title because it would give it away.

Is now a good time to bring up James once again found the chapter where he not only gets to learn of Bathilda's death, but a first hand account of his and Lily's? No? Okay, I'll go away now...

HPHPHPHPHPHPHP

James' face still felt aflame with emotions he refused to acknowledge. He was not dead, and he'd never let his son live through something like that again if he could help it, he'd remind him every second he could. He took the book from Lily and ignored how his hand shook. He took to his chapter and pretended his voice didn't crack with emotion. He kept going.

"Well there is a reason we never used Prongs as lookout, awful eyesight," Sirius muttered, but was ignored and glad for it. James was laser focused on this threat, if Hermione was in fact right again and his son was about to be descended on by Death Eaters who were staking out this place.

Lily nodded eagerly in agreement to this idea while tightening her own arm around her son, fighting off the impulse to do the same.

"She's got you there, why did you bother disguising yourselves again?" Remus muttered without even realizing he'd let the stray thought out, attention on nothing else but how Harry was going to get out of this one. They could just apparate away again, or- thankfully James still wasn't paying attention to anything else but what the answer actually was.

"Some really powerful ones can, like Myrtle with her toilet water," Lily quickly disagreed in a last vein hope her son wasn't about to be in a fight for his life. James tried to give her a shaky smile to show he hoped the same, but none of them really believed it.

"Crookshanks is back?" Sirius tried to ask.

"Or Hickory," Lily offered with a halfhearted giggle.

"He's got her there!" Remus quickly agreed. If a Death Eater suspected for a second those Muggles were Harry Potter, they'd already be dead without caring otherwise what the answer was.

"Being surrounded by strangers and all those casualties?!" Sirius yelped in concern. "Bloody hell Harry, just apparate away already!"

"We still needed to find Bathilda Baghshot's house," Harry protested. "It would be even riskier to start making repeat trips there."

James sighed but couldn't disagree his son was right, it was better to get everything they came for at once.

James startled again and looked to Harry to see what that meant.

His eyes were bright, he had the smallest of smiles on his face even as he looked a bit conflicted over excitement and further melancholy for all this place meant to him. James cautiously went back to the book to see what else Harry had come across.

James's voice broke over the passing mention of this, again. He'd lost count of how often this had been brought up, but was still never prepared for the brutal soul crushing feeling it presented every time.

James' breath was coming out in short, sharp, panting little gasps by the end. He hadn't been able to stop this. He hadn't been able to save his wife and child from experiencing any of this. There was no consolation to be had from this living nightmare he was reading about, and he wouldn't let anyone try.

"I can't imagine why they would," Lily murmured, hands clasped painfully together in front of her. The horror that must echo from that place, she couldn't imagine visiting it now at just the thought, let alone living in the actual shell of what was once a home.

James gave himself a little shake and tried to read this with enthusiasm again. This was new at least, something of interest to see.

James couldn't help it in the end and finally started crying. Shoulders shaking, throat choking, it was just one time too many for him and with such a sweet sentiment on top-

"I know Prongs-"

"It's alright love, let it out."

Harry watched miserably as his father was comforted with no way of his own to help. The reality of it all had struck his family many times, even before he'd been awake to see the first time. How much longer could they stand to go through this?

Even as James managed to collect himself again, Remus and Sirius didn't move back away. They stayed sitting on the table in front of him, Lily wiggling a bit to be more comfortable on the arm of the sofa. He even flashed Hickory a smile, who still remained stubbornly in Lily's lap. Then he threw an arm out and dragged Harry closer, keeping him pinned there as he forged on.

Sirius made a broken sort of noise that was a fair attempt at a laugh. "Is that all they could come up with? Surely if you were going to put your mark on something you'd be far more memorable about it."

"Not even Prongs has your flair for that kind of art Padfoot," Remus chuckled.

"Hermione's really missing the big picture there," Lily sighed, mind flashing to Ron and if he'd ever visited this site, if he'd doodled something on there long ago with no idea of what his future would hold.

There was far less excitement in James now at this new thing. He was weary once more, even if he had temporarily forgotten the fear there was someone near Harry, it was back with a vengeance now.

"Creepy," Sirius finally said into the lingering silence following this description.

"Why thank you Sirius," James said without looking up. "I hadn't realized!"

"No, nope, absolutely not," Lily shivered. "I don't like this Harry!"

"I don't either," he slowly agreed. "Doesn't feel like I have much of a choice though," he still said, rubbing painfully at his chest in what he only hoped were remembered nerves. "We came there with a purpose."

James grit his teeth to stop himself saying that purpose wasn't to die.

"There is no way in hell that's Bathilda Bagshot, and she knew to come fetch you!" Remus protested.

"I can't say I like any other options of what's going on," Sirius said, shifting uneasily in place for that fight they were all still expecting, here of all places.

"Dumbledore didn't exclusively make friends with people who gave off his vibe!" Remus groaned. "Harry, I very much dislike every part of this."

"So you've all said," Harry agreed. "Can't help me taking it back though," as some part of him was really telling him he wished he could.

"Because there's no way she could be lying about that!" James groaned.

"What exactly would you have done if she hadn't agreed?" Sirius asked. "Dragged her along anyways? Stood there and argued with her?"

Harry merely shrugged, thankful he hadn't had to find out.

James shivered at the idea, every impulse in him telling him to run from this. He had not met Bathilda Bagshot, yet apparently, he didn't at all like how mysterious she was being about all of this. As if Harry didn't have enough mysteries in his life!

"Everybody knows what you look like anyways Harry," Remus reminded. "So if she has some way of knowing you're around, that's really not the point."

Lily began nibbling on her lip as she tried to understand this lady. Apparently she'd been quite the little chatter box, going from the letter she'd once sent Sirius. Now she wouldn't speak a word? Had something happened to her too in the sixteen years in between?

"I don't think it would really fear that," Sirius disagreed. "The diary called the basilisk right too it after all."

"Great timing Sirius!" James grumbled, he didn't need to be reminded of such a terrifying event in Harry's life right now when this one was making him so uneasy.

"Oh, so she's rude on top of everything!" James muttered, like Lily finding it harder to believe by the second they let such an odd person in their life during such an unstable time.

"Since when has the size of a person ever convinced you that has to do with their magic?" Remus asked in surprise.

"She could hardly walk about her own house, I doubted we'd have much more issue drawing our wands before her too," Harry shrugged.

"This is not, that," Sirius said with confidence. He didn't know what this was, but all of them were sitting on the edge of their seat for what should have been an almost welcome home visit to Harry. This did not feel, right.

Harry shifted uncomfortably at this honest truth being thrust in his face. The elderly, even in wizards. Dumbledore, and even, Ginny's, Aunti Muriel had given the impression age would only give more sharp wit. He had little to no experience with any others, and neither did anyone around him really by the looks of it. This sight and these thoughts was even starting to make him feel uneasy, he couldn't hold onto this air of reassurance much longer.

James was possibly the closest to also witnessing this, but even his parents weren't that far on in age they weren't fully functional. None of them liked the idea of someone falling so far, when the four of them hadn't even been given the chance to live a full life.

"Oh wow!" Lily startled in surprise.

"Well, if nothing else when you leave there in just a second, you learned something important," James offered hopefully.

"I can't believe Skeeter actually has something in that book I want to know about," Sirius muttered, face scrunched up at the idea.

"In unsavory methods, I'm guessing," Remus said uneasily. The awful idea struck him, if Skeeter had actually done this too Bathilda. Delving so deep into her memories it had such drastic affects on someone. He wouldn't put it past her. If it were true, he wished another Lockhart like fate on the beetle.

Lily's skin was starting to crawl with worry. This wasn't just rude anymore, this was downright wrong. By no account was Bathilda Bagshot a pureblood nut, nor would she even know Hermione was a Muggleborn, but there was little to no other explanation why she was focused so purely on Harry. Was she under an enchantment and working for Voldemort against her will?

"I'd love to!" Sirius quickly agreed, though he doubted this was really a suggestion for them to leave after asking two questions. Why had she told them to follow her for then?

"At least her hearing's still spot on!" James gave an awkward laugh that died quickly.

"I can't say that's the encouraging part right now," Lily stated, to which no one disagreed.

"I'm not sure who else there is to ask," Remus said, "unless you plan on tracking down Skeeter next."

"Ugh, don't even joke about that Moony!" James huffed. They already had enough bad walks down Harry's memory lane.

"Oh, now she'll talk to you!" Sirius blustered. "Did she really get rules from Dumbledore about not talking to strangers?"

Harry didn't answer. His heart was starting to pound uncomfortably in his chest, the ghost of adrenaline trying to dump into his system too early. Something was very wrong, but still he could not imagine what.

"Great, that locket can join the club," Remus whispered.

James went white in shock. Lily startled right out of her spot and crashed onto the floor, springing up in the same step, wand in hand, not at all caring for the scratch marks left behind as he cat fled the room.

"What the hell is that thing!" Sirius shouted so loud Harry clapped his hands over his ears.

"Not human," Remus agreed in opposition, so quiet no one did hear him.

This was magic beyond them, who or what Harry was in the presence of they had not a single idea, but one thing was crystal clear. Harry needed to get out of there, now!

"Harry?!" Lily screeched in his ear in concern, was the place making him apathetic? "The same bloody thing that's been happening to you for years now, a warning you've had more than enough practice tuning in too!"

Harry wanted to get defensive, say he'd been pretty distracted by having answers dangled in front of him, but finally agreed he'd been ignoring some obvious warning signs by now.

"At least you are on guard," Sirius agreed, voice now a bit hoarse himself and not even noticing.

James hardly managed to finish that before the visual snapped him up, and he screamed. He threw the book away from him and startled right out of his seat, skin itching all over.

There was a moment of frozen silence for the horror to creep in, before Harry lunged for the book, his mind in a dizzy maze, torn between seeing the shock and disgust on them all and fighting off a snake that wasn't really here.

"Hermione! Yes- she can-" Sirius' voice cut off, he didn't even know where he was going with it. There wasn't much of a plan in his own head except screaming and running to get Harry away from that thing, the book and the snake.

There was something there, a small swift pain in Harry of worse to come, but it was so brief it got lost in the midst of the pain he was suffering through now, in the chaos and horror of fighting off such a monster.

"What a lovely present, escaping death and all!" James finally breathed again, his skin slightly blue tinged around the edges from having held his breath so long after his initial reaction.

Harry didn't really react, so James clumsily made his way over to him while trying to pull himself back together again after all this collective trauma. He wasn't sure how effective it was, his presence didn't seem to be doing Harry any good anymore.

His son still remained frozen in place when he reached him and gently tried to take the book back, a bit embarrassed by his freak out but quickly forgetting it in the face of what he was seeing. Harry's eyes were unfocused, he was swallowing convulsively and looked as likely to be sick as to pass out any second.

"Come on son, you got away from that snake, it'll probably give me nightmares as much as the Chamber did," he coaxed a reaction out, but still Harry seemed beyond words, sweat was beginning to bead on his forehead. He gently led him back to his seat and Lily tried as well for him to look at her, but there was an absence of anything in his green eyes.

The two shared a look of pure fear, more than anything in his past had yet done to them, as panic began to set in if he'd finally driven himself too far in his memories. Not now, when they were so close!

Remus was already halfway to the kitchen to get him the potion to relax when Harry whimpered. It was only the slightest sound of life, but something showing their boy was still in there.

"James, keep going!"

He hadn't needed the prompting from Sirius, as he delved recklessly back in for several lines to get his son out of this.

Then his voice tapered off as he realized what Harry, what Voldemort was dragging his son into. A memory that his son had only glimpsed through the horrors of his past, one that had been surrounding them, pressing in and suffocating from all sides for the past hour.

"Oh," was the tiny, broken little word that creeped out of him. Tears burning in his eyes once more, he didn't give himself a second to prepare what he was going to be forced to live through one more time, or a dozen more times. It didn't matter, Harry needed them to finally live this memory with him to the fullest.

A broken sob escaped from Lily as she wrapped herself tighter around Harry. The fact that Voldemort had even a second of mercy for another on this night, no matter his reason.

James only managed to read through gritted teeth and hellish fury. The betrayal and consequences finally side by side, the pain only fueling him to immerse in every detail as vividly as his son as being forced to, learn from every second of it and never have it be known again.

Lily recoiled in disgust at such a moment in their life being looked in on by, by that thing! That perverse tyrannical monster getting to witness their last happy moments in a game they both loved as much as their infant for the simple joy it brought them. A fire lit within her, for a moment she was so filled with this fury of him seeing this she was convinced the words would change before her husbands eyes and he would vividly describe Voldemort's eyes being burned from his skull.

James froze, a look of horror etched so deeply into his face Sirius realized he was seeing his last moment in real life and couldn't breathe past it himself. All the fight drained out of him as he looked to his wife and child, but no apology in the world could be equal to this atrocity. "I, I didn't have my..." the words were nonsensical, meaningless. He had his wand on him now as he did at all times, but when he'd heard his front door being blasted open, it had somehow slipped his mind?

"Prongs! James, look at me!" Sirius had a painfully tight hold on him, but still he could not concentrate on anything, stuck on this complete failure on his part. If ever he'd let himself dwell long enough on this matter to think up to his last breath, it was of a curse of his own, a fight in him that had never failed but this one crucial moment-

"Hey, listen! This, hearing this through that twisted mind doesn't change a single solitary fact, that you gave them a chance."

James looked desperately at him, willing that to be true and not a lie he'd been telling himself from day one.

"James," he looked desperately to his wife, the love of his life for as long as he could remember now. To his amazement, she smiled. She knew what was coming next, had already known when this began what her final words were and did not regret them for one second. "I love you."

He repeated it back to her, at a loss for his own words in anything but this.

This didn't stop Remus and Sirius for being beside themselves with guilt, for feeling they had a hand in Prongs' death as much as Voldemort in that moment. For constantly barging into his house without a care, for not trusting each other when it mattered most and in turn James believing in the friend that got him killed. James had died for their mistakes, not his own.

James' mouth was dry, picturing the moment in his mind no matter how hard he clung to the image of Lily fleeing behind him in gratitude. It didn't erase the hurt he still felt, that her life would not be the only one he feared at that moment, and it wasn't his own either. He somehow knew that his last thought was of Lily getting away not just because of what he'd tried to do, but because something had happened to Peter. He would have been fearing for his friends life and what had happened to him for this to come about, and died never knowing why.

Lily's heart was thundering painfully in her chest. To be mocked by Voldemort, even now for this. She'd be well aware in those last moments, intimately and painfully acknowledging who was to blame for this happening, and it wouldn't stop her for one second from knowing who she would always think of first.

No matter how many times he'd been forced to hear it through Harry's memories around dementors, nothing in the world would ever make the blow of that lessen. Even if he lived a thousand years, he could never take a single one for granted with his beloved wife.

Through everything, no matter what else happened from now until this very moment, both parents still stood firm with righteous fury that it had not worked. They'd do it all again.

James stopped. He finally stopped and just breathed, but refused to let the world crash around him for having to live through that again as he looked at his son.

He was still out of it. Drenched in sweat and now breathing erratically, making disjointed noises of intense pain and crude delight. It was as if his head had finally split in two, and it was terrifying. Lily conjured a hand towel and began wiping the worst of it from his eyes while James rubbed his back and promised that part was over, saying his name again and again to remind him where he was really supposed to be.

As he slowly came out of his trance, he still muttered a few strings of nonsense which they only understood half of. "Hermione- got away- orphanage- wand- the horcruxes- always-" until finally those trailed off too and he was blinking slowly about at all of their gaunt faces. He didn't need to ask if what had just gone through his head was real or not, or even if they'd just learned of it with him. He wished he could apologize for yet again being a link, a direct line into the worst of their life and always bringing them back to showing this in their future, but the worry he knew was not for themselves, but him. "I'm alright," he finally croaked, trying to sit up more properly and ignoring the vertigo that poured over him.

"Right, and I turn into a cat," James sighed, brushing at his hair, unsure what his own face held now but Harry still seemed to draw comfort from whatever it was. "Just breathe son, we're getting through this, well stop for the night very soon."

Harry wished that they could just stop here and now, that he could close his eyes and open them again to find no one else he ever cared about had to suffer through him, but finally he just nodded and urged his dad to finish this.

Harry glanced around with an uneasy expression, clearly unsure if he wanted an answer to this.

"You were," Sirius wasn't sure he had words for the expression lodged into Harry's face. If it had been the same, or somehow even worse under Hermione's care for hours, he could only imagine how she'd handled that.

"Unwell," Lily finally finished, brushing her hand along his still damp brow.

Lily reflexively covered the spot with horror, and once again thanked the heavens for Hermione's preparedness in at least this aspect. She'd known they'd be coming into contact with Nagini and her, unique venom again, and likely either would have asked Arthur or just found out for herself what had been used to close the previously difficult wound.

"You shouldn't blame yourself for that Harry," Remus was quick to soothe away that nerve, not wanting this memory to be the only remark on a place that meant so much to him. "What you really did there, you needed that in your life."

Harry hesitated for only a moment before nodding slowly in agreement to him. He had a very odd feeling, that he visited the place again with more than Hermione, but couldn't imagine who or why the feeling would be trying to float up now.

James wretched again, having in no way forgotten that twisted bit of magic in everything else that happened even if it had been pushed away slightly. He'd never particularly had anything against snakes as a species before these books, but he really might now because of what they kept doing to his sons life.

"Shared sentiments," Sirius promised.

"I didn't mean this!" Remus spluttered painfully at his name being resurrected right now. He'd actually gone quite a few moments without worrying about his own child, but the reminder now brought it all painfully back to the forefront of what that infant would be going through. A father who could do nothing to save the wife and child, a condemned mother for loving her infant. A fate similar to Harry's surely.

"I wish I didn't," James agreed.

In a vein attempt to change the subject for even a second, Sirius tried for a second to laugh. It sounded deranged. "Why are you calling him You-Know-Who still, what with-" he cut off abruptly, his plan ending at once as reminding Harry of Ron helped nothing.

Harry didn't answer anyways. They hadn't thought it was possible for him to grow paler until he did.

"I honestly want to find it a good thing neither of you had the first thought to use the killing curse," Lily offered half-heartedly.

"Good priorities though, getting out of there," James whispered, mind still a swirling mess of it all. He tried to think of something else, but he just kept circling back to it, and now feared Harry always would as well. Could his son ever face Voldemort without his scar burning and incapacitating him from the fight? Would he forever be trapped in Voldemort's mind while trying to kill him? What would that do to his own if he'd ever gotten the chance? He shivered with the unknown and found even these bleak words to be of better distraction.

"Um," all five of them muttered in pure discomfort. Why wouldn't Hermione answer? The simplistic explanation was still awful, that it had somehow been left behind in the battle and now Harry's wand would either have to rest in those ruins or they'd have to make yet another trip back to get it, both options were terrible in their own right.

Harry gaped at his father, the feeling in him of something being irreparably broken nearly shattering him all over again. It was impossible, it couldn't be! His wand, a connection to Voldemort he actually valued not only because of how it saved his life but because of everything it meant to him, linking him to the magical world...but wait, it really could not be. He stuffed his hand in his pocket and came up with the same wand he did from his memory. Smooth holly still warm to the touch. Though the phoenix feather was not visible, he knew it to be there, he could feel the warmth of Fawkes in him still.

He looked to them for some kind of explanation, but already knew before he saw all the confused stares they had no more idea than him. It should have been impossible, but then, so should Harry being here at all.

Instead of putting it back away, he held it carefully in his hand, more fragile than spun glass, as if fearing putting it back out of sight would severe it once more.

"Oh Harry," Lily sighed. She didn't need to tell him, he knew if she could she would. Ron's wand had already been an example in Harry's life, he knew the real answer.

"She saved his life!" Sirius said stoutly, "and, you know, obviously, it all works out!"

Harry was glad they could at least keep up confidence because they knew otherwise, but it didn't erase the feeling inside him of remembering seeing this. First Hedwig, now this, how much more could he stand to loose before he lost himself?

For a brief second, Harry wondered why he felt distracted by that, almost joyful at the mention of someone he'd refused to acknowledge for over a month. It was the first time Ron's name had been mentioned since, well abandoning them, but he was so focused on not digging into his memories so soon after getting lost in them mere moments ago, he pushed it all far away from his consciousness.

"I'm glad that didn't seem to be a, lasting issue," James said slowly, but with no more idea how his son had ended up here with the same wand perfectly intact.

James finally closed his chapter, his usually animated life almost mummified.

"I think we should stop for the night," Lily croaked. "I, can't take anymore of this."

Harry held his hand out for the book and stroked his hand along the spine for a few moments before turning pleading eyes on them. "Just, just a few more? I think, I know-" he tried to put into words the fierce joy that had seized him for even a moment. Maybe he got his wand fixed very soon, or he got some happier friendlier news, maybe there was finally just an answer instead of more misery on the horizon, but he couldn't stand lying in a bed with so much left unanswered. "It, doesn't stay like this forever." He had to believe that, he hadn't left his time with so much unsaid!

His parents were beyond exhausted, Remus and Sirius were as likely as Hickory to curl into balls where they sat and sleep for twelve hours, but all four knew they could never deny Harry this. They would keep going as long as he needed them too.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Well this was an appropriately soul crushing chapter just in time for Valentine's Day!

*Of all the moments in this series, I've thought about this one longest of all! Excuse me? They didn't have their wands on them when someone busted the front door open?! I impulse grab my phone every time I get off my bed, I'd sure as hell have it on me as a method of defense and especially offense if I heard anything come in my front door! The series provided some detail of how this went down and I'd proceeded to fill in the blanks for years, but my own headcannon didn't involve them, just, not grabbing them!

For crying out loud, Voldemort himself complimented "he put up a courageous fight" which means JK did initially as well intend there to actually be a fight, not just a snip, dead, walk away!

So, I devised up what I did, and even gave an example of it happening in the fifth book. Not as full proof, they were obviously more on edge being in their house with secret Harry there but no Fidelius Charm up, but it's simply Lily and James security in their friends. The faith that no one entered their house that they didn't trust. Obviously being hidden so deeply only one of their very best friends knew about it meant they could be even more lax...okay so it still kind of bothers me, but I hope you enjoyed anyways.