Harry stuffs the mirror into his pocket and jogs down the road from the Potter Manor, looks both ways before hustling across the street, ducking past the empty park and into the trees at the back where he's promptly crash tackled to the ground by a massive dog.

"Padfoot!" Harry cries happily, hands slipping from fur when Sirius changes back and they go rolling around laughing.

"I – this is so – what bloody luck, Harry!" Sirius laughs, bouncing back up and doing a little happy circle. "What bloody luck!"

"Well I did ask where you went, at the station." Harry just stays on the grass, a dopey smile on his face. "This-" Harry holds up his hands. "This is incredible." His hands fall back down and he sighs contently.

"How is it?" Sirius asks excitedly, flopping down cross-legged. "Here, I mean."

Harry grins wide, can't even stop himself as he sits up. "It's great, I – they're so nice and James – dad is…everything. He's - there's nothing I don't like."

"Don't worry, you'll find something."

"No, but even when he whines it's so cute. I-I don't know what's wrong with me. I look at him and I just get so happy."

"I was like that too once," Sirius sighs exaggeratedly. "You're in the honeymoon phase, Harry. Just wait until he starts really pissing you off."

Harry puts his hands on his cheeks. "Is this what having a dad is like?"

"I can guarantee you that's a no."

"If anyone hurts James I'll kill everyone and then I'll kill myself," Harry says seriously.

"Okay, wow, you…yep, alright." Sirius puts his hands on Harry's shoulders. "Slow down, kiddo, give it a few days."

"What's wrong with me?" Harry whispers.

"You overreached love and went straight into obsession. It's okay, you just need to reel it back in."

"This is like when you were thrown through the Veil but James isn't even hurt, I don't understand."

"Take some deep breaths," Sirius says calmly, practiced because Remus used to go straight off the rails when he was younger. "Won't take long before you realise James is a little brat."

"He's perfectly fine," Harry argues automatically because how dare anyone say bad things about his dad. "I mean, well, you did kill his friend. In front of him."

"I was-" Sirius pauses and leans back. "Okay, I just fell out of the Veil and escaped the Ministry, and then it…happened."

"It happened," Harry echoes. "Did the kidnapping just happen too?"

"I've kidnapped James tons of times," Sirius scoffs. "Both with him willing and unwilling, for a variety of reasons. It's never been a problem before."

Harry scrubs a hand down his face. "I want to be upset with you but I kind of get it. Is that bad?"

"I admit I was a little bit too early with it." Sirius slumps forward, elbows on his thighs. "And sorry for losing your dad to Voldemort."

Harry gasps, slapping Sirius on the arm a few times. "Voldemort dropped James off and his reason for the whole thing was because he needed a Light Heir to show off to the people he's recruiting. And he's just going to keep doing it."

Sirius throws his arms out. "Another situation in which kidnapping James works! Go back to the house and lure him out, I'll hit him from behind."

"He's gone back to Hogwarts, I forgot to tell you on the mirror," Harry admits. "Which is actually great, while we find Voldemort's horcruxes and kill the Dark Lord - again."

"The what?"

Harry grimaces. "Oh, right. I'm actually eighteen."

Sirius looks Harry up and down. "You didn't grow much. Wait, you didn't come through the Veil too?"

"No, I died," Harry admits. "Anyway, that's not important, we need to kill Voldemort to protect James and I know how to do it."

Sirius blinks rapidly for a moment. "Alright, no, let's backtrack for a moment."

James wakes up the next day in his Hogwarts bed, aching all over and knows it's only going to get worse tomorrow. He pats around with a limp arm and shoves the bed curtains open, cutting out the silencing charm to chatter.

"-looked like James. Almost jumped him from behind when he was walking back to the floo with James' parents," Sirius is saying, from Remus' bed so the wrong side that James opened the curtains on.

James struggles up and the bed creaks, making the two go silent. "Oh, sorry, was this a private conversation?" James scoffs as he sits up against the headboard with a lot of struggle.

The curtains on the other side are pulled open and Sirius sits on James' bed with a smirk. "Good morning, superstar. Keep playing like that and you'll get scouted."

"Never again," James sighs and then grins. "So now you've met my son. Isn't he the greatest?"

"Son?" Remus asks slowly, still sitting on his bed.

"Oh, yeah, from like lo~ong in the future. His name is Harry, and did I tell you how incredible his is?" James smirks. "The mum is Lily, by the way."

Sirius just rolls with it. He slaps James's foot over the quilt. "Lily Evans! You actually make it!"

"Harry is terrifyingly similar to you," Remus admits. "What incredibly strong genetics."

"By the way," Sirius begins. "Are we going to talk about what's happened to you or are you going to keep ignoring us like you did the entire night during the after-game quidditch party?"

"That depends, have you locked the door?"

"Yes, and Remus noticed you didn't have a wand so you can't unlock it either."

James rolls his eyes. "Wow, I love how caring and supportive you both are, what great friends."

Sirius and Remus pull out their wands and direct them at James threateningly because they know he's stalling.