We did Well

Harry stood silently as he watched those two familiar and yet unfamiliar forms walk towards him. He knew before he saw them entirely that it was his parents. His mother's red hair and green eyes and his father's raven black hair, wild upon his scalp. Both smiled, and Harry felt a pang to his chest. He had been sure he wouldn't see them. He had been sure he wouldn't have to justify his decision to not bring them back.

"Harry, My BOY!" James' voice boomed, pulling the young man before him to his chest, ruffling his hair, before pushing him to his mother, a proud smile on his face.

"My wonderful, beautiful boy," Lilly said, voice soft, full of tears, a smile on her face, ache in her chest, as she pulled the boy into an embrace, an embrace only a mother could offer. It was so warm, fulfilling, and peaceful that Harry, for a moment, forgot all about the wishes he had made, the wishes that had not included his parents.

"We are so proud of you," She whispered into his ear, stroking her fingers through her hair, soothing him as she felt his chest heave with little sobs. "You have done so well. You were so brave," she continued, murmuring to him, glancing at James. He immediately nodded and backed up before disappearing into thin air.

"I'm so sorry, Mum," Harry finally whispered. "I just didn't know how to make it work if I went back too far. And Snape would have killed me had I asked for you to not be dead," he wiped a hand over his face roughly.

"Severus is right, my Harry. We are too far gone already. Had you summoned us from the dead, we would be mere shadows of ourselves, and you are correct. But, unfortunately, you can only turn back time so far and still be in control."

"We wanted to say goodbye, Harry." She said finally, smiling at her son. "With your traveling back in time, we can rest assured that you will be happy with Severus. He will take good care of you. He will be a good role model for you, a great mentor, guide, and friend if you let him."

"He's so strict," Harry finally laughed, wiping the last remnants of tears from his eyes, before he looked around. His father had just been right next to him, had he not? "Where did dad go?"

"He's looking for your idiot Godfather…." She said, looking around. "Only Sirius would get so carried away on his prowls that he would forget the date of the most important Gamot in History!" She miffed and reminded him much of Hermione at that moment. "But then again, Time is relative here."

"Severus has good reason to be strict, you know? He's always been a serious boy. But, unfortunately, his upbringing didn't leave much room for-" She yelped in surprise when she was lifted from her feet and spun around quickly before being deposited behind a stupidly grinning Sirius.

"Junior!" The man shouted before enveloping him in a crushing hug. "I'm sorry I missed it. Merlin will never let me hear the end of it!" He laughed, punching the tyke in the arm.

"So what was your wish then? All the girls?" Sirius grinned, ignoring Lilly's outcry and James' cuff to the back of his head.

"So," Harry said before he sighed and carefully explained his wishes to the three.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Sirius said, frowning. "You made Arthur Law Enforcement, and Snivel- OW! Prongs that hurt, come on, man! Alright, sorry – Snape is going with his memories?" He asked, trying his hardest not to sound put out, trying not to sound let down but failing, while rubbing the back of his head, which James had handed a solid smack to.

"There were only so many options," Harry said quickly. "We only had three wishes. If we had spent one on freeing you, it would have been just that. Perhaps a little embarrassing for the ministry, but it would have ended there. They would have hushed it up." he said, smiling at his godfather, "I promise you, I know you don't trust him, but I promise you he won't let you rot."

"There's so much, Harry. So much you don't know that I did to him.!" Sirius said finally, carefully.

"He won't let you rot. He wouldn't do that to me, even if I don't remember when we go back. He won't hurt me like that because of you, mom."

"Not just because of me, he's grown fond of you, Harry. He's come to see you for who you are. He had a lot to work through, and yes, did we have words? Absolutely, but my heart hurts for him. He's suffered more than any man ever should. I am so glad he has this opportunity."

"Thank you, Harry, that was very thoughtful of you. Just a bummer we couldn't bring your parents along. Then again, your old man has become all sorts of stern and boring, and serious… The Padfoot days are gone!" Sirius sighed whimsically before he evaded the kick to his bum.

"We won't have much longer. This is very straining for us to be here, you know?" James said softly before he motioned for Harry to walk with them for a little. "This is a different Realm. We've already moved on. There's not much we can say to that either, but let me promise you that we are happy and well taken care of. You have nothing to worry about. We can watch you grow and have the chance for a happy life here too. You know magic knows no bounds, and we can be happy here."

"Will I ever see you again?" Harry asked, shooting a look back towards his mom, who stood quietly talking with Sirius, who stood with his head bowed.

"Once you've lived a long and happy life, Harry, then you may join us again. But we are always with you. We are always right here," James placed a gentle hand on his son's chest before drawing him once more into a robust and all-encompassing hug.

"Severus and I have a history. You've seen only a snippet of what we put him through. He has every reason to detest both Sirius and me. I think with age, we've moved on, but we scared him, we broke him. We have as much responsibility in Snape turning to the dark as his own father had. I am not telling you this, so you detest me and defend him, or the other way around, but I want you to know that he is good. He is a complicated man, but he is good. We have watched him, I have despised him for his treatment of you, and I longed many times to come back for just a moment, so I could lay him out when he was rough with you. But, he will be better. He will be happier. And I thank you for giving him that chance because I am filled with guilt for what I have done to him."

Harry stood quietly for a short while, breathing in his father's scent, allowing the hug to hold him up, as it seemed for the first time in a long time that he honestly had nothing to worry about.

"He must go now, James," Sirius spoke, walking towards them, giving his godson a brief hug, before ruffling through his hair and then pushing him towards his mother. "I will see you soon Pronglet, even if you don't remember me, we will be together again soon."

Ron sighed as he sat in the chair in his room, kicking at the carpet.

"That bad, hm?" Hermione asked, smiling.

"It wasn't even much of a game. He had me in like 7 moves." Ron sighed again before turning to his longtime friend. "We'll be children again before we know it!"

"I know, we will go through Hogwarts again, all over again." She grunted as she placed a tomb on the table before her.

"But look, I found a book for you." She pointed at the title before handing him the book, falling into the chair next to him, placing a heavy book on runes on her own lap.

"Chess, her mysteries and wonders – every strategy ever known." Ronald moaned. "No wonder Merlin beat my socks off! He's been alive for centuries!"

"Well, he's been around, not quite alive, but around," Hermione said, carefully looking at the door. "He is powerful, scary powerful. His power is in his everything here. It makes me wonder if anything here is real, or if it's just an illusion that he created with his magic." She let her hands run over the fabric of the chair she sat on.

"Professor Snape was furious about us messing with Death. That's when Merlin showed up. You should have seen the Professor immediately change. I don't think I've ever seen the man afraid of anything. He was afraid of Merlin, not in a bad way, but there was fear in his eyes. Maybe it was fear of the power, but I really think he's more afraid of the role we've given him."

"You don't think it was the wrong choice, do you?" Ron asked, mindfully closing the book again, looking his girlfriend over. Their relationship was still a surprise to him. He had never thought she would have ever settled for him. He would never be able to offer her the life she deserved.

"I don't know; I'm not sure anymore. This is huge, and there are so many outcomes we can't account for. Any little minute change could have drastic effects in the future. Putting this on Snape, that's a lot for one man to bear."

"I'm sure it'll work out. Merlin wouldn't have allowed it if it wouldn't work, right? So we all get to go back home and back in time, not even knowing anything. Snape will take care of it. He's intelligent and meticulous despite being an arse. He will make this right, and he may not even be the only one. Merlin said he'd make some changes. Merlin knows all; he wouldn't allow this if it wasn't for the better.

They sat in comfortable silence for a while, both eagerly reading their books, when Harry joined them. It was apparent that he had been crying, his eyes were red and glassy, and he bore the same expression he often held when he attempted to hide his hurt for his friends' benefit.

"What's happened?" Ron asked, immediately concerned, causing even Hermione to put the book down again. "Did Snape get ahold of you?"

"No, I got to see my mom and dad. And Sirius too, it's just, hard," Harry trailed off, falling into the seat next to Hermione, allowing her to pull his head to her shoulder, patting his head gently.

"I would love to meet them one day, and one day, knowing this exists now, we will have that chance. That's exciting, don't you think? To know that it's not over after we die? That there's a life after life."

Harry tapped his knee gently before he sat up again, shooting both a small smile.

"I think we did well, don't you?"