Welcome Home, Lily and James

Author: Sugar Quill

Date: November 2002

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and his friends, JK Rowling does. Nothing but the plot and a few original characters belong to me.

Summary: Lily and James Potter are alive. Somehow, they survived that horrible night, and with a few minutes to spare before losing their memory, they conjured up fake bodies and left Godric's Hollow very reluctantly. Now, fourteen years later, after moving around frequently, they settle down at 06 Privet Drive, not knowing their fifteen year old son lives in the house in front of theirs.

A/N: Okay, here is the renewed "Welcome Home, Lily and James" Chapter One. I guess you could say Petunia's… OOC? Lily and James' part is a bit short, but I couldn't fit much more in it.

Harry Potter

Harry Potter stood facing his Uncle Vernon Dursley in the living room of 04 Privet Drive, half listening to Vernon drone on and on. He distantly heard his Uncle shout at him for no reason. His eyes wandered to the cowering figures of his Aunt and cousin, Petunia and Dudley.

"Our family will be so glad when you go back to that school for freaks in September!" Vernon half shouted, his eyes bulging out of their sockets.

"It's Hogwarts," Harry said absently. His eyes went wide behind the oval framed glasses as he realized his mistake in mentioning his school's name.

The house went quiet as Vernon's brain processed Harry's statement. Vernon's face purpled and a vein on the side of his head near his left temple throbbed. He grabbed Harry's arm and brought him close.

"You know better than to say that name of that school in my house," he said quietly.

"Vernon, it was just—just a slip of the tongue, he shouldn't be punished," Petunia said as she stepped up to her nephew. She brought a hand to her hair and fiddled with it as Vernon glared at her.

He looked away from his wife back to Harry. "If you ever say that name here again, you will be thrown out and have to live with your abnormal friends, do you hear me?"

Harry stared blankly at him, his mind millions of miles away.

"Are you paying attention to me? I didn't think so," he said after no response from Harry. "You know, boy, you should have been blown up with your dratted parents. They were freaks, and so are you! Now, go to your room! I don't want to see your face until dinner!"

Harry was pulled from his fantasy world when his Uncle mentioned his parents. He clenched his jaw and stormed up the stairs to his small room. He hated the summers at the Dursleys with a passion. He longed to be in the Wizardring World, in Hogwarts, with his friends, especially Hermione Granger. Harry mentally smacked himself. It was just Hermione, good ole Hermione, the bookworm Gryffindor, just his best friend.

He sat heavily on his bed and thought about what his Uncle had said. Or at least what he heard.

"I'm not abnormal," Harry said defensively to the wall as if it were Vernon. "My parents weren't 'dratted', they were good people! And they weren't freaks, either."

Of course, he thought, only in Uncle Vernon's mind am I abnormal.

It was true. In Vernon's mind, Harry was abnormal. But to Harry and everyone else in his world, he wasn't abnormal. The-Boy-Who-Lived, yes, The Famous Harry Potter, yep, and Oh, my, that's Harry Potter! He was a very famous wizard. Harry had just finished his Fourth Year at the best Wizardring School in all of Europe, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It hadn't been the best year: a student had been killed; the Dark Lord Voldemort had risen once again and had tried to kill him; and he'd seen the shadows of his parents, the long deceased, Lily and James Potter.

Well, actually all his four years at Hogwarts hadn't been the best. In his First, Voldemort had tried to kill him by inhabiting Professor Quirrell's body, and had almost come back for good if Harry hadn't gotten the Sorcerer's Stone in time. In his Second Year a monster had been set loose by Voldemort's younger self to kill all the Muggle-Borns in Hogwarts. In his Third Year Sirius Black had escaped the Wizard prison Azkaban and had come to Hogwarts to, supposedly, kill Harry. But he, Ron, and Hermione had learned that Sirius was after Ron's pet rat Scabbers, who was the 'dead' Peter Pettigrew. Harry looked forward to a wonderful Fifth Year; at least he wanted it to be good.

He gazed at Hedwig's cage and hoped she would be back from delivering letters to his best friend's Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. The three had been friends since their First Year when Harry and Ron had saved Hermione from a troll. The trio had a good past. Well, if you didn't count the Crookshanks-Ate-Scabbers and the little argument Ron and Harry had last year.

Last year, the Triwizard Tournament had been held at Hogwarts, and three champions from Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang would be picked. There'd been an Age Line, so no one under seventeen could enter. But when the Goblet of Fire had picked Cedric Diggory from Hogwarts, Viktor Krum from Durmstrang, Fleur Delacour from Beauxbatons, and from a mystery school, Harry Potter, Ron and the school had shunned Harry. Only Hermione believed that Harry hadn't put his name in the Goblet. The two had gotten over their spat when the First Task had occurred.

Once again he was pulled from his thought, this time by an owl. "Hedwig," Harry breathed, "you're back." Hedwig nipped his finger affectionately and stuck her leg out. Harry took the letter and opened it. It was from Ron.

Harry,

Hope the Muggles are treating you well. Guess who Ginny has pinned on her wall? Dean Thomas! Let's just say Gin's gotten over you some how. One down, one million to go I guess.

Harry, I'm sorry, but Mum says you can't come over this summer. She wanted you to come so badly, but Charlie's sick in Romania and we're going to see him. Mum says that I can come over to your house for a day. Course the Muggles wouldn't know; we'd be outside. I've already owled Hermione, it's fine with her, but she seems a little close to the edge about something. Last time I owled her she was "I've got to tell him Ron. What do I do?" Dunno what she meant. Just told her to eat some Chocolate Frogs, they take away all my worries. But it does give me a stomach ache that leads to more.

Well, I've got to go; Gin's talking about Dean again.

Cheers!

Ron

Harry smiled and shook his head. He got up from his bed and walked to his desk and sat down. He took out some parchment, ink and a quill and started to write Ron.

Ron,

You can come, meet me in the backyard. Don't let my Uncle catch you. We can go from there.

So, Ginny's finally over me? Now she won't blush every time I look at her.

Harry

He gave the letter to Hedwig and took out his Potions book and started on his homework, muttering "Stupid Snape…"

A black owl flew through the window and settled itself on his desk. Harry looked up and tentatively reached for the letter it held. He breathed a sigh of relief; it was from Hermione.

Dear Harry,

Thank you for the letter. Are you feeling alright? I'm terribly worried that You-Know-Who will hurt you.

On another note, this owl is mine. Her name is Isabelle. Isn't she just beautiful?

Well, I didn't write to talk about Isabelle. I wrote to tell you something. Okay, I'm going to write it now. No, it'll be now. I can't write it. I'll have to tell you in person. It's sort of personal.

I can't wait to see you!

Love from,

Hermione

Harry frowned at the letter and sighed. He looked down at Isabelle who looked as if she were ready to take flight. She hooted at him and flew out the window. He sighed again and continued on his homework.

*****************************

Petunia Dursley

Petunia watched as Harry stormed up the squeaky stairs, his face showing anger. She bit her lip as she remembered the other time when Harry had that look on his face. It was when Vernon's sister Marge had visited, and she had insulted his mother and called his father an unemployed drunk.

She liked Marge when she wasn't talking, drinking, playing with her dogs, or conscious. Even then in her sleep was Marge barely tolerable with her loud snores. Vernon also snored but she had had almost seventeen years to deal with that.

Vernon turned around and wobbled to Petunia.

"Where does he get off saying that name in my house?" Vernon sat on the couch making it sag low to the floor. "We give him food, clothes, a room to sleep in. He should not talk to me like that. Petunia, why did you stand up for him? I was going to punish him."

Petunia's eyes went wide and she paled a bit. "Oh, just those hormones, dear," she said, hurriedly making an excuse.

The telephone rang, and both Dursleys jumped. Vernon turned and glared in the direction of the phone. "I better get that, Petunia, don't want you stressing yourself." Vernon wobbled into the kitchen to answer the phone, and to shout at whoever had called.

Petunia breathed a sigh of relief and settled herself on the couch. She closed her eyes and shook her head. Why did she stand up for her nephew? Ever since Harry had come home with that sad face, Petunia's maternal instincts were to comfort the boy and tell him everything would be alright. She'd no idea on how that had come. She hated the boy. He was one of the main reasons Petunia and her sister Lily had fought. Harry alone wasn't the problem; James had taken her little sister away, and she hated him for it. She hated James for killing her sister. She hated herself for hating her sister and her family. She hated Vernon for hating her sister. She hated Vernon because he hated her kind.

She shivered and opened her eyes just as Vernon made his way back into the living room.

"Well," she asked, "who was it?"

Vernon grunted and started pacing. "Neighbors want us to go over for a bite of dinner."

"What did you say?"

"Yes, of course. Want to make a good impression on them, and not let the boy scare them away."

Petunia forced a small smile and looked at her husband. "When are they expecting us?"

"In half an hour, Petunia," Vernon stated, rubbing his chin, still pacing.

"Thirty minutes? I better go get ready now, Vernon, and let the boys know," Petunia said quietly.

"Yes, yes, go let them know and then get ready. Don't want them thinking we're some freakish family," Vernon declared, his beady eyes glaring at the wall.

"I'll go now."

Petunia stood and hurried to her son's room. She knocked and opened the door to see him pigging out on donuts.

"Dudley, what are you doing?" she asked him tiredly.

"Mum," Dudley cried, trying to hide the sweets. "Mum, what're you doing?"

Petunia sighed and walked over to him. She reached behind him and took the box. "Jelly donuts…" she muttered. "Dear, get ready, we're going to our new neighbors for dinner. Now hurry and get dressed."

"I'm going to go tell your cousin now, so when I get back, you better be dressed."

"Yes, mum," Dudley said, he glared at her but Petunia shrugged.

She left his room, put the donuts down, and went to Harry's small room. Petunia knocked on Harry's door and a minute later, he let her in.

"Aunt Petunia," Harry said, surprised.

"We're going to the new neighbor's house for dinner. I want no magic around them, got it?"

She didn't wait for an answer. "Good. To them, you go to the boarding school Darien's School for Boys in Scotland. Tell them if they ask you're a fairly good student and almost never get in trouble." She saw the puzzled look on Harry's face and sighed. "I'm not letting them know you're a—a wizard. And I'm most certainly not going to let them know you're a troublemaker. It'd make them run out of her faster than you can say "Vernon". Now get ready."

Petunia walked out the door shutting it behind her. She groaned and headed for her and Vernon's room.

After taking a quick shower, putting on make-up, clothes, doing her hair, Petunia was ready. In record time, she thought. Suddenly, Petunia felt woozy. She ran back into the bathroom and vomited.

"Oh, I hate being pregnant. But it's good when you're with someone you love. Or you conceived it with someone you love."

She wiped her mouth and flushed the toilet. Petunia shakily walked out the bathroom and into the living room where Dudley and Vernon sat.

"Where's Harry?" she asked.

"Still in his room, mum. Are you alright?" Dudley asked, his chins wobbling.

She smiled briefly and nodded. "I'm fine. Let's go get him and get out of here, hmm?"

Dudley led the way to Harry's room and went in. "Potter," the boy drawled, "mum says you need to come down so we can go eat."

Petunia entered Harry's room. "Now let's get going, we don't want to keep then waiting." She walked over to Harry and grabbed his arm, leading him out of the Dursley household.

*****************************

Lily and James Potter

"James, come on, the Dursleys will be here any minute!" Lily Potter shouted at her husband as she climbed the stairs of 06 Privet Drive to the bathroom.

She grinned as she surveyed the almost bare house as she walked towards the bathroom. James and Lily had moved for a long time, never finding a house that had called to them. But when they'd searched for a house in Privet Drive, none of the smallish houses had called to them like this one had. She had felt completely at home when she walked in. She had felt secure, like nothing could hurt them.

The man in question stuck his head out the door. "Aw, come on, Lils, the Pigsleys can wait for a bit." James looked into Lily's hard green eyes and knew there was no argument. "Alright, I'll be down in a minute. But don't wait up for me," he added in a falsetto voice while batting his eyelashes at her.

Lily laughed, gave him a kiss, and walked down the stairs into the living room. She sighed happily.

She loved James with all of her soul and being, but couldn't help notice that something was wrong—missing. A large piece of her heart felt empty. Lily knew something wasn't right. Maybe she had been with someone else before—of course not. She shook her head. She would never cheat on James. He was her soul mate; the love of her life.

But what if she had? What if she had cheated on him and was now missing the other man?

Lily looked at the sofa and cocked her head. She reached down and adjusted a pillow. She nodded.

Strong arms snaked their way around her waist. Lily sighed and leaned into James' embrace. He moved her around so she was facing him. James drew her into a deep kiss for a while, but the moment was broken when the doorbell rang.

He groaned as Lily started fixing her hair.

"That should be them!" she exclaimed. "How do I look?"

"Perfect," James grinned.

Lily and James opened the door.

"Hello there! Have you tried Catalan's Ravioli? We've got some right here, and it sure is tasty!" They stared blankly at the salesmen who were beaming at them.

"Oh," Lily muttered.

James politely declined their offer, shut the door and leaned on it.

"I thought it was them…" Lily said. She walked to the sofa and sat down.

"I do hope they're nice. Wouldn't like some people who were rude being our neighbors, now would we?" Lily laughed nervously.

"Calm down, Lils. I'm pretty sure they're normal," James assured his wife, grinning at her uneasiness.

"James," Lily warned, rolling her eyes.

A knock caught their attention. She jumped up and practically ran the short distance to the door. Lily opened the door and grinned.

"Hi, I'm Lily and this is my husband James Potter. You must be the Dursley family! Come on in!" she chirped happily.

The four stared at her.

Petunia's eyes filled with tears. "Lily, oh, God, Lily…? It can't be! Oh, Lily, I'm so sorry! He told me I'd see you again, and he was right! Oh, my, Lily, I'm so sorry! I never wanted you to—you know! How did you get here?" she cried, bursting into tears.

Harry's eyes widened at his Aunt's outburst. He looked into Lily's eyes and sobbed, "Mum, Dad?"

Lily and James looked at each other and then back to Harry and the Dursleys, their eyes wide.

*jumps up and down* I am so happy! I'm finally—finally—finished with this chapter! I've been working on it since November! If everything is fixed and I like it, I'll post it. And I'll read over it, Cathy. Lol. If you need anything, comments, or questions, and you don't place it in your review; email me at my Hotmail account bumblebee22_6@hotmail.com. Or if you spot any typos or anything my computer didn't catch, let me know and I'll change it. Anywho, I'll do the same as last time…

Who is the 'he' Petunia's talking about? What are Lily and James' reaction toward Harry, Petunia, Vernon and Dudley? How will two other people react when they see Lily and James? What's Hermione's secret, and what's it have to do with Harry? And what will Ron's reaction be? Find out when "Welcome Home, Lily & James" continues!