I didn't hear you leave

I wonder how am I still here

And I don't want to move a thing

It might change my memory

Oh I am what I am

I'll do what I want

But I can't hide

I won't go

I won't sleep

I can't breathe

Until you're resting here with me

-Dido, "Here With Me"

Ch. 2 - "Reminiscence"

(Author's Note: I know.. I know.. not exactly a James and Lily fic as of yet.. but we're getting there!! The whole romance thing starts here... sort of ^^;;)

"You know," Lupin began, "You really can't blame me for trying to-"

"I am very aware of what you were trying to do, Remus," Krys interrupted, smiling. "And I thank you for it." She wiped a rather large tear trailing down her cheek with a damp sleeve. Molly Weasley, who had been stone-shocked for quite some time, finally regathered her nerve and ran up to Krys, a large blanket in her hands.

"I'm so sorry dear! It gave me quite a fright to see you in that doorway," Molly hastily said while Krys let out a rather loud sneeze. She put the blanket around Krys' shoulders and motioned her to sit by the nice, cozy fire, but Krys declined, sneezing once again.

"I've wasted enough time as it is," she said, still looking at the warm-colored flames. "I need to talk with my godson." Hearing Krys mention him, Harry reluctantly stood up.

"Y-Yes...?" Harry manager to stammer, his brilliant green eyes never leaving the figure of his would-be godmother. Sirius raised an eyebrow in slight confusion.

"What's this got to do with Harry?"

"Well... he's the damn reason why I'm here!"

"Me...?" Harry questioned. Krys smiled and nodded enthusiastically. "What do you want with.. me?" Krys chuckled and motioned him to come over.

"Don't look at me as if I was going to bite you, Harry," she chided as she put her delicate hands on his shoulders. "Now, let's have a good look at you." Harry took this opportunity to have a look at his "would-be" godmother as she was looking him over. She was about half a head taller than him and quite pretty. With waist-long burgandy hair that was straight until it reached its wavy ends and golden eyes that seemed to shine by the fire, Harry thought that his godfather had chosen a very lovely lady for a wife.

"Well," she began, "You could've been the spitting image of your father, if it wasn't for your eyes, which you THANK GOD did not inherit from that git..." She beamed at him. "It would've been a damned shame if you didn't inherit your mother's eyes... a shame I tell you!" Harry smiled sheepishly. "Oh, I'm sure you've seen your mother and all, but she had the most BEAUTIFUL eyes this side of Britain! Lovely and just the right shade of brilliant emerald... I envied her so much for those eyes!" She laughed heartily at her fond memory.

"Oh, James' eyes weren't all that bad," Sirius added, but Krys shook his comment off.

"James had horrible eyes in comparison to Lily's! I would've died if Harry didn't get his mother's eyes... Ok, well not died, but you know what I mean..."

"He looks an awful lot like James, doesn't he?" Lupin said as he beamed at Harry.

"The good looks and all..." Krys added with a wink and a laugh. "Bet he's attracting all the girls, aren't ya Harry?" She elbowed him playfully in the ribs. Harry continued to smile sheepishly as Ron looked on, smirking, Hermione giggling. "Well, Harry.. I think I have some explaining to do..." Her golden eyes glanced off to the side at all the other observers.

"Sorry all, but I'll have to ask for all of you to leave us for a while. That is, except for Remus and Sirius." The onlookers immediately voiced their complaints.

"Now that you got us all curious, we have to stay for this bit of news!"

"You can't leave us hanging like this!"

"This isn't fair!"

"Can't we at least stay?" Ron whined while biting into a buttery biscuit.

"We ARE his friends after all," Hermione noted. Krys sighed and shook her head.

"All right, Hermione and Ron can stay. The rest of you - out."

"You can't just shoo us off and then-"

"OUT!!" Sirius shouted. "This has to do with his parents, and the lot of you already know more than your share of information-"

"So do you!"

"This is MY house! Go upstairs! GO! OUT! OUT!!!!" With all that said and done, the majority of the groups, with the exceptions of those named, grumbled and mumbled their complaints under their breath as they marched up the stairs, making a bunch of ruckus as they did so. When Krys was sure that they were out of earshot, she turned to Lupin and Sirius.

"So boys, how much exactly DOES Harry know about his parents? I assume you've told him loads about James..." Lupin and Sirius nodded in unison. "... But what about his mother?" Silence.

"..Ok, I'll try again. And his mother...?" They both looked guiltily at each other and then back to her.

"... You're kidding. You told him.. NOTHING about his mother?"

"Not exactly... nothing.. we told him some bits..." Krys, unconvinced, looked at both men with a suspecting look upon her face.

"Like what?"

"...."

"So let me get this straight..." She began as she started to pace the floor. "You've been with him for.. how long? Two years was it?"

"... A year and half really..."

"A year and a half? All that time... AND NOTHING ABOUT HIS MOTHER?! WHAT HAVE THE BOTH OF YOU BEEN DOING? Ok Sirius, I understand with Azkaban," she added as Sirius began to open his mouth in protest, "And Lupin with his classes and the full moon," she also added when Lupin too began to look as if he was about to kick her out again, "But... nothing? All stories about his father and none about Lily? This is injustice!! You-"

"But they HAVE been pretty busy, Krys," Harry hastily said as he tried to defend his father's best friends.

"They've been amazing, and Sirius is probably the best godfather Harry could have! Right Harry?" Hermione commented eagerly, Harry nodding at her side. Krys sighed and shook her head once again.

"I'm sorry. It's just that, well, Lily was my best friend, and I can't believe her own son has been told nothing about her!"

"Best... friend...?" Harry questioned thoughtfully as he stared at the crimson flames dancing around in the fireplace.

"As a matter of fact, yes! She was-" Before she could finish her sentence, Harry scrambled up the stairs in an unsophisticated rush. Krys, a little bewildered and caught off-guard for a moment, scratched her head and turned to Sirius.

"What was that all about?" Sirius shook his head and shrugged. Before the little group knew what was happening, Harry was back with a large, leathery book in his hands. He plopped down on the floor next to Hermione, and in a maddened haste, flipped its fragile pages open.

"Harry," Hermione attempted to look at the book, but to no avail, "what are you looking for-?"

"Got it!!" Krys walked over to the Harry and glanced over his shoulder at the page which he turned to, containing a picture of Lily and James at their wedding.

"Oh my goodness!" Krys exclaimed. "That's-"

"You," Harry interrupted as he pointed towards a younger version of her, waving and smiling gleefully at Lily's side. "Were you the maid of honor at my mum's wedding?" Krys laughed.

"Yup, that's me," she said as she glanced at herself and then settled her golden eyes upon the lovely vision of Lily and the dashing groom at her side. Her eyes seemed to linger there, as if recalling back thousands of memories of the past, a sad smile spreading upon her rosy lips, but her lingering seemed to break the spell upon themselves as they floated back to Harry. She breathed a heavy sigh and reached into the pocket of her robes, pulling out a small orb the size of a tennis ball, silver waves floating around in it like mist.

"Now to the sole purpose as to why I am here..." Krys muttered as she took a seat at Harry's side.

"And.. what's that?" Ron questioned, his eyebrows furrowing in curiosity, as the rest of the group, by the looks on their faces, seemed to be wondering the exact same question.

"It all started... when Voldemort," Ron shuddered violently at the name, "was at the height of his dark reign. You, Harry, had just been born and Lily and James couldn't have been happier. Lily, despite being happy, was also quite worried about what would happen to you, if her and James were ever killed on some mission. You DO know your parents were aurors...?" Harry nodded and relieved, Krys continued. "Alright, good. Lily always wondered what would happen to you in the situation that both her and James were killed, which actually happened... she thought to herself, 'Would Harry ever know us? Would he be curious? Would he think of us as his "dead mum and dad"?' and so on... So, she decided to envelope her and your dad's story in this little orb which is called a reminescence orb." Krys paused, staring at Harry, waiting for any sort of reaction. Harry seemed to be lost in thought and completely in his own little world, staring at the dancing flames as if entranced.

"Are you getting all of this, Harry?" Harry nodded stiffly. "You know Harry..." Krys voiced a little reluctantly and concerned, "we don't have to do this tonight. I don't much time, but I mean, a little sleep wouldn't hurt and-" Harry shook his untidy black locks in protest.

"Keep going.. I want.." Harry swallowed a bit forcefully, "to know where this all leads."

Lupin, unconvinced by the bags developing under Harry's eyes, added, "We don't have to do this tonight. You must be exhausted and Krys-"

"I want to hear her story. I mean," Harry smiled sadly, looking up at Lupin, "how often do I get to hear about my mum and dad from someone who's already dead?" Krys twitched slightly at the dead comment, but nevertheless carried on.

"Your mother gave this to me, believing that in the scenario that James and her DID die, I would survive to give you this when I thought you were good and ready to hear their story.. But as fate so cruelly dictated, I died before your mum and dad."

"If.. I may ask..." Hermione spoke softly, as if frightened that Krys would pounce on her, "How.. DID.. you die...?" Krys shook her head and smirked, and began to rotate the little crystal orb in her hands.

"She died by the hand of the dark lord himself," Sirius voiced bitterly. Now, he had the room's full attention. His eyes stared into the flames and fell under the spell of bitter memories. "I was there... I saw the entire thing... She-"

"We can talk about that later, Sirius," Krys hastily interrupted as she turned back to Harry, holding the orb firmly in now both her hands. "Shortly after, your mother and father joined me in Heaven. For some reason, this stupid thing," she pointed at the little ball, "came along with me. Your mother and I discussed what we should do with it and decided... that on your fifteen birthday, I would come down here and present this to you."

"Now I'm sure you're wondering why your parents themselves didn't come down here themselves," Krys noted as Harry seemed about to ask something. "The "big guy" up there, as we call him, didn't want two spirits coming down here when it could simply be done by one. Besides," she stared at the little ball in her hands again, "It was my job to begin with, and the both of them thought that I should fulfill my one and only responsibility to you as your godmother." She stared intently into Harry's eyes with the uttermost look of seriousness.

"Is this making any sense to you, dear?" Harry nodded a little reluctantly. Krys beamed at him with great relief, as if she had just been through a rough ordeal, and placed the ball on the floor. "Do you want to see this now?" Again, Harry nodded stiffly, his green eyes wide and staring at the little mysterious thing in front of him that would reveal everything to him. Everyone knew the stories of their mother and father, but he didn't. But now he would... He would finally get to know his mother and father the only and best way possible...

Krys placed a hand on the orb and murmured something that the rest of the onlookers couldn't quite hear. Immediately, the waves in the orb turned a light shade of blue and leaked out of the orb, forming into something like a giant screen.

"Harry... how do you think your parents fell in love?" Harry, a little caught off guard at the question, shrugged numbly. "I'm guessing you're thinking something along the lines of... well... love at first sight? A lovely couple walking around the park, holding hands while drinking coffee? Well guess what?"

".. What?" Harry, Hermione, and Ron chorused. Sirius and Lupin laughed heartily.

"It was the absolute and complete OPPOSITE of that!!" Sirius exclaimed.

"What...?" Harry began, but was interrupted by the vision of a young lady with long red hair and brilliant green eyes appearing on the giant screen.

"Mum..." Harry muttered as he stared at her smiling face.

"Krys.. is this thing working now?" Lily asked as she looked towards the side.

"Yes, dear it is. Hurry up! Most of this thing has to be the story you know..." Lily, a little flustered, placed a stray strand behind her ear and smiled a smile that made Harry's heart ache.

"Hello.. Harry. If you didn't know by know, I'm your mother... Lily Catalina Evans Potter. It's.. a little awkward to be talking to you right now, especially since you just fell asleep in the other room, but anyways..." She beamed again, but that smiled faded and was replaced by a look of sad thought. "If you are watching this... it must mean that something happened to me and your father. Let me start off by saying that I'm terribly sor-" The sound of an opening door interrupted her sentence.

"Lily!! Lily!! I'm home!! What's for dinner?! I'm STARVING!! Where's Harry? Oh.. Hello Krys!"

"Hello, James. Harry's asleep in his room and Lily's in the living room. Don't interrupt her though because she's- DIDN'T YOU HEAR ANYTHING THAT I SAID?! JAMES!! JAMES!!!!!" Lily laughed heartily and faced forward again.

"I would believe that's your father coming h-"

"And indeed it would be!" The unmistakable figure that had to be James Potter plopped down on the couch next to Lily and kissed her on the forehead. Harry, who had seen countless pictures of his father, only now appreciated the countless comments he received on looking exactly like his father. They shared almost every feature- stubborn, untidy hair, lanky figure, glasses... everything. The only thing that distinguished him from his father was well, his mother's stunning green eyes. By the astonished looks on Hermione and Ron's faces at his father's entrance, he assumed they were sharing the exact same thoughts "What are you doing that's so secretive, eh? Is it so secretive that you can't even share with your handsome husband?" Lily rolled her eyes and forcefully pushed his head away.

"Handsome? Who ever said you were handsome?" Lily questioned as she stared at James with a sly smile dancing on her lips.

"I sure didn't!!" Krys voiced from the side. James grinned mischievously and kissed Lily again, this time on the cheek.

"Didn't you say I was cute?" Lily raised an eyebrow and shared James' playful grin.

"I don't recall so..."

"LILY!! Hurry up!!" James raised an eyebrow as he put an arm around the figure of his lovely wife.

"Hurry up with what?" Lily pointed straight forward. "Oh you're actually..." Lily nodded slowly, gazing at her husband, who now took on a serious look. James smiled sadly and looked first towards Lily and then towards the audience, where presumably the reminiscence orb was.

"Hello, Harry." James waved a little. "If you didn't know by now, I'm your father, James Matthew Potter. Born in England, former Chaser for the Gryffindor qui-" he stopped as he saw the warning look upon Lily's face, "And the reason we're talking to you like this and making this is that-"

"We want to make sure that well... it does seem a little selfish now, doesn't it?" Lily glanced at James anxiously, but he just shook his head and kissed Lily a third time, this time on her forehead.

"Krys wouldn't show this to him if he didn't already know from us..."

"But I mean...!"

"OH FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!!!" A younger vision of Krys stomped in, her right hand gripping a frying pan. "Either you guys hurry up... or you don't get supper!! I MEAN IT- And dear God... JAMES AND DON'T GIVE ME THAT PATHETIC LOOK!!" Indeed, James' bottom lip was quivering, and he was looking at Krys as if he would die without supper.

"Alright, Krys, sorry.. we've been dragging a little anyways-"

"A LITTLE?!"

"Ok, ok a lot!!" The trio laughed heartily as the younger version of Sirius Black stepped in and kissed Krys on the cheek.

"Hello all! What're we doing?" Lily laughed again and ignored Sirius.

"And now, Harry, you will know our... less than fascinating story. Just because of course... Most kids already know how their parents got together or have some almost accurate vision of it-"

"And it's a doozy, I can tell ya that," James noted as he beamed at Lily.

"If you don't know our story by now from us, you will now." The screen began to fade slowly and turn fuzzy a bit.

"Goodbye love..."

***

And now... the tale finally begins..... The Tale of James and Lily Potter... man it's gonna be a "doozy"...