Chapter Twenty Three: Harry's Surprise
A few moments later, Harry and Clarice were standing in front of a cottage. Clarice had brought Harry to see his parents. She didn't go as far back as she had to so she could see her parents so it didn't take so much out of her. This time, she also made sure that it wasn't the day they died. She couldn't do that to Harry.
"Let's go. You can let go of me now."
"Clarice. Where are we?"
"You'll see. Come on."
They went and knocked on the door. After a few moments a man with very messy hair and glasses opened the door. He seemed surprised that anyone had knocked on their door. He seemed even more surprised that they were wearing Hogwarts robes, one of which had a prefect's badge pinned to it.
"Can I help you?"
"Yes, James. As a matter of fact you can. We mean you no harm, but is Lily home with you?"
"Yes."
"May we come in? We need to talk. We don't work for the Dark Lord. We are still Hogwarts students."
Reluctantly he let them in. He led them to the living room and went into another room. When he came back he had a beautiful red-haired woman with him.
"What is it that you need to see us about?" asked James.
"Well, Uncle, first off, I need to tell you that we come from a future time."
"I don't know if I believe that," said James.
"Well, would you recognize your son if he was older?" asked Clarice.
"Of course we would," said Lily.
"Well, take a very good look at my cousin," said Clarice.
James and Lily looked at Harry and realized it was their son.
"How is this possible?" asked Lily.
"Delilah." James said his only sister's name in amazement. Not realizing that she could have such a big impact on things.
"Yes, Uncle. Mum passed many things to me as did Daddy."
"But Delilah, Eric and Clarice died a year ago," said Lily.
"No they didn't," said Harry, finally finding his voice.
"What do you mean?" asked James.
"What he means, James, is that Voldemort couldn't kill me. He tried, but nothing happened to me. I just looked and smacked him. Mum and Dad were the only two who died that night."
James and Lily sat down. Neither knew what to think. They both thought that their niece had died that night along with Delilah and Eric. Now they are seeing differently. Clarice, sensing their doubt that she could actually be alive, took the locket off of her neck and handed it to James.
"Here. You should know my parents' jewelry fairly well. They never took it off. Look at the jewelry on this chain. Look into the locket. I went back to the night Mum and Dad died. They gave me these things right before they went to their deaths."
James looked at the chain. Lily stared at him looking for confirmation of what they were both having difficulty grasping. James looked up with tears in his eyes and nodded. Lily knew these two children were who they said they were. She got up and held Harry in her arms.
"Why would you go back to the night your parents' were killed Clarice?"
"I actually didn't mean to. I had never gone that far back before and didn't know how to go to specific times. I have since learned. It hit me very hard when I heard Voldemort come into the house. I was there when what the Dementors made me hear started to play out."
"Dementors? Why would you have dealt with Dementors?" asked Lily with concern.
"Because the murderer Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban and is trying to kill me," said Harry.
"Sirius? A murderer? Trying to kill you?" asked James.
"Yes."
"Sirius would never try to kill you, Harry. He is your godfather," said Lily.
"Yes, well, he works for Voldemort. Did you make him your secret keeper yet?"
"He's not our secret keeper, Harry, why?"
"Because-"
"I'm sorry to cut this off, but Harry, I can't let you interfere. If we change anything it can have a major impact on life in the future. I'll definitely get caught and I'm almost certain that the Ministry of Magic will see me in Azkaban for eternity."
"What's going on?"
Clarice took a deep breath. It was only fair that she told her aunt and uncle. After all, she had said it to her parents.
"You two are going to die. Your secret keeper will betray you to Voldemort. You will be killed by Voldemort himself, as were my mum and dad. I can't let Harry stop it because I don't know what will happen if you guys live. I mean, when you die, Harry becomes famous because Voldemort falls. When you die Aunt Lily, you will leave ancient magical protection on him that will be sealed by your sister Petunia. Voldemort won't be able to touch him...his curse will rebound onto himself."
"We understand."
"Look, I brought him here to see you. Spend the day with him. I'll come back to pick him up in a few hours."
Harry looked startled that Clarice said she was leaving.
"Where are you going to go?"
"I need to go practice some spells. I have my O.W.L.s starting tomorrow morning, remember?"
"Oh, you're fifteen already?" asked Lily.
"Yes. I'm a prefect and I have seventeen O.W.L.s to take over the next two weeks."
"And you were placed in Gryffindor?" asked James.
"Yes. The Sorting Hat considered putting me into Ravenclaw or Slytherin, but then decided to put me into Gryffindor."
"Congratulations," said Lily.
"Thank you. Well, I'll be back in a few hours. I know it seems unfair to only give you a few hours, but if I do this for too long I can drain myself badly."
"We understand, Clarice. Thank you for at least giving us the chance to spend time with Harry as a teenager before we die," said James.
"No problem. Just do me a favor. Do not talk about Sirius Black please. It's a very sore subject for Harry and if all of a sudden he wakes up fine with it, I'm sure Grandfather will know what I was up to. Sorry Harry. Please. Talk about anything else but that," said Clarice. She turned to leave and stopped. "By the way, Remus is the best Defense Against the Dark Arts professor we have had since I have been at Hogwarts. Tell him, when you talk to him that I don't blame him for what he did to me as a baby...it still haunts him in the future."
Harry looked confused but something told him not to question his parents about it. Clarice left. Harry then forgot about everything else that had been bothering him. He was going to spend a day with his parents, with nobody else to make him feel like a servant. It was a dream come true.
A few moments later, Harry and Clarice were standing in front of a cottage. Clarice had brought Harry to see his parents. She didn't go as far back as she had to so she could see her parents so it didn't take so much out of her. This time, she also made sure that it wasn't the day they died. She couldn't do that to Harry.
"Let's go. You can let go of me now."
"Clarice. Where are we?"
"You'll see. Come on."
They went and knocked on the door. After a few moments a man with very messy hair and glasses opened the door. He seemed surprised that anyone had knocked on their door. He seemed even more surprised that they were wearing Hogwarts robes, one of which had a prefect's badge pinned to it.
"Can I help you?"
"Yes, James. As a matter of fact you can. We mean you no harm, but is Lily home with you?"
"Yes."
"May we come in? We need to talk. We don't work for the Dark Lord. We are still Hogwarts students."
Reluctantly he let them in. He led them to the living room and went into another room. When he came back he had a beautiful red-haired woman with him.
"What is it that you need to see us about?" asked James.
"Well, Uncle, first off, I need to tell you that we come from a future time."
"I don't know if I believe that," said James.
"Well, would you recognize your son if he was older?" asked Clarice.
"Of course we would," said Lily.
"Well, take a very good look at my cousin," said Clarice.
James and Lily looked at Harry and realized it was their son.
"How is this possible?" asked Lily.
"Delilah." James said his only sister's name in amazement. Not realizing that she could have such a big impact on things.
"Yes, Uncle. Mum passed many things to me as did Daddy."
"But Delilah, Eric and Clarice died a year ago," said Lily.
"No they didn't," said Harry, finally finding his voice.
"What do you mean?" asked James.
"What he means, James, is that Voldemort couldn't kill me. He tried, but nothing happened to me. I just looked and smacked him. Mum and Dad were the only two who died that night."
James and Lily sat down. Neither knew what to think. They both thought that their niece had died that night along with Delilah and Eric. Now they are seeing differently. Clarice, sensing their doubt that she could actually be alive, took the locket off of her neck and handed it to James.
"Here. You should know my parents' jewelry fairly well. They never took it off. Look at the jewelry on this chain. Look into the locket. I went back to the night Mum and Dad died. They gave me these things right before they went to their deaths."
James looked at the chain. Lily stared at him looking for confirmation of what they were both having difficulty grasping. James looked up with tears in his eyes and nodded. Lily knew these two children were who they said they were. She got up and held Harry in her arms.
"Why would you go back to the night your parents' were killed Clarice?"
"I actually didn't mean to. I had never gone that far back before and didn't know how to go to specific times. I have since learned. It hit me very hard when I heard Voldemort come into the house. I was there when what the Dementors made me hear started to play out."
"Dementors? Why would you have dealt with Dementors?" asked Lily with concern.
"Because the murderer Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban and is trying to kill me," said Harry.
"Sirius? A murderer? Trying to kill you?" asked James.
"Yes."
"Sirius would never try to kill you, Harry. He is your godfather," said Lily.
"Yes, well, he works for Voldemort. Did you make him your secret keeper yet?"
"He's not our secret keeper, Harry, why?"
"Because-"
"I'm sorry to cut this off, but Harry, I can't let you interfere. If we change anything it can have a major impact on life in the future. I'll definitely get caught and I'm almost certain that the Ministry of Magic will see me in Azkaban for eternity."
"What's going on?"
Clarice took a deep breath. It was only fair that she told her aunt and uncle. After all, she had said it to her parents.
"You two are going to die. Your secret keeper will betray you to Voldemort. You will be killed by Voldemort himself, as were my mum and dad. I can't let Harry stop it because I don't know what will happen if you guys live. I mean, when you die, Harry becomes famous because Voldemort falls. When you die Aunt Lily, you will leave ancient magical protection on him that will be sealed by your sister Petunia. Voldemort won't be able to touch him...his curse will rebound onto himself."
"We understand."
"Look, I brought him here to see you. Spend the day with him. I'll come back to pick him up in a few hours."
Harry looked startled that Clarice said she was leaving.
"Where are you going to go?"
"I need to go practice some spells. I have my O.W.L.s starting tomorrow morning, remember?"
"Oh, you're fifteen already?" asked Lily.
"Yes. I'm a prefect and I have seventeen O.W.L.s to take over the next two weeks."
"And you were placed in Gryffindor?" asked James.
"Yes. The Sorting Hat considered putting me into Ravenclaw or Slytherin, but then decided to put me into Gryffindor."
"Congratulations," said Lily.
"Thank you. Well, I'll be back in a few hours. I know it seems unfair to only give you a few hours, but if I do this for too long I can drain myself badly."
"We understand, Clarice. Thank you for at least giving us the chance to spend time with Harry as a teenager before we die," said James.
"No problem. Just do me a favor. Do not talk about Sirius Black please. It's a very sore subject for Harry and if all of a sudden he wakes up fine with it, I'm sure Grandfather will know what I was up to. Sorry Harry. Please. Talk about anything else but that," said Clarice. She turned to leave and stopped. "By the way, Remus is the best Defense Against the Dark Arts professor we have had since I have been at Hogwarts. Tell him, when you talk to him that I don't blame him for what he did to me as a baby...it still haunts him in the future."
Harry looked confused but something told him not to question his parents about it. Clarice left. Harry then forgot about everything else that had been bothering him. He was going to spend a day with his parents, with nobody else to make him feel like a servant. It was a dream come true.