Preview:

"Mu-mum, there's something I've been meaning to talk to you about," spoke Harry, his back facing her as he looked out the window into the sunny day.

"Alright," said Lily, starting to grin again, her light mood returning, "Talk away."

Harry sighed and then said softly, "It's about that night Hermione, Ron, and I saw you at Hogwarts," Lily's grinned faded slowly. "I know you lied to me."

He slowly turned around to face her, his hands clasped together behind his back. "When you told me you were there to help Uncle Remus with his transformation," he prompted, albeit redundantly, for, by the look on her face, it was clear she knew exactly what he was talking about. "There was no full moon that night. What were you doing up there?"

Harry stared at his mother expectantly. Her face was now completely void of any former smile and she chewed on her lip a bit pensively. They stayed in that position for close to an entire minute.

Finally, a look of resolution dawned on her sweat and tear streaked face. She allowed a deep and loud breath to escape her lips as she pushed herself up into an actual sitting position. Harry saw just how tired she looked. Her eyes were exhausted, skin a bit pale. He knew that he should be waiting until later to ask her about it. After all, she clearly needed rest. But that didn't stop him from allowing her to explain herself. Right at that moment, he didn't care what it took. Harry was going to hear the truth. He desperately wanted to know what was going on.

"You're just like your father," his mother spoke softly, as thought there were another person sleeping in the large room she didn't want to wake. Her tired eyes were twinkling, her tone holding a proud chord. "I knew you would eventually realize I was lying the second the words had left my lips that night."

Harry's brows lowered as he stared curiously at his mother.

She spoke on, a bit more awkwardly, "Harry, before I tell you anything, I want you to realize that I never meant to betray your trust. I never wanted to lie to you."

"Then why did you?" asked Harry quietly. He didn't really know how to act. The little beads of anger he held before were slowly slipping away from him and he was now only left with some sadness and a lot of desperate inquisitiveness. He had always, always hated to be in the dark about things.

"Harry," she said gently, motioning him to sit next to her bedside. He obliged and Lily went on, licking her lips nervously, "I don't know if this will mean anything to you, but…well, I might as well just out and say it…Harry, I'm a Spirit Keeper."

Harry looked with an eyebrow raised, unmoving with shock. Lily just eyed him carefully. Finally he managed to speak in a high-pitched, surprised voice, "You're a what?"

A sigh passed through her lips as she rubbed her tired eyes with her hand, "Er…Harry, a Spirit Keeper is a wizard, or witch, that can channel-,"

"I-I know what a Spirit Keeper is," Harry half snapped at his mother, half stuttered. This was just unbelievable. Who knew that the one lesson Harry actually paid attention to in Binn's class would come back and slap him in the face. Spirit Keepers were very rare indeed. Less than the number you could count on one hand would equal the amount of Spirit Keepers in recorded Wizarding history…and his mother was one of them. But…that still didn't answer the question of what his mother was doing up at Hogwarts late that night.

"Harry? Please say something, love," urged Lily, becoming concerned after her son hadn't spoken for a whole three minutes.

Harry snapped out of his thoughts and again faced his mother. "Alright. But, what does you being a…a Spirit Keeper have to do with why you were up at Hogwarts." He rightfully demanded.

Lily nodded, "I'll get to that, Harry, please be patient. Well, as you know, Sir Dumbledore was my mentor instead of attending Hogwarts with your father." Harry nodded, remembering his mother telling him that a while ago, "Well, when he realized I…possessed the qualities of a Spirit Keeper, he decided to brush up on some research of my family history. He realized that I was not the first witch in the Evans' line of heritage."

At this, Harry's eyebrows skyrocketed.

"If appears that one of our ancestors held magical abilities as well. Including Spirit Keeper abilities." Lily continued, ignoring Harry's astonishment. "After Dumbledore grasped this incredible notion, he informed me immediately and I was to train even more intensely. Each month he would arrive at my palace and he would coach me." Lily raised her green eyes to their twins, "I'm still training, Harry."

A dawning look of comprehension appeared on Harry's face, "You've been going to Hogwarts every month, haven't you?"

A small smile started to form on her face, "That night was the first I had ever been spotted there by someone other than Dumbledore or Hagrid."

Harry's brows furrowed, "Hagrid? What does he have to do with…?"

"He's known about it since Percy, Fred and George started to attend. He would keep my broom- I flew there you know- and things in his cabin until I was ready to head back here," Lily explained.

"Who else knows about your powers?" inquired Harry, interest sparkling in his eyes.

Before Lily could open her mouth to reply, James came into the room, a wide grin upon his face, holding Lydia gently in his arms. "Lily, I think you need some rest," he said, putting Lydia in her bassinette placed beside Lily's bed.

Lily exchanged a look with Harry, "We'll finish this later," she told him with a smile. Harry looked a little dejected, but nodded submissively. He stood up and waved them goodbye.

With the snap of the door shutting, James turned to face Lily again curiously, "Finish what later?"

Lily sighed a bit guiltily, "I told him his mother was a Spirit Keeper."

"What?" exclaimed James, looking over to see if his outburst had woken up his sleeping daughter in the carriage.

"Hush," she said softly, biting her lip.

"You told Harry about your abilities?" James hissed in a quieter tone. He looked apprehensive. "Lily, I thought we agreed to keep this all a secret until Harry was older. We were going to tell him about…everything…when he was old enough to join."

"There was nothing I could do but tell him, James," Lily struggled in a whisper, she banged her hands on the bed on either side of her for emphasis, "He told me he knew I was lying and insisted I tell him what was going on. He realized I wasn't at Hogwarts that night to help Moony- and I wasn't going to lie to my son again."

"Alright, alright," James said soothingly. "Just calm down. This isn't the time. You've just given birth." James sighed, running his hand through his hair. He studied her for a moment, his eyes softening, "You really should rest, Lils. We'll discuss this later, alright?"

Lily nodded, her features softening as well. She leaned back and closed her eyes. A smile graced her face when she felt the gentle touch of her husband's lips on her forehead. Sleep overtook her almost immediately.

As Harry exited the Infirmary, his face brightened once more. Many of his family had left, but Sirius had stayed behind, obviously waiting for him. Once again, Harry rushed into Sirius' arms, embracing him fiercely.

"Merlin, you've really grown," Sirius said thickly. Harry looked up, noticing his godfather's eyes unusually bright.

"I missed you, Padfoot," Harry said quietly, sitting on the bench in front of them. Sirius sat beside him. "What took you so long?"

Sirius smiled grimly, "'fraid I can't tell you, Harry."

Harry nodded, frowning, "Did you hear about Grandfather?"

Sirius' face went sadder, "Yeah, I heard about that. I wish I could have been here…" he trailed off, lost in his thoughts.

"Dad was in a right state for a while. He acted like he wasn't upset, but my mum and I could tell." Harry said, "He sometimes would say to someone 'I wish Sirius were here'."

"How's he doing with handling the kingdom?" asked Sirius despondently.

"As far as I know, he's doing well…I dunno, though, no one tells me anything," he answered a tad grumpily, still wanting to know what else Lily would tell him.

"No troubles with the Order?" Sirius prompted.

Harry snapped his head up, "Dad's in the Order?"

Sirius looked surprised for a moment. Obviously his parents hadn't told him about Voldemort or anything along those lines. Noticing his godfather's discomfort, Harry, inwardly scowling at how little he knew, changed the subject, "So, how long are you here for?"

Sirius' face lightened up noticeably, "As far as Frank knows from Dumbledore, we're here for good this time."

His sour mood disappeared instantly. "Really?" Harry asked.

"Really," Sirius answered. In a less serious tone, Sirius said, "So, now that you've got some spare time ahead of you- not having to go back to Hogwarts for a few days, that is- we can finally do something more useful, like pulling pranks around here."

A mischievous glint appeared in the older man's eyes, looking down to see the same mischievous glint in the emerald eyes of his counterpart.

At that moment, the Infirmary doors opened again and James walked out, looking slightly agitated, but nonetheless happy. He grinned at the sight of his best friend and son together, sharing the same impish look. He said simply, getting down to Marauder business, "Alright, so what's the plan?"

"Good to know that your becoming King hasn't affected what's really important around here," Sirius said proudly.

Something else distracted them suddenly. The fireplace quietly boomed and Dumbledore appeared, shaking some ash from his long beard. He noticed three pairs of eyes on him and looked up. He light blue orbs twinkled brilliantly as they rested on Sirius. "I didn't expect you all to be back until tomorrow."

Sirius shrugged, "We wanted to get back here as soon as wizardly possible. You know how uncomfortable it is to sleep on a net above Blogtraps? I tell you, it does not do justice for your back." He rubbed his own for emphasis.

Dumbledore nodded agreeably, "I see. Well, in any case, Sirius, it's good to see you back. Where are the others?"

"James' mum took them to the dining hall for some mid-afternoon treats," answered Sirius.

"You turned down sweets?" James exclaimed jokingly, "First betting with your motorcycle, now this?" he let out a chuckle, "If I didn't know any better, Padfoot, I'd think you're not yourself."

Sirius looked nervous for a split second, but then his eyes twinkled and he let out a bark like laugh as well. He clapped James on the back and then turned to Dumbledore, "We're going out to the gardens. I think I may have to brush James and Harry up a bit on the art of prank pulling. After all, I don't think they've done it properly for the past two years without me to supervise them."

Both James and Harry rolled their eyes at the same time.

"Where's Remus, Headmaster? Didn't he come?" Harry asked excitedly, ready to have his three favorite idols back together just like the old days.

"Professor Lupin has been informed of the newest addition to the royal family, though I had not told him about the returning ones." Dumbledore smiled, "I suggest owling him. No doubt he wouldn't want to miss out on your plans."

Harry pulled James and Sirius along with him, wanting to get word out to Moony as quick as possible.

A/N- hey everyone. Thanks for the reviews on the last chapter. I hope this one was alright. Well, I guess I'll leave you to the previews:

"When are you going to tell him?"

"So, the original dream team is back together, eh?"

"Oh, Lily, she's beautiful."

"Why do you have to spoil the mood?"

"Don't tell anyone about this."

"The question is: What's going on for him to be betraying them?"