Title: Time And Time Again
Author name: Moonstarlet
Author email: sailorcomet18yahoo.com
Category: Humor, History, Romance
Keywords: Harry, Lily, James
Spoilers: PS/SS, COS, POA, GOF
Rating: Topped the New York Times' Best Seller List for three and a half years

Summary: Voldemort plans to go back in time to kill James and Lily before Harry is ever born. Can Harry save his mom and dad? What happens when the mom likes the son? Plus, the Marauders at 15...oh lordy!
Disclaimer:
Harry Potter, Hogwarts and all related characters, settings, spells, etc. are the trademarked property of JKR, WB, Scholastic, Bloomsbury, etc. I'm not making any money from this and intend no copyright infringement. I love HP and JKR and only want to pay homage to a great creation.

A/N: So... Yeah. Well. :awkward silence: Anyway, Harry's blinking is explained in this chapter and Dumbledore plans for the future.

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Winter Break, 1996

The Hospital Wing was quiet. The Hospital Wing was always quiet, but today it seemed like a tomb.

Madam Pomfrey was bustling back and forth, carrying bottles of salves and potions. Every few minutes she would rush to James's side and check his pulse or his breathing.

A large pink cloud hovered over James's head, every second or so a drop of red liquid would fall out of the cloud, splash onto James's face and disappear. His wounds had all but completely healed. Madam Pomfrey said he had sustained a vast amount of internal injuries, and until they were fixed she preferred to keep James unconscious. She didn't give any reason, but from the way her eyes shifted away when Harry asked, he believed she thought James would be in a great deal of pain if he were awake.

Harry hadn't left his father's side. No one tried to make him, everyone seemed to understand why he needed so badly to be by James's side. Harry felt terrible. Guilty and wretched, as though he was rotten to the core and that that was why James was in this mess. Blame was something Harry learned early on in life and those lessons didn't leave him now.

Professor Dumbledore had visited James four times in the last week. Each time he had spoken briefly to Madam Pomfrey, then stood by James's bed, with a comforting hand on Harry's shoulder. He'd stay for a few moments, then leave. Harry couldn't help himself from wondering what it was that Dumbledore thought was more important than Harry's wounded father.

Hermione and Ron visited more often. They would arrive after breakfast, stay through lunch, leave for dinner and come back the next day. They didn't say much while they were there, but, then, there wasn't much to say.

Christmas and New Years came and went. Harry had gotten a new sweater and a box of cookies from Mrs. Weasley, a 6-pack of Butterbeer from Hagrid, a selection of rare Chocolate Frog Cards from Sirius. He'd solemnly exchanged gifts with Ron and Hermione (he'd gotten Hermione a set of multi-colored quills and Ron a very pricey signed photo of the Chudley Canons in November).

Three days into the New Year, just after lunch, Hermione decided to broach the subject she'd been thinking about since learning that James was alive.

"Harry," she said. He slowly looked up. His eyes were dry, but they had a deer-in-the-headlights quality to them. Hermione's heart ached for him.

"I wanted to talk to you about those spots of ''blinking'' you've been going through recently."

The last episode had been the day that James was attacked. Hermione and Ron had rushed to the Common Room with the news about James only to find that Harry was completely translucent. It had taken forty minutes before Harry returned to normal, but by then he was sitting by James's side in the hospital wing and hadn't even noticed.

Harry opened and closed his eyes a few times, trying to get his thoughts in order. "When I phase in and out? Like a ghost? What about it?"

Ron looked at Hermione, slightly angered that she'd dare to bring this up. Harry blamed the 'blinking' on his father, and this was hardly the time to remind him of that. "Do we have to talk about this now? Can't it wait?"

Hermione shook her head. "No. If I'm right, then it really can't wait." She looked at Harry. "You thought it was James who had made you 'blink,' right? That he was playing some sort of trick on you."

Harry looked at his feet, swallowed, nodded.

Ron was glaring at Hermione, mouthing "What are you doing?" Hermione ignored him.

"I don't think James was doing it on purpose."

"What do you mean?"

Hermione took in a deep breath. "Do you remember, at the beginning of the year, over hearing..." Here she began to whisper, so as not to catch Madam Pomfrey's attention. "...Over hearing Snape telling Dumbledore that YOU-KNOW-WHO was planning to go back in time to... um..., get rid of your parents?"

Harry nodded. Ron frowned. Neither of them understood what she was getting at.

"Well, I think that your ''blinking'' is proof that, to some extent, YOU-KNOW-WHO is succeeding."

"What?" Ron exclaimed, rising to his feet. "No, he's not! Harry's dad is still alive. YOU-KNOW-WHO's not succeeding, he's failing! What's wrong with you? Are you blind? Are you trying to make Harry feel worse?"

Madam Pomfrey peeked her head into the room and shushed Ron.

Hermione continued, "Yes, Ron, I see that James is alive. No, I'm not trying to make Harry feel bad. In fact, I'm trying to make sure that he stays alright for a long time. Now, if you interrupt me one more time, I'm going to rip out every hair on your head and stuff them down your throat. So. Just. Shut. Up!" Hermione keep her eyes on Harry and her voice never rose, but Ron paled and sat down nonetheless.

Hermione took another deep breath. "I think—it's, in fact, obvious—that James's life is in danger. His being here, in our time, was not supposed to happen, it's thrown the past and the future—your past, Harry, and your future—into jeopardy. That's why you've been blinking. James's being here has altered time and it's having a direct effect on you."

"Ron," Hermione said, turning to face Ron, who flinched. "Earlier this year, you told me that you were worried that one day you'd wake up and not remember having a friend named Harry Potter, that he wouldn't exist anymore. Do you remember telling me that?"

Ron nodded.

"Don't you see?" She looked from Harry to Ron. "That's exactly what's happening. Harry, you're beginning to cease to exist. Every time you 'blink' you stop existing momentarily."

"So, if that's what's happening, how come we can remember seeing him blink? If what you're saying is right, we shouldn't be able to remember it. He'd stop existing, but then he'd come back. We shouldn't be able to remember the times when he stopped existing, right?"

Hermione shook her head. "Harry does still exist. He isn't gone completely just yet. But if we can't find a way to stop this, he will disappear and we won't remember him at all. Until then, the 'blinking' is little more than a warning."

Ron looked nervously at Harry, who had his face in his palm and was staring blankly at the wall. Did he hear anything she just said?

Harry spoke for the first time in what seemed like a long time. "We've got to tell Dumbledore."

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Harry, Hermione and Ron had no way of knowing that Professor Dumbledore was coming to the same conclusions at that very moment.

He sat in his office, thinking about the spring semester. It would start in two days and the students were arriving that night. None of them had any idea that a visitor from the past was in residence at the school or that he'd nearly died ten days before, and Professor Dumbledore intended to keep it that way.

He had been disappointed, but not surprised, to learn that, despite instructions against doing so, Harry had told his best friends about James. While Dumbledore trusted Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger—he had made the latter a prefect, hadn't he?--he also knew that while one person can keep a secret, two would have trouble. And four? Dumbledore's instincts told him that trouble would soon be coming.

If the students found out about James, they would of course tell their parents, who would tell their friends. It would only be a matter of time—perhaps only a few days—before Fudge was informed. Dumbledore was worried about what that would lead to...

Would Fudge want to meet James? No doubt; he'd most likely demand to meet James. Would Fudge inform the press? Probably. All the while claiming that it had been his idea to bring James Potter to the future.

Grinning humorlessly, Dumbledore considered how much Harry detested being famous. He wondered if Harry would feel lucky once he saw the press coverage his father would likely get: the world's first long-term time-traveller. A boy who is alive, when the whole world knows he's dead.

But, Dumbledore realized, there weren't just four people who knew about James. There was James, of course. And Harry, Hermione and Ronald. But there was also Dumbledore himself. And he'd been forced by the recent events to add Minerva and Poppy to that list. But there was also someone else....

Peter Pettigrew knew, at least the older version did. Did that mean he'd told Voldemort? Considering the attack made on James's life, Dumbledore thought it likely.

Dumbledore had been upset by the idea that one of Voldemort's minions had made it into the castle long enough to deliver a package. But now it seemed likely that the Death Eater hadn't even needed to enter the grounds. He, or she—Dumbledore knew only too well that Death Eaters could be women—could simply have called a houseelf down from the castle and given him instructions. The Death Eater needn't have even gone that far. Minerva discovered that the package had special trip; a brown string that had to be tugged, but would only explode if James Potter was holding it. The Death Eater could have given the package to anyone, asking them to have it delivered for him, or her. He could have mailed the package, even.

So who was the houseelf? The answer came from James's own mouth.

"Dottie," he had mumbled after being in the hospital wing for four days.

Dobby was the only elf who matched the description given. Dobby was distraught that he'd unintentionally hurt someone, especially someone who "is looking so much like Harry Potter." Unfortunately, Dobby couldn't remember who gave the package to him. Minerva discovered that he had recently been victim to a memory charm.

A very discomforting dead end.

Dumbledore's instincts twinged. Oh, trouble is definitely coming.

The present wasn't a safe time for James anymore. And if it wasn't safe for James, it wasn't safe for Harry. To ensure Harry's safety and continued existence, Dumbledore had to make sure that James was safe. He was afraid that he had no choice.

He'd have to send James and Harry back to the past.

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A/N2: Well, now that I've looked this chapter over for a last time, I realize that this is mostly filler, too. But it was necessary filler, if that makes sense. Don't worry about James, he'll be back at it in a little while, and with a souvenir from his stay in the Hospital Wing of the future. Anyway, see you in a few weeks. Sincerely..., me.