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: Being made into a Made-For-TV-Movie for TNT
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 property of JKR, WB, Scholastic, Bloomsbury, etc. I am making no money from this and intend no copyright infringement.
A/N: Sorry for the long wait. My sister just had a baby!!!! Her name (the baby, not the sister) is Tahje. She's 6 pounds, 8 ounces. But you're probably more interested in the story of HP than the story of my life. So here you go. I hope you enjoy it.
...................................................................................
The First Day of Spring Semester, 1996
"Are you sure you're okay, Dad?" James was leaning heavily on Harry's shoulder and Harry couldn't help but be concerned.
Grinning, James replied, "Oh, I'm 'Dad,' now, am I? I thought I was such a terrible father."
"Shut up." Harry looked at the opposite wall. "Maybe I exaggerated a little. But, you said some shitty stuff, too."
Nodding, James bent over to straighten the cuff of his pants. "Well, yeah. But, you started it."
"I did not."
"You did too."
"No, I didn't."
"Yes, you did."
"Did not!"
"Did too!"
"Did n--"
"Am I going to have to separate the two of you?" Dumbledore spoke up from the doorway of James's special room in the Hospital Wing.
Harry and James looked at the floor, mumbling, "No, sir."
"Alright, then! Shall we be off?" Dumbledore clapped his hands, looking as excited as a child about to ride a broom for the first time.
Harry and James hobbled out of the room together, James still leaning on Harry for support.
Along the way to Professor Dumbledore's office, James scolded Harry four times for not moving fast enough, gleefully crying, "Giddy up! Giddy up, I say! Faster! Faster, you lazy good-for-nothing!"
The first three times, Harry dealt with this injustice very well, grumbling under his breath about "bossy, sadistic fathers" who "got their jollies by torturing their children" and were "obviously overcompensating for physical insecurities." But the fourth time, James timed his cry of "Giddy up!" with a sharp slap on Harry's head. With a speed that surprised even Dumbledore, Harry dropped his arm from James's shoulder, wrapped both arms around James's waist and slammed him into a wall. Harry then pulled James into a headlock, and proceeded to give him multiple noogies, shouting "Does baby want his bottle? Does baby want his bottle? Why doesn't baby take a nap?"
Harry would have been happy to go on like that for days, but, unfortunately, Professor Dumbledore placed a hand on Harry's shoulder. "I'm normally not one to interfere in the father-son bonding rituals, but we really must be going, Harry."
Harry rubbed his father's skull one last time, then let go. "Alright, Professor." He then walked off, leaving James in a rumpled pile against the wall.
"Hey! Aren't you going to help me, Harry?"
"Do it yourself."
"Awww. Come on! I'm your Dad! You don't want to leave your only father lying on the floor, do you? Are you really that cold and heartless?"
Dumbledore couldn't help but smile at Harry's reply. "Yes, I am."
James's shoulders slumped, but then he called out, "I'll stop hitting you!"
Harry turned around, walked back and began pulling his father off the floor. "Alright. Good."
They made it to Dumbledore's office without any more incidents (although James did look a little green during the ride up the moving, spiral staircase).
Once all three were seated--Dumbledore behind his large, mahogany desk; James and Harry in chairs opposite him—Dumbledore looked at James.
"I found the item you asked me to look for, James."
James's face lit up. "Really? Where was it?"
"I believe Miner- Professor McGonagall may have accidentally kicked it under your bed during her search of your old quarters. Nonetheless, it's been found. Here you go."
Dumbledore opened a drawer in his desk and pulled out a red and gold box. It was about the size of cassette tape.
"What is it?" Harry asked.
James opened the box and beamed. "It's my ear!"
"Eeeew. I mean, what? Your ears are on your head. How did you-- What is--"
"Calm down, Harry. Don't have a heart-attack. My ear was sliced off by a wandering piece of wood when my room blew up. Madam Pomfrey grew me another, but I want this one. For, you know, sentimental reasons."
"You're insane. You know that, right?"
"Why do people keep saying that?"
"Boys, I think you can discuss this later. Shall we move on?" Dumbledore interjected. Harry and James bowed their heads and mumbled.
Dumbledore opened another drawer in his desk, rummaged around for a few moments then pulled out another box. This box was midnight blue and about the same size as the previous one. Dumbledore laid the box on his desk, slid off the lid and pulled out a small hourglass shaped pendant on a long gold chain.
"Is that a Time Turner? Is that how Da- Ja- Is that how he got here?" Harry asked, jerking his head towards James.
Dumbledore pushed his half-moon glasses further up the bridge of his nose. "To answer your second question: yes, this is how James arrived in our time." Dumbledore turned the pendant over between his fingers. "But the answer to your first question is yes and no."
Seeing the query on Harry's lips, Dumbledore explained. "The Ministry has all but banned the use of Time Turners, except in very special cases, as your friend, Ms. Granger knows, Harry. Fudge has blocked all attempts to advance the technology and use of Time Turners. And this is one of his decisions that I agree with wholeheartedly. Unfortunately, it seems that Lord Voldemort has found a way to get around Fudge's decision."
Dumbledore handed the necklace to Harry. "You recall that the Time Turner Ms. Granger used two years ago had a similar hourglass pendant?"
Harry nodded.
"She used it by turning the pendant upside down. The number of times the pendant was turned equaled the number of hours she'd travel back into time, yes?"
James looked to Harry for confirmation. Harry nodded again.
"Please, Harry take a close look at this pendant. You'll see that at the base of the hourglass are three dials. The top dial sets the month, the middle sets the date and the last sets the year."
Harry saw that the three dials were set for November 23 1995.
Dumbledore continued, "Unlike Ms. Granger's model, which was activated once the user stopped turning the pendant, the Time Turner you hold in your hands is activated when the necklace is placed around the users neck."
James suddenly understood where this conversation was going. "You're sending me back, aren't you, Professor?"
Dumbledore inclined his head, "Again, yes and no. I'm, in fact, sending both you and Harry back."
"What?" Harry cried, "Why me?"
"This time is not safe for you or your father, Harry. There is nothing that can be done in the present to save the past, but one can save the present from the past. I'm sending you back with James to do just that."
"But, what if I mess up?"
Dumbledore's eyes twinkled with amusement. "Well, if you do "mess up," you won't be able to remember it."
"Because I won't exist."
Dumbledore placed a long finger on the tip of his nose and winked. Harry's shoulder's slumped.
"Don't worry, Harry. You'll do fine. But, you both must remember not to tell anyone where Harry is from."
James nodded. "Of course. Right. Sure. Can we go now, sir?"
Dumbledore's eyes twinkled again. "One moment, James. I realize how excited you are, but this is very important. You cannot give anyone any hint that you know what will happen in their future. Do you understand?"
Harry realized that Dumbledore was in a rare, stern mood. "Yes, Professor."
James was nodding his head, not really paying attention, but going through the motions. "Can we go now?"
Ignoring James, Dumbledore turned to Harry. "Harry, you must be particularly careful abut what you say to James. There are still things about his future-and the future of his friends-that James does not and should not know. Do you understand my meaning?" Dumbledore's eyes bored into Harry's.
"Yes, sir. I do." Dumbledore was, of course, talking about Sirius.
Dumbledore continued. "And you will meet people whom you do not like. You may want to warn James about those people. But you must not, Harry. You must not. Do you understand?"
Harry didn't answer. Harry knew that if he met Pettigrew, he'd tear that traitor's eyes out. He wouldn't be able to stop himself.
"Harry. We cannot interfere with the way the past plays itself out. We may not like what happened, but by changing it, we could make matters far worse."
Harry looked up at Dumbledore. "But isn't that what you're sending me back there to do? To change the past?"
Dumbledore shook his head. "Not at all, Harry. Voldemort has interfered with history. I am sending you back there to set things right. To make things the way they were meant to be. Not the way we'd like them to be. Do you understand, Harry?"
Harry's shoulders slumped. "Yes, sir. I do."
Dumbledore nodded, then leaned back into his chair. "You have said your good-byes to Mr. Weasley and Ms. Granger?"
Nodding, Harry replied, "This morning. They came down after breakfast."
Dumbledore clapped his hands once more, then stood up. "Well, then. I believe we are ready." He walked around his desk, coming to a stop in front of James's seat. "If you would just give me the Time Turner, Harry."
Harry handed over the Time Turner, then stood up, poking James in the shoulder until he did the same.
Dumbledore pulled out his wand, prodding the Time Turner with its tip. He said, "November 23rd, 1975."
He looked at Harry and James. "If all has gone the way it should, you will arrive in this office. I believe it will be just after the Death Eater attack ended."
Dumbledore pulled a sealed envelope out of his pocket and handed it to James. "Please give this letter to me once you arrive. It will explain everything to myself."
James tucked the letter up his sleeve. "Now, can we go?"
Dumbledore inclined his head, a small grin playing at the corners of his mouth. "Yes. Now you can go. Good luck. Harry, I'll see you in a few minutes."
Dumbledore threw the long gold chain around Harry's and James's necks and the world disappeared in a mass of colors.
.................................................................................
A/N2: Sorry for the length, but things have been hectic recently. What with visiting my sister (and new neice) in Texas (I'm in Philly and terrified of airplanes), plus the long awaited 6th book in the Dark Tower series. (The end is near! Yay!) And we can't forget the third HP movie. Also, various personal stuff (mostly I just forgot to post.., again).
The lines "Does baby want his bottle? Why doesn't baby take a nap?" came from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, as spoken by everyone's favorite platinum blonde dead man, Spike. (By the way, the WB sucks for cancelling Angel.)
The time-turner is based on the one used by Hermione in POA the book, not the movie.
I'm working on the next chapter as we speak (or whatever it is we're doing right now) and hopefully it be longer. It'll come out on schedule, too. So see you in two weeks. Love..., me.
