James grinned at Harry. "We've been keeping you up in your, er Harry's, room because we didn't want to put too much of a strain on you. Your life back home seems to have more than enough strain as it is; we didn't want to add more. Since it looks like you had a good time today, I'm going to guess the strain was manageable. How would you feel about eating dinner with the family tonight?"
Harry smirked. "After the initial shock, and getting Wormtail out of my face, it's really not been that much of a strain. After all, I'm used to fighting for my life; this is nothing!"
James laughed at that. "You think. I'm talking about all of Harry's little brothers and sisters; who will all want to grill you about your entire life. Fighting for your life might be easier."
"It can't be worse than Rita Skeeter and her ilk," Harry said, smiling.
"Mmm. I wouldn't be too sure of that, kiddo," James laughed. "Daphne especially could give that woman a run for her money. So, what do you know about cooking?"
Although Harry knew himself to be competent in the kitchen, he was surprised at how adept both James and his counterpart were. When he asked, his counterpart told him, "Fastest way to make a woman happy with you: cook her a good meal. Dad and I have lots of reasons to want to make Mum happy with us, so . . ." Harry grinned back and pitched in.
Supper reminded Harry strongly of the Burrow. When he mentioned this, Lily pointed to the table. There were only five kids in the Potter family, but it was the same type of large, happy, loving family. Daphne was two years younger than Harry, Ian another two years younger than her, Thomas three years younger than him, and Rose, at four years old, was the baby. When Harry asked, Lily laughed and told him that Rose was the last. "I'm not Molly Weasley and, frankly, I would've stopped after the twins. From what she says, those two were trouble in the womb!"
Harry laughed. "No, I guess they'd be a very strong discouragement for more kids."
"That's right," James said. "You know their counterparts in your universe. What are they like there?"
Harry decided that the best way to answer that question was to tell them stories about the twins. When he got to the Marauder's Map, James' eyes lit up. "You've seen the Marauder's Map?" he asked wistfully.
"I have the Marauder's Map," Harry corrected him. "It's upstairs in my trunk and, even if it hadn't been my father's, it would be one of my prize possessions. It's come in very useful," he informed the group.
"Do you know where they got it?" Harry's counterpart asked. "For informational purposes only," he added hastily when Lily glared at him.
"I'll see if I can't remember," Harry told him, slipping him a wink when Lily wasn't looking. He continued telling them about how he'd given Fred and George his Triwizard winnings so they could start their store, Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes. He also told them about how they'd provided a diversion so Harry could talk to Sirius about what he'd seen in Snape's pensieve.
"Hard to believe anyone could hold a grudge that long, especially after everything . . ." James trailed off, looking horrified. "So much has happened since then. We all grew up and started helping each other out when we needed it."
"And, when he wasn't being an idiot, I always rather liked Severus. Even when we were children," Lily added. "But I can see, with what happened in your universe, and the choices everyone appears to have made, how he could still hold a grudge. Especially since you look so much like James." Lily shook her head. "That's so terribly sad; the poor man sounds as if he's never had a break."
James nodded. "I'm going to add a note to the man. No telling how much good it'll do; our Severus is stubborn as hell, I have to believe that one is too. But, maybe we can do something." James turned to Harry. "We've decided, the adults that is, that we're going to do whatever we can safely do to help you. Unfortunately, people going back and forth between the two universes is dangerous; it destabilizes both universe, so we're not going to be doing that. What we can do is to send some letters to the adults in your universe. Remus, Severus and Albus are writing letters to their counterparts. Lily and I decided to write to Molly and Arthur Weasley, since we thought your aunt and uncle wouldn't appreciate hearing from us. And I have no idea about Sirius; he says he has something a little different in mind." James and Lily exchanged a look Harry couldn't read. "We all hope it's not too outlandish. I do know he wants to talk to you tonight."
Lily picked up the plans from there. "You've had a decent supper and we're going to make sure you get a good night's sleep. Then, after a proper breakfast, James, Harry and I are going to say good-bye and Remus is going to take you for the spell itself. Now, do you have any questions or do you see anything wrong with that as the plan?"
Harry shook his head. "I have a couple of questions but nothing that's going to put a stop on things. It's hard at home but I belong there. And I'm needed." He took a deep breath and put the worries that had started swirling through his head aside. "First, is there a reason you're stuffing me with so much food? I'm not starving; it's been a pretty good summer that way."
Lily raised her eyebrows and gave a look. "A pretty good summer, hm? There's a very good reason I'm stuffing you; you're way too thin and I'm going to do my best to change that. From the bits and pieces I've heard about your world, Molly does the same thing when she gets her hands on you."
Harry nodded. "Yeah, but I've never really understood it from her either. The other question is why you two aren't going to be the ones to see me off. I like Professor Lupin and all, but I thought you two would want to do that."
Lily's lips got very thin and James scowled. "We wanted to but everyone else decided we were all too likely to refuse to let you go," he admitted. "Harry, you have to understand. You may not be our son but you're enough like him that we want to help you and protect you. And both of us hate the idea of sending you back into what is essentially a war zone with you as the prime target. We agree that it has to be done but . . ." He trailed off, seemingly unable to finish.
"The thought that you've been raised by people who hate you, that you've been denied a real home, a real family, infuriates us all, but especially James and I. And Sirius. Albus and Severus have decided that they will both be sitting on him to make sure he neither keeps you here or follows you." Lily smiled. "Sirius has never been one to think with his brain. In this case, it's likely he'll do what he thinks is right with no consideration for the consequences. At any rate, he'll be kept far from you tomorrow to prevent anything going wrong."
"We hope," James sighed. "That's the reason, though. Any other questions?" When Harry shook his head, James gestured up the stairs. "Why don't you head up and make sure everything's packed? Lily will be up later to make sure you do get that good night of sleep."
Since he had never really unpacked, it didn't take any time to repack his things. His counterpart gave him a stack of clothes to take with him. "You're a little shorter than me, so these should fit fine. It's no big deal to Mum and Dad if they have to buy Ian a few more clothes." Harry took them gratefully. Hand-me-downs as such didn't bother him; it was just how horribly oversized Dudley's were that made him hate them.
About an hour later, there was a knock on the door. Harry's doppelganger opened the door to reveal Sirius. He came in, closed the door, and then cast locking and silencing charms on the door and room. Harry looked at him, unable to decide if he was amused or upset at how much like his godfather this man was.
"I know everyone else is sending you home with letters," Sirius started. "I'm not. I don't know what I'd write and I don't know who I'd write to, so I'm not. Have they told you that I'm going to be guarded tomorrow until you're "safe" at home?" When Harry nodded, he continued, "Probably a good thing. I did consider coming along. But after due consideration, I think I've come up with something better. What I'm going to do comes in three parts. First, there's this."
Sirius handed Harry a book. When he opened it, he discovered it was a journal, Sirius' journal, from his school days. "That little book has every prank, every spell, everything we came up with when we were in school. Use it however you want. If you give it to your Fred and George, they ought to make you partners. It's filled with very original, valuable stuff. I made a copy of it which I'm giving to my godson, which will get me into loads of trouble with Lily and which I'm hoping will distract everyone from the next thing."
Sirius now pulled out a mirror. At this sight of it, Harry felt himself grow cold with guilt and grief. If he'd only thought of it . . .
Something of this must have shown on his face. Sirius came over and put his arm around Harry's shoulders, which had the effect of making him break down into tears. While calming him down, the two others got the whole story out of him about the night Sirius died. That seemed to solidify Sirius' resolve about what he was going to do. "You obviously know what this is. I've put some more spells on it; it should work between the universes. You just got yourself an adviser. I'm not sending you back into that universe to battle a powerful dark wizard without every trick I can manage. Since I don't have time to give you the training, this will have to do. Use it.
"And, finally, I'm going to give you some advice about what you should do when you get home. First, the name thing. My understanding is that this dark wizard calls himself Lord Voldemort and almost everyone else calls him You-Know-Who or He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Right?"
Harry nodded.
"You're probably wondering why I'm asking; why I care. Words, names, have power. By calling him names of respect you give him respect. So don't. What name was he born with?"
"Tom Marvolo Riddle."
"So, you call him any variation of that you want, up to and including Tommy Boy. For those you still can't get to call him by a real name, you need something completely disrespectful."
Harry's doppelganger spoke up. "I'd go with Fuckhead."
Sirius and Harry laughed. "I wouldn't advise that, but only because they'd never be able to put it in the history books." Sirius shook his head. "And all the mothers would never forgive you. Otherwise, it's not bad. My suggestion is What's-His-Name. Supremely disrespectful, implying you don't think highly enough of him to remember his name.
"My next advice is about you," Sirius leaned forward. "You have an important role to play. From what you've told us, there's no doubt about it. You've decided to fulfill this destiny, which I have no problems with. But, you can't make this your whole life. You need to have some fun, play some pranks, get into trouble, snog some girls, live. I can't argue with your trying to stay safe or with trying to keep your friends safe, but you have to find ways of having fun."
The other Harry leaned forward. "What's this Marauder's Map you keep talking about?"
Harry had left it on top of his trunk when he packed. "I don't think it'll work here, but here it is."
Sirius leaned forward. "If it's like ours, it'll work but it'll only show Hogwarts."
Harry grinned, touched his wand to the parchment and said, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." The map showed Hogwarts, with Professor Dumbledore, Snape, Lupin and Pettigrew in the headmaster's office. Harry's counterpart looked very impressed. "Where did the Weasley twins find this?"
"In Filch's office. You'll need a distraction, but check the filing cabinet." Harry grinned. "After you ask Fred and George if they have it. They probably don't realize who Messrs. Mooney, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs are. You heard how to activate it; to clear say, 'Mischief managed.'" After he did so, the map cleared again. Harry folded it up and put it back into his trunk. His counterpart looked at the trunk longingly but didn't say any more about it.
Sirius stayed, talking and laughing with both boys until Lily came up and told him to leave. "Yes, ma'am, I'll be good and do what I'm told," he teased her, laughing as he left the room.
"That'll be the day," she teased back. "Good night, boys."
The next morning, James, Lily and their Harry had breakfast with Harry. The younger kids had been sent elsewhere so they could concentrate on him. James and Lily were both quiet but tried to keep things light. They had a feast for him and Lily made sure Harry ate a lot, much more than he normally would have.
After breakfast, James handed Harry a box, a stack of three books and a stack of sealed envelopes. "As we told you, we've written letters to people back in your universe. I recommend you post them as soon as you can. The box contains potions samples." He rolled his eyes. "Severus was disappointed at how little you know about potions research in your universe, so he's sending samples of those potions he feels are most important. He says the most important one is the sleep potion; he is truly appalled that Dreamless Sleep is being given to teenagers in your world."
"It's better than Veritaserum," Harry said.
Both James and Lily looked horrified. "I'm not going to ask. I'm not going to ask" Lily chanted.
"Probably best," James returned. "The books are on Occlumency. You'd explained why you need to learn it; we can't argue with that. Since you're having trouble, we hope the books will help. They're mostly from Severus," James said. "You should put them all in your trunk, along with the box."
When Lupin knocked on the door, James and Lily took turns hugging Harry goodbye. Lily kissed his cheek, something which touched Harry deeply. The two boys shook hands. "Mate, this may be one of the wildest things I've ever been involved in. It's shown me just how much I have to be grateful for."
Harry shook his head. "Remember that and enjoy it." He turned to the other two. "I know I'll hold the memories of these days close to me; it's the only time I've heard my parents' voices or seen their faces since I was a baby. Thank you both, for everything." He turned and went with Lupin.
The two of them walked to the porch. Lupin gave Harry a hug and handed him a note. "This is for you to send with Hedwig when you get back home. It's to my counterpart telling him you're back and you need to be retrieved. And it tells him that, if you're sent back to the Dursleys, you'll vanish permanently. I don't think they'll believe it, but they're not likely to send you back this summer." Lupin sighed. "I wish we could just keep you here but there are too many reasons we can't. Be well, Harry and good luck."
"Thank you, sir. Thank everyone here for me please." Harry turned to face away from the house. He heard Lupin incanting a soft spell and closed his eyes. When he opened them, behind him was the empty lot. Harry sighed, picked up his trunk, and started walking.