Chapter 2

Forbidden

Harry lay awake for a long time, thinking about the two hour conversation he had just had with three people who had once been dead to him. To know they were alive filled Harry's heart with so much gladness he was surprised he wasn't levitating with happiness.

Sirius, after hearing his story, was totally for letting him stay in Godric's Hollow and believed him whole-heartedly. Lily was still rather cautious around Harry but believed his story also. It was her who had convinced James to let Harry stay the night. James wasn't so sure about Harry's story. To him it sounded like bull and that Harry was just trying to get close to them so he could kill them all. And James had had no problem saying this in front of Harry.

One of the main reasons Harry had come back into the past was so he and his father could hang out together and be father and son. But now Harry was hiding the fact that he was his son (it probably wouldn't have been a good idea to tell them that anyways as James already didn't trust him and say he was their son most likely would have made him go off the deep end) and James didn't like him. Or at worst, hated him.

While Harry was upstairs thinking all of this, downstairs James, Lily and Sirius were discussing the situation.

'I don't see what's not to believe Prongs', said Sirius biting into an apple. He put his feet on top of the table. 'He seems to have already proven himself by killing Voldemort instead of you.'

'I still don't believe him. Sure everything sounds heroic and good hearted, but I can't see Peter betraying Lily and me.'

'But he did', said Lily quietly. 'How else could Voldemort have found us? No one but the Secret Keeper can tell someone where we are.'

James ran his fingers through his hair, making it more untidy then it had been already.

'Fine. Peter betrayed us. But that doesn't explain why he looks like me so much. I don't have a brother or anything so he can't be related to me.'

Sirius kept chewing his apple, saying nothing. Lily sighed.

'I don't know James.'

'Well, I don't know who he is', James said standing up and heading towards the door to the living room. 'I just don't want him going near Harry.'

Upstairs, Harry heard this and buried his face in his pillows.

James walked out of the room. Sirius removed his feet from the table and leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table instead. He looked at Lily.

'You know Prongs could be right. Harry may have gone to school with whoever this guy is. He may have cast some spells to make himself look like you and James and come back to kill you guys. He may have killed Voldemort just to gain your trust. I mean, look at Wormtail. We thought he was trustworthy and he betrayed us.'

He left the table and followed James into the living room. Lily stayed at the table thinking over what Sirius had said. What he said could be true. But she could also be right. Maybe the boy just looked coincidently like James and was just here to help them. Either way, the boy wasn't going to be allowed to leave. She didn't want him to leave. There was something about him that she liked, something that made her want to believe him.

She pushed her cold mug of tea aside and quietly walked up the stairs the guestroom where the boy was sleeping. Harry heard her coming and pretended to be asleep so his mother didn't know that he'd heard the conversation.

'Lumos', Lily whispered. A small light lit at the tip of her wand and she slowly opened the door to see the young man sleeping peacefully. She quietly wandered over to the side of the bed and knelt down beside him, watching him sleep. His face was set in a frown as he slept and he looked like he had been in a lot of pain during his lifetime. She gently brushed his sweaty hair away from his closed eyes and it was then that she noticed a small scar above his left eye in the shape of a bolt of lighting. She remembered Albus Dumbledore telling her once that you only get interesting scars like that from being touched by an evil curse.

It what the boy was saying was true, he must have gotten the scar while fighting side by side with her son. Lily was glad to know whatever may have happened wasn't going to happen to her son now. Because this boy had changed the future.

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The next morning Harry wandered down to the Dinning Room to find his mother and father already sitting there, waiting for him.

'Good morning', said Harry looking around. 'Where's Harry?'

'He's with Sirius', Lily answered when James didn't. She motioned to the chair closes to Harry. 'Have a seat.'

Harry felt suddenly nervous as he sat down in front of his parents. Never before had he actually talked to his parents about something as serious as whatever they were about to talk about and it unnerved him a bit. Talking to some one who has been dead to you for sixteen years can be quite chilling.

James refused to say anything at all. Instead, he kept a careful watch on Harry. So Lily decided to do the talking.

'We have decided to let you stay with us for the time being', she said slowly. Relief began to fill Harry but it was quickly stopped. 'But you are not allowed to leave the house without an escort and you may not be with Harry alone at anytime. Is this understood?'

'Yes ma'am.'

Lily nodded her approval and walked over to the kitchen to get Harry some breakfast. Harry looked at James.

'Do you hate me sir?' Harry asked cautiously. Lily glanced up from what she was doing and looked hard at James. James ignored his wife's gaze.

'I wouldn't go so far as to say "hate". Dislike you and don't trust you, yes.'

Harry felt his heart burn in sadness.

'Is there anyway to somehow gain your trust sir?'

Lily set a plate of bacon and eggs in front of Harry. James ignored Harry's question and stood up. Without saying goodbye, he marched out of the front door. Lily sighed.

'It took almost everything to make sure he let you stay in the house', she said looking at Harry. 'Please forgive him, but after what's happened over the last week he isn't so willing to trust people anymore.'

At that moment Harry wanted to open his mouth and tell Lily everything. That he was Harry, that he was her son, that he was the one who'd gone through all of those hardships, that it was his best friends who had been killed in that last battle. But he couldn't. James already didn't trust him and if the entire story came out now, he would defiantly be thrown out of the house or killed by James because he would think Harry's lying.

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Five years passed and the toddler Harry grew up into a fine young boy. He was much more healthy and happy then older Harry ever remembered being and wasn't as short either. Harry was still forbidden to be alone in the same room with his younger self, but whenever one of the three adults was in the room, Harry played games with little Harry at his request. James didn't seem pleased with this but he said nothing to his son. Little Harry was that he could play with 'Uncle Ron' and said to his mother one day that he was a lot of fun to play with.

Harry was glad his parents hadn't found him out yet as little Harry was beginning to favor his looks, except for the beaten down looks and his scar. But perhaps that was enough to fool them. Little Harry was delighted with the interesting shape of his scar and always asked Harry how he'd gotten it but at a word from Lily and James, Harry was forbidden to tell the younger one. Not the Harry wanted to lie to his younger self anyways.

Lily became pregnant and everyone in the house was delighted, especially Harry. But it also saddened him. To know that if his parents had survived and that he would have had a younger brother or sister was saddening to him. It was saddening also because he knew James wouldn't let him touch the child or take care of him or her like an older brother should.

'Uncle Ron', asked Little Harry one day. 'Why is mommy getting a big tummy?'

Sirius, who had been in the room with both of them at the time, laughed his head off at the innocent but rude question.

'Well', said Harry slowly, trying not to laugh himself. 'Mummy has a little baby growing inside of her tummy. So the baby is making her tummy grow bigger.'

'Oh, OK.' Little Harry continued to draw his phoenix and hummed off tune to himself. Sirius, who was still chuckling to himself, gave Harry a wink and continued to read his newspaper. Sirius wasn't as cautious when it came to older Harry hanging around little Harry as James. Lily was fine with Sirius reading his paper as long as he was in the room with them and as little Harry loved 'Uncle Ron' a lot and hanging around with him, it meant a lot of watching. Lily didn't understand why James was still so cautious. For five years the boy had stayed in the house and not once had they seen Harry lurking around at night.

As far as she was concerned, the older Harry was as safe as Sirius.

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A/N: Well, I updated like I promised. The Fortress of Shadows will update as soon as I've passed my writer's block, which if I hit myself enough, it will pass. Hope you enjoyed the chapter and I'll be updating next Saturday. The next chapter's called 'A New Beginning'.