His emerald green eyes took in the surrounding area in a state of slight confusion. How had he gotten here? Where was "here" anyway? Turning in place slowly Harry Potter felt as if he had forgotten something, something huge.
"Hello?"
His voice echoed for a moment and then died, but somewhere far away he heard a female voice calling his name in a state of fear and shock.
"Harry!"
He turned around again quickly still seeing no one.
"I'm right here! Who's there? Where are you?"
Still no one answered him and no one appeared to him but he had a strange feeling that eyes were watching him. Feeling stupid for being defenseless in a place he had no clue what would come next he pulled out his wand and held it in front of him.
He started to take a few cautious steps forward, wand at the ready, when he heard footsteps behind him. Turning quickly, ready to utter a quick curse at his would be attacker, but when his eyes feel upon the person in front of him he instead stood speechless. The man in front of him looked totally different then when they had last seen each other 2 years ago. The man was muscular with neat shoulder length black hair; but what had changed most about Harry's Godfather were his eyes. His blue eyes no longer held the pain or suffering of a man who had survived through 12 years of hell in Azkaban for a crime he did not commit. He seemed, if anything, at peace.
"Lower your wand Harry"
His voice was exactly how Harry had remembered it even if it did not have the slight rumbling it had when retaining it after 12 years of non-usage. Harry felt his heart began to beat furiously as he looked upon the man he had come to look at as a mix of both the brother and father he had never had. Unwillingly his arm lowered and the wand tip pointed to the floor while his jaw slowly dropped wondering what to say to the man he had wanted, needed, to speak with so many times and been denied. And suddenly Sirius was right there, right in front of him, and Harry could think of nothing to say. Sirius continued to walk towards him, a smile on his face that made him look exactly as he did in the picture of James and Lily's wedding day. When Sirius was standing right in front of him Harry met his eyes, blue to green, and frowned suddenly overcome with guilt at the events surrounding his godfather's death...
"It was my fault...I was stupid and should of listened to Hermione and then you wouldn't have had to go...the veil. I did it all. I didn't mean to, I didn't want you to go!" Harry couldn't help it, everything came spilling forth as if his words had a life of their own and he had no control over his mouth. Sirius only smiled and put his hands on Harry's shoulder and shook his head.
"It was not your fault at all. I was more then happy to go. If I could give my life to save my Godson then it was more then worth it. I went by my own will, and no one could convince me otherwise. I would do it again if I could without a moment's hesitation."
Those simple words pushed through Harry's self conscious and for the first time since fifth year, he felt relieved. Sirius forgave him, never even blamed him, and he felt on top of the world. Sirius then pulled Harry into a hug that he happily returned and when they pulled away Sirius seemed to have tears in his eyes but before he could think of it other sounds began to reach Harry's ears. Harry blinked in confusion looking up to Sirius who now wore a huge grin, teeth and all, a single hand still on Harry's shoulder.
"I think its time for me to move aside, because there are two people who have been waiting longer then me to speak with you again. They have missed you as much as you have missed them."
Harry was again hit with a strong feeling. Thought this feeling was not guilt but fear. Sirius could only be talking of a certain two people, his parents. His mother and father were the two people he had spent his life thinking about the most and now he was going to meet them. His heart began racing as Sirius suddenly moved over so his line of sight now fell upon two new figures in the distance. They were looking right at him and all he could do was stare back in shock, fear and a sudden joy. Sirius on the other hand knew just what to do; he took Harry's wand and gave him a gentle push in their direction giving off his trademark laugh like a dog.
"Well, what are you waiting for? Go say hello they don't bite I assure you."
With the little shove from Sirius, Harry took tentative steps towards the family he had never known. With each small step he took his heart beat in time with it, what would he say? What would they say? Harry had never felt such fear then what he felt in those moments walking to the people who had given him life and had then raised him for a single year. He stopped a few feet away from them eyes still trailing on the floor by their feet, wondering what it would be like to finally look into their real eyes and not a picture form of them. Taking a nervous gulp, he raised his eyes and finally looked upon their faces.
They were crying. And to Harry's shock he found himself allowing a single tear to fall down his face, under his glasses, and then to the ground. Without another word he closed the gap between them and threw his arms around his mother who was closest to him.
The hug was something he had never felt or truly understood. Mrs. Weasly had hugged him or occasion but being hugged by your own mother was something totally different, and something Harry never wanted to forget. She even turned her head to kiss him gently.
"Mum..." It was more of a sob then a word, but she understood and hugged him tighter.
"It's alright Harry, I'm right here."
Even her voice was perfect, and he vaguely found himself remembering it from years ago. The feel of being in the arms of someone who loved him unconditionally was so strong that he found tears falling down his face without abandon.
After what seemed like hours of just holding on to her, they both pulled away slightly and she reached under his glasses to gently wipe his tears away. He smiled as their eyes met, the same color and shape as his, and he took in her face, her red hair which reminded him of someone else who he could not think of at that moment. At that moment no one else mattered. Harry suddenly was hit with the thought that she was the most beautiful women he had ever seen as only a son could think his mother was.
He gave her a dazzling smile and then turned to his left and looked upon his father, who was only maybe an inch or so taller then him if that much. It was exactly like looking into a mirror except for those few small mistakes. Obviously the eyes were different, his somewhat longer nose and that his age was obviously showing much more predominantly then on the 17 year old Harry. Harry found himself just staring at him for a few moments in utter shock, it was like having an older twin and it was hard to say anything to the man he had idolized for so long, and had wanted to be just like. Harry would admit that at times after the incident with Snape's Pencieve he had had negative feelings towards his father, but now standing in front of him he felt all of those draining away from him.
"I grew up thinking I wanted to be just like you..."
It had just spilled forth from him unbidden as if someone else was controlling his tongue.
"And now?" Even though the voice held a slight nervousness it had almost exactly the same tone as Harry's.
"I know for a fact that there is no one else I want to be like." Harry gave him a slow and satisfied smile when his father, James Potter, pulled him into a tight hug. Harry returned it happily and felt his father put his hand behind his head as if they could meld into one person, as if they weren't close enough to being a single entity. Harry closed his eyes trying to force the tears back, but when they fell through he didn't stop them. His father, his idol, was right there like he had never been during Harry's hard life.
When they pulled apart both of their glasses were fogged and then without thinking about it both of them pulled a corner of their robes over their hands and began to clean their glasses. Both father and son looked at each other through foggy eyes blurred by tears as well as not having glasses on. Then they laughed while returning their respective glasses to their faces as if sharing a long standing joke.
James' put his hand on Harry's shoulder and smiled with such love and understanding that Harry found himself wavering slightly but returned it. Harry glanced between both his mother and father and for the first time in his life felt utterly and completely happy. He could stay with them forever, but he suddenly felt if something was missing. Missing? He finally had the people he wanted to meet most at his fingertips...and yet there was something nagging at his self conscience.
"You are probably wondering how you got here and where exactly here is, am I right Harry?" his mother asked.
"Yes...I don't remember where I was before I just remember coming here and hearing a slightly familiar voice screaming my name."
James and Lily glanced at each other and finally Sirius found himself wandering back to the family and standing beside James.
"Well you see Harry; right now we are in a transitional place. You can decide to come with us or you can go back to where you were."
Harry blinked and then it all came back rushing towards him. The prophesy, Hogwarts...Voldemort.
"Did I actually succeed? Did Dumbledore's plan succeed?"
"It succeeded better then even he could hope. Harry you defeated the most powerful wizard of our age." Lily looked at her son definite pride coming into her voice.
"Me, as Tom Riddle said in my second year, a half blood boy with no extraordinary magical talent. Amazing how things work out that way." He smiled at his parents and looked past them to what lay beyond and then wondered what the real world held for him. As if answering his questions there was a large image to their side and all four turned to look as if a screen was showing a cinema and showing what was happening in the real world as they conversed. Harry saw his own lifeless body lying on the ground and surrounding him was many a family of red haired people, a girl with bushy brown hair and then hugging him around the neck was a red haired girl, almost woman, who was crying and begging him to wake up. It was at this point that he realized the world held a lot for him. He still had Ron, Hermione, the rest of the Weasly clan and of course one other specific person.
"Ginny..." Harry's voice was soft and full of pain seeing her so upset. How could he leave her? But could he leave his parents and godfather at the same time? It was at this point that Lily came to stand in front of him and force his chin up that their eyes met.
"We will be here waiting for you when your time is right. You still have a long life in front of you as well as someone who wants to share it with you." She placed her hand on his cheek and kissed him gently. "We still love you and we will see you again."
Harry smiled and nodded moving to hug his mother once more before turning back to Sirius, hugging him one final time and turning to his father.
"Thanks for the Invisibility cloak, it certainly came in handy when staying out of trouble."
"It helped us also. Make sure you keep it in the Potter line, that's an heirloom you posess. The map is also a very good think to keep. Oh and tell the Weasley twins that they defiantly are a good match for the original marauders but we still have the highest detention record in Hogwarts history"
"Thank god something my son had the intelligence not to try and top." Lily intervened and all of them laughed.
"Why Lily I thought you would be proud of our legacy!" Sirius said with his bark like laugh.
Father and son embraced one last time and Harry looked to all of them and smiled brightly. When he turned around he saw a tunnel calling to him and started to take a few steps towards it and then stopped. Turning around one last time he looked to see Sirius standing beside Lily and James, whose arm was around his wife's shoulders.
"One last question before I go." Harry asked "Were we happy for that one year?"
"We were very happy; I know it was the happiest time of our lives."
"Good, then it was all worth it." Harry smiled one last time and then disappeared.
Behind him James looked into his wife's beautiful eyes and smiled.
One moment Harry was walking down the tunnel away from his parents and Sirius and the next we was inside his bruised and battered body. Moaning loudly Ginny pulled away, looked at him with her amazing eyes and started crying in joy.
"Thank god you're alright Harry!" She then put her arms around his neck and hugged him while making his robes quite soggy. Harry on the other hand sighed with content and returned the hug putting his chin on her shoulder.
"Oh God Ginny I cant even explain how happy I am to see you." It was at that point he knew he had made the right choice.
A few weeks later....
Ginny had just rolled her head back and let out a loud laugh of humor at something Harry had just said. They were walking along the Hogwarts grounds alone, arm in arm, and just enjoying each other's company. Once she had stopped laughing Harry leaned over to place a long and passionate kiss on her lips which she of course reciprocated. She moved from his side to in front of him to wrap her arms around his neck and rest against him as his own arms moved around her waist. After a few moments they pulled away slightly and each smiled as her brown eyes met with his green ones.
"How I didn't notice you when we first met I will never guess. I was young and stupid for ignoring you..."
"It didn't help that I was infatuated with the idea that you were 'The boy who lived' and nothing else"
"Well we are even then, I now see you for more then I noticed back then and you see me for less then what you knew."
"Now you're just Harry...and that's perfect for me."
"Now you're just Ginny and that's plenty." He ran his fingers gently through her beautiful red hair and couldn't help think that it looked almost exactly like his mothers. He let the strands go and put his arm around her and they began to head back to the castle. As they were walking Harry looked towards the water and could have sworn that for a few moments he saw his parents standing by the lake, hand in hand, smiling at Ginny and himself before melting away as they turned to walk along the beach on their own. Harry gave a soft laugh and at Ginny's raised eyebrow he shook his head and kissed her forehead gently.
"I love you Ginny."