O that 'twere possible,
After long grief and pain,
To find the arms of my true- love
Round me once again!…
A shadow flits before me-
Not thou, but like to thee.
Ah God! that it were possible
For one short hour to see
The souls we loved, that they might tell us
What and where they be.
By Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Chapter VI: Inner James

Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione were sitting on Harry's bed in his dormitory, about a week after Ginny had been released from the clutches of Madame Pomfrey.

"Does Dumbledore still have no idea what caused it?" asked Hermione.

"No," said Ginny. "He told me he'd look into it. McGonagall told me that he wants to see me later so he might have found something, but I'm not sure."

"I bet it was the Slytherins," said Ron.

"Stop being so prejudiced, Ron," scolded Hermione. "The Slytherins aren't all bad."

"Ninety-nine percent of them are," said Harry, distantly.

"What are you staring at, Harry?" asked Ron, noticing for the first time that Harry was staring at the wall.

"There's a crack on the window ledge," said Harry.

"So?" asked Hermione.

"I've never noticed it before," said Harry.

"Why is it so interesting?" asked Ginny.

"It looks as though something has been shoved into it," said Harry quietly.

"Don't be ridiculous," said Hermione, but Harry had already stood up.

He crossed the room and ran his fingers along the crack, then pulled out a roll of parchment.

"Cool," said Ron.

"Open it," said Ginny.

Harry sat back down on the bed and unrolled the scroll.

Sixth year dorm, Gryffindor Tower, October 1975

We are bored.

So, we have decided to write down our thoughts for you unsuspecting wizards to read.

In case you are wondering, we are:

Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs

The four great troublemakers of Hogwarts, known as the Marauders.

None came before us, and none will come after.

Of course, those are not our real names.

In truth, we are:

The Studious Remus Lupin

The Quiet Peter Pettigrew

The Devilishly Handsome and Charming Sirius Black

And

The Lovesick James Potter

Sirius, for God's sake, stop eating those ego pills. Everyone knows that I'm more handsome than you. Maybe I should do the writing from now on.

Congratulations stranger, for you are privileged. Today you have the chance to read our inner thoughts (which is something that Lily Evans would love to do) (piss off Sirius) and know our innermost feelings.

I give you, the Marauders!

Sirius' thoughts:

What time is it? You know, I'm really hungry. There just aren't enough meals in this place. What am I meant to be doing? Oh yeah. My thoughts. Well, here they are:

I'm hungry

I'm horny

Patty Jones has a nice ass

James mopes all the time

Wormtail is stupid

I'm bored

When is the next full moon?

CharlotteJones has great tits

James told me that'll I'll be godfather to his kids. He says he'll call his son Harry. Pretty boring really. He should call him something like Chimneypot. Maybe I should suggest that to James

I wonder where Snivellus is?

Snivellus has greasy hair

I want to hex Snivellus

Well, I'm all thought out now. Better go eat.

Peter's thoughts:

I wish I could get a girlfriend. No girl ever looks my way. They're always to busy staring at Sirius or winking at James. Waste of time that, though. James only has eyes for Lily Evans. He's been stuck on her for years, all he does is sit and mope all the time. "Why doesn't Lily like me? What have I done wrong? I want Lily. I need Lily. I love Lily." That's when Sirius pretends to puke. James still plays with the snitch sometimes. Anyway, I'm hungry. Man, that sounds like Sirius. Well it's true, I am. Who do I fancy? Well, that's a difficult question. You see, I'm not that picky. I'll go out with any girl that asks me. Well, except for Lily Evans, because James would murder me.

Remus' thoughts:

Damn it! Only two weeks until full moon. It comes by way too soon. I'm a werewolf, you see, but not many people know. Only James, Sirius, Peter, Lily Evans (because she's smart and figured out) and Fiona Henry (she's my girlfriend and Lily's best friend). So, what am I thinking at the moment. Oh yeah. Why won't Lily go out with James? He's not as big headed as he used to be. I mean, he is making an effort, just for her. She'll fall for him one day, I can just see it happening, I just hope it's not too late. Everyone knows that Voldemort is after them both. God knows why. Ah well, I just hope that she doesn't hurt James too much. No, that's true love all right. She'll realise it in the end. Now I have to go and find James. It's his turn to write.

James' thoughts:

I DO NOT MOPE! I AM NOT LOVESICK! Ok, maybe I am, but that's not the point.

What am I thinking about right now? Her. Lily Evans. She is so beautiful. Her red hair shimmers even when there is no light. Her green, almond shaped eyes are so beautiful and so unique. I've never seen eyes like that anywhere before.

You know, I one read in a book that there is one person out there for everyone. Just one. And when you find them you live happily ever after. Well what happens if the ever after never comes? I've found my one and only, my true love, but she doesn't love me back. What if she hates me forever?

Every night I have the same dream. It's about me and my Lily. We're married and have a baby and his name is Harry. I guess that's why I want my kid to be called Harry. The bad thing about the dream is that we die, well not Harry, but me and Lily die. We're killed, by Voldemort I think. Jesus, I hope it's not the future. No, it can't be. Lily will never marry me.

Ah well, I'm off to mope some more.

We've had a thought. Moony found this spell the other day that will send you back in time. You can come and meet us.

Historicus Reversusthen say the year that you want to come to. Say October 1975. So, we'll see you…erm…well…now I guess.

Messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs

"No, Harry," said Hermione as she read the last bit. "Time travel is dangerous."

"I want to meet my parents," said Harry, his features darkening.

"We could go," said Ginny. "Just use false names, and tell them nothing."

"It won't work," said Hermione.

"Yes it would," said Ginny, stubbornly. "I could be Georgia Weston, Hermione, you could be Helen Grahams, Ron could be Robert Weston, and Harry could be Harvey Parker."

Ginny giggled at the last one.

"We won't remember those names," said Hermione.

"Yes we will. They're not difficult," said Ginny.

"Harvey?" said Harry. "Harvey?"

"Yeah, I thought it would suit you," said Ginny, giggling.

"Hmm," said Harry.

He began to tickle her mercilessly.

"Stop it, will you?" said Ron, looking disgusted.

"Sorry," Harry muttered sheepishly.

"I still don't agree with this," said Hermione.

"Oh don't be such a spoil sport," said Ron.

"Do you think we should say the spell together?" asked Ginny.

"Yes," said Harry. "Is everyone ready?"

"Yeah," said Ron, Hermione and Ginny.

"Ok, 1..2..3," said Harry.

"Historicus Reversus," they said together.

Remus and Sirius headed for the dormitory.

"Do you think Lily will ever go out with James?" asked Sirius.

"Who knows?" said Remus. "Maybe he just needs to prove to her that he's changed."

"The new Prongs is definitely more boring," said Sirius. "I want my buddy back."

"Padfoot, Prongs is right," said Remus.

He pushed the dormitory door open.

"It's about time we all grew up and took some… who the hell are you?" asked Remus, noticing four strange people sitting on James' bed.

"Erm… well… we're," said one of the boys, a black haired one.

"I'm Helen… Grahams," said the bushy haired girl. "This is my boyfriend, Robert Weston," she continued indicating the other boy. "His sister, Georgia Weston," she pointed to the red headed girl. "And her boyfriend Harvey Parker."

Sirius sniggered.

"Think my name's funny, do you?" said Harry.

Ron shot a look at him. Harry covered his mouth. He suddenly had a fleeting memory of Malfoy saying exactly the same thing.

"You know, Harvey," said Remus. "You look just like James."

"No, he doesn't," said Sirius. "His eyes are different. Don't they look familiar to you?"

"Yeah, I've seen those eyes before," said Remus nodding.

"Holy hell," said James entering the dormitory. "Who are you?"

"Helen Grahams, Georgia Weston, Robert Weston and Harvey Parker," said Remus.

Harry glared as his godfather winked at Ginny.

"Did you read our note?" asked Sirius eagerly.

"Yeah," said Ginny.

"PADFOOT!" shouted James. "I told you not to put that on!"

"Couldn't resist mate," said Sirius, making puppy dog eyes.

James shook his head.

"You guys wanna come to the common room?" asked James.

"If you read the note you're probably dying to see who the amazing Lily Evans is," said Remus making a face.

"You know, Moony," said Sirius. "We haven't introduced ourselves. I'm Sirius Black."

He bowed to the girls.

"I'm Remus Lupin."

"James Potter."

"Where's Peter, Prongs?" asked Remus.

James just shrugged.

"Oh well," sighed Sirius. "Seeing as you four are Gryffindors, you'll know the way to the common room."

"Yeah, we should manage," said Ginny.

Sirius winked at her again, so Harry put his arm more tightly around her. He wasn't going to let Sirius loose on his girlfriend.

"What have you done now?" came the voice of a girl as the entered the common room. "Who are these people?"

"Helen Grahams," said Hermione.

"Rob Weston," said Ron.

"Georgia Weston," said Ginny, smiling at the girl.

"Harvey Parker," said Harry quietly.

"I swear you look just like Potter," said the girl. "I just hope that you're not an arrogant twit like he is."

Sirius rolled his eyes.

"You must be Lily Evans," said Harry.

"How do you know?" asked Lily.

"The guys have told us about you," said Hermione.

"Where are you from?" Lily asked.

"The future," said Ron.

"What! How?" asked Lily.

"We found a spell… in a book," said Ginny nervously.

"You're Georgia, aren't you?" said Lily.

Ginny nodded.

"How far in the future have you come from?" said Lily.

"About twenty years," said Ron.

"So you might know us," said Sirius, butting in.

Harry glanced at Hermione.

"Well, we've heard names, and I think I've met you a couple of times, but we don't really know you that well," said Harry.

"What do we do?" asked James.

"Well, Remus was a teacher for a while, but I'm not sure what he does now, but I don't know about the rest of you," said Ginny.

One week later:

Harry, Ginny, Hermione, Ron, Lily and the Marauders were down at breakfast when Dumbledore stood at the staff table.

"I would like to see Lily Evans, James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, Georgia Weston, Helen Grahams, Robert Weston and Harvey Parker at my office in five minutes," he said.

He nodded to them and left the table.

"Come on," said Lily. "We'd better go."

"Why?" said Sirius. "He said five minutes."

"Lily's right," said Hermione. "He'll be waiting for us."

"Do you two share a brain?" asked Remus.

"No," Lily and Hermione said together.

Harry shook his head.

"We might as well go," he said. "We've all finished haven't we?"

The others nodded.

Dumbledore was waiting for them outside his office.

"Sugar Quill," he said and the gargoyle jumped to life.

Harry grinned. He always found Dumbledore's passwords amusing. They followed him up the stairs into the familiar circular room. He conjured nine chairs and they all took a seat.

"Now," he said. "I would like you four to tell me who you really are."

Hermione looked at Harry nervously. Harry shrugged.

"That's Hermione Granger," said Harry, indicating Hermione. "Ron Weasley and Ginny Weasley," he continued.

"Children of Molly and Arthur, I presume," said Dumbledore.

Ginny nodded.

"And I am Harry Potter," Harry finished.

James stared at him.

"Potter?" said Dumbledore.

Harry nodded.

"Who are your parents?" Dumbledore asked.

"James Potter," Harry said and James gasped. "And his wife, Lily Evans."

"What?" shouted Lily. "I do not marry Potter."

"You do," said Harry quietly.

"Harry," said Dumbledore. "Could you tell me what these four do in your time?"

"Remus taught Defence Against the Dark Arts here, for a year," said Harry. "But now he can't get work because of an anti-werewolf bill, passed by the ministry, so he does a lot of work for the Order of the Phoenix."

"Sirius spent twelve years in Azkaban, before escaping and coming to live here in the forest. He came to watch me play Quidditch," said Harry. "After that, he travelled south, but came back when odd things started happening at Hogwarts. He then did some work for the Order, but not much, because he was still on the run."

"Why did he go to Azkaban?" asked Dumbledore.

"Because the ministry believed that he had been our secret keeper and had sold us to Voldemort," said Harry.

"Where is he now?" asked Dumbledore.

"Dead," whispered Harry.

Sirius gaped.

"What about Peter?" asked Dumbledore.

"Peter is a traitorous rat! He betrayed my parents. He works for Voldemort! I've seen him, I know. I saw him help bring Voldemort back," shouted Harry, suddenly angry.

Ginny grabbed his hand.

"I see," said Dumbledore. "And what about Lily and James?"

"I don't really know what they did. I think my Dad was an auror, but I'm not positive. Nobody ever told me. I have a photo album that Hagrid gave me, full of pictures of them and me. I can show you if you want," said Harry, rambling.

"What happened to us?" whispered Lily.

"You were killed, when I was one. Peter told Voldemort where we were. He came, to kill me. Dad sent you upstairs with me to hide. He told you that he'd hold him off. But he couldn't. Voldemort killed Dad first, then he came upstairs. He told you to hand me over, but you refused. So he killed you. Then he turned his wand on me, but the curse backfired, and Voldemort was almost destroyed," said Harry.

"How do you know all that?" asked James.

"I hear it when Dementors get too close to me. That was why Remus taught me how to produce a patronus. My patronus is a stag," he added proudly.

James smiled at him. Peter sat quietly in the corner.

"What's a stag got to do with anything?" asked Dumbledore, suspiciously.

"Nothing," said Harry. "It's just a big animal to conjure. That's all."

"What happened to you, Harry, after we died?" asked James.

"I went to live with my only living relatives," said Harry.

"No!" said Lily. "I wouldn't want that. I wouldn't wish that on anyone!"

"What are you talking about, Evans?" asked Sirius.

"I went to live with her sister Petunia," said Harry.

"I'm guessing that her overweight husband was there too," said Lily.

"Yeah," said Harry. "Uncle Vernon. Oh, and I can't forget Dudley."

"Who?" asked James.

"My the-size-and-weight-of-a-young-whale cousin," said Harry.

James sniggered at his description.

"Where do these other three come into the story?" asked Dumbledore.

"Well, I met Ron and Hermione on my first day at Hogwarts, and we've pretty much been friends ever since. We saved the Philosopher's Stone from Voldemort. In my second year, Ginny came across the diary of Tom Riddle, who attacked several muggle borns through her, before taking her into the chamber," said Harry.

"But then Harry saved me," said Ginny.

James smiled proudly.

"Then in my third year, Hermione and I went back in time to rescue Sirius when he was caught by the ministry for the second time. He told me that I truly was my father's son," said Harry, his voice growing slightly hoarse.

"In our fourth year," said Hermione taking over. "The triwizard tournament was held at Hogwarts. A death eater entered Harry into the tournament, and Harry was brilliant. He won it."

"I shouldn't have," said Harry, quietly. "I took the cup at the same time as Cedric Diggory, the other Hogwarts champion. The cup was a portkey and it took us straight to Voldemort. Voldemort killed Cedric. Then Wormtail tied me to a tombstone and used my blood, his flesh and Voldemort's father's bone to bring Voldemort back. I duelled with Voldemort. We both cast spells at the same time and Priori Incantatem happened."

Harry took a deep breath. He hated reliving that day.

"Ghost forms of Voldemort's last victims erupted from his wand. Cedric Diggory, Bertha Jorkins, an old muggle, my Mum and Dad," Harry continued.

James gasped and Lily paled.

"You helped me escape. James told me what to do. They stopped Voldemort from getting me when I broke the connection. I took the portkey and got back to Hogwarts. I won a thousand galleons and gave it to Fred and George Weasley for their joke shop," Harry finished.

"What about your fifth year?" asked Dumbledore.

Harry looked at the others for help. Those memories were still too fresh and he didn't feel like retelling those events.

"We got a new Defence teacher," began Ginny. "She was useless. So we started a secret club called the DA. Dumbledore's Army. Harry was our teacher. He was brilliant. He taught us everything that we needed to know to be able to fight."

"Umbridge, the Defence teacher, banned Harry, Fred and George from Quidditch, which is when Ginny took over as seeker," said Ron.

"You're a seeker, Harry?" asked James.

Harry nodded.

"Me too," said James.

"We somehow managed to win the Quidditch cup," said Ginny. "It took a lot of effort though. I'm glad that Harry's back this year."

"The bad things started to happen when we were doing our OWLs," said Hermione. "Harry had been having strange dreams for sometime. He could see into Voldemort's mind and see what he was doing. He saw a snake attack Arthur Weasley around Christmastime. In our History of Magic OWL, Harry collapsed. He saw Sirius being tortured by Voldemort in the Department of Mysteries."

"So, Ron, Hermione, Luna Lovegood and I organised for Harry to contact Sirius by way of the fire in Umbridge's office," said Ginny. "Harry asked Kreacher if Sirius was home, but Kreacher lied."

"I always hated that bloody elf!" growled Sirius.

"Umbridge caught us, but we managed to get away," said Hermione.

"Neville Longbottom, Luna and Harry, helped Hermione, Ginny and I onto Thestrals," said Ron. "We couldn't see them. We flew to London, to the Ministry of Magic."

"It was all a trick. The Death Eaters were waiting for us and asked us to hand over the prophesy, a prophesy involving Harry and Voldemort," said Ginny. "He refused obviously, so we fought them. But we were losing."

"Ginny broke her ankle, Ron was attacked by a brain and Hermione was knocked unconscious," said Harry. "Luna stayed with them so Neville and I were the only ones left. Neville had a broken nose and couldn't say any spells, so it was all up to me. Then the order arrived. Well, not the whole Order, but Remus, Sirius, Tonks, Moody and Kingsley. They fought for us and they were brilliant. Then Dumbledore arrived."

Harry took a deep breath and composed himself. Ginny stroked his hand soothingly.

"Sirius and Bellatrix Lestrange were the only ones left fighting. Everyone else had stopped because Dumbledore had come. Bellatrix's spell missed Sirius and he laughed at her. The next spell hit him square in the chest and he fell…"

Harry paused, struggling.

"He fell through the veil in the Death Chamber."

The colour drained from Sirius' face.

"I tried to get to him, to pull him back through, but Remus wouldn't let me. He wouldn't let me go."

Harry was desperately fighting back tears. Ginny stood up and put her arms around him.

"I followed Bellatrix. I wanted to kill her. But I couldn't. Then Voldemort came. He tried to kill me, but Dumbledore saved me," said Harry. "Voldemort possessed me. It was the worst pain I have ever felt in my life. Something, I don't know what, made him leave my body. Something that made him unable to possess me."

"Oh my God," whispered Lily.

"When I got back to school, I trashed Dumbledore's office," continued Harry. "I'm really sorry about that, sir."

"You didn't?" gasped Lily, shocked.

Harry nodded glumly.

"Is that everything, Harry?" asked Dumbledore.

Harry nodded.

"Then it is time to send you back," said Dumbledore.

"No!" said James. "They can't go yet. We've only just found out who they are!"

"You have ten minutes," said Dumbledore. "I well send them back using a Timekey. Within five minutes of their leaving, our memories of them will be erased. We won't remember what they have told us."

Ginny stood up to let Harry stand. To his great surprise he found himself in the bone crushing hug of Lily and James.

"I'm so proud of you, Harry," whispered Lily. "Everything that has been said has shown us what a wonderful person you are."

"Thank you," said Harry.

"I'm glad you're a seeker," said James.

Lily rolled her eyes.

"I always hoped that I'd have a son who would follow in my footsteps," said James, trying to hold back tears.

Lily was already crying and Harry's eyes were stinging.

"I wish that I could live to see you grow up," said Lily.

"Go and enjoy your life, Harry. Enjoy it for me," said James.

Harry nodded.

"See you in about eighteen years, Harry mate," said Sirius, trying to lighten the mood.

Lily pulled some parchment and a quill from her bag.

"What are you doing, Lily?" asked James.

She quickly scribbled: Be friends with James, Lily and signed it.

"It's for when I forget what has happened today. It's to remind me to be your friend," she explained.

James smiled. Harry pulled his parents close.

"Harry," said Lily. "I know that I've not known you for very long, but I know that I love you. Just remember that will you?"

"Yes, Mum," he said. "You don't know how weird it is saying that."

James chuckled. Lily kissed Harry's cheek.

"This is going to sound really weird and everything, but I love you, Harry. You're everything that I always wanted my kids to be," said James, turning red.

James and Lily gave Harry another enormous hug.

"It is time," said Dumbledore.

Harry, Ginny, Hermione and Ron took hold of the Timekey. And as the room began to spin out of focus the last thing Harry saw was his Mum and Dad with their arms around each other.

A/N That took ages to write. I know that the time travel thing is way overdone, but what the hell? I needed something interesting to happen. The source of Ginny's mystery illness is coming up soon as well as the Hallowe'en ball and Harry's first prank. I do plan to tell how Harry and Ginny began to realise their feelings for each other, but I'm going to tell at flashbacks in later chapters when they get boring. Anyway, thank you for all the reviews, I really appreciate your comments, and keep them coming. Also, it's going to get mega fluffy in the near future and I might do a Ron/Hermione spin off chapter, about a midnight rendezvous in a broom cupboard. Oh the possibilities! Draco Malfoy will be putting in an appearance shortly, just to complicate things. So hopefully the story will get better, because it's pretty boring right now. Review please!