Chapter Four: Explanations
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters. I am not J.K Rowling.
A/N: Hello again! Thank you for reading this fanfic! Hope you enjoy it!
Read on! ( I used to put that at the end of each authors note, but I kept forgetting. Hehehe.)
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Lily and James sat in Dumbledore's office, waiting for him to tell them what was going on.
Dumbledore took his time shutting the door, before turning slowly to face them.
"What I am about to tell you," he said calmly, "Will both shock you and seem utterly unbelievable. But I assure you that if you completely listen to what I have to say, it will make perfect sense."
Lily was clearly paying close attention, ready to listen to Dumbledore's explanation of so many strange happenings.
James, however, was busy picking some dirt form underneath his fingernails.
Lily shot him a glance, and elbowed him in the ribs.
"Yes, Mr. Potter," said smiled Dumbledore, "You too."
James looked embarrassed, and then proceeded to look at Dumbledore with frank curiosity.
Dumbledore took a deep breath, trying to find the simplest and clearest way to explain himself.
"I suppose I'd better start at the very beginning.
You two left Hogwarts many years ago, judging by this time. The future. Your future. Pretend that you are onlookers, looking into someone's else's fate..."
Ever so slowly, Lily and James's life story was told to them.
Their marriage.
The birth of their son Harry Potter.
Lord Voldemort.
Harry coming to Hogwarts.
Peter Pettigrew.
The death of Sirius Black.
After the end of the long story, there was a very long silence.
Dumbledore merely watched, and waited to see how Lily and James would take the news.
Finally, James broke the suffocating silence.
"You're mental."
Lily elbowed him again, but she was quite white.
"Ms. Evans," Dumbledore said gently, "I believe that you are the only one who has taken in the significance of this news?"
Lily said faintly, "Yes...I believe I have. This boy, Harry...does he resemble James at all?"
Dumbledore smiled sadly.
"Yes. Yes, he does. But he has your eyes."
Lily's brain came out of shock mode, and her memory snapped back into place.
"We saw him...him and a funny looking red head boy...that was....our son???"
"Yes." Dumbledore replied simply.
James's head whipped up, and he stared at Lily and Dumbledore.
"Whoa, whoa. Back up a bit. We have a son??? And our son is that weirdo who looks just like me???"
Lily, despite her extreme nerves, still managed to give him a withering look.
"James, think about what the Professor just told us. We're alive in the past. Well, where we were before the potion got stuffed up. But in the future, where our future son is, well, we're, well, dead. Lord Voldemort has killed us. And Sirius, well James, Sirius is dead too. Bellatrix Lestrange killed him. And Peter Pettigrew is a Death Eater. And Remus, well Remus is just....Remus, I guess. But life is harder for him now."
James looked at her funnily.
"How is this possible??? And even if this is true, which it can't be, how can you be so calm???" James imitated Lily's voice,
"Oh yeah James, Lord Voldemort is just going to kill us, yeah yeah yeah, and Peter Pettigrew's only joined the Death Eaters, bless his soul, and oh yeah James, we're married, we have a son, you know! And one more thing to make this all better! Your friend, Sirius Black has been murdered! Isn't that fantastic!" James finished off, arms flailing hysterically, his face betraying a mixture of complex emotions.
"James..." Lily tried weakly as James stormed out of Dumbledore's office.
Dumbledore sighed.
"Just let him go, Ms. Evans. I've informed all of the teachers of the mix up. They will not, well, try not to behave as if anything is different. If you happen to meet Harry, befriend him. But charm yourselves. Change your appearance. Harry has not had an easy life. The sight of his dead parents wandering around Hogwarts hay distress him. As for sleeping quarters, I would not advise the common room. You know the Room of Requirement, I believe?" Dumbledore's eyes twinkled.
"Crap," Lily thought, "The one time I sneak out of the common room with James and he knows about it..."
But she replied, "Yes, sir. But...a question."
Dumbledore inclined his head.
"Well, you know how you told us that we, umm, are murdered?"
Dumbledore nodded slowly.
"Well, does that mean that it's unstoppable? We can't do anything to stop it happening, can we? We can't be prepared?"
Dumbledore sighed heavily.
"I knew this question would come. And I must burden you with a heavy fact. No, Ms. Evans. You cannot change what is to be, or what was. Fate, unfortunate as it is, cannot be decided again. What happens happens. What doesn't, doesn't. I am sorry."
Lily tried to look brave.
"Yes, sir."
"Very well. I advise that you make yourself comfortable in the Room of Requirement until I recall how to reverse this side effect."
He ushered her out of his office.
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James was out of control, going everywhere and nowhere.
"Everything, it's ridiculous. Some stupid trick. Me, a father! And married! I'm not even out of school, dammit!"
At that moment, Harry rounded the corner and bashed into James.
"Oops! Sorry!" Harry began.
Then he looked at the person.
Harry gasped, and said, "Dad??"
James yelled, "NOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LEAVE ME ALONE!!!!!!!!!!! GO AWAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" and huffed off around the corner and out of sight.
Harry shook himself out of shock, and went off to find Ron.
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Ron and Melanie had been seeing a lot of each other since they first met, and they really seemed to hit it off. Today had been their first date.
They really enjoyed themselves, and Ron literally bounced off to find Harry and tell him about his date.
It took ages for him to find Harry, because Harry was looking for him as well, and they kept missing each other. (A/N: I have to bring Hermione back. She's kinda disappeared off the face of the earth.)
Finally they found each other, and Ron said ecstatically, "Harry guess what????"
And at the same time Harry said, "Ron, I gotta tell you something."
Ron REALLY wanted to tell Harry about his date, but he saw the look on Harry's face, and said, "Okay. You go first."
Harry said, "Ron, I saw my dad. Outside Dumbledore's office. I swear, it was him."
Ron took a deep breath, and said, "Harry, look. Dumbledore said that this would happen. Hallucinations and stuff. I know it's been hard for you mate, but really, well, it's time to let it go." Ron finished anxiously.
Harry sighed.
"Yeah. I guess you're right," he made himself grin, "So. Sorry, I interrupted you. How was your first date? At the age of seventeen?"
Ron punched him playfully on the arm, and
Soon, Harry was busy laughing and commenting on Ron's date, and is mind was taken off of his weird encounter.
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Lily Evans was furious. She was awaiting the arrival of a certain James Potter in the Room of Requirement.'
As soon as he entered, she shut her eyes and said in a deadly soft voice, "Shut the door."
James did.
"Come and sit down."
James did.
Lily let rip.
"HOW DARE YOU BEHAVE LIKE THAT IN FRONT OF THE HEADMASTER! WE GO TO HIM TO GET HELP, AND YOU BEHAVE LIKE AN OVERGROWN BABY WHO CAN'T ACCEPT FACTS!!! I AM JUST AS SCARED AS YOU, JAMES POTTER, BUT I DO NOT GO OFF MY HEAD AND START ACTING LIKE AN IDIOT! I SAT IN THAT OFFICE, KEEPING MY COOL AND LISTENING TO WHAT WE HAD TO DO, UNTIL THIS PROBLEM IS RESOLVED! HOW DARE YOU RUN OFF LIKE THAT! ANYONE COULD HAVE SEEN YOU! ANYONE! NOT ALL OF THE TEACHERS HAVE BEEN INFORMED, JAMES! TO A MERE ONLOOKER, IT SEEMS AS IF TWO PEOPLE HAVE RISEN FROM THE DEAD!"
When James looked shocked at the word dead, Lily explained. Or more like yelled a torrent of information at him.
"YES JAMES!!! HAD YOU BEEN LISTENING, YOU WOULD HAVE HEARD THAT LORD VOLDEMORT HAS MURDERED US! IN OUR FUTURE, LORD VOLDEMORT WILL KILL US. DO YOU THINK THAT YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE WHO IS HAVING A HARD TIME HANDLING THIS INFORMATION? I ACTUALLY LISTENED TO WHAT DUMBLEDORE HAD TO SAY! THIS IS A HUGE MESS THAT WE ARE IN, YOU KNOW! AND DO YOU THINK THAT RUNNING OFF IN A TEMPER HELPS ANYONE???? THINK, JAMES! WE HAVE A FUTURE SON RUNNING AROUND HOGWARTS!!!!!! THINK ABOUT THAT!!!!
AND WHEN LORD VOLDEMORT COMES TO KILL US, WE CANNOT BE PREPARED! DUMBLEDORE TOLD ME THAT! EVEN IF WE KNOW THAT HE IS COMING, WHAT HAPPENED IS WHAT WILL HAPPEN! IN THIS WORLD, JAMES, WE ARE DEAD! WE DON'T EXIST! AND NOTHING WE DO CAN PREVENT THAT FROM HAPPENING!"
Lily's anger was spent, and she collapsed on the floor sobbing.
James went and put his arms around her comfortingly, and she did not push him away.
"It's just so scary. We know what is going to happen in our future. And it is unstoppable."
James hugged her tighter.
"Well, at least I get to marry you."
Lily laughed through her tears.
"So you heard that bit, huh?"
James grinned.
"Yep!!!! And we still have lots of time to live. Our marauder motto. Live life to the fullest."
"I should have guessed."
James hesitated for a moment, and said, "Lily, I ran into that weirdo future son guy. He called me dad."
Lily said, "Dumbledore said that we can talk to him and stuff, but we have to charm ourselves into disguise."
James nodded.
"Okay. But isn't that a bit risky?"
Lily grinned.
"I never thought I would hear you say that. Aren't Marauder's meant to take risks?"
James nodded.
"Yep. Live life to the fullest."
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Bit of a crappy ending, but anyway.
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Thanx people who review my story.
Even though thirty reviews isn't too much, I still feel proud. Hehe.
