Chapter 3

All through breakfast Harry did not speak, rather enjoying just looking at his family. His parents were teasing each other. Lily was just saying something about James' hair when he seized her and planted a long kiss on her mouth. Blushing, Harry hastily looked to his brother and sister instead. Mark was making a mess of the leftovers in his plate, while Erin looked tired and grumpy. Her mouth was moving and she looked at Harry as she spoke, but he wasn't registering a word of what she was saying.

"Harry, were you even listening to a word I just said?" she snapped. Harry felt a strong surge of affection for her and was irresistibly reminded of the tone Ginny often took when talking to Ron. Ginny… what was she doing right now? Was she worried about Harry? Surely Ron and Hermione would've noticed his absence by now? And what about the Harry that Harry was now replacing?

Harry suddenly realized that he couldn't go on like this, pretending to go along with this lifestyle.

But one day won't hurt… thought Harry, thinking of Sirius. He just wanted to see his godfather before thinking about returning to his world.

Thirty minutes later, Harry, Mark and James were fully dressed and ready to leave.

Erin had retreated to the attic, where her room was, apparently.

"Right," said Lily, hurrying over to them, holding a plastic bag, "James, here are the sandwiches, make sure you remember to eat if the match goes on for too long- Harry, watch over Mark- Mark, hold Harry's hand while you wait in line to get into the stadium, I don't want you getting lost like last time."

She kissed the little boy, hugged Harry and rushed away again, giving James a mischievous glance, but he grabbed her and planted another kiss on her mouth. Mark made a sound of disgust and covered his eyes and Harry laughed. A minute later, Lily had pushed them all outside and shut the door.

James lifted Mark onto his shoulders and they started walking. Jogging to keep up with his dad's long and fast strides, Harry asked him "Where are we going?"

"To the park, Kirk said he'd planted an empty box of candies in the bushes as the portkey."

While they walked, Harry made sure to stay a step behind so that he could look at his father. He looked much more mature than the boy Harry had seen in Snape's pensieve. He wasn't wrinkled just yet, and his hair was as black as it had always been. Harry looked at Mark wistfully and wondered if, when he was small, his father carried him like that, too.

They came to a sudden stop and Harry looked around him. They seemed to be in what looked like a muggle park. A few people were playing with their dogs, while others sat on benches while reading the newspaper. They were standing next to one of these people and Harry noted with surprise that the picture on the front page was moving.

"Hello, Audrey. Anything interesting?" asked James, gesturing to the paper.

"Hey there, James. Not a damn thing." She answered, flipping a page without even looking up.

James winked at Harry and pulled him by the shoulder towards the bushes behind the bench. He put Mark down, much to the young boy's chagrin, and started probing the shrubs. Harry stuck his hands in too and felt around for a box.

"Found it!" he exclaimed a few moments later.

"Good," said James, taking the box from Harry. "Now- he looked at his watch- we have a six minutes before it activates." He looked around and muttered "I'm surprised at Candice, thought she and Sirius would be here before us."

No sooner had he said this than a woman seemed to be jogging towards them. She was closely followed by a dark haired man. Harry's heart dropped to his knees. It was Sirius.

The woman reached them, gasping and panting, trying to catch her breath. Sirius was there a few seconds later, trying not to look as if the run had affected him, though he was quite red in the face. He did not seem to notice that Harry had swayed dangerously at the sight of him.

"Sorry… James…" panted the woman, still trying to catch her breath. "I… went… out… for an hour… to… buy… food… and I… told Sirius… to be ready… when I get back… Only… he was still… sleeping… when I got back," she finished, glaring at Sirius.

"Well, mate, you're not the only one who slept in this morning, I thought Harry was going to make us miss the match- you should've seen him, I thought you'd confunded him…" James trailed off, suddenly noticing the change of atmosphere. His eldest son looked as if he was fighting to stay on his feet. He was as pale as ghost and had the same expression on his face as the one he was wearing in the morning while looking at James.

"All right there, Harry?" asked Sirius, a crease forming between his eyebrows. He put his hand on Harry's shoulder and looked to James. "Prongs, what have you been feeding my grandson? Were you cooking this morning?"

Harry suddenly looked slightly insane. His eyes were considerably red. He swallowed several times. Then, very suddenly, he seemed to fall into his godfather. His head crushing onto Sirius' chest, he hugged him as if his life depended on it. Sirius, exchanging a shocked and worried look with James, wrapped his arms around Harry. A few seconds later, Harry's legs seemed to give out on him and he slumped to the ground. Sirius grabbed him before his head hit the earth.

"Right," said James, pushing the portkey back to its place in the bushes. "We're going back to Godric's Hollow. Something's wrong with Harry.

"Enervate."

Harry eyes fluttered open slowly. There were a couple of faces peering down at him worriedly. His mother's and father's faces were mere inches away from his, their eyes wide open and worried. Sirius had soon pushed his face in between theirs and was peering in much the same way at Harry.

"Harry, my sweetheart, darling, are you alright?" asked Lily.

Harry nodded feebly. He tried getting to his feet. He hadn't felt this weak in a long time. The shock of seeing Sirius looking so NORMAL was too much for Harry. His godfather's face looked full and happy. His hair was short and clean. He wasn't terribly skinny. And his eyes… there was no trace of madness or sadness in them. Harry had felt then more fully than ever before the shock of losing Sirius sweep over him. Never in his world would he ever be able to look at his godfather, to speak to him, to ask him for advice… Seeing him there had made Harry feel the ache in his chest more painfully than ever as he realized that that hole could never be filled by anyone, for all the parent figures in his life were dead. Harry's eyes burned again at these thoughts and he fought to keep the tears at bay.

Lily seemed to have noticed this, for she leaned in toward her husband and whispered something in his ear. He whispered something back, but she glared at him and he took his best friend by the elbow and left Harry's bedroom, closing the door behind him.

Lily pushed Harry aside gently and lied down next to him. She put her hand around his shoulder and whispered. "What is it, Harry? You know you can tell me anything. Has something happened yesterday between you and Ginny when you were over at the Burrow?"

Harry blinked and he asked hoarsely "Ginny?" Were he and Ginny together in this world? Well, it made sense, thought Harry. There was no reason for them to be apart if Voldemort wasn't around. Harry's ache seemed to intensify tenfold at the thought of Ginny. He missed her. They hadn't spoken since Bill and Fleur's marriage. Harry had told her he'd rather they didn't speak; it was too hard.

"Harry, what is it?" his mother prodded.

It was pure agony, lying there, next to his mother, as she held him. Harry then fully understood the meaning of what she'd sacrificed for him. He'd never really questioned the fact his mother had given up her life for him. It seemed natural for any loving mother to do so. But now he was witnessing the life she could've had. But she had consciously put herself between Harry and Voldemort and had begged to be killed instead. Even when she'd thought Harry stood no chance, and that she could keep on living, she chose to die, rather than go on without him. It was in that moment that Harry fully comprehended just how strong his mother's love for him was, and he turned the necessary inch, enclosed his arms around his mother, and buried his face in her shoulder, resisting the urge to howl with pain. It was so unfair that he could never have this comfort. Ron did not know how lucky he was, to have a mother such as Molly. None of the Weasleys knew… He thought he ought to tell them to appreciate their mother more when he got back…

He did not know for how long they lay there, his mother stroking his hair and kissing the top of his head lovingly. "There, there… it's alright, Harry. Whatever it his that happened between you and Ginny couldn't have been that serious. I remember when I was your age; every fight seemed like the end of the world. If someone were to tell me back then that James would be the father of my children, I would've jinxed them," she murmured, shaking her head. Harry gave a shaky laugh, remembering his parents in Snape's pensieve.

"Mum, there's something I need to tell you."

Oooo, what'll happen next? Review to find out! Bwahahahaha :P Well, you'll find out anyway, eventually... When I get to write the next chapter... I need some inspirition... :D