Just Joking: I have honestly never thought of that pairing though the thought is very intriguing……no. I'm glad you liked it, or, well I hope you liked it and no, I posted the chappie on the right fic.
Waytoobored: I know it's a bit confusing but no, you were not to discount the last three chapters. Actually, they work quite nicely into the newly-thought-up storyline. All will be revealed in time.
AzureSky123: I think your sentiment is shared with many other reviewers. Thanks for reviewing and I'm glad you liked the chappie.
Misfit2008: Yeah, it is a bit confusing. As for band camp, I thankfully play a non-marching band instrument and therefore do not have to endure said camp. I was a choir camp girl myself. Thanks for reviewing!
FlameofShadows: All will be revealed (raises eyebrows cryptically) I'm glad you thought it was well written and thank you for reviewing!
Kira6: Here's more for ya.
Boo26: I'm glad I updated it too. As for how long it is, I suppose it will go as long as I can still write it. Maybe I'll write it till the seventh book comes out; who knows? Thanks for reviewing.
A/N: Thanks so much to those of you who reviewed (glares at those braggarts who didn't). As to the rest of you, I don't want to have to sick my killer micro grater on you to say nothing of my fondant smoother-outer (don't know the technical term). Please REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! Now on with the ickle little ficey.
Harry's head felt fuzzy but not unpleasantly so. In fact, all things considered, he felt excellent almost elated. It was slightly begrudgingly that he even opened his eyes. With a diffident flicker, he began to take in the room…..and its inhabitants. A woman, tall and slender with twining red tresses and brilliant green eyes stood beside a tall man with messy black hair and eyes magnified by wire-rimmed spectacles. "G'mornin' Mum, Dad," Harry mumbled tiredly.
"Morning Harry!" James replied with a grin. Harry pushed himself into a sitting position and looked around. The room was the same it had been the night before though he could now take in some of it's subtler facets. He saw, for instance, that his dresser was littered with photographs, old Dailey Prophet's, letters, quills, Quidditch Monthly's, candy wrappers, etc.
"Not a very neat bloke I take it," he chuckled quickly joined by Lily and James albeit a bit more nervously than he. Clearly his speech the night before had unnerved them slightly. He couldn't blame them really; it was quite a blow having a person who looked like their son show up from an alternate universe. It was even more off-setting to have this "imposter" claim to be able to fell the darkest wizard of the age.
"Do you want breakfast…dear?" Lily's smile was a bit strained but not entirely insincere. Harry nodded slightly. Something about his sleep had calmed him. He seemed more settled and grounded than before. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and found the floor. He followed his two parents from "his" room. They walked down the stairs, past the living room and into a bright and airy kitchen inhabited by none other than Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Madeleine Potter. The three of them greeted Harry with warm smiles though their eyes betrayed them.
Harry didn't really mind. It felt very nice to be with a family of sorts. He sat at the long bar and James passed him a plate piled high with eggs, bacon, toast, fruit and a small pile of a white substance that was beggaring description. He grabbed a fork and dove in with vigor. James seemed to take a bit of satisfaction in this, denoted by his smirk. "You're too thin," he observed to which Harry snorted. Of course he was thin! He had spent the previous year doing nothing but training and fighting. That equation had little room for things like food and sleep for that matter.
After breakfast Harry stood and announced he would be taking a shower (a very badly needed shower). He found his way to his room and collected a pair of kaki shorts and a Chudley Cannons T-shirt. Finding the adjacent bathroom quite well equipped with towels, shampoo, soap, etc, Harry looked around for the nozzles. There were none, how puzzling. He searched for a full five minutes before conceding defeat. He skipped down the stairs and found his parents, Sirius, and Remus deep in conversation around the stove (coffee, think coffee). Madeleine had received an urgent floo and was off to chat it up with a school friend.
Harry coughed loudly in a very Umbridge fashion and the four adults jumped. Harry looked between their guilty faces, studying each before speaking his query. "Um, well, I was just wondering how you turn on the shower. It's a bit more complicated than I had wagered" The room erupted in laughter causing a deep blush to rise in Harry's face.
"I-I'm sorry, it's just that you looked s-s-so serious!" Remus managed between spasms of laughter. He dissolved again onto James' shoulder. Lily was the only one who looked even slightly apologetic.
"We're not laughing at you Harry, we're just-"
"What! Of course we're laughing at him!" Sirius exclaimed, looking between Lily who was glaring at him powerfully, and Harry who had begun to smile a little though the blush hadn't yet died away.
"Don't mind them, I'll help you," Lily exclaimed, steering Harry quickly from the kitchen. He could still hear the loud guffaws wafting up the stairs when the two walked into the bathroom. "You just step into the shower and say 'Harry On!'," Lily explained, giving Harry a swift pat on the shoulder. "I'll leave you to it shall I?"
"Thanks," Harry said as she walked toward the door. She turned on her heal and smiled.
"You're quite welcome." Harry did as she said and was pleasantly surprised to find the temperature exactly to his liking. Indeed, it was so nice he stayed in for a half hour. It was with reluctance that he stepped out at all, finding a soft, warmed towel waiting for him. He pulled on his clothes and brushed his teeth (it was his tooth brush wasn't it?).
When he got down stairs it was nearing noon and the group had moved to the living room. "Haven't any of you got work?" Harry asked. James looked up.
"We've more pressing matters." James' look pierced through Harry with razor sharp precision. Harry recognized it as Legilimency and returned the favor silently. James seemed to sense it and donned a look of surprise. If he was frightened he didn't admit it though as nothing was said on the subject.
"So, I suppose you all want to know how I'm going to defeat Voldemort and yes I am going to defeat him," He added as James looked about to interject. "I'll need a bit of help from Dumbledore and, Sirius, are you currently in contact with your brother?" Sirius looked up in surprise.
"Regulus?" Harry nodded.
"No, he's a Death Eater, why do ask." There was a definite loathing in his Godfather's voice but Harry chose to ignore it.
"I would beg to differ and he is an vital part to Voldemort's defeat. We'll need to call Dumbledore or would it be easier to visit him?" Lily, James, Sirius, and Remus seemed a bit shocked by this new, authoritative Harry.
"I-I'll floo him," James mumbled.
"Jolly good, I'll fill you all in shall I? I'm afraid that I left out a fairly large chunk of the "death to Voldemort epic". You see, before I could go for Voldemort himself I had to reunite him with parts of his soul which he had placed in several objects. Have any of you ever heard of something called a Horacrux?" He received blank stairs and so went on. "You see, Voldemort has always been obsessed with immortality but how to get at it? He could use an elixir of life but then he would be dependant on a substance separate from himself. How could he remain immortal utilizing only those things which were connected to him? The answer was hidden in the Dark Arts, the most evil of all magical practices, horacruxes. He could chip away at his soul through killing another and housing the fragment of his soul in an object. For instance, part of his soul is in a diary of him in his school days. Though this had been done before he wanted more. Instead of splitting his soul in two he decided on the number seven, the most powerful magical number."
"He has six separate horacruxes, the seventh still in him. One, as I said before, was in a diary, another in a locket which belonged to his mother, an ancient relic passed down through the Slytherin line; there is a piece housed in an old cup of Helga Hufflepuff's. One is a ring which belonged to his grandfather, another Slytherin relic; another is in his snake Nagini. The last is the Mirror of Erised, a picture of what he wanted, immortality, power. Before I could extinguish Voldemort's treasured life I had to first destroy those things which housed pieces of Voldemort's soul. This made Voldemort human, or at the very least mortal again. That is what we have to do again."
Harry finished his story to aghast looks and gaping jaws. He, slightly full of himself,smiled around at the four as a proud teacher surveys a set of awe-struck students. "W-wow," Remus stuttered finally.
"I think we should get Dumbledore over here. Maybe he knows a bit more about, about this whole, well, whatever it is," James said slowly, still in a state of shock. Harry nodded his approval. There was no doubt in Harry's mind that Dumbledore already had guessed at the Horacruxes though James, Lily, Sirius, and Remus still seemed to need some confirmation.
The rest of the day was spent planning (and explaining). Dumbledore filled in Harry's understanding of the current climate and Harry in turn filled in the holes Dumbledore had yet to fill. By dinner they all seemed to understand mostly everything and Harry was satisfied with their plan. After already defeating Voldemort once it was a less daunting task.
James, who, oddly enough, was a very good cook, prepared a scrumptious dinner of grilled flounder and roasted potatoes. Madeleine joined them though she kept casting furtive glances at the fire place. "What are you looking at ladybug?" James asked finally. "Is there something a miss with the hearth?" Madeleine blushed ruby red.
"N-no Dad, I'm not looking at anything." She wasn't looking at anyone though all eyes had turned to her.
"Right, expecting a call?" Sirius asked, nudging her in the side. Even Dumbledore looked amused. Madeleine's blush deepened, confirming Sirius' suspicion.
"Who is it?" Remus inquired.
"J-just a friend."
"A friend? Which friend?" James' seemed to be raising his guard.
"J-just a f-f-friend from school," Madeleine repeated, her voice even fainter than before.
"This friend wouldn't by chance be a boy now would it?" Remus' voice raised considerably.
"I-it could," Madeleine looked up gaining a bit of confidence. Her stare seemed to dare anyone to say anything.
"You aren't supposed to be getting calls from boys!" Sirius exclaimed. "I thought we made that clear. James, what is the meaning of this," Harry snorted into his pumpkin juice, bad move. Sirius whirled around to face him. "You think this is funny do you?" Harry shook his head vigorously. "That's right, it's not funny at all! Madeleine Potter is not to date or speak with any boys ever. She is to remain innocent, naïve and above all else chaste!" Sirius was ranting now and was drawn out by Lily's derisive snort.
"That's enough. I will not have you three acting like over zealous guard dogs. If Madeleine sees fit to take call from boys she has every right to-"
"Double-crosser! She's my daughter too you know. I thought we agreed I would handle Maddie's love life," James was red faced and had his dander fully up. Crossing Madeleine Potter's path, Harry thought, was very dangerous with three trained aurors ready to pounce.
The argument continued for the better part of an hour ending in Madeleine skulking up to her room (James warning her not to try and floo anyone as he would be watching the network). Harry also retired, a pleasant feeling in the pit of stomach, an indescribable feeling, home. He fell to his pillow with a pleasant thump, sure of sweet dreams and lovely tomorrows.