James and Lily Potter and Sirius Black were looking down at him.

The two groups of people stared at each other for a moment in silence.

Lily was the first to break it. She tore herself away from James and Sirius and stumbled towards Harry, hugging him like she hadn't seen him in years.

'How did you ... Where is ... Oh, Harry!'

Harry was incapable of speaking as Lily led him into the kitchen, followed by James and Sirius and sat him down at the table. Sirius looked the same as Harry remembered him, only his hair was fuller, his hair was short and clean and he didn't have that empty look in his eyes that he had acquired from Azkaban.

But James and Lily ... They looked older. Harry had only ever seen photos of them but they definitely looked older; by at least fifteen years. But his parents weren't even meant to be alive ...

Harry noticed the three adults watching him; all, apparently, waiting for an explanation. Lily had tears in her eyes as she watched him expectantly.

'Erm ... hi?' he tried, not quite knowing what they wanted him to say. And, after all, it was only Sirius he was on speaking terms with.

It wasn't what they were waiting for. Sirius exploded.

'You've let everyone think for the last twenty-four hours that you were dead, worrying your mother and father and myself sick, and all you can say by way of explanation is, 'Erm, hi?" -!'

Harry let this outburst wash over him as he sat silent, trying to figure things out. Half an hour ago he had been inside Hogwarts, an orphan with no godfather, but now Sirius was sitting in front of him, in a house that was seemingly nowhere near Hogwarts, and demanding an explanation for why Harry himself wasn't dead. It was very confusing.

'I - I didn't die,' he said feebly.

'Surprising, isn't it? We gathered that,' said Sirius sarcastically.

'But ... you did,' said Harry, more to himself than the adults grouped around him. 'All of you died. So how come ... Unless ...' His brain was starting to work faster again, recovering from the shock. Unless he had died and his parents were here because he was in an afterlife or something.

'Unless what, Harry?' asked Lily softly, never taking her eyes off her son.

Her voice brought Harry to his senses. He pinched himself hard, and it hurt. Not a dream. He was perfectly willing to rule out death, as well.

So how did we get to be here, then? his mind asked. The cupboard! He had to see if he could get back through the cupboard! He leapt up from his chair, startling the adults.

'I want to show you something,' he said breathlessly. 'It'll explain everything.'

He shot out of the room, only halting to check if they were following him. He took the stairs two at a time, and ran into the room that he first arrived in. He pulled the cupboard door open slowly, hoping to see the cupboard door at the back. At least that would explain something.

His parents and Sirius reached the bedroom as he opened the cupboard. Harry had his eyes closed, hoping to see the door. He reached into the cupboard and parted the clothes slowly. He opened his eyes ...

The door was still there. The dark wood and heavy handle weren't figments of his imagination. His face broke into a smile and he turned to face the adults.

'There,' he said. 'That's where I came from. I'm not -'

'What do you mean, that's where you came from, Harry?' said James, speaking to his son for the first time. 'The cupboard?'

The three of them looked at each other. It was obvious what was going through their minds; concussion, or something worse. His mind might have been severely damaged from the spell that hit him.

Harry frowned at them. He glanced at the door set back in the cupboard. It was clearly visible through the clothes hanging over it. Something dawned on Harry. They couldn't see it.

'Can't you see it?' he stammered. 'That door -'

The adults stared at him, then James moved forwards and looked inside the cupboard.

'I can't see any door,' he confirmed.

Harry's eyes widened.

'I'm not imagining it!' he said desperately. 'Look!' He pushed past James and stepped into the cupboard. He took hold of the large handle set into the left side of the door; it felt cool to the touch. This more than anything reassured him. He twisted the handle and heaved the door open. It swung round and the dark mouth of the corridor appeared, waiting for him to step inside.

Once more Harry turned to his waiting parents.

James was still stood to the side, watching him. Sirius and Lily were stood where he had left them, and all of them had a worried look on their face. Lily was shaking her head.

'I suppose you'll be telling us you've just pulled the door open, and there's a passage behind it,' said Sirius.

Harry beamed at his godfather.

'Yes! I came through that passage from Hogwarts. I'm not the Harry you know. In my world, none of you are alive, and I've never even spoken to my parents.'

He knew it sounded harsh, but he had to make them understand. All three of them looked startled now.

'None of us can see this passage, Harry,' said his mother. 'It's quite difficult to believe you.'

Harry looked at her for a long moment. Suddenly deciding what he had to do, he strode back into the cupboard. He reached for James's hand as he passed. He didn't know if he would be able to come back into this world again if he returned to the black corridor, and he wanted some anchorage.

Taking a deep breath he stepped into the cool of the passage. He felt suddenly calm again. He turned and saw that his arm was still inside the cupboard, and his hand was still clinging to his father's. James, Lily and Sirius all looked shocked, and Harry could see why. If they really couldn't see the door or the passage, it must look really strange for him to have disappeared into the wall and left his arm behind.

James gave Harry's arm a tug, and he stepped out of the shadows of the corridor into the bright bedroom.

'When I was at Hogwarts, I just stepped into that corridor, not knowing where it would take me,' Harry explained. 'I never expected it to lead me out of school; I know all those passages, and I doubt whether you lot found it when you were at school. It doesn't show on the Marauder's Map for sure -'

This stirred a reaction from both James and Sirius. James gasped and Sirius jumped and they stared at each other.

'How do you know about that?' demanded James, the first to recover.

Harry felt he had struck gold.

'The Weasley twins gave it to me in my third year - and Lupin said it had been confiscated, presumably while you were still at school. You never told the-me-you-know about it, did you? How else would I know? I'm telling the truth!' he finished triumphantly.

One by one, Lily, James and Sirius nodded their heads.

Harry suddenly felt exhausted. All that effort to make them understand ...

'Can we talk about this in the morning?' he pleaded. 'I'm shattered.'

Once they had shown him round his room - 'This feels really strange!' commented James - Harry pulled the curtains and got into his new bed.

As he lay waiting for sleep to come, he saw the Quidditch posters plastered over the walls. Quidditch! He had a match on Sunday! He supposed that time in this world moved at the same speed as that in his own world, although it must be three or four months behind, as it seemed to be summer here, when he had left Hogwarts in November. Which meant that he had just over twenty-four hours to decide what he was going to do. He didn't want to lose Sirius and James and Lily just when he'd found them once more ...

xxx

Disclaimer: Would that I own'd these characters. It is my deepest regret that I don't.

Ciao! I thought I'd leave my disclaimer till the end, so it didn't destroy the dramatic effect!!!

Anyway, thanks to EVERYONE who has reviewed my story so far;
Sincerity Inkwell - I accidentally deleted your review while I was getting used to the system! It was nothing personal, honest!
The Reader of Books - I thought it was a good cliffhanger!!
Padfoot1987 - heehee! Thanks for forgiving me!
desipoplover13 - I UPDATEDUPDATEDUPDATED!
TekvahAriel - There was a reason behind my madness! They HAD to shout 'Harry!'
Loki Mischeif-Maker - Is IC In Character? I wasn't sure ... But thanks loads, anyway!
And I suppose I should say thanks to Alice ... if I have to ... :-S

If you haven't already, go visit the Daily Prophet, Lonely Hearts by Padfoot, Prongs and Moony. It's a lot easier to read than this, and it IS funny, I promise! (If you didn't already know, I am Moony, sub-author of the Lonely Hearts!)