A/N: I own nothing, thank you to all who reviewed! I appreciated them all they made my day, (smiling like an idiot.) PLS KEEP THEM COMING. I'm sorry for how late this chapter is, but something happened with my account and I could not log on for a couple of days, and my mind could not focus on anything else, let alone writing this chapter. ENJOY! This maybe the last chapter for a few weeks, going on vacation and don't know when the next one will be posted, I'll try to write one more before I go away. SORRY!
A/N: Side note Lily was born into a family of wizards, and she was never a muggle, at least in this story.
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The ceiling in the great hall was littered with stars that caressed the blackness of the night sky; it was a picture of absolute beauty.
James' heaved a sigh of contentment. He had no idea why he would find this picture satisfying, but nonetheless he did.
The great hall of Hogwarts was starting to fill up with a mass of black robed students all talking excitedly.
"Ahh it's the first day of school." He thought out loud. He looked at the Gryffindor table instinctively hoping to get a glimpse of himself.
The students diverged amongst the four-house tables, ready for the feast that would take place once the sorting was done. A few late stragglers entered the room, but still there was no sign of him or in fact anybody else he was friends with.
"Where am I?" James pondered. "Dumbledore must be up to his old tricks, I can't believe I fell for that lie, this is probably his pensieve that I'm in." He tilted his head up to the head table and when he spotted the person that he was looking for mouthed the words I hate you.
The man that he mouthed the words to did not seem to acknowledge him in the slightest. He seemed almost as if he were in his own world.
"I HATE YOU!" This time James shouted it at Dumbledore, and it felt good. He likde being in the pensieve where you could do or say anything and nobody would pay the slightest bit of mind to the new person in the room.
"I HATE YOU, I HATE YOU, I HATE YOU, I HATE YOU!" Over and Over James kept repeating the words feeling better with every shout that came out of his mouth. He did not notice that everything was still and silent, and it was only his voice that rang throughout his ears.
Everybody's eyes were transfixed on the double doors that led into the entranceway of Hogwarts. It slowly opened to reveal a thirty odd year old Professor McGonagall, leading a long line of scared looking first years.
His stomach clenched as he noticed three boys near the front of the line, and a redheaded girl right beside them. Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, James Potter, and Lily Evans, and further behind near the back of the room was an almost exact replica of the man that he was now, Severus Snape.
The first year students trudged up to the teacher's table in front of everyone, they all looked apprehensively at the stool and the sorting hat and the sorting hat that was sitting on top it, waiting for Professor McGonagall to start the roll call so they could be sorted into their houses.
He watched the three marauders observantly. James took in the pensieve James. He looked just like James now remembered. Unruly hair that fell almost down to his intense brown eyes, a muscular body that would be great for quidditch, he was short enough to be the great seeker that he would turn out to be, and his aura exuded arrogance.
"This still doesn't seem right." He said to himself, waiting and watching to see what would happen.
The pensieve James now noticed the young redheaded girl that was beside him. He whispered something into Sirius' ear, it was so quiet that nobody could hear, not even Sirius, who seemed baffled at first, and then broke into a huge grin. Sirius nodded his head enthusiastically.
"Hey Evans." He heard pensieve James shout.
"What do you want, now?" Lily sighed warily.
"Catch." Pensieve James threw something at her, and she let out a loud shriek, and threw the thing in her hand in the air.
James saw what his younger self gave her it was a live mouse. An eruption of laughter echoed through the great hall as people laughed at the new girls shriek of terror. James felt sorry for her; he wished his younger self was not conceited. "So this is why she probably did not start liking James until her seventh year. Oh well, he, I mean I deserved it."
The young girl, whose eyes shone with tears, was suddenly turning a dark shade of red. "POTTER, HOW DARE YOU! WAIT UNTIL I WRITE TO YOUR PARENTS!"
This time more laughter rang through the hall, as they all watched the young boy being yelled at. James could not help laughing along with them, he, after all deserved it.
"Ahh, Evans, you're still sore about the whole lake thing right? At the cottage?"
"Why what happened at the cottage?" Sirius laughed.
"THAT is none of your business, Black." She marched closer to the head table, ignoring the sniggering coming from behind her.
"So what did happen mate?" Sirius asked again to pensieve James.
"Well, my parents and her parents rented a cottage this summer and when we got there…"
James did not find out what happened when they got there because the next instant flashes started appearing before his eyes. And the scene changed into something new.
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This time James did nothing, but stand in the corner observing the vision that surrounded him.
"We will all come to order." The man in the purple robes rasped out, as he looked down in a crowd of about two hundred people. "Today I bring some good news with me. It appears that we finally have one up against Voldemort."
"DON'T say that name!" Someone in the background hissed at Albus Dumbledore.
"I apologize, but this is absurd. You are fighting a man yet you fear his name. His name is nothing to fear and soon he will meet his downfall."
All the members of the order looked around anxiously at one another, anticipating how the Dark Lord could be defeated, and soon. It was a little hard for them to believe that there was away.
Some of the Order members snorted with laughter, others were whispering in hushed voices. News like this was very rare and usually was not so grand as the demise of the Dark Lord.
"So Albus what is your secret weapon that will destroy you – know – who?" Frank Longbottom called from across the room.
Albus rolled his eyes. He finally learned that no matter how much preaching he could do there was no way that the Order members would use Voldemort's name.
"A spy." He claimed clearly so everyone would hear.
This announcement brought a new wave of chaotic noise throughout the cramped room.
As people were shouting, arguing, and lost in their own thoughts they did not notice that man that was entering the room. The man was wearing dark robes and they billowed as he went to stand beside Dumbledore. His face was dark and his greasy hair ran down his face menacingly.
However there was one person in the room that seemed to notice the stranger's appearance. "What in Merlin's name is he doing here?" James bellowed with a look of pure disgust written all over his face.
Everyone in the room went silent from that shout, now it seemed that they all looked at the new member of the Order of the Phoenix.
Severus Snape studied James Potter matching his expression for one of disgust as each glared against one another.
"That ugly git is a death eater." Sirius interrupted the silence. "He can't be trusted Albus."
"I am aware of his station, thank you Sirius. And yes he can be trusted. I have spoken with him and he is very willing to help our cause."
"How can you believe him?" Remus asked quietly. He was not going to act like his friends were doing. He considered Snape carefully, and made up his mind. He agreed with his friends that this man could not be trusted.
"I have a reason for everything. I have a reason for everything that I do, and mine and his reason does not concern any of you. It is between Severus and me. I expect you to treat him like any other member and do not tell anyone about this. I need it kept quiet so long as Voldemort does not hear. Is this understood?"
Two hundred people nodded their assent to their leader.
"Fine then this meeting is adjourned."
"Why don't we invite Malfoy next time. Make the Order known to all Death Eaters."
"Mr. Black, I heard that." Dumbledore said reaching the three men along with Severus. "Please try to put your differences aside and learn to trust each other. Severus is going to be playing a crucial part for us that could eventually bring on his own death. Consider that before you all make assumptions."
"Fine." Sirius mumbled.
"Now why don't we all shake hands, like civil grown men would do?" Dumbledore smirked.
James, Sirius, Remus, and Severus shook hands not knowing that it was going to bond them to a very strong friendship until they met their untimely deaths.
"So that's how it happened." James said thoughtfully to himself. Before he had more time to contemplate on anything else the memory blurred and he was thrown into a new one.
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The hospital room at St. Mungo's was white and dreary. It would have been almost depressing if it were not for the flowers that ran along the windowsill and nightstand, occupying every available space by the bed.
There were five occupants in the room that made it even smaller. They all seemed happy and content except for the one in the bed. She seemed scared. Her pale face was beaded with sweat, her emerald green eyes were weary with worry and tiredness, and she could not stop shaking.
"I want to see him." She cried. "He needs to be ok."
"Hey, Lils. He'll be fine." James pulled her hair back from her face, the sweat making it stick to her.
As the door opened to the room, all heads turned to see who the intruder was. Severus had pulled out his wand ready to hex anyone who dared entered the room without invitation. Sirius was already on alert as well. The only one's who were acting calm was Peter, and Remus. Remus for reasons that he knew his friends were overreacting, and Peter because he did not care what happened to the little brat.
Peter was only there because he was to report to the Dark Lord everything that went on between his so called friends, and he figured Severus was doing the same thing. He leant over and carefully whispered, "In all reality I really hope the boy does not come back."
Severus wanted to snarl and grab Pettigrew and throw him out of the window. He just sneered though, because he knew that Peter believed that he was only friends with the Potter's because of Voldemort's order, and he did not want his position as a spy given away.
All Peter knew was that Severus was acting as a double agent on behalf of the Dark Lords orders; he had missed the introduction meeting of Severus' into the order.
Sirius and the medi – witch came back into the room holding a small bundle in her arms, she presented it to the mother in waiting. "It was a close call. Mrs. Potter, but you're son is a strong fighter."
Lily hugged her new son close to her. She smiled as she pulled the blankets away from his face and kissed the top of his head. The new baby hair was fine, and soft like silk. He was precious.
"He looks like James." Sirius said.
"With one exception." Severus butted in. "He has Lily's eyes."
They all looked at the new baby boy. He was truly a miracle, he came out with the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck, and almost did not survive due to suffocation and now here he was yawning and trying to open his eyes up. He did not succeed, his tiny face just scrunched up in frustration and he fell asleep listening to the soothing voices that went on all around him.
"Hey did you two choose a name for him yet?" Peter asked, trying to get into an excited mood. He found it very difficult to say the least.
"I wanted to call him Sirepese." James stated seriously.
"You're joking right? Tell me you're joking." Sirius said through laughter, rolling on the floor and clutching his stomach.
"I am serious."
"No I am Sirius, you're nuts, if you're going to call your son that."
"It is the first two letters in all of your names, I thought it would be nice."
"Don't worry. I told him if we named him that then I would divorce him within a second." Lily looked amused and horrified at the idea of her son being named Sirepese. "I mean it's not even a name."
"So what are you guys going to name him?" Severus asked again, curiosity getting the better of him.
Lily spoke quietly and shyly, she knew what she wanted to call her son, the moment that the medi – witch brought him back to her. "I want to call him Harry."
"Why Harry?" Remus asked her.
"Because I have a feeling he is going to be a powerful man one day, and Harry means protector and power. My son already fought for his life, and I know he's going to do something great one day."
"Alright Lily if that's what you want to call him. We'll name him Harry. Happy Birthday Harry Potter." James also leaned down and kissed his son on his small cheek.
"That doesn't seem right. Harry Potter seems like it's missing something. I want to add James as his middle name after your father. Harry James Potter. Perfect in everyway."
Harry gurgled in his mother's arms as if in consent with his name. Everybody laughed, except for Peter.
"Sorry can't stay, got to go do something for Dumbledore and the Order." Peter got up from his chair made his goodbyes and left the room.
"He's been acting weird lately." Sirius said taking the small bundle from it's sleeping mother.
"Ignore him, he's always been a bit jittery. Maybe he's got a new lady friend." James laughed and looked down at his son.
"Hey James. He's all yours mate." Sirius passed Harry off to his father.
"Why I thought you liked him." James teased Sirius.
"Oh I do, but not when he poops." Sirius grinned a toothy grin, and looked at the shocked expression on his friends face.
"What do I do? I've never changed a diaper before."
"There's always a first for everything." Remus said.
"Oh give him here." Lily cried, she once again took her baby and changed his diapers.
"Oh Sirius, we were wondering if you would do us the honour of becoming Harry's Godfather?" James asked his friend.
"Are you kidding I would love to." He jumped up and down in his seat. "You're son is going to be so spoiled."
"Hey congrats Sirius." Remus said down heartened. He knew that Sirius and James were closer, but it was still a slap to his face.
"Hey Rem, me and Lily were wondering as well if you and Severus would like to be honorary Godfathers to Harry. I know we can only name one, but we'd like it if you guys would stand for Harry as well."
"If I can't be first I would love to be second."
"Who says you get to be second?" Severus drawled, scowling.
"Because I've been his friend longer than you."
"Hey all three of you are equal, we could not decide so it would be Sirius' name down as Harry's Godfather, but all in all all three of you would be equals."
"Agreed." They said simultaneously.
"What about Peter?" Remus asked, remembering the lumpy boy they considered a friend.
"Truth be told, you were right the first time. He has been acting weird, lately. And for the first time I just want this between the three of you."
James felt the rush as the vision once more slipped from his view, and proceeded onto another one.
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The last memory left him angry and worried. Angry because he could not warn those people in the room of Pettigrew's betrayal, and worried for every single one of those lives. Out of all of them there was only Himself, Remus, and Harry their protector left, and who knew how long the rest would remain alive.
James was lost in his thoughts that he did not even notice that people were having a heated argument.
"Do I even get a say in this?" An angry voice shouted out.
"Be quiet James. This does not concern you." Severus glared at his friend.
"How can this not concern me? You've just told me Voldemort has found out about our hiding place, and now he's after Harry, Lily, and myself. Albus, help me out here, please." He begged.
"Severus is right. Let us work this out first, and then you will get your say."
"Lily has already agreed to it Albus. I have told her and she said as long as we are careful and none of us would get hurt she'd be willing to go along."
"So then it's settled and you're sure about this."
"I have never been more sure about anything in my life. Sir."
"James forgive us for what we will have to do to you." The old mans eyes were clouded with sorrow. He did not want to do it, but Severus had assured them all that he would be able to stop Voldemort when the time came. And he believed the man.
"I said no. I flatly refuse to do this. I am not going to risk Severus' life for mine. We can set up the fidelius charm again."
"No we can't there is not enough time to do it. This will be easier."
"You can not go against me. I WON'T DO IT! ABSOLUTELY NOT!"
"Stupefy." Dumbledore said the words, and James' stiff body hit the floor.
"Get him up onto the chair and restrain him. We don't want him to be able to move when we do this."
Severus lifted his friend up from the floor and placed him gently onto the chair that faced the headmaster's desk. He placed unreleasable ropes on his arms and legs so that James could not move, when he woke up.
"Ready, Severus?"
"Ready." He said shakily.
"Good luck then. Enervate."
James woke up startled. His chair tipped backwards and he fell. He realized that he could not move. His arms and legs were tied tightly and bounded by magic. "LET ME GO!" He snarled at them both.
Severus rushed to pick up his fallen friend from the floor. "I'm truly sorry James, but we have no other way. When this is all over you will forgive me."
"Over my dead body." He cried. "I need to go back, I have to protect my family." He tried pleading again, the only thing he could do, in his situation. "Please Albus, just let me go. I need to get to Lily and Harry."
"James I already said no, and Lily has already agreed. Why are you making this harder on yourself?" Dumbledore tried to comfort the younger man. "It will hurt for a minute, but then you soon won't remember anything. Once this is all over you will get all of your memories back, and so will Severus and you will get on with your life."
James could not respond he knew he was defeated. He hung his head low the shame of betrayal that he felt and his ineffective efforts to protect his family as he was being held against his will in a chair was unbearable.
"I need you to change into Severus for me James."
"No" He said softly but stubbornly.
"You can do it the easy way or the hard way. It is your choice."
"What's the hard way?"
"I could use the imperious curse, and that would hurt far worse than you're pride is feeling now."
"Do it." He challenged.
Albus felt lost he did not want to harm the person he cared for, but James was not giving him any options. "Imperio." He cried.
James' body want lax and his eyes glazed over from the curse. He heard in his head a voice telling him to use his metamorphamagus powers to transform into Severus Snape. "Why do I want to do that?" He questioned the voice in his head.
The commanding voice in his head spoke up. "It will help to save your family in these dark times. Now don't question me anymore and change."
"Alright." The voice was too strong to argue with and he figured that if he wanted his family to survive then he would do what the voice was telling him to do.
James scrunched up his nose and his short hair became longer and greasy. His round eyes became slits, his nose pointier, his mouth thinner, and his face more rigid and sunken. His body became taller and bigger, and his hands and feet grew to match the new body.
"Wow." Severus exclaimed, as the transformation was complete. "An exact replica of myself. Pretty neat." He grinned.
"Finite Incantantum." Dumbledore released the spell off of James, but then realized that it would have been better to leave it on him.
"Happy now." He snarled. "You know I could just undo my transformation very easily."
"You won't." Dumbledore said. "Otherwise I won't let you be awake for the switching of the memories."
"Fine, just get it over with."
Severus leant down in front of his friend looked him in the eye and gave him a hug. "I am sorry for this my friend, I just want all of us to be safe and this is the only way that I know it will work."
James just pushed his face away from the one he felt had betrayed him. For the three years that they were friends he had never felt so much hatred for this man.
"Alright." Dumbledore said. "Let's get this over with. James I'm leaving you with only a few subtle memories of Harry and Lily in your mind, you won't remember them, but you won't feel like killing them or hurting them if you should bypass them in the streets. I am then going to replace the lost memories with memories of Severus' up until he joined the order. Ready?"
"It's not like I have much of a choice, Do I?." He said trying to shrug his shoulders through the ropes that were binding him to the chair. The ropes expanded when he changed into Severus, but it still did not give him any leeway.
"Severus you may want to hold onto his head, so he can't move it, I expect it to be extremely painful as his memories are taken from him."
"Yes sir." Severus held onto James' head to keep him still.
Dumbledore pointed his wand at the restrained James. He carefully aimed it at the heart of his forehead, the place where memories were kept.
All around the room different images flooded everybody's vision. James' childhood, his school years at Hogwarts, everything even up to this moment in time, until it all ended and landed into the marble bowl of the pensieve.
During this time James let out a howl of pain as all his memories were taken from him. When it was all finished he had no sense of who he was or where he was, he felt lost, empty, and all alone. He had a vague recollection of a few things that happened in his life, but they were small, and seemed very insignificant at that point.
"How do you feel?" Dumbledore questioned him gently.
"I don't know." He answered, which was the truth. "Right now I don't know anything."
"That's understandable for what you've just been through." He looked down at James through sad eyes.
"You are going to feel pain once more. It may last a little bit longer than the last time, but I assure you it will go away."
"No, I don't think I like this anymore, I just want to go home. By the way do you know where home is?" James was confused. "Yes I'd like to go home now. Please just let me go home."
"You will son, very soon. But you must let me do to you what I have to do in order for you to go home."
"No, I want to go home."
Dumbledore ignored him this time, even though James kept repeating the sentence over and over again. He picked up another pensieve and pointed his wand once more at James' head. This time new images of Severus Snape shadowed everyone's visions, and this time it sunk itself deeply into James' head.
James let out another wail of pain, he felt like his whole head was being ripped apart. He just wanted to go home, he could not understand why the two people in the room insisted on hurting him to no end. That's when he lost consciousness.
"Severus you must take the polyjuice potion now before he wakes up."
"Yes, Sir." Severus pulled out a vile of the dark dense liquid, and drank it within one gulp. The memories of James that was inside of him was done before they had taken the sleeping man from his work.
Within minutes he had changed into James. He had enough of the potion in stock that would last him for a couple of months if need be.
Now they both waited for the unconscious man to wake up.
When the new Snape finally did, he was confused; he could not remember why he was here in the headmaster's office of all the places.
"Severus." Dumbledore spoke quietly, helping the man to his feet.
"Why am I here?" He asked suspiciously.
"We saved you from a Death Eater raid gone bad."
"And why can't I remember any of this, then?" He sneered.
"Because some of your memories were obliviated. But you do remember being a spy for our side, right."
"Vaguely." He responded. He did remember wanting to come to Dumbledore to help him out to leave the Death Eater's, but he could not remember coming to him and being a spy. "If you say that I did, then I guess I did, otherwise how would you have known."
'That's a boy. Now James here is going to explain…"
"I don't want him here, Dumbledore, if you want me to spy, then I suggest you make him leave. Otherwise our arrangement is over. Now if you don't mind, I think I'm going to go to my private chambers for a long quiet bath." With that he left the room.
Before the images could change again. James felt an arm on his shoulder. Albus Dumbledore stood beside him. "It's time to go James. I hope this was proof enough. Soon you will remember everything."
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James found himself in the hospital wing, with his son still lying unaware, and Albus Dumbledore holding him up. In one sense he was glad, because he felt that if the old man let him go he would collapse from exhaustion, of what he'd just seen. But in another sense he was angry beyond belief. He was kidnapped and then forced into something he did not want to do. He shook with all the pent up emotions that he was feeling.
"I'm ready to turn back into myself." He said icily.
"Alright, James. I will grant you that much for all that you have done for us."
Albus pointed the wand at James' head and extracted all of Snape's memories from him. He left everything that happened after the switching day in James' memories, as they were all his. He then put all of James' old memories back into his head.
James writhed on the floor in absolute pain, this time he did not black out. His own memories seemed to flood his soul; soothing him and making him feel warm. It was like welcoming back a friend he had once forgotten about.
"You can change your appearance now, if you're feeling up to it. Otherwise it can wait."
"I want you to leave us first before I change, Dumbledore. Don't come here again unless I have sent for you."
"As you wish." Dumbledore left the room with a swish of his blue robes. He only looked back as the infirmary's doors swung shut. He never thought that once James' memory was back that the said man would refuse to see him, he honestly thought that all would be forgiven.
Back in the hospital wing James scrunched up his face, and his greasy long hair became short hair. His sunken shallow face became fuller, his slit eyes became round, his lips became thicker, and his nose became smaller. His body became shorter and less stockier, and his hands and feet returned to normal size.
He went to the washroom and took a good long look at his reflection. He was James Potter and he was back.