I'm sorry it's taken so long! This fic is a lot harder for me to write than my other ones, so it kinda takes a backseat when I don't have a lot of time to write. I hope those of you who didn't lose interest during the wait like it. Please let me know what you think!

--x--

Harry descended from the Hogwarts Express with slightly frightened anticipation. It would be interesting to see the Dursleys' reactions to the news that Ron and Hermione were coming back to Privet Drive with them. But that wasn't what was frightening him. The days when Uncle Vernon could truly scare him had passed long ago. It was the imminent confrontation with Voldemort that had nearly imperceptible tremors running up and down his spine whenever he allowed himself to relax. Despite his friends' assurances that everything would be fine, Harry knew none of them believed it. He certainly didn't. In all likelihood, he would die at Voldemort's hands. The only thing left was to accept that possibility. Then he could start to prepare for the coming battle. Easier said than done. Something else had Harry feeling anxious, too. He couldn't help thinking of his parents, more so than usual. At first he wrote it off as part of his fear. It was only natural to think of one's parents when there was possibility you might die soon. Especially when the person you had to fight had killed your parents. But then that day by the lake, after Dumbledore's funeral, he had felt them. And Sirius. It was as though they were only a few feet away, watching him. He hadn't told Ron or Hermione. He didn't feel like seeing the looks of sympathy that they gave him whenever his parents or Sirius were mentioned. It only reminded him of what he was missing. Harry didn't have long to dwell on these confusing feelings swirling about inside of him as he had spotted the Dursleys and knew it was time to break the news about their house guests.

"Stay here," he told Ron and Hermione before approaching his so-called family. "Hullo. Had a nice year?" he asked cheerfully. When all he got was looks of fearful disbelief from his aunt and cousin and anger at his nerve to actually return to their house from his uncle, Harry decided to switch gears. In a businesslike tone, he told them, "My friends Ron and Hermione – you've met Ron and his father – are coming to stay for a few weeks, until my 17th birthday. Then we'll all be leaving as I'll be of age." The Dursleys stared at him in stunned silence. "Right then." He waved Ron and Hermione over. "Where's the car?"

-x-

"We have to tell him!" James pounded his fist on McGonagall's desk. "We have to help him!"

"James, calm down!" Lily pleaded.

"I'm with James. We need to tell Harry what's going on," Sirius chimed in.

The two turned to Lily. "Well?" James prompted.

"Well…" Lily said slowly. "Professor McGonagall knows Harry better than we do, as much as I hate to admit it. I think we should at least hear what she has to say."

"Fine," James huffed, flopping back into his chair. Sirius followed suit, just as unhappily. Lily settled back into her own chair between them.

"Now, as I was saying," McGonagall shot James and Sirius looks, "I'm not sure we should add this to Harry's burden just yet. The boy has had to deal with more in his 16 years than most adults deal with in a lifetime. And while he has come through it spectacularly, I have no doubt that behind his façade of strength and bravery, he's hurting. He is still a boy, as many people have trouble remembering sometimes, and there's only so much he can handle. Your return might confuse him, especially since he has never known you two, and since Sirius's death is still so recent. He hasn't even come close to getting over that. And it would only upset him more when we have to send you back."

"Hem, hem."

McGonagall's head whipped around in shock, expecting Umbridge to be standing there. Then she smiled wanly. "Very amusing, Professor. I assume that means you have something to add?"

"Yes, I mostly certainly do, Minerva," Dumbledore's portrait answered, his mouth spread in a soft smile. "I believe Harry should know. We have tried before to keep things from him for his own protection and each time it has backfired. I think it is time to try a new tactic. Harry is stronger than any of us give him credit for. Yes, he is still a boy, but as you said yourself, he has been through more than most adults and because of that he had matured rather quickly. More than some adults have." At that Dumbledore shot James and Sirius gentle glares, to which they responded with innocent looks. "There is nothing we can do about that. What's done is done. Now we must welcome Harry to the war and trust that he will do what is best. As for telling him that you three are here, if his reaction when he found about the prophecy last year is any indication, he would be quite angry if we failed to inform him."

James and Sirius pumped their fists in the air in victory. "Let's go find him!" Sirius suggested, rising from his seat. "I can't wait to see my godson all grown up."

"Wait," Dumbledore commanded. "This has to be handles with tact. You can't just show up at the Dursleys' door and expect Harry to believe that you're really his parents and godfather. He is likely to think that some kind of Dark magic is going on and attack you."

Lily's eyes welled up with tears at the thought. "I just want to see my baby, to hold him in my arms."

Dumbledore smiled gently at her. "I believe that can be arranged, if we do this properly."

Lily's face lit up and James squeezed her hand. They would get to see their son.

-x-

Harry led the way up to his bedroom, leaving the still silent Dursleys downstairs. Once inside the room, the three friends cracked up.

"Did you see their faces when we got into the car?" Hermione gasped.

Harry nodded, unable to talk, for he was laughing too hard. A knock sounded from downstairs and a moment later was followed by Aunt Petunia's strangled scream. Curious, Harry wiped the tears of mirth from his eyes and peered out his door. The sight that greeted below caused his eyes to grow wide. "Professor McGonagall?"

McGonagall's head turned toward Harry. "Potter, just the person I need to see," she said in her brisk voice. "Is there someplace we can talk?" Eyeing Aunt Petunia, she added, "Someplace private?"

Although confused, Harry nodded. He waved at Ron and Hermione to follow him and hurried down the steps. "Er…how about the living room? We can close the door."

"That's fine," McGonagall told him. Looking at Ron and Hermione, she added, "I wasn't aware your aunt and uncle allowed you to have guests. I would rather tell you what I need to in private. You can tell them afterwards, if you wish."

"Oh, um, sure." Harry looked at his friends apologetically. Hermione smiled and grabbed Ron's wrist to drag him upstairs before he said whatever he had been about to say. After they had gone, Harry led McGonagall into the living room and shut the door, blocking a terrified looking Aunt Petunia from view. "So, what's up, Professor?"

"First off, Potter, I want you to be sure that I am who I say I am. Trust me, this will much smoother if you are assured of that now." McGonagall stared at him expectantly.

Harry cast about for something that only McGonagall would know the answer to. "Okay, um, what did you offer me when Umbridge sent me to your office the first week of my fifth year?"

McGonagall thought for a second before answering, "Ginger Newts, I believe."

"Yes. So…what's going on?"

Were his eyes deceiving him, or did McGonagall actually look uncomfortable? "Harry…I'm not sure how to tell you this. Years ago, shortly before your parents' deaths, they and Sirius were incidentally sent forward into the future. They were still in their right time period, but at the same time they were in a future time period. That time period is now. They appeared in my office shortly after Professor Dumbledore's…murder. They want to see you."

Harry stared at her, mouth hanging slightly open. Now he knew why she had made him ascertain that it was, in fact, her sitting in front of him. After a long pause, Harry finally found his voice and asked, "Can I see them?"

As if they had been listening at the door, James, Lily, and Sirius apparated into the room. There was a pregnant pause in which Harry stared at his parents and godfather and they stared back. Then Lily broke the moment and threw her arms around her son, tears streaming down her face. Harry eagerly returned the embrace, his own face wet with tears. "I missed you, Mom."