Chapter 2

Contact is made

"You what! I mean, can you actually, are you communicating with Dumbledore? All these years, and he haven't told Harry" Sirius couldn't believe this revelation. Since he fell through the curtain everything had just been a big mess, but this had to be given top prize. "Dumbledore didn't feel Harry was strong enough" Lily said, "It takes an enormous amount of strength to communicate with someone in another sphere. It really drains your energy, and since Harry is still in school, Dumbledore felt it shouldn't be attempted before he had graduated." She continued. "Believe us," James supplied, "it's not like we haven't tried to persuade him into letting Harry try and since he learned the Expecto Patronum charm from Remus in his third year, we think he's strong enough to have a go when he's in his sixth year. At least we hope so." James ended. "But then we must contact Dumbledore!" Sirius said, "as soon as possible. I need to go back to Harry." "There is just one small hiccough" James said. "Dumbledore must contact us. We can't interfere with the living, and only a powerful wizard can establish a contact with the dead."

"So what you're saying is that we have to wait for an indefinite time?" Sirius said and sat down at the table again. "Yes," said Lily "but if I know Albus he's not going to wait. He must have figured out that you'd end up with us. Maybe he'll even contact us before the chosen time" she said, and smiled to James. "That would be nice." She ended. Sirius stared out into the room, contemplating about the two conflicting feelings, being with his friends and the urge to go back. He really wanted to ask them a question that he knew was an unpleasant one. "If you had the chance, would you, you know, return?" he said. James and Lily looked at each other, exchanging glances. "Sirius, there is something you have to understand here" James said, "we died when Harry wasn't even a year old. He grew up with his aunt an uncle, and then went to Hogwarts. We…" he hesitated, "we don't know our own son. Do you have any idea how painful that is?" he finished, hands resting on Lily's shoulders. She was blinking furiously, fighting to hold back her tears. "Right now I think it would be better not to know him at all, than to be close to him for two years and then part." Sirius said, eyes still focused on nothing. Then he turned to James and Lily "but you do know him," he said, "You know him because you had time with him when he was little, and you know him because he's your flesh and blood. He is you" Sirius finished. "I would like to hold him again. To say goodnight to him, writing letters to him at school, and anticipating his answers. Being a real family. Just a normal one, without Voldemort hovering in a corner of our minds, with a constant warning that we have to be careful with everything we do." "I couldn't imagine going back," said James, "I wouldn't know what to say to him." "You're his parents you don't need to explain anything. He will love you for who you are. Trust me he won't ask any questions, he will be content just to be near you." Sirius assured them. A silence followed his words. Then suddenly a cloud of smoke-like substance appeared, hovering just over the dining table. Sirius cried out in surprise and fell backwards on the chair, hitting the floor with an impact so strong that it would have knocked him out if he hadn't been dead. James laughed and hurried over to help him saying: "For Merlin's sake, Sirius. Is that the way you handle surprises these days. I knew a time when you would have drawn your wand as soon as sensing something was afoot." "Well, age does change something, and so does Azkaban. You know, I didn't really expect something like that to come out of the thin air. What is it any way" he asked, while rubbing his back although there was no need for it.

"Well, if you stopped your complaining and grumbling and opened your eyes, you might just figure it out yourself!" Lily said. She was gesturing to the smoke-like substance that now had turned into a 3D hologram, full in colour and about 50 centimetres high. "Holy hippogriff!" Sirius exclaimed.