Lily blinked.

"Sorry, sir?"

Harry was staring at her, as though amazed that this was the only reaction he'd received.

"Lily - we've decided that it needs to come out. I won't tell you the whole story, but... we're from the future (scuse the cliché,), and the long and short is that I'm yours and James' son. And, well obviously we're here for a reason, but maybe we'd better explain about that when you've taken this in properly. Erm, d'you want a cup of tea or something?"

"Harry love, you're rambling, Ginny said softly, touching his flushed cheek. She turned to Lily. "I know he sounds mental, (it's probably just his lousy people skills), but it's actually true. We decided to tell you because, it felt - right. We realised that if it was going to happen, it was meant to happen if you get my drift and. I'm rambling too, aren't I?"

James nodded mutely, moving to place a hand on Lily's shoulder. She'd gone white.

"You're lying," she whispered, her voice choked, yet controlled, "You know, I might just have believe you for a second if you didn't spend such a high percentage of your time trying to wind people up. Really, great acting skills, have you guys been to stage school?"

Her voice cracked on the word 'school', and her thunderous face was a living contradiction to the lightness of her words. Harry's mouth tightened.

"Lily, why the hell would I joke about something like this? Do you have any idea how much this is killing me, not just from a selfish point of view but also for your own sakes? The only reason I'm even telling you is because I have to explain why I have to let this happen. It's not my choice, damn it!"

Lily gave a humourless snort.

"Oh, I'm so sure that if you (hypothetically) time travelled, you'd tell us about it. God, do you have to insult my intelligence with your little joke? Does that give you some kind of kick?" She checked herself, remembering that she was talking to a teacher and adding a muttered, 'sir'.

James still hadn't said anything; he was staring at the blank spot that Harry had stood in when the truth had come out. Lily had resumed her scolding.

"So, can you please admit that you're joking while it's still possible to laugh over it, because the joke's wearing thin!"

"Lily..."

"Lily, let them talk," James said, his voice quiet and careful. She turned to him in disbelief, and he continued, "Look, I'm not being funny, but there's something going on, and if you think about it, it sort of makes sense."

The whole room was staring at him now. He shifted, shoving his hands deep into his pockets and muttering to the floor.

"Think about it. The thing about how he looks exactly like me? And has the same surname. I didn't mention it because I didn't' t want to sound paranoid, but to tell the truth, it's been unnerving me all year. And the thing about surviving Avada Kedavra? Don't you think we'd have heard about that? It's be front page news!"

Harry sighed.

"We weren't terribly subtle, were we?"

"No, but that's the thing!" James carried on, "You don't work something that far fetched out by yourself, do you? I mean, you come here, the Mysterious Duo, you've fought a load of battles and you've got weird skills and you're actually decent teachers? You kind of accept the strange things because you think that there must be a logical explanation, but there's so much that's obviously happened to you that the explanation kind of gets lost, if you follow me."

Lily could barely believe her ears. But not because James seemed to believe the two teachers, but because she realised that he'd hit the nail right on the head. Suddenly it seemed almost believable, now that he put it that way. She searched the faces of the room - James; realisation, Sirius; disbelief, to give his expression one word, Remus; dawning comprehension, Peter; well, Peter looked baffled, and that was a nice way of putting it. Ginny - resigned almost, biting her lip and gripping Harry's hand, and Harry... his face was hard to read. She tried to find some obvious sign on his face, be it honesty or amusement. But then it occurred to her.

Eyes can't lie. But sometimes you need to search them before you can see the truth.

She focused on his eyes, realising that the guarded expression she'd seen present all year had dropped away, and something different had surfaced, something harder to put into words. Giving up on the emotion, she focused on the eyes as a whole, and realised with a start that she'd never really noticed the colour before.

Emerald green.

She'd always wondered about her eyes. People often complimented them, calling them expressive, beautiful, unique. She was used to seeing them in the mirror, and after seventeen years, to Lily, they were nothing special.

She hadn't noticed them on her teacher because they seemed so ordinary. Whenever she did look at Harry's eyes, she'd focus on the flurry of emotions she'd see in them, never looked much at the size, shape and colour.

"You… you have my eyes."

Harry turned to look at her, and a brief half smile crossed his face, before he turned to stare into space, saying softly.

"You'd never believe how many people have told me that."

Lily swallowed.

"Fine. Speak."

Harry didn't react for a second, but then his head jerked to fully face her.

"You mean it? You'll let us explain?"

"Don't make me regret it," Lily's voice was tight, "Go on, then."

Harry looked at her intently.

"Thank you. Well… we're from the year 1998."

Sirius spoke up for the first time.

"What, that's… twenty one years into the future?"

"Right. I'm eighteen years old, meaning I'll be born in 1980, three years from now. We decided it was best to tell you now, when you're engaged and my birth is basically cemented."

James looked aghast.

"I can't have kids! I'm too irresponsible to have kids!"

"Oh, I think you'll be doing a lot of growing up in the next three years," Harry told him, his voice soft. A line floated into his head, a line that he'd turned over again and again in his mind since arriving in 1977.

Born to those who thrice defied him….

He shook himself out of the brief trance when he saw his future parents looking at him expectantly. He took a deep breath.

"There's no easy way to say this. Are you sure you want to know what I'm about to tell you?"

"Is it something that we need to know?" Lily asked, bracing herself.

"If I'm to explain. Do you remember our lesson on the Unforgivables?"

The five of them looked at him as though he were stupid.

"It's not a lesson that we're likely to forget," Remus pointed out. Harry shrugged.

"I suppose. You remember… how I told you how I survived the Killing Curse?"

Lily caught her breath, and her eyes widened, huge in a face drained of blood.

"That's… that's how it's going to happen?"

Harry didn't need to say anything. The look of wretched confirmation on his face was enough. Lily backed to the wall, sliding don onto her knees with a dry, choking sob. James' face was ashen, and he walked, seemingly in a daze, to his fiancée, reaching out to touch her trembling shoulder.

"That's why I had to tell you. I had to explain – to say how sorry I am. If I could I'd change your future in a heartbeat, but I can't. I can't tell you when it's going to happen, I can't tell you the circumstances, I… I can only ask you to forgive me for letting this happen."

A tear slid down his cheek, and he wiped it away impatiently. The classroom was as silent as the grave.

How ironic is that simile?

The communal thought hung in the air, playing on the silence suddenly broken by Lily's trembling voice.

"Are our deaths crucial?"

Harry managed to meet her eyes, eyes parched of tears. The revelation was beyond tears, Lily realised. Tears had come when she was little and her sister had pulled her hair. Tears had come when she'd been innocent, at her parent's death. The tears had forsaken her at the news of Marnie's death, and now, even at the news that she wouldn't live another five years, she was barren once again of tears. All she could do was cling to James' hand, and force herself to be strong.

"Lily, it'll be your power, your power of love that'll save me, that'll destroy Voldemort, that'll save the wizarding world from fourteen years of Voldemort's reign of terror."

Lily shakily got to her feet, and drew in her breath.

"Then don't you dare apologise. You've told us now, so really it lies with us. We could call off the wedding. We'd be unhappy but we'd be safe."

James tensed.

"But there's no way we're going to do that," she continued, "Because I love James, and when you're born I'll love you, and in a way I love you now, and what'll happen will happen, and now… I suppose I know now that I've got the strength to do it. Don't you dare apologise, Harry Potter. Don't you dare apologise for a choice that I'm going to make!"

"And if I die like you said," James broke in, "Defending my wife and son, then hell, that's the end I want."

Harry was frozen, his eyes fixed on his mother. When he spoke, his voice was strangely calm.

"I don't know why I doubted it. I knew that you're both strong enough, and… I love you too, Mum. And it's killing me to do this."

He crossed the room and after a brief hesitation, hugged both of his future parents in turn.

"And I'm so, so sorry."

And with that, he walked away, leaving the couple standing together, hands clasped. In a few short minutes, the lives ahead of them had been slashed away to a few precious years. But all they could do was hang on, and let what was meant to be take its path.

OK, once again, I was excited about posting up this chapter, so I didn't wait for the beta-ed version. But it will be up ASAP

Well, guys. This story is coming to an end. The epilogue is written in my notebook, and there will be about two more chapters along with an epilogue. I'm toying with the idea of doing an AU prequel, but it might be difficult to write it with H & G having a platonic relationship. I have a few vague ideas, though nothing definite. Suggestions for a new fic are welcome (not whole storylines, just what kind of thing do you think I should do next?)

Well, as ever, R & R. Can I just say how thrilled I was to get over ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY REVIEWS for that last chapter?

MM

xxx