Chapter Ten:
"Well, You See…Er…"
In their Defence Against the Dark Arts class, Sirius and Remus sat at the back, and were quietly conversing. Ginny had stuck to Harry's lesson plans, and the class was currently taking notes.
After class, the two boys went to the front, and as soon as the stragglers of the class left, charmingly, Sirius asked, "So, do you want to go to Hogsmeade with me, Miss Weasley?"
Ginny stared at him, her eyes scared. "Well, you see…er…" But, she was interrupted.
"Well, you see…er…"
"Hogwarts grounds!" The conductor called, almost proudly.
"Let's go," Harry said quickly, and rushed to the giant doors with Lily, James close behind him.
They ran up to his classroom, and burst through the doors. "Ginny!" He panted, "We need to get her somewhere safe!"
"But where…" Ginny looked partly pensieve, partly afraid, and partly relieved. "Of course," She whispered, "The Room of Requirement."
"You are a genius," Harry said, and the two of them ran up to the room, closely followed by three of the four Marauders. Harry placed Lily onto the bed in the middle of the room, and said, "Stay here you three. Ginny and I'll go get Professor Dumbledore."
Once they were out of the room, James said to his friends, "There is something wrong with those two. When we were going to the Leaky Cauldron, a pair of Death Eaters found us, Harry easily stunned one, but had to duel with the other. He said that he was going to beat Harry, but called him Potter. Harry retorted back, just as if it was for him."
"That's weird. We were talking to Ginny, and called her Ginerva Weasley," Remus said, "And she responded to it, better than West."
"The same thing with the two of them," Sirius said, "This is a mystery."
"Professor!" Harry called, running up the stairs to his office, "We're back! And we need to talk!" Ginny had just told him about Sirius and Remus calling her Weasley, and he told her about James and Malfoy calling him Potter.
"Harry! You're back! Mr. Potter and Miss Evans are both okay, I presume," The wizened man said.
"Yes, but we've got another problem. James, Sirius, and Remus know our real last names," Harry said.
"Finally," Dumbledore said, surprising Harry and Ginny, "I've been waiting. They are some of the smartest in their grade, but they are lacking in common sense. Messers Potter and Black in particular."
"You're not worried?" Ginny cried. Dumbledore chuckled.
Regaining his composure, Harry asked, "Would you like to see them?"
"Of course. What's the damage?"
"Well, they were tortured. James will need something, but we'll have to ask Dorothy. Lily will need something too, but can't receive it yet."
"Why?"
"The curse won't let her. She won't regain consciousness for awhile, I'm afraid. Her leg was shattered, but to the muggle doctors, it was broken in three places. It's in a cast right now, and it's the best we can do. Magic will make it worse."
"He must have just invented the curse, and loved doing it on Lily, seeing as she's Harry's future mother, and Harry is the person who brings about Voldemort's fourteen year long pause, and his eventual defeat," Ginny said.
Dumbledore nodded, and Harry and Ginny both stood up. They led him to the Room of Requirement. Outside the door, Harry asked, "What do we do about them knowing about us?"
"Tell them the whole truth." Dumbledore entered the enchanted room and headed towards four of his students.
They watched as he bent over Lily then said something to the three Marauders. The boys' expressions became confused as they walked over to Harry and Ginny. "What do you want us for?" James asked.
"Well, there are some things we need to tell you," Harry said.
"Like the truth?" Sirius asked.
"Yeah, let's go somewhere else," Ginny said, leading them away.
They walked to Harry's office and locked the door. After conjuring four chairs, Harry sat in his own and began his story. "My name is Harry Potter, and I'm not from here."
"And I'm Ginerva Weasley, not West, and I'm from someplace later on."
"Which means…" Sirius prompted.
Remus looked pensieve, and suddenly a look of realization appeared on his face as he said, "You're not from here, but later on…you must be from the future!"
"Right on the money," Harry said.
"Then how are you related to me, if you really are?" James asked.
"I'm your son."
James fainted.
"Ha! Prongsie has Prongslet. And who's Mrs. Prongs?" Sirius said, excitedly.
"Well, Lily, Lily Evans," Harry said.
James, who had regained consciousness compliments of Ginny, fainted again. When he awoke, he jumped up and gave a loud whoop, then yelled, "I'm marrying Lily! I'm marrying Lily!"
Remus rolled his eyes at his friend's unorthodox actions, then asked, "What happened to Sirius and I?"
Harry's eyes darkened and his face fell. He took a deep breath and said, in a hollow voice, "Voldemort was after me, and my family went into hiding. Voldemort found us and killed Lily and James. Sirius was sent to Azkaban, because everyone thought he betrayed us, but he didn't. Er-he escaped when I was thirteen, and we were in contact for two years-"
"Why only two? Am I that dreadful?" Sirius joked, but his voice and face showed he was nervous and scared, especially since he was in Azkaban. James looked horrified that he was dead. Remus looked uneasy, not sure if he wanted to know what was going to happen to him.
"Well, there was an accident-" Harry started, but found he couldn't continue; his voice seemed to have turned off.
Sympathetically, Ginny continued, "It was in the Department of Mysteries. There was this fight, and, well, you fell. Into the Death Veil."
Sirius looked terrified, then said with a weak smile, "That's not a very impressive way to die. I'm ashamed."
"Don't be," Harry said, "You died protecting me, just like James and Lily."
"And me?" Remus asked.
"You're alive," Harry said, "We live together, after my time at the Dursleys. Thankfully, I'm out of there for good, so we spend lots of time together. Lately, we've been through a lot together."
Remus smiled weakly, and said, "Peter?"
Harry's eyes flashed with anger. With a voice full of malice, Ginny said, "He's dead. Thankfully. We don't have a very good history with the rat. But, don't ask any questions."
The three Marauders nodded, and James suggested, "Let's go see Lily."
"And, to think, we thought you were Death Eaters!" Sirius exclaimed, sitting beside Lily's bed in the Room of Requirement. He and James had gotten over their future deaths, and now they were joking about it.
"I'll admit, that was really funny," Ginny said.
"Does Lily know?" James asked, "About you guys?"
"Parts. But don't tell her you know. I've told her things that I haven't told you, and visa versa," Harry said.
Sirius grew a mischievous grin and asked, "What did the lovely flower do when she found out her future husband and child?"
"I didn't tell her she was my mother."
"Now, look you guys, you cannot tell anyone about us. It's vital," Ginny said, "Before we go back, we're putting memory charms on you four and Dumbledore, so you forget the future. You'll only remember us being here, and what Harry taught you."
Remus nodded, accepting it, as he knew that's what would happen. On the other hand, James and Sirius protested. Harry waved his wand and they both fell silent. "I don't care if it's not fair. Was it fair that I didn't grow up with my parents? No. One thing I've learned is that life's not fair. You have to suck it up and carry on. Too bad for you." (A/N: My mom always says that to me! I hate it:( )
Changing the subject, Remus asked, "When will Lily wake up?"
"I'm not sure. How long did it take for-for Hermione to wake up?" Harry asked Ginny.
Ginny thought, then said, "About three months. Ooo, Lily won't be impressed, she'll be waking up in the middle of May, not that long before N.E.W.Ts."
"They let her take them in July. I researched it before I came. But they didn't say why, otherwise I would have been better prepared," Harry said. He glanced at his watch and said, "You boys had better get off to bed. You too Ginny. There's class tomorrow."
"What about you?" James asked.
"I'm staying here. It's my job. Go, I'll know if you don't. Good night." Harry dismissed them then pulled out the Marauder's Map and watched them walk to Gryffendor Tower, splitting up and going to their respective dormitories.
