The-Family-Who-Lived

"Lily, it's him! Take Harry and run!"

On Halloween 1981, events went slightly differently, because Voldemort only cast one Killing Curse that night.

That, and two ancient spells of unknown origin, that left the two adult Potters in comas for an unknown period of time.

To protect them, Dumbledore let the world believe them to be dead, while little Harry still went to the Dursleys, and had his adventures every year at Hogwarts, while Sirius ended up in Azkaban, with no one to prove his innocence.

However, over the December holidays of Harry's fifth year, the Potters awaken unexpectedly.

How will having his parents back change Harry's life? Can they truly be a family once again?


Notes:

Disclaimer:

As usual, nothing belongs to me. I just thank J.K.R. for creating her wonderful world, without which I honestly don't know where I would be.

...::-::...

Hey, guys, how's it going?

Before I continue, I'd just like to mention, so you know, I tend to write these notes ahead of time, and edit them as I add things to the story. In relation to this, I'm currently writing this while still busy with "In Six Summers' Time", and am only planning to post this once that is finished. I'm not sure I'll be patient enough, but I'll try. That being said, I'm also going to try and post this only once it's complete. Honestly I'm not sure if I'll have enough patience for that either, but I'll do my best.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this. It's another of my many plot-bunnies (literally - I have a document with a list full of them). I don't currently have an update schedule for this, nor do I have it all planned out. As is the case with most of my fics, I plan and change things as I go along.

So, without further ado, I present to you…


The-Family-Who-Lived

"Ugg," James Potter groaned as he blinked open his weary eyes, feeling rather as if he'd been hit over the head by a bludger. Strangely, he didn't remember playing Quidditch recently. In fact, the last thing he remembered-

He shot into an upright position, blankets pooling around his waist and eyes opening widely as he took in his surroundings, memories of a sickly yellow light filling his mind.

'Lily!' He thought wildly, heart racing and breaths coming in short, shallow gasps, 'Where's Lily? Where's Harry?'

"Good morning, Mr Potter," came a voice to his side, breaking him out of his panicked thoughts, "I see you've finally awoken. Do not worry; your wife and child are perfectly safe."

"Where are they?" He demanded, voice harsh and rough from disuse, "I want to see them."

"Mrs Potter is in the room next door," the man said softly, "your son, however, is at Hogwarts so it might be difficult for me to contact him. I can arrange it, though, if you would like."

"Hogwarts? Why is Harry at Hogwarts?" James asked, perplexed, "And where are we? I want to see Lily."

"Ah," the man said, "Let's start with the easiest question first. You're currently in a hidden section of St Mungo's hospital. As for your wife, she should be waking up shortly, and I'm sure would be glad to see you as well. As for why your son is at Hogwarts, well, he currently attends school there, in his fifth year."

James stared at him.

"No, no, that can't be," he shook his head in denial, "Harry's only just turned a year old! If he was in his Fifth year, that would make him-"

"Fifteen," the man responded with a sad smile, "Indeed, Mr Potter. You've missed quite a lot. You see, you've been in a coma for the past 14 years."

...::-::...

"What do you mean I've been in a coma for 14 years?!" Lily Potter demanded, glaring angrily at the nurse before her, "I don't believe you! Where is my husband? I demand to see him!"

"He's in the room next door ma'am," the nurse replied shakily, well and truly scared out of her wits by the younger woman's fury, "but-"

She didn't get to finish. Before she had even completed the last syllable, Lily Potter was out of bed and storming towards the door.

She blasted it open, and came across a very similar scene.

Lily saw her husband towering threateningly over another, angrily demanding to see her with a snarl on his face.

Honestly, she thought she'd never been happier to see him.

"James!" She cried, causing him to startle and turn rapidly towards her, his expression becoming one of absolute relief. He moved swiftly across the room and wrapped her in his arms.

"Lily!" He breathed, "Oh, thank god! I was so worried! That man told me we'd been in a coma for 14 years and that Harry was 15 years old and at Hogwarts! What's going on?"

Lily shook her head, "I don't know, James. The nurse in my room told me the same thing. I think I frightened her, actually."

She chuckled slightly.

James turned to the man who still stood behind them, and looked quite pale.

"Is what you said really true?" He asked.

The man nodded shakily.

James closed his eyes to steady himself a moment, before looking to his wife. Lily was pale, but had a determined glint in her eyes.

"We need to get to Hogwarts," she said, "I want to see my son."

...::-::...

'Thank goodness,' Harry thought, 'for Saturdays.'

He was seated beneath a shady tree on the Hogwarts grounds, catching his breath as he read through one of his DADA textbooks.

Harry had spent most of his recent free time either catching up on homework or looking up things for the DA, and finally decided he needed some alone time. So, he had snuck off under his cloak and hidden himself away from prying eyes, quietly enjoying the sunlight as it warmed him.

He put down his book for a moment and closed his eyes, breathing deeply, and it was because of this that he missed two people who appeared at the bottom of the path and began to walk towards him.

...::-::...

James and Lily were nervous. Before leaving the hospital, they had spoken to the two nurses, asking what they knew of their son's life. They heard the story of their supposed death, and how Dumbledore had hidden them away from the public. No one, it seemed, besides those who were asked to care for them, knew of their survival. It seemed that not even Harry himself knew, as he had never been to visit them. Dumbledore, they realised, had a lot to answer for.

The woman, who had a daughter at Hogwarts a year above Harry, told them of the rumours that had gone around the school since his first year, and none sounded particularly pleasing.

All-in-all, it had worried the two older Potters, and made them even more determined to see their son as soon as possible. So, as soon as they had changed and gotten their wands back, they had apparated together to Hogsmeade and walked up to Hogwarts.

The nurses had given them a recent picture of Harry, one, it seemed, to have been cut out of the Daily Prophet. Both parents were stunned at just how much he looked like James, but with Lily's eyes.

It was with this picture that they were able to recognise him as he lay peacefully beneath one of the trees beside the lake. They stopped abruptly as they saw him, so much bigger than the small figure they used to hold in their arms, with his own thoughts, opinions and dreams that they knew nothing about.

Glancing briefly at each other, Lily and James joined hands before walking up to their son.

...::-::...

Harry heard footsteps heading towards him and groaned internally. Couldn't he just have one moment of peace?

"Harry?" The voice that spoke was feminine, and slightly familiar, but not enough to be someone he knew well like Hermione or Ginny.

He opened his eyes and looked up to see who had spoken, only for his breath to catch as he caught sight of two people who looked identical to his long-dead parents.

He recovered quickly, scrambling to his feet and withdrawing his wand before aiming it at them.

"Who are you?" He demanded, sharply, glaring at them.

The couple stood back, "I should think you'd know who we are," the man replied quietly, "at least, I would hope so."

"Dumbledore lied to you," the woman continued with fierce sincerity, "He lied to everyone, Harry. We never died, only put into a coma. We just woke up this morning."

"No," Harry said, "That can't be true, Dumbledore would never-"

He hissed in pain as, suddenly, a long-forgotten memory came to the surface…

It was back at the end of his first year, when Dumbledore came to talk to him in the hospital wing. Harry had been asking question after question, barely pausing for breath, and Dumbledore couldn't get a word in. Eventually, the old man became so frustrated he admitted the fact that Harry's parents hadn't died that night, but instead had been put into a coma. The shock had stopped Harry from talking, and the memory ended with Dumbledore casting an obliviate, before turning black.

Harry gasped as his eyes shot open and he staggered. His parents caught him and kneeled beside him as he caught his breath.

"It's really you," he said, eventually, turning to look at them, "Dumbledore he told me then-then-"

Harry stopped abruptly, jumping up and wrapping his arms around both his parents, revelling in the fact that he was able to hold them, to hug them.

Lily and James, meanwhile, hugged him back, too stunned, surprised and happy to say anything. It was strange, however, to hold the 15-year-old boy in their arms, when last they'd done so he'd fitted snugly against their chests. It was a surreal experience.

They weren't sure how long they stayed like that, but when they eventually loosened their grip, all three had tears in their eyes.

They knew that, no matter what happened next, everything would turn out alright.


"What do you mean your parents aren't dead?"

"Well, what else am I supposed to mean? They're hardly going to come back to life as zombies!"

"Actually, Harry, dark wizards have been known to bring people back as inferi-"

"'Mione, now's really not the time!"


Notes:

Well, here you go. Just an idea I had and didn't have the time to write a multi-chapter for. If anyone wants to continue or expand on this, they're welcome to. Just leave a comment with the link to it to let me know. I'd love to read it.

In the meantime, I hope you enjoyed this!

'Till next time ;-)