On July 31, 1981, the three-year-old Weasley twins had been wrestling in the garden while Molly tended to her dittany patch. Percy, five years old, sat trying to figure out which letter was a b and which a d, while ostensibly watching baby Ron in his cot. Ron, being asleep, needed little watching. Bill and Charlie were running around the back yard, throwing a Muggle ball that wasn't quite the right shape to be a quaffle.

On August 1, 1981, the Weasley family consisted of Molly, Arthur, and Ron. It was a much quieter home, but not nearly as happy.

On September 1, 1986, none of their children were old enough to attend Hogwarts yet, though had things gone differently they'd have been sending off two of them. Ron was six, Ginny five, and little Mary almost two.

On September 18, 1986, a sudden outcry from the garden startled Molly from a light doze in her sitting room chair. It was raining, so it took her a moment to make out the forms racing toward the house.

She nearly swooned when she recognized them.

Bill and Charlie barreled in first, and promptly tripped over the sofa before collapsing in a dripping mess all over her sitting room rug. She stared at them, as confused as they. They gaped at the house, so much changed by the years they were gone, while she stared uncomprehending at her eldest children, so utterly unchanged by their years away.

"Bill? Charlie?" Her voice came out faint, trembling. She hardly dared to hope. Maybe she had finally lost her mind completely.

"That came out of nowhere," Charlie said, laughing and wringing water out of his shirt. Molly didn't scold him for dripping on her rug. She just grabbed him, grabbed Bill, hugged them tightly enough that they gasped for air and struggled to escape.

"What's wrong, mum?" Bill asked, more perceptive to the changes. "Why's everything different?"

"Five years," Molly managed through her tears. "It's been five years."

The two boys exchanged glances. "That explains the ball," Charlie said. "I was going to catch it, you know."

"It would have bounced right off your thick head," Bill retorted.

Then Fred and George started banging on the door, soaked and muddy and laughing, and Molly brought them in and picked them up and couldn't stop laughing and crying and laughing so much she could hardly catch her breath.

Back in the dining room, Ginny sat staring at the newcomer. Percy, for his part, stood staring at the stranger. "Where's Ron?" he asked, looking around. There was no Ron, no empty cot even.

"Who are you?" Ginny demanded.

"Percy. Who are you?"

"Ginny."

They stared at each other, two five-year-olds unsure of each other.

"You look like Ron," Ginny finally said.

"I do not!"

Ginny nodded. "Do too."

Ron came charging downstairs, having heard his name, but stopped short at the sight of the newcomer.

"Who're you?" he demanded, moving to stand protectively beside Ginny.

"Percy," Percy repeated. "And who're you?"

"Ron."

Percy coughed and snorted. "I think I'd recognize my own little brother."

"I'm the oldest," Ron said defiantly.

"He is," Ginny piped in. "Mary and I are both younger. He's six!"

Percy gaped, then turned and fled. He thought he'd heard Mum's voice and Charlie's from the front room.

Fred and George were poking each other behind Mum's back, while she held them and Bill and Charlie like she'd just remembered how. But she dropped them when she saw him enter, rushing over to grab him up into her arms.

"And Percy too! It's a miracle!"

He squirmed, uncomfortable. Bad enough being held, but she was crying all over him too. "Lemme go, I'm not a baby."

"Yes you are, you're all, all my babies. And you're all back."

She didn't care how. She didn't care why. They were all here again, and that was all that mattered. Then she suddenly remembered Arthur. He didn't know.

The patronus came without effort, springing into life and rushing off the moment she touched her wand. No memory in the world could be more powerful than the moment she lived inside right then.

Lily fell to the floor, the chair no longer in its customary position, laughter dying as she took in the changes at a glance.

This wasn't her home. She'd been transported somewhere else without her consent.

She leapt to her feet, wand in hand, ready to fight. She stood silently, waiting, listening. Light rain was falling outside, pattering softly against the windows.

"Ready or not, here I come!"

It was a child's voice, bright and unafraid. The sound broke Lily's battle-ready concentration, threw her off-kilter.

She turned, just in time to see a dark-haired boy scamper into the room. He looked vaguely familiar, but she didn't have time to try and place him.

He stopped when he saw her, mouth open, unsure what to say.

"Hi," she said, crouching down and keeping her voice light. "Could you tell me where I am? I think I'm lost."

"Uhhh. . . DAD!" He looked around, smiling at something behind her. Lily turned.

Sirius looked worn, tired, older. He was dressed respectably, had a neatly-trimmed beard, and stared at her as though she were an inferius.

"Lily," he choked out, then raised his voice. "JAMES!"

With a crack, James apparated beside Sirius, mouth already open to ask,

"What is— it."

He stared at her, looking as tired and worn as Sirius, but she didn't have time to wonder if he were an impostor. He leapt forward, and then he was hugging her, holding her as though he would never let go.

"You're alive. You're alive! Thank God, thank God!"

She narrowed her eyes at Sirius over James's shoulder. "There had better be a good explanation for this."

"You were gone for five years," Sirius said, his voice still faint.

"That's ridiculous. Gone where?"

Sirius shrugged. "You, and half the population of the world." Then he blanched, going pale so fast Lily stiffened in concern. "Voldemort," Sirius whispered. "He was gone. Is he back? Or is it just you?"

She felt James tense, clutching her tighter.

"It doesn't matter," he said at last. "We fought him before, we can fight him again."

"We were ready, before. We knew what was out there." Sirius collapsed onto the sofa, and the boy scrambled up onto his lap.

Lily suddenly put the pieces together. Tears sprang to her eyes. "That's Harry?" she whispered, her chest suddenly tight with emotion. "He grew up without me."

"But you're here now." James finally stepped back, but kept his hands on her shoulders, looking at her with so much love and joy that she couldn't help leaning up to kiss him.

Sirius covered Harry's eyes.

When they finally broke apart, Lily gave a determined nod. "I'm here now."

Author's Note:

The finale to the Fractions trilogy.

I've decided to expand upon this version a bit more, but still in this oneshot style, and expanding to cover more characters. As such, I've decided the best place to host it in its new form is on AO3. I will not be removing or altering the version here, but the time in between Fractions I and Return will be expanded upon more fully. Part two in particular is currently very 'describe five years worth of changes to society in a few hundred words' tell-y at present, and I'd like to more clearly define it in non-summary form.

I use the same username, Asviloka. Fractions will be my first story there. It's something of a test case, as I try to accustom myself to the platform. If it works out I may crosspost all my oneshots and shorter works there, since the more robust tagging and collection system works well for shorter pieces. Then again, it's currently confusing me to no end, and I may end up giving up in frustration. We'll see. For now, Fractions is my test story and any new content in this universe will go there.