Harry Prewett and the Case of Inadvertent Illegal Time Travel

Chapter Seven: How I Met My Father

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter

Author's Note: Thanks to everyone who reviewed, alerted, and/or favourited, you guys rock my socks! Bit of a short chappie to follow, but I needed some breathing room to allieviate the awkwardness of the Harry/James meeting and the plot points to follow. Hopefully this interlude will make the next be seem more natural! Now enough with my babbling and go forth and read!

Since, among other things, Harry really couldn't walk around in the same underwear for another couple of days, before going home Violet dragged him and Dorea down the street from the Leaky Cauldron where there was a department store and they picked up a few essentials. Dorea finally got her first experience with muggles and found that she couldn't really dislike them when the nice old lady that had helped a red faced Harry pick out his underwear had directed her and Violet to a set of comfy armchairs in the Home Furnishings department.

At this rate Harry thought as they finally side-alonged back to Lionsgate Park, he might cheerfully never shop again. He'd done fine with rags for the first fifteen years of his life; he thought he could probably manage another fifteen without too much trouble.

They arrived back, just outside the gate, with a slightly louder crack than Harry was used to hearing from the two witches. Harry looked at the long gravel drive leading up to the house and wrinkled his nose.

"I vote we wait until some kind stranger finds us and agrees to carry us up to the house," Harry said.

"Seconded," Dorea groaned as she leaned against one of the ward anchors.

"Come on you two, the sooner we get there the sooner we don't have to do anything else," Violet said grabbing them each by the wrist and dragging them along.

It was easy enough for her to say, she hadn't conjured two Patroni, she'd only nearly been killed she was probably still jacked on adrenaline. Harry sighed and glared at the drive in front of him as if that could make it smaller.

The front door banged opened and three people sprinted down the drive toward them.

"Mum!" shouted the one in the lead pretty much slamming into Violet and hugging her tightly enough to bruise.

Dorea somehow managed to take five running steps and throw herself into Charlus' arms and the slender lawyer in the fancy suit who certainly didn't look like much lifted her easily twirling her around and then kissing her soundly while she wrapped her legs around his waist.

The third one Harry recognized on sight as a very young Sirius Black and he joined the black haired boy that must have been James in trying to squeeze Violet to death.

Harry let out a sigh and closed his eyes unable to watch. Hermione was usually there to give him the thank-Merlin-you're-alive hug, when he returned from mortal danger. He didn't realize how empty and alone he'd feel when she wasn't there. When no one was.

He felt two sets of arms wrap around him and before he could blink he was being squeezed between Charlus and Dorea and so he hesitantly put his own arms around Charlus and hugged back. Hurt and jealously and loneliness melted away and Harry just felt warm, safe and tired.

"We thought..." Charlus started his usually smooth voice husky.

Harry could guess what they'd thought easily enough.

"We're fine, love, we're all home safe, shh, it's alright," Dorea whispered.

After what seemed like forever and at the same time like no time at all they disengaged and Harry switched spots with James and Sirius, using Violet to prop himself up while his father and godfather made sure Dorea knew how glad they were that she was alive.

All of a sudden a chill ran down Harry's spine.

This might have easily been the day that James lost everyone but his grandfather to Voldemort. After all Dorea and Violet would probably have still gone to Diagon Alley to pick up Dorea's supplies and they would have been trapped in that alley while the dementors feasted, the few Patroni overwhelmed or their casters assassinated. The Death Eaters picking off stragglers, the first big tragedy linked to Voldemort and his Death Eaters the first appearance of the Mark. A crippling blow to the morale of the Wizarding World and an even more crippling blow to his family. Charlus would want revenge, would hunt the people responsible for killing his beloved wife until they killed him...and then James would be the last and he would hate Voldemort he would want more than anything to stop the monster and he would be good at it and so would his young wife, so good in fact that they would become targets, and they'd go into hiding, be betrayed...

"What's wrong Harry?" asked Violet quietly.

"Nothing, I just think I understand things better than I did before,"

Violet held him close to her.

"We were supposed to die today,"

"I think you were, I don't know for sure but...it makes sense,"

Violet didn't say anything else but her grip on him tightened as if she could know what he hadn't told her and could watch the lives of the family she loved more than anything slip away one by one as they did in his mind's eye.

"Who's this?" asked James breaking the moment.

It was true what everyone had always said. Harry looked almost exactly like his father. They could have been twins a few days ago but for Lily's eyes and the fact that Harry was smaller. James was tallish and scrawny with a handsome face, straight teeth, hair that was black as night and stuck up at odd angles, and rectangular glasses. He wore muggle jeans and trainers and a Gryffindor team shirt from Quidditch. His wand was tucked into his back pocket and his eyes were a warm brown.

"James, this is your cousin Harry, Harry, this is my son James and his friend Sirius Black,"

"Hey,"

Wow, Po-Prewett real articulate of you, hey, let's not over do it or anything. He thought to himself sarcastically and resisted the urge to groan aloud and bash his head against something. That would only end badly and embarrass him further.

"Hey," chorused the two Gryffindor boys looking at him quizzically.

To head off any potentially awkward silences Harry glanced at Dorea.

"Do you think either of them counts as a kind stranger?" he asked wistfully.

Dorea just laughed.

"Let's get up to the house, it's been a long day and I know Harry and Dorea are ready to fall asleep on their feet," Violet said.

With that Charlus scooped Dorea up bridal style and Violet put a supporting arm around Harry's waist and they all trudged the rest of the way up the drive and into the house. Standing in the foyer pretending to clean were five worried looking House Elves, Harry recognized Fenn and Frannie but the other three were unfamiliar. And for some reason as the floor began tilting to one side the elves began to multiply.

"Whoa, too many Elves," Harry said.

"Stupid he-witch! You've drained yourself dry of your magics," snapped Miss. Disdain as she darted down the stairs and brushed up against his leg.

"Love to discuss this with you, Missy, but we've got to move or we'll fall upside down and squish the new Elves,"

"This bloke's nutters," said Sirius eyeing him warily.

"Are you alright Harry?" asked Violet.

"I didn't know they bred so fast, that's gonna be a problem, where would we put them all?" Harry slurred.

His eyes rolled back in his head and he slumped unconscious into Violet who gave an oof but managed to keep them both off the ground.

"A little help!" she said.

James and Sirius each grabbed an arm and the limp Harry hung between them like some sort of bizarre yoke.

"What's the matter with him?"

"He's exhausted, poor dear," Violet explained.

"He drove off a hundred dementors I'm surprised he didn't pass out before now," Dorea commented sleepily.

"You're going to have to tell me all about that," Charlus said intrigued.

"Mmm, later," murmured Dorea.

"I'm going to take her up to bed, can you three handle Harry?"

"Grandpa he weighs about as much as a quaffle, if we can't handle him we're in serious trouble," James said rolling his eyes.

"This scrawny little git took out a hundred dementors?" said Sirius raising a sceptical eyebrow.

"Oi don't call my cousin a git! By the way Mum since when do I have a cousin named Harry, and why is he here?"

"Well he's my brother, Uncle Greg's, son-"

"But wasn't Uncle Greg eaten by a nundu?"

"Yes, James but-"

"And doesn't he live in Brazil?"

"Harry moved to-"

"So why haven't we seen or heard of Harry before?"

"James, if you would shut your gob she'd tell you," Sirius said as they adjusted Harry to carry him up the stairs.

"Thank you Sirius,"

"No problem Auntie Vee,"

"Now then, James, Harry's mother was a muggleborn and she died not long after Gregorius, and Harry was living with his muggle grandparents in Surrey up until they died a few days ago. They never approved of their daughter's choice in family and didn't want Harry to have any contact with us. It was a rather delicate situation. Your grandfather has been fighting for custody since Annabelle died, and once there was no resistance," Violet shrugged to indicate that of course Harry was here.

"Cool," said James, "Where're we taking him?"

"The room next to the one Remus usually uses," Violet said.

"Got it,"

Violet opened the door to Harry's room to see that the bedding was rumpled and there was a jacket hanging over the foot of the bed. She rolled her eyes and muttered something about teenagers while James and Sirius dumped Harry on the bed.

Miss. Disdain hopped up on the bed and curled up next to Harry making a little nest of his rumpled betting.

"Huh, look at that the cat who doesn't like anyone or anything likes the guy who's dad was eaten by a giant poisonous cat,"

"James, get off the nundu thing,"

"You have to admit it's weird,"

Violet pulled off his shoes and glasses and set them neatly where Harry could find them easily.

"Libby,"

There was a very soft little pop.

"Yes Mistress?" said the cherubic little House Elf that appeared.

"Would you please put Harry's clothes away where he can find them easily, dear?"

"Yes Mistress, Libby is being happy to," answered the creature with a demure little curtsy.

The poor creature had had an abusive former master and she wasn't ever going to recover from the mental and emotional aspects he'd put her through but she was sweet as sugar and very quiet, so she wouldn't wake Harry by accident.

She herded James and Sirius, who were still examining Harry like he was some sort of odd potions experiment gone wrong and muttering things like.

"Five foot nothing and 97 pounds, if that git can do it so can we,"

And

"Oi, stop calling my long lost cousin who's dad was eaten by a nundu a git!"

"Boy's I'm going to have a little nap before dinner, which by the way you're getting from the Gooseberry Pub, enough for everyone this time please, here's some money,"

"Sure thing Mum," James agreed.

"Which means you can't let Sirius buy six coffee's just to chat up Laura Pennywhistle,"

"Aw, c'mon Auntie Vee that was one time, don't you trust me?" asked Sirius giving her his most adorable I'm innocent face.

"No, not really, Sirius, dear, I love you like a second son but your brilliant brain turns to mush the second anyone even remotely attractive walks by,"

"That hurts Auntie Vee,"

"The truth always does Siri," James commented.

Violet shook her head and rolled her eyes as she left the boys to do their boy things.

Now that everyone was safe away, and tucked into their beds Violet hurried back to her room where she shut and locked the door and began to tremble.

She could have died today, should have died today if Harry's white-faced semi-confession was anything to go by. Her heart got stuck somewhere up in her throat and she managed to strip out of her fancy clothes and get into a fluffy bathrobe before curling up in the middle of the bed and sobbing into her pillow.

She wished Jim were here more than ever.

She didn't know if she could handle what was coming, the future Harry came from, all by herself. She wished she were braver but she'd never been Gryffindor material and courage didn't just appear over night.

She sobbed until it seemed she'd run out of tears and then with a pounding headache and a body as floppy as overcooked spaghetti she fell asleep.

AN: Okay before readers have a freak out about that last comment, Sirius will not be an idiot (well no more than any other 15 year old boy) but I have to admit I've always seen him as a bit of a shameless flirt. Also we learn more about Violet! Yay!

Keep sending in your comments on pairing there is still plenty of time to get your opinions heard as this will be a slow build and Harry still has to discover his sexuality.

Due to popular vote, Harry will be starting his animagus transformation on his own, thank you all for your input.

Last but certainly not least, review and let me know what you think!