Actually finished: June 27

I decided to wait a few days and post this chapter on its anniversary. Maybe if I had worked a bit faster I could have posted the last chapter on it's two year anniversary. That woulda been cool huh?

I think that this will be wrapped up in the next few chapters, but I'm not sure yet….

Fluffy-ness at the end of this rather short chapter.

Sorry about the long wait, I'm very busy and never have to get on my computer. No to mention all the thunderstorms my area has been having is taking away the little time I have.

TWO-YEAR ANNIVERSEY

Chapter 23: Back Again

"Harry, wake up!" Harry suppressed a groan as he was shook violently. Realizing he was in his bed (although not knowing how he got there) he rolled over and pulled the covers up.

There were some voices talking around him, but he couldn't make out what was being said. "Oh my, is that Ginny in a mini skirt?" A voice said in a high pitched tone. Harry knew that voice…

"Hey, that's my little sister!" Ron?

"Ron!" Harry sat up straight up in his bed. He could make out the fuzzy outline of the red-headed boy. He automatically put his hand on his nightstand and felt around for his glasses. He found them sitting there like always and quickly put them on.

"You alright man, you seem a bit out of it." Ron asked.

"And you missed Transfiguration, McGonagall's mad at you now." Sirius added, grinning. "Good job, mate."

"What time is it?" Was all Harry could say. He was still shocked and confused at what was going on. Had all that other world stuff just been some terrible dream? Maybe it had been a present from Mr. I-must-rule-the-world.

"About nine thirty, we have some time before class so we thought we would wake you up." Remus said, coming back into the room with Hermione following.

"You missed am important lesson today, Harry. Professor McGonagall said I should fill you in, but I can't teach it as well as she can." Hermione lectured, giving him a stern gaze. Harry didn't comment on the fact that most of the time Hermione had to re-teach the spells to them anyway because Ron and he didn't have a clue in the first place.

"By the way..." Remus paused and moved around the other boys toward Harry, a book in his hand. "When we came up you were clutching this in your hands with your wand. We sat your wand other there," he motioned to Harry's bedside table. "but I took the book to look at." He handed it to Harry. His face paled. The Tale of Debelto exchanged hands. "Harry?"

"It-it's nothing. Dumbledore gave me this book to look at." He lied. Remus gave him a look that said he didn't believe him at all, but he didn't press the top and for that he was glad.

"Hermione and I need to talk to you later." He whispered as Harry got out of bed.

…

Remus folded his arms across his chest. He frowned as he watched Harry. "Please Harry, we want to help." Yes, later had come for Harry. It was evening; James and Sirius were walking around the castle doing god-knows-what as usual. Ron had gotten detention before for dancing around the potions classroom singing (very off key). Sirius had cast the spell, but he had somehow missed Malfoy (his original target) and hit Ron. Harry doubted they hadn't planned on hitting Ron with the spell in the first place.

"We looked through this book; it's very strange indeed…where did you get it?" Harry shrugged. "It could be dangerous, Harry, please." Hermione said as she sat on the arm of the chair Harry was sitting in.

"I haven't done anything with it; actually, I haven't even opened it." That was true, actually. He had been about to open it when that earthquake-or-whatever had came and apparently it sent him home. He really needed to speak with Dumbledore because hopefully the headmaster would be able to make some sense of the current events. But of course, when Harry really needed him it was away in some strange place.

"You still didn't tell us how you got it." Remus pointed out.

Well, it wasn't a total lie…. "The library." Remus frowned again. Both of them didn't believe him, Harry could tell. "It's true!" He said in his pitiful defense.

"You said before Dumbledore gave it to you." Hermione said quietly. Shit, she was right. "We're your friends Harry, not matter what you think. We care about you and we want to know what's going on!" She stood up and started to pace. "You can't shut us out, Harry!" She turned to Harry. He froze, he couldn't handle the disappointment her face held. She looked almost on the bridge of tears; Bloody Hell!

"Hermione-look-"

"No, I don't want to hear it!" She shouted. "You don't trust me anymore-you want to be alone, I get it!" With that said, she stormed out the portrait hole.

"Look Harry, you need to straight whatever is wrong out, because you have been distant, and I don't think I'm the only one to notice it." Remus then left, Harry figuring he was going after Hermione.

Harry shivered. Taking his cloak he wrapped it around him as he continued to gaze out the window. He was in one of the high towers that was never used except when students wanted to get away from everyone else. Luckily Harry was the only one right now. He wasn't sure how long he had been up here, staring out the window as he sat on the large windowsill. When he had come up here the sun hadn't even started to set, now the moon was out –and it had been for a while. Surprisingly he wasn't that hungry, even though he had missed dinner.

He was so sorry for the way he had acted to Hermione. But had she been right? Was it true that he didn't tell his friends anything? He talked to them all the time…but it was usually such casual talk, things he could talk to Seamus or Dean about, and they weren't even that close. He sat his head on his knees, what had happened to him? What was happening to him?

"I figured you would be up here." A voice said calmly, interrupting the silence. Harry recognized the voice, so he felt no need to look up. The person came over and sat down next to him, fumbling around with their cloak.

Only then did Harry look up. "How did you find me?"

"We're blood related, Harry, I always know where you are." James said, giving Harry a grin.

"You used the map didn't you?" Harry stared pointedly at the pocket of his cloak.

"Yeah, you figured me out, mate. No one has seen you since dinner so I got worried. I thought maybe you'd been abducted again or something." Harry was silent. Although he didn't want anyone to know, that memory still scared him a lot.

"James, can I ask you something?" He said quietly, turning back to the window. James agreed in the same soft tone Harry was using. "Am I…avoiding Ron and Hermione? Am I growing distant from everybody? I think I hurt Hermione somehow, she got all mad at me and she said I don't trust her anymore! That can't be true; she's one of my best friends!" His eyes started to water, but he tried to hold the tears back. He couldn't cry, he just couldn't!

He felt a hand on his shoulder, comforting him. "I wish I could help you, I really do. You have to struggle with this yourself, but I'm sure you'll come out ok. After all, you're a Potter." There was a hint of pride in his father's tone.

This wasn't like the James Harry had come to know. He wasn't making jokes or laughing, he was completely serious. He had been told his mother hated those pranks he played when they hurt other students, and the way James would show off. Had she never seen this side of him before? Or maybe it was something he had developed only recently?

James suddenly hugged Harry. So this it what it held like to be held by his father. With a sniff the tears started to flow. He cried for a bit and James comforted him. It was nice and different at the same time. Harry had never been hugged like this before, like his father was now. But his father was no older then he was.

After he finally stopped crying he and James stayed up and talked for a while after that. It was very late when they finally went back to the dorms and said good night before going their separate ways. Even if they had classes to come a few hours later neither of them wanted to sleep. They had far too much on their minds.