Chapter 8

"Mum?" he asked hesitantly, voice raw with emotion. 'How many times had he asked the same question as a child, only to be confronted with the unmerciful darkness of his cupboard?' he remembered bitterly.

"Shh Harry," she soothed. "Mummy's here."

"And what about Daddy?" said James Potter, mock indignant, as he came over to his family.

Harry allowed his parents to fuss over him, relishing the parental care that he'd never experienced before. He couldn't help laughing joyfully. His parents were here! He was finally with his family, and Voldemort…his laughter faltered as he realised the dismal implications. He hadn't killed Voldemort. And he was dead.

"You're not dead Harry." Sirius' voice interrupted his thoughts. For the first time since he had woken, Harry realised that his godfather was with him. He launched himself towards the man.

"Sirius! I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to…I was stupid…I didn't want…"

Harry was nearly hysterical, babbling and crying. Sirius just held him tightly as the teen released all his guilt and grief. He could tell that Harry still blamed himself for his unfortunate trip through the veil.

"It's okay Prongslet, I'm here," murmured Sirius, as Harry began to calm down.

"I'm sorry I got you killed, Sirius," Harry whispered brokenly.

"Look at me Harry," said the older man firmly. "My choice to leave the house that night was my own. My choice to fight was my own. My arrogance when fighting cousin dearest was not your fault. Nothing that happened that night was your fault."

"Except for the fact that a bunch of kids were fighting Death Eaters," Harry returned.

"Well…yes, but the reason why you wanted to be there, was Voldemort's fault. Not yours Harry. Voldemort is to blame."

Harry thought the issue over for a long moment. His indecision was clear in his green eyes, but equally clear was that he had begun to accept what Sirius was saying. He moved to sit next Sirius on the couch. Harry frowned for a moment when he registered what Sirius had said.

"I'm not dead? Then why are you all here?"

Looking around the room for the first time, Harry realised that it bore a startling resemblance to the Gryffindor common room. A fire crackled merrily in the fireplace, and they were sitting in a circle of overstuffed couches. Lily and James were sitting opposite him, their eyes bright with love and pride.

"We're sort of in your mind…but not," said James slowly.

"Honestly James, that was completely useless. All you've done is to confuse Harry," scolded Lily. "Harry darling, when you were hit by the killing curse, your magic formed a link between where we were, in the realm of the dead, and to your own mind. Think of it like a tunnel, but only your family may enter," Lily explained ably.

"That's good," Harry said with a little relief. "I didn't fancy my mind being invaded by random dead people at all hours. So…I can see you whenever I want?"

"Yes son." Harry looked a little teary at the title he had thought he would never hear. "You haven't lost us yet," reassured his father.

"We were actually going to visit you tonight, but you made it far simpler," added Lily.

"Really? Why?" Harry was confused.

"It's complicated…when we died, we moved on – like Nearly Headless Nick said, and suddenly we remembered a lot of important information that had been hidden. I'm sure you know that your mother was a genius at charms. She created a charm to protect certain members of our family. Even though the Dursleys died tonight, you still have an uncle and a godfather," James said rather disjointedly.

"I do? Who are they? Let me guess – one of them is Severus right?" Harry was excited at the thought of a living family as well as being able to communicate with his dead family.

"Yes, I chose Severus to be your godfather," said Lily. "How did you guess?"

"I suppose his dislike of dad just seemed too irrational for such an intelligent man. I just knew instinctively that he wasn't trying to kill me. He doesn't really hate me, or you mum."

James cleared his throat to catch their attention. "Your uncle is my half brother through a blood bonding ceremony…and it's…uh Lucius Malfoy."

Harry was silent for a long moment.

"Is he still a Death Eater?"

"I don't know Harry," admitted Sirius. "But just before I died, I know Dumbledore was looking at converting him because he didn't want Draco to be marked."

Harry nodded, remembering his vision several days ago. It seemed that Lucius wasn't following Voldemort, although whether he had joined the Order was still unknown. It would be nice to have a family that was accepted in society, especially with the idiots at the Ministry of Magic, mused Harry.

"I know Lucius hasn't treated you well in the past Harry, but he loved you as a baby. To release the spell, you just need to call them by your name for them; that's Papa Severus and Uncle Lucius," said Lily.

Harry looked mildly impressed. "I could say that at one year old?"

"Unfortunately not, but we could gather what you meant to say."

"So after I tell them, then they'll remember…"

"They'll remember their lives as our friends and as our family. More importantly, they'll remember how much they loved you," answered James.

Sirius snorted. "Severus was so protective of you; he claimed that we were a bad influence! We a bad influence? As if the Marauders would ever harm one of our own!"

"Wormtail did," Harry said emotionlessly. 'What would his life have been like had he lived with his godfather and uncle?' he reflected.

His mother sniffed, a little teary. James wrapped an arm around his wife comfortingly, beckoning his son and best friend. The two moved to join Harry's parents, Harry curling up next to his mother. To his surprise the couch automatically expanded to fit the four of them.

Sirius laughed at the shocked look on Harry's face.

"You created this place; you can change the room however you like."

A sudden thought occurred to Harry, and he turned to look at his mother suspiciously.

"You wouldn't happen to have been talking to me this summer, would you? 'Cause I've been hearing this voice, and it sounds female and…"

"I'm sorry Harry; I'm not allowed to tell you who she is. She has power over us even in death. But know this – you can trust her, and she is looking after you," Lily replied.

"You can trust Severus and Lucius too," added Sirius.

"And trust Albus. I know he hurt you, but he will help you in the future," said Lily in a certain tone. "Always follow your instincts, and live with you heart."

She touched his chest lightly, and Harry was unpleasantly surprised to suddenly feel the pain of his injuries. Tugging at his metal shirt, he could see purple bruising blossoming across his chest. His head began to pound and he struggled to pay attention to his mother's words as he was pulled away from the room, back into his body.

Severus woke, consciousness returning slowly. Sitting up with a soft groan, he realised he was literally amongst a sea of bodies; of Order members and Death Eaters alike. Everyone was unconscious.

He picked up his wand where it lay beside him, immediately binding all the Death Eaters and taking their wands. How had he found himself in this situation? There had been a fight and then…

Cursing under his breath he searched the bodies for Harry Potter. The teen was lying against the kitchen wall, the lenses of his glasses shattered. For a moment, Severus was sure he was dead. After all, he had been hit by a killing curse. Yet, when he reached gently for his wrist, hand shaking in horrified anticipation, he found a pulse; a little erratic, and not a strong as he had hoped, but Harry had a pulse. Against all the odds, the Boy-who-lived had lived once more.

However, as he began to examine the teen more closely, reversing all the hexes, it was immediately apparent that Harry needed serious medical attention. A swish of his wand closed the still sluggishly bleeding cuts that looked like they had been made by cutting curses. Banishing the oversized shirt, he winced at the dark purple black bruising the covered Harry's torso. It looked far worse that it had the last time he had visited. A diagnostic charm showed him three broken ribs.

He cast numbing charms, and conjured a bandage to bind the torso until Pomfrey could heal it. Seconds later, he became aware that Harry was mumbling under his breath.

"Mum…Dad…Sirius…hurts…please stay…mum!"

Severus touched his face gently.

"Harry, wake up. I need you to wake up for me Harry," he called, both mentally and out loud.

Gradually, Harry began to respond to the potions master, unfocused eyes opening fractionally.

Harry squinted at the blurry figure above him, unsure whether it was a friend or foe.

"Papa Sev'rus?" he murmured confused, leaning into the caressing hand on his cheek.

Severus froze as long hidden memories flooded his mind. Playing quidditch with the Marauders, shopping with Lily, watching his best friend marry James. Singing songs to a new born Harry.

"Oh Merlin! Lily, James…" he whispered, his grief for their deaths unexpectedly renewed.

Suddenly he swept Harry into a protective embrace.

'I swear I'll take care of you Harry,' he said in their minds. 'I'll always protect you.'

"Severus?!" came a disbelieving voice.

The man turned to see a shocked Remus Lupin, who had obviously just woken.

"I'll explain later Lupin. Wake the rest of the Order, and I'll meet you at Headquarters. Harry needs medical attention."

With that final comment, he grabbed both his and Harry's phoenix pendants, and portkeyed away.

A/N: I'm so sorry this update has taken so long. I have been caught up with exam preparation. Once again, this has been beta read by RavensCave

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