A/N: Thank you all for the lovely reviews you wrote! I am terribly sorry I haven't updated in so long, but I really had no idea where this story was going. I'd like to thankHanalei, JessandDarcy, Tayla(anonymous reviewer), IggyLikestoExplode, GinnyEvans4, and PotionsForSevfor reviewing! Let me know what you think of the new chapter!

~~~James's P.O.V – Life after Death~~~

Considering we were dead and being taken away from our son, the train ride to heaven was actually quite pleasant.

Of course, Lily kept bursting into tears every couple of minutes, but that was to be expected. I wanted to cry whenever I thought of Harry being raised by someone other than us, but one of us had to be the strong one right now. And Harry would be perfectly fine in Sirius' and Remus' hands. Aside from being a total prankster, of course.

While Lily and I were absorbed in our thoughts, my parents kept up a steady flow of conversation. 'There's so many people we want you to meet!' and 'Lily, you are really much prettier than you looked from up there.'

That was what got my attention. Of course! We could watch Harry grow up from heaven. It wouldn't be the same, but it was the best deal we could get. I squeezed Lily's shoulder reassuringly.

In what seemed like no time at all, or perhaps it was a very long time later, the train came to a stop. We got off and found ourselves in a beautiful (and gigantic) pearly-white train station. For some reason, it reminded me of King's Cross. I put an arm around Lily and hugged her close. She buried her head in my chest as we headed toward a large, cozy-looking home that was growing steadily clearer. My breath caught as I looked at it. It was the house we had had before moving to Godric's Hollow. It was where we had spent our honeymoon, and had the world's most brilliant kisses. It was where we had created a new life.

I heard Lily take a sharp breath and I stroked her cheek to keep her from crying. We walked into the house together, hand in hand, as we had done not even three years ago. I never thought my life would be over so quickly. Then again, it really wasn't. I could live up here as long as forever was.

'Wait,' I said. Lily squealed as I scooped her into my arms. 'If we're going to do this again, we have to do it right.' She actually giggled as I carried her over the threshold again. Sometime in the middle of all this, my parents had slunk away, probably to give us our privacy. I had never loved my parents more than I did now. Lily took a sharp intake of breath. I took my eyes off her face to see what she was looking at.

The walls were covered in Harry.

Not literally, of course. That would be grotesque. But we could see moving pictures of him, blown up as though they were being projected on the walls. He was wailing loudly as a hooded figure advanced on him. A flash of green - 'NO!' Lily screamed - and a crash as it rebounded upon its own creator. The beam ricocheted twice more before fading into nonexistence. Lily and I peered closely at the small crib. A faint wailing could be heard from within.

We both let out a breath we did not know we had been holding. I collapsed onto a sofa that appeared below me, pulling Lily with me. Our cheeks were wet with tears of relief. 'He survived,' I told Lily.

'I know,' she murmured. 'He's okay.' She pulled me close and we shared a tender kiss. I broke away to look at the changing wall. Something was obstructing our view. A giant being...

'Hagrid?' I whispered, disbelieving. 'No, no, it's got to be Sirius!'

'Sweetheart, calm down,' Lily said soothingly. 'He's probably just picking Harry up for Remus and Sirius.'

'Right,' I replied, falling back against the cushions. Hagrid picked Harry up and wrapped him in a small bundle of blankets. He got on a motorcycle that I recognized to be-

'Sirius!'

'See, I told you,' said Lily knowledgeably. Hagrid took off, flying over the house and into the starry night. We watched him fly for a while, and then he began to descend into a neat little city.

'Wait,' I said, sitting up straighter. 'That's not Sirius's apartment.' Hagrid continued to go lower until he came upon two figures talking in hushed voices in front of a house labeled 'Number 4'. I recognized Dumbledore and McGonagall. They talked for a moment or two before walking over to the house.

'Hold up a moment,' Lily mumbled. 'I know that house.'

'You do? Are they good people?'

'It depends on how you look at it,' said Lily shrewdly. 'That is where my sister lives.'

'What?' I shouted, leaping up. 'Harry cannot live there! They will never understand magic! Lily, that woman made your life hell because you were a witch!'

'That woman? She may be vile, terrible, and horribly rude, but she is still my sister. And I'm sure Dumbledore will explain everything to them.'

'Just because Dumbledore explains it, it does not mean they will understand, or even try to! They will be the exact same as Petunia was when she heard you were a witch.' We both turned back to the wall. I needed to make sure Dumbledore explained everything correctly. The old man advanced toward the door while the others hung back. Dumbledore reached into his cloak and pulled out a letter. He tucked it into Harry's blankets and walked away.

'WHAT?' I yelled furiously at the screen.

'James-'

'No! Don't calm me down! He left Harry there! What if someone takes him? What if a Death Eater tries to kill him? How could he be so irresponsible?'

'James, sweetheart-'

'And explaining it in a letter? How is that going to help anyone? A letter doesn't leave the same impact as a real human being does!'

'Ja-'

'They're never going to believe anything! They won't even care that you and I are dead right now! They will hurt Harry and abuse him and terrify him his whole life. Mark my words!'

'James!' Lily cut me off as I opened my mouth to rant some more. 'There is nothing we can do. We will have to live-er-be okay with this. I wish it was different, you know I do. But we can't change it.' I fumed for a moment more before sinking back onto the couch.

'Fine. But I'm not going to be happy with it.' Time sped forward as the sun rose over Petunia's house. We could see the sign stating 'Privet Dr.' nearby. The door opened and a shriek resounded around the neighborhood. There was a crash as the empty milk bottles in Petunia's hand fell to the ground. Harry awoke instantly and started squalling. There was a thundering as Petunia's whale of a husband squeezed himself between Petunia and the door frame.

'Vernon!'

'Petunia! What is it?'

'It's-it's-' Lily's sister seemed to be at a loss for words. The husband looked down at the wailing baby - our baby, I thought angrily - and scooped him up before he could yell any louder. The couple hurriedly shut the door as their son began to scream as well. They looked at each other and Petunia took the baby from Vernon's arms as he thundered back up the stairs to pick up their son.

Petunia pulled the letter from the bundle of blankets that was Harry. She set him down on the table-'What if he rolls over! He could hurt himself!' I yelled indignantly-and slit open the envelope. Her eyes flew back and forth, her face turning the shade of oatmeal. 'Vernon!'

'What is it now?' grunted the Vernon, rocking the baby to sleep.

'Read this,' she replied, holding out the letter. He scanned the letter quickly, continuously looking from Harry to the parchment.

'Well, if this is your sister's and her husband's child-'

'It is-'

'Then we must get rid of him immediately,' finished the man.

'WHAT?' I yelled, for the third time. 'Do you see, Lily? I knew this would be a bad idea! I knew it! They're going to put him in the orphanage, when he could have gone to Sirius and Remus, who would have loved him! Harry cannot live without love!'

'James, there is nothing we can do,' Lily whispered shakily, tears flowing down her cheeks.

'Wait,' said Petunia. We both turned back toward the screen. 'We can't.'

'Tuney, I knew you would come through!' Lily whispered.

'The boy can't go to the orphanage.'

'Why the bloody hell not?!'

'He needs to be protected. We will feed and clothe him, but he will never be one of our own.' Petunia looked scornfully at our baby, who was quieting down now that he realized there was no one to hold him and rock him.

'He will not have a perfect life,' said Lily, and I turned to face her. 'But he will have a home, and protection, and that is all I want for our child.'

I folded her into my arms and we held each other until we drifted off on the sofa, just as we had those three years ago.