Chapter 3: Surprise Side Effect
"About time." The man said when he came too.
Harry starred at the man who looked like him.
"This is a surprise." McGonagall said.
To the children's amazement, she embraced Elizabeth and then Charles.
"We were best friends in school." Elizabeth explained. "Minerva, could you please tell Albus we're back."
"Of course, Elizabeth." Minerva said wiping a tear as she left the room.
"I have NEVER seen Minnie so emotional." Sirius said.
"You can tell who wasn't at James' funeral then." Arthur said to the kids.
"That was NOT…" Sirius started.
"…Your fault." Hermione finished. "We KNOW!"
I don't believe this!" Harry said. "My owl was my grandmother and one of my best friends' cat was my grandfather. What next?"
"Excellent question, Mr. Potter." Dumbledore's voice came from the kitchen.
Everyone turned to see the headmaster standing in the doorway.
"You gave us quite a scare." Dumbledore told the youngest Potter.
"Sorry. I just felt that Hed…I mean Grandmother spent long enough in an owl's body."
"Your just lucky that it was your Grandmother." Charles said to his grandson. "Goodness, you look JUST like James and me."
"I've heard." Harry said shyly. "Well, at least the I "look like James" part."
"But you don't act like him." Charles added.
"Do you want to bet?" Elizabeth asked. "When Harry snuck out of the house early today, it reminded me of that time when James did the same thing that one summer when he went to go practice his animagus transformation."
Silence
"You KNEW about that?" Sirius finally asked shocked.
"Yes." She told him. She then turned to Harry.
"I told you I can tell you more than you want to know."
"What else do you have?" Harry challenged.
She leaned down and whispered something in his ear before motioning to McGonagall. He paled and his mouth dropped.
"No way!" he said "Really?"
Elizabeth nodded.
"What did she tell you?" Sirius asked nervously.
"How come you never told me?" Harry asked McGonagall.
"You TOLD him about that?" McGonagall asked Elizabeth.
"I think he has a right to know." Elizabeth said. "He's not a kid anymore."
"Hold on." Harry said turning back to his teacher. "You would check up on me, wouldn't you?"
"Of course." McGonagall admitted.
"Huh?" Ginny asked.
"I just remembered that Mrs. Figg had a cat named Minnie." Harry said. "And she looked JUST like Professor McGonagall's animagus form."
"What's the big secret, Minnie?" Sirius asked.
"Don't call me that, Mr. Black." She warned.
"What?" Ron asked
Harry whispered the information to his friend.
It was Ron's turn to pale.
"No bloody way." Ron swore. "She's you dad's godmot…?"
KNOCK KNOCK
Everyone got quiet.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
Everyone looked at each other. Who was here?
"KRECHER! WOULD YOU OPEN THIS ----- DOOR!? I ORDER YOU AS BEST FRIEND OF…" a male voice yelled from the outside while pounding the door. "OUCH!"
"LANGUAGE!" a female voice said. "You've been around Alastor too long."
"Allow me." Dumbledore volunteered.
Everyone followed the headmaster to the front door.
Dumbledore opened the door a crack and peeked out.
"Professor?" A younger third voice asked. "What are you doing here?"
"Let me guess." The first voice said. "Padfoot lent you his…family home."
Sirius snorted.
"Family home my arse." He whispered not realizing that the first voice had used his nickname.
"Would you please prove you're who you claim to be?" Albus asked the man.
"You're my godfather! I shouldn't need to prove anything to you!" The man said.
Elizabeth and Charles gasped. They now recognized the voice.
"Just do it." The second voice said.
"Fine." The first voice said. "What do you want to know?"
"Transform." Dumbledore said. He had his suspicions
Pause
"You know about that?" the voice asked hesitantly. "I'm dead."
"What does he mean?" a fourth asked.
POP
"Welcome back." Dumbledore said allowing the three cloaked figures and a stag into the house.
POP
The stag transformed into another cloaked figure.
"YOU HAVE A LOT OF EXPLAINING TO DO, MISTER!" the second voice turned to the first.
"About what, Love?" he asked innocently.
"YOU KNOW PERFECTLY WELL WHAT!"
"Can you please not yell?" Sirius asked leaving the hiding place while pointing to a covered portrait. "My mother."
"Yes. PLEASE don't yell." The first voice begged. He met Mrs. Black when she was alive. He turned back to Sirius "Padfoot?"
"Who are you?" Ginny asked as she came out.
The third and fourth person took off their cloaks while the other two started arguing again. Harry nearly had a heart attack.
Cedric Diggory and Bertha Jorkins were standing there in front of him.
Harry's mind started working. If Cedric and Bertha were back, and there were two other unknown people…and one of them had called his godfather "Padfoot"…
"Bloody hell." Harry swore when he figured it out.
He then turned to his friends.
"Hermione? Ron?" Harry whispered.
"Yes?" They answered.
"Catch me." Harry said.
Before they could ask what he meant, he fainted into their arms.
"Dumbledore!" a voice said coming from the kitchen. "The Dark Lord lost connection with …"
Severus Snape trailed off when he saw Cedric Diggory and Bertha Jorkins talking to Dumbledore and Ginny Weasley, and two other cloaked figures were arguing. Sirius, Arthur, and Molly looked ready to faint and, in the shadows, Hermione and Ron were supporting an unconscious Harry. A man and a woman who looked like James Potter's parents were tending to Harry.
"What's going on here?" Snape asked.
"Sniv…I mean Severus?" the man still in the cloak asked just as his wife started to glare at him.
"Potter." Snape sneered as he recognized the voice
The two took off their cloaks to reveal James and Lily Potter.
Harry came to, but went back unconscious when he saw his parents and Cedric again.
"Here." Charles said picking the boy up. "He's awfully light."
"You can blame those relatives of his." Elizabeth said.
"Mum? Dad?" James Potter asked when he saw them, but didn't see Harry due to the shadows. "I thought…"
"Voldemort just separated our souls from our bodies." Elizabeth said as Charles moved Harry into the living room. "The souls were placed in animal bodies where we stayed like that for fifteen years until tonight."
"Why tonight?" Cedric asked.
"The counter was said." She explained. "But what happened with you guys?"
"We were trapped in Voldemort's wand." Lily explained. "Then last week, we were released. We saw Harry fighting Voldemort. Please tell me he made it to the portkey."
"He did." Ginny said.
"If my body was where it was, then he did." Cedric confirmed.
"Where is Harry?" Molly asked looking around.
"Harry's here?" Lily asked.
"Charles moved him to the living room." Elizabeth explained. "He fainted."
"Can you blame the boy?" McGonagall asked.
"Where's Moony?" James asked Sirius.
"Full moon." Sirius told him.
0000
Harry groaned as he came to.
"Wha…Where am I?" Harry asked.
"You're in the living room at Grimmauld Place." Charles explained
"Was I dreaming?" Harry asked his grandfather as he sat up.
"No. You really did see your parents alive."
Instead of getting excited like Charles expected, he looked rather upset.
"Harry?" Charles asked.
"They wouldn't want me." Harry said not looking Charles in the eyes.
"What? Harry? Where did you ever come up with that theory?"
"Because Voldemort wants ME. He'll just…"
Harry got up from the couch and ran up the stairs to a bedroom. Just in time for the others to enter the living room.
"What's going on?" Lily asked. "And I want to know everything."
"Well," Sirius started. "It all started the Halloween you guys were killed…"
TBC
A/N: It didn't seem fair that I brought James' parents back without bringing Harry's. By the way, I haven't forgotten about Heir of Hogwarts. It's written, just not typed.