Chapter 5: The Memory

"Harry?" James asked as he entered Harry's room.

"Dad?" Harry asked as he came out of his closet. "What are your doing here?"

"I just got home." James said. "Scrimgeour said I could start when school starts up after the full moon. I'm still substituting for Moony. What were you doing in your closet?"

Harry didn't look James in the eye as he hesitated.

"Ginny better not be in there." James told him.

"No." Harry said. "It's just, I know that if I told you, you'd want to go check it out and I'm not sure if I want that."

"Not unless you want me too." James said.

"I was putting more memories in the pensieve I received last Christmas." Harry said. "Some happy, but most are upsetting and give me nightmares."

"At least you weren't doing anything you'd regret." James said patting his son's shoulders. "I'll be downstairs if you need me."

"Okay." Harry said.

0000

Harry left his room when he was finished putting the memories away. He had decided to allow his father to see more of his past. James deserved it. Besides, Lily was at the hospital getting a check up. He left the room and looked for his father. He heard the sound of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata from downstairs. He followed the music and saw his father playing on the piano. (One of the many secret talents of James Potter)

When the song ended, James turned and saw his son looking impressed.

"I…It's not what it looks like." James tried.

"Nice try." Harry said. "I saw you pressing on those keys."

"Don't tell ANYONE or I'll make YOU learn like my parents forced me." James threatened.

"Don't worry, Dad. I won't tell." Harry said with a smile

"Can I help you with anything?" James asked.

"Dad." Harry said frowning. "I…I think…perhaps you should see them. The memories."

"Are you sure?" James asked.

"Just don't make me go in with you." Harry begged slightly.

0000

In Harry's walk-in-closet,

James and Harry were standing in front of the bowl of memories.

"I'll be here." Harry told his father. "I've lived them."

"Harry." James said. "You are CERTAIN you want me to see all of this?"

"I took out the stuff that you already know details about." Harry explained pointing to the vials in a box.

One was labeled "The Final Battle".

"Okay." James said as he plunged in.

0000

James spent an hour in the pensieve watching his son battle Voldemort, kill a basilisk, running from a werewolf, finding out he was a wizard, talking to a boa constrictor, running from Dudley, making friends with Peter Conway, breaking a few bones and being neglected, crying himself to sleep, and being treated like a slave.

"Too bad Peter's now a soulless body and Voldemort's gone." James said to himself. "I'd make them pay for what they did to Harry. Of course, I could still teach the Dursley's a lesson."

He had made it to the last memory. The scene was extremely fuzzy. It was like a memory Harry barley remembered.

"Are you okay Lily?" James heard himself ask.

"I'm fine. Just worried." Lily said.

Suddenly, James felt a cold chill run up his spine when he heard a baby start crying as if frightened. He was starting to recognize what was going on.

"What's the matter, Prongslet?" memory James whispered.

The lights started to flicker.

"THE CHARM!" Lily screamed when she realized what was going on.

"Lily, take Harry and go! It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off…"

The real James felt the urge to go after Lily and Harry as the door opened. He saw a younger Lily hold onto a baby Harry for dear life as she attempted to make a portkey. Suddenly, a bright green light came from the closed door.

"No." Lily gasped as she stopped. She looked ready to cry, but she took one look at her baby boy and went back to attempting to make a portkey.

Suddenly, the door to the nursery opened and Voldemort walked in.

She put the baby in the crib and stood between the villain and her son. Tears were streaming down her face as she thought of James laying dead in the hall.

"Not Harry! Not Harry! Please --- I'll do anything…"

"Stand aside. Stand aside girl!" Voldemort instructed. "I only want the boy."

"Not Harry!" she repeated. "Not Harry, please not Harry."

"Stand aside, you silly girl…stand aside, now…"

"Not Harry," she said again begging. "Please no, take me, kill me instead."

"Very well. Avada Kedavra!"

"HARRY!" She screamed as the green light hit her.

"LILY!" the real James screamed as she fell dead.

"Now." Voldemort said turning to the baby sitting in his crib. "For the last Potter."

"Mama?" Harry asked looking at the still body of his mother.

"Avada Kedavra."

James watched in horror as the green light made it's way for the baby. His son.

Suddenly, the light rebounded off the boy and hit the older wizard.

"NOOOOOO!" Voldemort screamed as the light hit him.

Suddenly, the house started to come down. The debris fell through James because he was in a memory.

"HARRY!" James screamed as the crib started to collapse.

The edges of the crib fell in creating a barrier for the 15 month old.

After the house collapsed, James heard a motorcycle.

"Oh no!" James heard Sirius say. "I'm too late! PRONGS! LILY! HARRY!"

"WHAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!" baby Harry screamed.

"Harry?" Sirius asked as he made his way to the infant. "HARRY!"

Sirius ran to his godson and wedged him out of the crib.

"Pafoo?" Harry asked as tears coursed down his face.

"It's okay Harry. I'm here." Sirius said.

Sirius checked Harry out for any injuries. He found just the lightning bolt shaped cut on his forehead. The Marauder looked around for any other hints.

"Mama?" Harry said looking where his mother fell.

He found the body of Lily and of Voldemort lying within feet of each other.

"This is all your fault!" Sirius cried as he kicked the body of Voldemort. "Why them?"

Sirius then stepped over Voldemort and found James' body.

"Prongs?" Sirius asked kneeling next to his dead best friend.

"Dada?" Harry tried.

Memory James was still.

"Sirius!" a booming voice called.

Sirius turned and saw Hagrid.

"We're too late!" Sirius exclaimed. "They're…They're…"

"Pafoo no cwy." Harry tried to comfort his godfather, crying himself. If anyone was supposed to cry, it was him. Not his godfather. Sirius wasn't suppose to cry.

James felt the tears run down his own cheeks.

"I'm sorry, Sirius." Hagrid said placing a hand on Sirius' shoulder.

After a few minutes,

"Dumbledore sent me to get Harry, if he was alive." Hagrid said. "Snape told him that Voldemort had been told the location of the Potters."

"No." Sirius said holding Harry close to him. "He's my godson."

"Dumbledore's orders, Sirius."

"I won't give up Harry!" Sirius told the half-giant

"Pafoo?" Harry asked.

Sirius looked at the confused babe. He sighed.

"This is Wormtail's fault." Sirius said to himself in a voice low enough for only Harry and James to hear. "I'll make him pay."

The dog animagus turned to Hagrid.

"Take Harry to Dumbledore." Sirius said to Hagrid handing the baby to the half-giant. "Take my bike. It'll get you there faster."

"Pafoo?" Harry asked looking ready to cry even louder as he leaned towards his godfather reaching to be held by him. "No go!"

"Harry." Sirius told the boy. "Be good for Hagrid and Dumbledore. I'll see you soon."

0000

James came back out of the pensieve to see a confused Harry.

"Why were you in there so long?" Harry asked.

"I didn't realize you remembered that night." James told him.

"If I think about it long and hard enough…"

Harry's face paled as he realized that there had been an extra memory.

"I FORGOT TO TAKE THAT OUT!"

Harry started to panic.

"You weren't supposed to see that one!" Harry told his father as he sat down in a chair. "I'm sorry for making you relive that."

"Harry. I had been dead in most of the memory." James reminded him.

"But still…to see…Mum being…and Sirius…"

"I'm glad you forgot to take that out." James said placing his arm around Harry's shoulders. "I needed to know what really happened."

"I'm sorry."

"No. I'M sorry. I never understood the extent of your adventures. No wonder some people think you have a death wish."

"There you two are." Lily said as she walked into the closet and found the father comforting the son. "I found out…What's going on?"

"Harry was just showing me his pensieve that he had set up and he forgot to take out a certain memory." James explained

Lily looked at Harry and James when realization dawned on her.

"It was of THAT night, wasn't it?" she asked.

James nodded.

"I'm sorry." Harry repeated.

"Why don't you two do something else?" Lily suggested.

"Like what?" James asked. "There aren't enough people for Quidditch."

"There are other things." She sighed rolling her eyes. "Like…chess. Oh. Here's a suggestion that would keep you preoccupied for a few hours."

She went over to her husband and whispered something in his ear.

James paled.

"He knows about that stuff!" James argued

"Review it." She said. "Now that he's dating…"

She left the closet without another word.

"What?" Harry asked.

"Harry?" James asked. "What do you know about the birds and the bees?"

"Enough to know I'd rather play chess."

"Oh." Lily said coming back into the closet. "I forgot to tell you. It's a girl."

"A girl?" the boys repeated.

"That's what I said." She said as she left them to their father/son moment.

"I have it!" James said. "Harry? How would you like to know how to get away with ANYTHING concerning your Transfiguration teacher and School nurse?"

"I'd love that information. But that is impossible."

"Not if you catch them off guard."

"Show me. Especially with Madame Pomfrey."

TBC

A/N: I'd like to thank flower123 for the idea for this chapter.

Here's the preview:

"You're starting to sound like Mad-Eye." Sirius said.

"CONSTANT VILIGANCE!" Moody yelled. "And I heard that Black."

"You hear everything." Sirius argued.

"Why is everyone here?" Harry asked as he noticed practically everyone one he knew and people he didn't know.

Ginny pointed to a red sign with gold letters.