'Grief and sadness knits two hearts in closer bonds than happiness ever can; and common sufferings are far stronger than common joys.'
~Alphonse de Lamartine

"Do not disrespect me Mulciber" sneered Harry, as the man cowered at his feet.

"I, I did not" stuttered Mulciber.

"Oh really now?" asked Harry, a hard edge to his voice.

"Yes"

"Do. Not. Lie. To. Me" said Harry, every time he paused holding the Death Eater under crucio.

"That is enough my son" said his father, placing a hand on his shoulder. Throwing a cutting curse, Harry watched, fascinated, as a jagged line of red formed on the man's arm, blood pooling before flowing from the open wound.

"Take him away, let that be a lesson to you all. Young I may be but age does not determine talent, if you question that I will prove it first hand" Harry finished with a malicious grin as Lucius and Bellatrix dragged Mulciber out, drawing a pained whimper from his lips as they touched his mangled arm.

"By doubting my son's power you are doubting mine. If I hear anymore word of this then it will be me you deal with and I promise you, I won't be as merciful. Dismissed" hissed Voldemort, and Harry watched as a shiver ran through the inner circle before they apparated away, filling the room with loud cracks.

"Father?" asked Harry, straightening up his robes.

"Yes son?"

"I thought you had one more member of you inner circle?"

"Yes, Severus, he cannot know of your existence and removing him from his post so often would be dangerous for his cover."

"But I thought they were all loyal to you."

"Yes son, but sometimes spending so long amongst others can lead to changes in character and I fear that is happening to Severus. If he told your parents about you they would try and get you back, unsuccessfully of course, but waging a war is hard enough without adding more grievances."

"I refuse to go back to them! They are traitors, surely you know I'm loyal to you" said Harry, his eyes flashing as he turned on his father.

"Yes I do know but I don't want to risk losing you regardless" said Voldemort tenderly.

"He's alive!" asked Sirius, practically bouncing up and down in his chair. For the past sixteen years Harry's death had haunted him. He didn't think he could ever rid himself of the image of James's broken form telling him the news, whilst Lily cried silently in the corner. For those two strong people to be reduced to that was something he would never forget. He and Remus had tried to help as best as they could, and slowly James and Lily did seem better but, there is a difference between seeming and being. Even now he could still see the pain bubbling beneath the surface every time something came up that could be related to Harry.

It never left them. Hovered over every discussion and erected barriers between the friends that had never been there before. Now finally though Sirius felt as if he could breathe again.

Harry was alive.

However then he caught up with the rest.

"You mean he's been trained to be a Death Eater for all his life? What can we do with him? James and Lily wouldn't allow him to be detained" said Minerva, her eyes shining with happiness but she was also wary. She knew just how charming Tom Riddle could be and so he could easily have the young man in his grasp, growing up with him they never knew what lies he had been fed. If this had been anyone outside the Order they wouldn't have mattered but this was James and Lily's son. They were some of the most honourable people she knew and they certainly wouldn't allow Harry to be taken away from them again regardless of what sort of person he was. However that raised the question: what would they do with him?

"I believe we should send him to Hogwarts" said Albus. At this murmurs went around the Order before one member voiced the collective thought.

"But he is a Death Eater, how can we know he's trustworthy?" asked Kingsley Shaklebolt, his slow voice doing nothing to ease the tension in the room.

"Don't you dare say that about Prong's son!" growled Sirius angrily, "If he is as half as strong as his parents he wouldn't have submitted himself to that bullshit!"

"Sirius, let Albus speak" whispered Remus calmly, trying to rein in his friend's temper.

"I have reason to believe that he will convert. We need to put him in an environment with those his own age, by treating him with suspicion will only further close his mind to our cause" said Albus, acting as if nothing had happened.

"Are you sure about this Albus?" asked Minerva.

"If I wasn't I wouldn't have suggested it" said Albus, his voice broaching no more argument.

"Who is going to tell Lily and James?" asked Dedalus Diggle, for once sombre contrasting sharply with his usual bubbly behaviour.

"We'll do it" said Sirius and Remus together.

"Of course," said Albus happily, "We've done well tonight everyone. Until next time."

"What is it Sirius?" asked Lily tiredly, it was almost midnight and she'd just started to get ready for bed. St Mungo's had been exceptionally busy that night and she'd barely had time for a rest. Upon arriving home she'd found James sleeping on the couch, his case notes scattered around him as he slept on. She had taken pity on him and levitated him up to their bedroom before tidying up his work. He worked too hard and she couldn't really blame him. Ever since Harry's death James had became much more serious, often working late at the Auror office, in the hope that he could bring every Dark wizard to justice. She too had plunged herself into her work, immersing herself in her studies and, like James, often working to the late hours. She never wanted any parent to go through what she had and worked hard to save every life she could but, in the end, not every one could be saved. It was on those nights that James held her as sobs wracked her body while she felt a ghost of the pain that had engulfed her all those years ago.

Pulling herself out of her thoughts she fully looked at her friends for the first time. There was something different about them. Remus seemed to be more animated, a twinkle in his eyes that had long been absent. She could see that Sirius was barely containing his excitement, bouncing on the balls of his feet and grinning from ear to ear. Wondering what had got them in such a mood, she motioned for them to enter and closed the door behind them.

"Harry's alive!" yelled Sirius, his control seemingly vanishing. Dimly Lily was aware of their faces moulding into masks of concern. Her mind however seemed stuck on one thought.

'Harry? Alive? How?'

Just then blackness lapped at her vision before consuming it and she fell into oblivion.

"Harry's alive?" came James voice from somewhere above her.

'How can Harry be alive?' she thought hazily, her mind straining to join the dots.

"He's at Order Headquarters" came Remus's voice.

"Can we see him?" asked James.

'See him?... He... he's really here? My baby, my beautiful baby boy is alive?' suddenly the words registered with Lily and she opened her eyes, squinting a little in the morning light.

"Lily! Harry's alive!" yelled James, his face no longer held the stoic look he often wore at home, instead his hazel eyes shimmered with life, and, for the first time since 'it' happened, Lily caught a glimpse of the old James Potter.

"Where is he?" asked Lily, feeling a myriad of emotions course through her body: excitement, happiness, relief, disbelief. It had been a long time since she had felt anything and the emotions took her by surprise, stunning slightly with their intensity.

James grinned as he took in his wife. Lily's emerald eyes were vibrant, almost glowing in a way he had almost forgot they could. He too was wrapped up in his own happiness. For sixteen years he had felt the guilt of not having been there. They had to go out for one of the numerous Ministerial Balls and had left Peter to baby-sit Harry. James couldn't remember much about what had happened when they had returned, all he knew was that Peter was dead and Harry missing. James had spent years trying to track Harry down before he finally 'accepted' the fact that he was indeed dead, even then he never one hundred percent believed it. Every time he caught a Dark wizard he secretly hoped it would bring him some clue pertaining to Harry, he knew that he had to stop thinking like that but that was like asking gravity not to function: it always would no matter what you did. Lily too worked harder to the extent that they barely saw each other, the last sixteen years had been a nightmare, but now, they had been offered the key out of Wonderland.

"Grimmauld Place" replied James, realising that Lily was still expecting an answer.

"I want to see him… we need to see him" said Lily confidently, but James could see underneath that she, like him, was nervous. They wouldn't truly believe it until they saw him, until then they would question and pinch themselves, wondering when they would wake up and this be a dream.

However, for the first time in sixteen years, James Potter felt hope.

A/N: I apologise for the exceedingly late update. I've been swithering whether to scrap this story and really I'm still not sure if I'm going to continue it...

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter.

I apologise for any spelling and/or grammar mistakes contained within this chapter.

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