"A darkness comes and all

These lessons that we've learned here

Have only just begun"

Kings and Queens by 30 Seconds to Mars

Sirius Black sat in amazement. From the future. He had a godson. And James and Lily have a baby and then grandchildren. It was incredible.

But they were going to die. Sirius knew to expect that, he knew it was a possibility. But he didn't want it to be true. While he believed this man, Harry, was who he said he was, he didn't really want to believe that everyone would die.

Picturing a life without James and Lily started to take over his mind. The more questions Harry answered, the more pain Sirius felt. He couldn't lose James. James Potter was the only family he had left. He couldn't just let him die?

Maybe this guy isn't really Harry Potter? Maybe he isn't who he says he is? Maybe I'm just being gullible?

Sirius took several deep breaths, his eyes jumping from James to Lily and back to Harry. Then Harry started discussing Voldemort.

No child should ever have to endure that. I must be a failure. I can't protect a boy from a prophecy. This isn't right. James and Lily can not die.

He wanted it to stop. He didn't want to hear it anymore. He wanted him to go back to his time. He didn't want anyone to know about what just happened.

I can't let the Order trust them. They need to leave. And I need to protect my friends.

Sirius leapt up, shouting out his feelings. He could see the anger in Harry's eyes and realized he inherited Lily's temper. But he had to get rid of them, they had to go.

"No! Who do you think you are? You come here spouting tales of the future claiming you defeated Voldemort at seventeen? You're just some delusional punk. You haven't even told us your name!"

He thought he had gotten him there. Mad-Eye would be all over them now. But he wasn't expecting the rant that came next.

After Harry had left the Great Hall, Sirius sank back into his seat and took a shaky breath.

"I thought you believed them?"

He looked up at James' curious hazel eyes. "I do." He murmured.

A loud clearing of the throat gained everyone's attention. Dumbledore was looking thoughtful behind his templed fingers.

"I think this was a bit much for everyone tonight. Molly, Arthur, if I'm not mistaken you recently added on to your home?"

Arthur nodded. "Two new bedrooms, for the baby and one so Charlie wouldn't have to share with Percy anymore."

"Then, if you consent, the time travelers would be able to stay with you?"

Molly nodded and then smiled at the boys. "We'd love to have you, I hope you don't mind children. Our youngest, Fred and George, they can be a handful."

Sirius noticed the younger two appeared to be hiding grins after Molly's statement.

Dumbledore smiled. "Very well then. All is settled, yes?"

"Hold on!" Mad-Eye barked. "Sirius, though very uncharacteristically, did have a point. We don't know your names."

Teddy rubbed the back of his head. "Well, you heard Harry. He's James and Lily's son."

"And the rest of you?"

"Well, I'm his godson, Teddy. And these two are his sons, Jamie and Albus."

Mad-Eye seemed to accept the answers and Sirius could literally feel the buzzing going around the table. Everyone had a million questions, but no one was ready to voice them.

Sirius ran a hand through his hair, feeling the uncomfortable gaze of his three best friends.

Albus Severus Potter grinned up at his grandmother. She was forty years younger and pregnant, but she had that same endearing smile he had grown up with.

"Now, you said your name was Jamie? And you're Teddy, and this one is Albus. All right, I think I got it. We have five boys. Bill is eight, Charlie is six, Percy is three, and the twins, Fred and George are nineteen months. I hope you won't feel overwhelmed by them."

Albus tried to picture his uncles as small children. He couldn't imagine big Uncle Charlie as a tiny boy.

He looked uncomfortably at his older brothers, but their blank faces provided no sympathy; they were as lost as he was.

"Where did your father run off to?" Grandad questioned. Arthur, not Grandad. This was going to be difficult.

Teddy shrugged. "He'll find us, that's for certain. It's actually funny Dumbledore sent us to The Burrow."

Arthur's brow furrowed. "So you know us in the future?"

Jamie smiled softly. "Let's just say we are very, very close."

With a smile, Arthur offered his arm. "Anyone need a lift or can everyone apparate themselves?"

"I can't, but Teddy will take me along." Al reached out and grabbed the wizard's arm and closing his eyes.

When he opened them again, they were gathered at the apparation point of the Weasley family home. Albus felt calm being somewhere he always knew to be safe. He silently hoped his father would find them. While Teddy had seemed extremely confident that Dad would, Albus was still concerned.

"Arthur, would you walk Helen home?"

Before Al could ask who Helen was, the door opened and sitting at the kitchen table was an elderly woman, knitting furiously.

"Hello, Helen, I trust Bill and Charlie went to bed all right? The others didn't wake?" Molly questioned, pulling off her scarf and coat.

The woman began to pack up his knitting. "The small ones starting wailing, but Bill and Charlie took care of it. Good lads, they are."

"I'm glad to hear." Arthur picked up the bag and offered his arm. "Let's get you home, shall we? We can't tell you enough how grateful we are you were able to watch the kids."

Albus watched Arthur lead the elderly woman out into the night. He turned back around and stared blankly at his Grandmother, unsure of what would happen.

Teddy cleared his throat and Molly smiled, gesturing to the table. "Would you like tea?"

The three boys sat, their tension very clear to Molly. She pulled several chipped mugs from the cupboard, peering around at her guests.

"Now, I understand it's been a difficult day for you three, but you can talk to me? You say we know each other in the future, why don't you tell me about that while I fix the tea."

"Can we have your hot chocolate instead?"

Albus was surprised by Jamie's request. His blood brother had always held up the tough exterior. It scared Albus, to see James facing so much emotion. Gran's hot chocolate was just what they all needed.

"I think your hot chocolate is exactly what we need, Molly." Teddy murmured, staring down at his hands.

She stared at the oldest boy for a moment before filling the kettle and gathering the ingredients. Molly then sat down, her hand on her growing belly.

"Do you all have any bags?"

Albus scratched his head thoughtfully. "I don't know. Probably not."

The boys were all quiet, occasionally looking at each other, as if someone would come up with an answer for everything. Molly pursed her lips.

"Are we close enough that you're afraid the future will be altered?"

They all nodded. Albus ran his finger along a crack in the table, realizing the table was the same table that remained in his proper time period. He looked up at his Gran. "So close that we'd be terrified to even be in the room with you."

Molly's expression saddened a bit and she reached out to grab Al's hand, giving it a light squeeze.

"Can you promise me that Fred and George will get easier to handle when they're older?"

Albus wanted to cry. He had never met his Uncle Fred. While Uncle George tried to talk about him constant, their grandmother always teared up when his name was mentioned.

"They get worse. But I wouldn't worry about any of your children." Teddy tried to smile, but it was short lived.

All three boys felt so vulnerable. If there was one person they could never lie to it was Molly Weasley. They're father, who had provided almost all of the strength for them, had ran off in a rage. They were away from the rest of their family, in an unknown world.

And Harry Potter was still slowly dying.

The door swung opened just as the kettle whistled. Arthur deposited his hat on the hook by their coats and grinned. "Hot chocolate? Excellent!"

Molly ignored his arrival, her eyes jumped from the boys, examining their features. Her mouth opened for a moment and her eyes froze on Jamie. Albus shifted uncomfortably. Their Gran had eyes like a hawk. And while Al was carbon copy of his father, James was a combination of Potter and Weasley, though with much more Potter of course. But that didn't hide the cheek bones, the nose, the few features that were distinctly Weasley.

"You boys are Harry Potter's sons?"

They nodded.

"Tell me, do you know if our next child is a girl or not?"

Teddy straightened in his seat. "It's a boy."

Molly seemed taken aback and her suspicion evaporated. Arthur eased himself into the seat next to his wife and passed out the mugs.

"For a moment I thought you may be my grandchildren. It was silly, I know." She chuckled. "There's no way you could have Weasley blood and not be a redhead."

Albus felt sweat coating his palms. He wanted his father. And his mother. He felt terrified. What if something happened? What if they couldn't go home?

"Oh, Molly, you just want a daughter so badly." Arthur brushed hair out of his wife's face.

Albus looked at the disappointment in his Gran's eyes. He didn't want her to suffer.

"You'll have one, don't worry."

Teddy kicked him from under the table and Al gritted his teeth and turned to Ted. "Look, you and I both know we won't be able to keep quiet. If something happens, we can always memory charm them!"

"No!" Teddy hissed. "Are you an unspeakable? No! So, you don't know anything about this! Look, if you can't keep quiet, take your drink and go upstairs!"

Al balled his hands into fists. He hated it when Teddy took charge like he was some big shot auror. When he and James were kids it was all right, but they were graduating school soon, they weren't kids.

Still, he obeyed, knowing it would be what his father would have wanted. He grabbed the mug and left the room, only to pause on the second landing, his eyes glued on the tiny, sleeping, red headed twins.

"James, go make sure he's okay."

Jamie nodded and, taking his mug with him, left the kitchen.

Teddy looked up at Molly and Arthur. "This isn't exactly a good time for us right now. I mean, in the future, things got a little difficult for us recently. We're all taking it pretty hard."

"I take it you aren't allowed to share anything about that?"

Ted shook his head, and stared down into the now empty mug. "My grandmother would being me over to play here and in the winter you would always make this for all the kids."

Molly's eyes were moist. "Lots of grandchildren?"

"Did you honestly think with as many kids as you have that there would even be a possibility of not having a ton of grandkids?"

Arthur chuckled. "Not really. It's still nice to hear it."

Nodding, Teddy pushed his mug back. "I should get to bed and talk to the boys. Harry should be back before midnight. He never takes more than a few hours to himself."

With a final goodnight, Teddy left the kitchen.

Harry tossed his cigarette onto the ground and stomped it out. Ginny would kill him if she found out he was still sneaking smokes. He had begun the habit as a young auror and quickly ended it when Ginny gave him an ultimatum about it. He still kept a pack in his rucksack for missions though.

He was standing in the woods of the Burrow. He knew Dumbledore would send them with Molly and Arthur. It was the only place that wouldn't raise suspicions. He was grateful. The familiar environment would be good for the boys.

Sirius' words still vibrated through his head. Harry knew his godfather believed him still. But he also knew that once so many deaths and Voldemort was brought into things, he would try and turn it around. It was the Sirius way of the past. His godfather was currently a young adult, a kid really, younger than Teddy.

Harry sighed and pulled his coat around his neck. Snow was beginning to fall; he needed to get inside.

The door was unlocked and he carefully stepped into the dark kitchen. Light suddenly filled the room. Harry didn't bother pulling his wand; he turned to smile at his in-laws. With a sigh, he slipped into a chair on the opposite side of the table, facing Molly and Arthur.

"Feel better, Sir?"

Harry chuckled. "Sir? Arthur, it took me years to stop calling you Mr. Weasley. Please call me Harry, or son even would be better. Remember in my world, you're more than forty years older."

Molly blinked, uncomfortable. "I can't imagine being that old."

"Believe me, for years I had no plans to live past seventeen and now I'm forty two. It's a wild world sometimes."

"The boys are all asleep upstairs. Or at least trying to."

"They're probably having a hard time imagining their uncles as infants."

Molly's eyes widened. "Uncles?"

Harry smiled and pulled out his wallet. "Guess I'm a rotten secret keeper." He placed a family photo from the last Weasley reunion on the table. "The reason the boys know you all so well is because you're their grandparents."

Arthur and Molly stared at the photo in amazement. "I can't even count how many people there are!"

Molly's head snapped back up. "Wait...if your kids are...we have a daughter?"

"I thought you said this was Ronald?" Arthur gestured to his wife's swollen belly.

Harry nodded. "You think you two stop at six? No, seven is a much nicer number. Ginny won't be arriving for another year...plus nine months."

"A little girl? And you're our son-in-law? I don't even have my daughter yet and she's already married off with kids of her own..." Arthur murmured, staring at the photo in amazement.

Before they could find all of their children in the photo, Harry reached out and retrieved it. He was going to do his best to avoid the Fred situation.

He lifted his gaze to see his father-in-law looking nervous. "Why did you come back in time?"

Harry shrugged. "Strange things always happen to me. Hopefully Dumbledore will think of something. Did you all discuss things further after I left?"

"Not really. He seemed to have something on his mind though and not too concerned. Alice Longbottom may know something."

"Yeah, I always thought she was an auror?"

"She was, with her husband. She switched departments rather recently. Not sure why really."

Molly seemed distracted with her mug of tea. She glanced up at Harry. "Teddy said that something happened recently that was upsetting everyone? They wouldn't say anything, but..."

Harry closed his eyes. "I need your word on this that you won't repeat it." He opened his eyes again, looking at them gravely. They both nodded.

"I'm an auror as you know and I work with the ICW. I went on a mission a few months back and was cursed. Long story short, I'm dying. I have maybe two years left."

Both Weasleys were speechless for a moment before Arthur spoke. "What curse was it?"

"It inflicts muggle disease. Ever heard of cancer? I'm going to slowly deteriorate in front of my family. My kids are angry and confused, my wife is depressed and my best friends are miserable. And now I'm not even in the right time period."

"What are you planning to do?"

Harry felt more equal with his father-in-law than ever before. "I just need to go home and be with the rest of my family before I'm incapable of feeding myself. You don't understand, my mind is going to be the first thing to go."

Molly wiped away tears. "You must not give up hope. That's all we have."

The ghost of a smile crossed Harry's face. "You know I've survived the killing curse twice? Yeah. I've always been able to face death since I was a boy. But now, in this moment, I don't think I can face anything."

Harry dug the heels of his hands into his eyes. "I think I need some sleep."

"C'mon, we'll show you up."

He followed Molly and Arthur upstairs. It was like he was twelve and coming to stay with them for the first time. He paused at the door of what would become Ginny's bedroom. The door was cracked. Harry pushed it open, revealing a sleeping Bill.

"After the final battle, I was rounding up the last of Voldemort's Death Eaters. One tried to attack Ginny and I just lost it. I dragged the man by the neck and just starting beating him. I broke both of my hands and my knuckles were bleeding. The man was unconscious of course...Bill was the one to pull me away and calm me down. As the oldest brother, he's always the one to keep the peace. Him and Charlie."

Harry turned to the pale faces of his surrogate parents. "You're children are going to be the force in this war. This generation," he gestured to Bill. "We are the warriors. Ask any one of us and we can share our own personal war story.

"But we're also the generation to fix it all. We all get married and have kids in a peaceful time. The only things my kids know about the war is what I tell them or what they read in their history books. They'll never have to live in fear like this."

Harry didn't say another word as he brushed past the red heads, determined to find his room on his own.