Hindsight

Summary: "Ten years," James whispered to his wife. "We've been dead for Ten years… how is this possible?" Ten years after the tragedy at Godric's Hollow, James and Lily come back to life and find their world turned upside down.

AN: If there are any concerns about Harry being a Hufflepuff, I can assure you that he won't be one. I just wrote it as a contrast to the first time he ever had to talk about Hogwarts. In the book, he's pretty clueless about it and seems depressed at the thought of becoming a Hufflepuff after the way Draco talks about it, so I thought it'd be nice to show how he's more informed this time around and able to argue back instead of stand there quietly whenever Draco says something rude.

Chapter 12

"Be quiet!"

"You'll wake him if you keep stomping your feet like that!"

"Stop shoving me or I'll drop the cake!"

Harry snickered into his pillow as he pretended to be asleep. He didn't know who they thought they'd be surprising with how loud they all were. To top it all off, the commotion they were making had Hedwig screeching on her perch, desperate to warn her owner of the coming danger. "Shush, Hedwig," he admonished. "You'll ruin their surprise!" She didn't listen. Instead she grew even more incensed when his door opened wide.

"Someone tell that bloody bird to be quiet! She'll wake him before we have the chance to!"

"It's not helping that you're screaming at it, Sirius!"

Harry sat up with a sigh. "You guys are awful at this."

They all froze, glanced at each other, then screamed out "Happy birthday!" Harry hopped off the bed with a laugh.

"Happy birthday, sweetheart," Lily cooed. "Our boy's eleven!"

"Finally of age to start learning magic," James said proudly.

Remus held the cake out in front of his face. "Go on, Harry, make a wish!"

He shook his head but blew the candles out. "I don't need to make one. It's already come true, Moony."

Sirius hopped onto the bed. "Well, if it's already come true, then you wouldn't mind sharing it with us, would you?"

Harry kept his gaze on the werewolf. "Just that my family would be here to celebrate my birthday with me. My entire family."

Remus couldn't hide the way the words affected him. The full moon was fast approaching, only hours away, and Remus looked more exhausted than ever. Though he should have been spending the day in bed, resting before his body underwent the change, he forced himself up to see the boy.

"I'm happy I got to see you today, even if it's only for a few minutes."

Remus patted the boy's cheek. "Like I could leave you without your favorite uncle on your birthday."

Sirius smirked. "I don't know what you were so worried about, Remus, I'm right here."

"Shut it, mutt," he growled.

Lily suddenly began bouncing on her heels. "Oh! Oh! James, the presents!"

"You got me presents?" Harry frowned guiltily. "You didn't have to! I have everything I want already."

James had the sudden urge to go to Surrey and throttle the Dursleys. "How dare you deny us the basic rights of spoiling you rotten, Harry James Potter," he said sternly. "Now you march your ungrateful self downstairs and open the numerous presents we got for you."

"But…"

"Better do it now, junior," Remus cut in. "Or I'll fall asleep before you even see my gift."

Harry stammered his thanks to them for the entire day, feeling stupid for not knowing how to express his gratitude better. They had gotten him a number of things, including Quidditch through the Ages, an English National jersey, a cornucopia of wizard candies, and dress robes to wear for Christmas. His favorite present, however, was a photo album Hagrid had sent him through the mail. A note was attached to it, saying he worked hard with his family and various others friends of the Potters to put it all together. "Do you like it, Harry?" Lily asked him. "Hagrid started it when he first came here to take us to Diagon Alley."

"Are you kidding?" He flipped through the pages again and again, awestruck at the many things he saw- some of them from days at Hogwarts, a picture of James and Lily's wedding, and even one of them holding him as an infant. "This is perfect. You're all in serious competition with Hagrid. He's on a roll with how amazing his gifts are." Harry hugged the album to his chest. "I'll bring this with me to Hogwarts so I can look at it when I'm missing you."

The rest of the day went by wonderfully. Harry was sure he'd never eaten so much food in his entire life, nor had he laughed so much before either. Unfortunately, night was creeping in fast and Harry found himself saying goodbye to his dad and uncles much sooner than he wanted to.

"Where are you bringing him?" James tried to wipe away the worry lines in the boy's face with the pad of his thumb.

"You know the forest? The one you can see when you walk to the top of the hill behind the house? It's secluded there. No one will bother him."

"You'll take care of him, won't you?"

Lily squeezed Harry's shoulder. "They'll bring him back safe and sound."

Sirius was coming down the steps with Remus, an arm thrown around the man's waist to keep him up. Harry waved when they passed him. "I'll have breakfast ready for you in the morning, Moony," he told them as they went.

James went down on one knee and hugged his son. "Happy birthday again, Harry. I hope you enjoyed your day."

"It was the best yet," he told him genuinely. James kissed him on the cheek and laughed when his son blushed. "I love you too but please don't do that in front of people when I go off to Hogwarts."

James looked up at his wife in amusement. "Take care of your mother for me, alright?"

He heard Harry asking Lily what kind of breakfast wouldn't upset Remus' stomach as he jogged away and caught up with his friends. "How goes it, Moony?" The man merely grimaced at him. James knew that Remus was feeling guilty about cutting the festivities short, on Harry's first birthday with them of all days, but Sirius and James were having none of his pity party. The entire way to the forest, they continued trying to find ways to cheer him up. "Just think! Moony, Padfoot and Prongs, reunited once more."

"I know Padfoot can be handsome, but try not to get frisky with him tonight."

"Oh shut up, Sirius," Remus laughed. After all these years, it seemed Sirius still knew exactly what to say to distract the man. "Moony's taste is far better than the likes of you."

"I resent that! I'm quite a catch."

James snorted. "To fleas, maybe."

"Bugger off, James! You're the one that stomps through the forest like you think you own it!"

"Have you seen Prongs?! Of course he does!"

They continued to make fun of each other, someone always taking a turn at being the butt of the joke, until they reached the edge of the forest. Remus' mood dampened as the sun began to set and he hurried them deep into the forest so they'd be far away once the change began. "Might want to take your clothes off already, Moony," Sirius suggested. "Wouldn't want to walk home naked tomorrow."

Remus smiled weakly.

They reached over and patted his back. "It'll be alright. You make it through this all the time."

"And this time, we're back to help you," James added.

"Thanks," he whispered to them. "You've no idea how happy I am to be with you all again."

Sirius just smiled at him. "I think we have some idea of it, actually."

The change was painful, but not quite as drawn out as it had been for the past ten years. Though he usually unconsciously fought against it, this time Remus had an easier transition knowing his friends would be there to keep him in control. He was on his paws much faster than he had been in a while, their Hogwarts days beating it by seconds.

Moony huffed through his nose and shook his fur out in an effort to get himself comfortable. Prongs and Padfoot were already present but they didn't dare move. Moony moved forward menacingly when he caught sight of them, daring them to try and attack him, but his defensive posture fell when he caught their scent. He knew these two. They were part of his pack long ago. Suddenly, the large werewolf began swatting at them playfully, beckoning them to run with him.

The dog leapt onto his back and wrestled him to the ground before taking off, luring him into a chase in the woods. The tall deer followed them effortlessly, nudging the werewolf with his antlers in a way of telling him to hurry or he'd never catch the mischievous mutt that attacked him.

For the first time in many cycles, Moony was at peace.

September first was only two weeks away and Harry was feeling utterly depressed.

After putting a countdown calendar up on the wall in the living room, endless questions about Hogwarts, and numerous times trying his robes on, his parents could not understand why he was suddenly feeling so down. Harry would walk into rooms like he was walking into a funeral. He would barely eat, be the first to go to bed, the last to get up in the morning, and hardly laughed at all when Padfoot came out to play with him. In fact, he'd taken more to finding Sirius when he was meditating and would sit with him quietly until he was done.

"I don't get it," James finally cried out one morning. "What's the matter with him? Just a month ago he was bouncing off the walls about going to school."

"You don't think he doesn't want to be a wizard anymore, do you?" Lily asked worriedly.

Remus and Sirius turned to each other exasperatedly. "You're both daft as hell," Sirius drawled.

James pouted up at his wife, telling her to defend them, but she looked at their friend with confusion instead. "What do you mean?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Remus laughed. "He's just realized going off to school means leaving you two behind."

"Leaving all of us behind, really," Sirius stated arrogantly. "I can't blame him. I'm a ray of sunshine in your bleak lives."

"Is that the problem?" James pondered to himself. "Well, why didn't he just tell us that?"

The shaggy haired man threw his hands up in defeat. "Did you run and sob all over mummy and daddy when you were his age, James?"

He glared at him irately. "My son does not sob, Sirius… not that I'd think any less of him if he did, mind you." Suddenly, he lit up as though he'd come to the most amazing conclusion. "Let's home school him!"

Lily slapped a hand over her face as the others broke out into laughter. "James, no."

"But, Lily! He doesn't want to go! I don't want him to go. I know you don't want him to go. Let's just keep him."

"We are not stealing this milestone from him, James Potter," she hissed at her husband.

"Well, what are we supposed to do?! Force him onto the train?"

She tapped her foot as she thought of how they could convince Harry that leaving for Hogwarts wasn't a bad thing. They all looked up at her expectantly. Honestly, she had no idea how the three of them, friends for so long, couldn't come up with an answer together, always relying on her to find a solution.

Her eyes widened.

Friends. A group of friends! That's what Harry needed to motivate him. He told them himself that he never had a good experience with school because Dudley scared their schoolmates away from him. Maybe if Harry knew he'd have people waiting to see him at school, he wouldn't feel so sad about leaving.

"I have an idea."

"Yes?"

"Well, you know how we've been trying to figure out how to help the Longbottoms?"

Three days later, Augusta Longbottom and Molly and Arthur Weasley were standing in their living room with Albus Dumbledore smiling behind them.

"Oh, James, Lily," Augusta greeted ecstatically. "It's so wonderful to see you! I could hardly believe Albus when he told us, but look at you both. Standing right here in front of me. Alice and Frank would be so happy." The couple looked down remorsefully but Augusta wouldn't allow it. "You stop that. My son and daughter-in-law fought bravely. They wouldn't want you feeling guilty for what happened to them. And you!" she pointed an accusing finger at Sirius who stepped back instinctively.

"Yes, mam?" he gulped.

Augusta nodded slowly. "You're a good man, Sirius Black. Can't say the same about your cousin."

"I'd have to agree with you quite wholeheartedly, Mrs. Longbottom."

"Now, where's the little one?"

"Out with Remus at the moment," said James. "Won't be back till later."

Albus guided the Weasleys forward. "Lily, James. I'd like you to meet Arthur and Molly. I'm sure you remember Fabian and Gideon mentioning their older sister?"

"Of course!" Lily replied immediately. "It's wonderful to meet you."

Molly took their hands and shook them happily. "Oh no, really," she answered looking quite flustered. "The pleasure is all ours!"

"So very proud to meet you both," Arthur chimed in. "So very proud!"

"Your brothers were great friends to us before their deaths," James mentioned with a very affectionate tone as he thought of the Prewett boys. "Trusted them very much. There wasn't a mission on Earth they were afraid of. We were very sad to lose them."

"Thank you," Molly answered, her eyes getting misty. "They only had kind things to say about you as well."

Augusta cleared her throat and brought attention back to her. "I hate to interrupt, but Albus said you wanted to ask a favor of us?"

Lily took James' hand in hers. "Yes, we did. A few days ago, we reached out to Albus in hopes that he knew any wizarding families that could be trusted to know our secret." The Weasleys looked rather honored to know they'd been chosen, but Augusta didn't appear surprised at all. "You see, Harry's been quite downtrodden about leaving home for Hogwarts in a few weeks, which we completely understand! He's just found his family again. He obviously doesn't want to leave us so soon, nor do we want him to leave us."

"Of course," Molly told them sympathetically. "Completely understandable, the poor dear. He must have been so happy to be with his parents again."

James gave Dumbledore an appreciative glance. They'd been wary about meeting others, unsure of who would truly care for their son or who just wanted bragging rights.

"Well," he continued for his wife. "We thought that if Harry was introduced to others going into their First Year at Hogwarts, he might not be as anxious about leaving home, maybe even excited again."

"I for one would love to introduce him to Neville," Augusta remarked, immediately catching on to what they wanted way before James began speaking. "The boy needs it. Shy little thing he is, he'll need all the friends he can get before going to school. I expect your boy won't let anyone bother my grandson once they get to Hogwarts."

It sounded like an order, but they weren't offended. "Without a doubt," Lily told her confidently. "Harry doesn't stand for bullying."

"And our Ronald would be up to making friends as well," Arthur added happily. "He's got lots of brothers, he does, but they're all a bit older than him."

"And he finds it rather hard to connect with his younger sister as much as he loves her," Molly acknowledged. "It'd be nice if he had a boy his age to talk to."

"Wonderful," Lily beamed. "Just wonderful! We can't express our gratitude enough, truly."

"Harry!"

Harry kicked at Padfoot when the dog began nipping at his toes. "G'way, Pads," he mumbled. "Sleeping."

To his surprise, his godfather did not leave like he usually did every morning. Instead, he changed back to a human and sat on his back. Harry's eyes bugged out of their sockets and he beat on the mattress with his fists. "Si-Siri!" he wheezed. "Can't b-breathe!"

"Serves you right, acting like a right bugger for the past few weeks." Sirius rolled off of him but picked him up and carried him out of the room bridal style.

"Sirius!" Harry screeched. "Put me down!"

"I do believe your mother was calling for you, young man."

He threw the boy back onto his feet, grabbed his wrist and tugged him into the dining room. James was sitting at the table reading the Daily Prophet and Lily was sipping on some tea. "Morning, sweetheart," she said with a bright smile as Sirius shoved him into his seat. "Happy you could join us on time today." Harry glared at his godfather, who pointedly ignored him. Remus and Lily shared an amused stare. "We have some visitors coming today and I want you to be on your best behavior."

That startled him out of his anger. "Visitors?" he wondered out loud. "There are more people who know about you?"

"A recent development, Har," James explained. "Old family friends that Dumbledore said would be safe to reach out to. They're bringing their boys along and we want you to entertain them while we adults get reacquainted."

Harry's heart leapt in his chest. "Their boys?"

They didn't miss the interest in his tone. "Yes. One of them is just a day older than you, actually."

"A day? So he'll be a first year like me?"

"The other one too," Remus said enthusiastically. "I'm sure you'll make them feel welcomed, Harry."

"Of course!" Harry answered as he distractedly scooped some eggs onto his plate. His stomach fluttered with nerves and excitement. He'd never been able to interact with boys his age without getting beaten up. He hoped they wouldn't think poorly of him because of how little he knew about the magical world. "What time are they coming?" he asked as casually as he could while taking a bite of bacon.

James glanced up at him. "Noon."

"Do you think they'll be Gryffindors?"

He had to hide his smirk behind his paper. "You sound awfully confident that you'll be in Gryffindor."

"Well, where else would I be? Obviously, not Ravenclaw! There's no way I'm clever enough to be an eagle."

"That's not true," Lily objected.

Harry continued on like his mother hadn't said anything. "I guess I could be a badger. I'd like to think I'm very loyal. Wouldn't you say so, mum?"

"And patient to boot, having to deal with this lot," she said, nodding towards the men of the family.

"Hey!" they cried out simultaneously.

"What if I'm a Slytherin?" Harry asked. He was too lost in imagining Slytherin green on his robes to notice the way his parents tensed. "Will you throw me out like Sirius' parents?"

"Of course not!" James thundered. "They'd be lucky to have you in their house! Finally have someone to give them a good reputation."

"Though Snape would probably turn over in his grave," Sirius commented.

Lily threw a piece of her crust at him. "He isn't dead!"

"That can be easily remedied."

"You best not say anything like that when the Longbottoms and Weasleys arrive," Lily warned him. "We don't want them going in with any preconceptions."

"Too late for that," Remus snorted. "Harry's bound to tell them everything he knows."

The boy grinned cheekily at his mother. "They've got a point, mum. Have to prepare any potential mates for the dangers that lie ahead."

"Harry James Potter, what have I told you before?"

He rolled his eyes and nudged his eggs with his fork as he brought to mind the conversation he had with his mother during one of his interrogations about Hogwarts. "Slytherins aren't evil just because they're Slytherins and that I should give Professor Snape a chance because dad, Remus and Sirius are biased."

"I don't appreciate you brainwashing my godson against me, Evans!"

Later that day, Harry was fiddling with the buttons on his shirt as he waited for their visitors to floo in. He had brushed his hair four times already but, somehow, his attempts to fix it had made it even more unruly than before. Fifteen minutes passed since noon and he was starting to get worried. Had they changed their minds? Did the boys find out they had to make friends with someone they didn't know and begged their parents to just stay home?

In the middle of his fretful thoughts, the flames came alive and a very severe looking old woman walked into their living room. Harry tried not to flinch at the way she looked at him, eying his hair disapprovingly.

"My, my, James. He looks just like you. Except the eyes. You've got your mother's eyes."

Lily nudged her son forward and he held his hand out to the old woman. "Harry, this is Augusta Longbottom and-"

A loud yelp sounded from behind Augusta and they all jumped back when a boy fell flat on his stomach next to her. "Honestly, Neville," Augusta scolded.

"Sorry, gran," the boy mumbled contritely. He stood up and brushed the dust off his pants nervously. "H-hi," he piped when noticed everyone staring at him. "You're Harry Potter, right?" Augusta cleared her throat and Neville turned red with horror. "I didn't mean- I just meant that…"

"It's all right," Harry told him kindly. "Just Harry's fine. And you're Neville?"

Neville nodded so hard Harry heard his neck crack. "Yes, I'm- that's me. And this is Trevor!" He reached into his pocket and pulled out a surly looking toad.

"Oh." He tried to say it enthusiastically but he'd never seen an animal look so dismal. "I have an owl. Her name's Hedwig."

The adults watched them carefully, wondering if they'd feel less awkward when the Weasleys came. To their relief, the redheaded family appeared only seconds later. After saying his hellos to the others, Arthur immediately introduced himself to Harry.

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Weasley," he said politely, though he couldn't help overhearing the side conversation Mrs. Weasley was having with their son about how he "mustn't hound Harry for an autograph or something of the sort."

"What a fine young man!" Mr. Weasley beamed. "Come here, Ronald. Meet your future classmate."

Ron stepped forward, shy but with a huge grin on his face. "I'm Ron! Ron Weasley! Do you really have the scar?"

"Oh! Ronald!" Mrs. Weasley shouted. "Please forgive him, Lily. I have no idea where his manners went!"

The tips of the boy's ears turned red and he had the decency to offer Harry an apologetic frown. "It's alright, Mrs. Weasley, really," Harry reassured the woman. "At least he didn't try to touch it without asking like some did when I went to Diagon Alley. People really need to learn boundaries."

"They just reached out and touched you?" Ron gawked. "That's mental! I'd never do that!"

"It was ridiculously awkward, swatting people away. Mind you, I grew up in the muggle world and didn't even know anything about my history. It was quite shocking."

"Nothing? Not even anything about You-Know-Who?"

Out of the corner of his eyes, Harry noticed that Neville was starting to feel left out. Taking it as an opportunity to steer the conversation away from something he didn't want to talk about, he tugged on his arm and pulled him forward. "Sorry, Neville! I forgot to introduce you two. Ron, this is Neville Longbottom. Nev here was just showing me his toad, Trevor. Would you guys like to go up and see my owl?"

"Sure!" Neville beamed.

Harry waved to his parents as he showed them up to his room. "An owl, you say?" Ron asked while they walked away from their parents. "I've got a pet rat, Scabbers. He belonged to my brother before but Percy was nice enough to give him to me. I know they're not on the list of pets we can bring with us, but I don't think it'll be a problem. Percy's taken him to school before!"

"A rat? I hope you didn't bring him here. Hedwig might try to eat him."

"Nah! The lazy thing is still sleeping on my bed. I didn't have the heart to move him."

"Maybe he and Trevor could be friends!"

"A rat and a toad as friends? Sounds like a kid's story. Ever thought of writing children's books, Nev?"

Lily turned to the others joyfully as the children's voices faded. "Well that worked out marvelously!"