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.

Chapter 15

"You've got to eat some breakfast."

"I don't want anything."

"Just a bit of toast!"

"I'm not hungry."

"Is that Sirius Black?!"

Harry jolted in his seat and looked around the Great Hall wildly. His friends had been badgering him all morning to eat something before his big game but he could hardly even breathe, let alone eat, with how nervous he was. He wasn't sure who had heralded his godfather's entrance, the voice coming from a different table completely, but he was quick to scramble away from his table and run down the aisle to where Sirius and Remus were waiting for him at the enormous wooden doors.

"Sirius! Remus!" Harry shouted happily. He nearly hugged them but, remembering they had an audience, reached over and patted their arms. They laughed as they watched him glance around to make sure no one had caught his near slip-up. "You guys came!"

"Of course! You didn't think we'd miss your first Quidditch game, did you?"

"You're right on time," Ron said as he came up behind them. "He won't eat a thing! He'll pass out on his broom before a bludger even tries to knock him off it."

Remus frowned reproachfully. "You told me you'd take care of yourself, Harry James."

The boy flinched. "You don't understand, Remus. I'm too nervous-"

"Nervous!" Sirius exclaimed, ignoring the way Harry begged him to quiet down so no one would hear him. "What's there to be nervous about? If you're as good as your father was, you'll have this game in the bag. Now, come along, Harry. We'll eat our breakfast in the Headmaster's office."

Harry told Ron to tell Hermione and Neville that he'd see them after the game before scurrying off with his uncles. Had he known the way to Dumbledore's office, he would have probably been running there. Besides hating crowds, there was only one good reason Sirius would take him away from his friends and teammates at a time like this. His parents had to be waiting for him. Impatiently, he began pushing them in his haste. "Would you hurry up?" he demanded, to which they purposefully slowed down. "You're both the absolute worst!"

"Hold your hippogriffs, would you?"

"I wouldn't hold my hippogriffs even if I knew what they were!"

"They aren't going anywhere, Harry," Remus laughed. "Just-"

"Are we any closer?"

Sirius and Remus rolled their eyes. "Just around the corner." He sprinted ahead of them and around the bend. Once they caught up with him, they saw him standing in the hall, looking around in bemusement. "Very funny. There's no door here." Sirius grabbed his elbow and tugged him over to a very large statue of a gargoyle.

"Here."

"Here?"

"Lemon drops."

"What?"

But he didn't need to be answered. Harry watched amazedly as the gargoyle stepped aside and revealed a spiral, stone staircase. He swore he'd never get tired of magic.

"Wicked!"

"Well? They're waiting."

Harry grinned and raced up the steps. He knocked on the door eagerly and heard Professor Dumbledore call out "come in" with a very amused tone. Harry threw the door open and all but flew into his parent's arms when he saw them. James caught him and spun the boy around once.

"Merlin, Harry, did you get a bit…wider? Been stuffing yourself, have you?"

He scowled and shoved his father away. "Maybe the food you attempted to cook was just inedible."

"Oi!" James glared at the Headmaster. "Is that what Hogwarts is teaching children nowadays? How to backtalk their parents?"

"You've hogged him long enough, James," Lily huffed, pulling the boy to her and coddling him lovingly. "Give me my baby."

"I'm not a baby, mum," Harry muttered although he very visibly enjoyed having the woman fawn over him. "I'm so happy you're both here. Will you be in the stands?"

"Where else would we be watching you?" James puffed up proudly. "My son, the youngest house player in a century. And a seeker! You better make sure those glasses stay on, Harry, or you'll never see the snitch… or a bludger for that matter. Right buggers those are. I blacked out and woke up a week after a match in my fourth year because I didn't see it coming. Hit me right on the back of my skull."

He turned a sickly green and Lily reached over to pinch her husband's arm. "Would you shut up? Can't you see you're making him nervous?"

"No, mum, I'm fine. Really." He was holding an arm around his stomach, looking positively ill.

Lily frowned. "Are you sure you want to play, Harry? We won't think poorly of you if you sat out." James looked like he wanted to protest but a ferocious glower from his wife had him agreeing immediately. Sirius and Remus snorted at him from where they were standing by the door.

"I'll be fine," he insisted. "Besides, Wood will kill me if I sit out. And you guys came here just for the game. You've no idea how excited I was when I found out I made the team. Gave us a reason to see each other before Christmas holidays came." Harry didn't notice the way James looked at Dumbledore ashamedly.

"So, who are you facing today?"

"Slytherin." Harry glanced at the Headmaster, seeming like he wanted to say something, but turned back to his parents with a forced smile. "McGonagall's made me promise to obliterate them."

"Ah, speaking of Professor McGonagall," Albus stood from his desk. "I must go speak with your Head of House, Harry. Do excuse me, but please enjoy the breakfast I laid out for you and your family." He gave James and Lily a wink as he walked by.

Harry sagged with relief when he left. "I need to tell you guys something important!"

Sirius and Remus came closer. "What did you do?" Sirius asked with suspicion. "Did you get into a fight? Have you killed someone already?"

Remus looked to the man. "Already?" he questioned wryly. "Were you expecting a death or?"

Harry glared at them. "Of course I haven't killed anyone!"

"Then what is it?"

"Neville, Ron, Hermione and I were out one night-"

"What?" Lily's voice had dropped to an icy growl, but Harry didn't hear her.

"-and we got stuck in the third floor corridor, and when Dumbledore said we'd die a very painful death he meant it!"

"What?"

"Anyway, there was a big dog! Ginormous! With three heads! It nearly ate Neville, but the point is that it was standing on a door! And the troll! Remember the troll that I told you about in my letter? Snape let it in so he could go to the door and get whatever its guarding because I saw him, dad! I saw his leg was all torn up like something had bit it and he was limping-"

James grasped his son's shoulders firmly. "Just calm down, son."

"And…" he hesitated. "And at the welcoming feast he looked at me and my scar began to hurt."

There was dead silence at that revelation and Lily looked like she wanted to faint. "Your scar?" James murmured. "Does it always hurt when he's near?"

"No… not always."

Lily had gone very pale. "Who was he with when it hurt, Harry? Was anyone near him?"

He was very confused now, but answered all the same. "Err, well… the other professors, I guess. McGonagall, Quirrell-"

"Quirrell?" James barked.

Remus pushed James away gently and guided Harry to the door. "Harry, you trust us, don't you?"

"With my life."

"Then go on and find your teammates. Get prepared for the match and don't worry about this anymore. We'll take care of it." He looked doubtful. "We will, I promise. Focus on the game, and for Merlin's sake have fun, would you?"

Harry didn't want to leave it alone, but he nodded and smiled at them after a minute of internal debate. "Don't forget to put your glamours on. And don't attack Snape by yourselves! Who knows what he's capable of," he told them all before rushing out.

They turned to each other, no longer excited about the Quidditch game. "What do we do?" Sirius questioned.

"Get Dumbledore."

Sirius, Remus and the Potters sat in the visitors' box, all very apprehensive about the game that was about to start. What once were nerves that Harry might get hurt during the game was now fear that he might be fatally attacked on purpose. James couldn't stop shaking in his spot amongst the other parents and he was grateful that they were all too focused on the teams that would be flying out soon rather than the strange man that seemed to be having an anxiety attack in the middle of their stand. "Relax," his wife whispered to him. "Snape is keeping an eye on him."

"It's not enough," James hissed as he stared through his binoculars at the man sitting behind Snape in the stands just a few boxes away. "He shouldn't have been allowed to come. Dumbledore should have found a reason to keep him away."

"We didn't even have time to talk to Dumbledore ourselves to warn him!" They had no idea where Dumbledore had disappeared to, but he hadn't been with McGonagall and no other professor had seen him. In their desperation, they resorted to the last professor that they came in contact with, which so happened to be Snape. Severus had told them that Dumbledore went to the Third Floor corridor to guard it, knowing it would be left vulnerable with the castle almost completely empty. "Besides, Severus won't let anything happen to Harry."

Even Remus stared at her in disbelief.

"Oh, stop it, you three! He may not like us and he may have been rude to Harry, but he wouldn't kill him."

"Alright, let's get something straight," Sirius drawled. "Dear Severus doesn't like us. You on the other hand..."

"Come off it, it's been years," she scoffed.

James rolled his eyes at how oblivious she could be.

"In fairness, you've probably terrified him too much for him to like you now," he said, reminding her of the way she verbally attacked him at the beginning of the term. "If there's any reason he won't let Harry die, it's because he'll be afraid you'll kill him for it."

Suddenly, the crowd all jumped to their feet around them and began cheering loudly. The Gryffindor and Slytherin teams were walking onto the field in a sea of scarlet and emerald respectively. The Gryffindors were roaring with applause that the Slytherins were trying their best to outdo. "Where is he?" Lily wailed, standing on her tiptoes to catch a glimpse of Harry. The players were mounting their brooms, waiting on Madame Hooch's whistle.

"Obviously the shortest one on the field," Remus jested. "He's right there!"

Lily dug her fingernails into James' arm at the sound of the whistle and watched with overwhelming trepidation as her son flew up into the air. They were off. The first part of the game, much to her pleasure, had Harry lazily flying above a flurry of battling chasers and beaters. Slytherin had gained possession just for Gryffindor to get it back and score. The pattern continued on for quite a while. "He looks bored as hell," James managed to laugh as he watched his son loop around in the air. It seemed like the two seekers would never get a taste of the game when, finally, the boy commentating the game noticed they had both caught sight of the snitch.

James was on his feet, his eyes locked on Harry as the boy dived downward to catch up with the Slytherin seeker. They were neck and neck but Harry's broom had a burst of speed that gave him the upper hand. He was just reaching his arm out towards it, so close he could wrap his fingers around it, when-

WHAM!

The Gryffindors shouted with rage when Marcus Flint purposefully slammed into Harry, spinning the much smaller boy off course.

"Fucking little shi-!" Lily clamped a hand over the man's mouth and dragged him back down when he leaned over the edge like he was going to jump out of the box in his fury.

"So-" the boy commentating sounded over the shouts of the stadium. "-after that obvious and disgusting bit of cheating-" he paused. "I mean, after that open and revolting foul-" He stopped again, and when he spoke this time, he sounded even more sarcastic than before. "All right, all right. Flint nearly kills the Gryffindor Seeker, which could happen to anyone, I'm sure, so a penalty to Gryffindor, taken by Spinnet, who puts it away, no trouble, and we continue play, Gryffindor still in possession."

"McGonagall," Sirius stated, pointing to the Professor who was glaring daggers at the commentator. "Must be keeping him in check."

James had just calmed himself and turned his attention back to his son only for him to seize up again almost immediately. "Don't look!" he ordered his wife, but it was too late. She too saw what was happening.

Harry was bucking wildly on his broom as it zigzagged and jerked violently, like it was trying to throw him off. There was a clear look of terror on his face that one didn't need binoculars to see. Students and visitors alike began to notice Harry as well, and panicked chatter took over the stands quickly. There were gasps of dismay and loud shrieks piercing the air when, after a particularly hard lurch, Harry was thrown off his broom and hanging onto it with only one hand.

"HARRY!" Sirius shouted with great fear.

The crowd was so loud that people a mere few rows away from Sirius couldn't hear him yell. Remus and Lily were already shoving through the people next to him, heading down to the field as their thoughts raced to find a way to help the boy. James was fumbling with the binoculars once more, willing his trembling hands to hold them still against his glasses. The Weasley Twins were trying their best to hoist his son back onto his broom but it was no use. The Nimbus was continuously moving away as they got closer. He brought his gaze to the professors. He first saw Snape. The man's eyes were fixed on Harry as he muttered nonstop under his breath. He looked for Quirrell next and saw the man doing the same.

"The bastard," he whispered. He tugged on Sirius' hands and passed him the binoculars. "Look!"

He didn't wait for Sirius to confirm what he saw, heading down the same exit that Lily and Remus left through and running through the scaffolding and back up a long flight of stairs. He was ready to beat Quirrell unconscious but, to his surprise, a small girl with a large head of hair flew by him and knock the professor flat on his stomach on her way passed.

James gaped as she whipped her wand out and set fire to Snape' robes, which would've been quite hilarious if the man wasn't busy saving his son's life at the moment.

"SEVERUS!" He hollered, running forward and pushing her out of the way.

Snape yelped in a very undignified way when James yanked him to his feet and began stomping on his clothes to set the fire out. The girl was quaking behind him at being caught. When the fire was gone, Snape grabbed her roughly. "Granger! How dare you! "

"Not here, Snape," James hissed, realizing who the girl was. "She thought she was helping."

"By setting me on fire?!"

"Harry and his friends have got it in their heads that you're the one searching for the…thing." The explanation didn't smoothen the harshness of Snape's expression. James took a moment to look up and check on his son, sighing with relief when he saw Harry sitting on his broom once more, shaken but safe. "Listen… Granger, right?"

She gazed up at him tearfully.

"Y-yes, sir."

"You're not in trouble."

Snape turned manic. "NOT IN- I'll have her expelled for-"

"Ignore my colleague," James growled, elbowing him hard. "Do me a favor and round up Weasley and Longbottom. Bring them up to Dumbledore's office once this match is over."

"B-but," she stuttered. "You said I wasn't in trouble!"

"You're not," he reassured.

Snape glared at her. "You are."

She burst into tears. James gave Snape an accusatory sneer. "Meet us at Dumbledore's office you wretched arse," he told him before wrapping an arm around the crying girl and taking her away. "You're fine, Granger. I won't let that greasy git punish you." She blubbered out her thanks and practically threw herself into Ron's arms when they made it back to the Gryffindor stands. The redhead looked up at James in shock and the man winked his eye discreetly as he tapped the side of his glasses. Ron knew who he was immediately.

"What happened?" he asked him as his hold unconsciously tightened on the girl. "What did he do to her?!"

"Got herself into a spot of trouble," James explained. "But I'll sort it out. For now, I need you three to come up to Dumbledore's office with me when we're done here." Granger gave out a sad cry. "Not because you're getting punished!"

"Hermione, really!" Ron couldn't help but laugh. "Would you calm down? This is Harry's guard. He won't get you in trouble for trying to save his ward." He spared a glance at Neville, who was still sobbing against Hagrid, and felt himself helplessly stuck.

Seeing his dilemma, James carted yet another student away, this time Neville. "Take her up to Dumbledore's after the match, would you? I'll take care of this one."

They were still walking down the stairs of the stadium when James heard the commentator announce that Harry had vomited- vomited?- the snitch up and that Gryffindor won with a considerable lead. When they got to the field, Lily and Remus were hovering over Harry, checking him over for injury.

"Of all the foolish things- Harry James Potter, I never want to see you take a dive like that ever again, do you understand me?!" they heard Lily scolding when they neared them.

Neville lunged forward and grabbed onto the youngest Potter. "Harry! You're all right!"

Lily wrapped them both up in her arms as she threatened Harry with promises of banning him from Quidditch.

They didn't stay on the field with his team, not that Harry felt up to celebrating with his teammates. He allowed his parents to bring him back to Dumbledore's office, where he sat down with a hot cup of tea and his mother glued to his side. Hermione was eyeing the woman suspiciously, but was too scared of being expelled to say anything. Albus was standing at his desk looking much older than he was.

"I've only brought these three up so you can tell them they aren't in trouble," James said tersely. "Miss Granger here is terrified Snape will have her expelled."

"All is well, Miss Granger," Albus promised. "I understood what you did and why, but I must ask you all to leave your potions master alone."

"But Professor!" Ron protested.

"Whatever it is you think he's doing, I can tell you with certainty that you have the wrong man," James stated. "And I want no more of this sneaking around after dark and poking your noses where they don't belong, like the restricted corridor." Harry's eyes snapped up to his father. He nodded to Snape, who was practically simmering in his spot near the Headmaster. "Professor Snape told me. Have I made myself clear?"

"Yes," the boy whispered, his friends nodding quickly.

Hagrid was standing next to the door, having followed them all to make sure Harry was okay. James turned to him next. "Hagrid, why don't you take the children and Lily on a walk to your hut. Harry could certainly use the fresh air."

Lily's eyes flashed dangerously in Dumbledore's direction. "But I want to-"

"I've got it this time, darling," he told her. "Go on. I'm sure Miss Granger requires some enlightening, now that she's proven herself to be an important person in Harry's life."

The room cleared out. Only James, Remus, and Sirius remained with the two professors.

"I've had it up to here with you, Dumbledore," James said slowly.

Snape glared daggers at him. "Watch how you speak to the-"

"Oh shut up, Snape," Sirius spat.

James continued as if he hadn't been interrupted. "I've been very kind about your decision to leave Harry with the Dursleys, haven't accused you... well, I haven't tried that hard to make you feel guilty for it, at least. Believe me, I could try much harder. I let the troll incident pass because, honestly, there was no way you could have stopped the boy. I know that. But you've known who was out to get him. You've known who's in league with Voldemort and you still allowed him near my son. You still gave him enough room to attack him."

"James," Remus called warningly. It wasn't that he disagreed, but James was getting so angry that many of Dumbledore's trinkets were beginning to shake.

Even Severus looked disturbed. "Headmaster?" he murmured, his hand reaching towards his wand pocket.

"Stand down, Severus," Albus ordered.

"My son nearly died today."

"An unfortunate loss it would've been," Snape said wryly. The glass orb on Dumbledore's desk shattered but the potions master didn't stop. "Aren't we a little too old for temper tantrums?"

"I don't exactly know what you're doing, but it obviously isn't trying to keep my eleven year old safe."

"You know that is not true, James," Albus said severely. "I care very much for that boy."

"Enough to let him be abused? Enough to have him fall to his death because you couldn't tell that bastard Quirrell to stay the fuck away from the Quidditch pitch today?!"

"James-"

"Get him out of here."

"We need him still. We need to find out how he's communicating with the Dark Lord-"

"Not at the price of my son!"

"We will protect Harry, I assure you!"

"You take care of Quirrell right now or I'll go down there and kill him myself."

They argued back and forth, the fight becoming so heated that Remus and Sirius were physically restraining Severus and James from attacking each other. Dumbledore was trying to calm the men down while convincing them to understand his rationale but no one was listening.

In fact, no one stopped until Neville burst into the office. He was red-faced, breathing hard, and looked to be near tears once more.

"WHAT, Longbottom?!" Snape shouted at him.

" Ron…M-Mione! Followed them when-Told them not to! Begged them not to!" He keeled over, holding his middle.

"Spit it out!"

"Harry! Harry- Mrs. Potter!" He wheezed. "And Hagrid! Professor Quirrell took them by wand point!"

AN: Damnit Guys! Ok, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to come off like I was bashing James, that was the last thing I meant to do. My irritation at having to write a whiney author's note blinded me and I ended up just word vomitting.

What I meant by bringing James and the Marauders up was to be like LOOK. LOOK HERE AT THESE CHARACTERS WITH HUGE FLAWS BUT AMAZING REDEEMING QUALITIES. I was trying to use it as an example not as some defense for Ron like "YOU THINK RON'S BAD, LOOK AT THIS BASTARD." BUT I acknowledge it was the way I wrote it, my fault completely, so apologies once again!

So yes, wrapping this up, I don't support bashing of any character.

Except Umbridge, fuck Umbridge, I think that's the one thing we can all bridge together on.