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 24

"Mum!"

Lily looked up from where she was crouched with Remus and Sirius in front of the girl's lavatory on the first floor. Dumbledore and all the Heads of Houses stood near them.

Harry and James were down the hall running towards them.

"Darling, no!" She scrambled to her feet and met them half way, grabbing the boy and holding him close. "Don't look!"

"What? What is it?"

She didn't know what to say, how to say what they'd found.

James stopped a few inches ahead of them and froze. Harry wriggled in his mother's arms, desperate to see what was on the ground. Remus and Sirius were giving him sad looks that he had trouble stomaching. With a burst of strength, he pushed away from Lily and went to them, gasping at what he saw when he got there. Hermione was lying on the ground, still as a statue, her eyes wide with horror. Harry fell to his knees next to her. "H-Hermione," he stuttered. He reached out with a trembling hand and grasped her frozen fist. "Is she…"

"No," Sirius whispered. "Only petrified, Harry. She was following Ginny, who flooded one of the toilets with her diary. She must have only saw the basilisk in the reflection of the water."

Harry nodded slowly, still shaking. "Where's Ginny?"

Remus glanced at the others. "We… we don't know. She isn't in the bathroom. She must have ran before we got here, must be hiding somewhere in the castle."

"The other professors are searching every nook and cranny for her," Professor Dumbledore cut in gently. "We will find her, Harry."

He looked up at the old man and gave him a hesitant nod. "Thank you, Headmaster… and sorry for causing such a scene yesterday."

Dumbledore reached forward and patted Harry's back comfortingly. "No need for apologies, Harry. It was us that were in the wrong, after all. Now, maybe you should go home and allow the adults to take care of this. Fret not. Miss Granger and the other students will be okay."

"Albus," James murmured. "I think he should stay."

Lily took James' hand in support, already knowing what he was thinking. The professors gazed at the couple, baffled.

"But why?" McGonagall questioned. "You took him out of school last night for this exact reason."

James sighed heavily. "Harry? Would it be all right if we told them?"

The boy stood and his uncles were at his sides immediately, a fire in both their eyes that warned the professors not to harm the boy. "I'm a Parselmouth, Professor McGonagall," Harry confessed. Sprout and Flitwick gasped. Minerva covered her mouth in shock and Snape was staring at the boy with perturbed fascination. Dumbledore and the Potters were giving each other very meaningful, knowing stares. "I've been hearing the basilisk talking but I didn't realize it was a snake until very recently. If there's any chance at finding or stopping the snake, I think I might be it, Professor."

"Potter," she said weakly. "I don't even want to think about putting my student at risk-"

"He won't be," Lily said resolutely. "We'll be protecting him at all times."

"We won't ever leave him vulnerable," Sirius stated. "Face it. None of us want him here but we actually need him."

Albus looked older than ever as he nodded wearily. "Come here, my boy."

Harry stepped forward. Dumbledore placed a hand on his shoulder carefully.

"Where have you been hearing the voices?"

"Well… I would hear it in the hallways, like it was coming from everywhere, or like it was inside the walls or something. And that time with Mrs. Norris… well I was following the voice and it led me and my friends to that bathroom-"

"Bathroom," Snape interrupted, seemingly thinking very hard. Everyone could see he was connecting the dots in his mind. "The one a flight up, wasn't it, Potter?"

He looked at his father, who nodded and told him it was okay to answer his professor. "Yes."

"Headmaster… we've been wondering how the basilisk has been traveling the halls without us seeing it."

Albus caught on quite quickly. "Indeed, Severus… the pipes."

"The pipes?" Remus asked.

Severus swallowed thickly, somewhat unwilling to speak to any of them after what happened the night before. "It's led Potter to bathrooms twice already, and he heard it in the halls but didn't see it. The only way I can imagine this possible is if it really was inside the walls, making its way around the school through the plumbing."

"Ingenious, really," Dumbledore murmured. "I want you all to search every corner of every bathroom in this castle. James, Lily, take Harry to my office and stay safe until we find an entrance to the Chamber."

"Wait!" Harry shouted. "The diary. Ginny- I think she knows something. She said it was her fault, right? Maybe she tried throwing her diary away because she wrote about what she knows in it."

Sirius and Remus looked at each other. "Did any of you take the diary?" Remus asked hopefully.

"Of course not, Lily and I were helping you carry Hermione out of the bathroom."

"Well, let's get it before the water ruins the ink!"

Remus rushed in, water splashing up at everyone as his feet stomped against the wet ground. Lily followed just behind him. A minute later, they came back out, pale and worried.

"It's not there!"

"What do you mean it's not there?" Sirius gaped. "None of us touched it!"

Lily's brows furrowed furiously. "I don't understand… it was in that stall, I know it was. And we checked all the others but they were empty too…"

"Well, who could've taken it if none of us did? No one has passed by this hall since we got here."

Harry gnawed at his lip. "But… but what if someone was in the bathroom with you guys and you didn't realize it because you were too busy helping Hermione?"

They stared at Harry with great consideration.

"What if the Chamber of Secrets is in this bathroom… and Ginny's already down there?"

Albus squared his shoulders and the teachers turned to him immediately. "All of you, in there now! Look for any sign you can find! Severus, find the professors. Send them all here as fast as you can!" Pomona, Filius, and McGonagall pushed passed Remus and Lily, who went after them immediately. Snape disappeared down the hall and around the corner, hurrying to find the other teachers. "James, Sirius, in here with me."

"Come on, Harry," James ordered, ushering him into the bathroom. "Stay here by the door and remember to keep your eyes on the ground."

"But I can help," he argued. "I can help look!"

"Just listen to me, son," he pleaded. "You'll help us soon enough, just stay safe for me right now."

He obeyed reluctantly and stared down at the ground. Occasionally, he would glance up and watch everyone tracing their hands on the walls or hopping back and forth between bathroom stalls. Moaning Myrtle was hovering above all the chaos, watching them with curiosity. She floated down to Harry.

"What's going on?" she asked. "Are they looking for that horrid girl that threw her book at me?"

"Not exactly, Myrtle," he explained carefully, knowing the slightest word could set her off. "They're trying to look for the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets. We're trying to stop the monster from killing more students."

Myrtle crossed his arms with a huff. "They didn't look hard enough when I was a student here, now did they?"

Harry's eyes widened. "Myrtle, you were here the first time it was opened?"

She nodded eagerly, happy that someone was interested in her death story. "It was dreadful, all the muggle-borns being attacked. But I was the only one that died that year." She somehow sounded miserable and proud at the same time.

"How did you die, Myrtle?"

She seemed flattered by the question. "Oh, it was horrid. It happened right here in this bathroom. Olive Hornby had made fun of my glasses so I ran in here to cry. I was sitting in my stall when I heard a voice… it sounded like it was speaking a different language, but what was more surprising was that it was a boy. So I came out of my stall to tell him to go use his own toilet when… I died."

Harry frowned. "But how?"

"I don't know, really. All I remember was a big pair of yellow eyes. And then my body sort of seized up and I started floating away… but I came back. I was determined to haunt Olive Hornby, you see-"

"The basilisk. Myrtle, you saw the basilisk!" Harry proclaimed. He wasn't sure why, but he suddenly felt sympathy for the ghost that usually annoyed him and the other students with her depressing presence. It must have been because his own friend was just attacked. "You poor thing. The Heir of Slytherin must have targeted you when you were alone. Of all the cowardly things to do."

Myrtle's eyes sparkled and she smiled at Harry shyly. "It wasn't so bad, I guess… at least it didn't hurt much."

"Do you remember which way you turned to yell at the boy to go away? Was it towards the walls?"

She thought hard and shook her head. "No, it was towards the sinks."

Harry looked at the row of sinks in front of the toilets. He lined up Myrtle's stall with the sink in front of it. Glancing around, he noticed that most of the adults were too busy to notice if he were to move from his spot. Though, he did promise his father that he'd stay safe…

"What'ss happening?"

Harry jumped in his spot and tugged on his shirt collar. Sally was staring up at him from his shoulder. "Sally!" Harry exclaimed. "I forgot you were with me!"

"Clearly."

He rolled his eyes. "Now isn't the time to get snippy, Sally. I need you to do me a favor."

"A favor?"

"Go to that sink, Sally. Look for a button or er… something that looks misplaced."

The snake slid down his body obediently and slithered over to the sink. Harry watched him with anticipation. Sally examined the bottom of it first, coiling around the pipes before curling his body over the edge sink and pooling into its bowl. Harry saw the snake's head wave back and forth.

"Well? Anything?"

"Ssnake."

"A snake?"

"Ssnake… here on the metal tube."

Harry spotted his father at the opposite side of the room. "Dad!" James turned away from the wall he was groping. He pointed at the sink. "Sally's over there. He said he's found a snake etched onto the tap."

At that moment, Sinistra, Vector and even Binns spilled into the room.

"Filius? Minerva? Severus sent us," Professor Sinistra breathed. "Have you found anything?"

"Dear Merlin," Binns gasped. Had he been alive, they were sure he'd be paler than he was as a ghost. "James Potter?"

The other professors turned to look at the man. They all stared at the Potters, completely and utterly stunned. "W-what…" Vector stuttered weakly. "What's going- who…"

Lily peeked out from the stall she was in and Professor Binns floated back an inch at the sight of her. Remus and Sirius watched the professors carefully, wondering just how poorly they might react once they digested who was in front of them. The last thing they needed was a standoff when they were trying to save a student.

"Lily Evans?"

Harry was sure that he'd never seen Professor Binns so alert before.

"Hello, Professor," Lily greeted cautiously. "Uhm… well, I know this seems odd-"

"You're alive?" he cut in sharply. His attention went straight to the Headmaster and Heads of Houses. "They're alive?"

"Now is not the best time to discuss this," Professor Dumbledore stated calmly.

"It's a very, very long story but yes, we're alive," James rushed out. "We can explain it later. Right now an eleven-year-old girl could possibly be dead or dying-" He froze at the look on Harry's face. "Sorry, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean that, Harry. Come here, will you?"

Harry nodded goodbye to Moaning Myrtle before heading over to the sink with his dad. Sally stared up at the two before pointing his head at the faucet. Harry bent down and placed his finger on the snake carving when he found it.

"Here."

James leaned towards it. "Is it a button?"

He pushed his thumb hard against it but nothing happened. "No. Maybe… maybe it needs a password?"

He looked at the boy, knowing what he meant. James glanced at his son's professors before nodding supportively and placing a protective hand on Harry's back. They heard Professor Dumbledore whisper a word of warning to his colleagues. His tone advised them not to make any judgments of what they were about to hear.

"Go on. Say something."

Harry inhaled deep. "Open?" The sink stayed still.

"English," James explained. "Really concentrate, Har."

He looked at Sally, who was still sitting in the sink. "Open," he stated again, this time firm and confident.

The sink rumbled and Sally hissed with alarm. Harry reached for him quickly and the snake slithered into his arms. Everyone watched as the sink sank out of sight and revealed a very large pipe, wide enough for a body to fit into. Lily was with them immediately. She wrapped a hand around Harry's front and pulled him away as their family and the professors leaned towards the dark pipe. Harry watched as they all began to quietly formulate a plan of action. He was just imagining how they would use him to stop the basilisk when a very angry looking Snape and a struggling Lockhart burst through the door.

"Let me go, Severus! Surely you-"

"Shut up!"

He shoved Gilderoy forward and the man fell onto his knees.

"Severus?" Albus called worriedly. "What's going on?"

He straightened and calmed himself though there was an irate gleam in his eyes. "Our Defense teacher wasn't looking for Miss Weasley at all. He was in his office, packing his belongings!"

"What?" Sirius growled.

"Are you going to tell them or am I?"

Gilderoy swallowed thickly. He knew Snape was not giving him an actual choice. "I m-may have… exaggerated in my books."

"Exaggerated how?" Albus asked in a quite deadly voice.

"In that he did none of it," Snape hissed. "He was fleeing to safety."

Harry pointed at the man accusingly. "I knew it! Even Ron said you'd made it all up!"

"You horrid man," Minerva shouted as though she were scolding a child. Lockhart cowered under her stare. "You were going to leave a student in danger?"

"On the contrary," Severus said. His lips pulled up into an eerie smirk. He was staring at the Chamber entrance like he'd just realized what it was. "I do believe Professor Lockhart has volunteered to be head of the cavalry."

"W-wait!" Lockhart begged as Severus hauled him up to his feet and dragged him to the wall. "Now just one second, you can't possibly-"

"Oh don't worry, Gilderoy," James promised, grabbing the farce around the waist and helping Severus pull him towards the entrance. "We're right behind you!"

With that, both men pushed him forward and he slid down the pipe with a cry of terror. Though Minerva seemed rather pleased, she also looked down the pipe with a touch of concern. "Was that not a bit too harsh?"

"The arse deserved it. Besides, it's not like he'll be brave enough to go looking for the basilisk by himself. He'll hide in a corner till we come to save him, most likely," James muttered. He straightened up and looked Snape in the eyes. "Looks like we're about to scour a dungeon to save a red-head. Bit of déjà vu, don't you think?"

Severus pretended to ignore the tingling he felt around his neck. Though Madam Pomfrey had given him a potion to repair the damage James did on his vocal chords, there were still lingering bruises on his skin. He pushed his temper back each time James' glanced down at them. "Yes well… try not to run head first into areas like the idiot Gryffindor that you are, lest I distract myself from the mission to save you from your own stupidity."

"That's funny, Snivs," Sirius drawled. "Sounds like you actually want him to come out of this alive."

"Now, Sirius," James interrupted, though his glare never left the man before him. "Let's play nice. We're all allies here, after all."

Albus held a hand up in front of him. "Perhaps we'd like to discuss the plan before Professor Lockhart loses consciousness down there."

Snape moved to step away, but James caught him by the arm. "Listen closely. You aren't forgiven. Not by me. Not by Lily. You made your choices. Switching sides doesn't erase all you did as a death eater, and it doesn't erase what you did to my family…. But I do know you aren't evil enough to leave a defenseless student to die. We work together in this and that's it. We can burn our bridges from there." His gaze turned to Lily and stayed their for a moment before turning back back to him. "Do you understand?"

He understood clearly.

It didn't matter how strong and independent Lily was. Even if she ever did want to talk to him, James was never going to let him near her again. Instead of responding, he tugged his arm away and went to the headmaster's side.

"Right," James began once everyone was settled. "Everyone able to fight will go down to the Chamber. Groups of two, no separating from your partner. Harry."

"Dad?"

"… You're going to the Burrow."

Lily visibly sagged with relief but Harry looked outraged.

"Oh thank God."

"What? But you need me!"

His father shook his head. "Harry, there's no saying that you can actually control the beast. I brought you here so you could help us avoid the basilisk because you're the only one that can hear it. I'm so thankful that you came despite your fears, and you helped us greatly but your job here is done. I'm bringing you back up to Dumbledore's office and you're heading somewhere safe."

Harry raised his head defiantly. "No."

Lily stiffened behind him. "No? Harry James-"

"No! I'm not going to let my friend die and I'm not going to let you all go down there without someone that can hear the basilisk. It's suicide! I'm going with you."

"You're going home," James told him firmly.

Harry's fists trembled at his sides and, in a quick moment of resolution, he ran forward. He dodged his mother's hands and barreled into his dad's side, sending the man tumbling backwards into the professors. Sally barely had time to wind himself around Harry's arm before they plummeted down into the Chamber.

"HARRY!"

AN: Many of you have called me out for loving my cliffhangers. And man I really do MUAHAHAHAHAHA- but don't worry, the next chapter's ending is not a cliffhanger at all... unless I decide to change it!