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 28

"Dad!"

James kneeled down next to his son's bed with a smile. Harry beamed up at the man excitedly.

"You're back!"

"Like I could stay away from you for much longer."

"Where's Sally?"

James rolled his eyes. "Gone for a month and he'd rather see the snake," he muttered over Harry's snickering. He reached into his robe pocket and pulled the long snake out, who began hissing excitedly at the sight of his friend. Harry reached out and took Sally into his arms, cuddling the snake as best as he could. "He was a good companion, Har. You were right. He would hiss really loudly if he wanted us to go in another direction or speed up. I suspect he could sense dangerous animals near or something."

Harry puffed his chest up and patted Sally's head proudly. "Course I was right. Look at you, Salazar! Have you gotten longer since I saw you last? How was the mission, dad? No trouble? No one followed you or anything?"

"Haven't finished it fully, but Dumbledore said we could come back and rest for now. And no, we were all clear on the Death Eater front but… What's this I hear about a bad nightmare you had last night?"

Harry blushed. "It was nothing. Just mum and Remus overreacting." James raised a brow at the boy. "Honestly, dad, it was just a bad dream. That's all."

"I love you, kid, but you're so full of shit."

Harry's eyes went wide and he burst out laughing. "I'm telling mum!"

"You tell your mother I said that and I'll ground you for life!" He gave the boy a quick one-armed hug and pulled him out of the bed. "We're gonna talk about this later, you understand?"

The boy nearly pouted but nodded instead. "Fine."

"Fine, now come on down so we can spend today as a family, yeah?"

A few minutes later, Harry was running into the kitchen and tackling Padfoot into the refrigerator.

"Boys!" Lily shouted, but the two ignored her.

Harry grabbed the large black dog around the neck and tried to wrestle him to the ground as Padfoot continuously wriggled away and pulled on Harry's shirt and pants with his teeth.

"Outside, the both of you!" she laughed. "And don't you tear his clothes, Sirius!"

The black dog was quick to submit as he nudged Harry out the door and began chasing him around the yard. Remus leaned on the doorframe and watched them with delight, his own amusement growing quickly when a large stag appeared behind him and pushed him aside to get out. He snorted as Prongs' antlers got stuck in the doorway and kept him from advancing. The big buck struggled a few seconds more before finally escaping with a head tilt and charging towards the pair in the backyard.

"Slow down, James, or you'll kill them both!" Remus warned. Lily came up next to him and he threw an arm around the redhead's shoulders. "Feeling better?" he asked.

"Much."

He wriggled his eyebrows suggestively. "Forgot to use a silencing charm, you're lucky that Harry didn't wake up."

She slapped his chest with the back of her hand as a deep blush flooded her cheeks. "Oh, shut up! I guess you and Sirius remembered your silencing charm then, since I didn't hear a peep from your room?"

Remus shoved her away with a scowl and she giggled madly. "Very funny!"

"You started it!"

"Like I'd ever lower my standards to the likes of Sirius in the first place."

The others looked over as Lily guffawed loudly. James transformed back and gave her a smile. "What is it, love?"

"Nothing," she answered cheerfully, wiping a tear away from the corner of her eye. "Nothing at all!" She threw her arms around James' shoulders. "I'm just happy to have you back."

"Mum!" Harry called from a few yards away. He had Padfoot in a headlock and was dragging the growling dog over to them. "Can we go to Diagon Alley today? Have an outing to celebrate?"

She nodded at him. "After breakfast?"

"No, right now!" he countered. "We can have breakfast there!"

"And interrupt your father's morning ritual of eating at the table with his tea and his paper?" she responded, poking James' rib teasingly. "You know how grumpy he gets if he isn't the first to read the Prophet. Has to act like the know-it-all he is and report all the stories to us."

The man swatted her hand away with a chuckle. "The Leaky Cauldron will have a full stack of them. Come on. Let's get our glamours on and head to Diagon Alley. Harry, let go of your godfather and get ready."

"But it's more fun this way!"

Padfoot let out an indignant yap.

"Come on, Paddy! Let's go upstairs and you can choose my outfit for me!"

They watched the pair struggle into the house together. Lily grinned with amusement. "He's really excited, if you couldn't tell. He's been talking about a normal family outing since you both left."

"I think he's starting to feel the weight of the wizarding world on his shoulders," Remus sighed. "Last night's nightmare is just making it realer for him."

"He's getting older," James sighed. "Understanding more and more about our role in the last war. How important we'll be if another one starts."

"It won't," Lily said quickly. "We're gonna stop Voldemort from coming back. I know it."

"How did the bastard even find out that we were looking for his bloody Horcruxes?" James muttered.

Remus patted his back. "We can deal with that when Dumbledore comes tonight. For now, let's just pretend we aren't soldiers."

They went into the house, silently agreeing to leave their troubles behind them for the day. Harry and Sirius were already in the living room, sitting on the couch with their hands folded on their laps and their backs straight. Harry had kept his plain gray shirt on but had swapped his pajama bottoms for a pair of jeans. Lily shook her head and pointed to the stairs.

"Change that shirt right now, Harry."

"But mum! It's just a regular shirt! Does it even matter?"

"You slept in it!"

"It's not like I drooled on it."

Remus snorted. "That's debatable." Harry threw a pillow at him.

James laughed. "Just listen to your mother, will you? At least throw a plaid shirt over it, or a sweater or something."

"A sweater! It's the summer!" His father gave him a stern look and he groaned before running up the stairs, changing his shirt and hurrying back down. "There. Is this good? Can we go now?"

James shrugged and tugged on his own shirt. "I don't know, I'm thinking about the red button down I have in the closet-"

"DAD, REALLY!"

Lily roared with laughter as she guided her son to the fireplace. "Let's not torment him. Go on through. Remus and Sirius will be right behind you, okay?"

"What about you guys?" he asked worriedly.

"Just have to set our glamours," James answered. "We won't be long."

Harry grinned toothily, reached up for the floo powder sitting atop the shelves and stepped into the fireplace. "Diagon Alley!" Sirius and Remus followed him quickly.

Lily turned to her husband, contemplatively tapping her finger against her chin as she hummed. "Maybe a pale blond? I've always wanted to know what it would be like to be holding hands with a Malfoy." He clicked his tongue and waved his wand at her and she let out a cry of surprise when she saw the red hair framing her face turn black. "Hey!"

She pointed her wand at him sharply and he immediately pulled a few strands down for him to see. "Lily! Blond isn't my color!"

She smirked at him playfully. "We haven't even finished yet! We'll give you the facial features to pull it off."

After much goofing off- and a few askew noses and lopsided ears later- the two were finally ready to head to Diagon Alley.

"Come on, your son is waiting for us!" Lily giggled as she shoved him towards the fireplace.

"They can wait another minute," he protested, his hands grabbed at her hips. "We can run upstairs for a bit, you know? Get reacquainted with these new faces-"

"James Potter, are you saying my normal face isn't good enough anymore?"

"I could be a Frenchman named Jacques. We've met on vacation…"

Lily snorted. "Diagon Alley," she drawled and they were whisked away. The two stepped out into the Leaky Cauldron, still teasing each other under their breaths. They were so wrapped up in their own little world they almost didn't notice the huge crowd shrieking their names.

Their names…

People were screaming their names.

"James and Lily!"

"Is it true?"

"No! It can't possibly be!"

"The Potters! Tell us! Tell us, Mister Potter, is it true?!"

Lily looked around wildly. She took James' appearance in. He didn't look anything like himself. She checked her hair and saw that it was still black. What was going on? Why was everyone talking about them? She grabbed James' hand, panic drumming in her chest.

"Harry… James, where's Harry?!"

He didn't hesitate to dive into the crowd, pulling Lily with him.

"Out of the way! Get out of the way!" He was tall enough to see Remus and Sirius fending everyone away from their son. "Get out of the way, I said!"

"Where the hell have you been?!" Sirius spat at them.

They reached the middle and saw Harry gripping a crumpled newspaper in his hands, staring at everyone with great trepidation. Remus and Sirius hand their hands in front of him and their wands out as if they were protecting him from a pack of rabid wolves. James ignored Sirius' irate rant about "taking their merry time and fooling around" and quickly took position in front of them, his arms outstretched as he shoved the many people away from his family. Harry reached out and took Lily's forearm, which she took as a sign to go to him. She ran around the human shield the men had made and to the teen.

Even Tom had joined in trying to calm the masses. "That's enough! Leave the poor boy alone!"

Lily turned her attention back to her son. "What's going on, baby?"

"They know!" he hissed. "They know!"

He passed her the paper, unfurling it as he did. There, in bright bold ink, was the headline,

"THE POTTERS: THE FAMILY THAT LIVED."

"There's no pictures," James reasoned with Albus. "It's all just word of mouth from a 'source' that they didn't even give a name to. They have no actual proof."

"But how did they find out?" Harry asked worriedly. "You guys never go out, and when you do, you're completely glamoured. There's no way anyone would have guessed it was you! It would have been insane to think so!"

"The rat," Sirius muttered, his arms crossed as he glared at the floor like it had done something vile to him. "It has to be Peter. He's the only one who'd have anything to gain by doing this. The professors wouldn't dare cross Dumbledore. They'd know he's too smart for any of them to fool."

"And the Weasleys and Longbottoms would never do this to us," Lily added in agreement. "Nor would the Grangers. But what exactly is Peter gaining by doing this?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Remus murmured. "It leaves you both vulnerable if you were ever to go out. No more family outings, no more visits during Quidditch games. This means you'll constantly be separated from Harry, leaving him with even less protection than he already has. And to make matters worse, all the Death Eaters that are still loyal to the Dark Lord are going to be after your blood if they believe the news."

"And they'll believe it if Peter's gone to them," James sighed.

"Peter's the reason their fucking master was destroyed in the first place," Sirius spat. "Led him right to his death and then ran like a coward. Would they really take what he has to say at face value?"

Lily bit her lip nervously. "They would if Voldemort was the one to spread the word to them…"

They turned to her.

"Well, he's seen us, right? And so has Peter… so if Voldemort himself gave them the proof that we were back-"

James cut in to disagree. "But Voldemort isn't back. He's just a floppy spirit flying around and trying to find a body."

"What if he's found one?"

"What like Quirrell?"

Sirius' face twisted in disgust. "Oh god, what if he's done the same to Peter?"

Harry leaned forward. "So, you're all pretty sure that my dream wasn't a dream, right?" They all looked hesitant to answer. "I'm not a baby anymore. Just answer me."

"You're correct, Harry," Albus finally spoke.

"Well first of all, I don't even want to know how I'm possibly seeing into Voldemort's mind but... he definitely hasn't possessed someone again. He's got some kind of body, just... it's weak one. I can't remember what it looks like but I know it isn't very pretty and I highly doubt he'd show himself to Death Eaters looking like that."

"We need to talk more about this damn dream," James muttered.

"But not right now," Remus interrupted. "What's important is that, if this was Peter, there's a plan. Voldemort wouldn't want to reveal his failures, but he would want you guys weak and distracted. There's something bigger happening."

Albus stared at his copy of the Prophet intently. No one was credited for writing the article. "And someone on the Prophet is not on our side if he or she is doing interviews with known criminals. Unless, Peter changed his appearances as well... though, I can't imagine an honest reporter writing a story without hard evidence."

Lily stared at her family. "So, what do we do?"

Albus looked at them regretfully. "Remus is right. It isn't safe for either of you to be out anymore, regardless of your glamours."

James grew incensed. "What, we have to go into hiding again? Keep us prisoners? Stay cooped up all day and never have the chance to see Harry during the school year? Will he even be able to come home or would that be too dangerous for you?"

He forgave the way James snapped at him, knowing it was stress and not a personal reason for the verbal attack. "We'll have to have extra security here at the school as well. I don't want to take any chances when it comes to Harry's safety. Peter has been silent for far too long. Who knows what has happened with him in the year since he's escaped."

Sirius perked up at the mention of security. "What, like aurors? Or can I be here as a guard as well?"

"Not a bad idea," Lily murmured thoughtfully. "James and I would certainly feel better knowing someone we trusted was watching over Harry."

Harry grinned toothily. "And this way, Sirius can sneak me out of class and stuff!"

James reached over and flicked the boy's cheek.

"Ouch! Dad!"

"This is not a joking matter, Harry."

Harry rubbed his cheek and pouted. "I was just trying to lighten the mood. You know… before Peter drags me off so Voldemort can kill me."

"Harry James Potter!" he bellowed with rage.

"I'm kidding! Mum, tell him I'm joking!"

Lily glowered at him in response. His pout came back with full force.

Remus rolled his eyes and yanked on the boy's unruly hair. "Just sit there and shut up, kid."

"This is unacceptable," Albus nearly growled.

Had they not been so angry, Minerva and Severus would have stared at the old man in surprise. Instead, they stood unwavering and hard-faced on either side of him.

"You have no choice," Minister Fudge argued, albeit weakly. He gripped the rim of his bowler hat as tight as he could and tipped his chin up to appear unafraid. "I am the Minister, Dumbledore. You're lucky I'm even taking some of them from their duty to serve as guards here."

"You're a fool," Minerva gasped in disbelief. "You honestly think it's a good idea to send Dementors to our school? We won't allow it!"

"Or have you forgotten what Sirius Black told you about the Dementors having trouble sensing animals. They'll never find him. All you're doing is making the castle a prison for the students!" Dumbledore stated. "I won't allow this!"

"And once again, you have no choice! They'll at least keep Pettigrew too scared to enter the premises. It's a better idea than you're making it out to be!"

"It's a shit idea, actually," Severus muttered under his breath.

Minerva snorted when the Minister and his men glared at the potion's master.

"Cornelius, please," Albus implored, changing his tone in hopes that Fudge would be swayed. "You must see reason. This is a terrible, terrible plan. My students-"

"Your students will be safer with them around," Fudge cut in. "I can't take aurors away from their assignments, we just don't have enough of them for it, but there are enough Dementors. You'll just have to deal with this. If you'll excuse me, I have many statements to the press I must prepare about the Potters. The chaos we're in- didn't I tell you it would've been better to plan a reveal ourselves? Now, look at what's happened!"

Fudge turned to his men with a nod. They escorted him away without another word.

Albus, in a fit of anger, slammed his hands down on his desk, causing the various trinkets upon it to shake or fall over.

"What are we going to tell our students' parents? What are we going to tell the Potters?" Minerva whispered worriedly.

Severus raised a brow. "It's Black we need to be worried about."

Peter straightened his dirty robes as best as he could before slipping into the room nervously.

"I- I've returned, M-master," he stuttered out miserably. This was the last place he wanted to be.

"Don't sound so eager, Wormtail," the voice bit back.

Peter's eyes widened and he rushed forward, shaking his head with vigor. "N-no, Master! I didn't mean-"

"I know how wonderful it must be to be with your friends again. Have you betrayed me yet? Revealed yourself and begged for forgiveness?"

"They aren't my friends," Peter denied. "Y-you have my loyalty, always-"

"Enough."

Peter flinched and stepped back, cowering in front of the terrible creature on the wingback by the fire. Nagini, his Master's faithful companion, slithered up behind him with a threatening hiss. Peter wasn't sure when the Dark Lord had first found the snake, or where he'd been hiding her. She certainly wasn't around when he'd first found his Lord. He would've scurried the other way had he seen Nagini. Now, with You-Know-Who's new but weak form, Nagini was constantly there, watching and protecting. It was a silent threat- make one mistake and he'd be her next meal.

"What were you told to do, Wormtail?"

Peter stared at his feet fearfully. "Keep an eye on them."

"And?"

He bit his lip hard enough to bleed. "And I found their house, Master! I remembered the house the Potters gave Sirius and- and when all their other homes were left unprotected, I knew that they were in Black Dog and-"

"That is not what I asked you, Wormtail," he hissed.

Peter whimpered and took another step back.

"I begrudgingly admit you did well to start. Monitoring their safe house, immediately reporting to me when you believed them to be gone for to long. Of course, I thought you were just trying to brown nose until Nagini told me that your dear friends had been stomping around Albania as well as various other places I had sent her to check. And so… when I realized what they were up to, what were you told to do, Wormtail?"

He shook and glanced up at the bundled creature. "To… to stop them."

"By any means necessary. But they're still alive, still searching for my Horcruxes, and now you're unsure of where they are."

Horcruxes. He hadn't known what James and Sirius were looking for before. His Master didn't trust him with the information, but had accidentally let it slip in his fury. Peter bit his lip harder as he remembered how angry the Dark Lord had been with him a few nights ago. Peter had, by miraculous chance, ran into the two men in muggle London. He'd caused a scene in the middle of a street before, he could have done it again, but he remembered his last encounter with them and ran away instead. When he'd found out that Peter had the perfect opportunity to kill James and Sirius, but hadn't done it, he went into a fit of rage. He tortured him, punished him under the Cruciatus, and despite the great amount of pain he was in, Peter still heard his Master reveal what had him so furious. The men were trying to destroy the Dark Lord's Horcruxes.

"Tell me, Peter. Did you get in touch with the woman I told you to find? That Skeeter-"

"Yes!" He grabbed the paper out from his back pocket and held it up for his Master to see. "I told her. I told her the Potters were back and that- well, I showed her the memories from my trial. And I told her about the disguised couple at my trial- how Harry's guards are always different and- She believed it. See? The entire Wizarding World is so focused on them-"

"That they won't see anything else coming." He sounded pleased. Wormtail allowed himself a moment of relief. "You weren't idiotic enough to forget to glamour yourself, of course?"

"Y-yes, Master," he said. "She didn't know who I was. But she says she wants pictures next time... for proof. How are we going to get pictures of them, Master?"

The creature ignored him and smirked. "I'd like to see the Potters try to protect their dear boy now."

"B-but," Peter began hesitantly. "Won't Dumbledore be extra cautious? I'm sure he won't let Harry out of his sight. How will we be able to take-"

"Don't you worry, Wormtail. We'll find a way."