A/N) Well I'm updating a day earlier then usual because I am working tomorrow night so am unable to do so... I could have waited until Wednesday to update but since this chapter is one that is quite anticipated I decided I'd be kind instead of mean and post early! :D

The next chapter after this will, however, be posted on Tuesday 3rd May...

Twisting Time

Chapter Twelve

Wednesday 4th December 1985

There was utter silence, apart from the rustling of the trees, at Sirius' words. His hair flapped around his face and the cool, wintery breeze forced itself between them. Lily's hand remained in Sirius' own. He didn't want to let go, lest he make a run and hide. The tear fell from his chin and onto the leafy grounds.

It was then James burst out laughing, giggling like the school boy he had once been. "Come on, be serious."

Sirius scowled.

No one was laughing and James stopped, suddenly realising that this wasn't a joke. "You are being serious." His hazel eyes sought those of his wife. "Lily?"

Her red hair fluttered gently in the breeze and her cheeks were flushed red from the cold air. "James…. Sirius is a time-traveller."

"He – what?" spluttered James. "But… but… that's…"

"Impossible?" finished Remus. "It does make sense however." He seemed oddly at calm with the revelation that one of his best friends was an alleged time-traveller. "There was always something different about Padfoot. The wolf knew. I just couldn't place how."

"You don't… care?" asked Sirius, surprised by their reactions, though James still looked shocked. He was shaking slightly. Why were they not abandoning him? Weren't they mad?

"Whatever future you came from must have been terrible for you to change it," said Lily. "But you told Dumbledore when you first came back, didn't you?"

"I had to tell someone…" he admitted quietly. He shouldn't be doing this outside. "I thought you would abandon me if you all knew the truth… you would hate me… You still might if I tell you everything." He bowed his head.

"Padfoot…" James spoke up, running a hand through his messy black hair. "Did Lily and I really die?"

Sirius nodded. "You did… It was the worst day of my life." Grief welled up inside him. "We shouldn't speak here… We don't know who is watching or listening." The last thing he wanted was this particular conversation to be overheard.

Lily was still holding his hand. "Will you come back to Professor Dumbledore's office?" she asked, her green eyes watching him beseechingly.

Sirius looked at them all carefully. He could see curiosity in their expressions but also sadness. He couldn't deny them the answers they craved. They knew the truth now: short of obliviating them he couldn't hide it, unless he ran, but he knew they would catch up with him. Even if he did wipe their memories, they would one day learn especially if Voldemort returned. The Dark Lord would make it his business to know more about the enemy that had defeated him. Sirius nodded to Lily's question. "I will… But… what I tell you… and what you see… please don't get mad at me."

"Sirius," responded Lily kindly, "I don't think any of us could." She smiled at him. "Come on."

James, Lily and Remus sat in chairs in front of Dumbledore's desk. The Pensieve the Headmaster owned sat at the side, a few of Sirius' memories twirling within its depths. Sirius leaned back against Dumbledore's desk, arms folded over his chest as he stared at his three best friends. The Headmaster had politely left the office, giving Sirius the time and space he needed to talk to his friends. "Where do you want me to start?"

"The beginning?" advised James.

"Tell us what happened in the old timeline," said Lily. "We need to know why you came back."

"First, how did you figure out the day you died, Lily?" asked Sirius. He had been careful, genuinely carefully to not let anyone hear anything. How had Lily known, unless his suspicions of her had been correct? More importantly, how had she figured it out?

"After Voldemort was defeated you used to come over and visit Harry a lot. When he was small, unable to really talk or understand what people were saying to him, you used to speak to him quietly. You used to say you wouldn't let James and I die again, that you wouldn't allow Harry to be the one to fight Voldemort and that he would never have a scar on his head… I wasn't in the room when you spoke those things but I am a mother – and an overprotective one too – and I used charms to keep an eye on Harry at all times. One of the charms I used was an advanced listening charm. Even if I wasn't in the room I could hear what you said to him. You piqued my curiosity and I started to listen in more than I should have done. I realised when you came to us after you had suggested using Peter as our Secret Keeper, only to change your mind that that was the point you had come back to. You also mentioned Halloween a few times to Harry when he was young… how you wouldn't let it pan out how it had originally done so. It was an educated guess," explained Lily, hesitating slightly, "that we died when Harry was just a year old… Pettigrew betrayed us?"

Sirius nodded. "I did always wonder if you had overheard what I said to Harry but I could never confirm it."

Lily grinned. "I hoped in time you would come clean and trust us all with the truth. In the years I have known who you really were I have never once considered hating you for what happened in an old timeline. We're alive now and that is what matters."

Sirius felt grateful Lily thought like that. It made talking to them much easier and he felt more relieved, more confident they wouldn't abandon him from what occurred in the old timeline. He did, however, need to answer Lily's question about Pettigrew's betrayal. "He did. He betrayed you barely a week after he became Secret Keeper." He couldn't look at them. "I'd arranged to check on him on Halloween but when I got to his hide-out he was gone. There were no signs of a struggle… I came straight to your house after that… It was partially destroyed…" He looked up at James, remembering seeing his body in the hallway of the house. It was an image he would never forget. "I saw your body first, James… Just lying there… with your eyes open, completely still…"

Lily gripped her husband's hand tightly.

"I heard crying upstairs… I rushed up to Harry's nursery. Lily… you were there, dead on the floor at Harry's crib. Hagrid had hold of Harry. I knew you would have wanted me to raise your son but Hagrid wouldn't let me…" Sirius fought back the hard lump in his throat that had formed. "I should have fought harder, not given up and gone to Dumbledore then but I didn't…"

"What did you do?" whispered Remus, his face white.

"Sirius… please tell me you didn't go after Peter…" begged James. His eyes were wet as if he was trying to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall.

Sirius turned away from looking at them. "I did the worst thing possible. I did go after Pettigrew. I was mad with grief… If I hadn't suggested using him instead of me you would never have died. I wouldn't have needed to come back and make things right." He caught James' beseeching gaze. "I'm sorry, Prongs. I failed you and I failed Lily but most importantly I condemned Harry to a childhood of misery."

Lily gasped. "You mean my son went to my sister?"

"He did. On Dumbledore's orders."

"But… but that wasn't what is in our Wills!" shouted James, annoyed at the fact their wishes had been completely ignored. "You had first right of refusal, then Remus, then Alice and Frank! Lily's sister wasn't even mentioned!"

"I know," sighed Sirius. "Going after Pettigrew was the most stupid thing I have ever done. He outsmarted me for once." He glanced at the glowing Pensieve next to him. "I think you should see what happened instead of me explaining it to you. Please…" he indicated for them to approach the Pensieve. "Just peer inside and you'll be taken into my memory."

James was the first to go, disappearing in a flash of light, quickly followed by Lily and Remus with Sirius being the last. He landed next to James on a hard, cobble street, in broad daylight. It was a Muggle area, close to the centre of the town but not in the busiest area. Shops were open and people milled around them, going about their daily lives with not a care in the world.

"Where are we?" asked Lily.

"In my memory," answered Sirius, though he knew she was actually asking a different question. "We're in a Muggle town. I don't know the name of it. I tracked Peter here as Padfoot."

And that was when they saw him: Peter Pettigrew walking down the street, hands in his pockets, looking solemn but also fearful.

"He knew I'd be coming after him. He deliberately made sure he was in a public area," admitted Sirius quietly. "He knew that I wouldn't bother to confront him when he was alone and isolated. I was mad, filled with anger… I wanted to kill him for what he had done."

They watched as Sirius appeared on the scene, confronting Pettigrew in broad daylight. What astounded Lily and the others was Peter's bold move to turn the tables on Sirius by accusing him of betraying them.

"Lily and James… How could you, Sirius? They were your best friends! Why would you betray them to the Dark Lord?" Pettigrew cried.

Remus was the first to spot the deception. "He has his wand behind his back…" His face paled. "Oh no…"

They watched as Sirius approached Pettigrew, holding his own wand at his former friend. "Don't move!"

There was a flash of light, followed by a large explosion and screams erupted all around them.

"Why that little-" James began, his hazel eyes focused completely on what Pettigrew had just done.

He had just witnessed him cutting his finger off with a silver knife before grinning at Sirius and transforming into a rat, fleeing into the sewers, leaving Sirius standing in the middle of a destroyed street, surrounded by the stench of blood.

The younger Sirius fell to his knees and then just simply started laughing madly.

Sirius took hold of Remus, who latched onto Lily who was holding onto James before pulling them out of his memory and they emerged back into Dumbledore's office.

"He framed you?" Remus was the first to blurt out.

"Unfortunately," replied Sirius quietly. "We never told Dumbledore we switched Secret Keepers. Everyone thought I'd betrayed you. Dumbledore gave evidence to the Ministry confirming I had been your Secret Keeper and that sealed my fate…"

"What fate?" asked Lily though by the expression on her face she already knew what his answer was going to be.

"Azkaban. Life sentence," said Sirius nonchalantly.

"But your trial..."

"I wasn't given one nor was I questioned," said Sirius. "I was sentenced to Azkaban as the evidence against me was overwhelming. I was incarcerated for betraying you to your deaths and for murdering Peter Pettigrew and twelve Muggles."

"They didn't even examine your wand?" screeched Lily, her eyes flashing dangerously.

"No." At least he assumed they hadn't otherwise he was certain his innocence would have been proven on that one charge. "I was just left to rot and everyone assumed the worst of me." He flicked his eyes towards Remus. "Even you Moony."

Remus looked guilty. "I'm sorry Padfoot."

"It's fine. I didn't trust you either. I thought you were the spy. I never considered Peter could be it," admitted Sirius sadly.

"So that explains why you didn't raise Harry then…" reasoned Lily. "But the others?"

"Remus wouldn't have been allowed due to werewolf legislation preventing him from raising kids. The Ministry would never have allowed The-Boy-Who-Lived to grow up with a werewolf."

"Boy-Who-Lived?" murmured James. A slight smile curved on his face. "So… since you are the Man-Who-Lived, my son was the Boy-Who-Lived?"

Sirius chose to ignore James' blatant attempt to get a rise out of him. "Yes. Lily died for Harry. She refused to move out of Voldemort's way and he was forced to kill her."

Lily sank down into her chair, her body shaking. "He gave me a choice?" She steeled her face when Sirius nodded solemnly. "If it meant trying to save my son, I would always stand in his way."

"Your sacrifice gave Harry protection. Ancient magic," smiled Sirius. "It was the reason Harry survived the Killing Curse. It rebounded back on Voldemort, destroyed his body and he fled. He was given the title of 'The-Boy-Who-Lived'. He survived when he shouldn't have done. Your sacrifice, Lily, saved his life. No one could harm him. And that was why being placed with your sister was more important to Dumbledore then Harry's happiness. Harry was safe from harm if he resided with someone of your blood. It was an extra layer of protection." He sighed, letting the smile fall from his lips. "Alice and Frank wouldn't have been able to raise Harry anyway."

Lily pursed her lips. "What happened to them?"

"My cousin, Bellatrix. A few days after Voldemort was defeated they attacked Frank and Alice at home after they had deactivated the Fidelius Charm. They tortured them into insanity. Bellatrix and the Lestranges were sentenced to Azkaban for life. Neville was raised by his grandmother." If there was one other thing Sirius had been pleased to prevent and that was Neville losing his own parents. He had only briefly met the boy in his old timeline. It had been good to see the boy fighting alongside Harry and it was a pleasure now to see both boys growing up with their parents in the childhood they deserved.

Lily growled deeply in her throat.

"So Harry was raised by Lily's sister, you were in Azkaban, I was barred from raising him and Peter was…?" asked Remus, raising one eyebrow.

"Peter was living as a rat for twelve years with the Weasley family," Sirius explained, his voice darkening in anger.

"He chose to live in his animagus form?" gasped Lily.

Sirius nodded. "Yes. Everyone thought he had died a heroic death, confronting the traitor. He was awarded the Merlin of First Class. I was the only one who knew he had survived that attack but he wasn't going to come forward and no one would listen to me in Azkaban. I did ask to speak to Dumbledore but I can only presume he refused to meet with me."

"Did you die in Azkaban?" queried James, his face still pale but colour was beginning to return to his cheeks.

Sirius shook his head. "No. I escaped."

"WHAT?" Three sets of voices echoed around the room.

Sirius smirked. "A routine cell in Azkaban does not have anti-animagus wards. I was able to transform in my cell and prevent the Dementors from affecting me too much. I was able to keep my sanity – or rather what sanity I had left after you two had died. I stayed in Azkaban before I felt I deserved to be there and I had no way of knowing were Peter was. I was there for twelve years before I escaped. In that time Harry grew up with Lily's sister. He entered Hogwarts at eleven and was sorted into Gryffindor. Voldemort tried to return in his first year but Harry defeated him again." He wasn't going to go into the details of Harry's first year: it wasn't necessary for them to know. "Your protection still worked, Lily. Voldemort still couldn't touch him without harming himself."

"Love," murmured Remus. "Love is a branch of magic that many do not understand. Voldemort would be one of them who would fail to recognise the significance of it, especially having had no loving mother or father around to influence him."

James frowned. "You couldn't have gone back further and made sure he never turned evil?"

"I didn't have a choice where I ended up," replied Sirius. "I didn't intentionally come back to the past. I didn't decide to change the past." He shook his head. Even now he still didn't understand it. He had made some inquiries into the Veil but didn't want to step into it. It had killed him after all. "Anyway… I escaped at the beginning of Harry's third year. Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic, inspected Azkaban every few years."

James held up a hand. "What? Wait. The idiot who is trying to worm his way into the current Minister of Magic's good books actually became Minister of Magic?" he gasped, eyes wide.

Sirius grinned. He had been entertained by James' stories over the years of running into the man during his work at the Ministry. He hadn't been impressed by him at all especially when he had made it plain his one ambition was to lead the Wizarding World. "He did. And he made a right royal mess up of it as well. Fudge had brought that day's Daily Prophet with him. I asked him if I could have it as I missed doing the crossword. He seemed happy to give it to me… Giving me that paper was probably one of his worst mistakes." He pointed to the Pensieve once again. "I'd like you to view this as a memory instead of my explaining it to you. It's more entertaining that way."

"Why do I get the feeling what you read in the paper was the sole reason for you breaking out of the most heavily guarded fortress we have?" asked Lily, amused.

"You'll see." Sirius motioned for them to step towards the Pensieve again and one by one they entered his memories. He followed suit, landing back in his cell in Azkaban.

James stood to his right, his eyes widened and shock echoing over his face as he stared at the crumpled figure in the corner of the cell. "Mate… That can't be you…" He saw his best friend in prison clothes which were dirty and crumpled; his hair was knotted and was longer than he had ever seen it in his life. What they could see of his face and body showed a very thin man, starved but his eyes still shone with sanity. Around them they could hear the sounds of screams from the other prisoners in Azkaban. It was dark and dreary in the cell, cold and chilly. The conditions were not suited to be survivable in though many did survive only without their sanity intact.

"It is me, Prongs. The year is nineteen-ninety three," answered Sirius quietly.

"Merlin," breathed James.

"What are you holding?" asked Remus, twitching his head to the side.

"It's the Daily Prophet Sirius told us about," said Lily, watching with interest as the man in the corner unfolded the paper, only to see the dull, not-so-broken eyes widen and the harshest words issue from his mouth.

"Fuck it. Pettigrew's alive! He's going back to where Harry is!"

They watched as the man in the cell transformed into the giant black dog and began to pace, snarling and growling in anger before returning to human form and ripping the paper to shreds apart from one piece he crumpled up into his hands and placed in his pocket.

The scene abruptly changed. The cell door was opening and the giant black dog was lying in wait right by the door. As the Dementors glided in to leave food for the prisoner, the black dog slipped carefully out, padding quickly down the hallway and out of view.

Now the four friends were sent spiralling back up the surface of the Pensieve where they found themselves back in Dumbledore's office.

"So," began James, "you slipped out of Azkaban as a dog…. What was in the article? I guess there must have been some announcement Pettigrew had been found alive?"

"No." Sirius shook his head. "It was a photo of the Weasley family after they had won a prize draw. I didn't know this at the time but Ron Weasley was Harry's best friend. He had a pet rat with him in the photo."

Lily caught on the fastest. "Pettigrew!"

"Exactly. I recognised Pettigrew in the photo. The article said the Weasley children would be returning to Hogwarts and I knew by the date of the paper that Harry would be attending at that age. I had to break out to prevent Pettigrew from harming Harry. I knew if there were rumours Voldemort was returning Pettigrew would try to return to him and if he had handed Harry over to Voldemort before, he would do it again. I had to stop Pettigrew. So I escaped from Azkaban." Sirius leaned back against the desk.

James sat down beside Lily whilst Remus began to pace. "What happened next?"

"I made my way to Hogwarts and made several attempts to get into Gryffindor tower but failed. I did get in once but Pettigrew had realised I was after him and faked his own death again. I stayed around Hogwarts. I saw you there several times Remus. Dumbledore had hired you to be the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher that year. I think it was probably because he hoped you would be able to help in locating me. You never told him I was an Animagus." Sirius smiled gratefully at his friend. "Then, close to the end of Harry's third year I smelled Pettigrew. Hagrid had found him in his Hut and returned him to Ron Weasley. I sought them out and dragged both Ron and Pettigrew into the Whomping Willow. Harry and his friend Hermione were there too and they followed us."

"Hermione? Who is she?" asked James.

"She was a Muggle-born witch. She was best friends with Harry and Ron. And as far as I am aware, James, Harry wasn't interested her in a romantic way." Sirius rolled his eyes. He knew what James' first thought had been.

"I wasn't implying anything," grated James, folding his arms across his chest.

Lily snorted. "Sure you weren't Potter."

Sirius chuckled. "That was the night Harry learned the truth. Remus you arrived shortly after I had taken Ron and Pettigrew into the Whomping Willow. You had been watching them on the Marauders Map."

"I thought the Map was in Filch's office?"

"Apparently Fred and George Weasley stole it and worked out how to use it. They gave it to Harry, not realising it was rightfully his. When you saw my name on the map colliding with Harry, Ron and Hermione's, you followed. But it wasn't just my name you saw on the map either."

Remus' face blanched. "Peter?"

"Yes," nodded Sirius solemnly. "I think that is when you realised the truth. Realised I was innocent and had never betrayed Lily and James. You arrived in time to stop Harry from hurting me though I don't think he would have gone through with it. You convinced Harry to hear me out." He had decided to leave out Snape's interruption – it wasn't really necessary to say what his involvement had been. "We forced Pettigrew out of his Animagus form and we had a little chat. He tried to deny everything of course…"

"Naturally…" growled James. Even after four years he was still angry about Peter's betrayal of their friendship and the callous way he had given Sirius up to Voldemort. To find out he had been responsible for their deaths was a harder blow to him.

"But eventually he admitted it. And Harry believed me. He stopped Remus and I from killing Pettigrew. He knew his father wouldn't have wanted us to become killers for them. We decided to take Pettigrew up to the Castle, hand him over to the Ministry."

"You got your freedom then? Harry came to live with you, didn't he?" James stood up, hoping it would be true.

"I debated whether to show you what happened in my memories but I think it would be best not to see it. That night was a Full Moon…"

"Oh no…" Remus' shoulder's sagged. "What did I do?"

"You transformed. I fought you off as Padfoot, giving Harry, Ron and Hermione time to run for it. Pettigrew escaped. You ran off into the forest and I fell injured by the lake… That's when the Dementors came. A hundred of them, all at once."

Lily gasped and James looked green.

"I don't know what happened. I fell unconscious, fully expecting to never wake up again and then I was woken by Albus Dumbledore in Professor Flitwick's office. He asked me why I betrayed them. I told him the truth. He said there wasn't anything he could do save me from my fate. The Ministry had given the Dementors the order to Kiss me if they found me. He couldn't overturn the order and Fudge wasn't going to listen to three thirteen year old wizards."

"Bastard," hissed James. "It's his duty to listen!"

"You were Kissed then?" Lily asked.

Sirius shook his head. "No. I don't know what Dumbledore did but Harry and his friend Hermione rescued me before the Dementors could give me the Kiss. They flew up to the office on the back of a Hippogriff. I escaped on it and fled the country. I couldn't do anything more about Pettigrew and Harry was safe and he knew the truth. I took upon myself to be the Godfather to Harry I should have been though my ability was hindered by remaining on the run. But we stayed in contact."

Lily smiled sadly. "Harry sounds like a very remarkable young man."

"He was…" A slight smile tugged at Sirius' lips. "And he will be again." Darkness fell in his eyes. "And then Voldemort returned at the end of Harry's fourth year. He captured Harry and used his blood to restore his body. It was an ancient resurrection ritual involving the blood of the enemy, a willing servant and the bones of the father. Pettigrew was the servant and sacrificed his own hand to participate in the ceremony."

James looked sick and Lily pulled a face whilst Remus cursed.

"Harry escaped again." He wasn't going to go into much more detail than that. They didn't need to know. "He warned Dumbledore Voldemort had returned. He tried to get Cornelius Fudge to believe him but he wouldn't. Dumbledore had to act and he reinstated the Order of the Phoenix. I offered my parent's house as headquarters and I was ordered to remain inside. Dumbledore reasoned with Voldemort returned he would be hunting for me and Pettigrew would undoubtedly inform him I was an Animagus. It was dangerous to allow me out of the house. Quite a few witches and wizards joined the Order. Azkaban was broken open and his most loyal followers were freed – my cousin among them. And then…" he sighed, his shoulders drooping. This was going to be difficult. "And then I was killed…"

Lily's eyebrows shot up into her hair.

"What?" James mouthed.

"But you couldn't have died if you are here now," Remus pointed out.

"I did die. Voldemort set a trap for Harry. He was after the Prophecy. He wanted to know the full version rather than the beginning he originally knew of. Harry and Voldemort shared a connection between their minds. I'm sure Dumbledore understood what it really meant but he never explained it to me. Harry had visions… and he was convinced what he saw was reality. He had saved Arthur Weasley's life due to the connection previously. Voldemort planted an image of me in Harry's mind. Voldemort was torturing me at the Department of Mysteries. Harry believed it was real and left Hogwarts with his friends to come and rescue me."

"Only you weren't there…" whispered Remus.

"No. I was safe in Grimmauld Place. Snape contacted the Order to make sure I was still alive and safe. He told us Harry had left Hogwarts for London. There were only five other Order members at Headquarters when he made contact. We all rushed off to the Department of Mysteries." Sirius looked straight ahead at Remus. "You tried to get me to stay. I refused. When we arrived there was a battle going on between Death Eaters and Harry and his friends." He swallowed. This was hard. "The battle had moved to the Room of Death, where they study the Veil. I duelled Bellatrix… And she killed me, pushed me straight through the Veil. I died instantly. The last thing I remember from that life is seeing Bella's sadistic face as I fell through."

Lily moved forward and pulled him into a hug. "Sirius… I'm so sorry…"

He shrugged. "Don't worry… It's the past now… Or technically a version of the future that will no longer happen. The next thing I remember is waking up in my flat in nineteen-eighty-one, a week before you two died, and just after I had considered changing our plan to a different Secret Keeper."

"You didn't know what was going on, did you?" asked Lily.

"No," he admitted. "That's why I acted oddly when you saw me that day. I should have been dead. Yet I'm here. And what I've done since then is to ensure the real traitor got what he deserved and you two never died and Harry is a normal child without the weight of the world on his shoulders." He turned away from then, placing his hands on the desk, shuddering. It was over. He had told them all he could.

"I have one question…" said James quietly. "Why did you believe we would hate you if we knew you were from a now non-existent future?"

Sirius was silent for a few minutes, mulling the answer over in his mind. When he did answer it was done so quietly. "Because I thought you would hate me for allowing Harry to grow up with the worst people imaginable and after everything he had to face… How could you not hate me? If it hadn't of been for my stupid idea to swap Secret Keepers then you two would still be alive! That's why I wanted you to have Dumbledore this time because only he would be capable of protecting you. He's the one person Voldemort cannot touch."

"The prophecy," Lily said suddenly, "it came true in your original timeline?"

Sirius nodded. "Yes. Harry was marked, left with a lightning bolt scar on his forehead. Dumbledore certainly acted like Harry would be the one who would face Voldemort in the end but he had a habit of keeping secrets from him. This time I believe I have managed to circumvent the Prophecy. I know for a fact when Voldemort returns he will focus solely on me since I defeated him but if he reads my mind and sees the threat Harry posed to him originally he may change course and go after him still. I hope I've done enough to ensure Harry is not the one to defeat him."

"That's why you faced him that night in December," stated James. "To prevent the Prophecy from happening."

"Yes. Changing what happened meant the war lasted slightly longer than it should have done. I had to find a way to give the Wizarding World time to prepare and time to enjoy the peace while it lasted." He bit his lip. "Voldemort knows I'm the future."

"What? How?" asked James loudly.

"The night I faced him. He saw it in my mind when my barriers fell," answered Sirius, slowing turning back to face his friends. "He swore vengeance on me. I'm sure he will want to use my blood this time in the resurrection ritual."

"Well that won't be happening." James folded his arms across his chest. "No way. We'll find that bastard before he can even consider returning."

"The trouble is, at the moment, he is technically immortal." Sirius had thought long and hard about letting James into his secret. Remus knew; why couldn't James and Lily? He nodded to Remus to continue.

"Voldemort created at least one Horcrux."

James looked blank and Lily didn't know what they meant.

"Never heard of it?" asked Sirius, though not really surprised. Horcurxes were very dark magic after all. James' family would have avoided anything on the subject.

"What are Horcruxes?" enquired Lily curiously.

"They are objects which hold a piece of a person's soul within. My brother found one. It's why he died. It's in my possession now but if we can destroy it, providing it is the only Horcrux he made, the next time someone kills Voldemort it will be for good. As long as he has Horcruxes it will tie him to this world. It is very advanced dark magic." He scratched the back of his neck. "Unfortunately Horcruxes are incredibly difficult to destroy. I have been unable to find a method to destroy the Horcrux I have. At the moment it is kept in a secure location that only myself and Remus are aware of. And it will stay that way."

Lily frowned. "Is Dumbledore aware of this?"

Sirius laughed. "No. And I'm not telling him either. He's keeping things from me too so until he can be truthful and let me in - considering I trusted him with the knowledge I was from the future - anything I learn about Voldemort will be staying between Remus and I and now you two as well."

James walked forward and slapped Sirius on the shoulder, gaining a scowl from his dark-haired friend. "We will you keep your secrets. Just promise me one thing, Padfoot."

"What?" Sirius eyed him warily.

"Don't think about keeping something as big as this from us again. I won't hate you. You've changed our lives for the better. No matter what happens in the future, I will always stand by your side. You're my best friend, my brother," James' lips quirked upwards. "I cannot imagine a life without Sirius Black in it."

"You are such a sap Prongs."

James grinned. "I'm just stating the truth."

Sirius rolled his eyes.

Lily took his hand in hers. "Thank you."

"What for?" Sirius was surprised to see tears in her eyes.

"For making sure James and I could be here to see our son grow up." She pulled him into a hug. "If you ever need anything I will always be there for you."

He returned the hug and glanced at Remus. "And you?"

"What about me?" the werewolf asked indignantly.

"Are you going to abandon me?" Sirius already knew the answer. It was surprising and refreshing to know his best friends were going to stand by him and did not hate him as he had scared himself into thinking they would.

"Fat chance of that happening," smirked Remus. "I was roped in years ago. I'm not leaving you now."

And with those words Sirius felt an immense pressure rise from his shoulders. Relief swept through him. He had nothing to worry about now. He had friends who would stand by him through thick and thin. He had no need to consider they would abandon him. They would face the future together.

Voldemort wouldn't know what had hit him.

That evening Sirius rested in his home, feeling surprised and somewhat relieved that his fears hadn't come to pass. Why had he been so stupid? Why had he assumed his friends would hate him? The Marauders had always looked out for one another – well the loyal ones at least – so he shouldn't have been worried or concerned they wouldn't support him.

It amazed him Lily had kept the secret for so long. They had only acted when Remus had come to them and Sirius felt guilty for not going to them earlier and relieving himself of the burden he carried. They didn't hate him. They supported him.

He laughed out loud, happy in the knowledge he wasn't alone anymore.

Even thinking about the future, of what would come, he knew no matter what happened his friends would be there for him, supporting him at every step.

But he couldn't help but have one worry. Something he had said today to his friends.

Voldemort would want his blood to resurrect himself, to give him a new body. He could have used someone else other than Harry originally too but had gone with the one that had taken his power away. There was no reason why Sirius would not be used this time. In fact, Sirius counted on Voldemort wanting his blood.

He just hoped he and his friends would be ready.

James climbed into bed, pulling the covers up to his chest and snuggling down beside his wife. "Today was eventful." His mind was still processing the fact he should have died four years ago. "I didn't consider for one second the secret Sirius was keeping involved him being a dead-time traveller from the future with a mission to ensure his old present didn't happen."

"That is an interesting way to describe Sirius' situation," grinned Lily.

"It's accurate, isn't it?" said James, chuckling lightly. "He's my best mate… He should have trusted us."

"If you were in Sirius' position, do you think you would open up to us?" asked Lily. "Sirius blames himself for what happened before… He went through a lot, suffered and never saw his freedom again."

James rubbed his eyes. "I can understand why he didn't trust us. His own decisions led to our deaths but he fought to fix them and he succeeded. We're still alive. Harry is a normal child. But…"

"What is it?" Lily turned to face him in bed, snuggling further down into the bed.

"I don't want my best friend fighting Voldemort."

"I don't think we can prevent it, James," said Lily sadly, reaching up to take his hand in hers. "Sirius has already set events in emotion. Whether we like it or not there will come a time when he will face him again. Voldemort won't let him go… Not now he knows Sirius is a time-traveller. He will want to know what information Sirius has… We can't stop this from happening. We can only be grateful for what Sirius has done."

"Grateful?" James queried. "I'm not grateful my best friend deliberately put himself in danger!"

Lily sighed. "I'm grateful Harry will have no part in this. I'm just sad Sirius is the one who will have to make the sacrifice. He's taken what should have been Harry's fate. I'm grateful for that but also sad Sirius' life is marked."

"He has us," James reminded her. "We'll be with him. I won't let him do this alone."

"I know," she smiled sadly up at him. "I just hope we all survive the storm that will come. War is coming, James."

He squeezed her hand. "We'll get through it, Lil. You, me, Harry, Moony and especially Padfoot. I promise you." He kissed her on the cheek, pulling his wife closer. "I love you, Lily Potter."

"I love you too, James Potter."

To be continued...

Please let me know what you think!

This was a difficult chapter to write and I always envisioned Sirius showing them a few of his memories. I debated him showing them his death in the Department of Mysteries but I figured it would be better not to therefore I decided it would be prudent for only two memories to be witnessed.

I believe James, Lily and Remus are the type of people who would stand by Sirius no matter what. They do not know any different. They just know their friend suffered a lot.

I am nervous about this chapter but I hope it was worth it?

In the next chapter... Sirius and Harry get themselves into trouble... Oops.

Will be posted on Tuesday 3rd May...

Until then,

the-writer1988