A/N) Hello! You'll be pleased to know that I have been planning out more of this story… I have planned up to chapter 35 so far, though details are always subject to change as I seem to get ideas at the last minute and then add it in. So we've still got a way to go…

Nearly everyone guessed Regulus as the person who appeared at the end of the last chapter… but only one reviewer was correct on whom Sirius talks to first! I probably should have mentioned Sirius talks to a few people with the stone…

Enjoy the chapter!

Twisting Time

Chapter 20

Sunday 5th April 1987

The spectral form of James Potter stood in front of him, a sad smile on his face. His hazel eyes reflected his sadness and his messy black hair stood up at the back.

Sirius gaped at him, surprise echoing across his features. "You're not dead."

James shrugged. "I am and I'm not."

Sirius stilled. "What do you mean?" His voice was hoarse. How could this be possible?

"Originally, I died." It wasn't a very good explanation, far from it.

"But I stopped you from dying. I changed things… You can't be dead," said Sirius, pointing out the obvious.

James chuckled. "This is a unique situation. We sent you back in time -"

"We?" Sirius interrupted.

"Lily and I," answered James. "There's two timelines – one where we all died, and a second one, where we all lived. In the first timeline, your death gave us the choice to either let you pass on or to give you the chance to change things. We chose to let you change things. The first timeline has to continue existing for you to be sent back."

"But you still died… The James I'm friends with now isn't you," muttered Sirius, feeling bewildered.

"We're the same person, Padfoot. I am James Potter. I died in the original timeline, but now you have prevented me from dying, and created this new timeline. Because of that, Lily and I were able to send you back in time. We were only given the choice because of the manner of your death." He smiled reflectively. "The Ministry will never understand the power of the Veil."

Sirius frowned. "So there are two timelines running alongside one another? In one of them I'm now in Azkaban, and then there is this one…Two versions of me existing at the same time…?" He trailed off when he saw James shaking his head.

"Not two versions of yourself. You are the same person. You've gone back in time and therefore have lived two different lives," James pointed out. "I'm not really the best person to be explaining this but you wanted to see me. The reason I'm even here is because of the guilt you feel about causing my death in the first place. But things have gotten complicated since you changed the timelines – I am now both alive and dead. You can only call me forth from the stone until…?"

"When this timeline gets to June nineteen-ninety-six…" guessed Sirius. It had to be something to do with his death.

James nodded. "Then I will have never died because you will have changed the outcome of the war. If you ever use the stone again after the day you died originally you will never see me because this timeline would have caught up with the original."

Sirius sighed. He was beginning to understand though it did sound complex. He lowered his gaze as guilt washed through him. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" James' eyebrows rose in surprise.

"For getting you killed. Even in this new life, this second chance, I can never forgive myself for it." Sirius sagged, lowering his gaze.

"Padfoot…" James said wistfully. "I don't blame you – I can't ever blame you. You did what you thought was best to save our lives. How could we have suspected Peter?"

"Did you ever know he had willingly betrayed you?" Sirius winced. He wasn't sure if he should have asked or not.

"I knew if something had happened to Peter you would have told us. Probably got us to move out of the house. When Voldemort blast the front door down I knew we'd been betrayed. I hate that he framed you and left you to rot in Azkaban. I was watching you from the other side, wishing I could do something to help you but I couldn't cross the border between worlds. Did our friendship mean nothing to Wormtail?" James sighed. "But my son did survive…"

"Only because of Lily," replied Sirius.

James shook his pearly white head. "Yes and no. Lily was given the choice to live because someone asked Voldemort to spare her. Despite this she still chose to die because her love for Harry. To die protecting him was far stronger than her desire to live in a world without him. Her actions protected him from being harmed by anyone fatally for fourteen years. Love is a powerful branch of magic that can never be fully understood."

Sirius had a niggling feeling about James' words. "Who asked Voldemort to spare Lily?"

"Severus Snape."

Sirius' eyes widened in shock. He should have expected it considering his childhood friendship with her.

"I only know this because I'm dead. It's an advantage to being able to watch from the other side. You learn things you wouldn't have otherwise known in life," smiled James. "Snape defected because Lily's life was in danger and he felt guilty for hearing the Prophecy in the first place and informing Voldemort about it which then…"

"Led him to target Harry," Sirius finished for him.

James nodded. "It's a selfish reason but Snape turned on Voldemort because he didn't want Lily to die. He didn't care about myself or Harry. He still believes in blood supremacy but his actions back then and his future choices in the first timeline ensured Harry's survival. He would have died to ensure Voldemort's defeat, all because of Lily. He was a brave man to turn on everything he believed in for love."

"I never thought I'd ever hear James Potter compliment Severus Snape," said Sirius quietly.

"I will never like him," continued James, "but I cannot dislike him anymore because he did try to save Lily, even if he was happy to let Harry and I die. Without Snape asking Voldemort to spare Lily, he would never have given her the choice. All of us would have died. Snape ensured Harry's survival to become a part of the prophecy. Even though Lily died, Snape could never go back to Voldemort truly. He asked Voldemort to spare her yet he chose to kill her when she wouldn't move out of his way. That turned Snape against Voldemort forever."

Sirius knew now he had to talk to Snape. He understood the man a little better even if he hated to admit it. "Did he treat Harry badly because he survived?"

James nodded. "Harry was a reminder of what could have been saved if Lily had stepped aside. Whenever he looked at Harry he saw me and remembered the bully I once was before I grew up. Our rivalry shouldn't have continued on to my child just because he looked like me. He was more like Lily in personality." He shrugged his shoulders. "What happened before doesn't matter now. You can still fix the issues between Snape and us now."

Sirius sighed. "He did brew the potion for Lily to save me."

"Reluctantly," added James, "but he still did it."

"Maybe," said Sirius, running a hand through his hair. "I' m not sure it is possible to fix things but I do want to try…"

"Yes, you can. All of us will always have a dislike to Severus Snape and we'll never be friends but that doesn't mean we cannot form a good working relationship with him," smiled James.

"You have to make things complicated don't you?" grinned Sirius.

James shrugged. "I do." He smiled then. "I think we've covered everything."

"You're leaving?" Sirius didn't want him to go, not when he was just starting to get answers.

"You'll see me later. Just remember… Make it right." James Potter faded.

Sirius sat on the bed, surprised by the words. He knew those words. He had a faint feeling he had heard them before but he couldn't remember where. The stone was still in his hand. He had been surprised to see James Potter but it had been welcome. He had learned lots of information and the guilt in his chest had lessened a bit. The James Potter he was living with now was the same person. The only difference being was their lives had just diverged.

It was something he would have to consider later. There was another person he wanted to see.

So he turned the stone another three times but who appeared was not whom he was anticipating either.

Identical to James but with green eyes and a lightning bolt scar on his forehead, a fifteen year old Harry Potter stood there in Hogwarts school robes, smiling at Sirius.

"What?" Sirius' mouth fell open.

"Hi," smiled Harry.

"You can't be here," Sirius stated.

Harry moved towards the bed and sat down, turning his head to look at his godfather. "You wanted to see me. You miss me, therefore I am appearing to you."

"But you're not dead."

"No but the Resurrection Stone doesn't just bring back those who are dead. It brings back those who you wish to see most of all. You saw my dad because you regretted not being his Secret Keeper and wanted to apologise for it but also you wanted answers which only he can provide and with me…" Harry threw him a lop-sided grin. "You miss me… But I can also help you with something."

Sirius couldn't deny it. He did miss his Harry but he was happy his godson was living a good life now.

"Like dad said about himself, I can only talk to you until this timeline has caught up with the first one," explained Harry. "The two timelines are linked through you. You are the piece holding them together."

Sirius cocked his head to the side, scrutinising the boy in front of him. "Why do we have a magical bond in this timeline?"

"It's more to do with you falling through the Veil… When my mum and dad sent you back in time they did so with a specific purpose in mind: not to save themselves but to save me from the life I was living. It linked us together. They didn't mind if they died again as long as I was happy but you took the hard path instead of the easy route," explained Harry.

"The hard path?" Sirius asked curiously.

"By becoming the Man-Who-Lived," smiled Harry. "You took my place and saved Neville in the process. The prophecy doesn't apply to you but you've still drawn Voldemort's attention. He's focused on you and he will do anything he can to capture you."

Sirius swallowed. He knew this. He recognised when Voldemort returned he would be in terrible danger. "I worry he will still come after you though…"

"He won't. I can't see into the future but I know he wants you more than he wants me."

Sirius sighed. "Better me than you or your parents." He dragged his fingers through his hair again. "But the Horcruxes… I can't destroy one of them."

"Yes you can," smiled Harry. "I can help you."

Sirius' eyes crinkled. "How?"

"I speak Parseltongue, don't I?"

"You can open the locket for me?" asked Sirius. He sat forward.

"Yes." Harry stood up, turning to face Sirius in the small bedroom.

"Now?" Sirius withdrew the locket from his pocket, having kept it on him. He had planned to return it to his vault the next day but if he had the chance and the means to destroy it now...

"Yes."

"I don't have the Basilisk fangs with me…" he realised, "but Prongs does."

"I'll still come back if you can get them," said Harry. "But it is best to open the locket outside. There is evil within it."

"Right…" swallowed Sirius. He stood up from the bed. "You know Prongs isn't going to let me do this alone…"

"It doesn't matter," said Harry. "I think a part of him wants to meet me." The boy hesitated. "Before you do this… Someone else wants to talk to you and it's someone who you really want to see. You don't need to turn the stone again."

Sirius blinked. Could it possibly be who he had been expecting when he had originally turned the stone?

He was about to ask but Harry was gone. In his place was…

"Regulus!" Sirius breathed, his heart pumping fast in his chest.

"Hey big bro," Regulus smiled. He was wearing plain robes and his black hair was tied behind him. His face was aristocratic – befitting of a Black. Slightly haughty but you couldn't miss the smile that had come to his eyes at seeing his older brother.

Sirius was stunned, surprised at how different his younger brother looked. "You look peaceful…" Regulus had never looked peaceful in life, always conflicted and unsure of himself and the choices he had made had contributed to his early death.

Regulus shrugged. "Of course. You do not really need to worry when you are dead. It's quite relaxing."

"Reg…" managed Sirius, his voice breaking. "Why did you turn against him?"

"I fell out of love with the idea of blood supremacy. I wasn't prepared to maim and torture people either. It's very different when you are faced with it. I have tortured and I did maim people. I had to get out. I wanted to find a way which preserved my life but I couldn't. If you run from Voldemort you're dead," explained Regulus. "I wanted to help end him. When I realised he had a Horcrux… I had to do something about it. I didn't think he would have more than one though."

Sirius' breath stilled in his throat. "Do you know how many he has…?"

"No, I don't. You'll have to work that out on your own. But you've done well to identify three of them already," praised Regulus, smiling proudly. "You're succeeding where I did not."

Sirius didn't quite believe it. Voldemort wasn't dead yet and if things went wrong… He shuddered. He didn't want to consider the problems which might occur if things went awry. "Why did you let yourself die? Kreacher could have got you out of the cave."

"I know but I was hallucinating from the drink. I knew what type of person the Dark Lord was. If he learned I had discovered his secret he would kill me. But I couldn't be a double agent. I'm not brave like you, Sirius. I took the coward's way out. I know it hurt mum and dad but I did it to protect them. At least when my knowledge of his secret did get out I would be out of his grasp."

"You could have done so much for the Order of the Phoenix if you had lived…" whispered Sirius. "Dumbledore would have protected you."

"But living would have endangered mum and dad and Kreacher. I couldn't risk it by turning my back on what they had wanted me to be. They wouldn't have understood my reasoning… They were better off keeping their toes on the Pure-blood line," said Regulus, pointing out the reason as to why he had chosen death. "I know Kreacher could have Apparated me out if I had asked him to but it was about protecting those I loved. There was simply no other way."

"You could have faked your death," noted Sirius.

Regulus shook his head, his pony-tail at the back swung from side to side. "No, I couldn't. The tapestry. It would register me as alive. Bella would have seen it or Narcissa and would have reported back to the Dark Lord I wasn't dead. If he had discovered I lived… He would know I had deserted him," he sighed, his shoulders slumping. "No, I couldn't put mum and dad's lives at risk. I know dad died shortly after I did but… The important thing was the Dark Lord believed I had perished a loyal servant. That is what mum and dad were told – I died for a cause I believed in. I know it shattered them to lose me but I do not regret the decisions I made."

Sirius stood up and moved forward cautiously. He so wanted to reach out and hug his baby brother. "Reg…"

His brother raised a hand to stop him. "We can't hug."

"I know." Sirius's shoulders sagged. "I should have done more… I shouldn't have cut you out of my life when I ran away." That was one of his biggest regrets. Regulus had been forced into the position of heir and had much to live up to. Even at school Sirius had either done his best to hex his brother or ignore his existence completely.

Regulus had tried to reach out to him, ignoring the consequences he would suffer if their family learned he had been talking to the blood traitor. "You thought I was like them."

Sirius nodded, guilt crossing his features. "I did and to all appearances you were." Guilt welled up within him. "After I ran away you tried talking to me maybe once or twice…?"

"Three times," confirmed Regulus, "then I gave up since you were not interested. And partly because someone snitched on me and told mum and dad I was trying to talk to you. It was after you ran away that I started to have doubts and then when I joined and saw what he was prepared to do for power…" The younger Black shrugged. "I had to do something… I hope I made a difference."

"You have." Sirius caught Regulus' gaze with his own. "Your letter helped. If mother and father had known you had left it for me…"

Regulus chuckled. "They would have burned it. I thought using your birthday as the code would be appropriate. They would never think to use it and I know you were smart enough to figure it out. You know before I died, you were the last person I thought of. I hoped you would get my message and find the Horcrux."

"I only have because…" Sirius hesitated, biting his lower lip, unsure of whether to proceed or not.

"You got given a second chance?" Regulus grinned, guessing correctly in what his brother was hesitant to mention. "Oh, I know all about your time-travel adventure. Perk of being dead you see. Must admit I'm surprised at the lengths you are willing to go to protect those you love. I felt for sure you were dead when you faced Voldemort."

"Me too," he admitted. "I did what I did because I couldn't let anything bad happen to them again. I'd already failed them once… how could I do so again with a good conscience? Facing Voldemort was stupid and I'm probably going to die but it will be worth it if it means my friends live the life they were meant to."

Regulus stepped forward, his body shining brightly. "Just be careful. I don't want to see you here too soon… And, protect your mind. It's your best asset but also your weakness." Regulus' body began to fade. "But, Sirius, one more thing…"

Sirius searched his brother's eyes wondering what he advice he wanted to impart.

"Live your life. Don't deny yourself happiness because you believe they will be safer. You haven't just been given this chance to change the past and save the Potters, you've been given it to live your own life too."

Sirius took in a deep shuddering breath. Oxygen poured through his lungs. He understood what his brother was telling him to do: the question was, was he brave enough to take the risk?

He smiled at his brother. "Thanks, Reg." Using the old nickname he'd called his brother as a child brought back memories. Sirius sighed, letting the Resurrection Stone fall from his hand and his brother's form vanished.

To be continued…

Please let me know what you think!

In this chapter some answers were given… I spent a lot of time trying to work out how the time-travel element of this story would work. In the end I settled with the idea of Sirius creating another timeline when he goes back to 1981 which then branches off from the first timeline. The timeline he is living in now can really only exist if James and Lily died as they were the ones responsible in the Prologue for sending him back in the first place. Therefore their deaths have to happen. The first time-line exists up until a certain point – which is when Sirius dies in Harry's fifth year – and then it just stops and time is changed.

So, thinking of it in this way, James exists in both life and death up until the point where Sirius dies in canon and then his 'dead' self doesn't really exist anymore. This is where it gets a bit grey but in my view, Sirius is the link holding these two timelines together so they can exist together until the two timelines have caught up and the one Sirius has created becomes the main one. The characters are all the same people. This explanation also can explain why Sirius' original Harry can appear to him through the stone – he still exists, until Sirius gets to his death-date in 1996, when he goes back and changes things, so, after that particular date, Sirius will no longer be able to speak to his Harry. I hope this is making sense!

I did take a bit of liberty with how the Resurrection Stone is used but I wanted Sirius to talk to the old James and Harry and the only way I could see it happening was through the stone. Also, the Harry of the Resurrection Stone can speak Parseltongue so we will be seeing him again.

And Regulus telling Sirius to live his life… Wise advice he probably should take!

The next chapter will be posted next week!

Until then,

the-writer1988