A/N) Hello! 500 reviews? Wow! I didn't expect to have that many for just 20 chapters but thank you so much for all the feedback that has been left!

This chapter was difficult to write. I'm not too sure about it but we'll see…

Twisting Time

Chapter 21

Sunday 5th April 1987

James was waiting for him in the living room when Sirius finally left the bedroom and descended the stairs. He walked slowly, his mind still going through everything he had learned. James was reading the Daily Prophet which was something he never really did this late at night.

Sirius leaned against the door frame, arms crossed over his chest, watching his best friend. "You should be in bed, Prongs."

James slowly turned to look at him. "I thought you might appreciate it if I stayed up. I'm not tired anyway. And I'm on the night-shift tomorrow so…" Occasionally James' role in Arthur Weasley's department required him to work throughout the night though these occasions were rare. Tomorrow night the Auror's were going to investigate a known wanted criminal for supplying Muggles with cursed objects. James' role was to discover whether this criminal was the same one his department had kept picking up cursed objects from, after they had been sold to unsuspecting Muggles. "I'll sleep tomorrow afternoon. Lily will keep Harry occupied so I can have my snooze." James quirked an eyebrow as he took in Sirius' appearance. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"I have," he replied, deciding that telling the truth would be more beneficial. "Seeing those you thought lost…" Sirius shuddered. He moved to sit down. "I thought I'd see Regulus – I did see him – but only after two others had spoken to me first."

"Who?"

Sirius ran his hands down his face. "It's… complicated," he admitted wearily, concerned what James' reaction would be if he told him the truth.

"I think I can take complicated, Padfoot," snorted James.

Sirius sighed, groaning. "I saw… You… and Harry."

James's mouth fell open in surprise. "But neither of us are dead."

"I know," snorted Sirius, "which makes it even more confusing… But it was your other self: the one that died."

"So there are two versions of me?" James asked, surprise spreading across his face.

Sirius shook his head. "No. Not really. At least I don't believe so. My past is a separate timeline that only exists up until I died in that world. At that point I was sent back and then changed the course of history. You told me that you and Lily had sent me back to make things right…" Sirius bit his lip. "You could have let me pass on but you chose differently which I'm grateful for because you, Lily and Harry are having the life you deserve to have. I won't be able to see you or Harry after the date I died because they will not exist anymore since this timeline will have caught up with the original." He noticed the confusion echoing across James' face. "Trust me, I'm confused to, but being able to talk to the Harry I knew has provided me with an answer to opening the locket…"

"Really?" James was intrigued.

Sirius nodded. "Yes. My Harry is a Parselmouth because of Voldemort's attack on him as a child therefore he can open the locket for us."

"A Horcrux aiding in the destruction of another Horcrux?" gaped James.

"I don't think Harry knew he was one, though I think my Albus Dumbledore suspected it. Harry must have protected that part of the soul but it wasn't aware of itself like it has been in the other Horcruxes that we've encountered or know about. He inherited abilities from it because it was a part of him but he was still your son. I can summon Harry again – he said we can destroy the locket with him."

"We?" James looked startled, surprised by Sirius' choice of words.

Sirius sighed, glancing at his best friend. "I need you there with me, Prongs. Horcruxes are dangerous and if it focuses on me, I need you to anchor me. Or destroy it whilst the soul is distracted."

James swallowed.

"I wouldn't ask this of you… I know it means seeing a different version of your son… but I'd rather you be with me than anyone else," explained Sirius quietly.

James was silent, clearly mulling Sirius' request over in his head. Finally, he spoke, but his words were hesitant. "I worry what I would do in front of your Harry. He isn't the son I know."

"Prongs… I know you can do this…" Sirius fixed him with his eyes. "I think you need to do this with me: to meet him. Maybe Lily does as well, but I'm not going to force it on you if you do not wish to…" He trailed off watching James' reaction.

James sighed. "I worry what my reaction will be to a fifteen-year old version of my son knowing that he isn't the son I raised."

"Imagine how I felt about seeing Harry as a baby again after knowing him as a teenager for several years. I can understand how you feel," said Sirius soothingly.

"But I also know you've asked for my help," swallowed James. "I can't say no… So…" He squared his shoulders. "Yes, Sirius. I will come with you."

Monday 6th April 1985

It was a few hours later, into the early hours of the morning, that James and Sirius left the Potter home and Apparated to a small forest about a mile away, where they trudged to the centre and set their things down. Sirius placed the locket on the top of a log in front of them, contemplating the Horcrux. He could practically feel the evil radiating off of it, seeping into his very soul, reaching out to him to try and twist his heart and force him away from this course of action.

But Sirius' had already resolved himself to going through with it. The Horcrux had to be destroyed. Both he and James had a Basilisk fang each. The plan was simple: Sirius would call for the other Harry and he would open the locket for them, allowing either James or Sirius to destroy the Horcrux.

The plan was fool proof, providing neither of them listened to the Horcrux's attempt to distract them from destroying it.

Sirius reached into his pocket and withdrew the Resurrection Stone. He looked at James as he turned the stone three times.

James gasped and Sirius turned, coming face to face with a fifteen year old Harry Potter. He was smiling sadly at them both, his green eyes shining with unshed tears.

"You're… Harry…. Sirius' Harry," stuttered James, his eyes wide.

The other Harry nodded. "I am. I'm also your son."

"Harry…" Sirius groaned. He knew what he wanted to say to him, which was what he hadn't said before. "I'm…"

"Don't say it because you have nothing to be forgiven for," answered Harry. "You did your best and made some wrong decisions but I cannot hate you for it. You made up for it. I wish I could have said this to you when you were alive."

"I am alive," said Sirius, pointing out the obvious.

"You are dead to me in the other timeline."

"But I thought the other timeline doesn't continue after I died?" asked Sirius. That had been the impression he had gotten previously.

Harry shrugged. "But it still exists now because this timeline hasn't caught up with it. I still exist. When the first timeline ends you will not be able to talk to me or the other James Potter. The two timelines co-exist at the moment because they are linked to you. You are keeping them stable… Right at this moment, I'm just a conscience of the Harry in the original timeline, only aged to appear as you remember me. That's why you see me like this instead of the age I am now. But I'm here for a reason and I think you need to destroy that Horcrux before it turns nasty." Harry nodded towards the locket resting on the log.

Sirius and James both reached into pouches around their waist and removed Basilisk fang. Their wands remained inside their pockets as they were useless against Horcruxes.

Sirius steeled himself. "Ready, Prongs?"

James nodded. "Yeah." Sirius could see he was trying to get over seeing an older version of his son. His features were conflicted but determination reflected upon him.

"One of you needs to hold the locket whilst the other destroys it." Harry stepped up to the locket.

"I'll hold it," said James, "because I think you need to be the one to destroy it, especially with what happened last time." He knelt down beside the log and reached for the locket as the Other Harry hovered beside him.

Sirius nodded, steeling himself for the onslaught he was sure to come.

Harry's mouth opened and formed words that sounded unnatural from his human lips as they twisted to emit the snake language. "Hesha-Hassa!"

James felt the locket loosen in his fingers. The golden doors of the locket swung open with a little click and behind the glass windows within blinked a living eye. James couldn't tell whose eyes they were as they were certainly not Voldemort's red ones, but he knew they must have been his eyes before he had made the transformation into Lord Voldemort. "Sirius… do it!" He held the locket steady on the rock.

Sirius, holding a Basilisk fang in one hand and the stone in the other, stepped forward, raising the fang high but something stopped him from descending his arm downwards.

A cold voice hissed out of the Horcrux.

"I can see into your heart, Sirius Black. I have seen your dreams and your fears. Everything you wish for is possible, but all that you dread is also possible…"

"SIRIUS! STAB IT!" yelled James. "DON'T LISTEN TO IT!"

But Sirius remained standing there, unable to move as his eyes focused upon the one looking at him.

"You've always been a disappointment to those that once loved you… Given a chance to make things right and you still mess it up… Never forgiven for your past… Always running from responsibility…"

"That isn't true, Sirius," said Harry quietly. "I will always forgive you for your mistakes… Never give up because those that love you never truly leave us… And you have taken responsibility of this timeline. You're not running!"

But the voice of Tom Riddle continued: "You have failed… Think of all the people you killed by changing things… They will never forgive you for lives they once led and now cannot… "

"They don't know any different, they still exist in this timeline, only living a different life," reassured Harry, stepping away from James and towards Sirius, his green eyes shining.

Sirius forced himself to drag his gaze away from the eye. "But what if…"

"Trust me." Harry pointed to the Basilisk fang. "It lies."

But then two figures emerged from the locket, the ghostly forms of James and Lily Potter.

"You failed us," said the Riddle-Lily.

"You killed us!" berated Riddle-James.

"You left our son to be abused by people who hate him. Allowed him to be manipulated by those that could use him." Lily's green eyes darkened as her hair flew around her shoulders.

Sirius stepped back. "No…" His face was going stark white.

Harry reached out for him. Though they couldn't touch Sirius could tell what the gesture meant. Harry meant to steady him.

"What happened at the Dursley's wasn't your fault," said Harry. "You know he lies to you… My mum and dad still stand by you, no matter your past or the choices you made. You are forgiven!"

James caught Sirius' eyes. "If I didn't forgive you, Padfoot, I wouldn't be here. I cannot blame you for anything so I have nothing to forgive you for. Harry is right. The Horcrux is trying to manipulate you…"

Sirius swallowed. He knew James and Harry were right.

"They will turn on you…"

"No." Sirius finally found his voice. "No, they won't." He stepped forward, shaking his head, raising his hand again. "And I won't let you WIN!" he roared.

He launched himself forward screaming, bringing his arm down and stabbing the eye within the locket with the point of the fang. The locket shattered and a scream echoed through the air around him. The James and Lily that had appeared from the locket were gone.

The two pieces of the locket fell from the log into the grass, a bit of smoke arising from the pieces.

Sirius fell backwards, landing on his bottom as his legs gave way beneath him. "I'm sorr-"

"Don't you dare say it, Sirius," stated James.

Sirius closed his mouth, bowing his head.

"You did it," said Harry.

Sirius looked up at his Harry. "Did… did you suffer at the Dursley's?" His mind was going through the Horcrux's words.

Harry shrugged. "I wasn't abused physically if that is what you mean…"

"But you didn't have a happy childhood…" groaned Sirius.

"No, but it helped me to survive and become resilient for what I needed to do later in life… If they'd loved me like they had Dudley, I don't think I'd have been able to face Voldemort several times and live," answered Harry. "The way they raised me actually helped me even if I wasn't happy. But it is different now. I'm growing up with my mum and dad. Being a normal kid. I have a brother to dote over. You shouldn't feel guilty over what happened before because you are making it right!"

Sirius let his shoulders droop. "I thought I was getting over my guilt… but maybe it will go when Voldemort is finished for good."

"The guilt should leave you now. Even dad thinks so," said Harry, pointing out the obvious.

James nodded. "Harry's right. I thought you'd forgiven yourself… but I guess there is still lingering doubt that will never leave you."

"It usually comes up when I'm tormented by Horcruxes… Or when I find something in this life resonates with my old one," explained Sirius quietly. "I have forgiven myself for most things… But I don't think the guilt will ever true leave me. The mistakes I made… There is one thing I regret… Much as I love this life and the chance I've got, I miss my Harry." He fixed his gaze with the young wizard in front of him. "Despite everything you were amazing. You were the Boy-Who-Lived."

"Yeah, well, you're the Man-Who-Lived now, Sirius," replied Harry, causing James to snigger.

Sirius snorted. "Not a title I really wanted but one I will live with." He shook his head.

"I don't want you to forget me," continued Harry sagely. "I'm the Harry you are doing this all for. You've given me a better life, a brighter future… If you forgot me I think you might wonder why you are doing all of this."

Sirius shook his head. "No. Never. I'd carry on because I know it is the right thing to do. And I can't forget you… You saved my life at risk of your own. You crossed your own time-stream to save my life from Dementors… You've always stood for right."

"A hundred Dementors is nothing," shrugged Harry.

James could remember feeling shocked at hearing his son had performed such complex magic at such a young age. "Still can't believe you managed to hold off hundred Dementors."

"I had something I couldn't lose," replied Harry. "Sirius was the one person who cared about me enough to break out of prison for. He risked his own life several times to help me. And I couldn't let the Ministry execute an innocent man, could I?"

James nodded slowly. "No, you couldn't."

Sirius winced. "An innocent man who made quite a large hash of things…"

James rolled his eyes. "I think you had to make those mistakes in order to fix things."

"Things wouldn't have needed fixing if I hadn't messed up in the first place," Sirius pointed out, glaring at James.

Harry laughed. "Were you two always like this?"

"Yes," they both replied at the same time.

"Okay, fine, I'll stop thinking back on what I should have done." Sirius breathed in deep. "We've still got a tough future ahead of us. More Horcruxes and Voldemort will return. We just have to outwit him."

James laid a hand on his friend's shoulder. "We will."

Harry's face split into a large smile. "See, this is what you need, Sirius. Friends by your side. Working with you to make everything the way it should have been. You don't have to do this alone… even if you believe it is your responsibility. It isn't."

Sirius sighed. "I know. I won't do this alone." He cocked his head to the side. "Besides, this one won't let me."

"Good," praised Harry.

In Sirius' fingers he was fiddling with the Resurrection Stone. If he let go of it, Harry would disappear but a part of him wanted him to stay.

"I can't stay," said Harry, reading Sirius' mind.

"I know."

"Miss me and love me and remember me. And when you see the Harry in this world, know that is the life that awaits me when the two timelines merge." Harry stood there, his skin glowing with a faint blue line, emanating the fact that he wasn't physically there.

"Wise words," said James. "I'll make sure he listens. Promise."

"Thanks…" Harry hesitated.

"Call me, dad," smiled James. After all, the boy in front of him was his son, just living in a different timeline.

"Thanks… dad," said Harry, as he faded.

The stone fell from Sirius' fingers and onto the grassy, muddy floor. He turned away from it.

"Aren't you going to -?" asked James.

"No. The stone is better off being left here." Sirius' voice sounded strange as if he was struggling not to swallow a lump in his throat. "I can't move on if I give myself easy access to Harry."

"But…" James walked in front of Sirius. "What if we need Parseltongue again?"

"If we do, at least we know what words mean 'open' in snake tongue," replied Sirius. His lips twisted strangely as he tried to articulate the words. "Hesha-Hassah."

James grimaced, clearly not convinced.

"If you are concerned about us needing Harry again, why don't you hide the stone here? Or any location of your choice? Then, if we require it, you can retrieve it. If we do not need it then you alone will know the location," explained Sirius. "I need to be away from it in case I decide to summon Harry again. I miss him but I have to move on and focus on my journey here."

James sighed sadly, accepting Sirius' decision. "Ok. You go and get your rest. You deserve it."

"You're a good friend, Prongs." Sirius smiled and walked slowly away before Disapparating into the dead of the night.

To be continued…

Please let me know what you think!

Another Horcrux down! Just to clarify it was the early hours of the morning on the Monday, so before daybreak. I think Sirius, though he has forgiven himself mostly, will always feel regret. But it isn't going to be stopping him from sharing with his friends anymore or being able to move forward. I also think it is realistic that Sirius would choose to leave the Stone behind. He doesn't want to become addicted to seeing his Harry.

The next chapter will deal with Sirius trying to make amends with Snape… I think this is something I need to cover before I move this story onward further. It's likely the next chapter will be short as well but after that we should be returning to longer ones.

Until next time,

the-writer1988