A/N: I really wish I could say that finishing school will create time for me to have a more consistent upload schedule, but I still can't promise you all anything just yet. Hang tight, I'll get there. Enjoy this chapter in the meantime!

Chapter 6: Recognition

When Harry awoke the following morning, his head was pounding, as he tried to wrap his mind around everything. He had been an orphan his whole life, but he met his parents, his living, breathing parents. He laid in bed for a while, staring up at the ceiling, watching the shadows move as the sun rose higher into the sky. He didn't have to be in the office until later in the morning, and after being up as late as he had been last night, especially after such a taxing day at work, he really should've been able to sleep more. But he couldn't. How could he sleep when everything that he had known to be true, everything that had been implemented into place so early in his life, was now completely changed?

And Sirius…Harry had watched him die. He had watched him fall through the veil and carried away to Merlin knows where. Hell, he would've followed him if Remus hadn't been there to stop him. Remus. Harry could still clearly remember that evening at the shell cottage, where Remus had joyfully announced the birth of Teddy, only six days before he had died. He had missed so much of that boy growing up, just like James had for Harry.

It was all too much for Harry to understand completely. How could this all happen? Well, of course, Harry knew how this happened. But, what will happen now? What will change? Will they still be there when Harry returns?

Harry's heart quickly plummeted into his chest. What if his parents died again, and he wasn't there to see them one last time. He quickly sprung up from his bed and began to make his way towards the bathroom's entrance.

"What happened to you last night," Ginny asked, lifting her head from her pillow pon feeling Harry's hasty exit. "I tried to wait for you, but it got awfully late."

"Erm- it was…a lot," Harry responded. "I'm sorry I can't really speak much on it. I have to get to work."

"I thought you didn't have to be in until ten," she said in that tone that she had reserved when asking James why something was broken or missing. She had one eyebrow raised, another step to her method of squeezing the truth out of their son.

"I-I erm…well…yes, but after last night there is still a lot to put together with…well…everything," Harry explained hastily. "I figured I'd head in early to erm- wrap it all up."

"Uh huh," said Ginny, unamused. "Wrap up what, exactly?"

"Like I said, I can't really tell you," said Harry lamely.

"Are you having an affair," Ginny blurted out.

"Why is that where your mind goes to?"

"Well for starters you came home at Merlin knows what hour this morning and can't give me a definite answer as to where you were."

"I said I was at-"

"Second," Ginny cut in, "you always tell me about every detail of your assignments, especially when you are, as you said, 'wrapping it up.'"

"This one is diff-"

"Third," she said, cutting in again, "and probably most important here, I can tell when you are lying."

"But why an affair?"

"Because I figured it was a bold enough accusation to get the real answer out of you," she explained. "And in the small chance you were, well it would have sorted itself really."

Harry huffed, "Fine, but you can't tell anyone this yet, not your parents, not Hermione, not even Ron."

"Wow this is big if Ron and Hermione can't even know about it," said Ginny.

"I met my parents last night," said Harry.

Ginny looked at him with wide eyes, "are you dying?"

"No."

"Are you going insane?"

"No," Harry repeated. "Let me explain. Teddy was struck by lightning last night."

"Is he alright," Ginny asked, concerned.

"He's fine, it wasn't a direct hit. He's just stayed one night with Madame Pomfrey, and she should be releasing him this morning."

"Okay good," said Ginny with a sigh of relief.

"But he was holding the resurrection stone when he was hit. He said he had found it in the Forbidden Forest," explained Harry.

"And all of that caused your parents to be resurrected?"

"Not just my parents, Sirius and Remus too," said Harry.

"I think I'm going to circle back to the affair accusation," said Ginny, dumbfounded.

"Ginny," Harry pleaded.

"I'm sorry, but you do realize how ridiculous this sounds, right?"

"Yes," Harry conceded. "But, Ginny, please believe me. I promise you that I would never make this up."

Ginny sighed, "I know you wouldn't, and I've believed stranger things that have come out of your mouth. I love you, and I think you are well aware of that, but this is absolutely bizarre."

"You don't think I realize that," asked Harry.

Ginny sighed, "where are they?"

"Hogwarts," said Harry. "Room of Requirement to be exact."

"You kept them at Hogwarts?"

"We can't bring them out in the open, and the only other option was Grimmauld Place," explained Harry. "I'm not keeping Sirius a prisoner there again. Besides, no one's touched it in years."

Harry had rarely stepped into Grimmauld Place since he, Ron, and Hermione had been on the run during the war. The old house gave him an eerie feeling and knowing how much Sirius hated it, both before and during that year they spent there, Harry had grown to hate it as well. The cold atmosphere of the house became unbearable now, making Harry only take the journey when strictly necessary, which has not been often. Since Kreacher had died, it has sat empty for years now, so Harry was not sure if the place was even liveable.

"I know," agreed Ginny. "But I feel like they're going to be found easily with so many students around."

"It's the only place we have," said Harry. He walked over to his closet, retrieving a new set of clean, deep maroon robes for the day. "I told them that I would be back this morning."

"Okay," said Ginny.

"Come with me," said Harry. It wasn't a question. "I'm sure they would want to meet you."

"What would you suppose we do with the children," asked Ginny. "If you want something to be kept a secret, telling James about it probably isn't the best method."

"Is your Mum around? She's been wanting to have them over," said Harry.

"I'll ask her," said Ginny.

An hour later, all three of the Potter kids were dressed, fed breakfast, and in the living room of the Burrow. Molly Weasley looked as excited as she always did to see her grandkids as James and Al ran into her home and she scooped Lily from Ginny's arms.

"Thanks for taking them on such short notice, Mum," said Ginny.

"It's no problem, dear," Molly replied sweetly. "Where was it that you said you were going?"

Both Harry and Ginny answered at the same exact time, fumbling over each other's words.

"Work emergency," said Harry.

"Quidditch match," said Ginny. They both paused as Molly looked intently at them.

"He has a work emergency, and I was called to cover a quidditch match last minute," corrected Ginny.

"Which match," asked Molly.

"Erm…the Canons and Puddlemere," answered Ginny. "We've really best be going, but thank you so much again, really."

"It's no trouble at all," said Molly with a not-so-sincere smile. She knew they were lying and it would definitely come back to bite them eventually. For now, Harry didn't care much. He was about to introduce his wife to his parents.

They stepped back through the fireplace and the green flames engulfed them, taking them back home first.

'What if they don't like her', Harry thought.

It was ridiculous, he knew, but he couldn't shake it. He never had to worry about his parents' approval on any of his past relationships, even if they were few and far between. And Ginny, well, who couldn't like Ginny. Even so, their opinion wouldn't change much at this point, they'd been married for almost a decade. Still, their approval would be nice, Harry supposed.

Harry soon realized that his feelings weren't so ridiculous as he looked to Ginny when they arrived in their own living room, where they had stored a bag of supplies Harry wanted to give to his parents. She looked nervous, and she never looked nervous.

"Are you alright," Harry asked her.

She nodded, "what if they don't like me? I know it won't change anything at this point, but…it's a possibility."

"From what Sirius and Remus have told me in the past, just talk quidditch with my dad if you need to," said Harry.

"This is going to sound horrible, but I thought one of the only perks of marrying an orphan was not having to worry about the approval of the in-laws."

Harry understood this. He had it pretty easy trying to get the approval of his in-laws as the Weasleys were his family since he started at, but the way he was viewed definitely shifted when he changed from Ron's friend to Ginny's boyfriend, and eventually husband.

"They'll love you," Harry assured her. "How couldn't they?"

Hogwarts was the same as Harry had left it the previous night, although now the corridors would now be buzzing with students. This made navigating the corridors without drawing attention to anything much more challenging, thankfully, a class period was still in progress when they first arrived through the one-eyed witch passageway after apparating to Honeydukes. They were making their way to the Room of Requirement when they met McGonagall on a staircase.

"We have another issue," said McGonagall.

Harry's heart sank, he knew what this meant. He had just met his parents, and they were stripped away from him again. His heart ached for Teddy as well as he had finally met his father for him to be taken too. And Sirius…Sirius deserved this new life after his had been so…upsetting…lonely, Harry didn't know what to describe it as, but Sirius deserved so much better.

"They're gone," asked Harry, panicked.

"No," said McGonagall. Harry felt the relief wash over him like a hot shower during a fever. "There's more."

"What do you mean," asked Harry.

"I sent word to the Minister, and I'll let him know you're here before he alerts you," explained McGonagall. "I suppose it's a good thing that Ginny is here with you because well…"

"Fred," Ginny supplied.

McGonagall nodded. "And Ted Tonks. While this is, again, spectacular, it brings the question that if there were more people that we didn't know about-"

"Then who else is out there that could pose a threat," said Ginny.

"Precisely," said McGonagall.

"How many more people do you think are out there, then," asked Harry.

"I'm not sure, Mr. Potter, but it would probably be wise to find out sooner rather than later," said McGonagall. "I'm sure the Ministry, or the Order, could do something, but for right now, I think you and Mrs. Potter, here, want to talk to some people."

McGonagall turned to ascend the stairs once again. "Is Teddy alright," Harry asked.

"He was released this morning but will be visiting Madame Pomfrey daily for brief check ups, but I excused him from his classes for the day," explained McGonagall. "I would presume he would be in the same place that you are heading."

She turned once again and disappeared behind a corner. Harry and Ginny continued their journey up the stairs until they reached the entrance to the Room of Requirement. The door began to materialize in front of them until it was fully solid.

"Are you ready," Harry asked.

"I suppose," Ginny replied, grabbing the door handle and pushing it open. When the room came into view, Harry could see that everyone was accounted for, but they were all…well…old. Their hair was now all graying (apart from Remus whose head start now left him fully gray) and all more wrinkled than when Harry had left them as last night.

"Holy shit," Harry heard Ginny mumble softly from beside him.

"Ginny?"

It was a voice Harry hadn't heard in ages, but he knew immediately who it was as he could never forget the sound of it. His presumption came true when he saw Fred Weasley walking towards them. On a normal day, Harry would've thought it to be George, but the man had two ears instead of one. He was of course, like the others, the age he would be had he lived. He was thirty-three like he should be, but it still didn't seem right because it always seemed that he would be forever twenty.

"Long time no see, I suppose," said Fred with a very Fred-like smirk.

"Yeah. I suppose," Ginny agreed before being wrapped into her older brother's arms. After a few moments they broke apart.

"I would ask how you're doing, but you seem to be doing quite alright for yourself," said Fred, pulling Harry into a hug of his own. "How are you doing, mate?"

"Alright, I suppose," said Harry as they broke apart, before cracking a smile at his old friend.

Fred stepped aside from the pair, allowing the rest of the room's inhabitants to come into view. Everyone was still there just as McGonagall had said. Remus and Sirius were the furthest from the door and were having their own conversation quietly and away from the rest. Tonks and Teddy were sitting on one of the couches with Ted Tonks, although they had paused to look at the newcomers. James and Lily were the closest to them as they stood right in front of them, however they stood back slightly, seeming to be waiting to be introduced.

It hit Harry in that moment just how strange this actually was. He had never had to do this before, granted that he had only ever been in two relationships, one being his current one. But still, he never had to do this, nor did he ever have to worry about doing this until this exact moment. It didn't make a difference at this point, did it? No.

He cleared his throat, "Mum, Dad, this is Ginny…my wife."

"Dear Merlin, he's married," James said to himself. The youthful, cocky voice didn't match with the matured man that stood before Harry.

"Hello," said Ginny.

"Hi," said Lily. "You'll have to forgive us, this is a bit unexpected."

"I agree, yes," said Ginny, nodding.

"Well it's- erm- lovely to meet you, Ginny," said James, extending his hand out for her to shake, which she did.

Lily, clearly trying to keep the conversation moving, asked," what do you do for work?"

"I'm a writer for the Daily Prophet. I write quidditch columns, particularly on the Harpies since I played for them and all-"

James' eyes lit up, "you played professional quidditch?"

Ginny nodded with a prideful smirk, "I always played chaser, except for the few times I filled in for Harry at seeker-"

James turned to Harry now, "you played quidditch?"

Harry nodded, "I joined the team in my first year-"

"FIRST YEAR?"

"James," Lily interjected, "he defeated Voldemort, and you're wrapped up on him playing Quidditch at Hogwarts?"

"Lily, he played Quidditch in his first year," James explained slowly, "that's almost unheard of!"

Harry gave him a smile as he heard the doors behind them begin to open once again. This time, Kingsley appeared in the doorway, he paled as he looked into the room and saw two more people that weren't alive before last night.

"Well we're in deep shit, aren't we," Kingsley muttered.

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