(A/N) Long awaited moment! Enjoy.

Chapter 61

As the group exited Sirius looked like he wanted to ask questions, but Harry held his hand up, "Wait, Sirius. Lily needs to see her memories. Then I will answer questions."

The teen looked from Harry to Lily before swallowing hard, shaking his head, and stepping aside. Turning to Lily, who was the last remaining, Harry offered his hand to her, "Lily. To you, I am sorry. You deserve the truth more than anyone. Let's right my wrongs."

Lily seemed nervous as she took his hand, and he gave James a sad smile, "You too, Prongs. Some of your questions can be answered here as well."

James nodded in acceptance and approached the pensieve with Harry and Lily. As Harry glanced at the two he realized that Lily was the hardest to select memories for. The teen from the future had not found an opportunity to meet any of Lily's close school friends, nor did he have any stories about her, except the one lie he was told. It was there he would start.

The memory began and the fog began to settle as eleven year old Harry lay on the ground of the hutt in the middle of the storm. Next to him, his overweight cousin, Dudley had a watch that beeped three times at the stroke of midnight, and in the memory young Harry forced a smile and blew on the dirt drawing, "Happy Birthday, Harry."

The trio watched as the moment was interrupted by the arrival of Hagrid, and the Dursley's came running downstairs to greet the intruder. Lily gasped when her eyes landed on her sister, and a heavy feeling came to Harry's soul. With a snap Harry froze the memory, and Lily walked slowly towards her sister in wonder. James looked at Harry questioningly, but Harry only had eyes for Lily. It didn't take long for realization to settle on the woman, as she whispered, "You are my son?"

Sighing, Harry moved towards the red head, continuing to ignore James for now, "Of all the disappointments I have had since arriving in this time, Lily, you have been none of them. I had only heard stories about you, from Sirius and Remus. Dumbledore spoke of your kindness, some of my teachers spoke of your brilliance, and the world would've spoken of your love if only they had known the truth."

Lily looked questioningly at him, and he snapped his fingers. It was there the silent James, and horrified Lily, learned the lie that Petunia had told Harry. The lie that they had died in a car crash, and the truth when she admitted that he came from a line of witches and wizards.

James looked outraged by the end of it, but Harry shook his head at him indicating now was not the time, "That was the lie. Now, let's watch the truth."

With a circle of his wand Harry drew a new memory and the pensieve changed to a panicked James, "Lily, take Harry and go! It's him! Go! Run!"

Before James could turn he was cut down by a flashing green light as Lily slammed the door shut trying to create a barrier between the intruder and her baby. Lily and James watched in horror as the door was blown off its hinges and Voldemort entered the room, "Step aside, silly girl…"

The trio watched as Voldemort killed Lily with a blast of green light, and then in awe watched him lower the wand towards Harry. With a snap of his fingers Harry froze the memory, "All we can see after this is a flash of light. I was left with a lightning bolt scar, and I became known in our world as the boy-who-lived, the sole survivor of the killing curse."

James and Lily both stared at him in shock. Lily had tears freely falling down her face. James seemed to be shell shocked by watching himself get killed. Harry however offered them sad looks as he took one of each of their hands, "The truth is, Lily, you sacrificed yourself to save me. Dumbledore believed that the sacrifice you made here, put protection over me. A protection that made the killing curse rebound. Voldemort confirmed this in front of me years later by telling his followers the truth. It was old magic. We don't know if it was your intention, or an unexplained happenstance. What we do know is that our family stopped Voldemort in his path to victory. We delayed the war for fourteen years, and then he came back."

"What happens then?" James asked.

"He kills everyone that stands in his way." Harry said honestly.

Lily for her part had not said a word. Slowly the woman moved towards Harry and put a hand on his cheek, "You were my son? James was your father?"

Nodding his head he swallowed hard, "I'm sorry for the lies. I didn't want to tell you all until the war was over. I never wanted Voldemort to learn my secret. I wanted you two to have a chance to find each other just like you did in my time. If I had told you at the beginning of the year that I was your son that may not have happened. It still may not happen."

Lily shook her head unsure of what to say as she pulled the boy into a hug. Harry gave the woman a strong embrace as her shoulders shook and he whispered, "I'm sorry, Lily."

The two held each other for a long moment, and when they separated Harry sighed, "There is much you both should see. Now isn't the time though. Let's go answer some questions I know our friends will have to ask."

Lily agreed with the sentiment and looked back at the fallen form of herself on the ground in the memory of the broken house in Godric's Hollow before Harry whisked them out of the memory.

With the whole group back, Lily moved forward and embraced each of her friends. Elaina came to his side as they watched the group attempt to comfort each other. She took his hand softly in hers, "Do you feel any better?"

"I wish I could say I did." Harry said quietly to his girlfriend, "That was harder than I imagined. I rushed it as much as I could. I didn't want them to dwell too much on specifics."

"You did the best you could in an unprecedented situation." Elaina consoled, "No one can blame you."

Squeezing her hand in thanks, the group all began to come together again near the pensieve and Harry offered them comforting smiles, "Questions?"

Frank grunted the first one, the tears having been wiped away, "How did you get here?"

Shrugging Harry shook his head, "I don't know for sure. I had intended to trick Voldemort, and hit him with the killing curse after surrendering to him. It worked, and I was killed by his followers within seconds. Next thing I knew I woke up and it was July 31st, 1976. My birthday, but four years before I was born."

Harry left out the mentions of Fleamont Potter and the Kings Cross Station. There would be no way to prove those events, and the teen had no idea how he would explain it. The group seemed to ponder his answer, and he continued, "I believe magic, fate, or some entity of the sort intervened. There was a prophecy. Voldemort and I were supposed to have some grand battle, and kill one another. When that didn't happen, I was sent back in time to fight again. I don't understand it, and it took some time to realize I had arrived in some parallel timeline to my own. As far as I can tell everything happened exactly the same way it did in my time up until the moment I arrived."

Except for Elaina. Harry thought in the corner of his mind. He was still not certain as to the girl's origin or what might have happened to her in his time, but he knew some mysteries in life were never going to be answered.

Sirius asked, "Why not tell us all sooner? I was your godfather? Why not tell me? Most of us were very close to you, and lost everything, we had a right to know."

"Would you have believed him?" Elaina questioned bewilderedly. When Sirius looked at her with a look of outrage she shook her head, "Don't give me that look. Had he come to all of you and said the truth, it would've never been believed. He had to earn your trust. He had to see first hand that everything was supposed to be the same."

The group all looked at her in surprise at her defense and she lowered her voice, attempting to calm herself, "I have thought a lot about what I may have done in his shoes. The answer always goes back to time. He needed time to earn your trust, time to ensure things were the same."

"Why did you get to know before us?" Lily asked, but there was no heat in the question. A little hurt perhaps, but no anger.

"She figured it out, mostly." Harry sighed, "We spent enough time together, and she was by my side enough to know that I knew things that were impossible. She earned my trust over the time we have known each other. When I realized that I loved her I knew I couldn't keep the secrets if I wanted things to work between us."

Lily's eyes widened at his words. James and the others looked equally surprised by them, and he swallowed hard realizing what he had just said. Turning to face the girl he gulped down his embarrassment at the slip before taking her hand and squeezing it, "And I do love you. Falling for you is one of the easiest things I've ever done. Despite all our obstacles, we found each other, and thrived as a team. Of all the curves life has thrown at me since arriving in this time, you have been the one I am most grateful for."

Elaina's eyes shined with emotion and she stepped forward placing a soft kiss on his cheek, saying nothing in return. Turning back to face his friends and family he sighed, "I know there are a lot of questions, but it is late, and we should all get some rest. This night has extracted a heavy toll."

Andi and Pandora were the first to depart. The daughter of the Black family was holding her friend closely after the gut punch had been delivered. Alice and Frank both hugged Harry tightly before following the two Slytherin girls out. Both had devastated expressions on their countenance. Sirius and Remus just offered him shakes of the head as they exchanged quiet whispers exiting the room.

When it was just James, Lily, Harry, and Elaina, James asked, "What about Peter? Why did he leave?"

"Desperation makes us do ugly things, James." Harry said evenly, "Not all of us are the quintessential Gryffindor."

James looked like he wanted to ask more questions, but Lily cut him off, "When can we see more?"

Offering the woman a sad smile he sighed, "Whenever you want. Tomorrow night if need be. I want you both to understand how I became who I am, and why I wanted to protect you both from the truth."

In understanding the woman just embraced him one last time, before turning to Elaina and embracing her as well. The two exchanged quiet words as James approached Harry ignoring the girls, "Thank you for telling them all the truth. This secret would've eaten me alive."

"I know it would have, Prongs." Harry said consolingly.

"You know if you need anything-"

"I just want your friendship, James." Harry said cutting the teen off, "As far as I am concerned nothing has to change between us. Charlus and Dorea have been my parents in this world, and I love them. You still have your own things to deal with, and need to focus on school, and Lily. I want you two to have a chance."

The tone in Harry's voice was pleading, but James just shook his head with a look of sadness in his eyes, "You're wrong, Harry. This changes everything."

With that the last Marauder followed Lily out the door as they said their goodnights.

.o.

James and Lily walked most of the way back to Gryffindor tower in silence. Curfew had passed by a few minutes, but being Head Boy and Head Girl the two wouldn't be disturbed. Even if they were, it likely wouldn't have registered. James was vastly nervous now that the girl who had stolen his heart all those years ago knew the truth. He knew that she had been warming up to the idea that the two of them might be able to go on a date after the battle of Hogsmeade, but now it all seemed forced. It may have seemed like destiny, but James wasn't so sure.

Before they could turn the corridor that would lead to Fat Lady James stopped Lily with a gentle hand on her arm, "Lils. Hold on. Can we talk for a second?"

Lily didn't turn to look at him, but kept her eyes fixed forward. Nonetheless she nodded her head, and James swallowed hard, "Tell me…what are you thinking?"

"I really don't know what to think, James." Lily said quietly.

Running a hand through his hair he sighed, "I know it's a lot."

"Beyond anything I ever imagined." Lily whispered.

The two held the silence for a long time, and she spoke again, "What did you see with Frank and Alice?"

James felt like he needed to gulp for breath as it felt like she knocked the wind out of him with the simple question. He had done his best not to think about what he had seen in Harry's memory. The horrid death of Neville Longbottom, a boy that was his age…he had fought so hard, only to be killed so ruthlessly, "James?"

Shaking his head he shook his shoulders fighting the cold chill from running up his spine, "It was a memory of Frank and Alice's son. It was horrible. We watched him get killed by Death Eaters. Frank insisted. Harry tried to warn them. Merlin, Lily, they were tortured to insanity, Frank, and Alice. I saw Harry visit them, and…"

He trailed off as the memory threatened to consume him. Lily took his hand in comfort, but the shock on her face was evident. James could hardly even pretend to comprehend that he knew what Harry had been through in his time. With only a brief glimpse into his past he knew it had been nothing, but pain and suffering. Lily wiped at her eyes before saying, "My sister…she wouldn't have raised him well. She hates everything about magic. The fact that she raised him…James I would never have allowed that. All of our friends, they must have been…"

The thought was so terrible neither of them could voice it out loud, but Lily continued after a moment, "I always knew my sister and I would grow apart due to my magic, but I never would have imagined that she would mistreat my own child. Her own flesh and blood."

"Mistreat? You think they hurt him?" James asked with a sick feeling in his stomach.

"Did you see how skinny he was? He was also sleeping on the floor. He looked miserable. I am almost afraid to ask what the rest of his childhood was like." Lily whispered aghast.

Shaking his head, James' mind went to dark places. He didn't want to think Harry had been mistreated by Lily's family. He didn't want to believe that his life was any more horrible than it had been, but something had made him the way he was. Something that spelt out difficulty, hardship, and suffering.

"We have to be better this time." James said quietly, "He needs us. He hasn't wanted to say it, but he does."

"We will keep training with him." Lily promised, as if trying to reassure herself, "Grow stronger as a team. We have to protect him, and our friends."

Snorting James said, "Well I think he is more than capable of protecting himself, but we can't be liabilities to him."

Agreeing, the girl looked down at their hands and realized they hadn't released one another. Lily took a breath, squeezed his hand, and guided him towards the portrait at a sedate pace, "At least he has Elaina. I am happy that he trusted her, but I wish he had told me the truth sooner."

"I insisted he tell you as soon as I found out." James promised.

"I know, James. Thank you for that." Lily said as she called the password out to the Fat Lady.

Releasing each other's hands so they could cross into the Common Room Lily paused, "James?"

Looking up at the red headed girl he admired for so many years he saw a lot of emotions in her eyes that he couldn't quite comprehend, and the words she uttered made his heart flutter, "Thanks for never giving up on me."

The words were loaded and James knew it. He wasn't entirely sure of their meaning, but the shy smile that was offered to him made him have hope. Goodnights were muttered between the pair, and they went separate ways for the evening.

When James made it to the Common Room he noticed that while he was the last to arrive all his roommates were still awake. Peter was to his left sitting at the edge of the bed with his knees pulled up to his chest. It looked like the boy had spent most of the evening in tears, and James couldn't even imagine what his friend saw. Sirius and Remus appeared to be nursing a bottle of fire whiskey that they had been saving for the next quidditch match. Lastly Frank sat by the window that overlooked part of the grounds and he had his arms crossed staring out into the haunted night.

James entering the room hardly changed anything about the mood in the room. The Marauders all at least glanced at him, but Frank's expression didn't waiver. Understanding now that his night was not over, and his temporary joy of Lily being happy with him needed to be put on hold. Approaching his long time friend he called out, "Frank?"

The Longbottom Heir didn't even show recognition that his name had been said for a moment, and James was about to address him again when he spoke, "I have been in love with Alice for a long time. I dreamed of making her Lady Longbottom, having a home together, and one day raising a family together."

Turning to face James now, Frank had hate in his eyes, "Seeing her the way I did tonight… I don't know what I have to do to ensure she never ends up that way, to ensure my son never ends up in that position, but I am going to do it. Whatever it takes."

James didn't know what to say but was frozen by his friend's rage. Frank stepped up to where he was nearly nose to nose with his roommate and spat, "I don't care if I have to train until I drop every single day I will NEVER let that happen to her."

He was nearly yelling by the time he was done, and James didn't know what to do. He had never seen his usually docile friend get so riled up or angry about anything. When he saw the tears begin to fall from Frank however he did what he thought Harry would do. Stepping forward James wrapped both arms around his friend and embraced him tightly. Frank nearly sagged into his embrace as he let the emotions overcome him, and James just held him firm, "We won't let them get to Alice, Frank. None of us are going to let that happen. Not this time."

"We lost the first time, though." Sirius said from behind. James separated from Frank and turned to face his best mate who continued angrily, "We lost, Prongs. Voldemort or his followers managed to kill all of us. How are we going to beat him this time?"

"This time we have, Harry." James said fiercely, "This time we know what's coming. I am the most guilty in shirking my responsibilities. Harry warned me what was coming, and I waved it off. Had I seen what I have seen now I would never have done so. I wanted to live and be a Marauder, but now I see I have to be more than that. If I want to live, if I want my friends to live, we have to be more than that."

"What if we can't be?" Peter asked quietly from the other side of the room.

"We have to be." Remus said just as quietly.

"Come off it, Mooney." Sirius said.

"No he's right." James countered, "We have to be. Or we run. That's the only two options we have. We either rise to it, or we run."

They all looked at him in surprise and he shook his head in defeat, "It's the truth. We have all only seen a fraction of what the future holds. It's terrifying, it's horrible, and I don't want it. If we want it to be different, we have to be better."

"Harry has been telling us this from the beginning." James said after the silence reigned in the room, "Guys, I wouldn't think of anyone differently if they chose to run from this. Merlin, I want to run from it. What we have seen so far is horrific, and Merlin only knows what we haven't seen yet."

James swallowed hard trying to be brave for his friends. They each had varying looks. Frank looked angry, Peter scared, Sirius and Remus were both looking lost, and James hoped to guide him the way that Harry would have wanted him too. The words he had told Lily haunted him in that moment. Of all the disappointments I have had since arriving in this time, Lily, you have been none of them.

James would have to be a fool to think that he was not one of those disappointments, but he didn't want to be that anymore, "I just can't leave my mum, Lily, Harry, and all of you behind to deal with it. I won't…Tomorrow I am going to wake up and go train with Harry. I am going to learn whatever he wants to teach me, and I am going to fight these bastards with everything I have. This is the only way. This is the only way we have a chance. Together."

Feeling as if he said his piece James looked to each of his friends and he saw varying degrees of resolve, before he could say anything further Frank spoke, "I am with you, James."

Offering the teen an appreciative nod he turned to the others. Remus sighed looking at the bottle in front of him, "I watched one of my best mates get killed in a memory from the future tonight. I still don't know if I believe it, but if there is even a chance it's real, and there is a chance that I can do something to stop it, I will. I'm with you, Prongs."

Sirius stood up looking more nervous than James had ever seen him, "My whole family is against him for what he did to my grandfather. I never thought I would see the day, but House Black is going to fight, and my friends are going to fight. You guys are like my brothers. I would follow you chaps anywhere. I'm with you Prongs. Until the end."

All eyes then went to Peter who looked befuddled. James went over to the rat animagus and offered him a firm hand on the shoulder, "I don't know what Harry showed you, Wormy, but it's never too late to change things. We can do this. Together."

"I'm scared, Prongs. I am not as strong, or as brave as the rest of you." Peter said in a whisper.

"You don't have to be, Pete." Frank said from the back of the room, "We will all protect each other."

James nodded, "He's right."

Peter looked around to each of his friends and finally nodded as if in defeat, "Sure, Prongs."

Knowing the boy was scared, James accepted his timid friend's words and conjured a chair next to the other Marauders. They were soon joined by Frank as the Firewhiskey was passed around in silence. Peter had seemingly gone to bed as the four teens contemplated what the new future held. James could only hope that Harry was going to make a real difference that would change the fates of everyone in this room.

.o.

Harry and Elaina sat in his room, at a table they conjured, across from one another, after the night's events. The two had been speaking openly about what had been shown to the others and discussed possible ramifications. Under the protection of his wards he felt they were safe, and he figured if Dumbledore did discover the truth then maybe that would not be a bad thing, "Do you think Peter will change?"

Elaina seemed to contemplate the question and shook her head, "It's hard to say for sure. You could see how scared he was. People who are scared are liable to do anything. From what I have seen of your memories the man is a coward who will only do right by himself. I am not sure keeping his future a secret is a good idea. If it were to backfire, then questions would be asked. Questions you may not want to answer."

Harry had considered her point at length. James had a right to know why his family paid the ultimate price in his time. His main concern was the innocence of Peter at this very moment. He was not a marked Death Eater, though he probably should have guessed that, the others likely would've noticed something that auspicious, "You may be right. I just want him to have a second chance. For the Marauders sake. If I had the heart I'd just crush him in his sleep, but I couldn't do that to James knowing there is a chance to save his friend."

Elaina nodded in admiration before offering him a sly smile, "Did you mean what you said tonight?"

Feeling his cheeks burn immediately Harry decided to try and play it smooth, "I said a lot of things tonight."

Chuckling the girl stood from the conjured table and moved to his side invading his space by crossing her arms and standing beside him her knee touching his, "You know one horrible date and I already have you professing your love, maybe I will have to see if my family has any veela genes in them."

The teasing in her tone made him heat up even more, but shook his head, "It slipped out! Give me a break."

Scoffing playfully the multi-colored eyes of the girl swirled over him and he tried to not to feel antsy under her scrutiny, "It was a sweet gesture, Harry. In front of your parents, your godparents, and their closest friends. You sure know how to make a girl feel special."

"I would gladly throw myself off the Astronomy Tower right now to avoid this." Harry played as he stood up trying to escape the girl, but too easily she pushed him back in the chair and took a seat in his lap.

"You know, with all the doom, gloom, and funerals we have attended recently I think a second date would be a fantastic idea. Middle of the week, let's just run off somewhere and have dinner. Tell Charlus and Dorea just in case, but that's it. Leave the war, our families, and everything else behind for an evening. We could fly, apparate, it doesn't matter. I just think we need some time for ourselves."

Putting a hand on his chin she forced Harry to look her in the eyes, "Harry, you removed every barrier in our path. You told me all these secrets so we would have a chance. Let's not squander it."

Instead of agreeing with her words verbally he closed the distance in a soft kiss. The two had shared many chaste kisses, but this one was not as simple as that. This one promised more, and Harry looked forward to every bit of it, "Soon then."

In agreement she nodded happily, "Soon."

The two continued their kiss and with all the truth out in the open for the first time in a while, Harry felt hope.

(A/N) The truth will set us all free, but will it be enough? Join me on Discord and read through Chapter 80 for free. Just find "The Hunters Lounge" or add me on Discord OrionB15. You can also read through the end of the story for just 1$ on Pat(reon).