Yay! Another one-shot! This time a long one. Thank Merlin for no maximum word count!

Forum: Harry Potter's World

House: Ravenclaw

Charms:

Your charm is Alohomora. Aloha in Hawiian is Hello/Goodbye and Mora in Latin means obstacle.

Prompt: Write a story where the first word is, "Goodbye" and the last word is, "Hello."

Quidditch Pitch:

(weather) mist

(genre) Spiritual

(Non-canon pairning) Hermione x Harry, Severus x Regulus, Ron x Luna

Enjoy :D

An End is the Start of Something New

"Goodbye."

Lily choked and pressed both hands over her mouth as she watched Rubeus Hagrid carry their son out of their ruined house. She couldn't believe it. A mere hour ago, everything had been alright.

They had just finished their dinner and Harry had really enjoyed his pasta. She and James had grinned at each other, both thinking the same thing – that they now knew one more favourite of Harry's – and then everything had gone to hell. It was all replaying before her eyes all over again - a yell from James, a crash that came from the front door, her hurried footsteps that were rushing up the stairs, Harry's soft whimpers, a bright green light... laughter.

A sob escaped her.

The ruined remains of their once warm and inviting home were surrounding them. Cracks in the walls, a collapsed roof, debris could be found everywhere. She couldn't bring herself to look more closely, though, because she knew what she would find – both her and James' body, broken, unmoving, dead.

Once warm arms circled around her, holding her close. They only reminded her of what they had lost, but she couldn't keep herself from turning around and clinging onto her husband's clothes. Gentle hands rubbed over her back, soft lips brushed against her hair. He was trembling, but trying very hard to keep himself under control, to stay strong for both her and his sake. He couldn't, no, wouldn't allow himself to break down now, because if he allowed himself to feel, he wouldn't be able to stop.

A loud and extremely familiar voice echoed through the dark night and the young parents jumped. After a quick glance at each other, James took Lily's hand and pulled her down the stairs, walking right through his own body and out of the house. He did his best to not shiver as he saw his own eyes stare right back at him, a determined expression still fixed on his features.

"Don't look," he said as he heard his wife gasp. "Don't look, Lily."

Not having the need to jump over any debris anymore, they made their way to the front door in record time. It wasn't easy to ignore how his home looked like. Upon seeing his son's pram broken in one corner, he nearly lost it, but a loud discussion kept him focused.

"'m sorry, Sirius. Can't do anythin' 'bout it, yer know?"

"He's my Godson!"

James' eyes widened as he saw his best friend and brother block the half giant's way. His eyes were red rimmed and wild, tears were streaming down his face. His usually perfect and smooth hair was dishevelled and stuck to the sides of his face. He looked frightening.

"J-James and Lily w-wanted me to look after their son, Hagrid! You can't t-take him away from me! He's all I have left!"

Wringing his hands, Sirius had to visibly restrain himself to not just lunch forward, grab the little boy he loved like his own, and run for it. He had to tell himself that it would make things even worse, that he wouldn't be helping little Harry, but frighten him even more.

Hagrid shook his head, his wild hair swishing from one side to the other. Harry was lying in his arms, his face red and wet from the tears that kept falling from his eyes. Small uttered words could be heard, never loud enough for James and Lily to understand.

The latter let go of James' hand and hurried past the giant. She had known Hagrid all her life and she was sure he had a reason for his behaviour, but all she wanted right now was to see her son safe in Sirius' arms. She never thought that she'd actually say the word safe in the same sentence as Sirius, but she trusted that man with her life, which included her son.

Her heart broke as she could finally see little Harry's tear-streaked face. A loud cry escaped her, hearing the soft calling for "Mama" and "Dada". She couldn't breathe. She felt as if her heart was being ripped out of her ribcage, leaving a gaping hole behind. Her throat constricted, her breast kept rising and falling faster with every second. She couldn't handle this. She couldn't bear to see her son so lost, so hurt and confused.

"Give him to me, Hagrid," Sirius' voice was flat and cold as ice.

Harry's big, green eyes focused on his Godfather, not caring about his tone. His little, chubby hands pointed in his direction, grabbing at the air, asking to be picked up and held tightly. Hagrid turned his upper body away from the desperate wizard, who didn't want anything more than hold his Godson.

"Please," he whispered, his eyes filled up with tears again.

Hagrid turned around even more, making it impossible for both Harry and Sirius to see each other.

"'m really sorry, Sirius," he said in his low voice. Both James and Lily could hear the regret in it. He didn't want this to happen. He wanted to give Sirius what he needed, but he couldn't.

James pulled Lily towards Harry, standing close to his son. He raised a hand to run it through his already slightly messy hair. It was the softest thing he had ever felt in his whole life and he didn't get enough of feeling it over and over again. But as his hand touched the first strand of his son's hair, it went right through it.

Pain jolted through his heart as he watched his trembling hand glide through his baby boy's head. His Harry didn't feel anything, didn't react at all. The tears kept rolling out of his big, beautiful eyes and no-one was able to calm him down, tell him he was loved and that everything would be okay.

James took a deep breath, fighting against tears of his own. Lily, who had grabbed his arm a while ago, tightened her hold, squeezing his biceps firmly. Her breathing was irregular, just as his, he was sure.

"Why?"

James swallowed. He turned his head towards his friend, who looked defeated, hopeless and... empty. His eyes were dull, no moisture was left to be spilled.

"Dumbledore's orders. Gotta bring 'im to his only relatives, yer see?" Hagrid scratched the top of his head. He was uncomfortable, James could very clearly see that, but he didn't feel any pity at all.

"I am his family, Hagrid!" Sirius tried again and moved a few steps to the left to be able to see his Godson. Hagrid moved away from him.

"'m sorry, Sirius. I like yer and I get what yer goin' through right now, but I got orders. Dumbledore trusts me."

"You don't get anything." A humourless chuckle escaped James' friend. "You don't know what those Muggles are like, and neither does Dumbledore. This is not Dumbledore's duty to look after! It's mine! I am his Godfather, Hagrid! You can't bring him to these people!"

"Sorry, I can't let yer. 'm really sorry."

A shiver ran through Sirius and then he went completely still. James gulped. He had never seen the man he thought of as a brother like this. All life had left him, leaving behind nothing but a shell of the once mischievous and life-loving wizard.

Harry whimpered and started to wiggle around, clearly not wanting to be held anymore.

A twitch went through Lily, as she started to lean forward automatically, wanting to pick her son up. James nearly broke down when he saw the realisation hit her. He couldn't bear it anymore. He couldn't watch as Dumbledore ruined their son's life by denying Sirius his right and damning his sweet baby boy to a life of misery.

He had met the Dursleys once before in his life and he had not enjoyed it. So had Harry, come to think of it. Their son Dudley had kept trying to hit Harry. No matter how often his mother had reluctantly pulled him away from their boy, he had still succeeded in making him cry. After that day, they had promised themselves that Harry would never have to go through this again, or even lay an eye on his so-called aunt, uncle and cousin.

How wrong they had been.

A new wave of defeat hit Sirius as he watched Hagrid smile at him sadly, gently shush Harry, who had started softly crying again and made his way down the gravel path and onto the street. This part of the Potters' home looked eerily out of place. Every flower, every piece of grass looked like it had when he had come over for a visit only three days ago.

"Wait, Hagrid," Sirius said, his voice was soft, barely over a whisper.

Lily was clutching onto James' shirt as they followed Hagrid and Harry down the path. Tears were streaming down their faces.

"Take my motorbike."

James blinked and stared at his best friend. Sirius loved his motorbike. It had taken him months to convince his friend to let him at least ride with him, even if Sirius was the one behind the handlebar. Of course, Sirius had planned from the first second on that he would take Harry for a ride as soon as he was old enough. He never let anyone even touch his bike. Peter – James ground his teeth and unconsciously tightened his hold on Lily – had not even been allowed within a radius of three metres from his beloved bike. Why would he give it to Hagrid without putting up a fight? Why would he hand his bike over voluntarily, carelessly?

"I won't need it anymore," came the emotionless answer, as Hagrid looked at him with a questioning glance.

"That's really nice o' yer, Sirius," Hagrid said, smiling through his tears. "Really nice."

"Yeah... yeah..."

James felt that it wouldn't be long now until Harry would be taken away from them. He could feel it deep down, and he was sure that Lily could feel it too. Her breath caught in her throat as she watched the half giant mount the motorbike. He couldn't be serious! It was freezing cold out here! He didn't seriously plan on riding that flying bike with their son in his arms, who was merely wearing his pyjamas?!

As if he had heard James' disbelieving thought, Hagrid pushed his hand into one of the many pockets of his huge jacket and pulled a light blue baby blanket out of its depth.

James choked, tears welling up in his eyes as Harry immediately calmed down upon seeing his beloved blanket. It was a birthday present he had got from James' parents, Harry's grandparents, who had not lived to meet him. They had given them the blanket as part of their wedding gift, with clear instruction as what to do with it once the time came.

James and Lily watched helplessly as the huge man wrapped the blanket around their whimpering son. Lily raised her arm as if to help him. James' tightened his hold on her, to keep both her and him from running to the motorbike, which held their only son, their baby boy.

"G'night, Sirius," Hagrid said and wiped his huge hand over his eyes, sniffling. "D'yer wanna say g'bye to Harry?"

Sirius' head jerked up, his eyes focused on the scene in front of him; Hagrid on his motorbike, holding his Godson, about to leave him behind, taking his life with him. He swallowed and tried to smile. A trembling hand touched baby Harry's rosy cheek, his eyes glistening with unshed tears as he watched his Godson yawn widely. He had been through hell and back today. He needed peace and quietness.

Sirius knew he couldn't do anything about Dumbledore's actions. The old man had to have some reason for all of this, but that didn't mean that he had to agree with him. To be frank, though, he couldn't quite bring himself to feel much of anything right now. All he wanted to feel was sadness. He wanted to be able to mourn the loss of his friends that he had, and still did, thought of as his family, but he was under shock. So he couldn't do much more than step back as the engine of his once beloved motorbike came to life, its sound echoing through the freezing night.

Hagrid straightened his Godson in his arms, making sure he was lying secure and comfortable, before he nodded to Sirius and, with one last glance back towards the ruined house, drove down the road, picking up speed and lifting off the ground.

Lily forced herself to keep standing as she watched the half giant fly away with the one person she could not live without. Her husband pressed a kiss to her temple, his breath harsh and irregular. He tried his best not to completely break down; she was trying to do the same for him. They needed each other now. They had to focus on Harry. Maybe Petunia would get over her resentment, which had bordered hate, towards her. Maybe she would see Harry for who he really was; a small boy, who had just lost his parents, and not a freak, who was the son of her freak sister and her freak brother-in-law.

She would try and make herself believe that her stubborn sister would be able to change and to actually feel, because if she didn't manage to convince herself, she would break down and not be able to stand back up again.

A soft sound from James made her open her eyes. She had not noticed that she had squeezed them shut as soon as the motorbike with her baby boy had vanished from sight.

She looked up at James, who was still holding onto her, as if to make sure he wouldn't topple over. He was staring at his best friend, his hazel eyes wide, his gentle mouth slightly open, his strong eyebrows pulled together.

Sirius was standing on the path that led to their destroyed house. The moon was casting an eerie light on the scene, illuminating his face, highlighting his elegant features. His arms were hanging at his sides, unmoving. His back was slightly bent forward, leaving his loose hair to cast unnatural shadows on his aristocratic face.

Slowly, James pulled Lily forward. They crept towards their friend. Fear grabbed Lily's heart. Something was wrong, but she didn't know what. She glanced up to her husband, whose gaze was fixed on his friend.

"Sirius?" he asked softly, knowing very well that his friend couldn't hear him.

Sirius' hand twitched. A dark shadow that had nothing to do with the moon passed over his face. His eyes flashed.

"James?" Lily whispered and tugged on her husband's sleeve. "I don't like this..."

James made a soft, unsure sound and jerked out of the way as Sirius sprang into action. His eyes were ablaze, his face pale as death. He had his wand in his hand, which wasn't trembling anymore. He held it still, secure. His cold eyes, which had once held so much life in them, turned towards their house one last time, before his feet started carrying him down the path, through the open gate and onto the street.

Without a last glance back towards Lily and James, he disapparated.

James stared at the spot that had just held his friend. What just happened? Dread flooded his being, drowning all of his other worries. He had a very bad feeling about this. He knew his friend and he knew that nobody could reason with him if he was in that mood.

It had happened once before, when he had found out about his brother not returning after supposedly going to Voldemort. He had lost all control over his temper, not caring for consequences. James had been the only one who had been able to calm him down. It had taken a couple of hours of trying to block the door and the windows, cast Reparo after Reparo on various objects and swallow each and every reply that would have only aggravated him further, but he had managed it. But now? Now he wasn't there anymore. He wasn't there to stay by his friend's side; he wasn't there to keep bad things from happening!

"I have a really bad feeling about this," James said softly.

"You don't think he'll do something stupid, do you?" Lily's voice trembled, her hand fumbled for James'.

"I really hope he won't."

Silence engulfed them. No birds or even owls could be heard. The small animals that lived underground, in between leaves or behind rocks were silent. No sound could be heard except their own breathing. It was unsettling.

"What now?" Lily sniffled and wiped her sleeve over her eyes. They were red and puffy, but in James' eyes, she had never looked more beautiful. Until death do us apart, he thought dryly and pushed a strand of hair away from her glistening eyes. Yeah, right.

Gently, he brushed his hand over her cheek, smiling slightly at the way she leaned into his touch. "I don't know, love," he said, blinking rapidly.

What now? That was a very good question. What did one do if you'd just lost everything that made you you? If you'd just lost your house, your son... your life?

They held onto each other for what felt like hours, seeking solace in each other.

After a while, both Lily and James started to feel detached. The wind lost its strength, the colours their intensity and the shapes their sharpness.

Lily blinked and jerked her hand back, staring at James. He was still there, as solid and existent as he'd ever been. He was returning her fearful glance for a moment, before his beautiful eyes jumped from object to object; from the house, to the gate; from the gate, to the tree in their neighbour's garden. Their surroundings were getting blurry and bright. Their eyes threatened to water, but not out of sorrow.

"What the..." James wondered out loud and pulled Lily tighter against himself, holding onto her to keep him grounded.

Lily was clutching him as tightly as she possibly could, fearing that she might lose him forever if she ever let go.

A white mist started wafting towards them, engulfing them, blinding them to everything but each other and welcomed them into the afterlife.

*~*The Potters*~*

It was a nice day outside. The sun was shining and the birds were chirping.

Lily had always thought the afterlife would be like paradise – to live in the clouds, look down upon the world of the living, seeing loved ones again that died years ago – but she had been surprised as she and James had arrived all those decades ago. It was actually much like their life on earth. She obviously didn't know where they were right about now; whether this was still the earth she was born into, some sort of parallel earth or something completely different, but she didn't really care. It wasn't as if it really mattered.

Life here was just like back then. They lived in their home in Godric's Hollow, had Sirius visit every so often, had breakfast, lunch, dinner, went to bed and out for walks. They were enjoying life like always, and if it weren't for the fact that they very well remembered their day of death, they would think they never died.

But it was difficult to forget that day, and neither Lily nor James wanted to forget. Because forgetting that day would mean forgetting their son, what he had looked like, how he had been like. Forgetting their son was something unforgivable and therefore they were thankful that their memory remained as it was – intact.

At first, it had been weird to think of their life now of a mere continuation, because that was how it had felt at the time. Everything had been destroyed, but somehow, it had felt as if they were still at home. Living in the same village, in the same house with the same decorations, burn marks from Sirius and James' experimentations and books lying around, it had felt the same. The only huge thing that had been missing had been their son.

A few years after they had arrived here, someone had knocked on their door. Lily had thought it would be their neighbour, asking for flour, but it had been someone entirely different; someone, who had caused James to nearly faint.

Sirius Orion Black had not aged one day since the time they had last seen him in person, and, judging by the snippets of daily life they got from Harry, he should have aged at least fifteen years. He should have looked older, but he hadn't.

Neither James, nor Sirius had minded much, but Lily had always been an interested person, who loved a good riddle, so that was when she had started to think.

At first it hadn't made much sense, since both she and James had stayed the same, but after old friends had joined them over the years, she had started to come up with a theory.

Each and every one of their friends had been of a different age, which had been off-putting at first. After all, if you saw someone for their eightieth birthday, you wouldn't think the next time you'd see them, they'd be in their forties….

The only logical thing the red-haired witch had come up with was that every human being had one distinct moment in their lives that would be more important than any of the rest. For them, it had been Harry's birth, but since they had died roughly one and a half years later, they had not noticed much of a change. It had been when Sirius had joined them that Lily knew what was going on.

Having to watch Sirius be locked into Azkaban, devoid of any emotion or life, watch him flee and reunite with Harry… he had changed. The Sirius that had strolled over their threshold on the other hand had looked just like they were used to. For him, the distinct moment of his life had been them dying. With them, part of him died as well, leaving behind only a shadow of who he had once been.

She sighed as the kettle started whistling. It was time for some nice tea and crumpets and knowing Sirius, he would be around anytime soon. A weekend with tea and crumpets wouldn't be complete without Sirius Black sitting on the couch, whining about how disgustingly happy his brother and Severus of all people were and eating all of the bakery bits and bobs she had either made herself or got from the bakery in the centre of the little town.

Peeking at the clock on the kitchen wall, she noted that it was nearly three in the afternoon. The wizarding radio was playing in the background, forcing an old Celestina Warbeck song onto the innocent listeners.

"That thing really needs to add a few more radio stations. This isn't healthy anymore," James grumbled and fingered his wand. "If I could just..."

"You will do nothing to that radio, James," Lily said in a stern voice, carrying a tray filled with cups, sugar, milk and tea into the living room. "I remember very well what happened last time when you tried to program a new radio station into that thing. I've been vanishing soot out of the carpet for days!"

James ducked, blushing bright pink. He hadn't thought that the radio would combust if you hit it with a tinkering charm. Sirius had suggested the combination of an alternating charm and a finding charm, which he had used, of course, because he had not had a better idea at that time.

Looking back now, though, he had to admit that an alternating and finding charm combination would not have been the most intelligent thing to do. It basically caused the radio device to look for something that could improve it and start adding those improvements at the exact moment in which the finding charm found them. All in all, installing vague ideas of improvement had changed the charm itself, turning the effects around and basically turned the whole radio into a bomb. Until then, he had not known what a bomb was, but Lily had made sure that he wouldn't forget it anytime soon.

A knock pulled him out of his reverie. Lily had just put the tray onto the tea table and straightened.

"That has to be Sirius," she said and motioned for James to stay where he was. "Don't worry, I'll get the door."

She made her way through the sunlit living room and into the little hallway. Their cloaks were hanging on the wall, their shoes were resting underneath. The pram that had been destroyed on Halloween '81 had not made its appearance in this house, and Lily thought that it was to keep them from staying attached to the world that still held their baby boy.

She shook her head, her red hair waving from side to side. She couldn't think of that.

As she made her way to the front door, another knock echoed through the house.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," Lily mumbled and rolled her eyes at the antics of their friend. Shortly wondering why he hadn't used the Floo, she grabbed the door's handle, turned it and pulled open the door.

The sun was beaming into the hallway, blinding her momentarily. She blinked furiously, trying to get adjusted to the bright light and raised a hand to shield her eyes.

"Come on in, Sirius," she said, still blinking at the person, who was standing in what looked like a halo of sunlight, not moving an inch. "I've just made tea and James is..."

She froze.

The wizard that was standing in front of her wasn't Sirius Black. Sure, he had the same hair colour as her friend, but that was about it. He was taller than her, but slightly smaller than James. His figure was lean and athletic, not bulky or overly muscular. His hair was messy, pointing in every direction and the sun's rays were reflecting off of the man's glasses.

She knew him.

"Harry?" she whispered softly. Her hand slid off the doorknob numbly. Before she knew it, she had started trembling all over.

"Hi, Mum," the man said in a low voice, not moving an inch.

Lily gasped and clasped her hands over her mouth. This couldn't be real! This couldn't be... But of course it could be. It was possible that this was...

She couldn't formulate a coherent sentence as she stood in the doorway, staring at the handsome man in front of her, who looked so much like James.

The sun had been covered by a cloud, giving her the opportunity to really look at him. His black hair had the same colour than James', his ears were the same shape as her father's, the jaw line had the same shape as James', yet slightly softer. His nose was shorter than her husband's, rounder at the tip and she felt a shock go through her as she recognized herself in it as well.

The last feature she was looking at was his eyes. As Harry had been a baby, he had taken her eye colour. She had been ecstatic, boasting about it to everyone who would stand still for long enough. James had pouted for about five minutes before being able to snatch the baby out of her arms to really look at his big, almond shaped eyes, and he had immediately fallen in love with them.

Seeing them now in person, after so many years, being able to see them look at her, take in every small detail was an incredible feeling.

Before her thoughts could catch up with her actions, she had rushed forward and slung her arms around her boy's neck, pulling him down into the tightest, crushing hug she had given anyone in a really long time.

"Mum," her son mumbled and closed his arms around her, burying his face into the crook of her neck. He inhaled deeply and a sense of deep calmness flooded him; a calmness he had never felt before. It was a feeling that no-one other than his mother could give him; not Hermione as she had embraced him after the war, after he had finally found the courage to tell her how he felt; not Mrs. Weasley, who had been more of a mother to him than anyone.

Lily rubbed her son's back gently, holding him even tighter as she felt him starting to tremble with suppressed sobs. Warm tears hit her skin as Harry clutched at her shirt, inhaled her scent and finally let go.

James and she had been able to keep watch over their son. They had peeked into the world of the living every now and then to make sure everything was alright. They had witnessed his relationships, their ups and downs. The Cho girl, as well as the Weasley girl had been sweet people, but she had always known that her boy would end up with his best friend Hermione Granger.

Having to watch them dance around each other had been torture. James and Sirius had discussed how they could manage to send a message down to earth, telling both Hermione and Harry that Ron would end up with that funny Luna girl and they were to finally stop being so blind and bloody stupid and get on with it, as Sirius had exclaimed. Watching the teens run after each other, cry over the other without knowing that the opposite did and felt exactly the same was downright painful.

Watching him confess his feelings, plan the proposal, fret over the wedding... she had never been more proud of him.

Harry sniffled softly and let go of her, albeit somewhat reluctantly. Lily wiped the tears out of her eyes and took a deep breath. She couldn't believe it. She had her baby boy back! Although, looking at her son now, she had to once again tell herself that he wasn't her baby anymore. He was a grown-up man, standing there in front of her, looking as handsome and shy as ever.

"Come on in, sweetheart," she smiled and ushered him over the threshold.

Harry's eyes widened for a fraction of a second. He had to take a deep breath to keep his eyes dry. How often he had watched memories of people who had known his parents, who had been able to show him scenes out of their daily life. Being able to watch a memory in which his mother called him sweetheart or darling was one thing, and even then he managed to become emotional every time, no matter how many times he had dived into the Pensieve. Hearing it in person, though, was an entirely different matter.

He smiled shyly and sniffled again. He couldn't believe that this was really happening. The last thing he remembered was going to bed and putting an aged arm over Hermione's waist, pulling her towards him and inhaling her fresh scent, feeling completely at peace. The next thing he knew, he opened his eyes and saw the statue of Godric's Hollow.

Seeing himself and his parents cut in stone would never be a sight he'd get used to, he had thought, fully believing that he was dreaming. Like always, he had made his way onto the graveyard, wanting to visit his parents' graves, but as he had arrived, he had not only seen his parents' names on the tombstone, but his as well. There, right next to James and Lily Potter was the name Harry Potter engraved into the stone. The date underneath his name marked the day he had fallen asleep with his wife in his arms.

It had taken a while to fully comprehend what had happened and before he'd known it, the sun told him it was midday.

"Lily?"

Harry jumped slightly and looked from the doorway that led to another room to his mother and back again.

Lily smiled knowingly and turned towards the living room. "Could you come here for a second, James?"

Harry's heart started to beat faster and faster. His father was mere metres away from him and he hadn't even thought about it! The shock of truly seeing his mother again had wiped every thought of the possibilities out of his mind.

Porcelain hitting glass, feet shuffling around and steps coming towards the hallway they were currently standing in made Harry take a deep breath to calm himself.

A dishevelled head poked around the corner. The questioning expression made way for shock. For a moment, they all stared at each other; James started at Harry, who stared right back, and Lily's gaze jumped from her son to her husband and back again.

"Harry?" his father asked after what felt like ages.

A shy smile tucked at the corners of his mouth, his eyes still taking in every feature on the, theoretically, older man's face. He could see why everyone told him he looked like James Potter, with the only obvious exception being the eyes, because if one didn't look close enough, one could think that Harry was James' twin and not his son.

"Hello, Dad."

"I can't believe it." James shook his head slowly, disbelieving. Coming back to life, he straightened and slowly set one foot in front of the other until he reached his son. He was still shaking his head, as he reached forward and touched Harry's cheek. "This can't be..."

Lily felt herself tear up again as she watched son and father reunite. Her heart felt close to bursting, swelling with pride and love.

She knew that seeing her son stand in front of them meant that her baby had died, leaving behind a wife, two kids, five grandchildren and a lot of friends. Although a small part of her hurt thinking about the end of her son's life, an even bigger part felt overwhelming joy and gratefulness to be able to embrace her son again, feel him in her arms, feel his soft hair underneath her fingers and his warm skin underneath her lips.

A tear slid past her eyes and over her cheek, as James sprang to life and tackled their son, embracing him tightly, ruffling his hair and muttering words of endearment into his ear.

*~*The Potters*~*

Laughter filled the room as James recalled yet another Marauders story that he had died to tell his son; pun not intended. Harry was grinning widely, his eyes shining with happiness and mirth, enjoying the presence of his parents.

This wasn't a dream and he had finally come to accept it. Yes, he was dead. Yes, Hermione had to have woken up next to him, without a clue as to what had happened whilst they were both sleeping. His heart gave a painful thud as he thought about his family. He didn't want them to suffer, but he knew them too well as to really hope they wouldn't.

A loud dong pulled him out of his depressing thoughts and he looked at his parents with a frown on his once again eighteen year-old face. Lily watched as her son frowned. He looked just like he did when he had won the war. There was a familiar glimmer in his eyes, letting them shine with such relief and happiness, that she couldn't believe her luck. She had him back. It was only now really sinking in.

"What was that?"

James chuckled. "The Floo."

A quick Tempus Charm told him it was past five in the afternoon. "I was wondering when Sirius might show up. Usually he's here even before Lily was able to get the crumpets out of the oven."

A jolt went through him, as Harry stared at his father. Sirius. Sirius was about to arrive! An old and sudden wave of guilt swept over him. It didn't matter how many times Hermione, Ron or even the portrait of Dumbledore had told him that it had not been his fault that Sirius had died that day so many years ago. He still felt responsible. Not having thought about him until now worsened that feeling.

A light hand touched his arm and Harry blinked. He hadn't noticed that tears had begun gathering in his eyes again.

Lily smiled sadly at him. She raised her free hand and gently brushed the salty tear off of his cheek.

"It wasn't your fault, sweetheart," she said and cupped his cheek in her hand.

Inhaling deeply, Harry leaned into the loving touch.

"He doesn't make you responsible either. He knows better than to do that. The fault never lay with you, honey."

Harry nodded and wiped a forceful hand over his eyes. He didn't have the energy to cry anymore; whether it was because of happiness, sadness, pain or guilt.

Another dong chimed through the living room and within a second the flickering flames turned bright green. Hissing furiously, they spit out a very sooty and ill-tempered wizard.

James snorted, but shut up after Lily hit him on the arm.

"Bloody hell," the wizard exclaimed and stepped out of the fireplace, shaking soot onto every nearby surface.

Lily scowled disapprovingly.

"I swear to Merlin, one day, I will smother that bloody brother of mine if he won't stop gushing about how adorable Sniffelus is. This is bloody disgusting to be listening to on a daily basis and because of him I missed the crumpe-"

Lily cleared her throat and Sirius looked up, stopping in his rant immediately as he spotted the teenage wizard sitting on the couch, nursing a now cold cup of tea. His eyes widened almost comically, his mouth agape.

After a few moments of silence, James' chuckles broke the tension and a wide smile spread over Sirius' handsome face.

"Harry! Finally! Took you long enough to finally visit your parents! Hello!"

I hope you liked it! Please leave a comment. I love reading and answering them!

Until next time - see ya!