Harry Potter: Time Squared

Disclaimers: I don't own anything … & yes I totally ripped off a Star Trek: The Next Generation episode title. Sue me.

AN: Yes. I am doing one of 'those' stories. (No there is no similarities between this & the Star Trek episode but the title only.) Harry time travels to the Era of the Marauders. All us Harry Potter writing fans seem to have at least one of these banging about our profiles & I was beginning to feel left out. So here goes nothing.

(((Reposted due to error. Thankfully I managed to save the reviews from before, but not the fav or follow lists ... oh well.)))

PLEASE READ THE FIRST PARAGRAPH OF MY PROFILE BEFORE READING THIS STORY. THANKS! : )

Summary: When an accident sends Harry from his Fifth Year to the Marauders' Fifth Year, he tries to amend the mistakes Time has made. But someone he least expects becomes his worst enemy.

Harry Potter: Time Squared

(Remember: read the first paragraph of my profile before continuing. Thanks.)

(1) Right Place, Wrong Time?

Harry & Professor Snape shared a glare before Snape said, "Don't touch anything, Potter!"

Harry nodded mutely, but Snape didn't see as he had already turned around to head for his desk on the opposite side of the classroom. He made to follow Snape but at that moment, everything that could go wrong, did go wrong. He tripped & hit the table full of various vials of potions & ingredients that had been put there by the class during their potions lesson, waiting to finish brewing. There was a soft popping sound & a deep blue cloud swirled around Harry's head as he tipped forward & face-planted the floor. His head hit the leg of the table on his way down.

Harry rubbed his forehead with one hand, then slowly sat up. Glancing around, he saw that he was still in the disused classroom but Snape had gone. He wondered dimly if perhaps he had gone to fetch Umbridge after what happened. He knew he would probably get detention with Umbridge for the rest of his life for this. He had come here to check up on his own potion, not expecting Snape to even be around. Now he felt miserable, that his life was over. One moment can screw everything up! He had simultaneously destroyed the entire class's work for the day, just by tripping on nothing. It was a wonder Snape didn't murder him for the mess.

Harry sat down on a chair, waiting for Snape to return, but after several minutes he glanced around, wondering if he had been forgotten. His head pounded, partly from being hit & partly from an actual headache. At last, he decided to write a note to leave on the desk.

Going to the hospital wing for a moment. I will come back shortly.

~Harry

Half wondering if leaving on his own would cause more trouble, but not really caring; Harry left the note on the dust-covered desk & left. He was half way to the hospital wing when something slammed him from behind. Harry went sprawling on his face & felt a weight fall onto him.

"Blimey mate," A male voice huffed in his ear. "I thought you heard me coming!" The weight lifted off as Harry groaned. "I've been looking all over for you." The voice went on accusingly. "Ya know, if you were going to sneak off to catch another look at that Evans girl, you could have told me!"

"I was going to the hospital wing," Harry groused, slowly pulling himself up to his feet. "I have a head ...head…ache."

Sirius Black was standing in front of him, looking down at the nails on his left hand. A young Sirius Black. "Oh I know the sort of head ache you have Hornhead. Nothing a good wank can't handle." Mouth open, Harry just stared. "Anyway," Sirius blinked up at him then glanced down the hall. "Moony's about to start his patrol so we better scramble or else Prefect Loopy will go nuts!" At that, Sirius dashed off towards the Gryffindor Tower without even a backwards glance.

Dumbfounded, Harry stood rooted to the spot. What the hell had happened? He stood there, trying to think. Sirius Black. Young. Slowly, Harry started to move. Sirius had just called him Hornhead & Harry knew by now what that had entailed. James had been a stag named Prongs. But that had been years ago, back in the 70's some time.

Harry wandered through the dark hallways, habitually taking routes only the Map showed. He came out by the glass cases where a golden shield stood that had his father's name on it as a Seeker. Harry stared into the case, looking for it. He realised with a jolt, it wasn't there. "No, it can't be..." Harry gasped softly in shock. Had he really time-traveled? He had been through that once before to save Sirius from the Dementors, but that had been within one day. He warily glanced around, hoping no one else had seen him. Harry put on his Invisibility Cloak & hurried to the Great Hall.

The castle was dark save for a few silvery reflections of random ghosts, a fire still glowing here & there & a few torches that annoyingly sprang to life when he passed. Suits of armour also had to be avoided as at night, they emitted a violet wedge shaped ray that swung back & forth & if it struck someone, an alarm would sound & the person would be stuck in its gaze. Harry slowly pushed open the door to the Great Hall barely enough for him to slip inside, wincing when it creaked a little. He ran up to the dais by the Staff Table where records of visitors to Hogwarts, or incidents in the Great Hall, among other things, were recorded. Harry glanced down at the date.

December 1975.

Harry blinked. "OH NO!"

It was perhaps by sheer dumb luck of the Potter family that Sirius had barely glanced at him, or else he'd have noticed the lightening scar & the green eyes, neither of which were trademarks of James. Moony ...that would be Professor Lupin, or perhaps soon-to-be Professor? A Prefect. So Fifth Year. Harry fell cross-legged to the floor. He was in 1975! He sat quietly, trying to think things through.

"What was that?" A girl's voice rang out.

"I'm not sure Lily," answered a voice Harry knew too well. Even at this young age, Remus still sounded like himself. "It came from over there."

"Damn it!" Harry muttered to himself, hating werewolves for the first time in his life. Remus would not only hear him quite well, he would smell him. It suddenly dawned on him that this 'Lily' would most likely be his mother. Harry got up & slipped backwards through a small side door to get out of the hall the moment Lily & Remus entered it through another door nearly opposite him. Harry was glad he had gotten into the habit of keeping his Cloak & Map on him at all times. As he ran as quickly but silently as he could, he cast soft scents of magic behind him & down hallways left & right to get rid of the werewolf.

"Stupid wolf," Harry grumbled as he re-entered the old classroom where he was going to be tortured many years from now. "Last thing I need!" He sat down in the chair, crumpled up the note & set it to Incendio. He tried to think but all he could come up with was that Sirius, that is to say his Sirius years in the future, never bothered to mention the fact that though James was never a Prefect, Lily was. He shook himself. Fuming about Prefect badges was not a priority right now. At the moment, Harry had to figure out how to keep Moony off his case, not screw up the time lines too much, get back to his own timeline & maybe fix things along the way.

'You can't change events in time Harry,' Hermione's voice screamed in his head.

Harry cast the idea aside. He was so far back now that he could do whatever he wanted. Who would know?

'You would.'

'Who cares?'

'Awful things happen to people who meddle with time.'

Harry sighed, wishing Hermione's voice would go away. Awful things had happened to him without the use of Time. What would it matter?

'You must not be seen.'

This was the only piece of advice Harry agreed with. Especially since he looked a lot like James, the questions of where he, Harry, came from would go through the roof. Then Harry had a nasty thought of what if Lily fell for him instead of James & then he, Harry, would either cease to exist or end up being his own father.

"That won't be happening," Harry declared. Right. First thing was to change his appearance. Polyjuice was out of the question as it took a month to brew & he was horrible at potions. Plus it only lasted an hour. He needed a more lasting solution. Harry covered himself with the Cloak once more & headed for the library.

Harry stayed there all night & had moved into the Restricted Section in the early morning. He awoke with a start as a book flapped by, smacking him in the face. He sat up & stretched, then wondered where the hell he was. Then he remembered that not only the where but the when was important. He glanced outside a tall slim barred window on the second floor of the Restricted Section. He had found nothing that was simple & quick to do to change his appearance. He had to resort to using his Cloak until he could figure things out. A stupid thought of being missed in class sprang to mind. Harry had to remind himself that no one knew about him here yet. He had all day. He would steal some food from the kitchens & get right back to work on fixing his looks first.

It wasn't until late that evening, with Harry slinking about under Cloak trying not to bump or be bumped by people, that a solution so simple it was ridiculous, presented itself. It was about a half hour after the last class was finished. Harry had spent most of the time in the Library. He had seen Remus & Peter (which nearly made him jump out to attack Peter right then & there), then Lily with a cluster of girls & then a group of four Ravenclaw girls from Seventh Year had come in, tittering & giggling.

Harry was about to pass them by when he heard one say, "I think I'll use this one this time. It'll change my hair color." His ears perked up & he began to listen intently. He moved closer to get a look at the books the girls were using.

Beauty tips. Harry stared at the titles. 'Do the do? Hair styles men go crazy for!' It was full of interesting hair styling tips, including change of color, length & shape. Curly or straight. Apparently, men would go crazy with these hot styles.

'Mystic Lashes' Get the length you want & bat them at the boys!

'Winks of Color' Want a dazzling eye color? Just a blink away!

Harry groaned. Most of these books seemed to be geared for women.

"How long would that last, Bertha?" another girl asked.

"Hmm lets see," Bertha scanned the page. "Six months. It's a simple potion to. It only takes an hour & a half. We drink it & go to bed. Next morning, it will have an effect for a while."

Harry liked simple & long lasting. The girls cackled about their nails, the guys they were currently with, compared their breast sizes (Harry nearly past out) & soon swept away, still giggling. Harry followed them under Cloak as they were going down to the dungeons to make their potions. He had every intention of swiping some of them. He needed new eyes & a hair change. His only hope was that he didn't screw up & end up with luscious bouncy blond curls down to his waist or gigantic mammary glands.

While the girls brewed their potions, Harry snuck away to grab several empty vials. When he returned, he sat on a stool in the corner & tried not to eaves drop on their gossip. Tried that was, until Lily Evans became the topic. Harry listened with rapt attention.

"You'd never catch Lily Evans doing this," Amanda was saying, checking herself in her hand mirror. "She yelled at me once for growing my lashes too long. Thinks they made me look like a whore." Harry couldn't help but agree. All these girls were rather vain it seemed.

"What do you expect?" asked Cecilia. "She's a lion & she's a Prefect."

"Plus she probably doesn't want any of us seducing her man away," Bertha muttered.

Harry smiled. So James & Lily were already together. Problem solved.

"Her man?" asked their fourth friend, Jolene. Out of the group, this one seemed to be the quiet one. "Who's that?"

"Oh please," Bertha sniffed. "She's always hanging out with him. It's obvious. I mean, I got nothing against him. Out of that gang, he's the nicest. But you got to admit, there is something very ...odd...about that Lupin boy."

"LU—" Harry nearly yelped out loud. Lupin? Since when?

"Oh yeah," Jolene nodded. "Those two do hang out a lot. Yet that moron won't leave them alone."

"James Potter won't leave anyone alone," Amanda muttered. "Why he is the most stuck up son of a troll I have ever known!" It was with immense effort that Harry didn't hex her. She leaned over her cauldron for a moment & Harry suddenly had an idea.

"Don't get me started on him," Jolene added. "Lily can do better. She did, didn't she, if she really is with Lupin?"

"I would think so," Bertha nodded. "Lily is always hanging out with him. They have the same interest in the library to."

"He's nice enough," Cecilia shrugged. "I've partnered with him a few times. Great duellist. But I agree, something is weird about him."

Harry smiled sadly. How many people had actually figured Remus out yet didn't care since nearly everyone liked him? He got up quietly & went to grab some random ingredients. The potions were nearing completion & Harry was fortunate that he didn't need Amanda's breast enlargement one. As he moved around them, he discreetly shot a bolt of power into the shelves & several jars of ingredients blew up.

"Oh no!" All four girls jumped & wailed. They left their cauldrons for a moment to hurriedly pick up the mess. Harry dipped one vial into the hair color changing potion, one into the eye color & dropped a few random things into Amanda's potion as he passed by to dip one last vial into a skin toning solution.

Harry left with his full vials & returned to his empty disused classroom. The hair color was supposed to last six months while the eye change would last four. It would give him plenty of time to practise & perfect the potions on his own. The skin tone one lasted only eight weeks, but still enough time to work on it.

He downed his vials, wincing at the hair one which tasted dreadful. After a few moments, he felt his skin literally crawl & he swayed on the spot. There was a moment of nausea & then he felt clear headed once more. He glanced at the window but his reflection was still familiar. He knew he couldn't go to the Tower looking like this, so Harry resorted to making a little bed out of sight under a large desk. It was a good thing he spent the better part of his young life in a cupboard. The small space was comfortable. He covered himself with the Cloak which not only concealed him from view but was also quite warm despite the cold of winter's night.

Harry again woke up with a disoriented feeling before remembering not only the where but also the when of his situation. He wondered what the beauty potions had done to him as he slowly unfurled himself from the hidden bed. He may be used to small spaces, but he himself was no longer that small. He stretched out stiffly as he got to his feet.

Half terrified of what he would look like, he walked to a long mirror on one wall that had webs across it. He burned the webs away, instinctively felt his chest (it was still mercifully flat) & after a long hard breath, stepped up to the glass.

A boy with copper hair, violet eyes & darker tanned-like skin looked back at him. His hair, once messy & angled every which way, was now just a little wavy & longer. He lifted up the bangs. The lightening scar was still there but at least this hair kept it more hidden. He stepped back, inspecting his new look. He took off the glasses & decided to get them changed later so as not to imitate James in any way.

There was little trace left of James or Lily. Apart from the scar, Harry didn't recognise himself. Satisfied that he wouldn't draw attention to himself compared to James, Harry put the Cloak away & headed out into the school. He was still wearing his Gryffindor robes under his winter coat so he blended in easily with the crowd.

Easily that was until the first break. Harry headed out to the familiar beech tree by the lake, only to find all four Marauders nestled by it already, munching snacks & poking at homework. Harry walked right on by pretending to go somewhere else. He didn't stop to look at them or even acknowledge them so he had to learn the hard way never to turn his back on James Prongs Potter without giving him the royal respect he thought he deserved.

Harry landed on his face for the second time in twenty four hours. He heard laughter from the Marauders as he flipped over to his back. He brushed the snow off his face, then looked up into the eyes of his father, glaring down at him. "Hi," Harry smiled. He couldn't possibly know the horror he had just roused.

James glanced ahead at the lake, then back down at his own son. He smirked, sending Harry a vicious glare. "Who the hell are you?"

Harry blinked. What was his father so mad about & why didn't he think of a new name before even daring to come close to James? "Uh."

James cocked his head. "Can't remember your name? Did a snake get to you?"

"What?" Harry asked stupidly.

"Well," James began with a bossy sort of air that reminded Harry of Hermione, but with a more sinister attitude. "You're wearing Gryf's robes but I know you're no lion. I've been here over five years but never saw you. So you're either a snake trying to get in or a snake got to you & is using you to gain information on my house!"

"Sorry," Harry stood up. James watched his every move like a hawk. "Neither. I'm just here for a short time on a visit. I will be in Gryffindor during my stay." He offered his hand.

James crossed his arms. "Nobody gets into my group." Harry stared at him, lowering his hand. He noticed Sirius, Remus & Peter all watching intently, each with various degrees of wicked smiles on their faces. "Who are you?" James demanded again.

"I," Harry began, then bent over pretending to brush snow off as he thought. He came up with one name after another, each more revealing than the first. Charlus Evans. No, that's Grandpa & Mum. Harry Evans. No, still too close to Mum. He certainly couldn't use James.

"Well?" James snapped. "I won't ask again! You'll be sorry."

Harry smiled to himself, feeling as if he had done something wrong & his father was scolding him. He had always wondered what that would be like. He stood up straight. "Jason. Jason Dursley." He hated using his aunt & uncle's name but at least Vernon Dursley was not part of the picture yet. Jason had been one of the many kids Dudley beat up every Tuesday.

"Well Jason, Jason Dursley," James huffed. "You stay away from my boys, understand?" Harry cast him a confused look. "I don't know who you are or anything about you. Don't think you can come by here unannounced, hoping you can glean information. Got that?"

"Yes sir," Harry muttered, not getting it all. He seemed to have said something right.

James inclined his head. He liked being called 'Sir'. "Good. Have a nice stay at Gryffindor."

"Thanks," Harry said as he slowly moved away. He wondered if this was some sort of initiation rite for new people James met. He moved away & disappeared into a grove of trees. James had turned back to the others. Harry slipped on his Cloak & watched them for a moment before slowly moving closer, taking care to stay on a hard packed track & down wind of Remus. He had hoped his father would be a bit more welcoming, maybe not as another Marauder but at least as another lion. Harry had wanted to talk with James & get to know him. Why was James driving even another Gryffindor away? Harry felt rather hurt at the rejection. The next moment, he told himself he was being silly. James didn't know he was looking at his son. James didn't really reject him, not like that. Harry moved slowly closer so he could hear them talk.

"You sure showed him," Sirius snickered.

"Jason Dursley," James sneered, raising his head & huffing. "I got to look that guy up. I didn't hear about any transfers or whatever." He looked at Remus but the wolf glanced at the ground. "How do we know this new guy isn't coming around looking for stuff on us, on you?"

Harry suddenly understood. James was protecting Remus. Of course! Any new folk could be a potential werewolf killer.

"Nearly my entire family are," Sirius paused, glancing at Remus. "Are hunters."

"Exactly," James went on. "We can't trust anyone just like that." He huffed again.

"Jim," Sirius said in a warning voice. "Calm down."

"Are they coming out again?" James passed his hand through his hair. "Good thing I have naturally messy hair."

Harry shook himself & stared at James's head. Some of his father's hair was sticking up more sharply than usual & as he watched, the angled locks of hair slowly lay flat.

"Bloody horns," James complained as Sirius shook his head. Harry's heart thudded so loud it was a wonder Remus didn't hear him. He was sure he may have just seen the points of his father's antlers!

"We're just starting to get the hang of this," Sirius said. "It will take awhile to control that stag of yours."

"All he needs is a damn good rutting," Remus snorted.

James glared at him, then looked back over the grounds, spying a group of girls coming down. "Hey Evans!" The girls stared at him as they continued on their way. His horns pricked up. James passed a hand though his hair to keep it messy & hide his points. "Hogsmeade for Christmas. I'll see you at noon?"

"I'm not going," Lily shot back & it was quite clear that she hated James.

"Aw come on girl!" James cooed as Sirius buried his face in Remus's shoulder, sobbing. "You have to go sooner or later."

"I'M NOT GOING!" Lily screeched & marched away, nose in air.

"Curse these horns," James rubbed his hair again, watching Lily leave. "I'll get her. Just you wait."

"I won't bet on it," said Peter.

"Neither will I," Sirius said & Remus shook his head.

James made a weird squealing whistle-like sound & stamped his foot. "Thanks for the votes of confidence."

"Shh!" The other three hushed him.

"Boy you want to get us caught?" Sirius snapped. "Rein that animal in now!"

"Working on it," James shrugged, plopping down in the snow bank.

"Work faster," Remus ordered.

Part of Harry wished James would lose it. He wanted to see Prongs. The stag was the only Marauder he had never seen in animal form. He had seen the others, even unfortunately Moony which nearly got him killed. But he knew it would get his father & Godfather landed in Azkaban for illegal Animagic. Peter to, but Harry didn't care about that. It would probably get Remus slaughtered as well.

He left them alone, making his way back to the castle. Once inside, he put away the Cloak & sat at a table in the library to work on changing the appearance of his glasses. He soon had them shrunk to a sophisticated rectangular look, but the lens was now wrong for him. He wore them for the moment, planning to go out & get some proper ones next Hogsmeade weekend. Next he decided to brush up on some homework Professor Sprout had given them. Harry wondered for how long he could just play the role of yet another Gryffindor before the Professors caught on. Now that James had got his hackles up, Harry was sure he wouldn't last more than a day or two before everyone would ask, 'Who's that Dursley kid?' & point at him.

Harry got up & headed towards the next class, Defence Against The Dark Arts. He wondered who would be teaching & hoped it wasn't someone as bad as Snape & Umbridge. Knowing his luck, he probably got landed with a demon for a teacher. He arrived about ten minutes early & pushed open the door. Entering, Harry saw several pictures along one wall of various creatures that seemed other-worldly. He noticed a few ghosts & poltergeists. A man was standing by the desk with his back towards him, bent over a box.

The man turned suddenly & Harry had to suppress a gasp. He was looking into the adult face of Remus Lupin. For a fleeting moment, Harry wondered if he had gone back to his own time automatically, but upon a closer look, he noticed that this man had no scars on his face.

"Ah you're a bit early," the man said. "I'm Professor Lupin."

"Lupin?" Harry stared. Perhaps Remus was also using glamours to hide his scars. "What are you doing here? What's going on?"

"Well," Lupin laughed. "I'm teaching the OWL's class this year. So that's why I'm here. Little Ray was really happy when he found out." Lupin smiled as Harry noted the sarcasm.

"Little Ray?"

"He's in Gryffindor like you," Lupin went on. "My son Remus."

"Oh!" Harry finally realized. He could barely contain his excitement. Two Professor Lupins? Say goodbye to Um-bitch! "Wait, you call him Little Ray?" Harry burst out laughing. Oh to be in his own time again. He could use this. He could REALLY use this!

"I always call him that," Lupin smiled but then, his face soon fell slightly. "How is ... how is he doing?"

"I don't know," Harry shrugged. "I just got here really. Visiting. I haven't really seen anyone yet."

"Oh well," Lupin stood straight. "You'll like it. I went to school here to Mr. uh …?"

"Po—Dursley," Harry nearly slipped up. "Jason Dursley." At that moment, the door opened & Harry glanced around. He locked eyes with his father for a moment as the rest of class had appeared & began pouring in.

James looked away almost immediately, ignoring him. He sat down near the back next to Sirius while Peter took a seat just in front of them. Remus, glaring so much Harry could see a hint of gold, stomped to the front & sat down. He politely rolled his eyes up to his own father, waiting.

"Alright everyone," Lupin began, as he just like James, ignored his son. (He at least knew his son was there, Harry reminded himself.) "Turn to page one twenty seven. We will start on Poltergeists today."

Harry soon figured out where Remus got most of his mannerisms from. The father & son were nearly identical, even in looks but for the scars. However, Harry somehow knew that Remus would unleash the wrath of Moony on his arse if he ever dared to point these facts out. It must be hell, being stuck with a parent all year at school. Hovering & nagging & of course, if a young teenage boy wanted to do what young teenage boys do, he'd have to be extra careful. Harry tried hard not to smile throughout the whole lesson.

At the end of that lesson, James & Sirius were the first ones gone so Harry could do nothing about approaching them. He lingered a bit, trying to catch maybe Remus but he was walking resolutely towards the door.

"Ray I'll see you at five tonight. Don't think I've forgotten your detention."

Remus huffed but didn't look back. "Yes sir," he mumbled, leaving at last. Harry was close behind. So that's the problem. Remus had detention with daddy on top of it. It was all Harry could do to keep from bursting out laughing.

"Is something amusing?"

Harry stared. Aw crap! Had he really laughed out loud? Remus was glaring at him with an unnerving unblinking stare. "Nothing," Harry mumbled. "It's nothing. See you later."

Remus let him pass. Instinctively, Harry dipped his head, showing submission to his Alpha. He was after all, the only pup ever born into the pack of the Marauders. He heard Remus huff but didn't dare look up. The last thing he wanted right now was to have his ass handed back to him by Remus Lupin. Harry knew better than to challenge Moony with anything, even a look. Remus clasped his hands behind his back & followed. "Who are you?"

A question was permission to interact. So Harry looked up. Remus seemed curious now instead of defensive. "Jason Dursley."

"I heard that back at the lake," Remus went on conversationally. "But who are you really? You just show up out of nowhere & somehow a Gryffindor."

"Just temporary," Harry shrugged. "Both my parents were in Gryffindor to. Since I'm just visiting, I picked that House."

"I didn't see you in the common room last night," Remus tried another angle.

"Oh I fell asleep in the library."

"Ahh," Remus breathed, smirking. "I think I'll like you when you do show up in our dorms. But don't let that happen again." He puffed up his chest. "I am a Prefect. Since you're new, I'll let it slide just this once."

"Sure," Harry grinned. "Thanks Mm—Um Remus right?"

Remus sent him a questioning look. "Yeah. Remus Lupin."

"So that's your dad then?"

Remus groaned so much it was nearly a growl. "Don't remind me. All he does is hover & worry."

"He's your dad."

"I don't care," Remus went on stubbornly. "He's keeping such a close eye on me. I'm not a baby anymore. I need my space. I've got my boys. They can watch over me." Harry smiled to himself at the term 'my boys' while Remus went on. "Papa watches me so closely, he caught me in the act of trying to set up a prank for some snake. I've been stuck in detention with him for nearly a week," Remus turned to walk backwards a bit, looking Harry in the eye. "He's driving me mad—WHOA!"

Crash! Remus & a suit of armour had an all-out battle of Armageddon for dominance on the floor.

Bang! The visor snapped shut.

Screech! Remus's fingers of his right hand had been bitten by the closing visor.

Clatter! Remus scrambled to his feet & kicked the helmet hard down some stairs. This only made matters worse as now his left toe was smarting. Swearing profusely in French, Remus was quite literally hopping mad on the spot.

"Are you ok?" Harry gaped at him, caught between amusement & shocked horror.

Remus finally stopped hopping & swearing. He inspected his bruised fingers, grumbling under breath. All he could see was gold right now & it took all his willpower to shove Moony aside. When at least his vision cleared, he looked up at Harry. "I'm an absolute peach, Dursley!" He snarled. With a wave of his wand, he righted the suit of armour, but didn't bother with the 'flipping' helmet stilling lying on the 'flipping' floor one 'flipping' level down. He licked the bruises across his knuckles, then shook his hand, trying to get rid of the sting. As they finally continued on their way, Remus went on. "Oh I hate Papa right now! Detentions are just the half of it."

Harry finally let out the laugh that had been killing him for the past hour. "Trust me, it can't be as bad as from where I came from. You have no idea." They rounded the corner & came upon James & Sirius.

"You'll have to tell me some time," Remus said as he headed to James's side. James pulled him close, then shot a dark look at Harry before grabbing Remus by the hand & pulling him away.

Harry watched them go down the next set of stairs. "Don't worry Dad. Your werewolf is safe with me." He sighed heavily before following from far behind.

The rest of classes were like how he remembered Hogwarts to be. No Umbridge. No stupid rules. No blood quill. Most of the teachers were the same, only younger. As usual, the Dark Arts teacher was a new one, but being another Lupin, Harry felt like he was reliving his third year without the horrid Dementors & having a wild & free Sirius Black with no care in the world. The only difference really was Professor Kettleburn for Care Of Magical Creatures (though Hagrid was still around as Gameskeeper), & Professor Slughorn instead of Snape for potions. Harry didn't mind him. He seemed a bit frivolous at times but he wasn't mean & treated students more or less fairly. His only fault was dividing students by importance. He liked popular people while the rest were just there for show. Whatever. Harry felt he learned more in that one class of potions then he did in his entire four & a half years of Hogwarts. He was paired with Lily Evans on top of it & she was amazing at brewing. It left Harry wondering why he wasn't so good at it; although, he seemed to be doing better here.

"It's because there are no Slytherins this time," Lily said. "We usually do class with them but occasionally we get Ravenclaw instead. Rarely Hufflepuff." Lily seemed to think that giving Harry a running commentary would be great since he was new. "But honestly, I wish we'd share with either the Claws or the Puffs more often 'cause when its with the Snakes, those four," She shot a scathing look at the Marauders that for some reason Harry felt it was for his father alone. "Cause a scene."

"I heard us lions don't get along well with the snakes," Harry said.

"There are spats now & then," Lily said. "Unless of course those idiots are involved." Harry didn't need to ask who the idiots were. "I think either James or Sirius did something today. Did you hear what happened to Amanda Perthkins?"

"No," Harry shook his head, wondering who that was.

"She's a Claw," Lily explained. "Apparently she had made a simple beauty potion yesterday. Now she's in the hospital with supersized breasts the size of large jack-o'-lanterns."

Harry suppressed a snort. That girl deserved that for talking against his father. "I hope Pomfrey can fix her." was all he could say before adding, "Both my parents were in Gryffindor."

"Oh?" Lily looked up from their cauldron. "How come you weren't here before now?"

"Hmm," Harry cast around for a moment. "I move around a lot." He checked on the Marauders, then wished he hadn't. James was looking at him with such vileness that he actually feared his own father. "Remus seems ok." Harry quickly added mulberries to the cauldron.

"Oh yeah," Lily agreed. "He's very sweet."

"Is he your boyfriend?" Harry blurted out before he could stop himself. He went red in the face but Lily burst out laughing so much that Slughorn glared & went "SHHHH!"

"No no," Lily said in a whisper. "Good heavens, is that what the gossipers are saying? Last week I was gay & sleeping with Marlene apparently."

"Oh," Harry was no stranger to gossip. "I understand perfectly."

"Ray's just a friend," Lily went on. "It's amazing how nice he is even though he's mixed up with that lot. He keeps telling me they're not that bad. Peter is ok to I guess."

"No he isn't," Harry muttered.

Lily looked at him for a bit. "Well he isn't as nice as Ray," She shrugged. "He follows the other two like a puppy. Peter's somewhere in between Ray & those idiot Black cousins."

"Black cousins?"

"Yeah," Lily nodded. "James & Sirius are both of the Black family."

Harry was stunned. He was related to Sirius? "Really?"

Lily nodded. "I think that's why those two are so vicious. They're purebloods & since they inbreed so much, they're killing themselves off. But the inbreeding is making them slowly insane."

Harry chanced another look at the Marauders. James & Sirius were partnered at one table while Remus & Peter were together at the table beside them. James was glaring down into his cauldron at the moment, but the second before Harry looked away, James glanced up & their eyes met again. James glared & raised his hands in a 'dude-quit-staring-at-me' way. Harry shrugged & focused on Lily.

James clutched a quill in his fist, glaring at Jason Dursley. How dare he sit there, talk to HIS girl & stare at him any chance he got? "What's with that guy?" James muttered.

Sirius glanced around, noticing the quill was bent more than it should be. "Jim, you're going to br—"

SNAP!

The quill bent over & broke in two. James continued to grip the bottom half in his hand while the top half fluttered to the floor. Sirius rolled his eyes. James suddenly stood up. "Keep an eye on that," he pointed to the cauldron before moving away.

"Why do you think Remus likes them?" Harry asked, curious to know how much his mother knew at the time.

"I don't know," Lily scoffed, stirring the cauldron. She & Harry both suddenly jumped as something hit the table. James's palm.

"Hey Evans," James smiled at her. He pointed at a ginger root. "Can I borrow this?"

"Borrow? Are you planning to regurgitate it afterwards?"

Harry turned his face away to the wall, mouthing the words 'Oh wow Mum' as his eyes leaked tears.

"You know what I mean, girl!" James said.

"Take the damn thing," Lily glared up at James then told him to go away using two very unlady like choice words. (Harry buried his face into his arm to keep from yelling 'MOTHER!' out loud.)

"That's my girl," James smiled. He turned to leave, shooting another nasty look at Harry before he sat down next to Sirius again.

"That was awesome," Harry put a hand up & they high-fived.

"I'm not your girl," Lily grumbled under breath. Harry glanced back at James who merely made a slitting motion across his throat.

Harry gulped. He finally figured it out. James was the same age as him but with twice the hormone power due to improper training of Animagic. That stag was putting him in the rut ...& Harry had just touched the one he had marked for his own doe by high-fiving her. Harry felt he would be in big trouble. James was nothing more than one giant hormone on legs. Four of them, counting Prongs. Everything inside him screamed to stay the hell away from James & Lily but he knew he was already too late. What would his father do to him when class was over soon?

As Lily returned to her gang of girlfriends when they were dismissed twenty minutes later, Harry wisely fell away from her & the Marauders. He disappeared into the library, hoping that either no one, or at least Remus, would come in. Then he remembered. Classes were over now & Remus was in detention with his father. Harry hoped the other Marauders were equally as occupied. He had to think about what to do. He had thought of going to Dumbledore but what & how to tell him without distorting the timeline? He stayed until the librarian, Madam Pince, shooed him out. It was late & getting cold.

Worried about what his own father would do to him when they met again, Harry slowed as he came to the portrait. He knew the dorms had a guest room for transfers that could hold upto twenty four extra students. He had planned to sneak in there under cloak but he had forgotten one tiny detail. The Fat Lady was there still. She looked at him, smoothing out her hair, waiting. Harry realized he didn't know the password. He waited for a while but no one came or went & it was just past nine. Right. Harry put on the cloak & headed back to his disused classroom. Tonight, he would plan out his conversation with Dumbledore & first thing in the morning, he'd talk to him.

(If you still haven't read my first paragraph in my profile READ IT NOW! Thanks so much!)