Reborn

Most Wizards didn't believe in things they termed to be 'Muggle theories', but then again Harry Potter wasn't most wizards. He was on holiday in Egypt when it struck him, his Wife Ginny was chastising their eldest son James for scaring his sister to tears by telling her the dead cursed Egyptians in the pyramids would come back to life and eat her alive. It reminded him of a story he'd heard about his Father and Mother. They had gone to Egypt on their honeymoon and James had done the exact same thing to his new wife. It was even more unnerving considering the fact that his children were called James and Lily.

Harry frowned as the thought struck him, he remembered the ancient Egyptian theory about being reborn, and temporarily he wondered if his son had been reborn as his Father. Brushing it off as sentimentality he pushed the thought from his mind and smiled as he rejoined his family.

The thought didn't quite fade away after that holiday, and when he got back and went back to work Harry brought it up casually to Ron while they were having a slow day in the office.

'What? You think the Muggles were right?' Ron asked with a raised eyebrow.

'I don't know, they can't be wrong about everything. Can they?' Harry asked, he should have known Ron would brush it off.

'Come on Harry, give me any Muggle myth or legend, I'll explain it to you,' Ron said skeptically.

'Alright, ghosts,' Harry said.

'Easy,' Ron said smugly, 'witches and wizards who have left an imprint of themselves. Muggles are more scared of them than us because they aren't supposed to be able to see or hear them unless the ghost actively wants then to.'

Harry sighed, 'what about the lost city of Atlantis?'

'Uh, it's not very lost,' Ron said, 'it still exists, but its got Muggle repelling charms all over it. Muggles started looking for it after some wizard called Plato stupidly wrote about it in a Muggle book.'

'You can't be serious,' Harry said in disbelief.

'I am,' Ron said seriously, 'ask Hermione.'

Harry sighed, he would, maybe she would actually believe him, 'so you don't think people can be reborn?'

'Nah, when you die that's it, unless you become a ghost,' Ron said simply, and Harry gave up.

Later that week at the Weasley's weekly Sunday dinner Harry cornered Hermione and explained his theory to her.

'Well, I don't completely not believe it,' she reasoned.

'But you aren't convinced,' Harry said.

Hermione bit her lip, 'It is quite a leap of faith, to believe that someone can be born again.'

'The ancient Egyptians believed it,' Harry said.

'Yes, the ancient Egyptian Muggles,' Hermione added.

'But that's what I'm saying, why are we so arrogant? Do Witches and Wizards always have to be right?' Harry asked in frustration, 'why can't Muggles be right?'

'Well they aren't right about much,' Hermione said calmly, 'I mean they think the city of Atlantis is lost and that Mars is unoccupied.'

'Are you saying Mars isn't unoccupied?' Harry asked in complete disbelief.

Hermione rolled her eyes, 'You need to read more often Harry.'

'What about Stonehenge? The Muggles were right about that,' Harry said a little smugly, thinking he had gotten one over on Hermione.

'You do know Stonehenge was created when Caleb the Crazy tried to build a circular house but a block fell on him mid-levitation? That's why they're arranged the way they are, he couldn't finish the spell,' Hermione said with a raised eyebrow towards Harry.

Harry sighed and said, 'I'll find someone who believes me.'

'What brought on all of this reborn stuff anyway?' Hermione asked curiously.

Harry shrugged and lied, 'Just the holiday to Egypt I guess.'

'Ginny, do you think when a person dies they can be reborn?' Harry asked his wife when they were lying in bed that night.

Ginny frowned as she looked at her husband, 'like the Muggle ancient Egyptians thought?' she asked.

'Yeah, but not like reborn as a bug if you were evil…I mean more like reborn as another person, but without that persons memory,' Harry said, waiting for Ginny to shoot his theory down just as Ron and Hermione had.

'I don't know,' Ginny answered honestly, 'I guess anything is possible.'

Harry had to admit, he was surprised at how easily she accepted the theory, 'You don't think it's wrong because Muggles came up with it?'

'Why would I?' Ginny asked with a smile, 'Muggles are right about some things. They were right about the pyramids being a gateway to the skies after all. They were right about the earth, and how it used to be one big continent. We can't completely disregard them, their science is almost as good as our magic sometimes.'

Harry was gaping at Ginny as she said all of this, she smirked, 'Harry,' she said sounding only a little exasperated, 'I'm an unspeakable. There isn't much I don't think is possible.'

Harry chuckled at this and said, 'Yeah, I guess I should have realised that.'

'What brought this on?' Ginny asked curiously, 'was it just the holiday? Or something more?'

'When we were at the pyramids, James scared Lily by telling her the dead Egyptians were going to come back to life and eat her,' Harry said, and Ginny rolled her eyes at the memory.

'And it was just a bit crazy because…well my parents went to Egypt on their honeymoon and Sirius once told me that something almost exactly the same happened,' Harry said with a frown, 'and I mean they even have the same names as my parents.'

'That is a bit spooky,' Ginny admitted, 'considering they've never heard that story. I mean you must be the only person alive who knows it.'

'Exactly,' Harry muttered, still frowning.

'I'll let you in on a secret,' Ginny said with a smile, 'we're working on genetic memory in the department of mysteries at the moment. It's in the early stages, but the theory is that memory can be held in DNA and activated by certain events.'

'Déjà vu,' Harry realised.

'Yeah,' Ginny said, 'we think it affects Muggles too so what they think of as déjà vu is actually a memory somewhere deep in their genetics of an ancestor they probably don't even know about.'

'So you think they have aspects of my parents in their genetic memories? The kids?' Harry asked, still stunned that Ginny was taking him seriously.

'Why not?' Ginny said simply, 'I've noticed it in Fred, he'll say something that's so close to what my brother would have said, or he'll talk about something and it's a story George has never told him.'

Harry was silent for a moment as he considered this, 'can you keep me updated on this project you're working on and tell me if you find out anything else?'

'Sure,' Ginny said with a smile as she kissed her husband, 'try and put it out of your head for a bit and get some sleep.'

Harry yawned and nodded, 'I'll try,' he said.

A year passed, and Harry had all but put the thoughts of people being reborn and genetic memory out of his mind when something happened that made him think about it all over again.

It was the following summer from their Egypt holiday. They had decided to stay a little closer to home this time so they were holidaying for a week in Devon, it wasn't much but it was a nice little country retreat from their London home, Grimmauld Place.

They had been here for a couple of days when there was a big commotion amongst the kids around the back of the cottage they were staying in. Harry and Ginny rushed out to find out what all the fighting was about and found them all standing around a rather scared looking jet black pup with shaggy fur.

'Who's this little guy?' Harry asked as he stroked the dog.

'It's a stray Dad,' Albus answered, 'can we keep him please?'

'And who'd look after him when you all go back to Hogwarts after the summer?' Ginny asked with a raised eyebrow.

'I'll take him with me!' James exclaimed.

'No dogs at Hogwarts James,' Harry reminded his son. He smiled as he stroked the dog, truthfully he wanted to keep it.

'You and Dad can look after him while we're at Hogwarts,' Lily said, 'please can we keep him? Please?'

Ginny and Harry shared a small smile and Harry said, 'we can keep him on one condition.'

'What?' James asked excitedly.

'We take him to the local vet first and make sure he's not sick,' Harry said, and the kids nodded in agreement, glad that their Father was considering letting them keep the dog as a pet.

'Dad, can I come with you to the vet?' James asked as Albus and Lily quickly lost interest and went back to what they had been doing.

'Sure son,' Harry said as he picked up the dog and walked out of the garden path with James towards the town centre. As they walked into town Harry realised quite how much his son wanted to keep the dog, and as Harry looked in the pups eyes he was startled by how similar they were to Sirius's. His theory of people being reborn came to his mind once again as they walked into the wizarding vet.

An hour later they found out the pup was fine, he had probably been abandoned by his Mother because he looked like he was the runt of the litter. They probably thought he wouldn't survive, but he had. He was a little dehydrated but perfectly fine and perfectly normal, not an Animagus in disguise or anything suspicious. It was however a magical breed, but the vet said that all that was likely to mean was that he'd live a lot longer than a Muggle dog, just like most magical breeds had extended lives. Harry felt guilty for checking, but he was Harry Potter, people still wanted to hurt him and because of that his children were in danger.

'So can we keep him?' James asked as his Father emerged with the dog. He had been forced to wait in the waiting room.

'We can keep him,' Harry said with a smile as he paid the receptionist.

James beamed at this news, Harry added, 'but you'll be responsible for feeding him and taking him for walks while you're home.'

'That's okay,' James said as his Father handed him the pup and he stroked it, it wagged its tail happily as he did so. James was going into his final year of school when summer ended, and Albus was going into his 5th year, Lily would be going into 4th year.

When Harry and James got back to the cottage and Harry told the kids they could keep the pup they were all excited, and the next step was naming him.

'I think we should call him Godric,' Albus said.

'That's stupid Al, he should be called Rover,' Lily said.

James was fairly quiet as he stroked the dog, and Harry smiled, 'Look, he'll be a family pet, but how about we let James name him and look after him a bit more? Al, you've got your owl and Lily, you've got your cat. James hasn't had a pet since Rufus died.'

Rufus had been James's pet ferret who had died in his 4th year, he had loved that thing and he'd not wanted a new pet when it died, even though Harry and Ginny had offered him one.

'Okay,' Lily said with a sigh.

Albus smiled and said, 'That's fair.'

'So what do you think James?' Harry asked his son, 'what's our new pup called?'

James smiled as he looked into the dogs eyes, 'Padfoot,' he said simply.

Lily and Albus didn't react abnormally to this, but Harry eyes widened and when he glanced at his wife he noticed she was slightly startled too.

'Have you seen that name anywhere?' Harry asked, trying to sound cool and collected.

James shook his head and said, 'Nah, but it just suits him. Doesn't it?'

'Yeah, I guess it does,' Harry said, still bemused as his son put the pup down on the ground and started to play with it.

'Did you ever tell him about Sirius's animagus form?' Harry asked Ginny in a whisper.

'No,' Ginny replied in an undertone, 'have you ever showed him the Marauder's map?'

Harry shook his head, 'No. I was waiting to give it to him on his 17th birthday, you know that.'

'Maybe Hermione or Ron told him when he was younger and it stuck?' Ginny suggested, and Harry shrugged, trying to let it go.

A week later when Harry was back at work once more he asked Ron about it, and explained about the new dog. Ron said he'd never even mentioned Sirius in front of James as far as he was aware.

When the Weasley family came together for Sunday dinner, Harry asked Hermione the same thing, and her answer was exactly the same as Ron's. He didn't go back into his theory with them because he knew that they wouldn't believe it. Instead he sought out someone who he thought might believe him, just as Ginny had.

'Hey George, can I tell you something?' Harry said quietly as he approached the redheaded man who was standing with his wife Angelina.

'Yeah sure,' George said with a smile, 'what's up?'

'I have this theory, but everyone thinks I'm mad. James is acting like my Father, James. He just knows thing that he shouldn't know, things about my Father that nobody has ever talked about in front of him,' Harry said with a frown, 'I mean he named his new dog Padfoot and none of us have ever showed him the map or told him about Sirius. I think people can be reborn after they die, as other people.'

'Hey if anyone is gonna believe that it's me,' George said as he glanced to his son Fred who was in the same year as James at Hogwarts, 'Fred freaks me out sometimes. He'll say something word for word of what Fred would have said. The other day he came out with a story that I've never told him about a prank we pulled in our 4th year.'

'Ginny thinks its genetic memory,' Harry said.

'Whatever it is, I believe you. Maybe they aren't being reborn, maybe it's genetic memory, or maybe it's just the people we love watching over us from above,' George said with a smile as he patted Harry on the back, 'don't worry. You aren't losing it.'

Harry laughed at this and went back to talking about the everyday stuff, but the thought stuck with him throughout the day, and throughout the following weeks. James and his new pup Padfoot were inseparable all summer. When they weren't running about in the back garden together they were out on walks around London. That dog went everywhere with James and when the 31st of August rolled around Harry could tell his son wasn't looking forward to leaving his dog.

He knocked on James's door as he did the rounds to make sure everyone was packed for the early morning the next day.

'Come in,' James called a little miserably.

'Hey,' Harry said with a smile as he walked into the room and saw Padfoot curled up at the bottom of James's bed, 'you all packed?'

'Yeah, ready to go,' James replied simply.

'I know you're not looking forward to leaving Padfoot tomorrow, but you'll see him in the holidays, and I'll take good care of him,' Harry said as he sat down on the edge of his sons bed.

'Can't you just write to Professor Longbottom and ask for the rules to be changed?' James asked miserably.

'I could,' Harry said, 'but I won't James because it isn't fair to Padfoot. Dogs need to be able to come and go freely so they can do their business, and so they can have some freedom. It wouldn't be fair to have him locked up in Gryffindor tower while you were in class.'

'But I'd take him out for walks every morning and night,' James argued.

'I don't doubt that, but it's still not fair to have a dog in that environment, you know that,' Harry said gently.

'Yeah,' James sighed.

'Try and get some sleep,' Harry said as he got up, 'we've got an early start tomorrow.'

'Mum, please!'

'No James, he can't come to the station!'

'Yes he can,' Harry interrupted as he walked into the kitchen, 'we'll put a lead on him, it won't do any harm.'

Ginny shot Harry a dirty look and James beamed, 'Thanks Dad!'

'Just go ahead and over rule my authority,' Ginny muttered angrily.

'I know how much it meant to me having Sirius there when I left,' Harry whispered.

'He's not Sirius, Harry!' Ginny said gently, 'he's a dog.'

Harry shrugged as he sat down and slipped Padfoot some of his bacon under the table. He winked at his son who smiled as he stroked the dog under the table. They got everything together and made their way to the station, Padfoot in tow with Harry holding his lead.

When they arrived at the station Ron laughed as he saw the dog, 'Does that thing go everywhere with you?'

'Pretty much,' Harry admitted with a chuckle as Albus's best friend and fellow Slytherin, Scorpius rushed over.

'Wow Mr. Potter! Nice dog,' Scorpius said as he stroked the black dog, 'what's he called?'

'His name is Padfoot,' Albus said, 'James named him.'

'Oh cool,' Scorpius said, 'hey Al, come on the train, I have something awesome to show you!'

'Okay, bye Dad,' Al said waving to his Dad, 'bye Mum,' he added, getting pulled in for an awkward hug by his Mother and rushing onto the train as fast as he could.

'I'm going to meet my friends,' Lily said as she hugged her Father and her Mother and hopped onto the train to find a compartment with her friends.

'You better say goodbye to Padfoot and get on the train,' Harry said with a smile to James.

James knelt down and hugged the dog, 'Bye Padfoot,' he whispered, 'I'll see you at Christmas.'

As he grabbed his trunk and pulled it onto the train, the dog began to whine and James looked pretty upset as he waved goodbye from the window. Padfoot began to bound along by the train so fast that Harry was practically being pulled along by him, James smiled ruefully as the train rounded the corner out of sight.

It took a good two weeks for Padfoot to get used to the house without James, he moped about and spent a lot of time lying on James bed looking miserable.

When James came home for Christmas both he and Padfoot were happy again, but then it happened all over again when he had to leave.

After James graduated he moved into a flat in London so he could start Auror training. He searched for a long time to find a ground floor apartment with a small garden so he could take Padfoot with him. Harry wasn't surprised, he expected Padfoot to go wherever James went. The dog went through his entire life with James, when James met a girl at Auror training their first date was a walk around Regent park with Padfoot. Apparently the dog, which was by this point definitely no longer a pup must have charmed Maria because within 2 years she and James were married the same year they finished training.

They both went into the Auror line of work, James out in the field and Maria more office-based. As they thought about getting married they looked for a new house and found a place on the outskirts of London with a big garden for Padfoot.

'What do you think Padfoot?' James asked the big black dog as he stood holding his wife's hand in front of their new home.

Padfoot's answer was to bark happily and wag his tail, making James smile as he opened the gate and said, 'go on boy, go explore.'

Not long after the move James and Maria had their first child, a little boy called Samuel, who had James's dark hair and Maria's blue eyes, he was adorable and loved by all, including Padfoot. The dog who was now about 6 years old was much bigger but was always very gentle with Samuel.

'Hey Pads,' Harry said, yawning as he patted his dog. He and Marie had just come home from St. Mungo's and Padfoot had immediately perked up when he saw them.

Sensing somebody new he sniffed the baby in Maria's arm suspiciously and barked happily as his form of approval. James chuckled as he sat down on the sofa and let the big dog jump up with him, 'did you miss me boy?' he asked as Padfoot happily wagged his tail.

When Samuel got a sister two years later, James and Maria named her Sarah, and Padfoot was just as fond of her as he was of Samuel who was now a toddler.

'Sam, we've brought your little sister home,' James said with a grin as he walked into his house where his Father was watching Samuel and Padfoot. He chuckled at the sight, all three of them on the sofa, Padfoot in between them as they both hugged the big shaggy dog.

'Oh hey James,' Harry said with a smile, 'where is she?'

'This is her,' Maria said as she handed Harry the sleeping little girl.

'She's lovely, congratulations,' Harry said to his son and his wife. Like he had with Samuel, Padfoot sniffed the baby and gave it his bark of approval, causing everyone in the room to chuckle.

As the kids grew up they grew up with Padfoot, he was part of the family and Samuel and Sarah loved him. He pined for them when they left for Hogwarts, but James was always there to love him and calm him down. When James's Father died in an accident while at work the year Sarah was due to graduate school James rushed to him and left the gate open, Padfoot followed him and stayed by his side as James cried. He sat and stared at Harry mournfully as the colour faded from his face and let James bury his head in his shaggy fur.

Padfoot was chained up outside the church for the funeral, but he was there all the same. When James's Mother died a few years later Padfoot was there for James as he cried. He was there when the kids both graduated from Hogwarts.

As Samuel got married Padfoot was growing old, he was no longer a young excited dog. When Sarah got married the dog was older yet. As James's Grandchildren arrived and tried to play with Padfoot he just whined and skulked away to be alone.

When Maria died of a freak illness when she was only in her 50's Padfoot was still there for James, despite his old age he barked and wagged his tail as James let him onto the bed and buried his face in his fur. With Samuel and Sarah both being married and having kids of their own now it was just James and Padfoot in that big lonely house. Both of them growing old, sore and tired with age.

One day, when James who was by this point in his mid 60's and a retired Auror, was in the garden planting some fresh tomato plants, he got an urgent call from the Ministry. Padfoot was lying in the sun, but he followed James into the kitchen and his ears perked up as he listened to the floo call.

James was old and retired, but he was being asked nicely to come in because what had happened had been a tragedy, a freak accident with a lot of people dead. James was too much like his Father, so when duty called he didn't question it.

'Stay here Pads,' James murmured to the old dog who barked loudly and angrily at this.

James left through the gate and made sure to lock it, but Padfoot had grown huge, and he could easily get over the gate. He jumped over it and padded after James until he apparated away from the house.

When James arrived at the scene he couldn't believe the scale of the accident. A dragon had broken free from Gringotts and people were lying around everywhere screaming in agony with burns of varying degrees. The dragon was still on the loose and people were trying to get it under control but failing, there were hundreds of Aurors and people like James who had been called in because of how desperate the situation was.

James joined them, trying to bring the dragon down, but the spells they threw at it barely made a dent in its strong skin. Remembering a story his Father had told him James was struck with an idea, 'get me a broom!' he shouted to one of the Aurors on duty.

The young man looked confused as he did so, James hopped on and said, 'I'll distract it so you can hit its tail or its eyes, that's where it's sensitive!'

'You'll surely die!' The young Auror shouted.

James merely smiled and said, 'well then it's good I'm an old man, not a young budding Auror like you.'

He sped away on the broom, flying circles around the huge beasts head, working it into a frenzy so that it looked away from the people trying to attack it. The distraction theory worked, the Aurors struck it from behind and it fell to a heap, but not before its tail had slapped James out of the air.

As he landed on the hard ground, he felt the wet morning grass underneath him and tried to breathe, but realised quickly he had broken ribs. His vision was black and blurry and he was aware he probably didn't have long to live when something wet hit his face.

Forcing his weary eyes open James smiled as he saw none other than Padfoot, who must have run all the way here from the house in London. He was puffing and breathing heavily from the effort as he licked James face in an effort to keep him awake.

'Pads,' James choked out, trying to reach one of his aching arms to stroke the dog. Padfoot sensed the effort was too much and lay down by James's side and curled up into him.

When the funeral was held Samuel and Sarah chained Padfoot outside and his howling was enough to bring anyone in the church to tears. Especially those who knew about the special bond James and the dog had shared.

James was put into the ground in the Potter family plot at Godric's Hollow and Padfoot howled by the grave until Samuel and Sarah got him home. He ran away immediately and no matter how hard they looked neither of James's children could find the dog that their Father had loved so much.

Padfoot had made his way across England to Godric's Hollow, the effort had exhausted him, but something had kept him going until he reached the graveyard.

He whined mournfully as he reached James' grave and lay down in front of it, closing his weary eyes for the last time and joining his owner.

Whatever the Muggles had been wrong about, there was one thing Harry Potter had been sure of until the moment he died, and that was that people could be reborn in human or animal form. As he watched his sons' bond with that big old shaggy dog grow he realised that James and Sirius had gotten their happy ending after all, they had spent their entire life together. It just hadn't been their first life.

The End.

A/N: This wasn't supposed to be so angsty. It was just a oneshot I got the idea for and went with. Sorry if it's a bit short, but I hope you enjoyed reading it all the same. I spent the whole afternoon writing it and I actually cried a bit myself as I did so.

Hope you liked it, and thanks for reading!

Holly

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