A Space Between Worlds

Chapter Three:

Gryffindors Not Just In Name

"I would have you smile again...not grieve for those whose time has come."

--Théoden from New Line Cinema's "Return of the King"

A week later

James watched Lily from the doorway as she busied herself about the kitchen, flicking back and forth between the large cauldron over the fire to the old stone oven.

He smiled as he regarded the way she kept pushing her red tendrils out of her face, the rest of her hair caught up in a loose bun. A white apron was tied hastily around her day-robes and her face was flushed from the heat of both oven and fire.

Sometimes James had to just stop whatever he was doing and marvel at how beautiful his wife was, and how he of all people had been lucky enough to marry her.

He crept behind her and slipped his strong arms around her slim waist. Lily made absolutely no reaction to this, so used to him and ways after all these years of marriage. Instead she continued to bustle around the kitchen with him hanging onto her back in a most comical way.

Finally he turned her around, so as to look into her bright green and see his love for her reflected within them.

She smiled. "And what may I do for you, good sir?"

"I was looking for my wife," James teased.

"Oh," Lily said, feigning disappointment. "So you're married then? That's a shame..." She wrapped her arms around his neck, their faces mere inches apart.

"Yes," James replied. "Perhaps you've seen her? She's very beautiful: green eyes, dark red hair, thin, though a bit short..."

Lily hit him playfully. "I'm not short, you're just too tall."

James laughed and kissed her before she could say anything more on the matter. With Leo away at Sirius's, the two of them didn't have to worry about their young son coming in and breaking up one of their "romantic sessions", as Sirius called it.

"So," James said, pulling away from her only slightly so that he could look down at her face, "what are you doing in here?"

"Cooking, baking, and the like."

"But it's almost midnight, and we've already had dinner."

"James," Lily said, in a voice that said she had told him this several times already. "I'm preparing things for the Order. They're coming over tomorrow. We've got to discuss the recent attack in Plymouth..."

"Oh right," James said. "I'd forgotten."

Lily gave him an impatient look that died quickly. "Your mind's been a million miles away lately. What's wrong?"

James shrugged. "Nothing...I...I can't explain it..."

Lily tilted her head curiously. "What is it? Something at work?"

James shook his head rather forcefully. "No, it's...something else..." He trailed off, failing find the right words to express himself. Finally, he sighed and looked at her hard. "Can't you feel it?"

Lily looked confused. "Feel what?"

"I don't know..." James said, hating the fact that he wasn't making any sense. "Something's different."

Lily frowned. "I don't know what you mean James."

James gave a rueful laugh. "Neither do I."

"Can you describe it?"

James thought a moment, then said: "It's the feeling you get when you're seeing someone you know for the first time in a long time. Like a reunion, or something; it's that excited feeling in the pit of your stomach, nervous and apprehensive, yet glad."

"I think you need to stop working double shifts at the Ministry," Lily said, concerned.

"I'm not overworked or overtired or anything like that. I'm just...I think this is a warning, a warning that something's coming, that something has come. You know how I can sense weird things..."

"James," Lily said steadily, though she was a bit unnerved by her husband's recent oddness, "I want you to go upstairs and get some sleep. Between the Order and the Ministry, you've worked a full twenty-four hours today, not to mention all the other irregular hours you've worked this week."

"But I thought I would help you cook--"

"And kill the Order? Honestly James, the Death Eaters do enough damage to our ranks already without you poisoning us as well."

James gave a small smile. "I'm not that bad of a cook."

"Tell me that the next time you and Sirius have the urge to bake cookies and wind up with salmonella poisoning...again."

"That was Sirius's fault!" defended James. "He got batter all over the recipe, including the 0 in 10, so we only thought we had to bake them for one minute."

Lily rolled her eyes, but failed to stifle the giggle that escaped her mouth. "You two are a real pair, you know that?"

James grinned and kissed her chastely on the cheek. "We only act up because we know it bothers you."

Lily swatted him with an oven mitt. "Go to bed."

"Yes, mum."

He headed towards the kitchen door, but stopped short and turned around, still grinning. "I love you."

"You're a prat," Lily replied, "but I suppose I love you, too."

James was running through the garden and towards the house, Lily at his heels. He heard her gasp as they both looked up at the cloudy night sky: the Dark Mark was hanging above their cottage.

And Harry was still inside.

"No...please no..." James wasn't sure whether it was he or Lily (or both) who uttered these words. He wasn't sure of anything anymore. Peter, his friend with whom he'd entrusted the safety of his family, had betrayed him.

The entered the house wildly, not caring if Voldemort was still within, not caring if they met with Death Eaters or the like. All that mattered was Harry.

It turned out that the house was empty. Not a soul deterred them from their path to the nursery.

The door to the small room was wide open and within was ominously silent. Neither were good signs. James reached the crib first and blanched at what he saw within: a tiny boy with wide, empty green eyes staring up at nothing, seeing nothing, feeling nothing.

Lily gave an anguished cry and leaped forward, snatching up her child and begging him to wake up. It was the most horrid thing James had ever experienced. He could do nothing but stand there, he couldn't even comfort his wife as she rocked the limp form of their son back and forth, sobbing hysterically, shouting incoherent curses and prayers.

James had never felt such pain. He had experienced the Cruciatus Curse before, but that was nothing more than a pinprick compared to the torture he was feeling now. He couldn't watch, he couldn't bear to see his once energetic toddler so lifeless.

He stumbled from the nursery, intending to find help, yet knowing that there was not a soul alive that could save their son. Harry was gone...gone forever...

James collapsed in the hallway outside the nursery, clutching his stomach, willing himself not to throw up. The pain was incredible, for it attacked not his nerves as crucio did, but his very heart, wrenching it apart, shattering it to pieces.

James didn't know how long he crouched their in the hallway, listening to Lily so her life out in the nursery. He knew he ought to be with her, he wanted to be with her, but he couldn't move. If he went back into that room and comforted Lily, that would mean admitting that Harry was dead, and he would do no such thing.

"JAMES! LILY!"

James lifted his head to the familiar voice. "Padfoot..." he whispered, though his voice was so quiet he was sure Sirius could not hear him.

Nevertheless, two young men came bounding up the stairs, ashen-faced and shaking. Upon seeing James, Sirius raced toward him and pulled him into an embrace.

"Are you alright?" Sirius choked, obviously relieved to see his friend alive.

James neither spoke nor moved; he just allowed himself to be encompassed by Sirius strong arms, to shocked and pained to feel embarrassed.

Remus ventured into the nursery to see what was upsetting Lily so, and came back out a second later, his eyed full of hateful tears.

Sirius looked up at him. "What is it, Moony?"

"Harry's dead."

The silence was one James would never forget. Hearing the words said aloud seemed to make everything suddenly very real. He grabbed hold of the front of Sirius's robes and cried into this shoulder. He cried like he had never cried before, not even as he had as a child. He wanted to die, right then and there. He wanted this to be a dream, and to wake from it, but he knew that that was impossible. He was stuck in the world of pain and it was slowly driving him mad.

"Prongs...Prongs..." Sirius whispered, his voice strangled, but he said nothing more. What could he say? What do you say to your best friend after his son has been killed?

Remus bent down beside James and, with Sirius's help, they pulled him to his feet. Despite his incapacitated state, James noticed that Sirius and Remus were crying also. How could Peter have done this to them? What had they done to him to make him hate them so? When was it that they had so wronged him that it made him turn dark? On which lonely hour of contemplation did Peter decide that his friends were of no importance? Where had they gone wrong with Wormtail? Where had he gone wrong with them?

Sirius, Remus, and James, all blind with tears and clinging to each other helplessly, made their way into the room where Lily sat, gasping for breath amid her sobs, still hoping against hope that her baby would come back to her.

James pulled away from his friends and ran over to her, kneeling beside her, sharing one another's grief.

"I'm going to kill him, the fucking bastard," James heard Remus exclaimed emotionally, his eyes red with tears and rage. Had it been a different situation, James would have paid more attention to how odd it was to hear Remus say something so harsh and violent, but nothing surprised him now. Strange it was that those were the last words James would ever hear his friend say.

Remus strode from the room purposefully, his hiccupping sobs echoing in the hall. Sirius gave one last grief-filled look at the despairing couple, before he followed Remus...

"James, James, wake up, love, you're dreaming...James..."

James opened his eyes suddenly, looking confusedly around the dark room. A blurry red-headed figure bent over him, and reached over to grab his glasses from the bedside table, pushing them onto his nose.

Lily was looking down on him in concern: James was shivering and breathing hard as if he had just run a very long distance.

"Did I wake you?" James asked.

Lily shook her head, leaning over him and kissing his brow. "I was just getting into my nightgown. I've only just finished baking."

James looked over at the clock. It was past two in the morning.

"You shouldn't be up this late."

Lily shrugged, climbing onto her side of the bed. "I don't have work 'til Monday, and the Order don't come over 'til later in the afternoon. I'll have plenty of time to sleep in."

James replaced his glasses and Lily laid her head down on his chest. They lay there for awhile in silence, enjoying the closeness of each other. Finally Lily spoke, a bit hesitantly.

"You were having a nightmare."

"No..." James said softly. "No, it wasn't. It was real."

Lily rubbed his bare arms gently. "I know." It was all she could say. "I know."

James sighed and snuggled closer to her. It had been a long time since he had dreamed of that terrible night.

"It never really leaves," James whispered. "The pain."

"Pain and trials and suffering," Lily said, sadly. "Without them, we'd be Gryffindors in name alone."

Harry watched with amusement as Leo and Sirius splash around raucously in the pond. He sat on the banks, knees tucked up to his chest, arms wrapped around his legs, content to watch and enjoy the bright summer day.

"Come on, Apollo!" Leo cried, "Come on in!"

Harry shook his head. "I'd better not."

"Why?" Leo asked. "You scared of water?"

Harry laughed. "No, I just like being dry."

The real reason was, of course, the talisman around his neck. Were he to take of his shirt and jump in, they would see it, and no doubt Sirius, the Mighty Ministry Auror, would recognize it for what it is.

"That's no fun," Leo said, clearly disappointed.

Sirius smiled suddenly, an evil, scheming grin, and pulled Leo close. He whispered something in the boy's ear and soon Leo's smile matched Sirius's.

Harry immediately grew wary. He'd seen the Weasley twins mirror that same grin enough times to know that danger and/or embarrassment was never far behind.

All of a sudden, Sirius and Leo dove under the water and disappeared. A few silently ominous moments passed, and then...

"Gotcha!"

Harry cried out in mixed horror and delight as the two water-logged pranksters jumped from out of the pond and tackled him onto the grass. Then they grabbed him around the waist and tossed him head first into the cold water.

Harry emerged, gasping for breath amid his laughter. As long as he kept his shirt on, no one would notice the talisman, he told himself.

Sirius and Leo jumped back in after him, looking quite pleased with their success. Harry feigned anger and lunged at Sirius, and the two began wrestling beneath the water, coming up only to take in air.

After a moment of amused observance, Leo decided to join the fray, jumping onto Sirius's back and cheering Harry on.

It was over an hour before Sirius, Harry, and Leo decided to head inside. Sopping wet and shivering in the late afternoon breeze, Sirius performed a drying spell on the three of them, and then they made their way to the house.

It was only after they had tramped inside, leaving wet footprints on the hardwood floors, that the carefree mood died. There was a sudden burst of fire that made everyone jump, and red-gold feather and a note fell to the floor. Sirius picked it up and read:

The meeting started an hour ago! Where are you?

"Shit!" Sirius exclaimed. He looked around at the other two. "I forgot all about the meeting! We'd better hurry and get ready!"

The three damp wizards went zooming off into three separate directions. Sirius cast a second drying spell on himself, Leo searched anxiously for dry clothes, and Harry did both.

"Hurry up!" Sirius called to the other two. "Or I'm leaving without you!"

This was a very real threat. Sirius did not have to take either of them with him, but Leo loved to come to the Order meetings, even if he wasn't aloud to listen in on them. Besides, the meeting was to be held at his own house that afternoon, and he had to go home sometime; he couldn't live at Sirius's forever. And Harry had been very anxious to go, desiring to see his parents and the house that could have been his. The Order had also been equally anxious to meet him.

Harry and Leo came downstairs at the same time, the younger boy holding a backpack.

"You have all your things?" Sirius asked Leo, performing one last drying spell on the boy's red hair.

"Yes," Leo answered, blinking as Sirius shot the hot air into his face.

"You ready, Apollo?" Sirius said, turning to Harry.

Harry nodded, excitement growing in his stomach. Any minute now, any minute and he'd see his parents for real, not in a mirror, not in a picture, not in a wand, not in a pensieve, but in actual real life.

Sirius picked up an old, cracked vase. "Portus," he muttered, and it glowed blue.

"Everyone grab hold."

"A portkey? I hate portkeys," Leo whined. "I thought we were going to fly there!"

"We don't have time, Leo," Sirius said impatiently, "we can't Floo there because of the chance we're being watched, and you can't Apparate yet, so this will have to do. Now grab hold before Apollo and I leave without you."

Leo grumbled but did as he was told albeit grudgingly.

On the count of three, Harry felt the pull behind his navel and soon the world was a blur of colours as the portkey took them to their destination.

With a thud of heraldic foreboding, the three bodies landed in a heap in a cheery hallway. As they disentangled themselves from one another, Harry could hear voices coming from nearby.

A door a bit further down the hall opened and she came out.

Harry stared in wonderment. There she was.

Red hair swept back in a messy braid, green eyes--his eyes--flashing in relief upon seeing them, she rushed forward and gave Leo a tight hug.

"We were beginning to worry, Sirius," Lily said, though her voice betrayed that she had begun to worry awhile ago. "What kept you?"

"Well," Sirius said, running a nervous hand through his hair, "we were a bit--er--side tracked..."

"Swimming again?" Lily sighed.

Leo nodded fervently. "It was fun, mum! We even dragged Apollo in!"

At this, Lily turned her attention to Harry. She beamed at him and Harry felt his heart leap up to his throat, a most uncomfortable sensation of jubilation and anticipation bubbling in his chest.

"You must be Apollo, then," she said, holding her hand out to Harry. "We've heard so much about you already. I'm Lily."

"I know," Harry said, grasping her hand, "I mean--I've heard a lot about you, too, from Leo and Sirius."

The shook hands, and Harry felt a strange tingling feeling run up his forearm and into his shoulder. This was his mother. For the first time he could remember, he was actually touching her. How he longed in that moment to tell her who he truly was, to wrap his arms around her neck and hold her close as he was never allowed to do in his world.

"Leo! Welcome home, mate!"

"Hello, dad!" Leo said, as a messy-haired, bespectacled man came into the room. He gave Leo a swift hug and gave Sirius an affectionate pat on the back.

"I hope the lad wasn't too much of a hassle for you," James said.

"No more a hassle to me than I am to you, Prongs," Sirius answered.

James laughed, nodding his head. He turned then to look at Harry.

"Apollo Hero?" he asked.

"James Potter?" Harry answered, the excited feeling returning once more.

James and Harry shook hands in turn, and James smiled at him. "Welcome to Godric's Hollow, Apollo. Everyone here has been waiting to meet you. Dumbledore's told us about you, of course..."

Harry nodded. "Sorry we took so long, we were swimming, you see, and lost track of time..."

James laughed. "No need to apologize. It's perfectly understandable. But you lot haven't missed much. We've just been having dinner."

"Just been having dinner?" Sirius said. "If Lily's the cook, I'd say we missed a lot."

"There's still plenty left," Lily said, "and yes, I was the cook. If James was the cook, there wouldn't be need for a meeting, as the whole Order would be dead."

Sirius laughed. "Wait 'til Voldemort finds out that our secret weapon is James's cooking!"

Lily and Sirius collapsed into contagious giggles that spread to Leo and Harry.

"All right, all of you, lay off it," James said, annoyed. "I'm not that bad--stop laughing!"

Lily wiped tears of mirth from her eyes. "All right then," she said, composing herself. "Leo, I want you to put your stuff away before coming down to dinner."

"Yes, mum."

The red-headed boy trudged up the stairs while the other four made their way through the door from which Lily and James had emerged.

There, seated before them, were the Order of the Phoenix, though they were not all as Harry had remembered them to be in his world.