Fate

Chapter 13 - What Did You Just Say?

"Who in bloody Merlin are you?"

Sirius opened his mouth to respond, but snapped it shut instantly, the entire plan going out of his mind as he saw his best friend again. His best friend who had been dead for fifteen years...

James still looked just as Sirius captured him in his memory. Being around Harry so often in the past few years, Sirius' original thought had been comparing James to Harry, but what he really should have been doing was comparing Harry to James. He didn't dare look over to see how Remus and Harry were handling the shock, fearing that if his eyes left the two men in front of them, they would somehow disappear.

He also got caught up in the gaze of...himself? It was rather disconcerting, staring at a twenty year old Sirius Black, a Sirius Black who had never been to Azkaban, who still had three best friends, who still had a fiancé (Sirius looked down quickly and saw the ring on 'Sirius'' finger, yes, she was still alive!), who still had his whole life ahead of him...

"It's okay, Harry, lower your wand."

At those words, Sirius finally looked away and saw Harry slowly dropping his wand at Remus' request. He looked over to Remus and saw that his old friend hadn't stopped staring at the newcomers either, but he had lowered his wand. Drawing a deep breath, Sirius looked back to the two younger marauders and slowly lowered his wand, his gaze once again transfixed on James who was still glaring at them. Neither the younger Sirius, nor James had lowered their wands, but both seemed a little startled that the so called 'Death Eaters' dropping their guard.

"How did you even get on this property anyway?" 'Sirius' said with malice. "Something Voldemort taught you?"

Sirius felt Harry bristle next to him but laid a hand on his shoulder to stop him from exploding. "What makes you think we're working for Voldemort?" Sirius asked his younger self calmly.

James laughed shortly. "You want to give another reason why you're sneaking onto my property? Or why you're trying to impersonate me with him?" James motioned to Harry who frowned with disgust. "You didn't do a very good job anyway. His eyes are the wrong color and he's got a scar on his forehead."

"We're not here to hurt you or your family in any way," Remus said, trying to sound like his usual, calm self, but failing miserably. It seemed that seeing James again had shaken him as well.

James and 'Sirius' both turned to Remus who, to his credit, didn't flinch under their glare. They both studied him for a moment before turning back to Sirius.

"Who are you two?" 'Sirius' asked.

"Remind you of someone, do we?" Sirius smirked and folded his arms.

"You could say that," James said, for the first time showing a little hesitation in his voice.

"Well as long as you think we're Death Eaters, we won't have an easy time convincing you otherwise, will we?"

"So you're feigning ignorance," 'Sirius' scoffed. "That goes over well with the Ministry, I can assure you."

Sirius felt a rush of anger, not towards his younger self, but the reminder of the incompetent Ministry that still existed in this time: The Ministry who had sent him to Azkaban without a trial.

Remus, obviously noticing Sirius' downshift in temperature, coolly stepped in. "Maybe if you'd lower your wands as well we can give you some type of explanation."

"Some type of explanation? No, we want the truth," James demanded.

Remus hesitated, glancing over to Sirius and meeting his friend's eyes. According to their plan, they weren't supposed to give their real identities until they were with Dumbledore from this time, but, as Remus had pointed out, nothing was going to go as they expected. Sirius raised an eyebrow at him, as if sensing what he wanted to do. Remus raised both eyebrows, questioning if Sirius had a better plan. When Sirius finally looked away, Remus had their answer.

"Fine. Lower your wands and we'll tell you the truth."

"What!?" Harry exploded, obviously remembering how much they had drilled him about not telling people who they were till the right moment.

"Harry, not now," Sirius said quickly.

"Let's at least go to Dumbledore first," Harry bit back. Sirius, startled at his godson's anger, turned quickly towards Harry with wide eyes. He saw Harry glaring at him with exasperation, but he also saw Harry's eyes which held more fear than Sirius had ever seen in them before. Harry was not mad, necessarily, he was afraid. And things that made Harry Potter scared were not to be taken lightly.

Sirius looked quickly up at Remus who shrugged his shoulders, clearly at a loss.

"Dumbledore?"

Sirius turned at James' much softer voice. The younger man was now looking at the three of them with curiosity.

"What do you need to see Dumbledore for?"

"James!" 'Sirius' scolded. "We don't even know who these people are! They could be plotting to kill Dumbledore or something!"

Sirius barked a laugh, earning a surprised glanced from the two younger men. "Kill Dumbledore? Blimey, kid, even if I was working for Voldemort I wouldn't try that." It was rather strange to call himself 'kid', but the title was rather suiting to what Sirius remembered himself as when he was this age. So naïve, so bloody impatient...

Out of the corner of his eye, Sirius saw Remus crack a grin, but Harry was still looking scared and rather angry. Harry had always hated it when people accused him of Dark Wizard activities. Merlin knew he had been through enough of those in his life.

Both 'Sirius' and James narrowed their eyes at that comment, but Sirius could see that he had said the right thing. Their wands dropped just slightly and their grips relaxed.

"What are your names?" James finally asked.

Sirius, ignoring Remus who was desperately trying to catch his eye and Harry who looked like he might pass out, smirked and stepped up.

"Sirius Orion Black, at your service." He topped it off with a much exaggerated bow. When he looked back, both James and 'Sirius' were looking at him with wide, disbelieving eyes.

"And this," Sirius said quickly, not wanting to break his streak, "is Remus John Lupin." He waved his arm out, presenting Remus who couldn't seem to decide whether to laugh or smack him over the head.

Without missing a beat, Sirius then moved his hand over to Harry's shoulder and looked back at the two young marauders. "And this fine young gentleman is my Godson, Harry James Potter."

A full five seconds passed before 'Sirius' blurted out, "You're mental!"

Sirius, enjoying himself much more than he had been two minutes ago, turned to his younger counterpoint with a grin. "Careful there, you're talking about yourself."

"Alright Sirius, that's enough," Remus said, almost resigned, as if he knew nothing he said would really stop Sirius from continuing.

Fully getting into the notion they might just pull this off, Sirius felt his heart soar and turned to look at James who was not staring at him, but staring at Harry curiously. Harry seemed to be trying to act defiant under his father's glare, but Sirius could see by his Godson's white face that he was still not quite sure about the whole situation.

"Merlin! James, let's just get them to the ministry and have them carted over to St. Mungos," 'Sirius' said with pleading, laying a hand on his friends shoulder.

James jerked out of his daze and turned to 'Sirius.' "Well, you have to admit, it is rather odd how much they look like-"

"Oh, please, James" 'Sirius' interrupted. "They're mental!" He shot a disgusted look over at Sirius who was still looking rather unconcerned.

"Let's go back." Sirius turned in surprised to Harry who had grabbed into his sleeve and was looking up at him with serious eyes. "Now. I changed my mind."

"Ah, Harry, that would be a little complicated at this point," Sirius said, feeling nervous once more. Harry seemed to be growing more and more uncomfortable, Sirius looked up at Remus with worry, but Remus only frowned.

"I told you we should have told him sooner," Remus scolded Sirius. "This has got to be a thousand times worse for him than it is for us."

"Excuse us; while we'd hate to miss this lovely Death Eater meeting, we really would like to establish who exactly you are."

Sirius turned, mentally cursing how annoying he could sound when he was younger and glared openly at 'Sirius'. But before he could open his mouth, Harry spoke.

"He already told you!" Harry practically shouted. Sirius and Remus both looked at him with wide eyes. They had not expected this type of reaction from him, but, as Remus said, he hadn't had much time to get used to the idea.

James and 'Sirius' also seemed to be rather stunned at his outburst, but not for long.

'Sirius' narrowed his eyes. "Please, if someone came along trying to impersonate you, your best friend and your Godson from the future, would you really take it so lightly?" He frowned at Harry. "Whoever you all are has yet to be stated, and unless someone starts talking soon, I won't make James miss anymore."

Everyone turned as Sirius and Remus both started chuckling.

"Sirius?" Harry said uncertainly as 'Sirius' and James glared at him for using that name.

"Oh, wow..." Sirius wiped the tears from his eyes. "I forgot I used to do that." He turned to Remus. "You know I'm the only reason you didn't get hexed that night during the sixth year ball? James wanted to murder you for dancing with Lily."

Remus smirked. "I had a feeling that you wanted him to hit me, Padfoot."

"Hold on a bloody second!" 'Sirius' shouted. They all turned to him and saw that both he and James had gotten rather white. "What did you just say?" He pointed to Remus.

For the first time on their trip, Sirius saw Remus smirk. "Padfoot."

James and 'Sirius' both dropped their arms in astonishment, though it wasn't for long. It seemed the war had already been conditioning the young men. Both their wands were up again in an instant, their masks of coolness up now.

"Who are you getting your information from?" 'Sirius' snarled.

"What are you talking about?" Harry said, quite annoyed.

"We know that information is leaking," James said evenly, his gaze now locked on Sirius as if he was the leader of their small group. "Tell us the person's name now or you'll be unconscious faster than you can say Quidditch."

Sirius barked a bitter laugh, unable to hold back any longer as he heard James defend Peter. "Don't ask us. Why don't you ask your friend Wormtail?"

"Sirius!" Remus scolded. That had not been a part of the plan. It was obviously a wrong move as both James and 'Sirius' narrowed their eyes.

"How dare you," James hissed in a low voice.

"Oh, I dare alright," Sirius bit back, though he was feeling quite a bit of emotion welling up in him, standing in front of a man who was defending the person who would betray him and lead him to his death. "I dare because I know the truth, as you two are going to find out very soon."

"Look," 'Sirius' bit back, "The only reason we haven't stunned you yet is because you lowered your wands. Don't make us forget that."

Sirius looked over towards Harry and Remus, trying to get a grip on the situation he had gotten them into. Harry was still white as a ghost but seemed to be getting a better grip on the situation and was studying both James and 'Sirius'. Remus was looking hard at James, but looked up as Sirius turned and caught his eye. After a silent battle of wills, Sirius turned back to James and 'Sirius'.

"Just take us to Dumbledore. We'll prove it."

"No bloody way," James said quickly. Sirius remembered how protective James had been of Dumbledore after his parents had died and the old man had become somewhat of a father figure to him. "If you think you've got free reign to just tell us a pack of lies and expect us to march you up to Dumbledore, you've got another thing coming."

"What would make you believe us?" Remus' quiet voice cut in and both James and 'Sirius' whipped around to look at him. Both of them seemed rather surprised as they started to really look at him.

Sirius and Harry both frowned in confusion, but let Remus continue as the younger men studied him again.

"What did we do last night?" 'Sirius' asked, a little less suspicious than he had with Sirius.

Remus frowned. "Ah, actually, we don't even know what date this is."

"August 14, 1981."

Sirius sucked in a deep breath. Yes, he remembered last night...

It seemed Remus did too as his face fell slightly, but he answered. "I went through my transformation. I got too wild for Prongs and Padfoot to handle and got into a nearby village..." Remus visible shuddered. "I don't remember anything except for what James and Sirius told me. I was very close to biting a few people."

"But you didn't," Sirius said quickly, positively fuming at James and 'Sirius' for bringing that up. None of them had ever talked about that night since it had happened. The mentioned two turned to look at him and he knew his eyes were blazing but he didn't care. "Nice question boys, any others?"

Both of them looked rather taken aback at Remus' correct answer and lowered their wands slightly. 'Sirius', though, was looking intently up at his older self. "You ran away from home. When and why?"

Sirius' eyes narrowed even more. "How could you, you of all people ask me that?" He snarled. "You know what happened and why I left. I'm you for Merlin's sake!"

'Sirius' took a step back, but didn't seem quite as phased as Sirius had hoped. "Fine, how about this one: How did you meet your fiancé, or I guess, wife?"

Harry gasped next to him and Remus reached over, laying a hand on his shoulder as Sirius, unable to take any more of the past at the moment, squeezed his eyes shut, looking towards the ground and trying to keep the tears from falling.

"Ari...Arianna died, during the war," Remus explained softly to James and 'Sirius'. Sirius heard his younger self gasp and felt the smallest sense of victory that they were finally getting through to the two of them. He hastily tried to blink back the tears as he looked up.

"He killed her...just because of her bloodline...thought it 'unfit' for a Black to mix with such...such..." he couldn't finished the sentence, and he didn't bother to exaggerate on who 'he' was, but saw that the point had gotten across to 'Sirius'. Taking a deep breath, he glanced down again to 'Sirius'' hand where the ring still lay, the familiar sight making him slightly tense in the stomach. It wasn't very long now...he figured up the calculations in his head. Only about one more week...

"You're lying!" 'Sirius' tried to cry out, but it came out too soft to be really demanding, as if he didn't believe his words.

"I wish," Sirius said shortly, wanting to get off the subject. He watched as James laid a comforting hand on 'Sirius'' shoulder and instantly remembered the task they were back here to complete. His expression must have given him away, for Remus reached over and squeezed his shoulder.

"The future?"

All three of the time travelers turned to James' voice and saw with some excitement that both he and 'Sirius' had lowered their wands completely and their expressions had softened somewhat.

"That's right," Remus nodded.

"Well, I thought you did look familiar," James admitted, looking at them curiously, but this time with a little more excitement than anger. "But it still is rather hard to believe." His eyes focused in on Harry. "Why are you here then?"

Sirius gulped, trying to come up with a suitable reply. James had no idea how much he was killing Sirius, just standing there like he had no problems in the world, like he would still be alive for the next three months...which Sirius knew he wouldn't. He had the aching urge to just gather James into a hug. Seeing the only person he ever really regarded as a brother standing there, alive, after fifteen years, was starting to take a toll on his mind as he tried to think. And now that James knew who they were, Sirius was starting to think of the possibilities that their trip would create.

"You said something about Peter," 'Sirius' added, coping James' inquisitive look. "Is there something you're coming to tell us?"

"And why did only you three come?" James asked. "Where am I? Or Peter?"

"That's, ah, all very complicated," Sirius admitted.

"That is, we'd much rather tell it all at once," Remus added hastily. "In front of everyone."

"Everyone?" James raised an eyebrow. "Like who?"

Remus and Sirius looked at each other again.

"Dumbledore," Remus stated. "Let us see Dumbledore."

"And Remus can come too," Sirius said, turning back to them. "Your Remus, I mean."

James and 'Sirius' exchanged pained looks.

"Er...he's still not doing too well," 'Sirius' said with some hesitation, reminding Sirius of what had occurred the night before. "We have him in the Hogwarts infirmary. He always hated going to St. Mungo's." 'Sirius' barked a familiar laugh and turned to Remus. "I guess you already know that, though."

Remus rolled his eyes. "Yes, I do."

"But Dumbledore's at Hogwarts as well," James put in. Both he and 'Sirius' had pocketed their wands and James pointed towards the house. "We can floo there; Dumbledore connected Godric's Hollow to the school just last week."

Sirius nodded towards Remus and he saw Harry nod in agreement. Thankful that his Godson was becoming more relaxed, Sirius turned back to the younger Marauders. "Right. Let's go then."

"Oh, wait," James said quickly, holding out his hands to signal them to stop. "Lily's there," he said nervously, his eyes flickering to Harry, "with Harry."

Sirius saw Harry's eye go wide with shock.

"It's alright, James," Remus said first. "She needs to hear what we're saying too."

"What about Arianna?" 'Sirius' asked softly. "She's there as well."

Sirius felt his heart clench as he thought of seeing his fiancé again. The picture he had hidden of her came to his mind again and he suddenly felt very jealous of this Sirius: His best friend was alive, his fiancé was alive, his name was clean...so much to change, no, so much to correct...

"Sirius?" Remus had turned to him, leaving it up to him to reply.

Looking over at his younger self, Sirius nodded halfheartedly. "Yes. She needs to come as well."