James Did It! (A HP Fanfic)

Chapter 4

After two days, Hermione found something in her Fifth Year textbook on Double-Patroni, and since she was underage Rose had taken liberty to learning it. She had learned it in a few hours.

"You sure you've got this?" Harry asked Rose, who nodded confidently.

"Spells come naturally to me. I've got this."

Rose rose her wand, said the incantation, and her silver tiger appeared, but this time it didn't go anywhere, and sat down.

"What now?" Ginny asked.

"We wait." Tonks sat down and crossed her legs.

After a minute of silence, James said, "This is boring! Why don't they just answer already? Screw this, let's go to Hogwarts!"

"I heard that, young man." Ginny's icy tone came from the tiger, making everyone jump. Then she blurted, "Where are you? I've been scared out of my mind looking for you! I got not an hour of sleep last night - and that's only because I passed out in mid-conversation with Roxanne! James, I swear to God, when I get my hands on you -"

"Okay sorry to interrupt but this is NOT the time," said Teddy. "You might not believe us - but we're -"

"IN THE PAST!" someone (the kids suspected George) yelled randomly from the background. "Yeah we know. Ginny won't believe it though -"

"Shut up George! I'm trying to -"

"Okay, okay, jeez, don't get your panties in a twist woman!"

A new voice came. "Who are you talking -"

Rose interrupted her mother's question. "Hi Mum!"

"Wait - Rose?! How are you - Did you really do - Are you alright?!"

"Yeah, I'm good," said Rose. "But I personally think the Grimlaud from our time is better - especially because this version is kinda haunted-like."

As Rose was talking, Tonks had gotten up to get a drink, and just then stumbled over the umbrella stand.

"I'm alright!" she said quickly. "It's good - Sorry, Sirius, I'm just so clumsy - Here -" She picked up the umbrella stand and set it straight.

It was quiet.

"Who was that?" Ginny asked blankly, but it seemed as though she already knew the answer.

"ARE YOU DAFT?! THAT WAS TONKS! HEY NYMPHADORA! IT'S ME, GEORGE!"

Suddenly everyone was talking at once.

"Sirius is there?"

"Oh my Merlin!"

"Wait - I'm confused!"

"Holy crap they are in the past!"

"I have to call the Ministry!"

"Oh my God calm down," said Lily. "It's not that big of a deal! We're not hurt - and besides, don't they have emergency Time-Turners or something? Spells?"

"No," George answered shortly.

"We're screwed!" Albus cried.

"Oh my God - this is bad - this is REALLY BAD -" older Ginny said hysterically.

"What's so bad -" James began, but Ginny cut across him.

"It's bad because he is still - if he finds out who you are - this is bad - he'll kill you!" They could all tell she'd just gotten teary-eyed.

There was a pause.

"Oh." Teddy's tone was blank. "Well... We won't let him find out then."

"He can read minds, smart-one!" Roxanne snapped. "Practice Occlumency, do you? Don't you listen? Merlin's beard."

"Where's Dad?" Albus asked, changing the subject.

"He was upstairs," said Hermione. "I think sleeping."

"I'm right here - and how the Merlin did you do this spell?!" Harry asked, chiming in.

Sirius laughed. "Pure Harry."

"Wait... Who was - oh my God. Don't worry guys, we're working on getting you now -"

"By sleeping?" Lily piped up. "Daddy, hurry! Hugo and I are going to miss time at school!"

"No, you won't! I won't let that happen, okay, sweetie? I'll make them hold the train for days if I have to -"

"It won't take that long, will it?"

"No! Of course not! It - It was just an example! I have more than half the office helping with the case, and I wouldn't be surprised to be over there by tomorrow."

"We're screwed," Victoire repeated from the background. "Bloody Merlin, we're screwed!"

"No we're not!" Rose quipped. "We just have to -"

Lily screamed as thunder suddenly sounded loudly over them, and lightning flashed, making the room go momentarily black.

"No!" Rose sighed in frustration. "It's... They're gone!"

The Patronus had evaporated into thin air, and their parents were gone without a goodbye.

*

Rain pounded steadily on the roof, as a sign it wasn't going to stop soon. Occasionally, thunder would rumble in the distance.

Everyone was sleeping, surprisingly enough. But it wouldn't be that way for long.

Lily was tossing and turning in her sleep. She'd been having this same dream every night sense the Time-Traveling insistent, but this time it was... different. More vivid, maybe.

Rose, Hermione, and Ginny were sleeping soundly next to her, oblivious to her repeated nightmare.

But at exactly twelve o'clock, they were awakened by a ear-splitting scream that didn't stop.

Rose woke and screamed at Lily's screams, and suddenly all four of the girls were shrieking.

Lily had kicked the covers off herself, her hands pressing down on her ears. She had tears streaming down her face. She did not stop crying or screaming.

"L-Lily!" Rose jumped up, running to her cousin and puting her face in her hands, horrified.

The door burst open, and there stood Ron, Molly, Harry, Arthur, Sirius, Tonks, Remus, Teddy, James, Hugo, Albus and the twins.

"WHAT THE CRAP?!" Sirius yelled in panic. "What - who - what happened?"

"I - I don't kn-know!" Rose sobbed. "She - she just - just started s-screaming!"

Lily wailed.

Teddy ran over, took his god sister's hand, and shook her. "Lily, wake up!"

She didn't. She screamed when Teddy spoke, choking back sobs.

"I - I don't know -" Teddy cut himself off. He didn't know what to say.

Tonks came over, feeling the girl's head. "Oh," she muttered. "Molly, get a rag! She's burning!"

Ginny and Hermione were still in bed, both sobbing and holding each other.

"M-maybe she's j-just h-homesick," James suggested. Both he and his brother were extremely pale.

Lily screamed again brokenly, her fists clenching in her hair so hard her knuckles turned white.

"She used to do this when she was little," Albus said quietly, staring at his sister in horror, "but it was never this bad..."

"Yeah," said James. "It's where you have horrible dreams - scream in your sleep like this - bit when you wake up you never remember it. She used to do this..."

Teddy shuddered. "I remember... I remember she never screamed like this... She was always just whimpering and yelping a bit."

Lily cried out and started to sob. Rose stroked her hair comfortingly before turning to Tonks, who was looking worried. "She will be alright, won't she?"

"Sure she'll be alright," said Fred. "She's just... got a bug! Right, George?"

"Yeah, a bug," George echoed. "She'll be fit as a fiddle in the morning!"

Molly arrived back with a warm cloth, and pressed it to Lily's forehead. Lily shrieked as soon as it touched her skin.

"Molly," said Arthur, "she doesn't need this. She needs to wake up."

"Teddy already tried," Ron pointed out.

"Try again," Remus suggested.

Harry, who hadn't said anything, was standing there, watching and looking horrified.

Lily croaked out a word. "Mum," she whispered, and her voice sounded cracked ad hoarse, like she hadn't drank water for days.

Everyone's gaze flicked to Ginny, who started shaking her head. "No, no," she said stubbornly. "I'm not her mother, well - not yet -"

"Ginny Weasley get your butt over here and help us!" Ron ordered. "Your daughter calls."

"Shut up, Ronald! I'm only fifteen, I'm not her mum!"

"Ginny," Tonks said softly, "please? Just... Take her hand? Please, Gin."

"I would do it if it was Rose," Hermione whispered.

"Mum," Lily whimpered again. "Dad..."

"Harry, your daughter calls," said Ron, who grinned at Harry.

"No way," Harry said, his eyes widening. "No bloody way -"

Sirius pushed him forward. "I don't think the future yourselves would be too happy with you two at the moment."

"Yeah," said Fred, "you're horrible parents!"

"I am not!" Ginny argued.

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Yeah huh!"

"You are such a -"

Lily let out a high-pitched scream, and the others could've sworn they heard glass shatter.

"You guys!" James pleaded over the noise. "Please! She's my sister!"

Ginny jumped up as Harry ran over.

Ginny placed her hand on Lily's head, and took it away imeaditly. Then she slowly took her future daughter's hand, and Lily seemed to relax a bit.

"Dad," Lily whimpered. "Daddy..."

"We'll leave you to it," Tonks said quietly, grabbing Fred, George and Ron and pulling them out. Teddy did the same to James, Albus, and Hugo. Remus, Arthur, Sirius and Molly let themselves out, followed by Rose and Hermione, who wanted to switch rooms.

Ginny and Harry were mortified that they'd left them alone with Lily, and it was quiet for several minutes apart from occasional whimpers from Lily.

"Um..." Harry began, making Ginny's head snap up to look at him. "Ginny, I... This is all so confusing. I... I mean, I always liked you, but I didn't know... I never thought we'd... y'know, have - er - kids or anything together..."

She shrugged and gave a small smile. "Why are you apologizing? We obviously... er, love each other in the future, so there's no need to apologize... I'm making no sense, sorry."

"Mummy," Lily yelped.

Ginny turned to her, gripping Lily's hand. She leaned in and whispered, "Don't be afraid, Lily, I'm here."

"Don't leave me," Lily pleaded. "Daddy, Mummy, don't leave... I miss you..."

Harry's heart faltered. He looked at Ginny then whispered to Lily, "We miss you too."

"Go to sleep now, sweetie," Ginny said. "We're not leaving."

Lily didn't answer, and a few minutes later they heard her snoring quietly.

"I think she's a daddy's girl," Ginny observed, grinning at Harry.

"You think so?" Harry smiled at his future daughter. "Nah, she's defiantly your daughter, I'll tell you."

"Not yet," Ginny said. "Oh that sounded weird. Everything seems so weird lately... I mean, I never expected I'd... I guess I never expected to have a daughter. I'm scared now - for her. What if something goes wrong? This... She just woke up screaming! It scared me to death and I don't even know why! If something happened to her I probably wouldn't ever forgive myself - literally."

"It wouldn't be your fault, though," said Harry. "What you said today during the Patronus - if Voldemort found out and came for them, it'd probably be my fault, sense I'm... Harry Potter. It's always something like that. He came and killed my parents because of me."

"But he would've come anyway," Ginny argued. "Your parents were highly trained Aurors and fought him off about three times, right? He would've wanted them out of the way."

They didn't say anything for a long while.

"I think I'll go back to bed," Harry said quietly. "Wake me if she does anything, okay?"

"You could stay in here, if you want," Ginny suggested. "Hermione and Rose probably raided your room anyways."

"Thanks," Harry said, smiling a bit at her. Yawning, he collapsed in Hermione's vacant bed.

Ginny tucked a stray strand of Lily's hair behind her ear, kissed the little girl's head, and climbed into the bed closest to Lily, looking over her.