The Potter Twins and the Goblet of Fire {4}

16. Picture Perfect

"I'd give up my eyes to see you one last time, and I'd give up my fingertips to touch you" ~ Picture Perfect, Escape the Fate

James Potter and Remus Lupin were waiting anxiously for the arrival of Dumbledore, who would be bringing Harry and Haylee with him, for they had decided that it was finally time to unveil the truth.

James, who was hidden strategically under an old Invisibility Cloak that Dumbledore had (it was nowhere near as effective as the one James used to have) was particularly nervous. How would they react? No one knew for sure, but Remus was quite sure that it would be a difficult task to convince them.

James' heart leaped as Dumbledore entered the room, with Haylee and Harry trailing behind them. They looked just as he had imagined, with their raven black hair, green eyes, and messy Gryffindor uniforms.

"Professor Lupin!" Haylee said happily, her face lighting up at the sight of him. Both she and Harry hugged him tightly, bringing a smile to his face.

"Remus," he corrected them. "I'm not your professor anymore, now am I?"

"What's this about, professor?" Harry asked as they sat down with Remus. "Is it the Tournament?"

"Did you find a way to get us out of it?" Haylee asked hopefully.

"I'm afraid not," Dumbledore said. "Remus and I are going to recount something to you. Please do not interrupt, and listen carefully."

They nodded, and Remus began his story, while James waited anxiously.

"Before the school term began, I was walking through Godric's Hollow, to visit your parent's graves," Remus began solemnly. "I was about twenty meters away when I saw a man laying at the foot of their graves. At first, I thought it was a drunken Muggle, but the closer I got, I could hear the man crying, muttering inaudibly. And when I reached him, I discovered it to be your father, James Potter."

"Was it one of Voldemort's followers?" Haylee asked, both of the twins suddenly very pale. "A Death Eater?"

"That's what I thought," Remus continued. "So I stunned him and brought him back to the ruins of your parent's house, to interrogate him. I fetched Professor Dumbledore to assist me."

"This man, Harry and Haylee, you must understand, he was delirious. He kept on saying that his family was dead, over and over," Dumbledore said. "The grief and pain he was displaying, it could not have been a facade. And the resemblance he bore to your father could not have been an Illusion, or Polyjuice Potion, for that matter."

"Sir, what are you saying?" Harry asked quietly

"Your father," Remus said carefully. "He's back."

Everyone looked to the Twins, including James, awaiting their reaction. For a few moments, it was utterly silent until Haylee broke it.

"He's lost it," she said quietly, turning to Harry. "Professor - Remus, you don't - "

"I do, Haylee," he said seriously. "We used Veritaserum on him, a potion that makes people only tell the truth, and he proved his identity."

"No!" the twins cried in unison, standing up quite abruptly. "You're mad," Harry continued. "People don't come back from the dead!"

"It must be Polyjuice Potion!" Haylee insisted.

"Polyjuice Potion cannot be created using bones," Dumbledore told her. "Which is all that would remain of your father."

"Then it's a trick!" she cried. "Dark magic, or something! He's dead, you told me so yourself. Nothing can bring people back from the dead!"