Disclaimer: I own nothing, it all belongs to J.K.Rowling. I’m just borrowing the characters to play with for a while. This is for pleasure only, no profit is being made and no copyright infringement is intended.

Afte r dinner that first night back at Grimmauld Place, Moony, Molly, Ron, Ginny and Harry retired to Moony’s room. Moony had the Pensieve set up in the center of his sitting area by the fireplace. Harry told Ron and Ginny before dinner what he and Moony were doing and why. He asked them if they’d come view the memories with him. Both had agreed and Ginny seemed oddly touched that he had included her. Harry wished Hermione was able to be there too, but was sure Ron would fill her in.

Harry sat on the couch with Ginny and Mrs. Weasley on each side of him. Ron took one of the chairs while Moony got the Pensieve ready. Harry suddenly felt extremely nervous, both about seeing the memories himself and also letting the others watch them. What if his father behaved badly, like in Snape’s memory? What if there was more evidence his parent’s hated each other? Maybe it would be better to never know, what if there was yet another secret buried in that stone basin? He really didn’t think he could handle any more.

What was he thinking asking Moony to do this and why did he ask everyone to witness it with him? This was a bad idea, he should have looked in the Pensieve first before allowing anyone else to see.

Ginny must have sensed his anxiety for she reached over and placed her hand within his, squeezing his fingers tightly. When he looked over at her she mouthed, "It’ll be okay." Harry took a deep breath and sunk back into the couch. It would be okay.

"Okay," Moony said raising his wand. "Since there are several of us, I’m going to have the memories appear above the Pensieve rather than have all of us try to enter." Touching his wand to the silvery liquid, Moony let the memories begin. A cloudy mist hovered above the basin before forming a fuzzy image that gradually clarified itself.

It was almost like watching a movie, only the images were 3-D and so real it was like the people were standing right there in the room. It was amazing really and Harry found he was fascinated despite his apprehension.

He recognized a dorm room at Hogwarts that held four beds. The sign on the door said "First Year Boys." Four young students entered the room; two were silent and looking quietly around, seemingly overwhelmed by their surroundings. The other two were joking amicably about the feast they’d just completed in the Great Hall. They plowed into the room past the more reticent first two.

An unmistakable young Sirius strode over to the bed against the window and plopped down upon it, "Lucky me, I call this one!" His hair was longish and he had an air about him of someone used to getting his own way.

James sat down next on the bed next to Sirius. "I’m James Potter, this is Sirius Black," he introduced himself to the other two in the room. Harry felt the breath catch in his throat gazing at the image of his father looking younger than Harry was now. They really did look amazingly like one another. It felt strange to look at his father as a child.

"Remus Lupin," a young Moony said softly, putting his things on the bed across from James. Moony looked very different and Harry wasn’t sure he could have picked him out of a crowd. His back stiffened as his attention was turned to the remaining member of the room.

"Peter Pettigrew," the small, wiry boy said. "You two know each other then?"

"Nah," answered Sirius, tossing a Quaffle up and down in the air. "We just happened to sit together on the train. We pulled a joke on some girls in the next car over, and I knew we’d be sorted together. I can’t believe I got sorted into Gryffindor. My family is going to have a fit!"

"Why is that?" asked the young Remus, in very much the same mild tone Harry was familiar with.

"Because my family has always been in Slytherin, as far back as I can remember. Wish I could get a look at my mother’s face when she hears!"

"I’m sure she’ll be proud of you no matter what House you’re in," answered James bracingly.

Sirius just snorted, "You don’t know my family."

The scene faded and was replaced by another. This was a Quidditch match, Gryffindor vs. Hufflepuff and Harry felt his pulse quicken. He was going to see his dad playing Quidditch! He leaned forward on the couch to try and pick him out of the players and missed the smiles that played on both Ginny and Mrs. Weasley’s faces at his eager curiosity.

"Cool, Quidditch Harry!" Ron exclaimed. "You’re dad played, right?"

"Yeah, he was a Chaser."

"And Sirius was a Beater," Moony clarified. "This is our sixth year."

Moony and Wormtail were sitting in the Gryffindor stands watching the game. A young girl with brown hair sat hand in hand with Moony.

"That’s Diana Trent," Moony pointed her out. "Before she dumped me." Harry had trouble equating the slight girl in the image to the current DADA teacher. He supposed in was the difference in age.

"She dumped you?" Ginny asked him curiously.

Moony smiled, he seemed more amused by the memory than pained by it. "She hated Sirius, and wasn’t all that fond of the rest of the Marauders either. If you dated one of us, well…you kind of got all of us. The girls we dated always had to put up with a lot."

Harry studied the Marauders closely. All of them looked much more recognizable now to the way Harry knew them. He could see Sirius flying recklessly and had to smile sadly. His hair was still longish but he had a relaxed, carefree manner about him that Harry found hard to reconcile. This was before Azkaban, he kept reminding himself. He watched as Sirius hit the Bludgers towards the opposing team with unerring accuracy. Maybe it was just the fact that he was a Beater, but Harry was struck very much of the twins at this moment. Sirius could have really helped them with their joke shop if he’d had the chance…

He felt a lump rise in his throat and forced his attention away. Young James had the Quaffle and was racing towards the hoops with two of the Hufflepuff Chasers right on his tail. James swooped and dove trying to lose them, never taking his eye off the goal. One of the other players reached out to snatch the Quaffle and James rose in the air in a near vertical climb. He raced for the hoop and scored.

Both Ron and Ginny let our cheers as if it were a real game and Harry had to smile. His father really was very good. They watched the game for several minutes more. Harry tried vainly to block out the presence of Wormtail cheering when his father would score.

"Sorry Harry, I tried to chose memories that didn’t involve him a lot. But he was always there." Moony sounded so sad and far away that Harry had to force his eyes from the images in front of him to get a good look at his former teacher. Wormtail had betrayed Moony too that night and it was obviously still painful for him.

"It’s all right, Moony. Thank you for doing this."

"It’s my pleasure, Harry."

The Quidditch match faded and the next memory appeared. They were back in Gryffindor Tower. James was examining himself in the mirror, trying to get his impossibly unkempt hair to lie flat.

"Doesn’t this look familiar," Ron commented dryly and the others laughed.

"For pity’s sake James, give it up!" Sirius yelled from across the room. "It’s never going to lie down flat, get over it! Blimey, you’re Head Boy, it’s a disgrace that you’re this nervous over a date."

"It’s not just a date Sirius. It’s the start of the rest of my life," James replied calmly. Both Sirius and Peter made retching noises as James grinned.

"I don’t know why she agreed to go with you, she’s done a damn good job of ignoring you up until now," Moony replied calmly.

"She’s seen the error of her ways and now finds me irresistible."

All three of the other boys rolled their eyes. "And so humble," Sirius added.

"Look," James rounded on them, suddenly serious. "This is important to me, okay? Lay off. She’s important to me."

Sirius looked like he was about to comment when Moony cut him off, "Okay James. You look fine, and she did agree to go with you."

The four walked downstairs into the Common Room. It looked relatively the same as it did now, which seemed strange and jolting to Harry. He watched as his mother made her way down the stairs from the girl’s dormitory and looked over at the Marauders.

"I agreed to go out with you James, not your entourage," she said in amusement.

"Right. I mean, I know. I mean…They’re not coming!" All of James former bravado was gone, replaced by blatant nervousness. Harry noticed both Ginny and Mrs. Weasley smiling at the image of James, obviously finding his nervousness endearing. What Harry didn’t realize was that it reminded both of them of Harry.

He was mesmerized by the image of his mother. Her eyes, the same green eyes he saw staring back at him from the mirror every day, were alight with joy and playfulness. She showed none of the anger towards James he had witnessed before but instead seemed rather amused by him. She had a soft voice and a sweet face, but somehow Harry could tell she was a force to be reckoned with. She seemed to keep all four of the incorrigible Maruaders in line with barely an effort.

The young couple climbed out the Portrait Hole hand in hand, ignoring the whistles and catcalls from the remaining Marauders. "We’ve lost him," Sirius sighed after they left.

"What do you mean?" asked Peter, sounding alarmed and caused Harry to dig his nails into the palm of his hand. Ginny rubbed her hand on his back soothingly and he allowed the tension to abate.

"We haven’t lost him," Moony said in that same even tone. "We’re just going to have to start letting girls into the club."

Sirius grinned wolfishly, "Pity that."

That scene faded and another one formed. This was obviously a wedding. He could see his parents in their wedding clothes dancing with each other. They looked lost in each other’s eyes. He saw his father mouth the words "I love you," and his mother returned the sentiment. It was obvious how happy they were and it made Harry smile. Looking around the dance floor, he could pick out Sirius by the bar chatting up one of his mother’s bridesmaids. Harry didn’t know who she was. Moony was dancing with someone else Harry didn’t recognize and looked far happier than Harry could ever remember seeing him. His gaze kept being drawn back to his parents. They both danced well and seemed to be a part of each other as they moved across the floor. Harry imagined if she had lived, his mother would have been the one to teach him how to dance.

He had to do a double take as his gaze crossed over a blonde woman in a bridesmaid dress, an oh-too-familiar scowl on her face. "Aunt Petunia!" Harry exclaimed. "She went to their wedding?" Harry asked Moony.

Moony frowned as he watched the images, "Yes, she was there." His eyes were now darting around the people gathered on the dance floor. Petunia was standing with an older couple who was nearly beaming with pride at Lily and James.

"Is that my grandparents?" Harry asked in wonder. He’d never so much as seen a picture of them. If Aunt Petunia had any, she never put them out where Harry could see them. The man had graying hair that had obviously once been blonde. His eyes were blue and kindly. He looked the part of what Harry had pictured a grandfather to be. The woman looked anything but like a grandmother. Tall and stately, she had a regal look but her expression was kind. She actually looked a lot like Aunt Petunia, only less bitter and with auburn colored hair.

Harry was fascinated and looked to Moony for confirmation, "Yes, those are Lily’s parents."

Remus was looking very uncomfortable but Harry didn’t notice, "Are my other grandparents there too?" Of course they would be, it was their son’s wedding after all. "Where are they? I want to see what they look like."

Harry was growing excited but as the image faded he turned to Moony in alarm, "Wait!"

"That’ ;s all of the memory I put in there, Harry. I’ll add some of them at another time. They weren’t there that day."

"Wh-," Harry was about to ask why but stopped himself. If they weren’t at the wedding of their son, that probably meant they were already dead. He didn’t want to know about that right now. He wanted more good memories.

Another scene was forming in the air. This took place in the cottage Harry now recognized as his home in Godric’s Hollow. He couldn’t help that his body stiffened at the sight of it, as visions of Snape’s memory flashed in his mind. Ginny once again rubbed her hand on Harry’s back and Mrs. Weasley took his hand. He allowed himself to relax slightly, but kept a wary eye on the image.

The four Marauders were outside on a patio huddled over what looked like a Muggle grill.

"And Muggles eat what they cook on it?" Sirius was asking with incredulity.

"Lily’s parents owned it and the food was always good," James answered. The Marauders continued to bicker over the use of the grill and must have been amusing because he could hear Ron laughing out loud, but Harry’s attention was focused once again on his mother. She was sat back from the image, obviously not the focus of Remus’ attention but still there.

She was sitting on a rocking chair inside holding a small bundle in her arms. If Harry looked close enough, he could see a shock of unruly black hair and could tell it was a baby. That was him! That was his mother holding him. He concentrated intently to tune out the sounds of the other’s voices so he could listen to only her. She was singing softly. His mother was singing him a lullaby.

The tune was hauntingly familiar and Harry felt a gigantic lump form in his throat. He’d often wondered if she’d ever done that. It was like a piece of something that had always been missing suddenly clicking into place. Without thinking what he was doing, Harry reached out a hand to try and touch her but his hand just pushed through nothing but air. As if she were a ghost.

He shut his eyes tightly and fought against the welling tide. Moony had noticed what he was doing and ended the spell so the vision returned to a mist and settled back into the Pensieve.

"Hey!" Ron said, obviously enjoying the scene he was watching with the Marauders. Mrs. Weasley scowled at him and Ron shut up after getting a look at Harry’s face.

"I think that’s enough for tonight. It’s late, why don’t we all head to bed," Moony said, stretching. "I need to check on something downstairs, then I’m going to turn in myself.

Moony followed Ron and Mrs. Weasley from the room but Ginny stayed behind with Harry, still rubbing her hand on his back.

"All right Harry?" she asked quietly.

Still not trusting his voice, he merely nodded as she pulled his head down to rest on her shoulder. "Thank you for sharing that with me. It was nice to see your parents so happy together."

Harry shut his eyes, his parents were happy in those memories. His mother seemed very much in love with his dad and there was nothing forced about the relationship he could see. His parents knew about the Prophecy, but they didn’t stop living. They went ahead with their lives and from what he could see, their time together was happy.

He sighed in relief and wrapped his arms around Ginny. It was amazing to him how just her presence could calm him. Earlier that day when he’d been talking with Moony, he’d considered giving Ginny up for her own protection. But he now realized that it was already too late for that. He had somehow come to need her as much as he needed Ron and Hermione. He was stronger and more focused with them than on his own. He’d just have to find a way to protect them all.

"Remus will be back up in a minute, we should head back to our own rooms," she said and the warmth of her breath on his neck sent shivers up his spine.

"Umm humm," Harry breathed, leaning over and catching her lips with his own. They each leaned back on the couch until they were sprawled out side by side. As he kissed her, he was startled when he felt her tongue dart out seeking entrance. This hadn’t happened during his only kiss with Cho, but Ginny seemed to know what she was doing. He opened his mouth hesitantly and was pleasantly overcome with the sensations washing over him. He’d never known kissing could be like this, no wonder Ron and Hermione wanted to do it all the time!

Ginny began to run her fingers through his hair and moaned slightly as Harry met her tongue with his own. He was lost in her now, the Pensieve, the memories, everything else forgotten. All that mattered was this slip of a girl in his arms and that she never stopped what she was doing at that moment.

The clearing of a throat brought both teenagers crashing back to earth with a start. Moony was standing over them with trying to suppress his grin. "I think it’s time the two of you said goodnight."

Both Harry and Ginny colored deeply and nearly bolted from the room. Harry could hear Moony chuckling as they went. They stopped outside the door to Ginny’s room and Harry leaned in again, spreading kisses down the side of her neck. "See you tomorrow Gin," he breathed.

"’Night Harry," she sighed, although neither moved from the spot they were standing.

"Good night Harry and Ginny," Mrs. Weasley’s sharp voice was heard, sending them both quickly into their own rooms for the night.