Search:

SIYE Time:18:30 on 28th March 2024
SIYE Login: no


Beside You In Time
By LunatikPandora

- Text Size +

Category: Alternate Universe
Characters:All, All
Genres: Action/Adventure, Angst, Comedy, Drama, General, Humor, Romance, Tragedy
Warnings: Death, Disturbing Imagery, Mild Language, Mild Sexual Situations, Violence
Rating: R
Reviews: 31
Summary: In a desperate bid to save his loved ones, Harry Potter and his wife Ginny go back in time; and maybe with Sirius' help, they can give Harry the kind of upbringing he should have had...
Hitcount: Story Total: 15025; Chapter Total: 2387





Author's Notes:
Sorry for the long wait, all. I've had this bit written up for a while, and I wanted to get a bit more written out, but between writer's block/moving/wedding planning, I've been up to my eyeballs in RL. :(

Hope you enjoy the little snippet I was able to post, though... sorry it's so short. :(





ChapterPrinter
StoryPrinter


"They know something." His wife's voice came out slightly muffled, as she whispered into the crook of his neck. He sighed, running his hands through the strawberry curls it had taken him an eternity to become accustomed to. He still missed her natural look, even as he had come to appreciate her as Rosie.

"You think they've sussed us out?" She looked up at him, and he wondered if she still found it as disconcerting to see her eyes on his face as he did seeing his own on hers.

"If the way the two of them have been skulking around for the past few weeks has been any indication... then yes, I do." She rolled over so she was leaning over him, her hair tickling his face. "Harry, I think we need to talk to them. You know they'll tell him."

He grimaced. She was right; at nine and ten years old, their collective sense of justice was already frighteningly acute. Even little Lily, at seven, would get her back up about this, even though he was almost positive she didn't know. A fact which would probably make her even more upset, once she found out.

They were Potters, through and through.

"We'll need to get this done before Harry comes back for the winter hols."

"Tomorrow." Her tone brooked no argument; he stared at her, sure that his expression was showing as much trepidation as he was feeling.

"Tomorrow it is, then."

They sent a patronus down the hall to Sirius' room, letting him know what was happening. They didn't have to wait long for the reply:

"I'll cook."

------------------------------ ---------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------- -

"And that's another win for me," James declared gleefully, pulling the pile of Chocolate Frog Cards towards himself. Albus wiped furiously at the goo that was, for the fifth time that afternoon, covering his face.

"Can't we play Chess or something?" he lamented, glaring down at his stained clothes. "I'm tired of playing Gobstones."

"Only cos you're pants at it. Besides, if I let you near a chessboard, you'll take all your cards back with interest."

"Well, can we at least play Exploding Snap? I'll even go for muggle card games at this point, just no more ruddy Gobstones." He picked at his shirt, an expression of distaste on his face. "I'm not sure even Mum will be able to get these stains out..."

"Quit sucking then." A delicious smell drifted into the room, catching their attention and effectively ending their argument. Lily bounced through the door happily, sporting a cheshire cat grin with yet another missing tooth.

"Supper's ready!" She wrinkled her nose at Albus. "Ew, Al. You should change your clothes. They're all dirty."

"Funny, I hadn't noticed," he deadpanned. She stuck her tongue out at him and ran off, calling him something that sounded like "yucky stink-face." James sighed dramatically, handing his brother a fresh set of clothes with an exaggerated eyeroll.

"Women."

"Not women. Just stupid sisters."

After a few moments delay, the two boys found themselves practically charging towards the kitchen... until they saw who was at the stove.

"What's Sirius doing cooking?" Albus whispered, feeling an incredible sense of forboding.

"Dunno," James replied, his eyes narrowing suspisciously. "But I don't like it." They stepped into the kitchen slowly, readying themselves for the usual sort of chaos that accompanied their Uncle's culinary pursuits. Much to their surprise (and added unease) nothing seemed out of place. No one was sick, no one was screaming, and nothing was on fire... yet. Their mother was setting the table in the next room with Lily, and their father, by the looks of it, was having a smoke out back.

"I didn't know he smoked..." Albus mumbled, obviously confused. James, however, could remember-- very faintly-- seeing his father smoke before.

"I think he used to, back when we were really little. He probably quit..."

"Then why's he smoking now?" At this, Sirius let out a mirthless chuckle.

"His nerves are getting the best of him, I expect." James' head whipped around towards his uncle, who still had his back to them, calmly stirring the soup.

"You'll find out at dinner," he added cryptically.

The brothers shared an apprehensive look; neither was really sure what this had to do with, but both were sure it wasn't going to be pleasant.

--------------------------- ---------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------- ----

Dinner was a relatively awkward affair. James tried to ignore the way his fathers hands were shaking slightly, or the way his mother kept worrying at the edge of her napkin, to the point where she had loosened the stiching on the hem without even realizing. Or that every time he met their gaze, he saw this unfamiliar heaviness behind it that unnerved him.

Eventually, he had stopped, and simply acted throughout the latter half of the meal like the tablecloth was the most interesting thing he had ever encountered.

Lily, if she had noticed anything off at all, was seemingly unaffected, chattering happily at everyone about every little thing that had happened to her that day.

Albus, however, was closely monitoring everyone at the table. No movement, however small, escaped his notice. The sheer amount of parental fidgeting was astounding him; it was like they couldn't stop moving if their lives depended on it, they were so nervous. To see them in such a state was unsettling. Both his parents had a powerful mastery over their own emotions, so to see them this agitated meant that they were sitting on something very big. Then it occurred to him.

They knew.

Almost the second he thought that, his father set his fork and knife down and took a deep steadying breath.

"So."

At that single spoken word, an oppressive silence fell on them with all the delicacy of an axe. Albus could feel his heart hammering in his chest. Were they in trouble? Damn James all to hell for coming to him with this, if they were.

"How much have you lot managed to figure out, exactly?" He met his father's gaze, which was unusually intense, before looking over to James, who had gone rather pale.

"James?" His mother cut in, clearly recognizing the meaning behind Al's unintentional deference.

"I... overheard you talking. In the study." Her eyes narrowed.

"How long ago?"

"Erm... a few months ago? It was... it was when you got Harry's first letter from school, and... Merlin, Mum, what's going on?" She didn't answer at first, nor did their father, who seemed to be processing the information.

"We were a bit careless, it seems." Sirius stated flatly; the look he leveled at his brother spoke volumes. Reg glared back at him.

"Well spotted." Sirius simply shrugged in response, leaning back in his chair.

"I just call em like I see em, mate." Reg sat back a little, and looked over at Rosie.

"I'm guessing I'm starting?" She nodded. "Alright. James, Albus, Lily... I want you three to listen very closely, because this is very important."

All three of them nodded, sitting a little straighter in their seats and watching their father with rapt attention.

"Nothing your mother and I are about to tell you is to be repeated. And I'm not saying this to be unfair, I'm saying this because it is literally a life or death matter." They all paled a bit, exchanging worried glances. "I'm going to ask you three to take a Vow of Silence on this--"

"Is that like the Unbreakable Vow?" James interrupted, his eyes wide and fearful. Reg's expression hardened.

"I would never, under any circumstances, ask something like that of you." He straightened in his seat, relaxing slightly as he prepared to explain. "The Vow of Silence is similar, in that it prevents you from repeating what we discuss tonight, but you only suffer a tongue-tying curse if you try to speak of it, and a very subtle yet potent Confundus charm will activate if you try to write it out. The information will also be protected by magic inside your minds, so that it can't be extracted by any means without a password. The sole exception to this is if Harry broaches the topic himself."

"So it's not harmful to us in any way?" Albus asked in a small yet serious voice. His father shook his head emphatically.

"Not even remotely." Albus didn't seem fully convinced.

"But should Lily really be here for this?" This earned him a glare from the young girl.

"I'm big enough to hear it, Albie." Before her brother could argue back, their father held up a quieting hand.

"Albus... I feel the same as you do, but I can't in good conscience leave her out of this discussion. I know," he raised his voice slightly as his son made to interrupt, "that she's only seven, but you aren't that much older than her, and frankly, were it up to me, I'd have waited a few years to have this conversation at all. Unfortunately, things have been taken out of my hands a bit." He let his eyes linger on his eldest, who squirmed uncomfortably under the scrutiny. Al looked over at his sister, who was glaring up at him with defiance etched in her every feature. He sighed, recognizing defeat when he saw it.

"Fine. What do we need to do?"

"Just put your left hand out." All three children obeyed. Rosie pulled out an old scarf; it was silver and blue, with some strange dark stains on it. She wrapped it around her childrens outstretched hands; she and Reggie both cut their palms and placed them on top of the knot, lacing their fingers together as they did so. Sirius took out his wand and placed the tip over their entertwined hands.

"Verum intra hoc sigillum et custodiam animae."**

There was a golden glow, and the faintest whispers could be heard echoing through the room, lasting only for a moment before the glow faded away.

"It's done," Sirius said heavily.

"Right then," Reg said, sounding oddly choked up as Rosie unwrapped their hands, and casting the scarf a wistful look. "Where to start?"

----------------------------- ---------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------- -
** ((Translates loosely to "Seal and protect the truth within this soul"))
Reviews 31
ChapterPrinter
StoryPrinter




../back
‘! Go To Top ‘!

Sink Into Your Eyes is hosted by Grey Media Internet Services. HARRY POTTER, characters, names and related characters are trademarks of Warner Bros. TM & © 2001-2006. Harry Potter Publishing Rights © J.K.R. Note the opinions on this site are those made by the owners. All stories(fanfiction) are owned by the author and are subject to copyright law under transformative use. Authors on this site take no compensation for their works. This site © 2003-2006 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Special thanks to: Aredhel, Kaz, Michelle, and Jeco for all the hard work on SIYE 1.0 and to Marta for the wonderful artwork.
Featured Artwork © 2003-2006 by Yethro.
Design and code © 2006 by SteveD3(AdminQ)
Additional coding © 2008 by melkior and Bear