Marauders in Time

14 Years Later

1 September 1995

"Padfoot! Are you barking mad!" Moody growled. "You'll blow the entire operation!"

The black dog barked loudly in response, tailing the rest of the group. Harry Potter, now 15 years-old, looked behind as he pushed his trolley forward. He grinned broadly at the dog, who barked again, this time out of affection.

"God dammit Padfoot!" Tonks hissed in annoyance. 

The entire group reached the end of the bridge and started to head towards the middle of the platform, where they were about to get onto the desired platform. But before Harry could follow his compatriots, the dog crawled across his path and into a separate room. Harry saw, through the shadows of the tainted glass, the figure of the dog transform into a man. Harry left his cart and entered the room.

"Sirius! What are you doing? If someone sees you-"

"I had to see you off didn't I?"

The dog was in fact Sirius Black, a 35 year-old man wearing a black, furry coat that covered his body from neck down to his knees. He sat down on a seat and pulled out a small piece of paper from one of his coat's pockets. Harry turned around to see Moody and Tonks standing in front of the doorway, appearing to stand guard. His cart containing his luggage and his beautiful owl, Hedwig, was pushed to the side next to Moody. Harry turned back around to sit next to Sirius.

"What's life without a little risk?" he asked softly.

Harry knew this was rhetorical but he answered anyway, "I just don't want to see you get caught."

"Don't worry about me," he replied calmly. "Now I wanted to give you this."

He held out the tiny piece of paper, which turned out to be a laminated black-and-white photograph. There were about 30 people in the photo, all adults and facing the camera. If there was one thing he noticed about the photo, its that everyone seems to have a look of courage in their smiles. Harry could instantly tell what is was before Sirius said it.

"The original Order of the Phoenix," he muttered, with a hint of pride in his voice. "Dumbledore started it when we first fought Voldemort."

He started to point people out in the pictures, "There's Marlene McKinnon. Killed two weeks after this was taken. Voldemort wiped out her entire family... There is Dedalus Diggle on the side... There is Sturgis Podmore..."

Harry admired all the people in the photo as Sirius listed them off one by one.

"There is Frank and Alice Longbottom," Sirius sighed. "They suffered a fate worse than death."

Harry knew what he was talking about, though he promised Dumbledore he would speak nothing of it to anyone. Sirius didn't notice him jerk slightly in his seat as he continued.

"There is Fabian and his brother Gideon Prewett. It took 5 Death Eaters to kill them. There is Dumbledore next to his brother Aberforth...and Hagrid of course."

Harry recognised the half-giant at the back corner of the photo. His black beard running down to his chest and his large figure made the people in front of him cower a little in his presence. Albus Dumbledore, the Headmaster, stood next to him in his silver robes and shiny hat while his brother, Aberforth, looked rather grumpy next to him and seemed to slouch a little in the frame.

"There is Remus with the same old scars on his face," Sirius drawled on. "There is me. Oh wow I didn't know I looked like that with my hair... Anyway, that's what I really wanted to show you."

He pointed at two figures in the middle of the photo. He recognized the female being his mother, seeing as he shared the same eyes as her. His father, standing to her right, had the same round glasses and untidy hair. Staring at the photo made him feel both happy and nauseous at the same time.

"Why did you show me this?" Harry asked.

Sirius finally looked up from the frame and at his godson, "I showed you this because I want you to know that there are people behind you Harry. I know its a difficult period and it seems like the Dark Side is getting stronger every day. So I showed you this to tell you that there will always be people who are willing to fight for what is good."

Harry took that in, unable to come up with a sufficient response. After a few moments of silence, he looked at Sirius again and asked, "Do you think there is going to be a war Sirius?"

Sirius looked away from Harry and onto the floor, "It feels like it may, like it did before."

Although neither would admit it, they were both feeling the same way and thinking the same thing: Whatever happened, they could not lose the other. Sirius sighed again and tapped the photo with his finger before pushing it into Harry's lap.

"You keep it," he said.

Harry took the photo and gave his mother and father one last look before stowing it in his jean pocket. There was a knock on the door and Moody motioned for them to hurry up. Harry quickly got up and Sirius followed. Before Harry could turn and leave, Sirius grabbed him by the shoulder to stop him.

"When all this is over," he smiled. "We will be a proper family."

Harry smiled as well and moved to hug him, unsure of when would be the next time he could see him. There was another knock on the door and Harry broke away, turning towards the door without looking back. And as Harry left, Sirius watched the back of him disappear and for a small moment, he saw James and grinned.

Once Harry had boarded the train to Hogwarts, he went to find an empty carriage seeing as Ron and Hermione had left for prefect duty. Once he found one at the back of the train, he entered and sat next to the window. The only time he ever looked away from the window was to acknowledge Ginny and Neville who entered to join him, and eventually, Ron and Hermione.

"Harry," Hermione asked with uncertainty. "You okay?"

Harry turned away from the window and sighed deeply, "I wish there was a way..."

He paused, not knowing how to form the right words. He stared at the ground, knowing the rest were watching him. 

"I wish," he repeated. "There was a way we could talk to them."

Harry looked up and Hermione looked into his eyes, understanding that by 'them', he meant his parents. She didn't press on the matter. No one else did. Harry knew it was impossible, although he remained hopeful that one day, just on the off-chance, he would be able to see his mother and father properly.