Part 4

She walked in the child’s room and motioned over to the cot, her eyes beaming with Love and affection for this small being that she now held up in her arms. The child gurgled with excitement as it looked into the face of its Mother. She held him close into her bosom and kissed him gently on the head while stoking his back with her delicate hand.

It was her, as real as any person could be. Harry just stood there unable to move, but what he really wanted to do was run up to her and take them both in his arms. The Mother he longed to know and the baby replicate of himself that he so badly wanted to protect.

“There you are!” came a deep voice, of a man, of James Potter. Harry looked up to see his Father, another tear fell upon his cheek, yet he still managed to smile. Everyone was right, he thought. It could be Harry in another five years; he looked so much like him.

“People are starting to arrive Lily, I’m pleased he finally woke up.” continued James with a grin, while putting an arm around his wife.

“Hey, come here tiger.” James then took Harry out of her arms and held him up, making the child squeal with pleasure; he then lowered the child down and kissed him on the cheek, while looking admiringly at Lily.

“I can’t believe our baby is one today, he is amazing, and as are you my darling!” he threw her a playful wink.” We should have more children Lily!”

Lily kissed her husband gently on his lips while staring into his loving eyes, she then focused her stare at her son who was cooing contentedly in James’ arms.

“We should talk to Albus, find out what he wants to do. That poor child.” replied Lily, while shaking her head.

“Yes, it doesn’t bare thinking about. But today is tiger’s Birthday and nothing is going to get in the way of it, not even Severus!” James sneered.

“James, I had to invite him after what he did. I don’t understand you and Sirius, you always gave him a hard time at school too.”

“Well he became a Deatheater Lily. That may have something to do with the not trusting prospect!”

Lily rolled her eyes. “Yes, I know, but he’s not all bad, he just got in with the wrong crowd. If you hadn’t have been so big-headed at school things may have been different!” she mocked.

“Hey, I wasn’t big-headed!” he replied, pretending to look hurt.

The baby in his arms started to wiggle and whine. “He wants his juice” said Lily.

“Ah, he’s your baby when he’s miserable!” replied James, smiling.

Sixteen year old Harry chuckled at his Dad’s mockery.

“He wants to get down!” said James. “Don’t you mate.” while giving Harry another kiss on the head.

James bent down and put baby Harry on the floor, who in turn started to waddle across the room. He picked up a small teddy, “Mick, Mick.” said the child to his parents while holding up his brown stuffed toy. “Yes, Well done Harry, that’s Mick.” replied James, while beaming at him.

He really loves that toy!” replied Lily.

“Yeah, well I daresay it’s probably one of the more appropriate things Sirius has bought for him since gaining his title as Godfather! He was telling me the other day that he is going to save that dreaded flying scrapheap for Harry for when he’s eighteen!” said a bemused James.

“He bloody isn’t!” stated Lily. “What did you tell him?”

“I told him, over my dead body!” replied James and they both laughed together, as baby Harry played on, hugging his small brown tattered teddy that had soggy wet ears from where the teething child kept sucking them.

Those last words of his Fathers struck Harry with a pang of sadness, he stood there, he wished they could see him, he wished above all he could talk to them, but he was pleased nonetheless of this witnessing encounter, but still, he cried, in-fact he sobbed. Because little did James know, that dead body statement of his was going to happen soon – way too soon!

There was a loud muffle of voices coming from downstairs. Harry followed his parents and his one year old self down the stairs. He was taking in as much detail of the house as possible. But his heart skipped another beat when he saw him, as plain as day looking extremely handsome. It was Sirius, standing there with a red cone shaped child’s Birthday hat stuck on his head.

“Hey James, Lily.” said Sirius with a nod while blowing a party whistle that shot out a long sparkling candle when blown, Lily laughed. “How’s the little man then?” asked Sirius.

“He’s alright, just woke up, so he’s a little grumpy and wants his juice, but we will get plenty of Birthday cake down him to keep him quiet for the rest of the afternoon.” replied James with a cheeky grin, while passing the baby over to Sirius who held him close, blowing a large raspberry on his chubby cheek, which in turn made baby Harry gurgle with excitement.

“No James! That would just make him throw up all over your nice new shirt!” said Lily, while playfully slapping James on the arm.

Harry was watching in awe, the amount of affection Sirius was showing the baby. Again it hurt Harry to know that he would never do that to a child of his own, as it was now obvious that Sirius would have made a fantastic Father.

“Hey, who said cake, I heard the word cake, is it chocolate cake?” came a small sweet voice from behind James.

“KARIS.” James said loudly and with much affection. He scooped her up in his arms and kissed her lightly on the cheek.

Harry couldn’t believe what he was seeing now, it was her, as a small child, but his body shuddered when he looked at her more closely. It wasn’t the Karis he expected to see. She was small, very small, and her face was marked with cuts and grazes. He felt anger rise up inside of him. How could this have happened? Why did she look so pale and so deathly thin?

“I like chocolate cake.” she repeated and James laughed. “Yes Karis, we know you do! So you um…. You don’t want any fruit then?” He said teasing her.

Karis screwed her nose up. “ugghhh, no I want chocolate cake!” she replied, her eyes glimmering a little.

“OK, let’s go and see what we have got for you.” James then took Karis towards the dining area where a buffet of food and drinks were prepared, along with streamers and big enchanted Birthday banners that flashed, Happy First Birthday Harry Potter.

Harry walked away from the crowd. He felt like he was holding up a mountain. As he looked around he saw people he recognised from pictures and he listened intently to mindless chatter, until he stumbled across one person he knew very well. Severus Snape.

Severus was sitting in a corner of the room keeping a very close eye on the small little girl, who looked in Harry’s opinion extremely mistreated. She was Karis Dumbledore, the Granddaughter of Albus, why on earth did she look this way? It tore Harry apart to watch her. But honest and true to his word, James gave her a paper plate with a large slab of chocolate sponge cake. She ran up to Severus who scooped her up in his arms and sat her on his lap. “I have cake.” she said excitedly while putting a large amount in her mouth, making her cheeks bulge, reminding Harry of a hamster. Severus just watched her, he looked sheepish and many people ignored the fact that he was even sitting there with the child.

Harry looked up and noticed his Mother crossing the room. Her long aubern hair gracing her feminine neck line, as her large emerald eyes searched the spot where Severus and Karis were residing.

“Hi Severus.” she said politely.

“I can’t stay long, Albus asked me to bring along Karis, he feels she needs normality as much as possible right now.” He replied rather abruptly.

“It’s alright, I’m pleased she is here, I cannot try and understand or comprehend what she has been through, she is so small for seven; she looks more like a five year old.” Lily was shaking her head as her eyes started to glass over.

“She is strong though.” replied Snape. “She amazes me with what she can do! I put that down to being a Dumbledore.”

“Strong enough to make a grown man see the error of his ways? Or strong enough to fight for her so far short-lived life?” Lily replied sternly.

Harry looked astounded at his Mother who spoke in such honesty. She reminded him of someone.

“Yes well, less said of that the better. I will be back in one hour to pick her up, until then, please look after her.”

“You won’t have to pick her up for much longer, I have just received an Owl from Albus. Due to his extra responsibilities at Hogwarts now with the continued gain of power from “You Know Who” and his calling for the Order of Merlin, he has asked us to become her legal guardians. As of next week, Karis will be our Daughter.”

Harry took in a huge gasp of air. This news seemed shocking and yet he didn’t seem to be that surprised. Karis had touched base on this already, and he now understood why she got emotional when he regarded her as a big sister, simply because, that was to be the case.

Severus turned his head away, Harry sensed this upset him immensely, but the black caped, hook-nosed man stood tall and swiftly left for the exit.

Lily then bent down and gave Karis a large warm embrace, and the child returned the gesture. With chocolate all over her mouth she kissed Lily on the cheek, leaving a brown smudge. Lily had one tear fall from her face as she pulled the child in tighter and kissed her lightly on the head, while stroking the little girl’s back with her delicate hand.

*

“Don’t give him anymore cake, Sirius!” snapped Lily as she brought Karis into the dining room with her.

Harry took in another deep breath when he glanced at the table to find a one year old Neville Longbottom and a small ginger haired boy, who he knew as his best friend, Ron Weasley, sitting there with cake also over their small faces.

Harry laughed. He couldn’t believe how cute Ron was at one and couldn’t wait to mock him about it when he woke up from this relived memory.

Baby Harry was in his high chair, with chocolate all over his face, while he squashed the rest of the sticky wedge in his small hand, making it squeeze out from between his fingers while holding a mischievous grin on his face, which in turn made Sirius laugh uncontrollably at the mess that this one small child could so freely muster.

Harry noticed that Remus Lupin was sitting at the far end of the long table, looking younger than normal but still tired. Poor Remus. thought Harry, he always had the Werewolf side of things to contend with, and yet he never complained about it to anyone.

Peter Pettigrew was also in the room. Harry snarled at the man and wished he could go up to him and belt him about the head with something large and heavy, but it wasn’t to be, he knew what Karis had meant about witnessing this, it was purely and simply for the fact that he wanted to see his parents again; how they used to be.

Floating candles were administered in the air while everyone in the house sang Happy Birthday. Harry watched on, witnessing an old memory that was now the most happiest of his life.

As Harry, James and Lily blew out the candles together, and he watched a frail Karis applause with the rest of the crowd with a beaming smile on her face. He could have kissed the 22 year old Karis for giving him the present of a lifetime.

Harry whispered out his thoughts, ‘Being here in Godric’s Hollow, looking on as if nothing had ever happened. Knowing now that having the Order together and the children together, was like this was always meant to be.’

Was it fate that Ron, Neville and Harry were to be friends? Was it fate that Karis would play such an important role in his life and not as his partner but as family - as a protective big sister?

Sadly, Harry then realised, it was an unlucky twist of fate, that throughout all of this, his parents had to die for Harry to live, in order to thwart the darkest, evil wizard of all time – Lord Voldemort!