"Okay Harry, welcome to Hogwarts, this is where you'll be staying for a while and where you will go when you reach 11. It's the best magic-" James started explaining, looking at Harry rather than around him as he walked to the Gryffindor common room, knowing the way like the back of his hand. When he got to the word 'magic' though, Harry quickly pressed his hands over James' mouth, looking panicked.

"That's a bad word! You can't say that!" Harry whispered at James, looking scared with wide eyes as he looked over his shoulders to see if there was anyone around. James gently took Harry's hands off his mouth with the hand that wasn't busy holding Harry.

"Hey, Harry, it's fine. Magic isn't a bad word, it's something amazing that everyone here can use. Nobody will tell you off for talking about magic from now on." James said with a small smile, holding onto Harry's hands so his mouth wasn't going to be covered again before he could finish.

"I don't think I can use magic." Harry mumbled, looking upset, making James remove his hand from Harry's and ruffle Harry's hair.

"What are you talking about? You came here with magic. You're from the future, Harry. I don't have any children and I haven't gotten with your mother yet, but I am still your father and I will love you and care for you forever. And for you to be able to do this, then you have incredible magic." James said, moving Harry so they were looking into each other's eyes directly.

Harry looked surprised, but didn't argue with James and got a small smile on his face, when James brought Harry back closer to his body, Harry snuggled closer into James' arms, resting his head on James' chest.

"You feeling okay bub?" James asked, smiling softly as he tilted his head to try to see Harry's face, who only nodded in response. "We're going to Gryffindor tower, where I and a lot of other people stay, so you can meet everyone, if you feel uncomfortable, just let me know, okay?"

"Thank you." Harry said with a small squeak in his voice as he buried his face in James' chest. He didn't think this was a dream anymore, it was too detailed and felt too real, and that made him both happy and scared. He had hardly been here and he already experienced more love than he had in years.

"Of course, and just so you know, you're allowed and encouraged to ask questions whenever you want. I know it'll take a while to relearn, but I'm here with you." James said, already planning to buy a new twin mirror he could share with Harry for when the two of them needed to be separate.

As they got closer to the Gryffindor common room they walked through more people, all of whom would stop what they were doing to look at James and Harry, only to start whispering to one another, making Harry feel more scared and insecure.

He was well used to being the centre of attention, and for that to be accompanied by silence, stares, or whispers. All of them were malicious. Whispers about his clothes, whispers that were spreading rumours about him, whispers that were loud enough for him to hear all about insults for him. Harry hated being in the centre of attention, and it scared him that he was still the centre of whispers.

"It's okay Harry, they're talking about me more than you, and it's because I'm fabulous." James said with a small smile, seeming like he knew what was going through Harry's mind.

Harry just clutched James' top more tightly as James said the password and the portrait hole opened up and James walked through.

"Hey everyone, my kid is better so you can all say hi to Harry. Please be gentle though, he doesn't like being the centre of attention too much." James announced to the people in the common room, putting Harry down on one of the best arm chairs by the fire. "Harry, these people are all nice, but if you wanna leave just let me know, alright?"

"Prongs, since when did you act like a responsible parent?" Sirius asked, throwing himself onto James and messing up James' hair roughly before turning to Harry. "Sup Prongslet, nice to meet you. I'm Padfoot, your dad's best friend and honorary brother."

"I'm Harry." He said quietly, looking at his fingers as he fiddled with the hem of Dudley's old, tattered top that was too worn for Dudley to be able to wear anymore.

"How does someone like that have such s sweet kid?" Harry heard a whisper from behind him, he didn't like the insulting tone they had while talking about James, it sounded like they didn't think Harry was a nuisance.

"Oh right, Sirius, can you watch Harry for a sec?" James asked after looking over Harry's head at the person who had whispered.

"Sure thing Prongs, you can trust me." Sirius said with a mischevious smile that reminded Harry of Dudley when he and his gang were planning something.

-----

"Lily, can we have a word?" James asked, grabbing her sleeve as she started to leave. "In private?"

"Potter, I swear to god if you're going to ask me out again I'm going to hex you." Lily said, fixing him with a glare, Dorcas and Marlene also looking at him annoyed as they were stopped from leaving.

"I swear it's not, I just need to talk to you in private." James said, raising his hands, his wand in his back pocket.

"Fine, just don't take too long." Lily said, rolling her eyes and turning to apologise to the other two.

James and Lily climbed the stairs to the Marauders' dorm room with a few other boys, but as everyone was either meeting Harry or somewhere around Hogwarts, it was empty except the two of them. Lily was careful to position herself by the door, which James noticed, but pretended not to.

"What is this about?" Lily asked, crossing her arms with her weight on only one foot.

"It's about Harry. As I said, he's from the future which means he doesn't exist yet in this time. I understand that you don't like me in the way that I like you, at least not yet, and I have no intention to force you into anything, but I think you have a right to know that you are Harry's mother. Only Mme Pomfrey, I, and now you know it's you, so don't worry about anyone else knowing, it's your choice. I also don't expect you to take the role of mother if you don't want to, I'm more than happy to take full responsibility for him. I just thought you had the right to know." James said, honestly he had no plan of what to say, all he knew was that she should know her relation to Harry and that she didn't need to worry too much about it.

"If you don't want me to do anything about it, why did you tell me?" Lily said, taking a step closer to the door and away from James, her gaze suspicious.

"I just thought you had the right to know, and the choice to be in his life that way or not. I know you think I'm an asshole, and I know I have been a major one, but I'm not that bad. Harry is a sweet kid, you deserve the choice to be in his life, and the further choice to be his mother." James said, taking a step back himself, hoping that he wasn't seeming intimidating.

"I'm not going to be his mother, at least not yet." Lily said, opening the door and walking out with a flick of her hair. James hoped that was a good sign.

"That's fine." James said, not that Lily was in the room anymore.

He left shortly after, rushing to go get Harry again. He could only hope Harry was feeling alright even though it must be a stressful situation.

James sped down the stairs, taking two steps at a time to try to be faster so he could get to Harry. As he got closer, still a few steps away from the common room but not able to see it yet, he heard a loud commotion, Lily's voice also audible over the other voices and laughter that sounded a lot like Sirius'.

"Sirius! Put the child down!" James heard both Lily and Remus said, their voices overlapping, making James take the final steps as a jump he landed poorly, seeing Sirius holding Harry like he was going to throw him, Remus standing close by with his arms outstretched towards Harry and Lily unable to reach Harry due to being separated by a group of people from Sirius. Some other people were laughing, some looked worried, but Harry looked utterly terrified.

"Sirius!" James' voice boomed over the people in the room at a volume that surprised even him. "Put Harry down now!"

"C'mon, I was just joking." Sirius said, pouting a little as he gently put Harry down on the floor, where Harry stood still as a statue, looking like he wasn't even breathing properly.

The crowd parted as James rushed towards Harry, his reputation and popularity helping James due to most people liking him enough to not get in his way when in a rush, and Harry seemed to have already stolen some hearts.

"Hey, Harry, are you okay?" James said gently, picking Harry up and holding him close, turning around immediately and walking back up to the dorm, knowing that Remus would be capable of handling Sirius.

Harry didn't say anything, but he grabbed James' shirt tighter, hiding his face. James could feel Harry shaking slightly through his thin, damaged top that danged down too far, making James upset. Of course he knew how much of a joker Sirius was, how could he not? But this was far from funny.

Then again, James had to admit that some kids would have found it funny, and maybe Harry would have too if he hadn't been mistreated, and Sirius didn't know Harry had been mistreated yet.

"Hey Harry, I'm really sorry about Padfoot, I know that scared you, but he means well. I think he was trying to make you laugh, but I promise it won't happen again, he won't carry you again, okay?" James said into Harry's hair, which wasn't dirty, but was rather greasy and tangled, but James could tell it was like his in texture.

"Okay." Harry mumbled into James' chest.

"Now, why don't we give you a wash and some new clothes?" James suggested, smiling as he put Harry down on his bed.

Harry blinked up at James, confused. He hadn't done gardenwork today, so he wasn't filthy, and it wasn't his wash day. Dudley also wasn't here so Harry didn't know where he was getting clothes from.