Remus was surprised when Harry ran out. He wasn't surprised that Hermione, followed by Ron, jumped up and ran after him. A part of Remus told himself that he should be chasing after them, too, but that part was silenced by a bigger part telling him that they could always apparate back here or to Grimmauld's place if they got lost and that he had bigger things to worry about.

Okay, so what do you do when your friends that died 16 years ago suddenly come back to life?

Remus rubbed his chin a bit, looking at their tied up figures... tied up! He should probably untie them! Remus grabbed his wand and pointed it at James.

"Emancipare!" The ropes that bounded James unravelled and disappeared. Immediately, the young man started to tilt forward, leaving Remus scrambling to catch him before he hit the ground. With his wand, Remus levitated his body to the couch that Harry and his friends had deserted.

Remus looked at James, his heart thundering in his chest. His old friend, thought gone forever and one of the few that didn't care about his condition, that helped made his transformations easier... He was suppose to be dead yet here he was, alive somehow...

Suddenly, Remus understood why Harry had ran.

Looking at James' youthful face, Remus felt overwhelmed. All the questions and all the possibilities of how this came to be slammed against his skull like boulders in an avalanche, each one fighting to get to the forefront of his mind and be voiced first. And yet, despite the engulfing headache of it all, he was happy. Remus was truly, truly happy in a way he thought he would never be again. It was exhilarating, it was stimulating, it was... it was...

Absolutely and totally overwhelming.

Remus squeezed his eyes shut and huffed out a breath, gently massaging his temples. He felt like sitting down or, even better, taking a nap. Instead, he turned to Lily and focused on untying her. Luckily, Lily didn't try to kiss the ground as soon as the ropes disappeared.

With that task done, Remus was once again left without any ideas of what to do next. So, he levitated Lily to a more comfortable chair, got blankets for the both of them, and went to take that much needed nap.

~•~

Over at Grimmauld's Place, Harry was also making himself comfortable on a bed. The teenager stretched out on what used to be Sirius' bed, his eyes stuck on the picture hanging on his godfather's wall.

The Marauders looked so happy, playfully shoving each other away while their arms wrapped around each other kept them together. From left to right there was Remus then James, Sirius then Peter. It was weird to see Sirius with his arm around Peter knowing that years after the photo was taken, Sirius would attempt to kill Peter and Peter would ruin Sirius' life.

Harry focused in on the young Remus and James. Harry had never seen Remus look as happy as he was in that photo but today he came pretty close: Remus had practically glowed when Lily got that last question correct (whatever that question was). And his dad... well, Harry would have a lot of opportunities to see his father smile like that, wouldn't he? Because somehow his father was back from the dead...

Harry rolled over and burrowed his head in a pillow, groaning loudly. His parents were alive! There were so many orphans that would love to be able to say that sentence truthfully. Yet, here he was groaning about it! For once in his life, Harry was lucky! He was in a situation others would die to be in (the parents thing not the Voldemort thing) and yet he wasn't happy about it all.

Why wasn't he happy about it?

"I'm the worst son ever!" Harry yelled into the pillow.

"No, you're not!" Hermione stated firmly and even though Harry recognized her voice, he still spun to face her quickly with his wand clamped firmly in his hand. He just barely managed to stop himself from pointing it at her.

"I thought I locked the door," was all Harry said in response. Hermione waved her wand in a look-what-I-got type of way before sitting at the end of the bed.

"Now, don't change the subject. Harry, you are not a bad son!"

"Then why can't I be happy? It's not like I want them dead but I'm not happy that they're alive! What's wrong with me?" Harry pulled his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them, bowing his head. His eyes burned and his vision blurred: Harry felt like rubbish. No, he was rubbish.

"Harry..." Hermione scooted closed to the curled up boy and slung an arm around his shoulders. "This is a new situation no one has ever been in before. No one knows how to feel and no one should expect you to feel any certain type of way."

"I can expect myself to feel a certain type of way and I expect myself to feel happy! Why am I not happy?" Hermione gave a frustrated sigh — frustrated, but not impatient. It was the type of sigh she gave when he or Ron didn't understand something she thought was obvious, something she was determined to get through their heads.

"Harry, listen. You said it yourself: there's a lot going on right now and this is just a another thing to handle. And you're probably in shock which it totally understandably. So here is what you're going to do: you're going to lay here and get some rest, okay? And when you wake up everything's going to be clearer and you're going to be able to think everything through and process the situation. Then, and only then, will I allow you to harshly judge yourself based on how you feel."

Harry's mouth open and closed repeatedly but no words came out. He wasn't tired, he didn't want to rest, and he certainly wasn't in shock! He was perfectly capable of processing the situation right now: his parents were alive and he wasn't happy about it. There: situation processed! But looking at Hermione, Harry knew she wouldn't let him do anything other than what she said.

"Fine," Harry grumbled. He rolled onto his side and slid his wand underneath his pillow, still holding it tightly as he closed his eyes. He felt Hermione pull the covers around him and her footsteps as she went to turn off the lights. Then the door closed and Harry was left alone to force sleep to come.

~•~

Harry didn't remember going to sleep. He remembered being bored as he laid there in the dark, he remembered his breathing deepening, and he remembered slowly becoming tired out of sheer boredom. But then there was a blank in his memory and suddenly he found himself not lying in bed but sitting on the hard ground.

Harry opened his eyes and looked around. He was in one of Hogwarts' abandoned classrooms, desks and chairs piled against the walls and an upturned wastepaper basket in the corner. Then he saw it: a familiar mirror with an ornate gold frame that reached the ceiling leaning against the wall across from him.

The Mirror of Erised.

Harry stood up and walked in front of the magical mirror. His family from both sides happily stared back at him, his parents closest to his 11 year old body. He placed his hand against the glass of the mirror and it rippled, his hand falling through it like water.

On the other side of the mirror, his parents smiled even wider and his mum grabbed his hand, lacing their fingers together before she gently pulled him through the rippling surface. Harry didn't say anything, didn't feel anything. This was how it was suppose to be...

Harry's lips stretched into a smile of their own volition, a smile that matched the one worn by every single family member. A sudden surge of happiness filled him and he lunged forward, wanting nothing more than to hug his parents...

But as he reached for them they turned to smoke, slipping out of his grasp and leaving him on the hard floor. Coughing, Harry picked himself up, his lungs filled with dirt. The wind howled like a werewolf on the night of the full moon, rushing through his hair and nearly knocking him off his feet. Trees rose up on all sides of him and moonlight shown from between their leaves and branches

He was 13 and he was in the Forbidden Forest.

"Hullo, Harry." Harry turned around to see Professor Lupin standing there, glowing. He was actually glowing, a golden aura wrapped around him like a second skin. He wore the same big smile that Harry's family wore in the Mirror and it was kind of creepy.

"Hullo, Professor. Is everything alright?" Harry asked. Remus placed a hand on his shoulder and nodded.

"Yes, it's a beautiful night." They stood there in silence until Harry noticed a growing discomfort in his shoulder.

"Professor, you're nails are digging into my shoulder," he grunted. Remus just nodded again. Soon, Harry was clawing at Remus' arm, trying to get him to let go but he wouldn't. Blood was seeping down his arm as Remus' nails broke skin. That's when he noticed that Remus didn't have nails. He had claws.

Harry screamed as the claws slinked further into his flesh and the wind blew harder. Leaves whipped around and the trees bent to the force of the wind, only their roots keeping them from blowing away. Then everything stopped and the pain went away. Remus was standing a foot a way, still glowing, still smiling.

"You should get back to the castle, Harry," Remus said quietly. Before Harry could question him Remus began to transform, the full moon practically throbbing in the sky. Harry watched in horrid fascination as fur sprouted on his professor's body and his ears sharpened. It wasn't until a loud howl filled the ear that Harry started to run.

It felt like he was running forever. His heart pounded and his blood boiled. Every part of the Forbidden Forest looked the same and Harry didn't know where he was. Worst of all, Harry could hear the werewolf close by but couldn't pinpoint where he was.

Harry stopped, leaning against a tree to catch his breath. He was going to die...

Then the werewolf came crashing through the trees, growling loudly. Harry screamed and fell the ground, curled up with his hand protecting his head. But the werewolf wasn't after him — no, he was after the three figures behind him.

Harry watched as the werewolf bounded for the doe and stag that peacefully grazed, their heads close together. However, it wasn't the deers that filled Harry with horror; it was the fact that Hermione stood between them, a book in hand and seemingly unaware of the approaching danger.

"Hermione!" Harry screamed but she didn't even look at him. Harry tried to get up but he couldn't, a root had twisted itself around his ankle and was working its way up his body, pining him to the ground. "Hermione, run!" Harry clawed at the ground. He had to get to her...

Harry spluttered as a cold liquid washed over him. The root unwrapped itself and suddenly he was floating in the Black Lake during the Triwizard Tournament.

The hostages floated in front of him but there were only three of them and they were all for him: James, Lily, and Hermione. Harry didn't question this and instead swam towards them. He was almost there... almost there...

Then an alarm blared and mermaids were taking them away. Harry was too slow, too late, not good enough... the competition was over and he'll never see them again!

"No!" Harry yelled. Water surged into his mouth, filling his throat and lungs. Somewhere in the back of his mind was the idea that he should be able to breathe underwater but it was washed away by the panic of drowning. Harry grasped his throat, desperate for air and desperate to see his parents and friend again but he knew he would get neither. He had failed the task, hadn't saved them, and death would be his punishment.

The alarm sounded again as black spots danced in Harry's vision. He felt dizzy and tired. The alarm went off again, louder this time. It kept ringing, mocking Harry, announcing that it was all over. It went off again and again and again and again...

~•~

Harry sat up so fast, he nearly fell off the bed. Cold sweat clung to him like a second skin and he couldn't breathe. He could still feel the water of the Black Lake in his chest, Remus' claws digging into his shoulder, and the rippling surface of the Mirror of Erised beneath his palm. It all seemed so real but it wasn't. He never left the bed.

It was just a nightmare.

Despite this knowledge, Harry's heart still thundered. His hands still shook as he shut off the alarm clock that woke him - when did he set an alarm? - and his legs felt weak as he untangled himself from the smothering blanket wrapped around his limbs.

Taking a few deep breathes, Harry hugged his knees to his chest. Using one hand to straighten his glasses, Harry stared out the window. The sun was just rising, filling the room with soft light as the beginning of bird songs graced his ears. It was so peaceful but Harry was anything but at peace. After steadying himself, Harry jumped to his feet, stretched out the kinks in his back, and went to search for Hermione.

"Good Morning, Harry," Hermione said the second Harry stepped into the library. Harry didn't question how she knew it was him without lifting her eyes from the book in front of her. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah," he lied. Hermione turned to face him, her brown eyes roaming his body before she gave a disbelieving snort. Luckily, she didn't interrogate him about it.

"And how are you feeling?"

"I-" His breath caught and for a second no words came out. Then he licked his lips and rubbed the back of his neck, thinking of the nightmares that had plagued his sleep. "I want to go see my... parents today."

"That's great, Harry! We'll go after breakfast." Harry nodded and went to sit next to his friend. He kept seeing her in the Forbidden Forest, nose buried in a book and petting the doe and stag, blissfully ignorant of the approaching danger. Without noticing, Harry placed his hand on top of hers. Hermione looked at him but her questioning look quickly melted into a comforting smile when she saw his face.

"So, I've been up all night doing research—"

"Of course you was." There was a moment of silence before Hermione rolled her eyes and continued, explaining what she was looking for and the little that she found. As Harry listened, he found himself relaxing. This right here - listening to Hermione explain something he could barely hope to understand - was such a familiar situation that he found himself feeling the peace his nightmares had robbed him of.

Harry smiled and slowly fell into a more restful and dreamless sleep.

A/N: I am so so so sorry for the delay. When my mom's health went south I was halfway through this chapter. A bit after she died I finished the chapter but I wasn't ready to move on with the story or post the chapter so I didn't. A while ago I decided I was ready but by then I had lost my iPad charger and my phone was disconnected: I had absolutely no way to access my pages document so I couldn't reach this chapter to post it. got a replacement charger (and my old one decided to pop up as soon as I brought a new one) so here's the chapter y'all should've had months ago. Don't worry: the next one is well underway.

Thank you for being patient with me :)