Wow! Thanks to all those who reviewed or added me in their favorites! Someone asked why Ron and Hermione died before Harry. Two reasons: 1. Harry did the most, saved the most, and risked the most. I figured he should get to live the most, right? and 2. It would kinda suck if Harry arrived Above and everyone's there but his best mates. I wanted everyone to be there, that way when Harry arrived, he was finally with EVERYONE. Except Luna. I left her out on purpose. I didn't really know what to write with her, plus she's still living a really long life. I expect it's the dirigible plums. ;)

Chapter Two

Amid dozens of people, James could make out a single head of ink-colored hair sticking up in every direction. The messy jet-black hair, and the body it was attached to, was standing directly in a circle of people while everyone tried to squeeze their way in and shake hands with the Boy-Who-Lived, otherwise known as the Chosen One and the One-Who-Ended-It-All. Standing in the center of the crowd was Harry James Potter.

James felt like his heart had decided to jump up and land in his throat. Yet as nervous as he was, he was excited. James didn't care if he had to push his way through a jumble of people, he was going to see his son, and soon. Just as James put his foot forward and began to walk closer towards Harry, he felt a hand tug on his own.

"James," Lily half-whispered. "I think we should wait. Let all the people go first. Then when they're gone, we can really meet Harry and there won't be someone standing off to the side trying to shake his hand."

James was about to open his mouth and say that was a ridiculous idea, he was not going to wait, and that these people were going to leave because he said so, but Sirius cut him off.

"Great idea, Lily-flower! I knew James had a good reason for fancying you back in school!" At this, James punched Sirius in the arm and Lily raised an eyebrow at Sirius. He just grinned and said, "Just kidding, Lils. There are many reasons why James (and I) love you. One of those being that without you, the whole wizarding world would probably be in ruins and Voldemort would have full power with no way of ever being stopped!" Sirius smiled and looked at Lily, hoping that she would think he was an innocent person who admired her and her greatness. Lily couldn't help but smile at this. James thought she was just smiling at the reminder of what her son had done, rather than what Sirius had said.

"Back to the point, we'll save the best for last! That means you and Prongs are gonna have to wait and be the very last. Sorry about that," he said, not sounding very sorry at all, but rather very excited. "Here, James, Lily, you guys stand behind the rest of us, then Harry can see all of us and after getting over the shock of seeing all of his dead friends, he'll be fully prepared to see his parents!"

Sirius didn't wait for an answer before he started to get everyone together. He put James and Lily in the back, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione took the front, and everyone else just stood around in no particular order.

After Dedalus Diggle had shaken Harry's hand for the seventh time, Harry turned and saw the next crowd of people waiting for him. But instead of looking at the crowd as if it was something he went through often and it'd be over soon (like he had with the past crowd), he looked at the second group of people with a smile on his face that clearly said he couldn't wait to see and hug every one of them.

"Harry!" Before he could make a move forward, Ginny ran towards Harry and threw her arms around him. Harry then kissed Ginny, briefly but passionately.

All of a sudden, cheers and whistles broke out behind them. James even heard Ron mutter, "Do they have to snog like that in front of me?"

"Oh honestly Ron, if you haven't gotten used to it by now," Hermione started to say.

"I have, they just—" Ron didn't get to finish his sentence because Harry was expectantly looking up at them and Hermione had ran ahead to give him a hug. James heard a laugh and a muffled "Hi, Hermione" through all of Hermione's bushy hair. After she pulled back, Ron was there to give Harry a hug and say, "Hey, mate."

Harry then started to hug plump little Mrs. Weasley and shake Mr. Weasley's hand. Unlike with the other crowd, Harry actually wanted to talk to these people. So he did; he talked to every one of them.

At first, James was really interested in watching Harry tell Fred and George that the Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes shop is the most popular shop in Diagon Alley. James laughed when Hagrid said, "All righ', Harry?" then picked Harry up and gave him one of his typical bone-crushing hugs. He couldn't help but snicker with the others when the twins started mocking Percy after he went up to Harry, shook his hand, and pompously said, "Ah, Harry. It is a pleasure to see you again. I hope your life went on well after I had died." Harry had to stifle back a laugh so he could say, "Yes, Percy. It was very nice."

James was paying attention when Harry met the Prewett brothers, his parents, and Lily's parents for the first time. James's attention was even grabbed when Professor McGonagall approached Harry with tears in her eyes and hugged him. After that though, James got increasingly impatient. He had to wait 100 years on Earth for his son to finally arrive at the Gate, and now he had to wait for all of these people to talk to his son! James wanted to tap his foot and start to annoyingly count the seconds going by like he had when he was little and his parents weren't moving fast enough.

Lily, on the other hand, seemed to become increasingly more nervous. She started out standing on her toes, trying to see over everyone's heads to see Harry, but then stopped looking and became more interested in her feet. Then she started fidgeting. She was tapping her foot, chewing on her lip, and wringing her hands, all at the same time! At that point, James knew she wasn't just nervous; she was scared. Lily never fidgeted before tests or exams at Hogwarts; she would be nervous, but she never fidgeted. She had fidgeted like this only a few times before. One of the times being when they had gone to St. Mungo's to see if Lily was pregnant, even though they hadn't wanted to bring a baby into a world full of such evil at the time. She had been so nervous that day, it was bordering fear.

James, being the loving and supporting husband he knew he was, moved closer to Lily and put his arm around her. "It'll be OK," he murmured. "He's our son. He's got to love us! Besides, who wouldn't?" He grinned at Lily, hoping to get her to laugh.

Lily just turned and looked at him. James started to panic. He was never good with feeling stuff, and now was not the time for Lily to be scared! James looked at Lily, the wheels in his head turning, trying to find a way to save the situation, and fast, but he didn't need to. Lily smiled.

"Yeah, we are pretty great, aren't we?" she said smiling at James.

"Well our son is the one who defeated the darkest wizard of all time. I'd say we'd have to be," said James with a smirk.

Lily just rolled her eyes, but James saw the corners of her lips turning up.

"Wotcher, Harry," said Tonks with a wink.

"Tonks!" Harry shouted out, throwing his arms around the woman with the heart-shaped face for a hug.

James gulped; he hadn't noticed that Harry had made his way through so many people. It seemed that only Sirius and Remus were standing in front of James and Lily. He was doing a very good job of it, too. Somehow he had managed to shield both of Harry's parents from his line of sight. James was still able to peek over Sirius's shoulder, though, and see what was going on.

"Hi, Harry," said Remus, giving Harry a hug.

Harry looked up at Lupin with apprehension in his face.

"Remus…I'm…so sorry," Harry started to say. "What I said in Grimmauld Place, I was angry. I wanted you to go back to Teddy and Tonks. I shouldn't have said that stuff, I was just—"

"Harry, stop. It's OK," said Moony, cutting Harry off. "You were right; I was being cowardly. I thought when we made you godfather, you knew that I wasn't mad at you."

"I know, but after you guys had died I never got the chance to…" Harry trailed off as he seemed unable to finish his sentence.

"Then it's settled. Now, tell me all about my son," said Remus with a smile.

James watched as Harry told Tonks and Moony about Teddy, his wife, Victoire, their kids, and Lupin's three great-grandkids. Harry looked older than James had seen him in the Forbidden Forest when he was brought back by the Resurrection Stone. But then again, when someone arrives Here, he looks the way he did during the happiest time of his life. James assumed that watching all of your friends and family-like members die and risk your life to destroy 'the Dark Lord' probably wouldn't qualify as the happiest time in your life. If he had to guess though, James would probably say that the happiest time of Harry's life seemed to be about 7 or 8 years after that. Probably after he had married Ginny and was Head Auror, thought James.

Although, Harry Potter still looked generally the same as he did when he was 17. His hair was still uncontrollably messy and the lightning shaped scar was still on his forehead. His eyes were the bright green James had first seen on the Hogwarts Express on the little redhead girl in his compartment. Compared to James, Harry was a little taller, but still within an inch or two of his dad. His face was the most different. Not his eyes, nor his mouth or nose. Last time James had seen Harry, his face had been full of pain, confusion, loss, and hopelessness. Now, as James looked over Sirius to see Harry laugh at a story he was telling Tonks and Lupin, Harry's face was filled with happiness, liberation, and a sense of peace.

"Alright, alright. I think you three have talked long enough. I wanna see my godson!" Sirius strode forward.

Harry paused for a second and just stared at Sirius. Then his face seemed to have lit up like a little kid on Christmas. "Sirius."

Harry rushed forward and gave Sirius a hug. James couldn't hear very well, as Sirius had moved forward as well, but he saw Harry mutter something and heard Sirius laugh a bark-like laugh.

"Er, Sirius," Sirius let go of Harry to see what his godson was going to say. "I don't know if anyone told you but…your flying motorcycle got wrecked.

Sirius's jaw dropped. "My motorcycle is….gone?"

"Er, yeah. James, he seemed to inherit all of the mischievousness and recklessness you and my dad had." Sirius grinned at this. "Well, he snuck the bike out the summer before his seventh year. He said he 'fancied a ride'. James encountered the Muggle police, a brick building, and his mum. Flying bike or not, it didn't stand a chance."

Ginny stuck her tongue out at Harry while everyone else just laughed.

"Ah well. It had a good life. What about the Map?"

Beside him, James saw Lily move forward a little, but then draw back. James looked around. Again, he realized he and Lily were the only ones who hadn't talked to Harry yet. They were next.

James tried to swallow, but he felt like he was trying to swallow one of Hagrid's rock cakes whole. Come on, man! You're James Potter, he thought to himself. Don't be nervous! This was what you were waiting for for a long time.

Even though James had thought about this moment often and had even tried to calm Lily down, he felt like he had just eaten five Fizzing Whizzbees, yet only his insides were levitating.

It's just your son, James told himself. Just your son that you've never met. But defied Lord Voldemort at the age of one. And probably had the most adventures and attracted the most trouble out of every student in Hogwarts's history. He only killed Voldemort for good at the age of 17 and then became the Head Auror. Oh Merlin…

James looked at Lily, hoping she could now be the one to give a reassuring smile. Except the only thing she was focused on was Harry, as she watched him with a serene smile on her face.

Great. Now I'm the one who's a nervous mess.

"The Marauder's Map is still good," Harry replied. "James knicked it from my desk his fourth year and it has helped generations of Hogwarts students cause trouble everywhere."

All three of the Marauders smiled proudly.

"Great son you have there," Sirius said honestly. "Except I always thought it should have been Sirius James Potter instead of James Sirius Potter," he added thoughtfully.

James couldn't help but snort at the ridiculous things Sirius was saying. Upon hearing the snort, Harry looked up and noticed his parents standing there.

James felt his insides clench with fear and nervousness. The smile on Harry's face disappeared. James started to panic. Was Harry angry at them? Would he rather hug and talk to his old professors, friends, and godfather than his own parents?

Then a little voice in the back of James's mind (who James did not often listen to) told him he was being an idiot and to look more closely.

James did. He saw that Harry did not look angry or annoyed, just…shocked. It felt as if they had stood there looking at each other forever. And if they did, it wouldn't matter, because they had eternity up there.

Harry looked from Lily to James and back again. James noticed that Harry's gaze on Lily was a little longer than his gaze on his father. Harry looked at Lily like he could stand there forever just to look at her, but he still wouldn't be satisfied. He looked at Lily the way he had when he was in the Forbidden Forest, walking with them towards Voldemort.

James smiled to himself. He knew his wife was very pretty; he needed no one to tell him this twice. James had felt the exact same way after he had arrived on the Hogwarts Express his fourth year to see a very different, and very pretty, Lily Evans. James knew the two situations were much different, though. At that time, James had felt shock and awe that the annoying little girl who answered every question in class had turned so very pretty over one summer. Harry was seeing his mother in person for the first time since he was one (minus their ghost-like-but-not-really selves in the Forest). But James figured the two feelings were probably similar: amazement at Lily.

A sob escaped from Lily as she ran forward and flung her arms around her son. "Harry!"

Harry smiled and wrapped his arms around her and said, "Hi, Mum."

James was never one to be left out, so he dashed forward and hugged Harry as well. Harry looked up, saw James, and smiled even wider as he said, "Hi, Dad."

James wasn't entirely too sure of what the right thing to say to one's son in a situation like this is. So, like usual, he said the first thing that came to his mind.

"We are so… very proud of you. We couldn't have ever asked for a better son."

Lily seemed to have lost it then. James knew she was always brave and tough. After everything she had been through, how could she have not been? From entering the Wizarding world as a Muggleborn where Pure-blood mania was quickly growing, her best friend turning into a Death Eater, the strained (or more appropriately, lack of) relationship she had with her once-best-friend sister, and the Order missions, James knew Lily was strong; she wasn't one of those emotional women who cried daily. But like every normal human being, she did cry. She had cried when she found out her mum and dad had died in a car crash and when James's dad died on an Auror mission. She cried when Marlene and Alyssa died, and that one day James won't ever forget where she just broke down and said she couldn't take any of it anymore. 'It' being the war, the losses, and the loneliness of being locked in your house for fear of your son's life.

So when Lily started openly crying while hugging Harry, James was surprised, but not shocked. He knew that they were tears of happiness. He even felt them tugging at his eyes, waiting for the moment where they could fall down his face. He could even feel a little burning in his throat, one similar to when he drank firewhiskey, as he tried to swallow yet keep it all together.

"I missed you, Mum and Dad," muttered Harry. It was hard to hear since Harry's voice was slightly muffled since the three of them were all pressed together hugging, but James and Lily heard.

James looked down beside him to see the tears cascading down Lily's face. He looked next to him to see Harry's eyes shining with tears that refused to fall.

James wasn't too sure what to feel right then. All he knew was that this was his family. After everything the three of them had been through, they were finally able to be together again. They could be a family now.

At this thought, James had to remove his right arm from around Harry so he could take off his glasses and wipe his eyes that now looked golden from the tears.

"Aw, come on, Prongs!" Sirius interjected. "Whatever happened to the saying you made up? What was it…? Oh yes, 'Real Marauder men never cry'?"

Everyone laughed, and James felt Lily and Harry shake with their laughter.

"Actually, Padfoot, that only applied to you and the time when you had to fight back tears after you were turned down for the first time, ever, by Alyssa. In front of the whole school," James replied with a smirk.

Sirius's jaw dropped while more laughter ensued. He then gave a cocky grin and said to James, "You're going to pay for that, Mister Prongs."

"I think I can handle whatever you have, Mister Padfoot."

James looked to Harry to give him a wink and in doing so noticed that Harry's face was alight with a smile and his vibrant green eyes were shining. From what Moony had told James in private, Sirius was never very happy back on Earth. James assumed that Harry had never seen Padfoot act this way and was probably amazed by it. At first James felt saddened and then angered by the thought that his son had never gotten to know the real Sirius, his very own godfather and his dad's best mate, but then he beamed at the thought that they had infinity to show Harry the true Marauders.

Harry noticed James staring at him and quizzically looked at James. James just looked at Harry for a quick moment before they both grinned. James had felt as though he had never been happier. He had his wife, son, family, and friends all together. What else could he need?

"Come on, Harry," said James. "We should show you around, even though there's not much. Except the Quidditch pitch; that's the best! I'll have to see if you're really as good of as everyone says you are." He gave Harry a cheeky grin.

"OK. Then I can see if you're as bad as everyone says you are," replied Harry with a serious expression.

"Wha-? Me? Bad? At Quidditch?" James spluttered, not even able to form a coherent sentence. Who told Harry that I'm a horrible Quidditch player and let him think that for his whole life?

"Just kidding, Dad," said Harry, looking almost identical to his father with the same cheeky grin on his face that James had given Harry a few moments before.

Everyone sniggered at the look on James's face.

Only Sirius and Remus had shocked looks on their faces.

"James was just tricked…by his own son…"

"I know…"

"About Quidditch."

Then the two adults burst out laughing. James glared at them.

Everyone had stopped laughing after a few moments, everyone except Sirius and Remus. James had pointedly glared at the two for a couple moments, but they seemed oblivious to the harsh look. They were too busy clutching their sides, trying not to fall over. The only words that could be made out were, "funny", "Prongs", "his face", "Lil' Prongs", and "priceless".

"Oi! SHUT IT!" James finally had to yell.

Moony and Padfoot stood up, wiping the tears from their eyes and still chuckling. James honestly had no idea what was so funny.

"Sorry, Prongs," said Sirius, "but your face! And you usually never get a joke pulled on you, especially about Quidditch."

"Yeah, yeah," grumbled James.

James heard Harry laugh and all of his irritation vanished. He turned to Harry, drew himself up to his full height, and said, "So you think you're a better Quidditch player than me, eh?"

"Oh honestly, James," said Lily while giving an exasperated expression towards Tonks.

"Er," Harry started to say a little nervously, but then he seemed to grow more confident and said with a smile, "Maybe, maybe not."

James felt his lips pull up into a smile as he got a very proud and happy feeling inside of him. He didn't feel like he was truly meeting his son for the first time; he felt like he was meeting his best friend again after a really long vacation.

"You're on, Potter," replied James with a (hopefully) intimidating look.

"Boys," he heard Ginny whisper and Hermione giggle behind him. He could almost see them rolling their eyes and laughing.

"Last one there's a flobber-" James started to say as he was beginning to run to the pitch, but he was cut off by Lily saying, "James!"

James turned to face Lily, who was looking quite irritated with him.

"James, Harry just got here! We haven't seen him for over 80 years on Earth, and even then that was only for a couple of moments to walk him to Voldemort! Do you think you can stay off your broom long enough so we can all just talk? It's infuriating to have to hear about your son's life through everyone else!" It looked like Lily was going to cry again.

James realized Lily was right and sheepishly said so.

Behind him, he heard Fred, George, and Ron Weasley snickering at him.

James turned around to glower at them, but Fred and George just looked up and started innocently whistling while Ron turned to Hermione and suggested they go for a walk.

The three Potters then started to walk forward with Lily on the left, Harry in the middle and James on the right.

"Harry, I want to hear all about your family! How's James, Albus, and Lily? How many grandkids do you have? Great-grandkids? Wait! First, I want to hear about how you proposed to Ginny. Hopefully, you put a lot of thought into it, but I'm sure however you did it, it was absolutely—" Lily rambled.

"Ugh, no," said James, cutting her off. "I wanna hear about the exciting stuff! Like when you flew a car to Hogwarts and landed in the Whomping Willow or when you broke into Gringotts and rode off on a dragon! Better yet, the time when you—"

"James, no. He can't just tell us all the exciting parts and leave everything else out!"

"Well he can't just skip ahead 23 years and tell us about his proposal," James said. The word 'proposal' ended up sounding like how one would say 'flesh-eating slug'.

Harry looked back and forth from his mum to his dad with an amused expression on his face.

"How about I start from the beginning?" Harry suggested with a smile on his face.

Lily and James exchanged a glance before Lily quickly looked away. She hated not getting the right answer first in school, a habit that seemed to stay. "Er, yes. That would be a good place to start."

"But start at the part where you set a snake on your fat cousin, Dudley!" James said enthusiastically.

Lily rolled her eyes, but smiled. Harry grinned.

James knew that it didn't really matter where Harry started, what Harry said, or how long it took him to say it. They had forever to talk and catch up, after all.

The End.

Thanks for reading! I really hope you liked it! I would really appreciate it if you DID read it, review. If you DID like it, review. If you read it AND didn't like it, review and I'll try and make my next ones better! Remember, reviews are the only way us writers can get better and know we're doing the right thing!

Thanks for reading, reviewing, and favoriting! :)

Edit 1/2/12: I'm reposting this, although nothing was changed except my A/Ns and a couple of words were switched around. There's no reason to reread this, unless you want to! Sorry to anyone who gets an alert regarding this expecting a new chapter!