It's strange, James thought, that he looks so much like me. James only vaguely resembled his late parents. His cousins looked nothing like him either – perhaps because his family was multiracial, and the gene pool big. Looking at Harry felt like coming across a photograph of himself that he couldn't remember being taken. Listening to Harry talk, however, was like watching an intense game of Quidditch. The exhilarating action gets your blood pumping and you desperately need your team to win. You catch yourself screaming at the players to watch out for the Bludgers even though they can't hear you, you want to join the game, do anything to help… And just like that it's over, the Basilisk is dead, Sirius escaped, Voldemort lost in a duel – and Harry caught the Snitch every single time.

"Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?" James said.

Harry shrugged his shoulders. "Depends. Can I choose not to answer some of them?"

He'd rather not talk about it, James told himself, but he anticipated this. "Yeah, of course. As long as you are honest about everything else."

Harry glanced at the back of his right hand and smiled ruefully. "You can cast that spell Dumbledore used two days ago, if you'd like."

"No, I… trust you," James said.

Harry's smile became more genuine. "Okay then. Shoot."

"Was every year at Hogwarts as eventful as those three you told us about?"

"Well, apart from the Tournament and the petrifications – we usually have a relatively normal year with a dramatic ending. And I only count the first six because we didn't go back to Hogwarts after Dumbledore died."

"Oh. How did he –I mean, something must have happened, because he is alive here. . ."

"One of the Horcruxes had a very dangerous protection – it had left him with a year to live."

"Oh." James said again. He sensed that Harry was leaving stuff out on purpose, but James didn't want to press him for more information. Judging by the conversations he had witnessed so far, Harry used to be very close to Albus – his death was probably a painful topic. It was for this same reason that James didn't want to ask what happened to Sirius and Remus in Harry's universe.

"How come you are a parselmouth? You haven't really explained."

"Maybe I'll explain it some other day."

James wasn't too happy with the 'maybe', but he decided to let it go. The question he was going to ask next seemed more important, but James was almost afraid to find out the answer.

"Why did they lock you in your room?"

"I have explained that one already. Dobby used magic in front of guests -"

"I meant, why did they try to stop you from going to Hogwarts?"

"They feared that I would come back and turn them into pigs or something," Harry said with a shrug.

"In other words, they expected revenge."

Harry was silent.

"Did they beat you?" James asked, feeling heartsick.

"No. No, it wasn't like that… They just didn't care about me. It used to bother me when I was little, but since I got my letter I got over it. I had Hogwarts to look forward to and I spent a part of every summer holiday with Ron. I haven't seen Dursleys since I turned seventeen, but I've heard from Dudley – he's alright."

"I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault." His hand gave a dismissive wave. "It's not even Dumbledore's fault and there was a time when I was angry with him for sending me there. That blood ward saved my life. If you had that sort of protection in this universe, things might have been different… That wasn't your fault either – or Dumbledore's. There are plenty of people to blame – Voldemort, Crouch, Wormtail, Sn-" Harry abruptly stopped talking. "No one is blaming you. You shouldn't, either."

James didn't know what to say to that. He knew, rationally, that he couldn't have protected his son while being in a coma. He always understood that. But understanding that something was not your fault and not feeling guilt did not always go hand in hand. Lily had given her life to save their son, but James' weak attempt against Voldemort hasn't helped anyone. And the one question that plagued his mind for years will be left unanswered until his own death – Does Lily blame him for what happened to Harry? For trusting Wormtail? Not joining them in the afterlife? Because, after years of debating whether to take his own life, James decided that he would stay – for Sirius and Remus. He would live for his friends, instead of dying for his wife and son – does she blame him? He was afraid to find out.

"It's morning in Australia," Harry said.

James looked at him inquiringly, now already used to Harry's jumbled train of thought. Harry was fiddling with his fake galleon. "If you don't have any more questions, I'd like to contact Ron and Hermione…"

"Ah, yes of course. Sorry. I'll go to bed then. Do you need anything for tonight?"

"Nah, thank you. I'll go to sleep as soon as I'm done talking to them."

"Oi, Harry! Wake up!"

Harry groaned. He reached for his glasses and when he put them on, the blurry form standing in front of him turned into Sirius. "What is it?"

"Moony needed Prongs as a lab rat for his experiment. They are trying to figure out how to send you home and I was appointed as your babysitter."

"Shouldn't I be there?"

"Apparently not. Moony said that the cause was more important than the effect – he said something about variables too, but I forgot which one were you supposed to be."

"What?" Harry said obtusely. "Actually, don't bother explaining. I'm not fully awake yet."

"I'll leave you to get ready, but please be quick, I've made plans for eleven – and wear Muggle clothes!"

After he showered and got dressed, Harry found Sirius waiting for him in the living room. "Do I need a glamour?"

Sirius looked at him critically and said, "Not as detailed as the one you've put on so far, but for safety reasons – let's just turn your hair brown, alright?"

Harry nodded. "Where are we going?"

"To my place first and then we'll go to Muggle London to grab some breakfast – the address is Number 7, Talbot Road."

Harry grabbed some floo powder and went through first. When he came out of the fireplace, he looked around – in front of him was an exposed brick wall with several windows, while the other walls were plain white, decorated with lamps and shelves. Surprisingly, there were no red and gold decorations – most of the furniture was a neutral colour, like dark grey.

"What do you think," Sirius asked.

"I really like it. It suits you. Do you clean by yourself or does Kreacher do it?"

"Yesterday was the first time this year I saw Kreacher – I don't go to Grimmauld if I don't have to."

Harry nodded in understanding. He felt the same about Privet Drive. "I'm a little bit surprised that you are so tidy."

"After you turn 17 and anything can be done with a flick of a wand, it becomes a habit. You just need to learn a few charms, that's all." Sirius sighed. "Listen, I have to ask – did you and James have a fight last night?"

"What? No. He asked me some sensitive questions, but I think we handled it well. Did he tell you something?"

"No, we barely had time to talk since you came. He just seems off, you know. I thought it would have passed by now."

A doorbell rang. "Wait here, I want to introduce you to someone."

Harry heard the door being opened and a female voice saying, "Look who remembered he has a girlfriend." Well, that's new, Harry thought.

"It had been a chaotic couple of days and I've been around magic most of the time, so I wasn't able to use my phone, you know that," Sirius explained. He came back to the living room with a beautiful, tall girl at his side. She was wearing a summer dress, sneakers and a denim jacket. She waved at Harry and said, "Hi James!" before realising her mistake.

Sirius laughed. "Harry, this is Victoria, my girlfriend. Vic, Harry is my godson – that's why you thought it was Prongs."

"But didn't you say he was… Did you bring him back from the dead? Can you do that? " Victoria asked, looking slightly unsettled.

"No, he just came from a different universe," Sirius replied. "That's why I've been busy this weekend, he came on Friday -"

"Sirius, is it the best idea to share that kind of information? No offence, but the number of people who already know is bigger than we planned…"

Victoria laughed. "No need to worry, my dear. Who do you think I would tell? Toffee? Gandalf?"

"She means Fudge and Dumbledore," Sirius explained. When Harry still looked sceptical, Sirius added, "She's a Muggle."

"Oh!" Harry looked at her again. "Yeah, that makes more sense, you mentioned a phone… So is the Statute of Secrecy not a thing in this universe, or did you choose to ignore it?"

"It's hardly the first law I've broken," Sirius winked.

"And it won't be the last," Harry replied with a smile.