Yes, They're Seriously Back!

By: marauderette-47

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of its characters. Am I JK Rowling? No? Then I don't own it:)

A/N: Thank you all so much for the reivews! 125 reviews for seven chapters? That's amazing! I love you all! If anyone ever has any suggestions, just let me know! Your input means a lot:D So, without further adieu, enjoy Chapter 8!

Chapter Eight: Nightmares and Dursleys

It was often rumored that from the years 1971-1977, there was a single way to die in the Gryffindor Common Room; and that was to wake up Sirius Black. So when he was woken up at two thirty in the morning on a Saturday, Sirius was murderous. He grumbled to himself in frustration, and forced himself to sit upright in his bed. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, and tried to make sense of the noise that had woken him up from probably the best dream he'd ever had.

"AGH!"

There it was again! Sirius realized that the sound was scream, a cry; and it was coming from upstairs. Sirius slipped on his comfiest pair of slippers, and tip-toed up two flights of steps to his godson's room. The screams got progressively worse and louder the closer Sirius got to Harry's room. Now fully awake, panic took place of irritance, and Sirius found himself worried for his godson's well-being. He finally made it to Harry's door, and opened it quickly, glad that Harry had enough sense not to lock it. For a minute, Sirius scanned the room in front of him in an attempt to find a Death Eater choking Harry, or an owl pecking his eyes out. But there was nothing there. Just Harry asleep on his bed.

"AGH! NO!"

Sirius actually had to cover his ears as Harry screeched again. In an instant, Sirius's heart rate went down. Dream. Harry was only having a dream...or, well, nightmare, but still. At least he was physically alright. Sirius cast a silencing charm in Harry's room using wandless magic, and sat down next to his godson. He tried to remember what Lily had said to him once about how to go about waking someone up from a nightmare, but he couldn't for the life of him remember the proper way. And Harry's screams were cutting into his concentration greatly. Finally, though, the wordless cries began to make sense, and Sirius felt his heart break all over again.

"No, he's not dead, he's only just gone through! SIRIUS!"

In that minute, Sirius had a huge epiphany. Harry was screaming for him. Him. Not James or Lily or anyone else; Harry wanted Sirius. Sirius knew how much Harry loved James and Lily; it was evident everytime the teenager looked at his parents how much he cared for them. But for over two years, Sirius had been the only family Harry had had. And when he died, Harry must have gone mad with grief. Sirius realized that he couldn't be so reckless and irresponsible - he could risk leaving Harry again, and even though Harry had James and Lily once more, he would still scream for Sirius in his sleep.

"I'll kill her! SHE KILLED HIM, I'll KILL her!"

Unable to sit there and just listen to Harry in pain, Sirius gently shook his godson's shoulders. Harry was still pounding his pillow with his fist, and didn't seem to register Sirius's presence at all. Sirius shook Harry a little more roughly, and said, "Harry! Harry, wake up, it's only a dream! I'm fine, I'm right here, wake up!"

Harry - now sweating - gasped as his eyes shot open. He sat bolt upright in bed, and looked wildly around his room. For a moment, it seemed that he didn't have a clue as to where he was. But after a minute, he registered that he was in his room at Potter Manor, and that Sirius was sitting on the edge of his bed. Harry collapsed back on his mountain of pillows, and wanted to bury his head in them in embarrasment. Sirius had seen him having a nightmare, had heard him scream for him in panic and need. Sirius must have thought he was such a baby.

"Are you alright?" Sirius whispered, trying his best to play the part of 'comforting guardian'.

"Fine." Harry mumbled. "Sorry you had to see that."

"Do you...have nightmares often?" Sirius murmured awkwardly.

Harry shrugged, trying not to let Sirius see how shaky and upset he really was over the dream. "I s'pose."

"Then why is this the first time I've heard you?" Sirius wondered aloud.

"I usually ask mum to cast a Silencing Charm on my room. I tell her it's for 'adolescent privacy', but I forgot to get her before I went to sleep tonight." Harry explained softly.

"Is that the first nightmare you've had about...me?" Sirius asked.

Harry laughed bitterly, and Sirius didn't like the sound of his godson in such pain. "I wish," he mumbled. "But I could never be that lucky."

"I wish you wouldn't have bad dreams about me," Sirius told Harry sadly. "I'm right here, kiddo. I'm alive and I'm okay and I'm not going to leave you again."

"But Sirius," Harry said, looking his godfather directly in the eye. "If you think about it...you just died a week and a half ago. I watched it happen. And I had never felt so guilty and hopeless in my life."

"But I'm here now," Sirius nearly whined, unsure of how to make Harry see reason.

"I know." Harry said, allowing Sirius a small smile. "And maybe one day, I'll stop having nightmares about it. But..." Harry trailed off, at a loss for words. He sighed heavily, and said in a barely audible tone of voice, "I'm so damn weak."

"No." Sirius said certainly, forcing Harry to meet his gaze.

"What?"

"No." Sirius said again. "You're not weak, Harry. In fact...I don't think I've ever met anyone stronger than you."

"Then why am I acting like such a child? Why am I still having nightmares?" Harry asked, angry at himself for letting himself be so affected.

"No one's perfect, Prongslet." Sirius smiled softly. "And you are only human."

"Only human..." Harry mused. "Sirius...what would you say if I asked you how to become an Animagus?"

"Are you sure it's a good idea to bring Sirius with us, Lils?" James asked his wife, as themselves, Remus, Tonks, and Harry prepared to head to the Dursley residence at number 4, Privet Drive. "You know how...rash he can be."

Lily eyed her husband dangerously, and said, "Of course I'm sure. I'll need some of his rash magic to make Petunia suffer half as much as I want her to."

"You don't plan on...killing them, do you?" Tonks asked carefully. "I mean, I hate them too, but isn't murder a little...much?"

"Of course they won't die." Lily said calmly, taking a steadying breath and shaking her head. "Of course not - she is my sister, after all. But there's nothing wrong with a little bit of good, old fashioned, payback. And that's why I've never been so happy to have brefriended the Marauders."

"Alright, family!" Sirius shouted happily, bounding down the steps. "Got everything we need?"

"We're ready to go, Padfoot." James smiled happily. "Ready to kick some Durlsey arse?" he added in a lower voice that only Remus and Sirius could hear.

"Alright, alright!" Lily said impatiently. "Let's go, already!"

Harry was taken aback a little at the tone in his mother's voice. He expected her to be angry with his Aunt Petunia, but he'd never heard his mother sound so vicious.

Together, the six witches and wizards Apparated to Little Whinging. It was six o'clock in the evening, so the Dursley's would be just about ready to sit down for dinner. Harry wondered for a moment if they were curious as to why Harry hadn't come back for the Summer Holidays, but then he realized that they probably didn't care. Hmph. Stupid relatives.

Lily led the way to the front door of Number 4, and knocked twice. She waited and waited, but no one came to the door. It was very obvious someone was home, though; the lights were all on. Frustrated, Lily knocked repeatedly, cold and hard. Eventually, loud thudding footsteps could be heard, and Harry knew before the door even opened that he would soon be face to face with his beefy Uncle Vernon.

"Yes, yes, who is it?" Vernon spat as he answered the door. When he saw the magical folk in front of him, his stupid, beefy face paled considerably. He stammered a few unintelligable words, and backed up a few paces. Lily - with a cold, hard glare - said, "Hello, Vernon."

Vernon passd out, and fell to the floor of his entranceway with a thud. Lily looked like she couldn't care less. "Tonks," she said. "Keep an eye on Vernon. Move him to the living room perhaps. Harry, James, Sirius, and Remus - I trust you can take care of Dudley?" the boys answered Lily with eager nods. "I'll handle Petunia."

Read the following in any order that you like - makes no difference to the plot;)

Nymphadora Tonks and Vernon Dursley

Tonks moved Vernon to the living room couch. She could hear a lot of yells, screeches, and thuds from the rooms beyond, and Tonks was mad that she couldn't help. But then she realized that she had the ring-leader Dursley in the same room as her, and in anger, she gave Vernon a duck-bill.

"What makes you think you can treat a kid like that, huh?" Tonks asked, furrowing her eyebrows. "What'd he ever do to you?"

Of course Vernon could give her no answer, so Tonks kept right on talking. "And why would you make him sleep in a cupboard? And why did Harry miss meals? Huh? Could you even go an hour without food, you great oaf?"

Being so rude to the man who'd made Harry's life miserable felt bloody good, so Tonks started laughing as she continued to insult Vernon. "And what's your problem with magic, huh Vermin? Jealous you were born without it? Well you should be jealous - magic is great! We can eat and eat and eat and then cast a simple charm and BAM we're skinny! But you...tsk tsk...I'm afraid it would be too late for any charm to make an ounce of difference, Dursley. In fact, I hope that you - you get so fat that you explode! Of course, we wouldn't need body fat to make us wizards and witches explode - all we have to do is cast 'Reducto!' Do you even know what that is? Of course not! Because you're an idiot!"

Tonks got out her wand again, and cast the Backwards Words Jinx, that would make Vernon sound like he was speaking Jibberish for the next twenty-four hours. After she cast the spell, though, things got awkward. She was sitting alone, in a living room, with an unconscious magic-hating Muggle. Tonks began to tap her feet, and she looked around the room for anything entertaining. Sigh. This was going to be a long night.

James Potter, Harry Potter, Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, and Dudley Dursley.

James, Harry, Remus, and Sirius grabbed Dudley Dursley by his fat arms, and hauled him off to his bedroom while Lily confronted Petunia. They locked the door with their wands, and turned to face the stupid, idiotic kid in front of them.

"So..." James began. "Dudley Dursley...stupid little name, isn't it?"

"W-Who are you?" Dudley stammered, looking between the four men in front of him. "W-What do you want with me?"

"Well, neffy-poo...I'm your Uncle James. Harry's dad? And these two charming gentlemen in front of me are Remus Lupin and Sirius Black-"

"Sirius Black?" Dudley squeeked. "Harry's g-godfather? T-That murderer."

"Scary-looking thing, ain't I?" Sirius laughed. "I heard you gave our young Harry a...hard time, Dudders."

"I-I-" Dudley stuttered. "Oh, please don't kill me!"

"Please! We're not going to go to prison for the likes of you!" Remus spat. "But you'll rue the day you ever messed with Harry Potter!"

"What are you going to do with me?" Dudley asked, scratching his head like a gorilla.

"Well Dudley," James laughed. "Have you ever heard of the Bat-Bogey Hex?"

Lily Potter and Petunia Dursley

It was just Lily and Petunia in the kitchen. Petunia stared at Lily in utter disbelief. No one had said a word yet, but Petunia broke the silence.

"L-Lily..." she stammered. "But you were dead!"

"Wow, Tuni," Lily said bitterly. "I believe that would be the first time you've called me Lily since we were fourteen. After that it was 'freak' and 'idiot' and 'girl'."

"A-Are you a ghost?" Petunia stammered. "Are you here to h-haunt me?"

"No I'm not a ghost, idiot." Lily said, glaring at her sister. "I've come back. And it's a bloody good thing I have - who knows what would have happened to Harry if he'd been left in your care for another damn moment."

"W-We took care of him!" Petunia insisted, but Lily cut her off. Petunia looked frightened, truly and honestly frightened at the harsh tone in Lily's voice. Lily smirked inwardly - she always knew that deep down, Petunia was scared of her magic.

"Took care of him?" Lily growled. "Took care of him? You starved him! You threw hm in a cupboard! Did the poor darling even know his name was Harry? Did he know my name? Or James's? Or did you just agree with your wonderful sister-in-law and tell my son that his parents were no-good, jobless drunks?"

"I never said that!" Petunia tried, but Lily was past the point of reason.

"NO!" she shouted, and in her anger, she shattered the kitchen windows with Accidental Magic. "You told him that we died in a car-crash caused by drunk driving! Don't lie to me, Petunia! We gave Harry a Loose Lips Syrum - I know everything!"

These words seemed to frigthten Petunia more than anything else that Lily had said thus far. "Lily-" Petunia said in a pleading voice, but Lily cut her off again.

"No, Petunia! This shouldn't even be happening!" Lily shouted. "We should be discussing local news over tea right now! Our sons should be laughing over some teenage things! Our husbands should be chatting about the weather! We should be reminscing about how wonderful our lives were when we were young, and how we were never cruel to each other! That was the future I envisioned for us when I was little!"

"Exactly!" Petunia yelled back. "That was what I imagined, too! But magic ruined it!"

"NO, PETUNIA!" Lily screeched, this time breaking Petunia's cabinet of good china. "Magic ruined nothing! You ruined it, Petunia!"

"What? Are you blaming me for your death?" Petunia spat venemously.

"Well I'm not thanking you for my life!" Lily retorted.

"Lily, how can you even-" Petunia began.

"No." Lily said, finally beginning to cry in frustration. "Petunia, you don't deserve to speak. Don't you remember how we used to love each other? But the moment that one little thing changed, I'm suddenly this freaky outcast that you're embarrassed to be related to. And then after my tragic death - which you don't even seem to care about - you are asked to do one thing. One. And that is to make sure that my beautiful little baby gets the happiness and love that he deserved! The one that I would have given him! And you can't even do that for me! Instead, you starve him and make him feel like an outsider in his own home."

"Lily, I'm sor-" Petunia said, beginning to sob viciously.

"No, Tuni." Lily said, in a very disappointed tone of voice. "Save your breath. I'm not here to hex you. I'm here to say goodbye. To say goodbye to the one person that I used to think I could count on for everything and anything. To say goodbye also to the woman who ruined my son's life. Goodbye Petunia. I hope you have a long and happy life."

And with that, Lily Evans Potter called for her family. As she was readying herself to leave, she entered the hallway and stopped in front of the cupboard under the stairs. The mere sight of the tiny door broke Lily's heart into a million pieces, and she fell to the floor and sobbed.

James got to her first. He scooped his small wife up into his arms, and carried her bridal-style out of the big white house. He held her closely to his chest, and whispered soothing things in her ear. The rest of the family followed the couple outside into the quiet street, and together, they Apparated from the place that Harry could honestly say he wasn't going to miss.

about Sirius or James or Lily or ANYONE (even Remus and Tonks coming back for Teddy!) I'm in need of a good read tonight, so let me know! Thanks again!

-marauderette-47

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Review! *winkwink*