James Potter didn’t intend to die. Therefore, when almost sixteen years ago he awoke in the garden, he was surprised to say the least. He had woken feeling oddly warm and confused as to how he got to this beautiful place. It took him a few minutes before he remembered the events of last night. Realising where he was, he panicked, and spent a few minutes searching the seemingly endless expanse of grass and flowers for his wife and son, hoping with all his heart they weren’t there with him. However, Lily soon joined him. Though he was happy to not be separated from her, he wished that she could have survived. To his relief, their one-year-old son Harry didn’t join them.

Now, sixteen years later, he and Lily were standing in front of the watching window, a viewing area through which they were able to see Harry at various points in his life. Reaching out, James gently grabbed Lily’s hand, rubbing it softly as if to say everything would work out. Lily smiled weakly back at him and turned her attention back to the window. Also watching the scene unfold was James’ best friend, Sirius. James thought back to the moment Sirius had found himself in the Arrival Garden.

***

He was sitting in the room with the watching window, hoping to catch another glimpse of Harry. To his delight, the window flashed on, and it took James a moment to realise what he was seeing. James called for Lily, but she was already coming through the door having run in from the garden sensing Harry’s need. He saw Harry standing on a set of stone stairs, in a cavernous room with a raised dais in the middle. He was clutching a round faced boy whose legs twitched and jerked on their own.

They watched as Sirius appeared on screen, battling with Bellatrix Lestrange. They saw him duck jet after jet of red light, laughing and taunting his dark cousin, when a jet of light suddenly hit him square in the chest.

Gasping, James and Lily watched as Sirius fell gracefully through a veil, and they knew he wouldn’t reappear on the other side. They saw Harry release the twitching boy and run down the steps, a look of fear and agony on his face as he looked around desperately for his fallen godfather.

James looked at Lily with a grim look on his face, knowing who would be in the Arrival Garden in a few moments. He did not, however, go immediately to collect Sirius. He had to make sure Harry was safe. Clasping Lily’s hand, he watched as Dumbledore fought Voldemort and protected Harry. They watched in horror as Voldemort attempted to possess Harry. Thankfully, he was unable to possess their son for very long and was forced to flee when the Minster for Magic arrived, accompanied by Aurors.

James knew Harry was safe as he watched Voldemort vanish from the Ministry. “I should go and get Sirius,” he said to Lily. Lily nodded, and James squeezed her hand and walked away. Lily continued to watch the screen to reassure herself Harry would be all right.

James opened the door and looked out into the garden. There sitting on the ground looking confused and out of place was Sirius. James let out a small chuckle in spite of his grief. He remembered his own confusion upon awakening in this garden, but never realised how amusing it looked to another person.

Walking towards his best friend, James called, “Lost, Padfoot?”

“No, this is exactly where I wanted to end up when I fell through the Veil. Damn, I guess I am dead then?” Sirius said as he looked at the face he hadn’t seen in fourteen years.

“Always the master of understatement,” James said reaching his hand out and pulling Sirius to his feet.

The two men embraced. Suddenly, Sirius grabbed James by the shirtfront. “Prongs, it’s Harry, he’s in trouble. The Death Eaters --”

James held up his hand to stop Sirius. “He’s fine. That is why I am late getting here. I didn’t want to leave until I knew he was safe.” Sirius looked confused and started to ask a question before James interrupted again.

“Come on, I’ll explain on the way. A very pretty redhead is anxious to see you. She stayed to watch while I came out to greet you,” James said, walking back towards Lily and the window, Sirius walking along side him.

***

A squeeze of his hand brought James back to the present. “This is it, isn’t it? This is the end… for one of them,” Lily said, her voice shaking as she held back tears.

“Yes, I think this time, Harry will finish it. One way or another,” James replied, doing his best to disguise the fear in his voice.

“Don’t worry. Harry knows what he is doing. He will win,” Sirius added confidently, a shaky smile on his face.

They stood and watched as Harry rushed out of the Great Hall. They saw the moment the pieces clicked in his brain, and he figured out the final riddle.

As Harry, Ron, and Hermione entered the Room of Requirement, Sirius said, “Hey, isn’t that the room we used to practise when we were learning to become Animagi?”

“Yeah, I think so, but it looks completely different,” James replied. “See, we never had those �“”

“Hush,” Lily whispered silencing both of them. “Just watch, please.”

As they watched the scene unfold, the window split into two views. The right side of the window showed Remus Lupin battling with a Death Eater named Antonin Dolohov, while the other side remained focused on Harry.

The three of them watched apprehensively as Remus battled Dolohov, both of them weaving and dodging curses as the battle raged on around them. Suddenly, a beam of green light struck Remus, and he was flung backwards into the wall, where he fell to the ground, unmoving. They watched in disbelief as Dolohov grinned wickedly and ran off to find another victim. James and Sirius stood frozen as the screen stayed on Remus’ broken body, only moving when James felt Lily shaking with silent tears. He wrapped his arms around her and kept watching the screen, his face solemn.

As they watched Harry fly out of the room filled with Fiendfyre, their attention was captured by the other scene. Tonks had just come into the scene fighting Bellatrix Lestrange. They watched helplessly as Tonks’ attention was drawn to Remus’ lifeless body by Bellatrix’s cruel taunts. Distracted for a moment, Bellatrix used the opportunity to send the Killing Curse directly towards her opponent. They watched in horror as Tonks’ lifeless form came to rest beside her fallen husband. Lily, James and Sirius stood for a moment in silence, the danger to Harry becoming clearer to them with each passing second and each fallen fighter.

“I better go fetch Moony and Tonks. I don’t want him waking up and finding her there without knowing first.” Sirius said as he walked towards the door.

At Lily’s gasp, Sirius whipped around. The window had returned to only one scene of Harry, Hermione, Ron and two other Weasley brothers battling various Death Eaters. They watched silently as one of the castle walls fell on top of the five teens. Lily grabbed James’ arm and held her breath as they watched the screen, waiting and praying for Harry to emerge from the rubble. After a few breathless moments, they saw Harry stand up, but their relief was short-lived. The group huddled around the lifeless body of one of the Weasley brothers, partially crushed by the fallen wall.

“Damn, Fred too,” said Sirius. Shaking his head sadly, he turned and without another word, walked out the door.

***

Sirius entered the Garden through the same door James did two years before when he came to collect him. Looking around, he spotted Remus sitting on the grass with a confused look on his face, much like the look Sirius imagined he had when he first arrived. With a sigh, Sirius walked over to Remus.

“So good of you to join us, Moony,” Sirius said a smile stretching across his face at the sight of his old friend.

“Guess seeing your ugly face means I am dead,” Remus said sarcastically, looking up at Sirius, grinning a little.

Just as James had done, Sirius reached his hand out to pull Remus to his feet. “I had just about the same reaction myself, only I had to wake up to James’ hideous face,” Sirius replied his smile fading a little. “Remus, there’s something you should know…” A thump and a woman swearing cut off Sirius’ words. Turning, he saw Tonks awkwardly getting to her feet.

“Remus!” she exclaimed, rushing forward to wrap her arms around the stunned man.

“Dora, who?” Remus asked, still stunned by the arrival of his wife.

“Bellatrix,” said Tonks, grimacing slightly. Noticing Sirius, she let go of Remus, went over, and hugged him too.

“Looks like she got both of us, huh?” she asked. Sirius nodded and turned back to Remus.

“Where’s Prongs? Why didn’t he come with you?” Remus asked, looking around for James.

“He and Lily are watching Harry. We’ll go join them in a minute. We need to wait for…” Once again, Sirius’ voice was cut off, this time by someone laughing hysterically. “Fred,” Sirius said grimly, pointing over Remus’ shoulder.

Remus turned to look at the laughing man. Walking over, he reached down to pull Fred to his feet. “It is Fred, right?” he asked. “Not George?”

Fred reached up and felt the side of his head. “Yep, it’s me all right. What happened? Did Percy’s joke give me a heart attack or something?”

“Actually, a wall fell on you,” Sirius answered.

“Ouch. Well, at least I got to hear Percy joke before I died,” Fred said, “never thought I’d see the day!”

“Come on, let’s get back to James and Lily. I have a feeling Harry is going to need us soon.” Sirius directed the last statement to Remus.

***

Inside, James and Lily watched Harry, Ron and Hermione make their way towards the Whomping Willow, coming across Dementors on the way.

“Just like his father’s,” Lily noted as she watched Harry repel the Dementors with his stag Patronus. James smiled proudly at his son’s ability and familiar Patronus form.

The door opened, and Sirius entered followed by Remus, Tonks and Fred. James turned to look at Remus. A huge smile crossed his face, and he left his wife’s side to embrace his friend.

“Moony, great to see you again,” James said, still smiling at Remus.

“James!” Lily exclaimed. “You make it sound like you’re glad he’s dead!”

She went over to Remus and hugged him. “You’ll have to forgive James for his crassness. He hasn’t had anyone but me and Sirius to talk to for awhile.”

“Relax Lily, I know what he meant, and it’s okay,” Remus replied, smiling at Lily.

James and Lily were introduced to Tonks and Fred whom they had never officially met though they knew who they were from watching Harry in various parts of his life.

“Lily…it’s Severus,” Remus said, drawing her attention to the window.

The group watched as Voldemort set Nagini on Snape. Lily watched silently, her face blank as her old friend’s memories were directed into the flask Harry held in his hand. When Snape finally collapsed against the floor and Harry retreated, Lily gave in and began sobbing.

“Hey, Lily,” James said drawing her into his arms. He continued to comfort her with soft words no one could catch. After a few minutes, Lily nodded and broke away from her husband, wiping away her tears.

“I should go and…” Lily said, her voice breaking. “But Harry…”

James looked at the window which had once again split into two sections. In one, he saw Harry headed towards Dumbledore’s office and knew he was going to look at Snape’s memories in the Pensieve. The other part of the window showed the Great Hall and the Weasley family by Fred’s body.

“There is time. Do you want me to go with you?” James asked softly.

“No, it’s better if I go alone. Do you think I should bring him back here?” Lily asked.

“Lily, you aren’t serious? You want to bring that snivelling coward here?” Sirius asked outraged.

James looked at Sirius, silencing him. However, his next words were directed at Lily. “Do what you think is best, Lily,” James told her, still glaring slightly at Sirius. “But make sure he knows all three of us are here.”

Lily turned towards the door, gave Sirius a look almost daring him to stop her, and walked out of the door.

“Are you out of your mind, Prongs?” Sirius exclaimed as soon as Lily was out the door.

James sighed and crossed his arms impatiently. “Padfoot, you have only seen the past couple years through this window. Lily and I have watched Harry as much as we can since he boarded the Hogwarts Express for the first time. We’ve seen the truth.”
James thought back to what the window had shown them over the years.

***

The first time they had been able to see Harry was the moment he walked through the barrier onto platform nine and three-quarters. For some unknown reason, they had been unable to see him before then. The short moment they saw Harry board the train was one of the happiest moments James could remember. Lily could hardly contain her tears and even James had welled up at the sight of his eleven-year-old son.

Through the years, they had tried to watch him as often as possible, but the window only showed Harry at various times in his life. They had watched him through his most troubling of times, fighting and escaping Voldemort more times then even James and Lily had managed. They were only able to watch briefly during happy moments, but those small moments were enough to sustain them.

It seemed that the window was opened whenever Harry thought strongly of his parents. Of course, it was Lily who figured out the pattern, still as sharp as ever even in the afterlife. She also figured out that during those times, they were drawn to the window no matter where they were. It was how they had always managed to watch Harry when he needed them the most. Although James wasn’t sure, Lily liked to believe that their presence soothed and helped Harry during whatever turmoil he was facing.

***

Snapping back to the present, James looked at Sirius, who even after being dead for two years, still held a grudge against his former classmate.

“He has done everything in his power to protect him.” Glancing at the window, James saw Harry tip the contents of the bottle into the Pensieve. “Watch and learn.”

The three Marauders and Tonks were so focused on watching Snape’s memories, they didn’t notice Fred watching his family’s grief on the other side of the screen, with a pained look on his face.


***

Fred’s attention was completely focused on the devastating scene in the Great Hall. It was an incredibly surreal feeling, standing here in this room looking down on grieving family and friends. His mother lay across his chest sobbing while his father knelt next to her, shock and despair on his face. Fred could see the tears sliding freely down his father’s face while he stroked Molly’s back. George was kneeling by his head, shaking his head as if by denying what he was seeing it wouldn’t be true. His grief seemed to be beyond tears, and Fred felt his heart break at the sight of his twin’s anguish.

Fred forced his attention away from his parents and George when he saw Ron and Hermione enter the Great Hall. He watched Ron go over to Bill, Fleur and Percy, their faces pale with grief. Seeing Percy put his arm around Ron gave Fred the tiniest feeling of comfort. ‘The family lost one son, but at least they got another back,’ he thought. ‘Even if he is still a prat.’

He watched numbly as Hermione embraced Ginny, and they moved closer to the rest of the family, allowing Fred to see Remus’ and Tonks’ bodies lying next to his. Though he knew they were dead, after all they were standing not three feet from him; it was still shocking to see their lifeless bodies. Their bodies showed no outward sign of injury; they merely looked like they were asleep.

He glanced at Remus and Tonks to see if they noticed their bodies, but their attention was still focused on the scenes Harry was experiencing in the Pensieve. Fred watched for a moment, seeing Snape as a child with a young red headed girl who he assumed was Harry’s mum.

When he focused on the scene in the Great Hall again, he saw Professor McGonagall bending down talking with his father. At his father’s nod, she moved on to the next grieving family patting Ron on the back as she moved passed him.

Fred watched as his father tried to get his mother to release her hold on his lifeless body, but Molly shrugged off his attempt. Wearily, Arthur looked back at Bill, but before Bill could take a step, George stood and moved over to his mother.

Fred watched as he knelt next to his mother and drew her gently, but firmly up to face him. As Fred looked at the grief-ravaged face of his mother, he realised it didn’t matter that Percy had come back. He was gone and his mum would never be the same.

Fred saw George stand and draw Molly to her feet. He lead her over to one of the tables lining the walls and sitting down, he put his arms around his mother, comforting her as she had done countless times with her children. Holding his sobbing mother, George finally allowed himself a few tears as the rest of the family joined them at the table.

As the bodies were being moved out of the Great Hall, the window once again became one focusing solely on Harry as he walked out of the Headmaster’s office, his face sober, knowing what he must do.

***

Severus stood up slowly, looking around at the beautiful garden he had woken up in. He had been sure that the afterlife would be cold and dark to him, a reflection of the life he had led. He certainly didn’t expect a beautiful and colourful garden and wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. He whirled around at the sound of soft footsteps behind him, and he gasped as Lily walked towards him, a small smile lighting up her beautiful face.

“Lily,” he said softly, unsure if this… if she was real.

“Hello, Severus,” she replied. “I take it you weren’t expecting this. Or me for that matter.”

He nodded slightly, his face colouring slightly as he looked in her bright green eyes. Lily reached out and hugged him tightly, then pulled back slightly to meet his gaze.

“Thank you. Thank you for protecting Harry all these years. You gave your life for my son, and I can never thank you enough for that.”

“Lily, I…” Severus hesitated. “I’m sorry. I am sorry for what I did. I’m sorry for so much.”

Lily smiled at him. “I know you are.”

“Where’s James? I would have thought he would be here with you,” Severus asked, his tone showing that the old rivalries were not forgotten.

Sighing, Lily wondered if it was a good idea to take him back to the watching room. “He stayed to watch Harry watch your memories. Sirius and Remus are with him, as are Tonks and Fred Weasley.”

“Remus? Tonks and Fred, too?” Severus closed his eyes as he lowered his head. “How many more? How many more will there be before he is stopped?”

Lily felt a sense of urgency. She needed to get back to the watching room quickly. Harry needed her.

“Severus, I have to get back, now. Come with me,” she said as she held her hand out to him. Seeing his hesitation, she smiled. “It’s okay. You will be welcome. You did so much, and you deserve to watch the end.” He smiled slightly and let her pull him along.

***

James watched as Tonks walked over to Fred, who had a look of anguish on his face. James knew how hard it was to watch your loved ones grieve and felt sorry for the young man. He watched as Tonks put her arm around the young man and whispered in his ear, her words making Fred smile a little. James turned back to the window as Tonks led Fred over next to them.

At that moment, a previously ignored door in the back of the room burst open causing all of them to jump and turn around to look at the man who had just walked in.

“Dora! Albus told me where you were,” the man said as he rushed forward.

“Daddy!” Tonks exclaimed in shock as she started towards him. At that moment, several things happened at once.

Fred had stepped half in front of Tonks as had Remus when the door burst open, which caused her feet to tangle in theirs as she moved forward. The three of them went down in a heap just as Alastair Moody limped through the door.

“Damn good Auror, but still dead clumsy,” Moody stated, laughter in his voice.

Remus looked up from his spot on the floor. Fred was trying in vain to disentangle himself from Tonks; the process made harder because he was laughing uncontrollably. Joining him in his laughter were the other two Marauders.

While James reached down to help Remus to his feet, Sirius attempted to help Fred and Tonks to stand. Once Tonks was on her feet, she was enveloped in a hug by her father.

As the group greeted Moody, the scene on the screen showed Harry talking to Neville outside the castle. The group turned as one to watch as Harry walked away from Neville and towards the Forbidden Forest.

The main door banged open as Lily hurried in dragging Snape behind her. Letting go of his hand, she rushed over to James while Snape stood awkwardly in the doorway, unsure if he belonged in the room.

“James…. We have to go,” Lily said, the fear evident in her voice. She grabbed at James’ hands and continued, “He is going to need us. He needs us to be there.” Looking at Sirius and Remus, she said, “He’ll need you two, also. Let’s go.” Lily tugged at James’ hand urgently as she turned to leave, pulling him behind her.

At that moment, Sirius and Remus spotted Snape standing just inside the door.

Sirius walked over to him and with a bit of hesitation held out his hand. “I know what you did for Harry. For that and that alone, thank you.”

Snape looked down at the offered hand. Then back to the face that had been a thorn in his side for most of his life. Shrugging, he took the offered hand and replied, “I only did it for Lily.”

Before Sirius could get started, Remus joined them. “We will be back, stay here. You are welcome to watch the end with us.”

“Remus, Sirius, we have no time! We have to go!” Lily said urgently.

James glanced back at the window and saw Harry entering the forest, his head held high. He knew Lily was right. The four of them rushed out into the garden and disappeared behind a thick group of trees, eerily similar to the trees in the Forbidden Forest.

As they left the room, Snape didn’t move. Without Lily there, he felt uncomfortable in the present company. He stiffened as Fred awkwardly approached his former Potions professor.

“Tonks just told me you were trying to save Remus that night, and you never intended to hurt George. Is this true?” At Snape’s slight nod, Fred continued, “Well then, I guess I should say thank you for giving us endless jokes to use about George being ‘holey’.” Fred held out his hand to a stunned Snape.

Shaking Fred’s hand, Snape looked thoroughly bewildered and uncomfortable by the thanks he was receiving from everyone. Smiling, Fred patted Snape on the back and drew him closer to the watching window.

As the group watched Harry walking through the forest and saw James, Lily, Sirius and Remus appear to him, the room began to fill up with others who wanted to watch the end of Voldemort.

Among those who came in were members of the original Order of the Phoenix, including Fred’s uncles Fabian and Gideon. Fred smiled briefly at them before turning back to watch the scene unfold. Slipping in quietly and almost unnoticed, Regulus Black stayed in the back of the room. Like Snape, he was unsure if he would be welcome since Sirius wasn’t here. As more people came in, the window grew larger until it covered the entire wall.

Within moments of Harry dropping the stone and the disappearance from the scene of James, Lily and the others, the four of them rushed through the door and pushed their way through the crowd to the front.

“Why did he have to drop the stone?” Lily cried, tears sliding down her face. “He needs us!”

“Lily, I think this is something he has to do alone,” James said consolingly, holding her close to him.

They watched in horrified silence as Harry slipped off the cloak and showed himself to Voldemort, James feeling very proud of his brave son. As the jet of green light hit Harry in the chest, Lily broke down in tears and would have slumped to the floor had James not caught her.

The room was totally silent, and everyone stared shocked at the screen, not wanting to believe that Harry had died. However, barely a minute passed when Sirius exclaimed, “Wait! I don’t think Harry is dead.”

All eyes looked briefly at Sirius before concentrating on Harry. They watched breathlessly as Narcissa leaned down and whispered in Harry’s ear. They saw Harry’s mouth barely move with his response to her.

A cheer went up throughout the room, a few shedding tears of relief. James winced as he watched Voldemort taunting and cursing his son’s body, but couldn’t bring himself to turn away from the window.

“But how? He was hit straight on with the Killing Curse,” Lily asked, her voice still shaky.

“I believe my dear, I can answer that question,” Albus Dumbledore said walking majestically to the front of the room. “But, explanations will need to wait for a bit as I am sure you would rather watch Harry defeat Voldemort once and for all?”

Lily looked into Dumbledore’s sparkling eyes before nodding her head and turning back to the window. They saw Hagrid carrying Harry through the forest and watched breathlessly as Voldemort flaunted the ‘death’ of Harry to the devastated fighters. The silence turned to cheers and gasps as Neville Longbottom pulled out Gryffindor’s sword and killed Nagini. Tonks and Sirius cheered louder then anyone when Molly Weasley finished off Bellatrix Lestrange, while James and Lily searched the window frantically for a glimpse of Harry, not knowing he was under the Invisibility Cloak.

The crowd in the room fell silent again as they watched Harry reveal himself yet again to Voldemort. They watched as Harry and Voldemort began circling each other, astounded by Harry’s bravery in facing Voldemort again. When the spells collided and Voldemort fell, there was silence for several seconds before the room erupted into cheers that rivalled the ones in the Great Hall.

Every one of them was laughing, cheering, and hugging. Lily embraced James, tears of joy running down her face. As Sirius hugged Tonks for the second time, he caught a glimpse of his brother standing in the back of the room. Walking over, he hugged him tightly. Sirius had learned the truth about his brother not long after he arrived here and ironically, they had formed a close bond in the afterlife.

As the large group in the room moved back out to the garden, only Lily, the Marauders, Fred, and Tonks stayed behind to speak with Dumbledore. Lily was the first to speak, voicing the question that Dumbledore had left unanswered earlier, “How was Harry able to survive the curse in the forest?”

With one last glance at the window showing the happy scene in the Great Hall, Albus Dumbledore began his explanation.

“When you, Lily, stepped in front of Harry that night, you gave your life willingly and out of pure love for your son. That created a very powerful magical protection for him. This protection was sealed when your sister agreed to take him into her home. That is why he had to stay there until he came of age, to keep the ancient magic alive.

“In the graveyard, when Peter used Harry’s blood to bring Voldemort back, he unknowingly passed your protection onto Voldemort. While Harry had a piece of Voldemort’s soul inside him, Voldemort now had some of Harry in him. Therefore, while the piece of soul in Harry tied Voldemort to life; the blood in Voldemort tied Harry to life.

“By willingly sacrificing himself as his mother had done all those years ago, Harry made it so Voldemort killed the piece of his own soul living inside Harry. But as Voldemort was stunned by the Killing Curse he used on Harry, the blood connection tied Harry to life.” Dumbledore looked at James and Lily before he continued.

“I was just with Harry in another place, an in-between place if you will. He made the very difficult decision to go back to the world and by doing so, end the pain and suffering of his loved ones and the entire Wizarding world.” Dumbledore smiled at the astonished looks on their faces as they took in all he said.

“I can honestly say he is one of the bravest men I’ve known.” Dumbledore added softly, “A true testament to the parents that created him.”

“Wait, if Lily’s death protected Harry, then why didn’t my death protect Lily? I died trying to give her time to get to safety. I died for her and Harry.” James said, sounding not only confused but also a little outraged.

“James, you faced Voldemort knowing you were going to die. You weren’t given a choice. You faced him wandless and alone. Lily was given a choice. She could have simply moved aside and let Voldemort kill Harry.” At Lily’s expression of anger, Dumbledore held up his hand. ‘I know you would have never even considered doing that, but that is beside the point. The offer of your life was given, therefore making your death the true sacrifice needed to invoke the ancient magic of protection.”

“So my death didn’t make a difference? I could have survived, and it would have ended the same way?” James asked, still a little angry.

“James, if you had not done what you did, I would not have been given the chance to die for Harry. It was Harry’s and the Wizarding world’s good luck that you died when you did,” Lily said, rubbing his hand reassuringly and smiling at James who had a shocked look on his face, in disbelief that she could say his death was the result of good luck.

Chuckling, Sirius said, “Well mate, looks like you had the best luck of us all… in the end.”