The Reunion That Shattered Fate
"Dad," Harry said the moment he saw the almost transparent form of James, who was looking at him with a soft smile that trembled somewhere between joy and nostalgia.
"Hello, Harry. You've grown so much since the last time I saw you," James said with a sad smile; after all, the last time he had seen his son had also been the last time he ever would. It was the day of his death and Lily's; the day they had left their one-year-old baby alone in the world, not even knowing if he had survived Voldemort's attack.
"Why are you stopping me? He…" Harry looked at James's ghostly hand holding his own, preventing him from killing the man who had caused all of this: Severus Snape.
"Because it's not necessary, Harry," James said gently. Then he glanced at Snape and let out a tired sigh. "And your mother wouldn't want this."
Harry slowly lowered his hand, while Snape didn't look away from James, as if desperately wanting to ask something the moment he saw him, almost as if he still couldn't believe what stood before his eyes.
"She didn't come with me" James said with an oddly calm tone as he looked at him. "Unfortunately, the stone only gave each of us one chance," he added for Harry.
It was true. Harry had met his mother before… but never his father. It was a wound that had followed him for years; a painful thought, a fear that maybe his father simply hadn't wanted to see him even when the stone allowed it.
James seemed to read his soul, because he smiled gently.
"I'm sorry for being late, son. I stepped away from your mother for a moment to take care of something she asked me to do," he explained before turning toward Jeff, who was watching him with a deep expression of recognition, offering him a small smile.
"We knew who you were. Because you're the same," Jeff added without clarifying anything else.
That confused Harry for a moment.
"I'm proud of the person you're becoming, Harry. I'm happy to see you growing strong. Far stronger than any of us, the Marauders. Far stronger than I ever thought possible. And I'm glad that the mother Lily chose for you is doing such a good job. Truly… I'm proud to be your father," James said, looking straight at Harry, as if he knew those were exactly the words Harry had been waiting to hear his entire life.
"And I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for not being there to watch you grow; to see you run; to see you board the Hogwarts Express; to see you arrive with your friends; to see you meet the love of your life; to see you build a family of your own," he continued with a thin, trembling voice as bright tears—more transparent than his body—fell down his face. "And what I regret the most is that your mother couldn't give you all the love she had saved for you."
James placed one hand on Harry's shoulder and the other on his cheek, holding him with a tenderness that felt capable of crossing the boundary between life and death.
"Harry, I did many bad things in my life. Many things I regret," James said, glancing briefly at Severus. "And there are others I will never be able to regret, because I am already dead. But what I will never regret, no matter what, is having you as my son… even if I only got to enjoy you for a single year."
Harry looked at him with such deep happiness that, for a moment, the pain of knowing this was temporary seemed to fade.
"It's… it's good to finally meet you," Harry said, smiling through his tears.
James returned the smile and pressed his forehead gently against his son's, proud and peaceful. Then his gaze moved back to Severus Snape.
"Snape. I hate you. And this hatred is greater because I know my wife died because of you. But even so, she bears no grudge. And what does it matter; we're dead now," James said with a mix of emotions. "So I'll tell you this. Live your life in regret. I'm not the one giving the order. But for Lily, and only for her, live your life regretting her death. And when you die, we'll see each other. That will be your punishment. Accept it or don't; I don't care. I'm only the messenger."
His voice turned cold.
"If you had been a horrible person; if you had held hatred toward my son after my death; if you had tortured people just because of your disgusting resentment… this would be different. I wouldn't have stopped him. But I suppose, as she said… there was still a bit of light left in you."
He finished the sentence and then simply ignored him.
James then turned toward Sirius, who was rushing over, unable to hide the emotion on his face.
"Padfoot, time really hasn't treated you well," James said with a light tease and a genuinely happy smile.
Sirius paused for a moment, took a deep breath, and smiled—even if the insult stung. "What are you talking about, Prongs? That death-aura isn't a great look on you either," he replied, though his trembling smile revealed the sadness underneath.
James then looked at Edward, who was approaching slowly. Behind him, what appeared to be a fight between giant monsters—a red dragon destroying everything with its fire, and a black twisted creature fighting back. James fell completely silent upon seeing that. He raised a finger, as if wanting to ask something, but no words came out..
"Greengrass," James said, pointing at Edward. "I assume you're still fighting Sirius thanks to those typical arguments he has with your wife."
Edward nodded calmly, as if the situation around him didn't bother him in the slightest.
James smiled before turning toward Wormtail, lying on the ground trapped by the serpent, and his smile vanished again. "Betrayal has a high price, Pettigrew," he said coldly to the man who had once been one of his closest friends.
Then he looked back at Harry.
"I have to go, son. I don't really know why I ended up here. Maybe because I once owned the Death Cloak. But honestly… it feels wonderful to see you one last time," James said as his body began growing more transparent. "Please… give Moony my regards."
Harry lifted his hand to stop him, but James raised his own, gently refusing with a small shake of his head.
"Your mother is waiting for me," he said softly. Then he glanced to the side and smiled lightly. "And she's not the only mother who's waiting."
His body finally dissolved. "Goodbye, my son. Remember that both your mother and I are proud of you."
Then, three objects fell to the ground: a completely shattered red stone, a wand split in half, and Harry's invisibility cloak—the only one still intact.
Harry knelt down and picked up the cloak, hugging it against his chest with a soft smile before briefly glancing at Snape, holding a silence that felt eternal, and then simply turning his head away… letting him go.
Before whispering softly into the fabric:
"Thank you for not abandoning me… even after you died."
The silence James left behind was so immense that it only broke when the distant crunch of popcorn echoed through the air.
Selene was standing there with a bucket of popcorn, her eyes sparkling as she watched everything unfold as if it were a live theatre play. Beside her, Luna and Astoria were casually sharing popcorn as if this were the most normal thing in the world.
Behind them came running Hermione, Daphne, Draco, Fleur, and Ginny.
"Uh… how did you get here first?" Daphne asked in disbelief, staring at her sister and Luna happily eating popcorn next to her mother. Even Astoria lifted her hand to offer her some, as if silently asking if she wanted a handful.
Daphne turned around to look for where the two of them should have been, but only Ginny stood there, just as confused, realizing that at some point they had vanished without her noticing.
Draco glanced quickly at his godfather and then at Harry, letting out a sigh. They had all seen what happened from afar and had run over as fast as they could.
And the last two people to arrive were Wanda—who was staring intensely at Jeff—and Frank, whom she was oddly carrying under one arm, smiling widely while waving excitedly at his brother.
"Hey, Billy, I found Mom," he said happily.
Jeff—or rather Tommy—stared back at her, like memories were crashing back into him all at once. His eyes immediately filled with tears.
And without hesitation, he sprinted toward her, shouting "Mom!" before throwing himself into her arms.
"Did he say Billy?" Daphne asked, utterly lost. "Wasn't his name Jeff?" she repeated.
"Is that what you're focusing on?" Draco asked, staring at her like she was an idiot.
"Wait… did he say Mom?" Hermione asked, finally latching onto the important part.
Meanwhile, Selene shifted her gaze slightly and saw Edward approaching with his usual cold expression.
"Oh, hello dear. Looks like someone stole your big dramatic entrance," Selene said with a light smile, glancing at Red fighting with all his might.
Apparently Sirius and Edward weren't the only ones eager to impress their families. Red also seemed determined to show off his strength to his masters… although he seemed blissfully unaware that he was destroying a large portion of the Forbidden Forest while spewing massive blasts of red fire everywhere.
All the while, Wanda was holding Billy and Tommy tightly, tears of happiness welling in her eyes. Then she looked at Harry, who somehow had ended up inside the hug without realizing when, smiling softly as he saw his mother complete at last.
"My boys… all of my boys.," Wanda said, with no sign of ever letting them go.
Frank—or rather Tommy and Jeff, and Billy—smiled with the same overwhelming happiness. It felt like an impossibly joyful family reunion.
"But… how?" Wanda finally asked, realizing the most important detail as she loosened her hold slightly. After all, not even she as the Scarlet Witch had been able to bring them back. Or rather… her death and arrival in this universe had come from losing her mind in desperation because she could not bring them back.
"Well… when we disappeared that time, we appeared in this dark, creepy place, and a voice kept trying to pull us back, saying we belonged to it," Billy said, remembering only fragments.
"Then a deer with huge antlers came and pulled us out. It helped us escape that thing," Billy continued. "When we woke up again, we were in that orphanage. But we didn't remember anything until we saw you now," he added, smiling brightly as the last pieces of memory finally returned.
Wanda focused especially on the part about the voice and the dark place. Something about it felt deeply important, but she decided to save it for later; right now, her children—her three children—were with her.
Her tears simply refused to stop as she hugged them again.
"Oh, right, right… I didn't properly introduce you," she said at last as she released them and stretched out her arms, though her magic seemed intent on not letting them go. "This is Harry. Your… younger brother?" Wanda said with a slightly confused expression, tilting her head to the side.
Billy, Tommy, and Harry made the exact same gesture, all three wearing the same confused expression, while everyone around them tried not to burst out laughing.
"I hate to ruin such an emotional moment, but… could someone deal with that?" Sirius said, pointing toward giant Red and Dominic, who looked about ready to obliterate everything around them.
Wanda barely glanced in their direction and snapped her fingers.
Suddenly both massive creatures began shrinking. Red returned to his normal form, while Dominic also shrank… but became a decrepit old man barely able to stand.
"No… no…" Dominic gasped as he felt his strength drain away. "I have to be perfect. I need power, I—"
Before he could finish, a sword pierced him from behind and emerged through his chest.
Luciel was standing behind him with a truly cold expression. He pulled the sword out effortlessly, as if slicing something insignificant, and then walked calmly toward the group.
To him, it was the only thing Dominic deserved: a miserable death, without a single drop of emotion.
"No…" Dominic whispered as he fell to the ground, barely audible, staring at his son—or rather, at his son's back—as he walked away without even looking at him.
Everyone else seemed completely unfazed by the man's death; they simply returned their attention to Wanda and her children.
Terra, who had been resting inside Wanda's pocket, floated out gently. Upon seeing Billy and Tommy safe, she smiled proudly for a moment.
Meanwhile, Dee released Peter, who had been tied up with vines created by Edward's magic, as Edward approached as well.
Red arrived with an irritated expression, clearly angry that he had lost his big "show-off moment," and jumped on Harry as if demanding praise for a job well done.
Wanda looked at her children, at her family, at her friends… with a wide, overflowing smile. She felt completely full. It was a smile that nothing and no one could break, now that they were with her—her most precious treasures.
Her heart had once shattered for them… and now it beat again.
…
When the Elder Wand was destroyed, a box Hagrid had been guarding suddenly shook violently. A black smoke burst out and fled into the darkness of the remaining forest.
But it didn't get far.
Several claw-like hands erupted from the ground, snatching the smoke effortlessly before dragging it deep into the earth.
And meanwhile, somewhere else…
Upon Dominic's death, a painting deep within a hidden vault beneath an ancient mansion flickered. It was a Renaissance-style portrait of an incredibly handsome man with long blond hair and perfect features. Suddenly, the figure inside the frame seemed to move slightly.
Before a hand emerged from the painting, the artwork began to stain with horrid marks and filth spreading across the canvas.
And finally, the beautiful man stepped out completely.
"Aaah… again. Back to square one… again." the man said, inspecting his restored body, annoyed yet pleased to have regained his beauty.
"Oh, is that so? How about a deal then—so you won't have to start over?" a voice echoed from the darkness of the vault, startling him before a pair of glowing red eyes appeared in the shadows.