"How come?" Harry asked, puzzled.
"Well, son, when old Moldy Voldy тАУ " Harry burst into snickers at his dad's term for Voldesnort " тАУ cursed you the first time, he did something he didn't intend. See, he had tried to make himself immortal by breaking off pieces of his soul and putting them into objects for safekeeping. That way, even if he was AK'd, parts of his soul would survive and he wouldn't die."
Harry wrinkled his nose. "That's creepy."
James snorted in agreement. "I'll say!"
"And each time he split his soul, he lost more and more of his humanity and his sanity," Lily put in.
"That explains a lot," Harry said feelingly. "He's really barmy now!"
"Never was a truer word spoken," James grinned. "By the time he tried to kill you back when you were just a baby, his soul was in so many pieces that it could practically be broken by a strong breeze. And that night, without even meaning to, he sent a piece of his soul into you." He tapped Harry on the forehead.
"You mean my scar?" Harry asked, eyes wide. "It was a piece of Volauvent?"
"Yes," Lily said, hugging him again as if she never wanted to let go. Harry didn't really mind the hug. He was twelve, but he figured his mum had a lot of hugging to catch up on. "That's why you could speak to snakes and why that smelly turban wearing old fraud made your scar hurt. Because there was a piece of him in you."
"Ugh!" Suddenly Harry wanted to take a hot bath. He rubbed at his forehead. "That's just nasty!"
"Yes, but it does have its advantages," James told him. "When The Red Eyed Menace AK'd you tonight, your horcrux absorbed most of the power of the curse, and it was destroyed. Enough of your mum's blood magic remained in your body тАУ the same magic that burnt Quirrel when he tried to harm you тАУ that the remaining power of the AK wasn't quite enough to kill you. Nearly so, but since old MoldyShorts isn't yet fully reincarnated, his power isn't quite what it used to be. Between the blood magic and his reduced power, if you want it badly enough, you can return to the world. If you don't, then you will die, just as we did," he ended softly, carding his hand through his son's hair.
Harry bit his lip, unsure what to do. He was deliriously happy to be with his parents тАУ at last тАУ but he also missed his da, and he felt bad about leaving behind the man who was so obviously devastated, if the heart-rending sobs were any indication. "I тАУ I don't know," he said at last. "I want to stay with you, but I don't want to leave my da тАУ I mean Professor Snape тАУ either."
James smiled at him and gently pushed Harry's glasses up his nose. "You can call him your da, Harry. I don't mind. I'm glad he was there for you when I couldn't be."
His mum smiled and nodded. "Harry, it will never make us unhappy if you find other people who love you like we do. We'll only be unhappy if you don't have people who care about you."
"What should I do?" Harry asked helplessly.
Lily folded him into her arms and pressed a kiss onto his head. She wasn't as тАУ erm тАУ squishy as Auntie Molly, but she still felt awfully good. "Sweetheart, it's your decision. We will always, always love you and be with you, no matter what."
Harry perked up. "Really?"
James grinned. "Yup. Just like we were there to see you grab the snitch at your first Quidditch game тАУ even without a broom!" He nudged Lily. "I told you he was a natural!"
She rolled her eyes. "James, you said that when all he did was use your broom as a teething ring." She looked back at Harry. "But we have always been there with you, Harry. We saw you when you were so unhappy with that bi- erm, horrible sister of mine and her whale of a husband and pig of a sonтАж"
James made oinking noises, much to Harry's glee. "Did you see what Hagrid did to him?"
"I only wish he had turned Vernon into Shamu and left him to suffocate on the floor of that horrible hut!" Lily snapped.
Harry blinked and scooted a little closer to his dad. His mum was fierce when she got mad тАУ just like Auntie Molly! James tugged Harry onto his lap and draped a comforting arm over him. "We saw you making friends with all the other kids тАУ Ron and Hermione and DracoтАж Did you know that Neville used to come over for play dates when you were both babies?"
"Yeah?" Harry asked in surprise. "I didn't know that!"
"Oh, yes, you used to love to take your baths together," Lily said fondly, oblivious to Harry's choking noises of mortification. Okay, do NOT mention that to Neville!
"Erm, when you say you watch over me, you don't mean you watch me all the time, do you?" Harry asked, abruptly realizing that some of his activities were definitely not something which he wanted to share with an audience, let alone his parents!
James sniggered until Lily shot him a Look. "No, no, Harry. We don't peek at private times тАУ we just watch over you when you're out and about."
"Oh. Okay. It doesn't really matter; I was just wondering," Harry's tone was elaborately casual to conceal his overwhelming relief.
"Yeah, Pronglet. We know that a guy needs his privacy," his dad reassured him with a wink. "But we do like watching when you're setting up a prank тАУ like the one on the 'Puffs? That was definitely Marauder material!"
"Or when you do something nice, like help Neville with his Charms assignment," Lily put in. "Or when you and Sev are having breakfast together."
"And we saw how тАУ" Abruptly James frowned, and with a quick tug he had Harry sprawled face down across his lap.
"Hey!" Harry yipped as his nose ended up smooshed into the fuzzy blanket. "What's - OW!" He let out a loud yelp as the first of several hard slaps landed on his bum. "Ow, Dad! Stop! Ouch!"
He squirmed and protested, but James held him in place until he had delivered a dozen sound swats. Once he was released, Harry scrambled to his knees, both hands flying to his insulted posterior. "That hurt, Dad!" he complained indignantly.
"It was intended to," James retorted sternly. "Didn't Snape tell you to go to your tower? And didn't you disobey him so you could stick around just to eavesdrop? And then didn't you rush into the room and get captured rather than going for help when you heard he was in trouble?"
"Oh. Well, yes," Harry admitted sheepishly
"You know better than that, Harry James," his father scolded. "You're old enough to listen to your da and do what you're told. What has Snape told you about putting yourself in danger? You earned yourself a good smacking with that behavior."
Harry hung his head and pouted. It wasn't fair. He was dead тАУ well, nearly тАУ and he was still getting walloped. It didn't seem right to have to go into the afterlife with a sore bum. Wasn't getting AK'd punishment enough?
Besides, smackings were for little kids. He was twelve, for Merlin's sake. Even his da hadn't whacked him for ages, not since he'd nearly followed Voldemold's snake into the Chamber, and that had been way back last year when he was only an ickle firstie! His dad should know better than to use such a babyish punishment on himтАж especially one that stung so much. Harry rubbed his smarting backside and felt very sorry for himself.
James rolled his eyes and pulled his pouting son into a hug. He'd known he was going to be pants at discipline. "I suppose it's my fault anyway," he sighed. "The reckless genes are pure Potter."
"Really?" Harry asked, peeking up through his fringe. He'd resisted the hug at first, but he couldn't yet manage to stay mad at either parent, not even just after getting spanked.