"I can't believe that idiot was right," James chuckled to himself, having laid down on the bed beside me twenty minutes into the explanation.

"Hmm?" I mumbled, exhausted from the hours-long of talking.

"Pads made a list back months ago about what your secret could be and time traveller was like number one along with the possibility of you being a mermaid and being in witness protection," he chuckled once more, reminiscing on what could be considered as the good 'ole days.

Who would've known that those were the best moments of his life when at the time they seemed so simple, so normal.

Perhaps that's what he loved about them the most, they were so simple, so carefree, even if it never seemed like it at the time.

I let out a small giggle, allowing my eyes to rest for a moment as I too reminisced about the close friendship we all used to have. "That's no surprise."

"No, he's always been rather smart, hasn't he?"

If James hadn't been separated from him for only seventeen hours I would begin to question if he missed his best friend but then again this is probably the longest they've gone without each other in years.

"So what's the deal with you and Moony then?" James filled the silence almost cautiously, not wanting to break whatever small tie had been mended over the last few hours.

"He's my Dad," I released a small smile, enjoying the look of surprise that failed to leave his expression.

"Please tell me that you're joking," James choked, sitting up as he struggled to breathe, pounding on his chest roughly.

"Nope," I shrugged my shoulders the best I could, internally debating whether or not to help him.

"By Merlin, I should feel disgusted with myself, you're my best mates daughter for Merlin's sake!" He panicked, leaping up from the bed, opting to pace in the old wooden flooring in front of me once more, mumbling some nonsense about a major violation of the bro code. It wasn't long before he turned to face me once more.

"How could you let this," he motioned between the two of us, "escalate as more than friends when you knew that I was practically your Uncle! Dear Merlin this is going to scar me for the rest of my life," he trailed off into a mumble once more, wearing down the flooring with his stupid dog socks that Sirius gave him as a mock present for Christmas.

I wasn't sure whether or not to be offended. I guess this was a pretty normal reaction though when phrased like that it did sound kind of disturbing.

"It's not like you're an Uncle to me really, I first met you by the Black Lake," I scrunched up my nose, slightly offended by the distance he was now maintaining to a fault.

"So I wasn't part of your life growing up?" He questions, turning to face me once more with a look of confusion. "Why not?"

"You sure you want to know?" I asked hesitantly, not sure how he'd handle the news if this was how he reacted to such a small thing in comparison.

"Just spit it out," he demanded, one dog clad foot tapping the floor impatiently.

"You die, James, you die just after my first birthday," I admitted, looking down at the colourful patched quilt resting on my legs.

"What?" I barely picked up the noise, eyes rising to the paling man as he stumbles to sit down on the bed, head collapsing into hands that were resting on his knees. "When?"

"James-"

"When?" He shouted, turning to look at me with unshed tears in his eyes.

"Halloween, 1981," I reluctantly told him, hating how his face scrunched up in horror.

"But that's only-"

"Four years away," I finished for him.

"How?"

"It wasn't in vain, James, that's all you need to know. You died for the ones you loved."

I couldn't possibly tell him that he died protecting me and our son, no way could I put that burden on his shoulders as well. Sometimes knowledge isn't power. Sometimes ignorance truly is bliss.

He'd been through enough tonight.

"Okay," he sighed out, knowing that it probably wasn't best to know all the details, settling for the fact that he died for those he cared about.

He could live with that.

And he knew that he would gladly die for it again, that would never change.

He cleared his throat, indicating that he had enough answers for now, that he needed a break to process this newfound information.

"We should head to bed, it's almost light out and we'll need to get moving soon," James pushed up from the bed, moving to the fold out couch in the corner that I had failed to notice earlier.

"We?" I questioned lightly, unsure what he meant by the term.

"Yeah, I'm not leaving you by yourself, especially whilst you're injured. I've heard rumours about a witch in the Romanian mountains who can manipulate the powers of time. Let's hope that they're more than just that," he breathed out, ready to fall asleep, having not slept since the night before.

"You want to send me back to my time?" I whispered, gazing up into the darkness above me.

"That's the safest place for you at the moment, Lilah. You have more people to protect you there," he defended his choices stoically, no hint of emotion in his tone.

No hint of fondness, not even the slip of the nickname he'd once adopted for me. I guess the truth really has changed his opinion of me.

"Okay," I replied, unwilling to give in to the numbness.

"Okay?" He mumbled, surprised at my agreement.

"Okay."