It's James's Fault

1995

Jessie grabbed onto the closest thing she could find, which happened to be Reggie's arm, in a desperate attempt to stay upward. Reggie lost his balance, causing him to fall to the floor with Jessie on top of him. Her knee dug into his groin, causing him to hiss in pain. "Bloody hell, Jess!"

Lily let out a frightened cry as she fell forward, dropping her favorite doll. She landed on Teddy's back, her fingers digging into his skin in a desperate attempt to hold on.

Rose held tightly to her brother with one arm, while she held onto the door handle with her other hand. Her face turned a sickly shade of green.

James wobbled unsteadily on his feet, his eyes wide with excitement. "WOOHOO!" He shouted. If the other's weren't so busy panicking, they would have rolled their eyes.

Then, just as suddenly as the spinning had started, it stopped.

Lily crawled off of Teddy and ran into Remus's arms, her chocolate brown eyes filled with tears.

"JAMES SIRIUS POTTER!" Teddy shouted, his face a shade or two darker than the Weasley's hair. "I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" He jumped to his feet and rounded on the younger boy. "WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?"

James took one look at the angry metamorphmagus, and deciding that he would much rather face the wrath of his mother, he bolted for the door. "MUM, DAD!" He shouted. "THE WEREWOLF SPAWN IS AFTER ME!" He rounded the corner, bumping right into a man who he had only seen in pictures.

"You're coming with me, laddie." He growled, his magical blue eye turning a full 360 degrees as he took in his surroundings. He grabbed James roughly by the arm and started to drag him off.

Cries of protest could be heard from behind them as the rest of the children and Remus entered the room.

"OY!" Reggie shouted as he aimed a kick to the man's leg. "LET HIM GO YOU BARMY OLD GIT!"

The door to the kitchen swung open and a group of strange, yet familiar looking people stepped out. They all had wands in their hands, which were pointed directly at all of them. James's eyes landed on Sirius and he let out a sigh of relief. "Padfoot, help!"

Sirius's eyes nearly bulged out of his head. "What did you just call me?"

Remus took in the appearance of everyone in the room and it didn't take him long to figure out what was going on. He had seen the broken time turner on the floor, after all. He stepped in front of the children and held his free hand up in surrender, still holding Lily with his other arm. "If everyone could just calm down, I think I can put your minds at ease." He then turned to the man he recognized immediately as Alastor Moody. "Alastor, please let him go. You're scaring him."

Alastor snorted. "And why, pray tell, would I do that?"

"Because they aren't death eaters."

Everyone turned to the door of the kitchen, where a new figure had just appeared. It was none other than Albus Dumbledore. "Time travel, Remus, I must say I'm rather impressed."

Several jaws dropped open as they looked between Albus Dumbledore and the intruders.

"That's not possible." A younger Hermione argued.

"You of all people should know that it is, Miss Granger." Albus replied.

"You can't be serious, Albus." Alastor said.

"No." James winced as the man's grip tightened. "That would be me."

Remus shot him a look which told him to be quiet, before looking back at Albus. "It would appear so." He sighed. He heard James wince again and turned to face Alastor. "Now I would appreciate it if you let him go. He's eleven years old, for Merlin's sake."

"Bloody likely." Moody grunted.

"Let him go, Alastor." Albus said. "They mean no harm." At the Auror's disbelieving look, he sighed. "If you don't believe me, perhaps our guests could put you all at ease by proving themselves. More specifically, Remus."

Remus would rather not, seeing as just being here could drastically change the future, but he also knew they may not have a choice. He nodded in agreement.

"Excellent!" Albus clapped his hands together.

Remus looked at the group of people, some of whom he hadn't seen in years, and sighed. "My name is Remus John Lupin. I..."

"Veritaserum." Moody barked. He took some out of his pocket and handed it to Remus.

"Look." The werewolf sighed. "I'm not sure this is a good idea. I really don't want to mess with the timeline."

Albus Dumbledore smiled. "Excellent point, Remus. However, I believe it is our only option at this point. We will just have to erase our memories later."

Remus nodded and took the truth potion, before putting a few drops on his tongue. He sincerely hoped he wouldn't live to regret this decision.

"Name?" Dumbledore asked.

"Remus John Lupin."

Several gasps could be heard as everyone began to realize that their unannounced guest may be telling the truth.

"Nickname?" Sirius asked.

"Moony."

"Are you a death eater?" Alastor asked roughly.

"No."

"I believe our guests have proved themselves." Dumbledore said. "Now if you could let the boy go..."

Mad eye grunted, but he released the young boy. James immediately rushed to Remus, who pulled him close to his side. "You okay?"

James nodded, though he rubbed at his arm which was pretty sore.

"Well." Dumbledore grinned. "I must say, this is a most peculiar situation. We will try our best to help you get back to your time without changing things, however in the meantime, I believe introductions are in order. Let's all have a seat in the kitchen."