She was the cutest girl I had ever seen. I couldn't take my eyes off her. With lovely black hair and bright gray eyes, she started chasing after a little yellow butterfly, laughing the whole time. For some strange reason, my heart ached terribly.

She was playing in the backyard of a little house. Modest, yes, but not huge. It was a humble little place that looked very happy, from the red roof tiles to the cheerful, swaying tulips in the front.

"Mummy says to come in!" someone interrupted. I looked up and found a little boy with handsome black hair which fell over his eyes perfectly. He was frowning, but you could tell he would grow up to be attractive. I gasped at the sight of him. He looked like me. Kind of.

"Come on! Mummy says it's time for dinner!" the little boy grumbled, tugging on the little girl's shirt. She crumpled her face as she watched the yellow butterfly flutter away.

"Oh, James, you chased Mimi away!" she complained, crossing her arms and sticking out her lower lip. "She was my friend!"

The little boy rolled his eyes and tugged the girl back inside the home so I couldn't see them anymore.

All this time, my heart had been beating terribly, jumping up and down, up and down. It ached and pricked, like it was trying to make me realize something. What was it?

Suddenly, a delighted cry interrupted my thoughts.

"Look! Daddy's home!"

The two children tumbled out of the front door and to the man who was coming in sight. He had black hair just like the children and gray eyes he shared with the little girl. His tie was loosened and he seemed to be very messily dressed. But he was happy. Content.

I smacked my lips, suddenly jealous of this man. He had a house, probably a job, a wife, two children... Everything I didn't have.

"Oh, Daddy, I'm so glad you're home!" the little girl cried excitedly, tugging on the man's sleeve. "I made a lot of new friends today!"

"Very good, Luvy," the man nodded approvingly. "You have to tell me their names during dinner, okay?"

The little girl smiled brightly just as the boy named James started speaking.

"I helped Mummy a lot today, Dad!" he boomed proudly. "So can I go to Diagon Alley with you next week? Please? Please?"

The man sighed, running a hand through his hair... like I did sometimes...

"I don't know, James. It's getting even more dangerous in London," he started, reaching out for the doorknob, but stopped when he saw his son's face. "Okay, we'll go, but we have to be very careful."

"Yay!" the boy cried and started jumping when a woman walked out of the house with a frown.

"James, please don't mangle the tulips I just planted," she said disapprovingly. She watched James until he moved away from the flowers, but soon turned to her husband with a bright smile, quite like the little girl's.

"Welcome home, honey," she greeted with a wide smile. 

"Nice to see you too, love," he murmured, kissing her cheeks gently with a smile. The children paid no attention. James was too busy rejoicing for Diagon Alley while Luvy was watching a ladybug crawling on a blade of grass.

"Let's go inside then-" the woman started to say, but the little girl interrupted her.

"Look, there's a man that looks just like Daddy!" she cried, pointing towards my direction. I pointed to myself, as if in saying, "Me?" The girl smiled at me. The rest of the family stared back at me blankly.

"W- Who are you?" I stammered at them, barely able to choke out the words. I stared directly at the man who now had the little girl in his arms. He stared back at me with his gray eyes, the same shade as mine.

"I'm you," he answered simply.

"Then, what's- what's all this?" I asked, gesturing to the landscape, the family, and the house.

"And this is what your life could have been."

I took in every single detail of the scene. The sun was setting quietly in the background as the wind blew around the little cottage quietly. They lived near an ocean, but it wasn't too cold. In that man's hands was a little girl, the result of his marriage to that lovely lady. And another offspring was with them; a healthy boy who looked just like me.

They were happy living in a small little home with a red roof and tulips in the front. There was a dinner set out for the four of them inside, prepared by the little wife. They were completely content and nothing was complicating their simple lives. It was all a picture of perfect happiness.

"H- How can that be me?" I whispered back, barely blinking. The man stared back.

"I am you. This would have been your life if you hadn't gone off to kill Peter. A life without your godson to muddle things up. This would have been your life. Perfectly. Filled. With. Happiness."

I choked up. This could have been my life? Living happily with my wife and two children? Would it have been better if I had never decided to "take care" of Harry after all?

"Really?" I choked back, tears forming in my eyes.

"Mummy told us it wasn't good to lie," the little girl answered back softly, staring directly at me. "So we're not."

"Oh, Luvy," I groaned, tears falling down my face. I felt such love for her. I felt like I could die for her, just like Lily and James had done for their little son, Harry. "Dear Luvy..."

"Are you okay, mister?" the little boy asked me, eyeing me curiously. 

"James," I mouthed, staring at the boy. He would've been my son. A boy I would've always been proud of. My eyes clouded over with tears. I reached for the two children.

"Luvy... James..." I whispered over and over again, tears dripping down my cheeks. I reached out my hands, wanting to touch their skin and be assured that they were really there.

"Sirius, Sirius!" a voice interrupted. I opened my eyes and found someone- I couldn't see their faces- leaning over me. "We have to get to the Ministry."

"What's going on?" I asked groggily, wiping away the tears least she sees them. I think it was Tonks who woke me.

"Harry's broken into the Ministry."

I jumped up and started pulling on clothes on quickly.

"Is he insane?" I cried in a rushed tone.

"Probably," Tonks answered. "Let's go."

We walked out of my bedroom, flicked off the lights and I closed the door tightly to my room and my fantasies- for the last time.