I'm back from vacation with a new one-shot! This is a bit longer than the last one, so Enjoy!

Pairing(s): Jily, Marauder friendship, Sirius/Harry godfather-son relationship

Time Period: During Order of the Phoenix

Plot: Harry stumbles upon a photo album of his parents, and Sirius tells him the story behind it.


Harry strolled through 12 Grimmauld place, taking in every inch of it. It was all too much to handle. The order, Umbridge, the Azkaban escapees. He needed something to cheer him up. Anything to take his mind off of the crazy world he lived in.

He thought back to his first few years at Hogwarts. He had reached a point where he was nostalgic for those times. Saving the Philosopher's stone, fighting the basilisk, rescuing Sirius and Buckbeak. All of that seemed so easy now.

Not watching where he was walking, Harry bumped into the one and only Sirius Black.

"Merlin's beard, Harry! Watch where you're going" Cried Sirius, tumbling to the floor.

"Oh, sorry Padfoot." Harry apologized as he helped his godfather up.

"It's alright, son. Now, what's got your knickers in a twist?"

It was at that moment when Harry noticed a brown, leather-bound book in Sirius' arms.

"It's nothing, Sirius." Harry waved off, "Um… What have you got there?"

"It's…Um…well… okay, you deserve to know. It's a photo album of your parents."

Harry was shocked. In all his years, Harry had never wanted to see something so bad.

"C-c-can I s-see it?"

Sirius hesitantly handed the book to Harry who gently flipped the cover open. Right there, staring back at him, were his parents. The picture was obviously taken in the Gryffindor common room at Hogwarts.

"We took that picture on the day Lily finally allowed James to take her out. James had that grin glued to his face for a week. What a week that was…"

*Flashhback*

It was the middle of the night. Lily Evans was sitting in the common room, reading a book. She was unable to sleep because of all her stress and worries. O.W.L. results would be coming soon and the war was growing day by day.

"Oi! Evans!" Lily jerked her head towards the voice. She recognized it immediately. There was no one in sight. 'Of course.' Lily thought, 'Stupid Potter and his invisibility cloak.' She went back to reading, completely forgetting about bloody Potter. Being a muggle-born, Lily was immensely interested books by muggle authors. She was currently reading Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austin. It was truly a lovely book.

"Evans! Over here!" Lily heard the voice again. She rolled her eyes and turned around to see if the git had removed that bloody invisibility cloak. That's when she saw him. The school git.

James Potter.

"Yes Potter?" She sighed, exasperated.

"What are you doing? Sitting in the common room, reading in the middle of the bloody night? Past curfew? Naughty Evans."

"Your point, Potter?"

Lily just wanted to read in peace. Must he deny her of that opportunity? She had to admit, she'd grown fonder of him over the last few months. He'd stopped cursing random Slytherins in the corridors and didn't pull pranks on teachers as often. He'd changed. He had even stopped asking her out constantly. She now considered him one of her closest friends, along with the rest of the Marauders.

Lily looked up to see James blushing, stuttering, and tripping over his words.

"I-I-I was… uh… wondering if y-you'd…um… accompany me to Hogwarts on S-Saturday?" James managed to blurt out.

"Like, as a date?" Lily asked, slightly blushing herself. 'He's just a friend, Lily. Just a friend.' She mentally chided herself.

"Um, well yeah." Lily's face was now the color of her hair.

"Um… why not?" She said, once she regained her original composure.

What James didn't know was that Lily was mentally doing a happy dance. One that involved lots of shouting and cheering.

"Okay. G'night. I'll see you tomorrow."

James walked up the stairs to the boys dormitories. If she didn't know any better, Lily would've sworn she heard a loud "YES! SHE SAID YES! PADFOOT! MOONY! WORMTAIL! SHE SAID YES!"

Lily blushed and headed to bed, the silly grin never leaving her face.

*PRESENT*

"Wow. Dad surely was smooth." Harry let out a chuckle and flipped through a couple pages. His gaze settled on a picture of his parents in Hogsmeade. Lily was wearing James' coat. They looked so happy. Harry looked up to see tears in Sirius' eyes. He had lost everyone he cared about except Remus.

"When was this?" Harry asked, wanting his godfather to cheer up.

Sirius' eyes glowed as he said, "That was their first date. It was like watching one of those wonky muggle comedy movies. James' paranoia was hilarious."

*Flashback*

James was scared. Really scared. Today was his first date with Lily and he wanted everything to be perfect. Sirius, Remus, and Peter were helping him get ready, along with Frank Longbottom, another one of their dorm mates. Sure, he was just taking her to Hogsmeade, but when it came to Lily, James was all business. Fixing his outfit, James looked at himself in the mirror, grabbed a bouquet of flowers from his dresser, and headed downstairs.

LINE BREAK

Meanwhile, in the girl's dorms, Lily was pacing back and forth, head in her hands. It was hopeless. She had absolutely no idea what to wear. Should she go with casual? Formal? In between? What's a girl to do? Just then, Lily's dorm mates and closest friends, Marlene, Mary, and Alice, entered the room, laughing and talking. Marlene saw Lily's position and immediately ran to help her.

"You don't know what to wear, do you? Why didn't you ask us for help?"

"Well, I didn't want to disturb your fun. I know that you girls were out with your boyfriends and didn't want to bother you with my problems."
Alice stepped up, "Darling, our problems are your problems."

Mary grabbed a makeup kit, a flat iron, a curling iron, and a hair brush. She handed the makeup t Alice.

"I'll take hair, Alice, you take makeup, and Marlene, you take outfit. Go!"
Lily sighed and followed Mary and Alice into hair and makeup.

LINE BREAK

James sighed. Lily was supposed to meet him 15 minutes ago. Had he gotten stood up? James had waited for this day since he saw her red hair, green eyes, and freckles on the Hogwarts express five and a half years ago, and when she finally says yes, she doesn't show up? He sighed and sunk into the common room couch, throwing the bouquet on the table in front of him.

Why had he even bothered? He doesn't deserve her. He'd known it all along. He'd ignored that tiny voice telling him that it would never work. This was Lily Evans, not some cheap flirt that threw herself at him (A/N No offense to anyone). 'Get over it, Potter! Just give up already.'

"Oi! Potter? Ya ready? I've just been standing here for 10 minutes. Aren't you supposed to give your date flowers and greet her at the door or something?"

James was startled. He jumped up and turned around. His jaw dropped. Standing right there, in front of him, in all her glory, stood Lily Evans with a smirk on her face. She looked beautiful, wearing a green sundress that made her eyes pop.

She walked up to him and closed his mouth. "Close your mouth, Potter. You'll catch flies."

"Li-Lily. You came." James said, still in shock.

Lily's smile dropped. She looked concerned.

"Y-You didn't think I would stand you up, right?"

"Um… well…"

"James Potter. You look at me right now." James looked up. "I would never stand you up. I said yes for a reason you dimwit. I like you. I thought you would catch on." Lily finished, a blush rising on her cheeks.

James was at a loss for words. She liked him. Lily freakin' Evans liked him! This was the best day of his life. Shaking his head, James' sarcastic smirk rose to his face as he said, "Well then, M'lady, would you do me the honor of following me to Hogsmeade this fine afternoon?"

"Of course, kind sir." Lily replied, giggling.

And they headed out, hand in hand.

*Present*

Just as Sirius concluded the story, Remus walked in. Members of the Order were dropping in every so often over break and Remus just happened to be staying for the weekend. He saw the album and flipped to a picture of Him, James, Sirius, and Lily.

"Lily always knew that Peter was bad news. She warned us several times, but we waved it off."
*FLASHBACK*

It was the middle of sixth year. Lily was dating James and had now become an honorary Marauder. She felt that she could trust them. Well… three of them. There was something about Peter that just rose her suspicions. The gang- minus Peter- was in the common room one night when Lily voiced her concerns.

"Boys, I've been thinking-"Lily began. She was quickly interrupted by Sirius. "Shocker"

Lily glared at him and continued.

"Anyway, have you guys noticed that Peter has rarely been hanging around us lately? He seems to disappear quite often. Also, his left arm had become very sensitive and he jerks whenever anyone comes near him. Do you think he may be a… uh… you know… Death Eater?" Lily ended, looking at the ground, ready for what the boys had to say.

She looked up to see their reactions and had to hold back a laugh at the sight in front of her. James was looking up at her with a dazed expression, like normal. He probably hadn't heard a word she said. Sirius had a blank look on his face and was staring at Marlene McKinnon, who had just entered the room and was making her way up the stairs to the girls' dorms. Remus, who seemed to be the only one listening, was shaking his head vigorously while saying "No" and muttering other protests.

Lily cleared her throat to regain their attention. She explained everything again and as she finished, Remus spoke up.

"Lily, Peter would never betray us. He's our family and so are you. The only reason he hasn't been around lately is because his grades are way below par and the professors are holding him back late every day."

"Yeah Evans. We're all a family. Peter wouldn't turn on us. The four of us are brothers and you're practically our sister-in-law." Sirius said with a smirk.

James and Lily both turned the shade of the latter's hair.

"Well, okay." Lily replied, still not convinced. These guys were her family. Peter wouldn't betray them, right? Lily chose to believe them and went to bed, falling into a dreamless sleep.

*PRESENT*

"Well, I think that's enough for today. You can keep the album if you'd like Harry. After all, they were your parents." Sirius said, handing the book to Harry and walking away.

"Well, I better get going. Remember Harry, no matter what happens or where you go, your loved ones will always be there, in spirit or in person." Remus nodded to Harry and walked out the door.

From that moment forward, whenever Harry had a bad day or was in a sticky situation, he would take out the photo album and drown in his parents' past, knowing that they will always be with him, wherever he goes.


Hope you liked it! Sorry I wasnt able to update for a while. School starts in a week and I have to get ready.

Review, follow, favorite, you know the works!

Love,

AGJP