I do hope you enjoy this one shot. I thought I'd try my hand at something like this. I don't own Harry Potter or all the characters you know from the series.
Amanda Hunter, known to most as Mandy. Some called her cocky, others called her the best, but one Harry Potter just called her his godmum. The one thing he loved most about his godmother wasn't her quick ability with her wand or the way her short five foot three inch stature never got in the way of her fighting or the way that her bright, knowing blue eyes could turn to ice without warning. It wasn't even the way she was strong and always reliable in a duel. No, what Harry loved most about his godmum was her ability, even after everything she had been through, to continue to love those who meant the most to her.
As Harry watched her make her way across the Great Hall, her light brown hair swinging behind as though it hadn't a care in world, Harry wondered how she would take the news. Mandy had grown up next door to the Potters and was one of James's favorite playmates while young. When they had gone off to Hogwarts, Mandy had slightly distanced herself from James as he had gotten himself male mates. That however only lasted a month as James had reached out and pulled her right back in. As odd as everyone claimed it to be, Harry knew it was because James considered Mandy to be like his kid sister despite her being only four months younger than James himself.
Knowing that Mandy had survived the first war and the death of her two best friends, James and Lily Potter, was going to make it even harder on him when she reached his side and saw the three bodies in front of him. Harry had watched two years prior, during the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, as Bellatrix had shot a spell at Sirius. Mandy had turned as Sirius had begun to fall and it seemed in a split second Mandy had flown across the room and knocked Sirius sideways. In the next second Sirius had disappeared and Harry, along with everyone else in the room, thought him dead. That was until a week later when in Professor McGonagall's office he was greeted by Mandy and a big brown dog. There he was informed that Mandy had used an ancient spell to send Sirius to a safe house and the brown dog was actually Padfoot with dyed fur.
Mandy continued her current trek across the Great Hall seeing several acquaintances and friends but not the one face she was frantically searching for. She passed people like Kingsley Shacklebolt, Molly and Arthur Weasley, Bill, Charlie, and George who were all saddened by the loss of the third eldest, Percy who had pushed his brother Fred away as the wall had been blasted apart. Mandy had also passed the Malfoys who looked out of place and alone, Luna Lovegood, Neville Longbottom, Dean Thomas, Ron and Hermione who were hugging, and finally her own daughter Megan who was being fussed over by Fred. Finally her eyes fell on Ginny and noticed the girl was staring at the kneeling figure in front of her.
"Cub," Mandy said softly as she crouched next to Harry. She placed a hand on his shoulder and Harry looked at her.
"'lo," Harry answered just as quietly. Then he turned his eyes on the bodies in front of him causing Mandy to do the same. That's when her heart dropped into her stomach. There in front of her was the face of her old friend Remus Lupin. The man who had finally gotten everything he deserved in life: a perfect woman, a newborn son, great friends who loved him through all of it and now it was all cut short. A tear slipped down Mandy's cheek and then she saw Remus's beautiful wife next to him, Nymphadora Tonks. It broke her heart.
"They lived a good life, Cub. Remus and Dora will join your mom and dad and they will—"
"Mandy, they're not the only ones." Harry cut her off.
"Of course not. There is death all around us."
"No, look." Harry motioned to Remus's other side. Mandy looked at the other person and when his identity sunk in Mandy let out a heart-wrenching sob that was almost like that of a broken or hurt bear. There, to Remus's left, lay the last of the true Marauders, with a ghost of a smile on his face, her husband, Sirius Black. If her heart had broken with Remus and Dora's deaths it now lay shattered on the floor. Mandy's shock gave way to sobs as their relationship passed before her eyes. Their road hadn't been an easy one as true love rarely is the stuff of fairytales but for them it had worked. After Hogwarts the pair had settled down and started to build a life together until a horrible fight one night had driven them apart.
Nearly a year after Sirius's escape from Azkaban Mandy had learned exactly how he was innocent, though deep down she had always known it, and the couple had reconciled and a year after that Mandy joined Sirius in hiding. "I can't believe it." Mandy's knees collapsed under her and Harry wrapped her in a hug. "All the Marauders, gone. It's not fair. They didn't deserve this."
"They loved you and they know how strong you are. You can survive this."
"Your dad's death nearly killed me. He wasn't just my best friend; he was like a brother to me. It wasn't fair that he died. I could have lived with that though. Now with Remus and Sirius dead, I have nothing left to live for."
"What about me? And your daughter? We need you. What about Devin? Your little boy, he's only two. He just lost his dad. Can you make him lose his mom—Mandy, Mandy?"
But Mandy was fading from Harry's arms. When Mandy looked up she was still kneeling on the Great Hall floor. Instead of seeing bodies surrounding her, Mandy saw two tables. To her right was what appeared to be Hufflepuff and to her left, Gryffindor. Both tables were also filled with students. After making that connection, her eyes jumped to the top of the hall where sure enough the table sat, full of faculty. Judging by the darkening ceiling, Mandy surmised it to be dinner and the leaves on the trees out the window told her it was Mid-Spring. Then the quietness of the hall engulfed her. Mandy quickly rose to her feet and rushed out. She rushed up three quarters of the stairs then jumped up to the landing. Using nearly every secret tunnel and passage way she knew it didn't take her long to reach the library. There she applied her best concealment charms, changing her hair and looks before calming her breathing and heart rate then going inside. In the Charms section she remembered a spell Pince had told her and summoned the book she wanted then she flipped through the pages trying to find the spells Rudolphus had used on her.
Meanwhile in the Great Hall Headmistress McGonagall ordered a complete lockdown of the school opting to keep the students in the hall. She did not however protest to her four best professors exiting. As they exited the Hall, whispers broke out about Death Eaters. Though most had been rounded up over the last 16 years there was still a small faction reeking havoc on the Wizarding World like during the attack on Hogsmead a year prior when Dumbledore had died.
"What do you think, Harry?" A red-haired girl asked her raven-haired boyfriend.
"I think my Dad will catch them Ginny, and if it is one of them he'll make them pay." Harry said.
"Did anyone else notice she kind of looked like ... well, like ...?" A brunette asked.
"Don't be ridiculous 'Mione." Harry paused. "She is dead."
"We've seen pictures, Harry. That looked just like her." 'Mione answered.
"Don't. There's no chance." Harry said.
"My mother is dead. Besides that woman was too old and well ..." Another girl said.
"Battle worn?" The last of their group, a redheaded boy asked.
"Exactly. If it really was my mum, Ron, she would have had to have been captured. She wouldn't just decide to be gone for that long. She knew how much Professor James cared about her."
"No one is suggesting that your mum would just walk away from everything for 16 years Megan." Harry said.
"Besides how did she just appear in the Great Hat?" Ginny asked. "Everyone knows you can't apperate in or out of Hogwarts." Well everyone that was friends with 'Mione knew that.
"We should go find out." Megan said.
"How?" Ginny asked. "In case you haven't noticed, McGonagall has locked us in here."
"Both my father and Meg's are Marauders." Harry said smirking.
Outside in the entrance hall the Defense Professor looked around then at his best friend and flying instructor. "Find her Pads." He said.
A big, black dog appeared where the handsome professor had stood and it put its nose to the ground. Suddenly the man reappeared and shook his head. "I can't."
"Did she disappear?" The dark haired Transfiguration Professor asked.
"No. It's the smell, Prongs. I can't."
"What smell?" The only female and redhead asked.
"I suppose it's "her" smell, Lily. It smells like ... almost like ... Remus?" Pads answered.
The sandy haired Defense Professor took a deep breath and gagged. "It smells like an old friend."
Lily looked at the three men then waved her wand and a dark blue trail appeared. "Scent trail." Lily rolled her eyes. The men shrugged and followed Lily as she followed the trail. They ended up in the library. "I never knew there were so many hidden passages in Hogwarts." Lily said. "Did you boys know?"
"Marauders' secret. Sorry love." Prongs said.
"Don't you give me that Marauder secrecy hogwash, James Potter." Lily said.
"Why would she run to the library?" Remus asked changing the subject.
"Don't know." Pads said.
"Never said you did, Sirius," Remus said.
"Enough." James said. He lead the way through the stacks of books to the Charms section where they came upon a raven haired girl whose brown eyes were scanning a thick book. "Excuse me."
"Yes, dear?" The girl answered in a soft French accent.
"Did you happen to see a brown haired woman come through here?" Remus asked.
"No, sorry Professor," The girl answered marking her book momentarily to look up.
"What's your name?" Remus asked causing the girl to look down at the cover of her book.
The girl scrambled for a name. "Erin, Erin James." She said quickly. "Ravenclaw."
"I've been here for nine years and I've never heard of you."
"Are you sure you know all 300 students at Hogwarts?"
"Even if I didn't, I'd notice if someone else had the name James at Hogwarts."
"No one notices me, ever." She shrugged. "I stay out of trouble and my marks are average."
"Still I think between the four of us one of us would remember you. Especially since your Transfiguration Professor goes by Professor James."
"I'm not spectacularly talented at anything."
"Enough." James said sternly but quietly. "Finite incantatem."
Mandy watched as the black hair in her face changed back to her normal brown and knew her now blue eyes were watching the foursome. Then four wands were pointed in her face. "Before you hex me for so-called impersonating someone you care about; someone who, by the looks on your faces is either dead or missing; just hear me out! I'm sure your curiosity is burning." Mandy said. "Just not here."
"My office then," Lily said.
Mandy nodded and followed Lily as the other three followed her, their wands trained on her. Once up in the office Sirius blocked the door and Mandy faced down James, Lily, and Remus. Then she whipped her wand out.
"Do you really think you can take on all four of us at once?" James asked.
"I'd sure as hell try. I've battled long enough to know sometimes you have to go down fighting."
"Who are you?" Remus asked.
"You wouldn't believe me." Mandy said. "Just like I don't believe you are who you appear to be." James and Lily both looked confused. "What? As far as I know you are all dead. You can test me all you want but there are ways to fool every test." Mandy said.
"Veritaserum?" Lily asked.
"Strong wizards can beat it." James said.
"Her Patronus then?" Sirius asked.
"No," Remus said, "not only does it change under severe emotional duress but if she was held captive for 16 years she may not be able to cast it anymore. And a blood test is out; if she's using Polyjuice Potion it will come back who we think it is."
"There seems to be only one other option here then." Mandy said. "However I won't do it with four wands pointed at me. If you really are who you say you are you'll do it too." Mandy stared down James.
"Do what exactly?" Lily asked.
"The only true way to tell one witch or wizard from another. You can use any spell or potion you want but there is one thing that can never be duplicated exactly." Remus explained.
"Animagus Transformations. Just because you look like or transform into that person doesn't mean you gain their animagus ability." James said. He was still staring down Mandy.
"You boys know Mandy's a bear?" Lily asked
"Of course we knew. You knew?" Remus asked.
"Guess I didn't tell you the other one knew. Hmm," Mandy pondered.
"Can we get a move on? McGonagall is going to want an update soon." Sirius said impatiently.
"Count of three then?" Mandy asked. James nodded and Remus counted down. At one they both transformed. The bear took one look at the reddish brown stag and sat down hard on her rear. The markings around its eyes, the claw marks on its front leg, right down to the hazel eyes staring at her screamed the one and only James Potter.
All it took for James was the scar across the bear's stomach and he knew. The stag took a few steps towards the bear and then gracefully lowered his head then rubbed his nose along the bear's snout. That's when Stubs, as the bear was called, raised her front paw and rested it on his back. Then as if sharing the same brain they transformed back and almost immediately James was on his knees and had Mandy wrapped in his arms.
"Where have you been?" James asked.
Mandy looked into James's eyes and found the answer she had to give him. "Probably dead."
"What?" James snapped.
"You heard me. In this universe I am probably dead."
"But if you're dead, how are you here?" Sirius asked.
"It doesn't matter. She's here and we should all be grateful." James said.
"Ducky, you know that's not true." Mandy said gently. James sighed heavily but stood pulling Mandy up with him. Then he sat down in the comfortable chair next to Lily's desk pulling Mandy down in his lap. Sirius growled under his breath but they all took seats. "I'm guessing it all started October 31st of 1981?" Mandy asked. They looked at her and Mandy sighed. "How about you give me the short version of how I met you boys up until I "died" though someone might want to explain this to the Headmaster first?"
"Headmistress," Sirius corrected. "Albus was killed in a Death Eater attack last year on Hogsmead. Minerva took over as Headmistress."
"They got him here too? Bloody Death Eaters."
"I'll go." Lily volunteered. She left and the other three explained everything to Mandy. By the time Lily came back they had just reached early 1980.
"So in February you and Sirius got into this huge fight," James was saying, "and I don't mean one of those normal you're angry at him and yelling at him kind of fights. It was a row. A knockdown, drag out kind of row. You were screaming and fighting and it was awful."
"We tried everything to fix it. I'm talking arguing, dueling, muggle fighting, cold shoulder, even the more ... fun ways to fix it but nothing work." Sirius added. "You moved into the Dixon family cottage in Northern London and I kept our apartment. In late March I found out you were pregnant. There was no doubt in my mind it was mine."
"Because by your thought I was two months along and not seeing anyone else?" Mandy asked.
"Even if you weren't two months and I knew you were seeing Michael Smithheart, as you had run straight back to him, you couldn't have slept with him."
"Why not?"
"Because of your aunt. The day we got married she put a spell on both of us to keep me faithful. You would know when I slept with someone else just like I would know. It was supposed to break at our divorce but the clerk at the Ministry misfiled the papers so the divorce was never legal. The day I found out I came over and I demanded we talk. I was always super stubborn when it came to women I cared about. At the end of that conversation I promised to be more faithful and try harder and we got back together. You gave me a beautiful daughter four days before Lily gave James a son. On Halloween night you were visiting the Potters when Voldemort came knocking. You battled him hard and when your curse hit him his curse hit a nearby tree."
"Let me guess, it squished me like a bug."
"You killed the most evil wizard in the world only to be killed by a tree a few seconds later."
"Was it a big tree?" Mandy asked.
"Maple tree," James said softly.
"Those are big trees." Mandy agreed.
"How are you sitting here Mrs. Black?" Mandy looked towards the door to see Professor McGonagall standing there.
"Mrs. Black was my mother in law." Mandy said.
"What would you prefer then?"
"Well Mandy would be fine but if that's too informal for you, you've always called me Ms. Hunter." Mandy said.
"Ms. Hunter, answer my question please."
"Alright well I'm not the same Mandy you know. Have you ever heard of the Heart's Desire spell?" Mandy asked turning her gaze to everyone in the room.
"It's been outlawed by the Ministry for years." McGonagall said.
"But you have heard of it?"
"Yes." McGonagall said.
"It was one of the spells infused in the Mirror of Erised." Mandy said.
"When performed correctly it reveals our true heart's desire." Remus said.
"I remember reading that." Lily said. "His original intent was to find what his heart wanted most. Eventually his son got ahold of the spell and used it to find which girl his heart was set on."
"Right, and eventually over time it became used as a transportation spell to take you to your soul mate. However if your soul mate, heart's desire, whatever you want to call it, is dead, you can die from casting it. The Ministry had gotten reports of people just dying out of nowhere. Enough investigating later and they discovered that people were dying from this spell." Mandy said. "So it was outlawed, books rewritten, spells erased, stuff like that."
"That doesn't explain how you're here though." Sirius said.
"In my ... universe, dimension whatever you want to call it, today's date, the second of May 1998, is the date of the final battle. It's the day H—our savior so to speak finally takes down Voldemort. As they were dueling I was fighting Rudolphus Lestrange and I was hit with two spells. The first was a delayed reaction spell and the other a heart's desire spell."
"Can't the reaction spell allow the spell attached to it to postpone the effects?" Remus asked.
"Yes. If he had cast both spells correctly it should have taken effect 30 minutes after the curse hit and killed me. However because his wife was always the smarter of the two it brought me here."
"You're saying in your universe, alternate timeline, you survived that battle." Sirius proposed.
"In my universe I didn't duel him that night." Mandy said.
"Then who did?" Lily asked.
"From what I can tell our timelines actually diverge in March of 1980 and not '81 like I thought."
"What's different?" Sirius asked.
"When I left you I didn't go to the Dixon Cottage. Mike's family had a home in Godric's Hollow. Mike and I moved in there and you never came after me. Megan thought Mike was her father until she was about 13. That night James and Lily gave their lives to protect their son."
"If we didn't raise him, who did?" James asked.
"You're assuming he survived." Sirius said.
"Of course he did. It's all in the wording. She said "to protect their son." Had she said "In an effort to protect their son" I wouldn't have thought that." James explained.
"Yes, my Harry survived." Mandy said. She briefly explained why Harry survived and a short version of her history after that Halloween.
"What now? You can't stay here." McGonagall said when the story sank in.
"How am I supposed to go home? There's no way to reverse the heart's desire spell, according to this book or that I know of. Besides, I don't think he even cast it properly." Mandy said.
"Do you even want to go home?" Sirius asked.
"What kind of question is that? She has to go back." James said. "I mean from what I got from her story her Harry lost everyone he's ever considered a parent; he's going to need her."
"I was never really there for him though." Mandy said marveling at how back and forth James was on the issue.
"Maybe not but was your Sirius really any better? He was gone for 13 years. You met Harry after 11 and he could contact you if he needs anything without anyone getting suspicious." Lily said.
"I'm still not understanding how exactly she got here?" McGonagall said.
"After that battle, when I saw Remus and Sirius dead, I only wanted to go back to when everyone was happy and nobody was dead. Somehow that thought along with the thought I had nothing else to live for brought me here." Mandy explained. Deciding then that she was done talking about it and that everyone had heard enough she waved her hand at the door and it swung open to reveal five teens frozen in place. "Don't you five know it is impolite to eavesdrop?" Mandy asked releasing them. "I should have known. Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Ginny Weasley, Hermione Granger, and Megan ... I suppose you go by Black."
"How do you—" Harry started.
"You've been standing there long enough to have heard how I know." Mandy said as she drew them into the office with a beckoning finger.
"And you're all certain we can trust her?" Megan asked.
Mandy looked at James who raised an eyebrow but nodded. "Got to let me go," Mandy said.
Everyone suddenly became aware of James's arm wrapped around Mandy's waist. "Right, sorry." James removed his arm and Mandy stood then transformed into her bear.
"Do you believe us now?" Remus asked.
Megan and Harry looked at each other but nodded. "Are you staying?" Ron asked.
"Only if we can't find her away home. Until then not a word of this leaves this office." McGonagall explained.
"I know none of you owe me anything but trust me you don't want this out in the open. What would everyone think if the one person who took down Voldemort was still alive? Your personal lives would get a lot less personal and more people would be trying to kill me and they'd use you to get of me." Mandy explained as she perched on the arm of James's chair.
"We understand." Hermione said.
"Why did she have to transform? Couldn't we just check her Patronus?" Ron asked.
"Patronuses can change. Had she been captured it's possible her's would no longer be a giant dog. Also there's a chance that if they had tortured her she may no longer be able to cast one. One's animagus form doesn't change nor does your ability to assume it." Hermione said.
"If you had been paying attention in class, Ron, you would know that." Remus said.
Mandy hid her laugh behind her hand. Then it hit her. "I'm surprised you know so much about me." Mandy said.
Hermione reached into the pocket of her robes and after a moment she pulled out a book. She handed it over and then said "A Personal Biography of Amanda Lynn Hunter-Dixon-Black."
"Wow. Written in majority by those who knew her best." Mandy said reading the title. "So you three got together and wrote a book about me?"
"Not us." Sirius said. "Her."
Mandy followed Sirius's pointing finger to Lily. "Every newspaper and author in the world wanted to know more about you so I thought it would be best to write about what was true."
"Did you also put my animagus form in here? You know I was never registered." Mandy said.
"After you died the Ministry put it on record."
"How'd they find out?"
"We were betrayed by Peter Pettigrew. To allow the Ministry every way possible to capture him these three told your little secret." McGonagall said motioning to James, Remus, and Sirius.
"Why do you have three last names?" Ron asked.
"When I was 16 I found out that I was born a Dixon and adopted by the Hunters. Then I got married and became a Black by name." Mandy explained. "James, is your Patronus still a stag?"
"Dad's Patronus is a stag?" Harry asked.
"I take that as a no." Mandy said.
"I was 17 when I learned it. It was a stag for about four years then suddenly it became a bear. Been the same for the past 16 years," James said. "Yours is still a dog right?"
"Not exactly."
"Mandy, it either is or it isn't. There's no in between." Remus said.
"Actually there is. There have been a few, I mean like a handful of reports in the past three hundred years of Patronuses that have mutated." Mandy said looking at her hands.
"What do you mean mutated?" Sirius asked.
"I mean, well, let me show you, just promise not to scream." Mandy said. Everyone nodded and Mandy cast the spell. At first it was galloping too fast around the room for anyone to notice then Remus saw it.
"It has horns." Remus said. Mandy shook her head. The Patronus stopped and sat down in front of Megan staring up at her.
"They're not horns Professor," Megan said, "they're antlers."
"Where I came from James died on Halloween and Sirius was sent to Azkaban the same day. Well within 24 hours. It couldn't decide between the two. So now I have a dog with antlers and its front paws are hooves. I call him Prongfoot." Mandy explained as the dog vanished.
"Almost like a hippogriff or a griffin." Sirius said.
"Yep. The first time I showed it to Dumbledore, he fell off his chair." Mandy said.
"We should get you to Madame Pomfrey. Just to make sure," McGonagall said.
"Considering I just came from a battle yes that might be nice. I just hope she doesn't use me like a pincushion. I hate being poked and prodded." Mandy grumbled under her breath. Unfortunately Madame Pomfrey poked and prodded and healed until she was content and Mandy threatened to take action against the matron. After that Mandy was confined to the hospital wing.
A few days later James came to see her and when he asked for the full story of her life Mandy didn't want to tell him as it could have been very horrible. Finally she decided she had no choice but to tell him. When she finished James was curled up on her bed. She watched as James considered everything. "I don't blame you for not raising Harry. You did all you could to survive after I died. If I didn't have Lily, Sirius, and Remus, I never would have. When Harry needed you most you were there for him. That's all a father can ever want. If I wasn't there I wanted you to be there."
"But you're not my James."
"Not the point. Look deep in your heart Mandy. You know neither one of us could hold it against you. I love you Mandy. You know that."
"James was like a brother to me. Better than mine ever was."
"You did the best you could and that's all any of us could hope for."
"I know that deep down but I still think if he knew everything—"
"He'd be proud of his little boy. I know I'm proud of him even if I don't know him."
"Maybe you're right." Mandy said.
"I know I am." James said. He looked down at the hospital bed and for a moment Mandy thought he thought he had gone too far. Then he looked up at her. "You could never disappoint me. Never," James said. "I'll always love you and no matter what happens, I'm always in your heart."
"Thanks James. I really needed that."
"Of course Mandy, you already knew it all though." James said. "Mandy ... Mandy. Mandy!" For some reason James's voice melted into Sirius's and the hospital wing faded into a beautiful master suite with a cot in the corner. Mandy then saw Sirius peering down at her as he propped his head up on one hand and lay on his side. "Are you alright, Love?" Sirius asked.
"You're alive." Mandy said touching his face.
"Did you have that dream again where I died in battle?" Sirius asked trying not to sound irritated or roll his eyes. Mandy often had dreams where she had lost him and Remus in battle.
"Maybe," Mandy said dropping her hand from his face and looking away. She felt guilty to keep waking him up with the same stupid dream.
"Mandy, you know I'm never going to leave you. After you saved my life when Harry was 15, I promised not to be so reckless and stupid when it came to dueling."
"I know, I just can't help it."
"Alright tell me about it." Sirius said. Mandy sighed but told him about the dream. "It sounds to me like James or in this case your subconscious was trying to tell you that he loved you and trying to get you to forgive yourself because he'd never blame you. We all need you to forgive yourself for what happened. Blaming yourself for what happened while Harry was growing up is keeping you from fully enjoying your life now."
"Don't you think I'm trying Sirius? There's just this little voice inside me that keeps telling me "you failed him. James trusted you and you failed him. How can you raise two little ones if you bailed on your godson?" I can't do it Sirius."
"How do you rationalize not being there for Draco?" Sirius asked. When Mandy looked confused Sirius sighed. "How do you rationalize not being there for your godson Draco Malfoy?"
"He had parents and Snape." Mandy explained. "And how did you know about that?"
"How could I not know? After my insane cousin kidnapped our oldest as a baby Lucius made you a deal. You would pay him back for returning our son by keeping him and Narcissa out of prison. However you wanted something more for not going postal on Bellatrix. Knowing Narcissa wouldn't rest until she made sure her sister was safe, you demanded that they name you godmother of their first born." Sirius said. "He knew there was no way out of it. That gave you an obligation to Draco. Not only as your cousin by marriage but also as his godmother."
"They may have named me godmother but that doesn't mean those parents would have ever let me see that boy."
"And Dumbledore never let you see Harry." Sirius answered. "It's been 20 years since James died. It's time to move on."
Mandy looked up at her husband as though trying to memorize every last inch of his face or considering his words. "Maybe you're right. Maybe that's what the dream was trying to tell me."
"Maybe. And I hate to bring this up but I think somebody's daughter needs a diaper change."
"Excuse you." Mandy said shoving hard on Sirius's shoulder to make him roll on his back. "Erin is your daughter too. But then again, sometimes, a dream is just a dream."
There you have it. Thoughts anyone?
