Title: Tradition
Author: RoboTitaness (Fr0st6yte)
Fandom: Harry Potter
Characters: James Potter, Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew
Genre: Friendship, Family
Summary: Diwali is a time for home, and home is where your family is, and your family is who you chose it to be.
First Year
Sirius froze in the doorway, staring around the room. "What are you doing, Potter?" His friend shot him a grin, still working on attaching the lights to his wall. He teetered precariously on his ladder, and Remus walked around Sirius to help him.
"Well, Black, this is for a very special tradition of mine," James answered once he planted his feet firmly on the floor.
"Never took you for the type to decorate for Halloween, mate." Peter commented, throwing himself on his bed, with Sirius following. "Though did you have to make a mess of the room?" James smiled sheepishly as he hurried to pick up stray pieces of plastic scattered around.
"It's not for Halloween - don't touch that!" Remus froze, hands hovering over a cardboard box on James' bed. The bespectacled boy rushed over, carefully taking it and placing it on the table next to his bed. He straightened to find all his friends staring at him. "It's for Diwali," he explained. When they still shot him blank looks, he sighed and continued. "It's a religious festival for Hindus. It's a three to five day holiday celebrated - depending on the year - sometime in late October or early November." As he talked, James started taking out small clay lamps from the box and setting them down on the table. "Here in England, my family only celebrates three days, but in India, people celebrate for a week."
"Is there a significance?" Remus asked, watching his friend's movements curiously.
"It's supposed to represent the triumph of light against dark. It's sometimes described as a way to cleanse away any darkness in a house or family, and start anew. For my family, it is also the start of a new business year. Way long ago, when my family was still in India, we were known as Poddars, which belonged to the Marwari clan, who were all merchants. On Diwali, they would start new accounting books for this businesses. Even as more of my family started joining the Aurors branch instead of the business branch of the Ministry, we've always kept with tradition."
"But what's with the lights?" Sirius asked, gesturing to the cables surrounding the bed.
"It's called the Festival of Light - a way to drive out the bad and guide Laksmiji - the goddess of wealth - to our house." By now, he had fished out all twelve small lamps, arranging them in a circle around one bigger lamp. "These are called diyas," James added, seeing their interested faces. "They're clay candles, meant to be lit up on Diwali."
"Why twelve?"
James opened his mouth to answer Peter, before hesitating and closing it. He shrugged and said sheepishly, "I'm not too sure." They shared a quick laugh before James continued cleaning up.
"Even as wizards, your family follows these muggle traditions?" When all his friends glanced at him sharply, Sirius realized how his question may have came out.
"Our family's religious," James answered, shrugging. "I've grown up with this stuff just as much as I've grown up surrounded with magic." He sat down next to Remus. "I actually wasn't sure if I was going to do anything here - it's a tad weird not being at home for it."
"Is there anything you specifically do?" Remus asked. "Or anything we should do?"
"It's just a cheerful time," James answered. "Don't blow out the candles when I light them on Friday, but that's about it."
"Cheerful, huh?" Sirius drawled, a grin spreading on his face. "I've got just the plan to make the whole castle happy on Diwali." The four boys shared grins, eager to start. When the big day came, and every teacher and student in the castle woke wearing the brightest colors, charmed to stay the whole day, James grinned, finding that he didn't mind his first Diwali away from home as much as he dreaded. At lunch, he caught Sirius' eye and smiled thankfully at him, eliciting a return smile and nod, before both turned back to arguing about who looked best in yellow - Snape or Malfoy.
Fourth Year
"Come on James!" Peter pulled the taller boy's arm, hurrying across the courtyard. The black-haired boy frowned, trying to keep up.
"What are we doing Peter?" He asked, again, futilely hoping that this time, he'd get an answer. For the sixth time, he was ignored. He tried digging his feet in the ground to stop, but Peter would just pull him harder, and the process would continue. "Peter, I've got to light the diyas soon."
"Don't worry, you'll be back in time for that," Peter answered distractedly, looking around the grounds for something. "Now, where are they? They were supposed to be all set up by now."
"Peter…" James warned, glaring now. The blonde just ignored him, again, muttering Lumos to light his wand. James followed suit, and let his eyes adjust to the darkness. Not a moment after, he was pounced on.
"Great! You're here. Perfect. You'll love this, James, I promise." James found himself being dragged off again, this time with both Peter and Sirius holding onto an arm each. "Remus is by Hagrid's cottage," Sirius continued, talking to Peter it seemed. "He's all ready - actually itching to get started."
"Well, he has been practicing the charm for months now," Peter offered. "Not to mention, it was practically his idea. And he did most of the research for it. And -"
"Yes, yes, yes," Sirius said, waving his hand as though he could physically ward away Peter's words. "Oh look, we're here!" James hoped the last member of the group would be more help, before he saw the smirk spreading on the werewolf's face. He groaned, realizing that Remus was in one of his more Pranker Moods, as Sirius called it.
"All right there, James?" He called, the smirk turning into smile. "Don't worry," he added. "You'll be back to the dorm in time. But we wanted to show you something we've been working on." By now, both Sirius and Peter had walked to Remus' side, all three facing their confused friend. "Well I was a bit bored last summer so I went to the library -" Sirius started coughing, muttering something that sounded an awful lot like "nerd" but Remus ignored him. "and did some research on Diwali. And I found that a lot of people send out fireworks, right?" Here James nodded, a sense of realization dawning. "But we're not exactly able to get them, so we figured out a charm to do the same. Happy Diwali."
James watched, astonished, as Remus aimed his wand at the sky, and with a quick incantation, sent out large, red and gold fireworks. They lit up the sky, the boom echoing down, where James stood, transfixed. Sirius and Peter quickly sent out red sparks of their own, complementing Remus' fireworks perfectly. The display went on for a while, beautiful against the castle and forest scenery. When it ended, students and teachers alike peeled themselves from their windows, confusion etched on their faces, but none of them had seen a boy throw himself at his friends, all four grinning and laughing together.
First Year Out of Hogwarts
"Sirius," James hesitated, uncertain. "What are you doing here?" He opened the door further to see Peter with him.
"Not going to invite us in, Prongs? Here I thought Lily was teaching you manners," Sirius drawled, hoping to elicit a response. He was disappointed when all James did was gesture for them to come in.
"Should I be expecting Moony too?" James asked, leading them to the living room. Neither boy answered, both staring at the room.
"Prongs," Peter started. "Why is the house messy?" And indeed, Sirius thought he could have used a stronger term to describe the state of the room. Food bags, empty drink bottles, parchment, and even clothes were lying around. No lights were up, nothing that gave a clue that today was different than usual.
"I'm not a clean person, Peter," he answered, a tad angrily. "You should know that after living with me for seven years." He stomped towards his kitchen and Sirius and Peter could hear things being banged around. They shared a look before Sirius pulled out his wand and sent out a patronus. For a while, after James came back, they sat on his couch making small talk. No one mentioned the state of the room until the doorbell rang again and James brought Remus inside. The werewolf took one look around, glanced at Sirius and Peter and pushed James into a chair.
"James, you haven't cleaned yet," he stated. Sirius and Peter stood next to him, both mimicking Remus' position, with their arms crossed and hard looks on their faces.
"I never clean, Remus. Not all of us are neat-freaks," James answered, knowing his voice was harsh but not caring. "I actually have a job and don't have time to go around cleaning." As soon as he said that though, he drew back, remorse flashing on his face as Remus stiffened and Sirius glared daggers at his best friend. "No, wait. I didn't mean -"
"I know you don't." Remus flashed him a tight smile. "But back on topic, you never clean except for one day, Prongs. It's the only time I can count on your bed being more spotless than mine."
"Prongs, you don't want today to be this way," Sirius added, dropping his arms and looking pained. "It's supposed to be a day for happiness."
"It's supposed to be a day for family," he spat back, turning away. The other three shared a look above his face before Remus motioned for Sirius to continue.
"And your parents would want you to be happy," the animagus said quietly. "You remember when we said we did research on Diwali? Well, one of the books mentioned how it's also a day to reconnect with your ancestors, a day to remember them."
Here Peter spoke, his voice kind and caring. "Your parents would want you to remember them today, Prongs. With celebrating Diwali the way you love."
James stared at the ground, biting his lip, fighting with himself. Remus knelt down and drew his gaze towards him. He nodded once, reassurance bright in his amber eyes. "We're also your family, Prongs." All arguments fled from the chaser's head and he nodded, letting a few tears slip through his eyes. The others let him mourn for his parents, before he wiped his face and stood up.
"Let's get cleaning," Sirius called, clapping his hands together. "Moony, you're the best at Charms." He swept his hand around the room. "Get going now," he cajoled, grinning at the exasperated look he was sent.
"You keep your hands off your wand, Padfoot. No need for a repeat of our OWLS," Remus drawled, smirking as he gave his wand a flourish, sending most of the litter for the trash bin. He didn't seem to notice as a wrapper flicked Sirius in the head as it went on its way, eliciting a squawk from the man in question.
"It was Marlene's fault for showing me that Beast movie the night before! I couldn't stop thinking of dancing dishware for the exam!" The two continued to bicker, with Peter entering a few comments of his own. James watched his three friends help him prepare his apartment with a small smile on his face, knowing that his friends were never going to let him have a disappointing Diwali.
This is a story that is very dear to my heart. Diwali was this past weekend, and it's a time for great celebration, of festivities. A time for family and good thoughts and happiness.
James Potter's family history comes from the fact that his last name is canonically Potter, which could be a derivation from the Indian name Poddar, which is a common last name from the same clan that I am from - the Marwari. I love the concept of Desi James Potter, because that'd mean he would be (distantly) related to me! :D The idea of Desi Potters isn't mine alone - I believe there is some actual proof from the books somewhere if you look it up!
His thoughts of not being at home for Diwali came from mine, just a few weeks ago, when I wasn't sure whether I'd be at home or university for Diwali. It would have been my first Diwali without my family, if the former had happened. Luckily, I got to come home!
No angst in this story just pure family fluff for this brilliant holiday!
I hope everyone enjoyed this little piece!
Cross posted on ArchiveOfOurOwn (Fr0st6yte)
Find me on Tumblr! - Fr0st6yte