The Happiest Year of his life

By

Hannio

Chapter One

And the Godfather is….

Disclaimer –None of the characters who are mentioned in this chapter belong to me in any shape or form. I am merely borrowing them for my own entertainment purposes.

Author Note –Okay seriously third time lucky, this is my third attempt at writing this story. The first time I decided it wasn't very good, then I rewrote it and that version was okay but then I realised when I went to update it that I could actually remember what my email address or password was for the account so I've finally decided that it would be simpler to upload it onto this name. Why I didn't do that in the first place is beyond me but heyho.

I hope to update the next chapter soon because I've been going through my old stories from my Dad's computer which I wrote back when I was a teenager and found that I had written this story up to chapter four which is always a bonus. I think I'm only going to concentrate on this story so hopefully I'll be able to update regularly.

Anyway please enjoy and if you've read this before then have no fear, I've changed a lot in the chapter during the rewrite session!

Summary – Not all of Harry Potter's year was bad in fact the first year was pretty good if you discount Voldemort that is… Being raised by the Marauders was never going to be easy but it certainly would be fun.

Romantic pairings – Definitely James/Lily. Possible Sirius/Remus but I'm unsure whether that's the way I want this particular story to go.

"Merlin, do you think she's going to be ok Moony? Do you think the baby is going to be ok? I mean what if Lily gives birth and the baby turns out to be a little monster or something covered in fur or with three eyes or what if we lose the baby? I mean not all babies survive do they? Do they Moony?" Remus Lupin sighed, reaching up and pinching the bridge of his nose between his fingers wishing that Sirius had been delayed at work. This had to be some form of torture, perhaps karma coming back to kick him for something he had done in the past. It was the only explanation he could come with as to why he was having to deal with Sirius in a full blown panic mode all by himself.

Deciding that ignoring the younger boy was the best option Remus turned his attention back to the daily prophet he held in his hands, a slight frown on his face as the paper reported the murder of yet another prominent family. Things were getting worse rather then better and Remus couldn't see any sign of that changing in the future.

"Remus, answer me" Remus finally gave in with a roll of his eyes, folding his paper in half and placing it on top of his jacket which he had dumped on the chair next to him when he had arrived at the hospital. He turned to face Sirius, reaching down and prising off the hand clutching at his forearm.

"Listen to me Sirius because I am only going to say this to you once" he reached up placing his hands on Sirius's shoulders and met his wide dark grey eyes with what he hoped was a reassuring look trying to ignore the fact that Sirius kept twitching beneath his hands. He waited until the tension suddenly oozed out of the other boy's body and he had his full attention. He waited a second longer before he gave Sirius a long hard shake, watching in satisfaction at the shocked expression on Sirius's face when he finally let go.

"Did you just shake me Remus?" Sirius asked disbelief in his voice as though he couldn't believe that his quiet friend had actually done that to him. Remus nodded his head.

"I did" he confirmed "And to be honest Pads you're lucky I didn't punch you, you were beginning to freak out on me and dealing with you when you're freaking out isn't my idea of fun." He waited for a moment for Sirius to say something but Sirius continued to simply stare at him as though he hadn't seen Remus before. Remus took it as a sign to continue. "Now are you finally paying attention to me?"

"Yes" Sirius replied slowly, his gaze still fixed on Remus, a look in the eyes that Remus didn't want to analyze.

"Good" he said "The birth will be fine. Lily will be fine and the baby will also be fine. Lily will have the best care available to her and the mediwiches know what they are doing. She won't give birth to a monster covered in fur and I severely doubt the child will have three eyes. It's more likely to have sight problem like James then anything else. Sirius I am begging you, will you just sit back and try and relax before you do yourself an injury" Sirius continued to look at him before he suddenly look away and spoke.

"Sometimes I don't get you Moony" he admitted with a shake of his head "How can you be so calm all the time, even at a moment like this. I know you; I know you're just as worried as I am. Lily has been in labour for over thirteen hours now. She's probably exhausted and in pain and you're acting as though we're waiting for her to serve up Christmas dinner or something" Remus shrugged wishing Sirius hadn't mentioned food, neither of them had eaten in the past six hours and Remus was beginning to feel it.

"I'm calm Sirius because there is no reason to be stressed out by it. What is happening is completely natural and more importantly we know what is happening. I'd be more stressed if I had no idea what was happening to her. She's giving birth though Sirius, what did you expect. That she would click her fingers and baby Potter would be born instantly. It's called labour because it isn't a bloody breeze. Its hard work and its exhausting but you know what if anyone can deal with it then its Lily. She's one of the strongest, most stubborn people I have ever met, minus yourself and James that is." Sirius blinked at him, leaning closer and looking at him with narrowed eyes.

"Remus are you mad with me?" he demanded causing Remus to sigh out loud wondering whether Sirius would ever listen to him. He glanced at him considering trying to decide whether knocking Sirius out was an option but quickly dismissed it. The other boy would only be more unbearable when he came to.

"Why would I be mad at you Sirius?" he asked with a raised eyebrow "I'm merely telling you to relax. It's Lily who is giving birth not us, we just sit here and wait, it's hardly as though that task is beyond us.

Sirius sighed and nodded, he rested the back of his head against the cold whitewashed wall. Remus watching him from the corner of his eyes unsurprised when Sirius began fidgeting a few moments later. It wasn't his fault Remus supposed, Sirius had always had more energy then he knew what to do with but it was still annoying. He resisted rolling his eyes again as Sirius jumped to his feet and began pacing.

"Sirius will you please sit down?" Remus said, a flicker of annoyance growing in his when Sirius shook his head.

"I cant Remus" Sirius replied running a hand through his thick black hair .If I sit down then I'm gonna self combust" Remus thought about pointing out how unlikely that was but decided to let it go instead picking up his paper again and leaving Sirius to his pacing. He had tried after all.

He had read through a few more pages, able to block out Sirius muttering when another voice spoke to them attracting Remus's attention.

"Hey guys, sorry I'm late, I couldn't get away from work! Has it happened, is the baby here? Am I too late?" Remus felt a smile tug at his mouth as he watched a man of average height sprint over to them, clearly out of breath and winded from the activity. Remus shook his head as he gracefully pushed himself to his feet, stretching as he did.

"No you're in luck Peter. Baby Potter has yet to make his or her big arrival into the world so you'll be here just like you wanted" Peter Pettigrew shot him a quick grateful look as though Remus was somehow responsible for the fact that Lily was still in labour.

"Him or her" the smaller man now said with a quick glance between Remus and Sirius "So you still don't know the sex yet?"

"Not yet" Remus replied lightly ignoring the quick look Sirius had shot him. James has been unable to decide who was going to be the godfather to his child so instead he had come up with a compromise which he had seen as fair. If the child was a boy then Sirius would be its godfather, if however it was a girl then Remus would take that honour. Remus had appreciated the gesture but he wished that James had just picked one of them; this waiting game was proving to be almost painful.

"She's been in there for over thirteen hours though Pete so the little bugger has to come out sooner or later. It can't stay in there forever." Peter nodded his head and sank gratefully into one of the vacant chair, still clearly winded from his run. Remus laughed at loud and glanced at Sirius who looked surprised by the sound though an answering smile came to his face.

"Is that what you're going to refer to the baby as from now on?" he asked. "Little bugger because if you do I so want to be there when you call the child that for the first time in front of Lily." Sirius laughed, the sound sounding remarkable like a bark, looking almost relaxed for the first time since we entered the hospital with James.

"If I did that then I'd be signing my own death warrant. I would be skinned alive by both James and Lily and that would be the most pleasant thing they would do to me." Remus went to answer when a door down the empty corridor opened, they all turned to it in time to see their missing friend James Potter stagger out. A dazed tired look on his face as though he had been struck by a bludger.

"James?" Sirius called out stepping forward. James glanced up at the sound and made his way towards them slowly, almost dragging himself as though his body as made of stone. Despite his words to Sirius Remus felt a flicker of fear in his stomach. Had something actually happened to Lily or the baby? His shoulder relaxed as he watched a slow smile bloom across James's face, the dark hazel eyes behind his square glasses gleaming.

"It's a boy Sirius, a tiny, little beautiful boy. I actually have a son, can you believe it?" a silence met his words for a second as they all absorbed what James had said before Sirius gave a cheer, punching his fist in the air before twirling round and grabbing the nearest thing to him which happened to be Pete, picking him up and swinging him around in a way that made Peter hold onto him for dear life.

"Did you hear that?" Sirius demanded as he put the dizzy marauder back on his feet "It's a boy and if it's a boy then that means…" his voice trailed off and he glanced at Remus who ignored the look, instead focusing his gaze on James who was looking at them all with the same dazed expression still plastered on his face. Remus smirked at the expression and walked up to James pulling him into a hug.

"Congratulations on Prongs junior James. He's a very lucky young man" he whispered, two arms wrapped around his waist and Remus was hugged tightly back, the air being squeezed from his lungs at the action.

"Thanks Moony" James whispered back not releasing his hold "He's so perfect, he's really tiny, I didn't expect him to be so tiny but he's perfect. He looks like me already and he has my black hair. Lily will hate that" Remus laughed at that before pulling back so he could look into James's face. He searched his eyes, his smile widening as he saw an expression in them which he hadn't seen before. A look of maturity.

"Trust me when I say you're going to make a fantastic father James" he said kindly "Baby Potter will be the happiest child growing up with parents like you and Lily, I can almost guarantee it." James nodded a look of gratitude on his face but before he could say anything Sirius pushed Remus out of the way giving James another hug.

"Well it's a boy Pads" James remarked when they had both pulled back from the hug "Which means that you're the godfather. A thought that I actually find quite frightening now I actually think about it." Sirius nodded with a grin, his eyes flickering to Remus with a thoughtful look, Remus looked away his gaze on Peter instead as the other member of their group shook James's hand as though he meant to take it off.

"This is great news James; I'm so pleased for you both. When can we see baby Potter?" Peter demanded letting go of James's hand.

"That's why I came to get you" James remarked rubbing at his wrist gingerly. "Lily is waiting for you all so you can meet him, follow me lads" Remus nodded, taking in a deep breath of air as he followed James down the corridor and into the room where the other boy had come from. Remus spared a quick look at the pristine white room before his eyes settled on the figure in the bed. Lily Potter looked beautiful as they lay there; beautiful but exhausted though the bright green eyes that met his own were warm with welcome.

"I was wondering what was keeping you all. I was going to have a nap if you had kept me waiting much longer." she remarked briskly "Come over here and meet him, keep quiet though, Harry had just drifted off to sleep. It appears I'm not the only one exhausted from the whole birthing experience."

Sirius and Peter headed straight over to the crib which had been set up by the bed but Remus lingered back instead going over to Lily. He smiled at her before bending over and kissing her on the top of her head.

"Well done Lils" he murmured into her red hair. She looked up and him and smiled warmly at him, reaching out with her hand and grasping his tightly.

"I'm sorry Remus but there is always next time" she remarked lowly, squeezing his hand in an understanding fashion. Remus shrugged giving her a half smile wishing the Sirius would stop looking at him.

"It just wasn't to be Lily" he remarked lightly. "Don't worry about me, I'm fine, I should go and introduce myself to little Harry." He said, squeezing her hand back before placing it on the white cover. He stepped over to the cot, brushing past Sirius and James and glanced down.

The baby was small and wrinkled, the skin still red from the birth but his small scrunched up face was peaceful and fine strands of black hair covered his head. Remus couldn't resist leaning down and touching the small hand with his finger, marvelling at how small the hand actually was. A grin of delight covered his face when Harry's hand opened and closed around his finger.

He spoke, a slight catch in his voice as he kept his gaze focused on Harry.

"You're both very lucky" he removed his hand from Harry's before smiling blindly at them and leaving the room quickly

A silence echoed around the room as they all looked at each other.

"Is Remus alright?" Peter asked hesitantly.

"He's been in a strange mood since he got here" Sirius replied "I guess I should go after him and make sure he's ok" Sirius glanced back at Harry and took a reluctant step towards the door, stopping when James placed his hand on Sirius's shoulder.

"Tell you what Pads, leave this one to me for once" he said, Sirius head snapped up and he frowned.

"But-"he began with a stubborn look stopping when James's hand tightened on his shoulder.

"Let me" James repeated, this time his voice making it clear it wasn't a request.

"Ok" he replied watching with a sense of unease as James left the room. Sirius wasn't quite sure what was going on but he was going to find out, of that he was certain.

Author Note – I think that might actually be about a thousand words longer then my last attempt but I'm quite happy with it. Now all I need to do is write up chapter two!

Please review but no flames!

Thanks for taking the time to read.