It all began with a letter.

Or that's how Archie liked to tell it at least, that the whole thing started that hot, muggy day in June, when an owl came winging Harry's bedroom window with a crisp envelope clutched in its beak. Addy argued it had started long before that, when Harry's passion for Potions first ignited, and Archie couldn't help but retort that they might as well say it had begun long before any of them were even born, when Severus Snape first gained his Mastery and was published in numerous academic journals. During all of this Harry would sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose. Did it really matter where or when the greatest adventure of her life unfolded? And when she said this inevitably Archie and Addy would gasp in offense, their penchant for drama demanding they make the story appropriately story-ish (Not a word, Hermione would murmur, curled up in a nearby armchair, and Sirius would roll his eyes, albeit fondly). Of course it mattered!

But all of that is far, far into the future.

Now, our dear heroine is about to open a letter announcing the results of her application for a scholarship to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Let the tale begin.

…

Harry Potter stared at the envelope lying on the table in front of her. This is it, she thought grimly.

The Hogwarts seal stared back at her, unaware of the turmoil its contents would wreak upon both the recipient and her family.

But why would it be aware, in any case? It was just wax, meant to do what it was meant to do. It wasn't interested in Lily's thin lips, pulled tight with exhaustion and disapproval. It cared not for Sirius' restless temperament after he and Archie had bellowing matches in the halls of Grimmauld. James' desperation, the worry lurking in Remus' dark eyes, it all meant nothing.

(Then again, some part of her mind whispered. Didn't it mean nothing to Harry too? Wasn't she selfish, to pursue this opportunity despite the way it had fractured the previously happy family dynamic the Potters, Blacks, and one Lupin used to enjoy?)

Harry gritted her teeth, resentment towards the seal reaching new heights. Reaching for the letter, she ripped it open (perhaps with a little more force than was required) and pulled out the thick pieces of parchment inside, dropping both the envelope and the seal scornfully on the ground.

Perhaps it was a little petty, but Harry thought she had earned the right to a little pettiness. Especially considering she had grown up with Sirius Black, the King of Petty, as an uncle. She still remembered the epic prank war he had declared when James drank his last bottle of 1848 original Ogden's Firewhiskey. It had taken Aunty Di three whole days to—but we don't talk about Aunty Di.

Swallowing hard, Harry unfolded the letter with shaking fingers and scanned over the stark cursive that greeted her.

Dear Miss Potter,

We are delighted to inform you of your enrollment in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry—

Harry's breath caught in her throat. Your enrollment rattled around her skull, echoing in her eardrums and leaving a funny taste on her tongue.

She was in.

She. Was. In.

Harry felt both a wicked sense of elation and a sick sort of dread. She was accepted to the school of her dreams, to where Severus Snape taught.

But she couldn't quite be happy, not yet, not when her parents were fighting for hours on end, not when Archie and Sirius were having one of the worst conflicts to grace their ridiculously close father-son relationship. Raised voices and slamming doors filled the halls, these days, and Harry knew her acceptance meant there was a choice to be made.

And she refused to put it off, not after all she and Archie had been through together.

Clutching the monumental parchment in her hand, she made her way to the library, where her cousin sat fuming in one of its many nooks and crannies.

After a slight moment's hesitation, she slid in beside him and tucked her knees up to her chest. "Hey."

Archie's anger seemed to evaporate and he sagged against her, looking drained. "Hey, cuz."

"Bad one?" she asked, fixing her eyes on the wall opposite them.

"Worst one yet."

A heavy pause, and Archie sighed. "The letter come?"

"Yeah."

"Uncle James will go berserk," Archie said lightly, and Harry rolled her eyes.

"You don't even know if I got in yet."

"You got in," he said confidently. "You're Harry."

Warmth spread inside Harry's chest, and against her will a smile tugged at her lips. "Thanks, Arch."

"Always," he replied, some of the trademark Archie charm returning to his voice, and Harry suddenly felt an ache for her cousin, bright, sweet, earnest Archie, who knew how cruel the world could be and still saw the stars shining bright.

"Do you think Uncle Sirius will change his mind?" Harry asked softly, already knowing the answer.

Archie shuddered against her. "No."

"I could reject it." She let the words hang in the air before continuing on tentatively. "Do what we talked about, say I want to go to AIM and take your place and you take mine."

Archie was silent beside her, and Harry gained traction. "People might think it's a bit odd, me not taking the scholarship, but I'm pretty sure Dad's mood lately would explain it at least partially. And whoever's next in line will take my place, and eventually people will forget all about the Potter Heiress."

"Wrong," Archie whispered.

"Hm?"

"People wouldn't forget. They were already outraged enough, and sure, you being Heiress Potter helps, but there will still be offense that a halfblood dare turn down this delightful act of charity."

Harry grimaced. Archie was right, and she knew it.

For Archie, though… "I wouldn't mind," she said, simply, but with a quiet surety that spoke of truth. She had never cared about society's opinions, and she wasn't about to start now.

Archie scowled, "I would. Harry, look at it this way: Either we both go to Hogwarts, legally, or you commit blood identity theft and we have to lie to everyone for years and years. I'm not having that on my head. Our faces are too beautiful. I refuse to let a Dementor suck on them."

It would be me getting 'sucked on', Harry thought dryly, but she let it go. "So what's next?"

Archie took a deep breath, and Harry could see him gathering himself together, patching the fragile bits over with forced liveliness until there was some semblance of normalcy. "Now," a grin curled his lips, "We sneak out and celebrate."

Harry raised an amused brow, "Is it really sneaking out if we've had permission to go to Diagon by ourselves for over a year now?"

"We have permission if we tell them," Archie countered.

"Oh I see, so we're not going to tell them. How very rebellious."

Archie nodded emphatically, narrowing his eyes at her.

"And I suppose it doesn't matter that Mum and Dad don't give a whit where we are and Uncle Sirius thinks you're still off sulking?"

Archie huffed, "Shut up and get going, Harry. We're not going to tell Remus."

"Uncle Remus is in the middle of his 10 AM workout, it's not like—"

"For Merlin's sake, Harry—"

And with that, the two cousins scrambled out of the library and into the light of the warm summer sun.

…

"You ready, Harry?" Archie said, lounging on her bed.

Harry closed her trunk decisively. "Ready."

Clambering up to sit beside Archie, Harry sighed. "One more day."

"Yep," Archie said cheerfully, "One more day for Uncle James to try and look grimly disapproving."

"One more day for Mum to shout at him."

Silence reigned, until Harry asked uncertainly the question on both of their minds. "Do you think it'll get better after we leave?"

"Of course!" Archie replied, shuffling around to face her. "They're James and Lily! They've been in epic love since before we were born."

Harry said nothing, and Archie sighed restlessly, running a hand through his hair. "But it's true that I've never seen them like this before."

"Yeah, well, neither have I," Harry muttered.

Somewhere in Potter Place, shouts exploded, echoing up to the cousins, and Harry swallowed thickly. "They're at it again."

Archie looked as agitated as she felt. "This is bad, Harry."

"I know," Harry said helplessly, flopping back on the bed. "But I thought Dad had let it go, after I told them the letter came. He seemed pretty resigned."

"Well yeah," Archie acknowledged, "But Aunt Lily isn't backing down. She needs to know why Uncle James was so worked up about it."

Harry exhaled tiredly. "We should just take a nice, long vacation."

"Somewhere warm," Archie added wistfully.

"With a Potions lab," Harry said dreamily.

Archie snorted, but his eyes softened. "You can brew to your heart's content, and occasionally I'll drag you out to fly so you don't waste away by your cauldron."

"You can study Healing," Harry nudged him. "Run a little clinic on the beach, and I'll supply the potions."

"That sounds relaxing," a voice remarked from the doorway, and the cousins looked up to see Sirius leaning against the doorframe, amused. "I hope there's a place for me in this grand plan of yours."

Archie smiled tentatively. "Only if you don't interrupt the peaceful academic lifestyle."

Sirius grinned, slouching in the door and settling himself between Harry and Archie, slinging an arm around each of their shoulders. He ruffled Archie's hair, saying softly, "Love you, kiddo."

"Love you too, Dad."

"Am I forgiven?"

"...Yeah."

Harry's lips curled up, unbidden, and she set her head on Sirius' shoulder. "Hey, Uncle Siri."

"Hello, little fawn."

"You think we're gonna have fun at Hogwarts?" she asked, and Sirius sucked in a breath, thoughtful.

"I think it'll be a blast," he said gently, then teased, "But Archie here will need to make sure you're not all work and no play. I can just imagine, you holed up in some abandoned classroom bent over a cauldron, in the midst of some Potions-induced haze. Prongs would have an aneurism."

Archie chuckled at Harry's scowl. "Don't worry, we'll play a couple pranks in your honour, Dad."

Sirius sniffed haughtily, "You better. If I hear you're tarnishing the Marauder name there will be words."

There they sat, peaceful, and although there was still so much to sort out, Harry allowed herself a moment to feel proud. She'd gotten the scholarship. She was going to go to Hogwarts and learn under Master Snape, and she and Archie would stick together through thick and thin.

...

Extra:

James Potter never imagined parenting could be this hard.

He stared at the parchment he had painstakingly forged, taking great care to imitate the elaborate penmanship the Board of Governors employed.

Dear Heiress Potter,

It is with regret we inform you of the rejection of your application for the scholarship awarded by the newly founded Opportunities for Halfbloods Initiative. We thank you for participating and wish you the best in their academic career moving forward.

Sincerely,

The Hogwarts Board of Governors

All he had to do was adjust the owl wards, and he could reroute the letter and replace it with his own.

Could he do that? Crush Harry's dreams for the sake of his own fatherly paranoia?

But it's not paranoia, he reminded himself.

And it wasn't. James remembered his own school days with wonderful clarity. He remembered the jokes and the pranks and the pretty redhead he met in the station every year (whom he later married, for that matter). He remembered detention after detention with Filch and feuds with the Slytherins and fighting with Snape, he remembered glorious full moons spent running wild through the Forbidden Forest.

He remembered Sirius' clenched fists when Bella called him a blood traitor in that taunting, sickly-sweet tone. He remembered Peter's wide eyes when James launched himself into a fistfight with a nasty housemate who implied they were only friends with Remus because he did—well, other things for them.

Yes, James remembered.

And Harry would not suffer through that if he could help it.

Lily didn't understand, not really. She had been well away from it at AIM, then married Lord Potter, who had the status and the wealth to shelter his family from the worst of it. What she saw was that her little girl had the opportunity to attend a school she was unable to, in her youth, and she couldn't let it go.

James swallowed, tilting his head back.

There was a possibility, he reassured himself, that Harry wouldn't get the scholarship anyway. That what he was about to do wouldn't make a difference.

But he knew better. He had looked into the other applicants, and none of them had the pull or influence that he did. It would go to Harry, regardless of how talented the other were.

That's how society operated, after all.

"James," Remus' voice admonished over his shoulder, and James startled.

"My Auror reflexes must be getting slow if I let an old thing like you sneak up on me," he joked easily, spinning around to face his long-time friend.

"James," Remus repeated, then flicked his eyes to the letter lying on the desk before them.

James kept his body language purposefully open and relaxed. "Yes, Moony?"

"What in Merlin's name do think you're doing?" Remus demanded sharply.

James' eyes flashed. "Protecting my daughter."

"Protecting or hobbling her?" Remus snapped, "This is her future!"

"Don't you know what it'll be like?" James shot back, surging to his feet.

"Of course I do," Remus said quietly, "I lived it, James."

James was caught in Remus' yellow eyes, fierce and determined. "If you do this, James, Harry will never forgive you."

"No," James said, voice thick, "Any more than I would ever forgive myself." James collapsed back into his chair. "You're right, Moony," he sighed, cradling his head in his hands.

"But it'll be so bad," he whispered, "I don't want that for my little girl, Moony—"

James subsided, ashamed, and Remus' demeanour softened. "I know, Prongs."

"But Harry is strong," he continued, "I know sometimes you can't see it, but she really is your and Lily's daughter. She refused to back down on this, and I will support her. I hope to the Great Mother Goddess, James, that you can find it in her heart to do the same.

"Besides," Remus smiled, "She'll have Archie."

With that, he slid the fake letter forward and turned to go. "This is your choice to make, James.

"Make the right one."

James Potter exhaled.

The next night, he left for a dinner where his daughter would tell them of a letter, a letter announcing her status as the recipient of a prestigious scholarship to the best wizarding school in the country.

Meanwhile, parchment smoldered in the fireplace, taking a father's misguided plans to protect his daughter and vanishing them in sparkling, crystalline faith.

Remus was right. Harriet Potter was strong, and James knew that.

(That did not mean, of course, that he would not worry.)

(But that was a father's job, was it not?)

A/N: Thank you for reading! As well as thanks to mbm for her wonderful series (if you haven't read it, what are you neven doing here? Go read it!) One more thanks (hehe) for StarofTime, both for the idea and helping me kick it off. Yes, I know this is short. I apologize. I don't have much experience writing fics, I'm afraid, so please please share any insight/feedback you have.

See you soon! (Hopefully.)