A/N: This is a story that I've wanted to do for a while. I hope you all enjoy it! Please leave your thoughts.

Gone On

James Potter could not deny that this place was beautiful. Everything was bright and there was always a feel of happiness and serenity in the air. It made him both immensely happy and immensely sad that he had been with his wife Lily for the past fifteen years here. She seemed to exist much more tranquilly in this place than James did. For one thing, it irritated James to no end that he could not "watch over" the living, in particular, his son, from this place. On the other hand, Lily was not bothered by this blindness; she frequently told her husband that if anything, they should wish to not see Harry for a long, long time.

They did get news every so often, however. Whenever a witch or wizard from around Hogwarts School passed away, they would approach James and Lily and tell tales about their marvelous son. Unlike her husband, Lily never pestered the newcomer nor did she boast about her son's greatness, but she did listen with great interest and tear up once in a while from pride and happiness.

"I wish he'd be more careful," she often said.

"Careful? That's bollocks!" her husband would reply. "That's my son, that is, living dangerously! He'll be amazing!"

To which Lily would say, "He already is, James."

Lately, arguments (not heated ones, of course, not in this calm atmosphere) had been breaking out about whether He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named had really returned to the living world. Naturally, it quite irritated those who had come to this place by his hand when various bigots simply refused to believe in his existence, but those issues did not carry great significance—everyone was far too happy. James was extremely interested in these discussions, and always tried to butt into people's conversations on this topic, after which Lily would drag him away, apologizing profusely.

"Lily, come on! I just wanna know more about our son, about Harry!" James protested at one such moment. "Is that so wrong?"

"No, James," she said, smiling in amusement. "But you can't just keep bugging all these people."

"Lily, trust me, they are honored to speak to The James Potter," he said, puffing his chest up.

Lily rolled her eyes. Fifteen years and her husband was still the bigheaded Gryffindor he had been when he'd died. "Get over yourself, Potter," she said, turning away.

Her red hair flipping over her shoulder as she whirled around took him back to a time when they were fifteen years old, like Harry was now. "I will if you'll go out with me, Evans," he said, grinning broadly.

She turned back around to face him, looking slightly surprised, but mischievous in a way that only his Lily could. His eyes twinkled and her heart fluttered. Oh, that boy. "I'd sooner date the Giant Lake Squid."

"Oh, really?" he said, cocking an eyebrow and stepping closer to her. "You think the Giant Squid can do this?" He took her waist in his hands and pulled her to him. The sound of her sharp intake of breath made him swell with pride and satisfaction.

"Yes, I quite think he could. He's a great lover, you know," she replied, her voice unwavering. James couldn't help but laugh.

"Oh, yeah? Can he do this?" He gently brushed her dark red hair behind her ear, allowing the tips of his fingers to caress her face ever so slightly.

"Mmm, yes, probably," she said, but her voice twitched this time. He grinned victoriously.

"I'm pretty sure he can't do this." With a teasing smile, he leaned in for a kiss—

WHOOSH! A sudden draft blew Lily's hair into her face, and, sputtering, she pulled away. Her stomach clenched and she looked up at James worriedly. They all knew what the burst of cool air meant—a newcomer.

Immediately, James pulled Lily into a tight hug, whispering, "It won't be him, Lils. Don't worry about it. Let's go and see, yeah?"

Swallowing her anxiety, Lily nodded and followed James to the floating arch, gripping his hand tightly. There was a small crowd around the arch, but big enough so that they couldn't see who it was right away. The voice, however, was strikingly familiar.

"Bloody hell," it was saying in a disappointed tone, "how could I let her get me like that? My own damn cousin…"

James's face broke out in a wide, ecstatic smile. "PADFOOT!" he shouted, waving his hand wildly.

The crowd parted to reveal the restored, handsome, young, and shocked face of Sirius Black, James Potter's best friend and near brother.

"Prongs?" Sirius said, still dazed. "Really? It's you?"

"Damn right, it's me," said James, striding forward to hug his best friend. They embraced heartily, and though they would never admit it, both men felt tears in their eyes.

Over James's shoulder, Sirius smiled at Lily. "How's it been, Lily?"

Lily laughed and her tears spilled slightly down her cheeks. "It's been wonderful here, Sirius. You're going to love it. And now that you're here, James should be satisfied. At least for the time being."

"What? Prongs! Why aren't you satisfied?" Sirius demanded, pulling away.

"Why else? He wants to know about Harry all the damn time!" said Lily exasperatedly.

"What, he can't just look down and see them all or anything?" asked Sirius.

"No! I can't! It's so bloody frustrating!" cried James.

"That's not fair."

"That is correct."

"Oh, no," Lily groaned. "Am I gonna have two whiny babies for eternity now?"

Both men grinned at her.

"What do you say, Padfoot? Are we gonna annoy the living hell out of Lily, now?" said James.

"I think that sounds like an excellent plan, Prongs. Hey, can we still transform up here?" said Sirius.

James smirked at him, and promptly took his Animagus form, prodding Sirius with his antlers.

"OW!" he cried, and transformed as well. They began tussling, the Sirius dog yipping playfully, with Lily laughing hysterically over them. James, because of his huge stature, was clearly winning.

"All right, all right, boys! Play nice!" Lily cried, still giggling.

Reluctantly, they transformed back and turned to Lily with pouting faces.

"You always put a stop to our fun," James whined.

"Merlin, she hasn't changed, has she?" said Sirius. Lily swatted him playfully.

"So, how have you really been, Padfoot?" said James, finally calming down ever so slightly.

Sirius shrugged. "I've been all right, you know? That bloody Pettigrew really gave me hell, but…"

Instantly, James and Lily sobered up. "I'm really sorry about that, Sirius," said James guiltily. The tragic fiasco with Peter Pettigrew was one thing James had never ceased to beat himself up over for the last fifteen years.

"No, no, Prongs," said Sirius, shaking his head with a sad smile. "It wasn't your fault. It was his. He was the traitor."

"That is true, James," said Lily quietly. She knew her husband would never forgive himself, but she would try anyway.

"Well, we heard you got out, what, two years ago?" James continued, avoiding acknowledging the idea that Sirius's fate had not been his fault.

"Yeah, I did." Sirius grinned. "I've gotta say, being on the run would have been way more exciting if you'd been there with me."

James smiled back. "Aw, hell, you had to go and say that? Now I'm bummed I couldn't have been there."

"James!" Lily reprimanded, smacking him across the head. "You shouldn't say things like that!"

"Come on, Lily, you can't deny that it would have been more fun than our last stupid year of hiding," James pointed out.

With a sight, Lily said, "Yeah, I suppose you're probably right about that."

"So how's Moony?" asked James eagerly.

"He's doing better," said Sirius. "He's doing great work for the Order."

"The Order's back?" said Lily, astonished. "So that means Voldemort's really at large, then?"

Sirius gave her an odd look. "Er, yes. Don't you two know that?" He looked back and forth between James and Lily.

"Yeah, we did," Lily admitted. "But we hoped it wasn't as bad as last time. Is-is Harry okay?"

At that, Sirius broke into the broadest smile he'd worn since he'd arrived. "Lily and James Potter, I am proud to tell you that your son is the most amazing person the world has ever seen."

James let out an earsplitting whoop of joy, and Lily couldn't help but laugh with pride herself.

"That, my friend," said James, "is truly good news."

"James, you don't even know how good that news is," said Sirius excitedly. "He's got the Cloak and the Map."

James's mouth fell open. "Are you serious?" he said in hushed tones.

"One hundred percent," Sirius promised.

"I-I gave that cloak to Dumbledore!" cried James.

"That's actually true," said Lily. "How did Harry get that?" She, too, was astounded. Her son had become a troublemaker just like his father. Though the worry in her blood suddenly increased exponentially, so did the pride.

"Beats me," said Sirius, shrugging.

"Well, I'm glad he's crazy just like you two," said Lily, smiling.

"Oh, no," Sirius corrected her. "He's absolutely not. He's got a thing for breaking rules, yeah, but he couldn't be more like you, Lily."

Surprise and emotion touched her soul and she felt new tears spring to her eyes. "Really, Padfoot?" she said softly.

"Yup. He's like your bloody clone. Sorry, Prongs."

"Thanks, Sirius. Really, thanks," said Lily gratefully.

"And the Map!" James exclaimed. "Filch took that from us! How the hell did he get that?"

"That one I actually know the answer to," said Sirius. "D'you remember Arthur and Molly Weasley?"

The couple nodded.

"Well," Sirius continued, "when you two died and the war ended, they had a bunch of kids. Remember the twins?"

Again, they nodded.

"Well," said Sirius again, this time with a huge grin, "those twins grew up to be almost as great as we were in Hogwarts, Prongs."

"Did they?" said James proudly. "I'm glad someone's continuing our legacy."

"Yes, yes, Hogwarts will always need more troublemakers," said Lily exasperatedly. "But what does this have to do with the Marauders' Map?"

"I'm getting to that! Merlin, you're still so bloody impatient, Lily. Anyway, apparently they stole the Map out of Filch's office when they were first years and gave it to Harry so that he could sneak into Hogsmeade!" Sirius crossed his arms over his puffed chest and gave a single, satisfied nod.

For a moment, James was dumbstruck. "Are—you—really?" he finally squeaked, overcome with excitement.

"I am really, Prongs. I am so really."

A/N: I was also considering doing a story that shows when Harry finally comes up. Let me know if you'd like to see that!

~Maya