James Potter doesn't want anyone to misunderstand him. He's really, really proud of the whole defeated-the-most-evil-wizard-the-world-has-ever-known thing. Really, he is! And he is truly, absolutely sure that his grandfather and other partial namesake are too, but well James is also sure that that's not what they're most proud of.

Now, don't get him wrong. He wouldn't want to offend the millions of people in the Wizarding World, who thank his father with every breath for defeating MoldyShorts, but the fact is James Potter and Sirius Black weren't the type of people who would put that at the top of their list-of-things-to-be-proud-of. (Merlin, he's named after them, he should know how they think!)

The way he sees it, they were great men. A legacy, really, and an inspiration for people like the Weasley Twins and Fred and himself – in fact if he ever has children he's naming them Sirius and George, but that's beside the point …

The point is that the way he sees it, they would've started getting proud wayyyyy before the duel with the wizard-with-fungus-covered-shorts ever occurred. The first time, James is sure, would've been when his dad called his muggle cousin "a pig in a wig." (This would definitely be in the first five on the list) Hilarious! Pure Marauder material! (The sad part is that James has met Dudley, and he completely agrees.)

Then of course, there was the whole flying car thing, which would most definitely be on number three. How can it not be? It's a Hogwarts Legend! Bigger than the Weasley swamp, mightier than the 1992 opening on the Chamber, and greater even than the time when Proffessor Longbottom beheaded the snake.

There was also the time when James' dad was running from Dudley's gang and BAM! he APPARATED ( before eleven, how awesome is that!) and found himself on the ceiling. This would come in at number seven, most definitely! If there was one thing James' dad was amazing at, it was displaying extra-ordinary magical powers. (For proof, please refer to Exhibit A, which is the "defeated-the-most-evil-wizard-the-world-has-ever-known" thing)

Then of course there was number two. The break in at Gringotts.

DUN DUN DUN!

Yes, Harry James Potter, the mighty hero of the Wizarding and Muggle World, was once an outlaw. Sirius would've put that right up there next to flying motorbikes in this grand scale of awesomness.

Coming it at number one is… escaping on the back of a dragon!

Actually escaping on it! It siriusly (excuse the pun) doesn't get better than this! James and Sirius would've loved this one. It's the ultimate act of trouble making that every single prankster dreams of!

And then of course, there's the whole sacrificed-himself-for-the-fate-of-the-World, and defeated He-who's-name-was-really-dumb – but seriously those would've come at number twelve and ten respectively.

Because he was James, and he was Sirius and they lived their lives in the midst of a war, and they were the ones who laughed a little louder, and planned a little bigger while everything was burning to bits around them – and if they had lived to be proud of something, their lists, like their lives, would've been different from the rest of the Wizarding World's.

And James and Fred know this, and the Marauders knew it, and so did the Weasley twins, because for every great prankster – life's not the plot, it's all the details.