A/N: Admittedly, this wasn't the plot I had in mind when I started writing this fic but this is what it manifested into. I hope you like it! :) Also, a huge shout out to all the lovely people who have favorited, followed and reviewed my fic 'The Epilogue.' It means a lot to me! Load of love to all of you! :) The title of this fic is inspired by a song called 'Days in the Sun' which I am completely in love with. (From Beauty and the Beast 2017)
A part of the plot is based on the conversation Sirius and Remus have in Prisoner Of Azkaban about the allegations they had against each other.
Disclaimer : All the rights of the characters of the fic and the main plot belongs to J K Rowling. (How I wish it was me!) Do leave a review telling me how you feel! :) Enjoy the story!
31st October 1981. (Afternoon)
Wind whipped through his hair, playing with the silky black strands. Sirius exhaled happily. He was determined to persuade Lily to allow him to take the young chap out today. It was Halloween for God's sake! It's simply not right for anyone to be in the confines of their home that day, he thought firmly. He landed the bike in a hedge nearby, deciding to walk for a bit in the cool air. Grabbing a sack full of candies that he had brought for Harry, he trotted towards the Potter house, whistling softly.
Balancing the sack in one of his hands, he dug the other one into the sack searching for a chocolate frog. He figured that no one would know if he just popped in one of them.
"OI PRONGS! Open the door." He yelled, banging the wooden door. "Blimey mate! You have got to cool it," James Potter exclaimed opening the door, a slight smile evident on his face. Promptly dropping the sack in his hand, Sirius hugged him tightly.
"Prongs," he chocked, emotions suddenly overwhelming him. "Padfoot," James replied ruffling his hair fondly, "I am fine mate. No attempted attacks…. Yet." He said, answering the unsaid question. "What brings you here anyway?" He asked quirking an eyebrow. "You do remember that Lily said no, right? She is going to kill you if you ask her again."
Placing a hand on his heart and screwing his face in mock sorrow, he said, "After all these years you've known me, you still question my intentions Prongs." Laughing, James grabbed the forgotten sack and led him in, "That's precisely the reason why I am questioning them, Padfoot." Sobering up, he continued, "Lils is scared for Harry, Padfoot. She – we don't want anything to happen to him. After all the casualties, we don't want to lose him too." "You know that I will not let anything happen to him mate," Sirius said earnestly, meeting James' eyes, "I am his godfather, ain't I? I love him like a son, Prongs." James sighed, "I know, Padfoot… I know."
Sirius frowned. This wasn't going the way he had hoped. He was supposed to be cheering them up! "Don't worry mate, it'll be alright," he said in a cherry voice, giving a small shove to James, "Besides we can't let Mouldy Voldy steal all our fun, can we? On Halloween that too! That's it! I am going to try convincing Lily again. You'll be surprised at the wonders puppy eyes can do." He winked at James, who shook his head in amusement.
"A big, gruff black dog hardly qualifies as a puppy, Sirius." A voice said from the corridor, revealing a smiling slender woman with deep red hair and emerald orbs; but that wasn't what caught Sirius' attention – it was the child she was carrying in her arms. The year old blinked at him, his emerald eyes twinkling with joy as he recognised the familiar face. "Padfoo'!" He exclaimed, as he thrust his arms forward – demanding to be held by him. Chuckling, Sirius came forward and took Harry in his arms, "Hey Prongslet," he said softly, rubbing their noses together, "How was your day, little champ?"
That was all the bait that Harry needed, who launched into a detailed and only half coherent explanation of how his day was – in the middle of which he demanded to be put down as he ran to his room to fetch his newest drawing that he wanted Sirius to see. Sirius beamed at the running boy, giddy happiness taking over him. No matter how bad the day was, Harry always managed to cheer him up. "He really loves you, you know. I don't remember seeing him smiling so much since the last time you visited," Lily said, breaking his trance.
Sirius looked up and grinned. "I tend to have that effect on people, Evans," he muttered into her hair as he hugged her too. "That's Potter for you, Black," she replied smiling, hugging him back. Breaking away, she sighed at the crashing noises coming from Harry's room. "James, please go and help him before he brings the house down," She pleaded to her husband, who shrugged in consent, sauntering to the toddler's room.
Lily turned to Sirius. Crossing her arms she gave him an exasperated look. "I know why you're here Sirius." "Great! So can you please save me the time and say yes?" He pouted. Lily rolled her eyes, "It didn't work before, it's not going to work now, Sirius."
He followed her suit as she sat down on the sofa. "And I – it's just that…. Dumbledore dropped in for a visit today," she said, looking at Sirius imploringly. His eyes narrowed, "What did he want to tell? Another ambiguous information – the meaning of which we cannot make head or tail out of?" He spat, "Why is he so scared to share his suspicions with us anyway? I'm beginning to think that he likes seeing us live in constant fear!"
"Sirius," Lily warned sharply. He mellowed. Drawing a sharp breath, she continued, "He said the attacks have lessened down a bit, almost like Voldemort is trying to remain low-key. Moody reckons it's the silence before a storm. Voldemort might be planning something big – and that's a direct threat to Harry. If that's the case, we can't venture outside Sirius."
Rage coursed through his veins. He stood up, with his fists clenched. "I am so freaking tired of this! If Voldemort is attacking – he is dangerous, we need to hide; if he isn't doing anything – then he's planning something big; and what do we do then? WE HIDE AGAIN! How long is this going to go on, Lily? Does this cycle ever end?! And we both know that we are nowhere near to killing him!" He panted heavily, taking deep breaths, attempting to calm himself. Lily, who had remained silent through all this, refused to meet his eyes.
"You might want to keep it down, Padfoot. I don't want Harry hearing us," James said, emerging from the corridor, his expression strangely guarded and voice void of emotions. Sirius nodded haltingly. Lily jerked her head towards Harry's room and gave James a questioning glance. "He found his crayons while searching for the drawing. He is making a new drawing to show Padfoot," he replied. A heavy silence settled between the adults.
"You're right, Sirius," Lily said, breaking the silence, "We are nowhere near killing Voldemort. But should that stop a mother from protecting her child? Should that stop anyone from trying to find ways to keep their loved ones safe; just because there's only little hope left?"
She finally looked up to meet his eyes and he was shocked to see them glistening with unshed tears. He felt James rush to her side, rubbing her shoulders in comfort – while struggled to swallow the lump of guilt forming in his throat. He hadn't realised what he had been implying through his rant.
"Lily I – I didn't mean- " She held a hand up to silence him as she looked at him and shook her head. "I know you didn't mean it that way, Sirius. I've just been so overwhelmed with all that's happened over the last year… with the prophecy and all, I – I guess it caught up to me," she said, giving him a rueful smile, patting at a seat beside her and James, prompting him to sit.
He complied, slumping onto the sofa. "I know that it's difficult for you too mate, with Regulus and the rest siding with Voldemort," James said quietly. Sirius tensed. He hated talking about this. Ignoring Sirius' change in demeanour, James continued, "But you can't forget it's so much worse for many others. So many people have lost their parents, children, relatives to the war – Moony is living with the werewolves, for Merlin's sake! Do you realise how bad it is for him?"
"That is if he isn't busy selling Order's secrets to them," Sirius snapped. It was James' turn to stand up, "That's enough, Sirius. We have been through this. I am not having this conversation with you again," he said sharply, an unsaid warning evident in his voice. Sirius decided to ignore it.
"Why is so difficult to believe? Poor little werewolf, always misunderstood, trying to fit in but shunned by the society – finally sent to a place where everyone's like him. Trying to convince everyone to join the Order, but ends up getting convinced himself – and it's so damn convenient; isn't it? The only probable hindrance to his master's success is the child of a man who happens to call him his best friend!"
A sharp crack echoed through the room.
Sirius brought a trembling hand to his burning cheek, the corner of his eyes stinging with tears as he stared at James with shock and anger. James was seething, beads of sweat breaking free from the messy mop of his hair. "NOT. A. SINGLE. WORD. MORE," he growled, voice shaking with rage.
A pregnant pause followed. And then, Sirius pounced on James, making both of them crash on the floor – Sirius punching furiously, to which James retaliated with equal vigour while Lily tried to break the both men apart, screaming at them to stop.
The chaos was brought to an abrupt halt when the sickening noise of punches gave way to a soft yet distinct sob. The three adults froze. Sirius turned to see Harry trembling by the corridor, clutching a piece of paper close to himself – his green eyes were leaking with tears, "Padfoo' 'n Dada figh'in ?"
The magnitude of his actions finally struck Sirius and he scrambled away from James, wincing slightly as he dabbed some blood away from the corner of his mouth, which was quickly becoming swollen. He didn't dare to look at James, dreading the disappointment he was bound to see in his eyes.
Lily gave both men a fleeting glare as she rushed to scoop Harry in her arms, making gentle shushing noises while cradling him, "No sweetheart, daddy and Padfoot weren't fighting. They were just playing a punching game." "Don' wike game," he mumbled, rubbing his eyes and looking at his mother." "You didn't like the game?" Lily asked him. He shook his head. "Okay then darling. See? They stopped playing it since you didn't like it," she said, pointing at them.
Lily peeked at the drawing Harry was holding. "Wow sweetheart! That looks great," she exclaimed and Harry promptly beamed at her despite the tears. "Okay, here's the thing, darling. Why don't you go to your room and add some more colours to it while I talk to daddy and Padfoot." Nodding, Harry wriggled out of her embrace and ran to his room.
Another silence followed as Lily stood up and grabbed her wand, quietly performing healing spells on the two men. "Next time, I expect you both to fight together against someone else instead of fighting with each other," she said, her voice cutting through the silence like a knife, her lips pursed in a way surprisingly reminiscent of McGonagall's. "Even though it's unbelievable even to me, you both are adults and I expect both of you to behave like one."
She gave both of them a look and sighed. "I'm going in, to see what Harry is up to and I'll try to keep him busy for a while. When I return with him, I want this to be sorted. I don't want both of you fighting in front of him ever again." With that she left, leaving the men in awkward silence.
James cleared his throat and gestured towards the sofa. Sirius nodded and they both sat beside each other in a slightly more comfortable silence. This time it was Sirius who cleared his throat, "Prongs, I – " "He thinks it's you." Sirius froze. "What?" "He – Moony thinks that you're the one who is… giving away information about the Order." James gave him a searching look.
For the second time that day Sirius' eyes brimmed with tears, "He thinks I am the – the traitor?" James sighed, "Yes. He told me his suspicions a month ago, not long after you had told me yours." James shrugged. "My reaction was worse than when you told me. I could have killed him then, Padfoot – had it not been for Lily." He sighed, "You know that you've always been closer to me, Pads."
"So…. You don't believe it then?" "Don't believe what?" "Tha – that I am the traitor?" "Of course not Padfoot," James breathed, "Have you even been listening to what I said?" Sirius looked away. "But Moony thinks that I am. So he does believe in stereotypes, then. He does believe that I'm like the rest of my family," he said bitterly. James shoot him a glare. "You're being a hypocritical, considering what you just said," he snapped.
Sirius sighed. "I know. I never really realised what allegations I was putting on Moony, until they were put on me. I got so carried away trying to protect Harry that I didn't realise I had taken it too far."
James sighed again. "Sirius. I don't think either of you three are traitors, I would never believe that any one of you ever were or ever will be. Between the deaths and protecting Harry, this is the last thing that I want to deal with, Padfoot. You have no idea how difficult it was for me to not tell Moony that we changed the secret keeper."
"I didn't tell him just because you made me promise to not do so, Padfoot and it hurts me so much to keep the truth from him." "I – I'm sorry Prongs." "I just want things to be like before, Padfoot. Is that too much to ask for? For us to go back to being the Marauders –" " – and the girl in front of whom Prongs made a fool of himself?" Sirius asked, supressing a laugh: only to receive a shove in return.
As if on cue, Lily walked into the room and looked at James expectantly. He gave her a slight nod and slung an arm around Sirius' shoulder and pulled him in a half hug, which Sirius reciprocated. Heaving a sigh of relief, Lily trudged back to Harry's room, muttering something which sounded suspiciously like, "Men."
"Dada! Padfoo'!" The toddler screamed running down the corridor with Lily trailing behind him – who was laughing as she watched her son he trying but failing to climb onto the sofa. Finally, taking pity on the poor lad, James picked him up and placed him firmly on his lap; not before giving him a fond peck on his nose. Sirius smiled, ruffling his hair. "Hey Prongslet. What have you drawn today, little champ?"
Harry gave him a half toothed grin and pulled open the paper to reveal a series of crudely drawn stick figures. Lily crouched beside the sofa. "Who are they, sweetheart?" She asked, softly stroking Harry's cheeks. To the amusement of the three adults, Harry puffed up his chest and pointed at the left most stick figure in his masterpiece. "Padfoo'!" He said proudly, continuing to point at the other stick figures, "Mama, Dada, Mooey, Woomy." Lily smiled. "And who must that be?" She asked, pointing at the short stick figure standing in the centre. "Hawwy!" He exclaimed pointing at the stick figure and then at himself.
"That's right! It's Harry!" Sirius exclaimed laughing as he picked Harry up and swung him around in circles till they both got dizzy. And for that moment, the Potter house in Godric's Hollow lit up with the innocence of a toddler's laughter and the carefree chuckles of a young man who finally allowed himself to act his age, letting go of his worries for a few precious moments like these.
James let the exuberance of the moment wash over his worries and the problems as he laughed heartily at the scene, his eyes promptly searching for his wife to share his happiness with her. Finally spotting her, he frowned noticing the wetness of her cheeks. He walked to her, snaking his arm around her waist and pulling her closer.
"Are you okay?" He whispered, trying to not let his worry show. She looked up and gave him a soft smile, bring a hand to trace his jaw as her eyes trailed back to Sirius swinging Harry around, "Why can't everything stay like this forever, James?"
James looked at his wife in mock horror, "You want to stay in hiding forever?!" "James! That's not what I –" "I can't say I mind that though," James continued, pretending his wife never interrupted him, "Soo eager to have me all for yourself, Evans?" He winked, ruffling his hair, reminiscent of the school days.
"That's Potter for you, Potter," She breathed, as she pulled him closer using his collar for leverage; before kissing him. James promptly pulled her closer and was about to deepen the kiss but pulled away reluctantly at the gagging sounds Sirius was making. "Get a room, lovebirds," he said smirking, resulting in getting a well-aimed pillow thrown at him by the ex-star chaser of the Gryffindor team.
Handing Harry over to Lily, Sirius collapsed on the sofa, grinning. He felt content after a very long time. Lily looked outside the window. "Sirius," she said, biting her lips in hesitance, "It's getting dark. You should leave." Sirius looked at her with his best puppy eyes, "Come on Lily, it's just one night! Can I pleeeaasee take Harry for trick – or – treating?" "Sirius, you know the answer," she said, trying her hardest to not smile. "Is it yes?" He asked. She finally let free a chuckle, "It is no, Sirius." She sighed, "Please don't make it more difficult than it already is."
Sirius gave a small whine before admitting defeat as his eyes fell on the sack he had brought with him, "I almost forgot! I had brought candies for Prongslet!" James picked up the sack and looked inside, "In a sack which is half empty?" He asked, quirking an eyebrow, having a very good hunch about the location of the rest of the candies. Sirius winced, "I may have eaten a few – but I promise! I meant to eat only one." James grinned, "So that's where my candies went during school! And here, I used to think that Moony was the only one with a candy fetish." "Hey!" Sirius exclaimed, pouting. James smiled, "You really should be leaving, mate. It's getting late."
Getting up, Sirius enveloped the trio in a hug, with Lily still holding Harry in her arms. "Happy Halloween everyone!" "Same to you, Sirius," Lily said, giving him a peck on his cheek. "Still waiting for the day when you succumb to my charms, darling" he told her winking. Lily rolled her eyes, "Not happening anytime soon, Black."
"Padfoo's goin'?" Harry asked, his bottom lip trembling. Sirius recognised the signs of an impending tantrum long before it came and hastened to stop it, "Don't worry little champ, I'll be back soon and till then, why don't you draw some more so that you can show that to me the next time I come?" Harry nodded furiously, a smile returning to his face much to the relief of the adults.
He gave a final hug to James, hugging the man tightly – who chuckled fondly before hugging back with same vigour. "Love you, Prongs," he muttered, too proud to say it out aloud. James laughed, "Love you too, you big goofball," he replied, taking pride in ruffling Sirius' hair so thoroughly that it caused him to screech – in a way which Sirius firmly claimed was 'manly' – and run to the nearby mirror to set it again to perfection. Glaring at Lily when she called him a 'drama queen' and giving Harry a peck as he blew a raspberry for a good bye; Sirius strode to the door he had almost broken down before.
Reaching for the door knob, he turned, trying to quell the uneasy feeling in his stomach. He gave them a sad parting smile as the lines of worry crept back on his face, with only two words on his lips: "Stay safe."
How can a moment last forever?
How can a story never die?
It is love that we must hold on to
Never easy, but we try.
Sometimes our happiness is captured,
Somehow our time and place stand still
Love lives on inside our hearts and always will.
Minutes turn to hours,
Days to years and gone.
But when all else has been forgotten:
Still our song lives on.
- Song: How does a moment last forever
Sung by: Celine Dion
Beauty and The Beast 2017.
There we go! It was one of the longest fics that I have ever written, though I am quite proud of it. Please drop in a review and tell me how the fic was. All kinds of criticism accepted and flames are welcome too! :) Your reviews help me improve!