"James?"

"Lily?" James called through their open bedroom door. He was in their room, sorting through the last of the boxes. After the destruction of Potter Manor, which James, Lily and Harry had narrowly escaped thanks to a spontaneous visit to Sirius' flat, they'd moved into an unused teachers' room at Hogwarts. While Dumbledore'd been happy to let them stay, and insisted it was the safest place for them, they'd been going mad cooped up in their one little room - they'd only ever left to go to work or to do Order things. Even food had been brought up by the house elves.

Harry wasn't getting any smaller and they'd needed the extra space, and a change of scene, and so, two weeks ago, Lily had put her foot down. Remus and Sirius had found them a two storey cottage in Godric's Hollow and with Dumbledore's help, they'd put up all sorts of wards and alarm spells and protective charms. Once it was deemed safe enough, James, Lily and Harry had moved in – very quietly, so as not to draw attention to the place. While they were still in hiding, they weren't going to let fear of Voldemort keep them in Hogwarts anymore.

Lily's voice drifted up the stairs again but James was too busy shifting their old school textbooks – Merlin knew why they still had these, three years later – to hear what's she'd said.

"Aha!" James said, pulling his invisibility cloak out of the box.

"Is that a yes?"

"What?" James tossed it over his shoulder and strode out onto the landing.

A quick glance into the second bedroom – which they'd fitted with two bunk beds, so Sirius, Remus and Peter could stay over eventually (and James could fit in the room with them when they did) – showed him that Sirius was gone – probably downstairs. He'd insisted on arranging the Marauders' room, since he was the one who'd probably spend the most time in there.

Eventually, anyway; they hadn't been allowed visitors– Dumbledore's orders, since they were still trying not to draw attention to the cottage – but Sirius and James had never let rules stop them before. They'd missed each other – the mirrors were good, but not the same as spending time together in person – so Sirius had Flooed over about an hour ago. They both thought it was safe enough, since no one could have seen him come.

"Lils?" She was leaning on the banister at the bottom of the stairs and rolled her eyes when she spotted him.

"That's a no," she said.

"What's a no?" he asked, hopping down the stairs. He planted a kiss on the top of his wife's head and her arms wrapped around his waist. "You smell like Cleaning Charms."

"I've just done the bathroom," she said, gesturing down the hall. "And I asked if Harry was with you." James shook his head and Lily's forehead creased.

"Padfoot?" James called, before she started to worry too much; Sirius and Harry gravitated toward each other naturally – possibly even more than Sirius and James. Harry was probably safe, with Sirius. "Paddy?" Lily pulled away when his second call went unanswered and James let her go. They exchanged a glance and pulled out their wands.

James crept over to the doorway that looked into the sitting room – Lily was only half a step behind him – and then laughed and lowered his wand. Sirius was sprawled on the couch, breathing deeply and had Harry draped over his chest. Tufty was curled up on his feet.

"Fearsome, this lot," James muttered, glancing at Lily, who had a hand over her mouth. Her eyes were sparkling and crinkled at the corners and she looked so happy - so alive – that he felt his heart lift. It was an expression he'd been missing in their last few weeks living at Hogwarts, and one that was coming back with a vengeance since they'd moved in. "Tufty's supposed to be able to take Mrs Norris, then there's our little Dark-Lord's Downfall and then there's the big, bad-"

"Wolf?" Lily suggested.

"That's Moony," James quipped. "I was going to say Auror."

"Terrifying," she agreed, glancing at the couch. Her mouth twitched and her eyes gleamed again and James' heart swelled. Even with Voldemort and the Death Eaters after them, he was the luckiest bloke alive.

"I love you," James said, tilting her chin up so that he could kiss her. She smiled against his mouth and then pulled back and tiptoed past Sirius. "Oi," he said.

"I'm going to get the camera," Lily said, chuckling at his crestfallen expression. James left his invisibility cloak over the back of an armchair and followed her.

"That's not the right answer," James said, as she grabbed the camera off the bench. She arched an eyebrow at him and slipped back into the sitting room. "Who says 'I'm going to get the camera' in response to a declaration of love?"

"I do," she said. There was a flash and a puff of smoke and Tufty opened one eye to give them a peeved look before settling down again. Lily flicked her wand and sent the camera floating back to the kitchen.

"You're a strange one, Evans," he said, smirking.

"It's Potter now, actually," she said loftily. It was worth the thousands of rejections he'd had from her over the years just to hear her say that.

"Oh, you're married?"

"Mmhmm." Lily wiggled her fingers at him – her rings caught the light – and then she came to wrap her arms around him again. James brushed her hair out of her face.

"Nice bloke?"

"He's a bit of a prat, actually," she said softly, her lips curving up. James grinned in response. He had a witty reply ready, but Sirius beat him to it.

"That he is." James glanced over at Sirius, who was staring bemusedly at Harry and the cat, as if wondering when they'd got there.

"Good morning, Sirius," Lily said glancing pointedly at the stars out the window. He poked his tongue out at her and she poked hers out right back.

"Sleeping on the job – what if the Death Eaters had come knocking, boy?!" James said, in a poor imitation of Mad-Eye's growl. "Could you fight them off with dreams and snores? Didn't think so! Constant vigilance!"

"Bloody hell, you sound just like him," Sirius said with a grimace. He eased himself upright, being careful not to jostle Harry. "Lils, where-"

"Just leave him there," she said. James shared a fond smile with his wife as his sleeping son's tiny fists gripped Sirius' phoenix t-shirt. "Did you want a cup of tea, Sirius? Dinner should be about half an hour away."

"Sounds great," he said. Lily disappeared into the kitchen and James heard her filling the kettle. Sirius managed to manoeuvre his way out from under Harry without waking him. Tufty glowered at Sirius, stood, stretched and vanished into the kitchen after Lily. Sirius and James spent a moment staring at Harry and then glanced at each other, a little embarrassed.

"Merlin, we're saps," Sirius said, barking a laugh. He ran a hand over Harry's downy hair as if unable to help himself, and grinned. "I'll be in in a moment," he said, yawning. "I'm going to find something to cover him with." James shrugged and left him to it.

Sirius joined him and Lily at the kitchen table a few seconds later, sitting in the chair that faced the sitting room. Every few seconds, James saw his eyes flick up to watch Harry. They sat in silence for a few minutes, sipping their tea; James watched Lily direct potato peelers with her wand and watched Sirius watch Harry with a smirk.

"You're not getting broody are you, Pads?" James asked eventually.

"Shut it, Prongs," Sirius said. His eyes flicked up again and James smirked. Sirius smacked James' shoulder. "He's just jealous," he told Lily.

"Of...?" she asked.

"Harry. Prongs knows I like his kid better than I like him."

"Ah," Lily said, her lips twitching. James would have disagreed, but he couldn't be sure it wasn't true.

"Moony likes me better," he said.

Sirius reached over to pat his shoulder and said, "You keep telling yourself that, Jamie." Lily laughed. James sipped on his tea and attempted to look as dignified as possible.

"So what's been happening?" he asked. He knew immediately it had been the wrong thing to say; Sirius' face shadowed over and he had a mouthful of tea before saying anything.

"The Boneses are dead and Gideon's in St Mungo's." James felt like he'd just taken a Stunner in the chest. It took him a moment to remember how to breathe, and when he did remember, it hurt; the inside of his chest seemed to be filled with a horrible, twisted, achy, sick feeling. It was a feeling he was beginning to get quite familiar with.

"What?" Lily gasped, her eyes filling with tears. James' hand found hers, and Sirius had her other one. "Edgar and Ame-"

"Edgar and June," Sirius said, shaking his head. "And the girls."

"But-" James' eyes were prickling now and he reached up to wipe them.

People are dying, he thought miserably, and we're playing with our son and unpacking boxes... I- we should be out there, helping. We should be protecting them! Lily's fingers tightened around his and she let out a little sob. "Georgia is- was only a few months old-"

"You think that stopped old snake face?" Sirius asked hoarsely. Lily squeezed his fingers once more and let go. Then she stood and started making dinner the muggle way.

It was a distraction, James knew. A poor one, but obviously all she could come up with right now. James got up and went to stand beside her. He put a hand on her hip and that was all it took; she latched onto him with a sob a moment later. Sirius' grim eyes met James' over the top of Lily's head.

"Amelia's beside herself and Fab's in a right state. He made a Healer cry yesterday." Sirius grimaced. "They miss you at work, Lils." She sniffled. "And you, Prongs. Shacklebolt and Finch are starting to ask questions."

Neither James or Lily had gone to work since moving to Godric's Hollow. Dumbledore thought it was far too dangerous and James was willing to humour the Headmaster for now, but he knew it was only a matter of time before he got bored and joined Sirius on a raid. The same went for Lily, he knew.

"Tell them I've gone into hiding," James sighed, rubbing a hand through his hair. Like a bloody coward. Some Gryffindor I turned out to be. "And tell them I say to keep you out of trouble." Because I won't be there to. I should be, but I won't be. His smile didn't quite make it to his eyes.

"Can do," Sirius said, but his tone was devoid of humour.

"I second that," Lily said, emerging. Her eyes were wet and her nose was red, but otherwise, she seemed composed. For now, anyway. She'd cry on and off for the rest of the night in all likelihood, and James would probably join her once it sank in. He knew that from experience – and wasn't that a depressing thought?

"How are the others?" James asked, hoping for a safer, topic, and one that didn't make him feel like a waste of space. Lily turned her attention back to dinner, which she continued to make the muggle way and James stood behind her, tracing patterns on her shoulders, and playing with her hair while he listened to Sirius.

"Moony's spending a lot of time with that kid-"

"The one Greyback got?" James asked darkly.

"That's the one," Sirius said. "He's helping him adjust. I met him the other day. Michael, or Matthew or something. Nice kid." Sirius stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Pete's been busy – we got a warning about an attack and so Pete, Benjy, Bean and Dung went and got a whole heap of muggleborns away safely. They've gone into hiding or gone abroad. Then yesterday Pete was on Amelia duty... Dumbledore got a tip that says she's a target after Edgar. I suppose it makes sense – she's working her way up through the D.M.L.E. quickly. Everyone says she'll replace Crouch in a few years." James' nose wrinkled; he didn't like Crouch.

"She's good at what she does," James agreed. "She'd be better than Crouch, I reckon. Not as harsh... hang on. Did you say Dumbledore'd got another tip?"

"Yeah, why?"

"It's like the tenth one in a year," James said. "He's got to be getting inside information, or something. I mean, he's Dumbledore, but he's not that good."

"Marly and I were talking about that this morning," Sirius said, frowning. "If Reg was around I'd say it was him – he's helped us before, remember?" James nodded. Reg had died- well, vanished, but since no one had heard from him since August last year, it wasn't likely that he was still alive, though James knew part of Sirius was still convinced he'd come back. "Reg is gone, though, and we couldn't think of anyone-"

"I can," James said at once.

"Who?"

"Lucius Malfoy," James said, trying to keep a straight face. Sirius barked a laugh and then shook his head.

"That greasy git?"

"Speaking of-" Lily's shoulders tensed under James' hands and he knew she'd realised what he was about to say. Snape was still a touchy topic for her, all these years later. "-Malfoy," he amended, "is Narcissa still-"

"A cow?" Sirius supplied. "Yep, or as far as I can tell, anyway. I haven't spoken to her in months. Last time I saw her she grabbed her kids and ran... probably thinks being a blood traitor's contagious." He barked another laugh. "You don't really think old Lucy's the spy?"

"Nah," James said. Frankly, he didn't care who it was; until about a year ago, the Order'd obviously had a spy feeding Voldemort their plans. They'd lost Curtis McKinnon, Elizabeth Abbott, Nicholas Gurdan, Dean and Theresa MacDonald – and Mary and Susan were permanently injured – and of course, Harold and Heather Evans – the last had only been two months ago.

No one could prove the Death Eaters had anything to do with their deaths, since it'd been a car crash that claimed them, but Mr Evans, who'd been driving, had had a bruise on his chest that looked an awful lot like it had come from a Stunner. Or perhaps it really had been an accident and James and Lily were just looking for someone to blame.

Dumbledore's new source of information had already saved Dorcas, and probably others, though no one else specific – unless Amelia now counted. It was nice to have things working in their favour again. It didn't feel like they were winning – not after everyone they'd lost – but at least it didn't feel like losing anymore.

James had been crushed by the deaths of his in-laws – Harold in particular, had become a second father to him – but he still had Sirius and Remus and Peter and Marlene and Gid and Fab – assuming Gid recovered. And, above all, he still had Harry and he still had Lily. His fingers dropped from Lily's back to his forearm, where the old scar from Snape rested. This past year, he'd got into the habit of touching it whenever he worried about them.

Praesidio. Protection, was what it meant. It had started as a message – or a warning – between two enemies that had nothing in common except for a brilliant muggleborn girl, and then slowly, it had become more. It had become James' driving force – expanding to include Harry once he was conceived – his reason for existing. His hand traced the slightly lumpy letters. Protection. It was his reason for everything these days.

"Message from Voldemort, Prongs?" Sirius asked lightly. James rolled his eyes and came to sit down again. Then he pulled back his sleeve to show Sirius his blank – except for the scar – forearm.

"Now you." Sirius rolled his sleeve back at once, exposing his bare arm.

They exchanged sheepish smiles; it was only the two of them that did this silly check. Remus and Peter would probably be offended if James asked them to bare their arms, but Sirius understood, like always. They both trusted each other so implicitly that the idea of the other taking the Mark was beyond ridiculous.

And, because of that, looking at their non-existent Dark Marks was a comfort, and a reminder not to take things too seriously. During war time, that was an important reminder. It was also a wonderful way to see who could come up with the best poor taste joke to initiate the reveal.

"You two are mad," Lily muttered, shaking her head. "I suppose you'll want to check mine next?"

"Nah, I saw your arm in bed this morning," James said, and she sighed and turned away, her cheeks faintly pink. Sirius leaned back in his chair to look at her face.

"She's smiling," Sirius told him and James grinned.

"Am not," Lily muttered, pursing her lips in a very obvious attempt to not smile. James blew her a kiss and she smiled, blew one in return and turned back to the chopping board. James turned around to check on Harry, but he was no longer on the couch.

"Did you see him move?" James asked Sirius, who glanced over and shook his head.

"Harry's off again?" Lily asked, amused; he'd learned to crawl a few months ago – around the time Lily's parents died, which had actually been a welcome distraction – perfected that quickly and then moved right onto taking his first shaky steps about two weeks ago. Crawling was still his preferred method of getting around – and bloody hell was he quick when he wanted to be – but he'd toddled around after James yesterday while he unpacked boxes.

"I'll find him," James said, getting up. If he was going to hide in the cottage with his wife and son for the foreseeable future, he might as well do it properly. "Harry?" he called, stepping into the sitting room. "Kiddo?" He heard a giggle from the hallway and tiptoed to the door but when he peered around, it was empty. James knew he couldn't have gone upstairs because there was a charm on the stairs that prevented him from going up or down them alone; Harry'd decided to brave the stairs the day they moved in. Only Harry's accidental magic that caused him to bounce and a hasty Cushioning Charm on James' part had prevented what could have been a very nasty incident.

James had had a very serious conversation with his son about the stairs – mainly that Harry wasn't to tell his mother what had happened on James' watch – and then James had impressed Lily by suggesting they put a protective charm on the stairs just in case Harry went exploring. She'd said it was good initiative and Harry had given James a look that was entirely too knowing for a one year old as she carried him to the kitchen for lunch.

"Harry?" James called again. There was a thump and a chuckle – Harry fell over a lot, but he laughed at himself, thankfully, instead of crying - from the sitting room and James rolled his eyes and went back in there. He checked behind the couches and armchairs, in the fireplace and even behind the curtains.

"Do you want a hand, Prongs?" Sirius called in a voice that was far too innocent for James' liking.

"I'm a perfectly capable father, Padfoot! I can find him myself," James called back, a little defensive. Sirius and Lily laughed from the kitchen. "Come on, Harry," James said, looking around. He was a little impressed despite himself that Harry had managed to stay so quiet; usually he spent most of his waking hours using his limited vocabulary: he knew 'Dada', 'Mum', 'Silly', 'Pafoo', 'Mooey' and 'Peya', though his favourite was definitely 'Silly'. "You're making Dad look bad. Har-" Something silver streaked past James, who knew a Patronus when he saw it.

Patronuses were supposed to be full of good memories, but James had learned to dread them; the only good news he ever received from them was if someone had returned safely from a mission. Usually they came bringing news of death. He hurtled into the kitchen, afraid to hear what the Patronus – Dumbledore's phoenix – had to say, and afraid to miss what was said too.

"-attack on Amelia's." James saw the colour fade from Sirius' face entirely. "No one's dead-" James, Lily and Sirius let out relieved sighs and some colour returned to Sirius' cheeks. "-and they're all safe now but we could use your healing skills, Lily." Lily left the room immediately, presumably to fetch her Healer's kit. "We're in your old room at Hogwarts." The Patronus vanished and a moment later, Lily returned, slightly out of breath.

"Hogwarts," James told her. "Our old room." She strode into the sitting room with Sirius on her heels.

"I'm coming," he said, looking shaken. "Marly was there-" Suddenly Sirius' reaction seemed to make a lot more sense. He and Marlene were... well, even James didn't quite know what was going on there, because both Sirius and Marlene denied that they were dating – and he believed them - but he did know that Sirius hadn't fooled around with any other girls since seventh year, and that Marlene'd been spending more time at Sirius' flat than her own house since the end of her sixth year.

James had ten galleons on Sirius proposing before the year was up. Peter had ten galleons on them agreeing to date, because Sirius hadn't ever said that he loved her. Sirius hadn't said anything about that to James either, but James was still reasonably sure he'd win the bet; sometimes he thought he understood Sirius better than Sirius knew himself. Sirius would probably say the same about James.

"I'm sure Marly's fine, Sirius," Lily said.

"It's Marlene," James added comfortingly, and Sirius' mouth twitched.

"Still," he said.

"Come on, then," Lily said to him, and then turned to James. "Will you be all right with Harry?" Taking him was out of the question; their old room at Hogwarts would be crowded enough without an energetic almost-one year old toddling around.

"We'll be fine," James said, despite the fact that he had no idea where his son was.

"Just you?" Sirius asked, chewing his lip.

"I'm a big boy," James assured him. He tried to grin but it was weak; it'd be the first time Harry didn't have two protectors with him since his birth. That was enough to make any parent nervous during war, but Harry was a prophecy child with Lord bloody Voldemort after him. Lily seemed to be thinking the same; her eyes were troubled. "Go on," James said, giving them a proper smile this time. "They need you, Lils." Sirius made a strange sound and rubbed a hand over his chin.

"Sirius-?" Lily began.

"Go, Padfoot," James told him, but Sirius' jaw was set.

"She'd kill me if something happened to you and Harry while I was fussing over her," he muttered. He exhaled loudly and turned to Lily. "Tell her I want a message straight away."

"Of course," Lily said at once. "Thank you, Sirius-"

"Make sure she's all right," he said gruffly. Lily hugged them both, called a goodbye to the still absent Harry and vanished into the Floo.

"Are you su-"

"I'm staying," Sirius said firmly.

"Thanks." Sirius looked over, apparently a bit surprised by James' sincerity.

"I'm not doing it for you, you prat," Sirius said, smirking. "It's for Harry." His grin widened. "You think any of us trust him alone with you?"

"I'm a perfectly capable father," James sniffed.

"Really?"

"Mmmhmm."

"Then where's the son you're perfectly capable of taking care of?" As if on cue, Harry giggled from the kitchen.

James made a rather rude hand-gesture – and hoped momentarily that Harry wasn't around to see that, because Lily'd kill them both - and pulled the kitchen door open again. Sirius followed and they called Harry, looked under the table, in a few of the cupboards and Sirius even poked his head through the other kitchen door – the one that let out into the hallway – but still couldn't find him.

"What the bloody hell?" Sirius asked, confused. Another ghostly chuckle came from the sitting room and they looked at each other before charging off in different directions; Sirius went out into the hallway again, and James burst through the door into the sitting room.

James could see Sirius in the other doorway, but Harry wasn't between them. They exchanged bemused looks and then something brushed James' leg. He looked down, but there wasn't anything there.

Hang on. James looked up and sure enough, his invisibility cloak was gone. He frowned; Harry shouldn't have been able to reach it – it'd been up high, resting on the armchair – and Harry wouldn't have been able to magic it down, because the cloak was resistant to being Summoned.

"Sirius," James said slowly. He moved his foot around his general vicinity – very gently – but all it encountered was air. "When you covered Harry before, what did you cover him with?" Sure enough, Sirius gestured to the armchair.

"The blanket," he said. James laughed and swore at the same time.

"You mean the cloak?"

"The-" Sirius' eyes widened. "Well, damn."

"Yeah, pretty much," James said, running a hand through his hair. "Bloody hell, Pads, I've had it for years! How didn't you recognise-"

"I was half-asleep!" Sirius protested.

"You gave a one year old the invisibility cloak!" James said loudly, not sure whether he wanted to laugh or cry.

"I didn't do it on purpose!" Sirius said, looking panicked. James settled for laughing; the stricken look on Sirius' face was just too funny. "Harry!" Sirius called. "Harry, come to Padfoot! Come on, kiddo!"

"What are you doing?" James laughed.

"Trying to find him," Sirius said, getting on his hands and knees. "I'm bloody well not explaining this to Lils when she gets home." That wiped the smile right off James' face.

"Harry!" he called, joining Sirius on the floor. "Come here, mate!" They heard another baby laugh, but Harry didn't come. "Little monster," James muttered, crawling around with his arms outstretched. "And you bloody well are going to tell her if we don't find him. You're the one that lost him."

"We'll find him," Sirius said.

"How? We can't very well Summon him or the cloak – the magic prevents that - and we won't hear him moving on this carpet."

"We could sniff him out," Sirius said.

"Everything in here smells like Harry," James said, shaking his head.

"Maybe he'll just come to Padfoot?"

"Maybe he'll be having too much fun." There was another chuckle but James couldn't pinpoint where it had come from. Sirius groaned.

"He'll get tired eventually," Sirius said.

"He's just slept!"

"I know that-"

"Yes, you do, because you were the one that tucked him up with the-"

There was a flash of green and a tall shape manifested itself in the fireplace. The flames died down and Remus brushed ash off of his robes before stepping out onto the carpet. Then he blinked.

"What in Merlin's name are you two doing on the- oh!" Remus leaped backward, staring at his feet in alarm. "What the- Sir-James!" James and Sirius had thrown themselves in Remus' general direction the moment Harry showed signs of being near him. James' fingers brushed something soft and his son cackled.

"Got him!" he yelled, and Sirius' fingers closed around the cloak. He yanked it up to reveal Harry, who laughed again and wriggled out of James' grip.

"Is that the cloak?" Remus asked, stepping around the three of them.

"Mooey," Harry said happily, waving his chubby fists at Remus, who scooped him off the ground for a hug.

"Hello, Harry," he said, pulling a silly face. Then he looked at James and Sirius, who were still on the ground. "What've your irresponsible guardians been up to today?"

"Silly!" Harry exclaimed, and Sirius scowled.

"It's Padfoot," he said. "Can you say Padfoot?"

"Silly!" Harry shrieked. Sirius threw his hands up in the air and flopped back onto the carpet. James nudged him with his toe and got a grunt in response. Smirking, James got up and sat down in the armchair opposite the couch, which Remus and Harry had settled on.

"We're not irresponsible," James said, pulling a face at his son, who beamed. "We were just playing a game."

"Of life and death," Sirius muttered from the ground.

"Sounds exciting," Remus said, lifting an eyebrow. James grinned sheepishly. "Sorry I didn't mention I'd be coming around." Harry wriggled and Remus set him on the ground again, where he crawled over to Sirius, chattering away. James didn't understand a word he was saying, except for the 'Silly' that cropped up regularly. Sirius , however, had propped himself up on his elbow and was listening with a remarkably serious look on his face. James caught Remus' eye, and they both looked away before they burst out laughing. "I know you're not supposed to have visitors," Remus continued, though his eyes landed on Sirius and he smiled as if he hadn't expected anything else, "but I-"

"We've missed you too, Moony," James said, reaching over to clap him on the shoulder. "Besides, what Dumbledore doesn't know won't hurt him." Remus smiled.

"How long've you been here, Sirius?"

Sirius waited until Harry'd paused for breath and then said, "Hang on, kiddo. Two hours, maybe? I came unannounced too." Then, before either James or Remus could respond, he turned to Harry. "Please, continue," he said gravely. Harry gurgled happily and kept talking. James couldn't hold in a laugh this time, and Remus succumbed a moment later.

"Dada," Harry whined. "Mooey!"

"Sorry," James said at once, forcing himself to stop laughing. Remus had controlled his expression too. Harry watched them for a moment longer and then turned back to Sirius.

"Unbelievable," James muttered, watching the pair of them on the floor. Remus laughed quietly, obviously not wanting to upset Harry again. "So, Padfoot says you've been spending loads of time with that kid-" James tried to remember what Sirius had said the boy's name was.

"Matt," Remus supplied, smiling.

"How's he adjusting?" James asked.

"Better than I expected him to," Remus said, looking proud. "He's older than the ones Greyback usually goes after – Matt was a special case-"

"Punishment?"

"His mother's a muggle," Remus sighed, nodding.

"And his father?"

"Pureblood," Remus said.

"Really? Who?" James asked, and Remus hesitated.

"Cornelius Rosier," Remus said finally, looking defiant. James just arched an eyebrow.

"Evan's brother, by any chance?"

"Cornelius is different," Remus hurried to add. It looked like he thought James was about to go off.

"Obviously," James said, waving a hand, and Remus relaxed. "Stuffy purebloods don't marry muggles. So how old's Matt?"

"Eleven," Remus said. "Old enough to understand what's happening to him, which is a blessing in some ways, but a curse in others."

"Looks like the Shack'll get a second lot of use," James said, but Remus shook his head.

"He isn't going."

"What?" James asked, stunned. "I'm sure Dumbledore-"

"Dumbledore's already offered. Matt doesn't want to. He's new to this – he hasn't even had his first full moon, although his mother's got some interesting ideas. She's a- muggles have healers just for animals-"

"Really?" James asked, fascinated.

"Really," Remus said, looking amused. "The point, though, is he's still getting used to everything. He says he doesn't feel comfortable going, and no one's going to force him."

"But- but if he's magical-"

"They've asked me to teach him," Remus said, looking pleased and guilty; he'd always wanted to be a teacher, and so this was a great opportunity for Remus, but the circumstances were unfortunate.

"What did you say?"

"That I'd think about it," Remus said. "I want to, but-"

"Well, it sounds perfect to me," James said. "He's going to need someone to look up to and you're probably the best role model I've ever met." Remus flushed. "It's true," James insisted. "And you're in no danger of hurting him because-" James' voice darkened. "-that's already been done. And when you start feeling sick before the moon, you won't be disadvantaging him because he'll feel the same." Remus sighed. "Besides, there's loads you could teach him."

"Sometimes you make too much sense," Remus said wryly.

"It's a talent," James said pompously. "One my son doesn't seem to have inherited, I'm afraid." They both glanced at Harry, who was still chattering nonsensically to Sirius.

"No, instead he's stuck with your mop," Sirius commented, ruffling Harry's untidy hair.

"Silly," Harry said happily.

"Kiddo," Sirius began in a long-suffering voice, "it's Padfoot. Pad-foot."

"Pafoo," Harry said, his chubby fingers tugging on Sirius' jumper.

"Ha!" Sirius said triumphantly. "Good. Now, let's not hear any more of this 'Silly' nonsense, eh? The only one who's silly here is your Dad." Sirius winked at James and Harry turned around to watch James with Lily's green eyes.

"Me?" James asked, and Harry beamed. James slid off the armchair and joined his son and almost-brother on the floor. "Am I silly, Harry?"

"Silly!" Harry cried, waving his little fist at Sirius. James smirked and Remus chuckled.

"That's what I thought," James said smugly.

"Looks like I'm back to being your Dad's best mate," Sirius said loftily. "We're not friends anymore, Harry."

"Mooey," Harry said smugly, crawling over to Remus. Sirius scowled.

"That's right," Remus said, dropping onto the floor beside Harry, who promptly settled himself in Remus' lap. "We're best friends, aren't we?" Remus nodded slowly and Harry eventually caught on and mimicked the gesture, though he nearly fell over doing it.

James saw the fall coming and got a hand under him before Remus could. Once Harry was stable again, leaning against Remus, he started talking, just like he had with Sirius before. 'Silly' was the most regular word in that conversation too, and Sirius scowled good naturedly.

Ten minutes later, Harry had finished his story and had come to sit in front of James, who was conjuring colourful clouds for him to catch. Harry never went for the darker blue or purple ones, and usually left the red and green ones alone, but the yellow and gold ones were fair game. He'd be a Seeker, James could tell.

Remus had settled himself beside Harry and was making half-hearted attempts to beat Harry to the clouds. Harry usually won – Remus really wasn't trying at all – but every now and then, Harry would let him get one.

Sirius still hadn't heard from Marlene and was beginning to worry; he was pacing in front of the fireplace, obviously trying to decide whether to go to Hogwarts or not, when the decision was made for him. The fire flared green as it had when Remus arrived, and the person that stepped out of it was almost as tall, but far more feminine. She was also promptly leaped upon by Sirius before she could even brush herself off.

"Hi," James heard her say softly.

"I thought- didn't Lily tell you to-" Sirius let her go and stood in front of her, probably checking her over for injuries.

"She said you wanted a Patronus, yes," Marlene said. The only part of her that wasn't obscured by Sirius was her feet, and he saw her stand on tip-toes for a moment, and then her arms laced themselves around Sirius' neck. "But by that time, she'd already patched me up and I figured I'd give you the real thing instead." They stood like that for a very long time and James let them – thinking all the while that Pete'd definitely lose his ten galleons – until it just became ridiculous.

He cleared his throat and Marlene's bright eyes appeared over Sirius' shoulder. She beamed when she spotted Harry and she dragged Sirius over to join James, Remus and Harry.

"Merlin, he's grown," she said, waving at Harry who beamed and waved back. "And it's someone's birthday next week, isn't it?"

"Silly," Harry said proudly.

"Nah, mate," Sirius said, "yours."

"Silly," Harry insisted.

"He is, isn't he?" Marlene said, grinning up at Sirius. "Very silly, your godfather."

"Silly," Harry agreed, reaching for Marlene's hair. She pulled back instantly and Harry looked put out.

"Bit twitchy, Marly?" Sirius asked, smirking.

"Neville's got a thing for hair," Marlene said wryly. "It's reflex, I suppose."

"How're they holding up?" James asked, and she shrugged.

"They're safe," she said, arching an eyebrow at him. "They might not like it, but that's what matters." James felt like they weren't talking about Alice, Frank and Neville anymore, and scowled. Marlene gave him a sad smile and glanced around, deftly avoiding Harry when he made another grab for her hair.

They all laughed at his frustrated expression and James set about conjuring colourful clouds again, but Harry wasn't fooled. In fact, he continued to sulk until Tufty was drawn into the sitting room – by Marlene, probably, because the cat loved her – and was distracted by Tufty's tail.

"Look at him, smarmy little furball," Sirius muttered, glowering at Tufty, who was having his ears scratched by Marlene. Harry kept lunging for his tail, but Tufty managed to move it away each time; he'd learned the hard way that if Harry got his tail, it'd be sucked on.

"I thought you liked Tufty?" Marlene said, glancing at him. James and Remus sniggered; Sirius liked most things, at least until he decided they were getting too cosy with Marlene. Poor Sturgis had endured months of angry sideways looks and muttered insults until Marlene put a stop to it.

"I do like Tufty," Sirius said, patting the cat. "But you're a dog person."

"When have I ever said I liked dogs?" Marlene asked, incredulous. A laugh burst out of James before he could stop it. "I've got nothing against dogs, but cats are much nicer." Sirius growled, but the sound was drowned out by Remus and James' laughter.

"Shut it, you two!" Sirius muttered before turning back to his... whatever Marlene was to him. "You must like dogs – your Patronus is a dog!"

"Oh, is it?" Remus asked, waggling his eyebrows. James smirked and Sirius flushed.

"A big, shaggy one," Marlene said matter-of-factly, still patting Tufty. "And that's only because it's paired with yours."

"Have you heard the theory about compatible Patronuses?" James asked innocently.

"I can probably guess," Marlene replied. "That doesn't mean I'm a dog person."

"Yes, it does!" Sirius exclaimed.

"You're not honestly offended on your Patronus' behalf, are you?" Marlene asked, rolling her eyes. Sirius pouted at her. "Oh, dear Merlin," Marlene muttered, but a small, wry smile was playing around her lips. "Has anyone ever told you how utterly ridiculous you are?"

"Yes," James and Remus said together, and Harry said, "Silly!"