Summer of '75

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of its characters, and I don't own the song :(

A/N: It's kind of a songfic to the song "The Summer of '69" by Bryan Adams - my dad loves all those oldies stations, and I listened to this song yesterday and it crazy reminded me of the Marauders! I tweaked the lyrics a bit, but I hope you enjoy:)

Other Notes: This story does not contain slash and contains only cannon pairings – it sort of takes place the Summer before James's sixth year, or at least the memories do. You see, James is already dead, and he's looking back on those memories - for they truly were the best days of his life. And there may just be a Marauderly reunion waiting in the wings:) I'd like to think that James & co. are Animagi at this point, but even if they're not, let's just pretend they are so that this will be more fun:) Anything that you recognize from the books in this story strictly belongs to JK Rowling, of course!

I got my first real broomstick

Bought it at Quality Quidditch Supplies

Rode it til I couldn't no more

It was the Summer of '75

James Potter beamed at the package that was lying on his bed. He wanted to open it before the other Marauders got to Potter Manor, but he couldn't force himself to move. He knew what it was - he'd ordered it from Quality Quidditch Supplies weeks ago. It was the Super Nova 800 - the fastest racing broom on the market. James had been flying since before he could even walk, but this was the first real broomstick he'd bought all for himself. And he was so excited, he could barely breathe.

"James!" James's mother - Martha - called from downstairs. "Sirius just fire-called - he and the others will be here in five minues!"

"Alright Mum!" James called back. There was no more time to waste - James literally dove at the package.

He tore the paper off of it, and took a step back. He was afraid to touch it - it was so shiny. It was the prettiest looking thing he'd ever seen - pretty enough to perhaps even rival Lily Evans. It was long and glistening and made of the finest wood, James was sure. The bristles were made of dried unicorn hair, and it was rumored to be faster than even the Nimbus 150. It was so-

"Beautiful," James murmured, daring to touch it.

"What? Are the bristles made of Evans's hair or something, Jamsies?" came a voice from James's doorway.

"Not hardly, Sirius." James grinned, turning around to face his three best friends. "This is the Super Nova 800."

"No bloody way!" Sirius exclaimed, diving at the broom even more quickly than James had. "Those just came out today!"

"I ordered it weeks ago!" James smiled.

"Merlin," Remus breathed, edging into the room. He stared transfixed at the broomstick. "I'm not much of a flyer, and even I think it's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."

"Are we going to try it out?" Peter asked, gazing at the broom.

"No, Pete." Sirius said devoutly. "James will. We'll take some brooms from his Quidditch shed. We'll have a game in the backyard - two on two alright with you?"

Me and some guys from school

Had a group, and we tried real hard.

But Peter...er, quit, and James (me!)...well, died.

I shoulda known we'd never get far.

Oh when I look back now,

That summer seemed to last forever

And if I had the choice

Ya - I'd always wanna be there

Those were the best days of my life

"You guys should stay here this summer," James said through a mouthful of potatoes at dinner the next night. "Imagine how much fun that'd be!"

"Anything to get out of the most noble house of Black," Sirius sneered.

"Sure." Remus shrugged. "As long as your folks don't care."

Peter merely nodded.

"Alright then, it's settled. Gentlemen, welcome to the best days of your lives!" James shouted happily. Then, he took an extra long sip of pumpkin juice, and the other Marauders laughed.

"Here here!" Sirius exclaimed, raising his own goblet in the air. "To the best days of our lives!"

The other Marauders banged their goblets together, and the toast to the summer rang through the air. They all knew that this was going to be an amazing summer.

Ain't no use complainin'

When you've got chores to do

Spent my evenin's down on the Quidditch Pitch

And that's when I saw you.

James was - surprisingly - alone at the moment. His mum had taken his best friends to Diagon Ally with her to get some shupping done. James would have gone, but he had bloody chores to do and wasn't aloud to leave the Potters' private Quidditch Pitch until it was spotless.

Deciding that the Pitch looked more than satisfactory, James wiped the sweat off of his forhead, and decided to take a walk down the road. There were a few other Wizard Properties there, but they mostly belonged to old people whom he didn't know. He was kicking a pebble down the street, when a flash of fiery red hair on the porch of a light blue house caught his attention.

"I'm just going for a walk, Mum!" Lily Evans shouted through the open door of the blue house. "Want to get to know the area, you know? I'll be back before dinner, don't worry! ...Love you, too!"

"Lily?" James whispered to himself. "What is she doing here?"

Without another pause, Lily skipped off of her front porch and started walking down the road. Right towards James. For a moment, the young wizard was flustered and had no idea what to do. Then, he remembered that he was James Potter and that this was Lily Evans. And without another thought, he ran to her.

"Lily!" James shouted. "Evans!"

Lily froze for a moment, and reluctantly looked in front of her. Oh no it was not...

"Potter?" Lily asked. "What in Merlin's name are you doing here?"

"See that yellow house down there?" James asked. "That's mine."

"No." Lily said. "No way..."

"So...you're my new neighbor, Evans?" James smiled.

Lily sighed. Twice. "...I suppose so, Potter."

"I heard you saying you wanted to take a walk," James began nervously. "Well, I was on my way down to...to this little spot by a river just down the road a bit...d'you want to come?"

If it had been any other time, Lily would have said no way. But...James just looked so-so cute and nervous when he asked, and she didn't have a clue where anything was in this strange, new town.

"Fine...James." Lily finally said. "You can show me where the river is, but that's it...and don't try anything."

Standin' on your mama's porch

You told me that I was clever

Oh and when you held my hand

I knew that it was now or never

Those were the best days of my life

Back in the Summer of '75.

James and Lily had been by the river's edge for hours. James hadn't meant to keep her that long, but he found then when it was just the two of them, it was very easy to lose track of time. For once, Lily didn't seem like she hated the raven-haired wizard. When he wasn't being an arrogant bully, he was actually...likeable.

But when the sun began to set, James remembered Lily's promise to her mother, and insisted that she go home.

"I don't suppose I have to go yet..." Lily said carefully, trying not to actually admit that she had been...er, enjoying James's company.

"Don't worry, Lily." James smiled brilliantly. "We have all summer."

Lily laughed, and let James walked her back to her house. By the time they got there, it was mostly dark. But Lily's front porch was lit brilliantly with a light, and that allowed her to see some.

James - as he had often tried to at Hogwarts - grabbed Lily's hand, and - for the first time - she didn't pull away. She tried to tell herself that it was just because it was cold out and James's hand was warm...but that wasn't the truth, and she knew it. She felt her cheeks heat up with a blush, and snuck a peak at James, who was literally beaming.

James walked Lily right up to her porch, and said, "G'night then, neighbor."

"Oh, you think you're so clever, Potter." Lily smiled, rolling her eyes.

"What do you mean?" James asked innocently, raising an eyebrow.

"You think you'll get me to fall for you this summer...don't you? That just because we're neighbor's you'll finally have me under your spell?" Lily asked speculatively.

James shrugged. "We'll see where the summer takes us."

"Okay." Lily said. "Whatever you say, James."

And it was that moment - when Lily hadn't referred to him as 'Potter' - that James knew it was now or never.

"Eva-er, Lily?" James asked, right before Lily walked through her door.

"Yeah?" Lily asked, turning around.

"That was fun...going down to the river." James said sheepishly.

"Yes...I suppose it was." Lily admitted.

"And I was just wondering if...maybe...you'd want to do it again tomorrow?" James asked.

"She's going to say no," a voice in James's head insisted. "You've asked her out everyday for years and years. Just because you're-"

"Sure." Lily shrugged. "That would be...okay."

"Kay." James said, a goofy grin sliding onto his face. "See you tomorrow then."

Lily sighed, and affectionately rolled her eyes. She allowed a small smile. "See you tomorrow then."

Yeah us Marauders were killin' time

We were young and restless

And man, Lily Evans was fine!

But nothing can last forever - no, not even Dumbledore.

"No way. Lily Evans did not move in next door, and she did not agree to go out with you. You're hallucinating, Prongs." Sirius said, as himself, James, and Peter lounged about on the couch.

"No, I'm serious-" James began, but Sirius cut him off.

"No, I'm Sirius...bloody hell James, d'you not even know your own name?" Sirius grinned.

James whacked the dog Animagus with a pillow. "Shut up, Padfoot! That joke got old first year!"

"Whatever." Sirius said, rolling his eyes.

"Where's Moony at?" James asked, noticing the absense of their werewolf friend.

Sirius gestured to the window, where James saw the glow of the full moon.

"Where'd he transform?" James asked.

"The woods, behind the Pitch." Sirius shrugged. "I was gonna go transform, later."

"Let's just go now." James said, sitting up. "S'not like there's anything better to do."

Silently, the three Marauders crept outside, and transformed with three seperate pops. Where James had been standing, there was now a magnificant stag. Where Sirius had been, there was now a giant black dog. And where Peter had been, there was now an ugly, lying little rat.

The three illegal Animagi walked through the forest for about fifteen minutes before they found Remus. Only you wouldn't have been able to tell who it was by that point; Remus had become a giant, bloodthirsty werewolf. But with his friends around, the werewolf was a bit more...well, tame, and the four friends spent the night laughing and playing and wrestling to see who'd win. Peter never won.

But none of that mattered. In those days, the Marauders were young, happy, and faithful. They spent their time laughing and enjoying each other's companies. They were brothers in everything but blood...

And now the times are changin'

Look at everything that's come and gone

Sometimes when I look at these memories

I think about you all and wonder what went wrong.

Standing in the forest, or on Lily's front porch

Everyone said it wouldn't ever end, never.

I look back on the days when we had it so easy

But those days didn't last forever.

Those were the best days of my life.

"James? James?"

James jumped at the sound of his wife's voice. Lily was approaching him cautiously, obviously sensing that she'd disrupted a deep thought.

"What? Oh...sorry, Lily. I was just...thinking." James said. He and Lily were in their home, in heaven. They had both died some years earlier. When they had barely begun to live.

"I could tell." Lily laughed, taking a seat beside her husband. "What were you thinking about?"

"Summer of '75." James mumbled.

Lily smiled. "I remember that Summer, I think...that was when I moved next door, wasn't it?"

"Yeah." James said, getting a goofy grin on his face. "Sirius refused to believe that you actually agreed to go out with me."

Lily sighed. "You miss them, don't you?"

"Like crazy." James said.

"Want to go look in on Harry?" Lily asked. "He's been having some problems with Voldemort entering his mind...his OWLs begin today, I believe."

James nodded, and he and Lily went to the upstairs room in their house that held a device that looked much like a television. It was where they could look in on their loved ones who are still alive.

They turned the device on. They immedietly gasped; Harry was struggling in Remus's arms, and he was screaming and sobbing.

"What's wrong?" Lily asked, startled. "What happened? Why are they in the Department of Mysteries?"

"I don't know." James murmured, wrinkling his eyebrows in confusion. "Turn it up."

Lily did, and they could make out one word that Harry was screaming towards what James recognized as The Veil. "Sirius!" he repeated over and over. "He's not dead, he's only just gone through!"

"Sirius?" Lily asked. "The Veil?"

James didn't wait around to find out. He ran out of his home, and towards the entrance of Heaven. One thought flashed into his mind at the sight of the head of shaggy brown hair and grey eyes. He barely registered his old friend screeching the word, "PRONGS!"

These will be the best days of my life.

The ideas just kept coming! And I am officially IN LOVE with that song! So...yeah, reviews would make my day! And don't worry, I'm updating James Potter/Prisoner of Azkaban soon(:

~PeachyKeen13