Prologue:

"Oi, Potter!" came a shout from below his window followed by the sound of rocks hitting it. Groaning, Harry sat up in bed. Of course his best friend wouldn't be like a normal person and just walk into his house. She practically lived here. Yet she always insisted on throwing things at his window until he opened it for her.

With a heavy sigh, he climbed out of bed and opened the window. A few moments later, the brunette fifteen year old slid through the opening. She stood up with a grin. Mischief twinkling in her golden eyes. Esmerelda- or Esme as she was more commonly known- Black always looked as if she was up to something. Then again, it was proven often than not, that she was indeed most likely up to something. Granted, Harry always ended up getting into the same amount of trouble she did.

"What do you want, Black?" he said with a yawn.

"Just wanted to be the first to wish you a happy birthday," she threw her arms around him.

She was always the first. It'd been their little tradition for years. She was the first to wish him a happy birthday, so he insisted to be the last to wish her a happy birthday. Her birthday followed his by only six days. Their parents had been delighted when they'd gotten pregnant at the same time. With their fathers being best friends, it was their dream that their children would be as well. After all, a Potter couldn't be without a Black.

"What did you get me?" he questions, slightly nervous. Last year she'd gotten him a glass cleaner that made his glasses disappear. By the time he'd found them, they'd been crushed due to being knocked around since he couldn't see them.

Esme laughed. "Nothing as bad as last year. I think your mum would murder me if I did it again."

Lily Evans Potter should've known that Sirius Black's daughter would be just as bad, if not worse, than he was. Instead she'd been fooled by those innocent big eyes. Not anymore. She attempted to set rules for both children, which they typically ended up finding loop holes for. Their dads' couldn't be more proud of the troublemakers, though they had to pretend as if they weren't. Esme's mum, Marlene, typically just laughed whenever her daughter caused some mischief. After all, what else could be expected from a Black.

"Do you know if Mum has breakfast made?" Harry asked as he ran a hand through his wild dark hair.

"Yep, cooking up a storm when I walked past. Uncle Moony and Peter are downstairs as well." Esme said.

Remus Lupin was a constant figure in their lives. Not only was he their uncle, but also their Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. At school, he turns a blind eye to the things that they get up to. After all, he was just as bad if not worse when he was in school. With school being out, he usually popped over to the Potter's for Sunday dinner and holidays as did the rest of the Marauders.

Peter Pettigrew made it for every holiday, but missed most Sunday dinners. With his job as a reporter for the Daily Prophet, he was always traveling about. When he did pop in, he always had brilliant stories to tell about his latest adventure. He'd really thrived after leaving Hogwarts, now he was the uncle who encouraged them the most to pursue their dreams and do well in school.

"What about your parents?"

Esme laughed. "Dad hardly ever gets out of bed early. Mum had Quidditch practice but she'll be here soon."

Marlene McKinnon Black had been the Gryffindor Seeker in school. As soon as she was close to graduation, Ireland picked her up to be the seeker for their team, seeing as she was originally from Limerick. Luckily, she'd passed on her traits straight on to her daughter, who was an incredible seeker herself.

Sirius Black and James Potter ended up being Aurors together. Typically they were almost always sent on the same missions. Caused less worry in both households this way. That didn't stop them from still causing mischief though. After all, Sirius owned a highly illegal motorcycle that could fly. They just made it harder for themselves to be caught.

Harry and Esme ventured down the stairs, Esme chatting away about whatever time everyone was coming over later. He wasn't quite listening to her. She'd get into moods where she'd just chat away about whatever, and this was one of those times. Knowing her, she'd probably slipped a bit of Firewhiskey into her tea before heading over to his. It wouldn't quite surprise him. She was a bit reckless sometimes.

"Happy Birthday, Harry." Lily said, going over to kiss her son on the cheek. "Sixteen. Oh, how did the time fly by so quickly?"

"Dunno. Pretty sure we drank too much when they were infants then they suddenly sprouted to this overnight." Sirius Black said, going over to ruffle Harry's unruly hair. "Happy Birthday, mini Potter. Hope my brat wasn't too rude when she woke you up."

Harry just laughed as Esme scoffed. "At least she didn't put exploding snaps under my bed like she did two years ago."

"Harry, my boy," Remus said, giving him a hug. "You've grown into quite the young man."

"Looks more like me every day." James said, grin full of pride.

"Dunno if that's a good thing or not, Jamesy." Marlene Black said as she sauntered into the room, broom over her shoulder. "Shame he only got Lily's eyes. He'd be better looking if he was more like her."

James and Marlene then started to bicker back and forth. It had always been a love hate relationship between those two. She'd been Lily's best friend since their first year. Then in fifth year she started dating Sirius, much to James' dismay. Ever since then she liked to rile him up as much as she could, whenever she got the chance. The only time they ever stopped their little game was Christmas. That was only because Lily threatened to kick them both out of the house for the whole day if they couldn't behave.

Breakfast was full of all the adults sharing memories of little Harry. The birthday boy spent most of the time stuffing his face and rolling his eyes. Esme was quite as she kept shoveling food into her mouth, barely taking a moment to breath. Everyone knew she was a bit too much like her dad for her own good. At least Harry's behavior was a bit more of a balance mixed of the two. As breakfast neared the end, the two mothers disappeared into the kitchen to start doing the dishes and discuss the party that was going to happen later. The Marauders excused themselves to talk about their next weekend trip as the full moon was happening in two weeks.

"Hermione's parents are dropping her off soon." Esme said. "Neville's lost his present for you so who knows when he'll appear. Oh and Ron's coming along with the rest of his family for the party this evening. So for now you're stuck with me."

"And exactly how different is that from every day?" he questioned with an eyebrow raised.

The two families lived next door to one another. Hardly a day went by that they weren't together. It had been this way since they were born. Black and Potter, always attached at the hip. Sometimes it was hard to believe that Esme didn't actually live with him. At Hogwarts it wasn't much different, she usually ended up coming into Harry's dorm if she didn't crash there.

"Before they arrive I figure I'll give you your present." Esme took his hand, dragging him towards the backyard.

"Does it bite, explode, or catch fire?" Harry questioned, a bit nervous.

"None of the above," she insists. Pulling a perfectly wrapped box seemingly out of nowhere, she hands it to him with a big smile on her face. "Happy birthday, ya git."

Harry carefully unwraps the present, afraid of what it might be. To his surprise, nothing happened as he opened the box. Peering inside he was surprised to see a simple red leather book inside. Pulling it out, he opened it up going through each page. A photo album. She'd gotten him a photo album. He looked through pictures that had been taken since their childhood and more recent ones from their time at Hogwarts. Esme had written little descriptions under each photo. Who knows how long she'd been working on this, or when she'd found the time for it.

He looked up at her. "Esme, this is brilliant. I love it."

She smiled so brightly that it was almost blinding. "You'd gotten me the camera last year for Christmas, so I figured I'd put it to good use."

Pulling her close, he wrapped an arm around her. She smelled of vanilla and Firewhiskey, a scent that he'd grown very used to. After placing a gentle kiss on her forehead, he pulled away. "All right, enough of us being saps let's go fly for a bit before everyone shows up."

—

The party was in full swing. All the adults were off talking as the teenagers all chatted away. With the world cup coming up in two weeks, they were in a heated debate on who would win. Ireland against the States this year. Of course, Harry and Esme were team Ireland one hundred percent. Marlene would kill them if they weren't. Once again they were lucky enough to get to go right before school started. This would be the second year in a row Ireland would win, if everything goes well.

"Harry, it's time for some cake." Lily called out to her son.

"C'mon, Harry, make a good wish this year." Ron says. "Maybe that we'll be able to keep Esme from getting us in detention."

"I'm not that bad!" Esme stuck her tongue out at him.

Everyone surrounded the be speckled boy. Lily carried in a vanilla cake with sixteen candles on it. The candles flickered as everyone in the room began to sing Happy Birthday. Harry couldn't stop himself from smiling as he looked around at all those closest to him. He was very lucky, to have such a support system around. He had the most brilliant parents. The best crazy uncles and aunt. Not to mention the best of friends. What more could he ask for? At the end of the song, with one deep breath, he blew out the candles.

A loud crack pulled everyone's attention. They turned to be treated by an older man. A troubled expression on his face.

"What is it, Albus?" Moony asks, stepping towards the Headmaster of Hogwarts.

"Lord Voldemort has escaped from Azkaban."