A/N

Hello, so this story was originally a Sirius/Harry story, however I lost my muse and found that writing a James/Harry story would be much easier. (Apologies to the lovely readers who have already read these chapters!)

This will be a James lives fanfiction where they were never killed by Voldemort. It is set right before Harry's first year, leading into his first year at Hogwarts.

There will be CP of children so please read another amazing story on this site if this bothers you.

This story will have canon moments intertwined but for the most part, it will be its own story!

(All rights go to JKR for her amazing creation of the Wizarding World)

I hope you enjoy!

James glanced at the clock, realising that it was almost 9am and there was no sign of Harry yet, he raised his eyebrows. Harry wasn't known for being a morning person, just like he, himself wasn't. He would give the young teen another 5 minutes before he would go upstairs and wake him.

However, he was left to his own thoughts for a mere moment when he heard the old stairs of their little cottage creak and bare feet plodded downwards.

"Morning," Harry yawned as he reached the bottom of the stairs, walking over to the dining room table.

"Morning bub, some toast just popped up, grab the butter." James said as he poured his coffee into the mug and sat at the table with Harry. "Please tell me you started packing yesterday?" he couldn't help but ask.

James found it very odd that Harry had been so defiant on packing. For almost a week, he had been pushing Harry to start getting his clothes and books together ready to put in his trunk. He had hoped that after they'd gone to Diagon Alley to get Harry's school things, that this would encourage him to get his trunk out. However, it did the opposite and since then Harry had displayed an underlying attitude.

Harry decided to avoid his Dads question completely, obviously wanting to change the subject; "Can I go see Ron later?" he said picking up his second piece of toast.

Ron and Harry had been best friends since before they could talk. They are been together when their families attended order meetings together and someone had to look after the children. They had frequent play dates and got up to all sorts of mischief with the twins and Ginny. Harry was positive that if he hadn't known Ron in his year at school then he would've completely refused to go.

"You won't be going anywhere if you don't start answering me. Have you started packing yet, you leave tomorrow!" James replied jokingly, raising his eyebrows at Harry.

"You know I haven't," Harry replied, rolling his eyes as he pushed the chair back, scraping across the tile kitchen floor. He then headed for the stairs, stomping as he went.

"Oh no you don't mister," James said as he grabbed Harry by the arm, pulling him back to the kitchen. He placed Harry on a chair and crouched down so that they were eye to eye. "Now I don't know what has gotten into you just lately, but whatever it is, it can stop now." James paused, allowing his features to soften. "Is there anything you want to tell me Bub; anything worrying you? Something you've done wrong that I don't know about yet?"

Harry shook his head, unwilling to give a verbal reply. James sighed as he stood up, tapping Harry's thigh. "Well if there is something, let me know, Okay?"

Once again, Harry gave no verbal reply, only a small nod of the head and as soon as James released him, he ran up the stairs, leaving a rather confused James wondering what on earth was wrong with his eleven-year old.

Harry ran into his room and went to slam the door, but coming to his senses at the last minute, he caught it before the door met with the frame.

He flopped down on his bed and stared to up the ceiling. He felt so confused and anxious, that he didn't even know what to feel. He had been looking forward to going to Hogwarts since he was tiny; getting to experience the new classes and actually be somewhere that his Mum had also been. But now the time was actually here, he was dreading it! He had such a name to live up to; everyone knew who he was and how great at magic his mother was. James had tried to shelter him but he had seen people staring and whispering in the streets; he wasn't stupid.

Harry knew James was excited at the thought of him going to Hogwarts; he had been telling him stories of the mischief they got up to for weeks now to try and make him feel better, but it was making him feel so much worse.

Harry remembered seeing the obvious disappointment on his Dads face when they went to get his wand from Ollivanders; Harry didn't feel the slightest bit of excitement.

He glanced up at his wardrobe and saw the box containing his wand. All of a sudden, he felt an idea come to mind. It was one of the biggest rules in the Potter house not to play around with magic using a wand. But he had never said that he couldn't use his own wand. He needed to know whether he could do magic. His Mum was a great wizard; this he was told quite frequently. He was sure he would die of shame if he turned up to Hogwarts and was a complete squib!

He grabbed his desk chair and reached to the top of his wardrobe. James had put it up there so that Harry couldn't reach it. But Harry, smiling to himself, grabbed a coat hanger and pushed the box forward. The box hit the floor with a crash and Harry silently swore; the house was old, every sound echoed.

He heard footsteps on the stairs, he rushed to pick up the box and shoved it in the wardrobe just in time before the door swung open.

"Bub, what was that bang?" James said as he surveyed the room. Instantly noting that there was no sign of the trunk or piles of clothing. His eyes drifted to the desk chair that stood next to the wardrobe. Raising his head only slightly, he realised that there was no wand or box sitting on top. His eyes drifted back to his guilt ridden son who knew he had been caught out. "Where's your wand box Harry?" James said as sternly as he could muster.

Harry felt his stomach drop as he realised that James knew. He opened the wardrobe and the box came tumbling out and Harry picked up the box.

"I really thought you were old enough to be trusted." James glanced down at the box, indicating that he wanted Harry to hand it over to which Harry complied. "What did you intend to do with your wand once you'd defied me by still not packing, displaying an attitude and then touching something that you know is forbidden?" James' voice was rising as he struggled to keep his temper. Having a short, fiery temper was a trait passed down from his father; it was definitely not something he was proud of.

"I don't know," Harry mumbled, it was a poor excuse and he knew it.

"You don't know? I'm sure you do Harry, don't lie to me,"

"I just wanted to try magic," Harry replied in defeat. "I had to know that I wasn't a squib!"

"Harry," James' voice calmed considerably, "We know you aren't a squib. Don't you remember when you made that pie fly at your cousin Dudley or when you fell off that slide and stopped yourself from hitting the ground? They were moments of accidental magic; something a squib can't do." James replied as he sat on the edge of the bed, placing the wand box on the bedside table.

"I know, but I just had to know Dad!"

"Why did you have to though? There will be plenty of muggle born children at King's Cross tomorrow who had never even heard about Hogwarts or magic before until a couple of months ago! If anything, you'll be part of the very few brought up in a wizarding home."

"I know," Harry replied, moving towards the bed, sitting next to his father, "But I'm well – you know – the boy who lived and everyone will think that I've got some amazing ability to be able to defeat, Vol- him when I was a baby, and Mum was a great wizard, and I'm just me." Harry blurted out. It felt good to get it all off his chest. His eyes glanced up to see James's expression; surprised to see a smile on his face.

"Harry, no one expects anything of you. Everyone knows that what you did was an accident; a brilliant accident, with an even better outcome. You are only eleven, if you managed a defensive spell at your age, I would be not only surprised but extremely scared. That would make you an extremely powerful wizard, it would defiantly not be normal." James chuckled.

"I guess all the stories you were telling me about Mum, you, Remus and Sirius at Hogwarts, it made me worried that I'd never be as good of a wizard as she was."

"Like I said, no one expects you to be brilliant now! You've got years until you need to worry about whether you are a good wizard or not." James said as he tapped Harry's knee and stood "and if I try and tell even one more story about Hogwarts before you leave on that train tomorrow, you have my permission to tell me to shut it." James winked. He picked up the wand box from the table and headed towards the door. "I'll be keeping this until tomorrow," he said as he looked at Harry who once again looked guilty, knowing he was more than likely going to be punished.

When James had found out that Lily was pregnant, he looked forward to a life of adventure and happiness. He did not plan for the arguments with his son and the repercussions of such arguments. Punishing Harry was something that never came easy to him. He wanted to be the fun and silly father rather than the disciplinarian.

At first, he tried to let Harry live a life without consequence, despite Lily telling him otherwise, but quickly came to realise, once he was left with a moody and defiant toddler, that this could not happen, and rules needed to be in place. James knew from his own upbringing that sometimes young children, especially those as curious and adventurous as Harry, needed a firm hand to guide them through. James had grown up with his best mate Sirius for the majority of his teenage years and he was sure that they would've got in double the amount of trouble his he didn't have the constant deterrent of a spanking from his own father. He knew that he was never punished in complete anger and he also felt that for the most part, his punishments were warranted. It left him no lasting damage and it was over quickly meaning life could return to normal as they felt forgiven.

Spanking Harry was initially something that James was completely against, he never would've dreamed of laying even a finger on his son. It wasn't until one day when Harry ran away from him in Diagon Alley when he was 4 that he felt that a more serious punishment was needed. He landed one hard smack to the small backside before apparating home where he continued to show Harry his displeasure.

"I think you need to stay in your room to until lunch Harry; I will bring you some breakfast up. It will also give you some time to start packing for Hogwarts." Harry let out a loud sigh, causing James to raise his eyebrows once again, "unless of course you'd rather another alternative?" he warned to which Harry violently shook his head, blushing. "Had you even got that wand out of its box, the conversation we are having right now would've been an entirely different one. – Now, start packing and I will bring you up some breakfast."

Once James had left, Harry reluctantly stood up from his bed, reaching under to pull out his trunk. He then walked over to his wardrobe and pulled all the clothes that he wanted out, arranging them into different pile after pile of clothes. It actually surprised him how much clothes he had! He moved onto shoes next and began selecting pairs that he wanted to take when he heard a soft knock and the door opening.

James gave Harry a small smile and he instantly felt relieved to see his son in the middle of a pile of clothes and his trunk out. "See, not so bad is it," James encouraged as he placed the plate of fried egg on toast down on the desk. Harry smiled as he noted that it was one of his favourites. His Dad must have felt bad for punishing him. "Keep packing and I'll be back up in a few hours."

Harry felt a little sad that his Dad hadn't gone back on his word but being grounded to his room for a few hours definitely beat the alternative. It did also give him the chance to pack for Hogwarts. It left Harry wondering why James always tended to do things the muggle way; he would have ask him.

James sat in the living room, feeling uncomfortable about the silence in the little cottage. As always, he felt himself second guessing his parenting techniques, was he being too lenient or too harsh? He wished Lily was there to give him all the answers.

Living in the cottage could be isolating at times. Being apart from the wizarding communities was a choice James made for privacy reasons. Harry was no ordinary eleven-year-old but he would try, as much as possible, to keep Harry's childhood a normal one.

He glanced out of the large windows and realised what a lovely day it was outside; once again refuelling the guilt he felt for keeping Harry inside on his last day at home. He knew it wasn't undeserved, the child almost performed magic alone; nevertheless, he couldn't help but feel sorry for his Son. He would try and make it up to him by playing out in the garden later in the afternoon.

He glanced at the large clock above the fireplace, noting that it was only eleven o'clock. Harry must be tearing his hair out by now. He grabbed a piece of parchment and scribbled a quick letter the Remus and Sirius; he could definitely use some company right now. He called for one of the owls to come down from the lost and deliver the letter; the pair were usually together so one letter would do the trick.

Suddenly, the floo roared to life, revealing no other than Albus Dumbledore…

Harry, now laying upside down on his bed with his head dangling over the edge, heard the distinct sound of the floo. Curiosity took over as he heard muffled voices from downstairs; flipping himself over, he opened his door slightly, straining to hear who was there.

After barely seconds, he heard the door to the living room close and he was once again left with silence.

He knew if he was going to listen to the conversation taking place downstairs, that he would need a brilliant excuse as to why he was out of his room.

Closing the door, admitting defeat, his eyes caught the dirty breakfast plate and mug left on his desk… Perfect!

He picked them up and quietly opened the door; if he was caught then at least he had an excuse.

Avoiding the second from top step due to the creak, Harry tip-toed down the stairs. He reached the bottom and put the plates on the side. Noting that the door was still closed, he walked over and placed his ear near the door…

"I can't, you know why," James said sadly, replying to Dumbledore's offer,

"Please give yourself some time to think about it. You would be doing be a great favour"

"I know this is urgent, but I can't help thinking about how this will affect Harry, I -" James paused as he saw Dumbledores eyes focused on elsewhere,

"Sorry to interrupt, however I feel our conversation is no longer private," Dumbledore said as he cast a reveal charm on the door, Harry was stood there, ear to the door, seemingly unaware.

James felt his stomach drop, what had got into him today! First an attitude, then trying to perform magic and now eavesdropping. It was like he was trying to get into as much trouble as possible on his last day at home.

James took the three short paces to the door before revelling an extremely stunned Harry.

"Dad! Um, I was just taking these plates –" Harry stumbled,

"Save it." James snapped. "stay right there and do not move a toe."

Harry blushed at being scolded like a naughty toddler but he had seen Dumbledore standing in the middle of the room and he wanted to save any further embarrassment.

James walked back into the room and pushed the door closed, harder than he expected. Dumbledore's head looked up as he placed the book from the bookshelf, "An interesting read this my boy," Dumbledore said.

James simply hummed in reply trying to get his temper back under control,

"James, I think I will be going but please think about my offer, I will need to know your decision soon." Dumbledore replied as he took a handful of floo powder and left in the green flames.

James was left alone again with his Son.

He left the living room once more and saw Harry exactly where he left him, head down and looking remorseful. Harry raised his head slightly to see if James had returned, quickly lowering it when their eyes met.

"You, young man have got a lot of explaining to do." James said as he landed a hard smack to his son's backside. "Room, now." Harry jumped and tried to rub the sting that had now conquered. Harry turned and ran up the stairs, James following right behind…

Harry reached his room and tried to close the door without looking behind him, flopping down on his bed. The door, however, didn't shut as James's hand caught it and he entered. He looked over at the bed and saw Harry laying on his side, back to the door.

"Why are you incapable of staying out of trouble for five minutes? You start school tomorrow and we will be seeing a lot less of each other. I wanted to have a nice, quiet last day at home but your backside clearly needs some attention." James felt his anger rise as Harry couldn't even have the decency to look at him. "If you don't get your sorry little backside up and have the decency to look at me, I promise you I will transfigure the next object I see into a slipper and take it to your behind." James warned, hoping the threat alone would be enough, he had absolutely no intention of carrying out the threat. He breathed a sigh of relief as Harry began to roll over and pushed himself into a sitting position.

"Stand up." James ordered as he took Harry's place on the bed.

"Daaad – please." Harry whined, hoping that it wouldn't lead to what he was dreading.

"We are going to talk Harry." James positioned Harry in front of his knees. "Why did you think that eavesdropping on an adult's private conversation would ever be a good idea? Did you really think that I wouldn't notice that you weren't in your room, where I sent you merely hours ago?"

Harry shrugged and James raised his eyebrows in reply.

"I want an answer Harry" James replied as he landed a smack to Harry's backside.

"I don't know, I was just bored! I didn't realise it was important." Harry tried, his leg twitching involuntarily.

"You know better than to listen to adult conversations. Eavesdropping on conversations is an invasion of privacy, how would you like it if I came and listened in to all of your conversations with your friends?" James replied as he landed another two hard smacks to Harry's backside.

"I wouldn't!" Harry replied as he backed away.

"How much did you hear?"

"Not that much, I just heard you say that you couldn't do something. I don't know what for. I promise that was all!"

"I hope that you are ashamed of your behaviour today."

"I am Daaad!" Harry whined,

James, feeling like this conversation was over, pulled Harry towards him, turning him to the side and landed three more hard smacks to his backside before releasing the child. Harry stepped back and furiously tried to rub that sting out. James was surprised that the waterworks hadn't made an appearance.

"You'd better thank your lucky stars Harry, that's twice you've managed to avoid a proper spanking." He said as he stood up from the bed. "Continue packing. I'll be back later tonight."

"It sounds like he wanted to get himself in a whole world of trouble doesn't it" Remus said, feeling rather sorry for James. He knew that James would've rather had a relaxing, final day at home with his Son.

"It's not like you don't remember being eleven Moony, the whole world is a playground" Sirius replied.

James was extremely happy that his best mates had come over; with Harry in his room, the house had been eerily quiet, and he was sure that if he rearranged the bookshelf one more time, he would go insane.

"I hope he doesn't think Hogwarts is a playground, if he even gets up to half of the mischief we did then I'll have no idea how to deal with him." James joked.

"Personally, I don't think we were not bad" Sirius replied with a smirk on his face.

"Well that's because you usually got away with things." Remus replied – always the one to be the mediator of the group.

"McGonagall's face was priceless sometimes though, especially when it was a prank." James chuckled. "Anyway, don't go giving my son any ideas, he'll get into enough trouble on his own, without a professional assistance."

"I'm offended that you would even think that I found share our secrets." Sirius said as he pulled a mock frown at James.

"I think poor McGonagall is having heart palpitations at the thought of another Potter coming through the school; the amount of times she threatened to cane us for the simplest of things when it all got to much for her towards the end." Remus smirked.

"I've heard she's gone soft in her old age though, apparently she uses a different method now and barely uses it at all ." James said; quite relieved to be told this fact from the older Weasley children. He of course wasn't against using spanking as punishment but he was sure he would never forget how painful the cane could feel.

"Have you thought anymore about Dumbledore's offer?" Remus asked, changing the subject.

"Yeah, I have actually. I don't think I'm going to take it. I'd rather not be like a fly on the wall." James replied.

Remus nodded, understanding his reasoning,

"Oh come on Padfoot, It'll be just like old times!" Sirius said has he slapped James on the arm.

"Nope – I've made up my mind. Definitely not this year." James said and it was clear that this reply was final.

The clock was once again the loudest noise in the silent cottage. Sirius and Remus were long gone, and James had been doing everything he could to keep himself busy; cleaning the house, mopping the floor. He actually hated when he used grounding as punishment. It meant that he was left alone and probably just as bored as Harry.

He looked at the clock and realised that it was near nine o'clock. He had barely heard a peep from his son; only the opening and shutting from the bathroom door a few times. There had been little conversation at the dinner table; Harry just kept his head down. James saw the disappointment in Harry's eyes when he went the boy back to his room when the meal was over. He only hoped that the boy's trunk was packed and ready to go for the morning.

Deciding it was time for Harry to go to bed, the boy was in for another tiring day tomorrow, James climbed the stairs for what he hoped would be the last time. He opened the door and smiled as he saw the trunk with the child's hand luggage stood near the door ready to go. Harry sat at his desk scribbling away.

"What are you doing Bub?" James asked

"Just colouring - I think I'm about to die of boredom."

James ruffled the boy's mess of hair and let out a little chuckle. "Well that makes two of us, with or without the company from Sirius and Remus."

"They were here," Harry replied looking disappointed. He loved chatting away to the pair of them.

"Yes, not for long though. If you want to see them next time then I guess you'll just have to try and keep yourself out of trouble. – I see you're all packed for tomorrow." Harry nodded as James went to Harry's chest of draws and picked out a pair of clean pyjamas. "Time for you to get into bed I think."

Harry nodded once more and stood up from his desk chair taking the pyjamas from James' hand.

"You've got a busy day tomorrow; get into bed and lights straight out." James gave Harry a kiss on the top of his head and headed for the door, turning the light down as he went.

"Dad, I'm really sorry about today. I didn't mean to get into so much trouble."

"I forgive you, but please don't make it a frequent occurrence, I hate being mad at you." James replied as he gave Harry a big hug. "Goodnight Scamp,"

"Night Dad. Love you" Harry replied, as he tried to suppress a yawn, walking back over to his bed.

"Love you too Bub." James replied as he closed the door and headed for bed himself.

It had seemed like such a long day. Tomorrow Harry would be off to school where mischief is made, and he will find his friends for life. James couldn't be more excited!