During the 7th book, Harry finds a letter. Inside, he discovers Sirius gave him his first broomstick. That his parents were still good friends with the Marauders after school. And that he had a cat.

I always wondered how much the cat hated Harry riding a broomstick around, possibly (and most likely) hitting it at every turn.

I hope you enjoy~!

Harry had trodden on Mimsy's tail for the fifth time that day. The cat yelped, leaping away and through a few pairs of legs before hiding behind the couch to rearrange her poor, poor tail.

Sirius gave a barking laugh as he swung Harry into his arms, the baby squealing and giggling. "That's my boy, Harry! Get rid of that mean ol' cat!"

Remus stuck his head out of the kitchen. "Don't let Lily hear you say that," he warned. Sirius, and James who was at the Christmas tree, laughed out loud.

James was setting up the massive Douglas fir in the Muggle fashion and he had a needles sticking out of his hair (and a few in his hands) to prove it.

"If Lil finds out we hate the cat, she also finds out who ate her last Honeydukes bar last week," James called over his shoulder.

The men hear a distinct shatter, a muffled curse, and a soft pop as the glass reformed by a simple repairing charm. They laughed.

"So when do I get to give Prongslete his gift?" Sirius asked as he bounced baby Harry on his knees. "It's a good one."

"Tonight, when Lily gets back."

Sirius moaned, leaning back in his seat and letting Harry crawl off. "Why does she have to go to those awful people? I mean, have you seen the way their kid acts?"

"Pads, you only met them once, but yeah – the Durselys are awful."

James finished with the tree, placing a Bounce-Back ward so Harry wouldn't be able to get at it. Remus finished in the kitchen with whatever it was he was doing ("It's a surprise," he said), giving Harry a holiday cookie to nibble on.

"Wormy couldn't come again," Remus said off-hand.

"He flooed a few days ago and said he was going to visit some family till the end of the year," James recalled.

"Eh, let the blighter miss all the action," Sirius waved off.

And the three Marauders talked and chased after Harry until well past supper time.

Harry had long since been put to bed and Remus was dangerously close to collapsing right where he stood as he wobbled to and fro on the balls of his heels.

Lily finally came home past eleven. Remus was curled on the couch and she conjured a blanket for him before making her way to the kitchen.

James and Sirius had snuck in after Remus fell asleep to find a very nice dinner sitting at the table (a warming charm placed on it all).

With promises of extra chocolate for Moony, the two sat down to eat as they waited up for Lily.

"Remmy's sleeping," she said as she entered.

"We know." James stood and greeted her before pulling a chair for her and then setting a glass of milk down. "He made dinner."

The ginger smiled and she hid a chuckle behind her hand. "That was nice of him." She noticed the fourth plate that hadn't been touched. "Should we wake him?"

"Nah, Moony wouldn't want dinner this late," said Sirius through a mouth-full.

Lily flicked her wand and the plate zipped over to their new refrigerator. "I'll just have to return the favour in the morning."

"Speaking of which: I want Harry to open my gift first tomorrow." Sirius was grinning madly, his not-so-inner Marauder self showing. Then he leaned in and whispered, as if the baby had crawled out of his crib and was listening in on his parents, "I got him a toy broomstick."

James laughed loudly once, slapping his arm on Sirius' shoulder. "That's great!"

Lily shook her head. "Why? It's bad enough he steps all over poor Mimsy, now he's going to fly into her as well. It's going to be an early grave for that cat."

"It's all in good fun. He won't go faster than a brisk walk – Marauder's honour." He held up his right hand. "Besides, he needs to start practicing as soon as possible for Quiditch."

Lily scoffed and rolled her eyes. "And what if he's shite on a broom when he's older and wants to focus on Charms or Herbology or Gobstones?"

"Then he'll do that with his Mama's damn fine brains," Sirius said.

They all laughed.

Morning came quicker than desires, but all was placated by the smell of cinnamon muffins baking in the oven and the sound of crackling bacon.

Outside, snow was falling gently, liberally coating the Earth with a thick, downy blanket.

The adults enjoyed a quiet breakfast (made graciously by Remus, much to Lily's dismay) before James went to get baby Harry.

The Christmas tree was twinkling with golden lights in little glass jars. Hand-crafted ornaments of every shape and size littered it beautifully. And at the top was a plastic Hinkypunk, red and green with a deep golden lantern. It was an odd tree, even by wizard standards, but it was appreciated nonetheless.

Harry was sat on the floor between Lily's legs and James hurried to pass out the gifts.

Not yet understanding the concept of presents, Lily unwrapped the snitch paper (Harry watched, mesmerized as the little golden ball zipped around) and presented Harry with a tiny toy broomstick.

Sirius hopped over and seated him on top. As soon as he was sat down, the broom levitated until Harry's toes just grazed the carpet. With a little push, he was sent lazily flying around the room, all the adults exclaiming how wonderful he was.

Harry rode the broom a bit more before Lily decided it time to move on before anything was broken and they all opened their gifts.

Harry received good-sized collection of stuffed animals, a dog, a stag, a rat, and a wolf, that all made appropriate noises when squeezed. He also received a very nice bar of chocolate from Peter Pettigrew with a note for Lily and James explaining it was safe for little, teething Harry to eat.

The adults exchanged gifts with as much excitement as Harry (because really, they were still children at heart).

Lily pecked James on the lips as she opened a parcel for a lovely Muggle dress James had seen before in Paris with Sirius.

James himself got a new broomstick care package from Remus (very expensive, he noted carefully).

Remus also gave a book on the proper way to care for a motorcycle to Sirius and pretty shoes to match Lily's dress.

Remus, in turn, received a heft amount of Honeydukes finest and a brand new set of robes (for his last pair were shabby and almost falling apart at the seams).

The gifts were stored away and Christmas continued lazily.

Harry played with his toys while James sat at the sofa and cleaned up with broomstick. Lily and Remus started dinner and Sirius wreaked havoc as he tried to help.

At the end of the day, after a large, warming meal, Remus and Sirius thanked Lily and James, bid Harry good night, and flooed to their shared Muggle apartment a few miles away.

After Harry was set in his crib, drifting off to dreamland, and Mimsy finally crept out from behind the sofa to curl up by the hearth, Lily and James both laid down in one another's embrace and enjoyed the last hours of Christmas day.