Lily lay on her back against the soft, cloudlike substance that formed the floor of this dreamlike place, her hands resting under her head and her long, dark red hair splayed out beneath her. She wore baby-soft, pure white robes, just like James, who was fidgeting with what looked like a Snitch some distance away. "What are you doing?", Lily asked him, her voice carrying like an echo.

"I was bored," James explained, "and I wished I could play Quidditch. So then these appeared."

He gestured to the Snitch, as well as a Quaffle, which lay at his feet. James batted the Quaffle up into the air, expertly passing, catching, and spinning it by himself. Lily shook her head.

"Quidditch," she laughed. James jumped up into the air, drifting much higher than in life, and landed in front of his laughing wife.

"Somehow I don't see Harry doing that," she giggled. James put on a mock-horrified expression.

"What? He's not carrying on my troublemaking legacy? I hereby disown you!" he shouted dramatically to the empty sky below. Lily laughed.

"I think he's more like me, personally."

James glanced at Lily, and, addressing the sky below them once more, exclaimed, "Welcome back to the family!" Lily shook her head, sadness and laughter mingling in her smile.

"He can't hear you, James," she reminded him fondly.

"I wish he could," the aforementioned mumbled.

"Me too, James. Me too. I will give it to you, he's quite a good Quidditch player," Lily laughed, changing the subject. "Can't say that came from my genes." James' eyes suddenly lit up with an idea. Lily watched him carefully. "What is it, James?"

"Well," he replied, "I'd rather show you than tell you..."
Then, grabbing her wrist, James called "Harry Potter!"
He leapt over the edge of the clouds into the sunless, moonless sky below, pulling Lily with him.

Lily ran a hand through her hair, landing cleanly on the ground behind James.

"What are we doing here?" she asked. "He can't see us or hear us."
"Exactly," James replied with a wink. "C'mon."

He loped gracefully through midair over to the Gryffindor stands, seating himself behind a girl with bushy brown hair and a boy with an absurd amount of freckles. Both wore Gryffindor scarves and waved scarlet-and-gold pennants, so James had deemed them all right. Lily had rather harshly reminded him that not all Gryffindors are herioc and noble, but James quickly explained that he "liked the look of these two". Lily shook her head with a small smile.

Suddenly, James poked her arm.

"What?" Lily asked him.

"Watch this!" James said to her gleefully. He swiped his arm towards the boy, and for a minute Lily thought James was going to hit him, but instead the tall man's slightly transparent arm swished right through the boy's head of fiery red hair. He shuddered a little but otherwise didn't seem to notice.

Lily rolled her eyes. "James, did you really drag me down here to watch you swipe your arm through some poor boy's head?", she asked impatiently.

"No," James amended quickly. "Look!"

Lily followed his finger with her eyes. Circling high above them, a boy who looked remarkably like a first-year James from down where they stood was searching the field for something- presumably the Snitch. Clearly, he was the Seeker.

"Not only on the Quidditch team, but a Seeker, in his first year!" James whistled. "Clearly he inherited my talent."

Lily rolled her eyes. "He's better than you ever were," she teased.

"Hi, Pronglet!" James called.

Lily sighed. "He can't hear you, James. And must you call him that?"

"Yes", her husband replied immediately. Then his eyes scanned the Slytherin stands. "I wonder who the Head of Hou- Snivellus?!"
Lily gasped. "Sev?!"
James gave her a pointed look. Lily ignored him.

"If you call him by a nickname I don't like, then I'll do the same for you," she pointed out.

"Look, he's jinxing Harry's broomstick!" James yelled angrily.

Lily tried to pull him back. "You can't do anything, James! And it's not him, look!"
She pointed to a small, oddly dressed wizard who wore a purple turban. He was staring at Harry, not breaking eye contact. The aura of a curse was almost visible to the beyond-the-veil young couple.

"Well, then what's Sni- ergh, fine, Snape saying?"
"A countercurse! See, they're different!"
A different, brighter magical aura was indeed circling Snape. James grumbled. Lily looked slightly victorious. They watched the rest of the game, shocked, until Harry stood up with something in his mouth. James leaned forwards, through the red-headed boy. Lily pulled him back, as the effect was very disconcerting.

"He looks like he's going to be sick", James muttered. Lily laughed when the boy in front of him said the same thing. Harry coughed again and the Golden Snitch fell into his palm. The Gryffindor stands erupted in cheers-
but none more so than James Potter.