[James Potter]
Friday, October 10, 1980
Hello again, Harry! I know it hasn't been very long since I wrote here, but we don't always have guests over every Friday. Nope, today there was only you, your mother and me here today. And Lily had a rough couple of days. She hasn't been feeling well lately. It's probably the lack of sleep.
I'm so happy that you've started responding more to things. Now I'm not saying it was boring watching you sleep and cry all the time, but… Well, yeah. I am. Sorry.
But now that's behind us, Harry! Because you still sleep and cry, but you laugh too, and sometimes you wave a limb or two at me. And that's enough.
I mean, that's enough for now. I fully expect you to learn to control your limbs at some point. And talk, and walk, and cast spells. Basic stuff, you know? Nothing too tough.
Oh, Alice wrote Lily the other day, apparently she and her mother-in-law had lunch with the Minister of Magic recently. In case you didn't know, Harry, she was elected earlier this year. I don't know that much about her, but apparently she was a Ravenclaw. Maybe she'll be more inclined to help with the war effort than the last Minister. Not to say the last one was particularly bad, but there's always more someone can do.
Anyway, there's been some talk that the new Minister wants to give more power and leniency to the Aurors when fighting Death Eaters, so people have been cautiously hopeful.
I don't know when anyone will be able to visit, but hopefully it won't be too long, don't want you to get tired of my handwriting already!
Ha Ha. I swear, I used to be funnier, Harry. And then I had a kid. Just kidding. But if I get grey hairs before they're due, I am going to blame you (haha, rhymes. But I'm not kidding).
But really, I'll try and get some people to visit, maybe stagger them so you'll get a more even range of people. It'll be easier when the bloody war is over, and we don't have to be as careful about who we invite over to the house, and who we talk to.
Hey, Halloween is coming up soon, only a couple of weeks! That'll be fun. Maybe someone can visit then. We won't be able to go trick-or-treating with you, you're too young, but maybe next year. However, Lily does have a costume for you. But even though you've probably seen the pictures, I'm not supposed to tell you beforehand.
So I guess it's sort of a secret. I don't know, it's important to Lily. Got to say, though, Harry, you look adorable. Excellent blackmail, really excellent.
Personally, I think Halloween is a great time for pranks. I'm sure you agree. Oh, there was this one time while Sirius and I were still at Hogwarts, we put a potion we created in the Slytherin's breakfast, so that their faces morphed slowly over the course of the day into monsters. It was hilarious. And only people who weren't affected by it could see the effects, so none of them noticed sprouting fur or horns when looking in the mirror or at each other.
Remus helped us with that one, though he swears that he tried to stay out of our pranking. As a general rule, if there was a potion involved, Mooney probably helped. Sirius and I weren't bad at potions, but with that sort of stuff, you want someone who really knows what they're doing. And that's Mooney, to a tee.
Anyway, I'd give you an update on the war, but I'm a little bit removed from it at the moment. Dumbledore told us that we'd better lay low for a little while, for some reason or another. I'm sure it'll be alright soon, though. We don't really know what the problem is, but we trust Dumbledore. Unfortunately, this means that I haven't been able to contribute to the war lately, and I've been feeling kind of guilty about it.
I'm a soldier, Harry, and I have been for a while. It feels very strange to not be fighting, when so many of my friends and colleagues are. It doesn't bother Lily as much, because for all her fight, she's never been very much of a front-lines kind of person. Plus, she was pregnant, and then recovering from the birth. Me, though, I'm getting kind of antsy. If it goes on for two long, I think I might go batty.
Anyway, here's to hoping it doesn't last long, right, Harry?
I'll talk to you soon.
Love you,
James
Author's Note: Hello, and thanks for reading! For those who have reviewed, and asked for specific events to be mentioned in this story, rest assured that a timeline is in the works. And I've been referencing the Harry Potter Wikia, so while I'm not exactly writing canon, I'm making a very deliberate attempt to avoid going against canon. But I will try to add everything that was asked for, so don't worry if you don't see it right away. But if I do make a mistake, please, please don't hesitate to tell me. Thanks!
