The last of the June days stretched out like an endless sea front of the young Gryffindors, who, as the time dragged on, grew more and more impatient to return to the sleepy backwaters of the towns in which they lived during the summer. Some things had changed: Scorpius Malfoy became at least tolerated amongst their group, to James's semi-disgust, but once he'd convinced himself that the oily smell was only his imagination and that Scorpius was actually a pretty decent Quidditch player, he warmed to him considerably more. Fred took up Gobstones, and lost all of his first matches- which resulted in him smelling like the wrong end of a sewage pit for a couple of days, and James tried out Harry's contact lenses. To his surprise, the old-fangled Muggle technology actually worked, preserving his dignity and allowing him to see the blackboard for the first time in what felt like forever. Huh. Sometimes Muggles actually came up with something good.
And Merrythimble had quit, oddly enough, as had been tactfully pointed out by Professor McGonagall. This wasn't exactly a tragedy, as they missed their end of term potions exam, but James would miss his lessons. For a teacher, he hadn't been a bad sort- except, of course, for being a sociopathic mass murderer.
Some things, though, were undoubtedly still the same. Catrin was still as annoying as ever, and so was Benedict, who taken up hanging around on the edges of the group. James didn't want anything to do with him anymore, consequences be damned: he'd heard too many horror stories about Umbridge to want anything to do with her grandson. And the group still spent their time lounging around, comparing Chocolate Frog cards, debating who'd be replacing McGonagall as Headmistress in the new year, and finding new ways of procrastinating.
On the last day of term, James woke up to find his trunks packed, his stuff retrieved from all the nooks and crannies that they had squirreled themselves into over the year, and the common room full of be-clocked Gryffindors saying their goodbyes.
"Why is it the last day already?" Fred moaned sleepily, struggling to fit his sock onto an already socked foot. "I'm sure we could have squeezed in another adventure before the end of term."
"Don't push your luck." James yawned back, trying to convince his heavy eyelids to stay open. So far, the eyelids were winning. "If we'd...packed any more in, we'd have...had no time to do nothing."
"True, that." Fred admitted, finally realising that the sock needed to go on the other foot. "God, I'll miss the pre-cooked breakfasts, though. Not even Grandma Weasley can cook like that..."
"Don't say that in front of her unless you want that breakfast stuffed where the sun don't shine." James grinned, and slammed his trunk shut- with difficulty. "Damn! Why do they fit everything in at the start of the year but not the end?"
"Magic." Fred suggested. "Come on, or we'll miss the train. We've already missed breakfast."
Together, the boys staggered downstairs, dodging under the elbows of taller fifth-and-sixth years until they found Catrin and Mary chatting in front of the now burnt-out fire- Alice had already gone home to the Three Broomsticks. Mary smiled widely when she saw them and held up a stack of buttered toast on a napkin. "Hey. Hungry?"
"You bet. Are they ours?" Fred asked hopefully.
"Yeah, take them. Come on, let's go."
"Hang on, where's Al?" James asked through a mouthful of toast, suddenly realising that his little brother wasn't there and standing on tiptoes to peer through the crowd. "I don't want him to miss the train..."
"Yeah, you do." Fred said.
"Yeah, I do, but Mum'll kill me."
"Looking for Al? He's gone down already."
"Ah, cheers, Vic." James smiled at his cousin. "Feeling sad?"
"What, because it's my last year? A bit, but I've already got a job lined up. At L'Argental, this bank in France. To improve my French."
"Your mum met your dad in a bank, didn't she?" Fred piped up interestedly.
"Ah...mais oui." James sniggered. "The gold in the bank and Fleur's hair was the same..."
"So Bill married her straight off, and oh, what a shame." Fred finished off.
"Nice one!"
"I do try."
"Boys." Victoire rolled her eyes and tossed her head of golden hair- causing the boys to laugh even more- and stalked off into the crowd.
"Shall we go?" James asked cheerfully.
"You are the giddy limit." Catrin sighed as they navigated the long corridors on their way to the Grand Staircase. "One day, she'll snap."
"Like Fred said, we do try." James grinned. "Oh, to be a third year...to go to Hogsmeade! I'm going to try all the sweets in Honeydukes. Hey, what did you guys put down for subject choices next year?"
"Ancient Runes and Care of Magical Creatures."
"Muggle Studies and Divination."
"Divination?" Fred snorted. "You'll have a hell of a time with that, Mary. It's all 'tea leaves' and 'Uranus' according to Dad."
"He would say that!" Catrin pointed out. "Probably all he ever looked at during Divination was Uranus."
"Well, not mine, exactly, but-"
"Shut up, Fred!"
The Hogwarts Express was ready and waiting for them, as it always was, scarlet and steaming in the warm June air. James breathed in the smell of coal smoke- the best thing in the world- and sighed happily. He still had another whole five years of this to look forward to.
"Come on! Alice found a compartment!" Mary waved at the boys and Catrin from the window of one of the carriages.
"Hang on!" James called, and turned to the other two. "Guys, I haven't told you this yet, but you know the Resurrection Stone? The one that was in the Forest?"
Catrin frowned. "Yeah."
"Well, I found it." James listened to his two friends' exclamations of surprise. "No, I don't have it anymore. I gave it to Dad to destroy. But all the same...just thought I'd let you know."
"You destroyed it?" Catrin gasped. "But...there was someone I wanted to talk to."
"Yeah, about that..." James hadn't forgotten Sirius's comment in the forest. Tell my granddaughter... "I've got a funny feeling I know who it is."
"What-" Catrin clenched her jaw. "You don't know anything, James."
"Sirius Black?" Her small intake of breath told him he'd guessed correctly, and he rocked back on his heels, stunned. "Wow. How did that happen?"
"What's going on?" Fred asked curiously.
"Er-"
"I'm his grand-daughter." Catrin said thickly. "Sirius Black's, I mean. My Dad was called Nate McKinnon."
"Really?" Fred goggled at her. "That's...that's awesome!"
She blinked.
"That's so cool! I've heard of a Nate McKinnon, he used to play Quidditch for England!" Fred grinned hugely. "You're practically related to us, now!"
"But...don't you guys hate me, for not telling you?"
James sighed, exasperated. "Jones, you never tell us anything. If we managed to guess this due to our outrageous cleverness just take it in your stride. We're still your friends, huh?"
"Yeah." Catrin smiled- a small smile, but it was there, and that made James feel relieved and pleased in equal measure- but mainly relieved that she hadn't burst into tears. If there was one thing he couldn't deal with it was weeping women.
"Come on, guys!" Mary was waving from the compartment now. "We're-"
Her words were cut off by the deafening toot of the steam engine. Catrin, Fred and James jumped, and ran for the coach, clambering into it just as it started to move back along the track, all the way to London.
The trip passed swiftly and uneventfully: James and Fred beat Mary and Catrin at Exploding Snap but lost to Mary at Wizard Chess, much to James's chagrin- and he'd thought he was the Grandmaster of all things chess-related. Catrin taught them how to say microwave in Welsh- 'popty-ping'- and Alice taught them how to swear in Mermish, and when the train finally juddered to a stop outside King's Cross Station they were stuffed to the brim with Cauldron Cakes, Pumpkin Pasties and assorted Every-Flavour Beans.
"Another summer of doing homework." Mary sighed, staring out of the window for the father.
"You've got to be kidding." James said from the door. "All summer is for doing nothing but playing Quidditch and fishing up Tomlin's Creek. Let's go!"
He heaved his case down from the coach and onto the steaming, crowded platform, searching for-
"James!" A small ginger blur cannoned into his middle, and stuck there.
"Hey, Lil!" He hugged his sister back. "Where are Mum and Dad?"
"Over by that pillar." She pointed and bounced up and down. "Where's Al?"
"Er- over there." James spotted his brother pulling his suitcase along the platform. "Go get him!"
"Okay." She laughed, and scampered off.
"Need some help with that, son?" James looked around to see his father coming towards him with a broad grin on his face.
"Hey, Dad!" Harry skilfully levitated the suitcase onto the trolley he'd brought with him and started back towards the barrier. "How're you?"
"Good, thanks. Hello, Fred, Catrin! How've you been coping since that fire?" James started as the two materialised at either side with their cases.
"Fine, Uncle Harry. I don't suppose you could put my case on that trolley too?"
"Wait for your dad." Harry told him.
"Er- Mr Potter. I don't suppose I could have a quick word?" Catrin hovered nervously at the edge of the group, hands nervously clenched around her case handle.
"Of course. James, go find your mum. Fred, go find George."
James grimaced at Fred and spotted his mother's flaming red hair in the crowd. Slowly, ever so slowly, he began to walk towards her. He wanted to eavesdrop on as much of the conversation as was humanly possible.
"It's about my father." Catrin said quietly- so quietly James almost didn't catch it.
"What about him? Catrin, is something wrong?"
"No, not really, but, you see, I think you knew his father quite well."
"Oh?"
"Yes. My father was called Nate McKinnon, but he was actually called...called Nate Black."
Silence from Harry.
"I don't want you to think this is a sham. But his father...his father was called Sirius Black."
"What?" James couldn't take it any more: he spun around, five metres away from them, staring at the odd pair: Catrin's face was pale and drawn, but Harry's was paler, and had the expression reserved for the recently shell-shocked.
"I have a letter from my mum...Gwendolen Jones." James watched furtively as Catrin drew a piece of paper out of her pocket and passed it to him. "Here..."
Harry read it like a drowning man gasps for air.
"This is...this is crazy. Catrin. You're...Sirius's granddaughter."
"James? What are you doing?" Ginny appeared at his elbow. "Come on, this isn't your business."
"Shh!" James hissed. "Mum, wait-"
"No, now." Ginny grabbed his elbow and steered him towards the barriers. "Not your business, James."
"Nice to see you too." James muttered under his breath. He couldn't resist, though: he turned around for one last glimpse. Harry was talking avidly with Catrin, bent over almost double so they were eye to eye. He was pale and stunned, but as he watched, he leaned forwards and enfolded Catrin in a massive hug.
"Sweeeeet." Fred grinned, emerging from the crowd as they neared the barrier. "Did you see that hug?"
"Looks like it went well." James said. The wizard at the barrier looked at them critically, and waved them through. The boys leaned on the brick wall casually, and melted through onto King's Cross Platform. "If it had gone badly, well..."
"Well, we've had enough drama for this year." Fred grinned. "Definitely. But next September, it's going to be nice and quiet. No more adventures for us, no more excitement."
James looked sideways at him, and laughed. "Don't bet your life on it."
THE END.
Thanks, guys, for sticking with me. The ending finally arrived! And I hope you like it. As always, if you like it, post!