Written for The Houses Competition: Round 1: Let Us Start at the Beginning

House: Slytherin

Position: Muggle Studies

Category: Standard

Prompt: [Object] Letter, [Season] Summer

Summary: Harry gets a letter from Sirius that was written by his parents before they died.

Word Count: 1177

It was a few days after Harry was rescued from the Dursley's for the summer when Sirius approached him. He was in his bedroom when there was a startling knock at the door. Harry could tell something was on Sirius' mind as he entered, but he waited for the man to come to him first.

"How's my favorite godson doing today?" Sirius asked with a wink as he approached.

Harry laughed as he replied, "I'm your only godson, Sirius."

Sirius grinned at that, which caused Harry to smile back as his godfather pulled him into a hug, one he returned happily. When Sirius pulled away, he wasn't grinning anymore, but his smile was still warm. That made Harry feel good. Like he was loved.

"Did you need to talk to me about something ?" he asked.

Sirius lost his smile completely at that question. The older man looked awkward all of a sudden as he reached into the pocket of his pants and pulled out a letter. He stared at the letter for a moment and then directed his attention to Harry, seemingly at a loss of what to say.

He cleared his throat and answered, "I… have a letter for you. It's from your parents. They wrote it for you before they… died."

Sirius stared longingly at the letter, which Harry understood. It was from his parents. Finally, he could hear from his family and learn about them in ways he couldn't before. Harry could hear his parents' own words and not approximations of what people thought about them.

"H-have you read it?" Harry asked nervously.

"No!" Sirius blurted out before composing himself. "This is solely for you. If you want me to read it, I will, but it's your letter. That means it's your choice."

This time, Harry found himself at a loss for words. He felt warmth from Sirius's words and wordlessly, he gestured for Sirius to sit down beside him on his bed. Ron and Hermione were doing summer chores around Grimmauld at the moment so it was just the two of them.

Sirius handed him the letter, which Harry gladly took. He examined the envelope and on the back, it said in beautiful handwriting:

To our son, Harry

"That's your mum's handwriting. She was always so meticulous about how she wrote. Your father, on the other hand, couldn't have cared less. He was more concerned about getting all the information down than making it look neat," Sirius recalled fondly.

Harry's breath hitched. It was a small thing to know about them, but to Harry, it meant everything. Growing up alone, he would take any information he could about them, even the most mundane things like their favorite color.

"Oh," he murmured quietly, tracing the writing carefully so as not to leave behind trails of sweat.

"Do you want me to open it?" Sirius asked.

Harry nodded and handed Sirius back the letter. Skillfully, Sirius took a pocket knife that he had and carefully sliced the top of the envelope open. He took out the folded letter inside and handed it to his godson.

Harry took a deep breath, taking in the wam air, before he unfolded the letter to read what was inside.

Dear Harry, it started.

Hello, my darling son. If you're reading this, you know what has happened. Both of us hesitated writing this as we didn't want to think the worst. We wanted to think we would be alive and raise you into a fine, young man but the reality is that people die. Especially in a war.

Harry, don't listen to your mother, she's just being pessimistic, even though it's the middle of summer and the sun is always shining now. Don't worry though, I can lighten her up.

Sorry, your father took the quill from me. He is right, though. Maybe I should be thinking a bit more positively, but it's hard when you're writing a letter to your son which will only be sent if you're dead. But moving past that, we have a few things to tell you.

First of which is: pull pranks. Carry on the Marauder legacy, son!

What your father means is to have fun. Life is too short to take things too seriously. Secondly, study in school. Grades are important, especially your OWLs and NEWTs.

But don't study too hard! It's okay to take a break once in a while. Just don't slack off like your dad and uncles here. And don't forget to eat! Your mother took me to a beach this summer and made me try some of the seafood there. It was awful!

It was good! Speaking of seafood, Harry, remember to eat healthily! I swear, your father seemed to eat nothing but sweets when we were at Hogwarts. Ask your Uncle Sirius about it one day. Speaking of Sirius, take what he says with a grain of salt.

Hey! Sirius is great!

I'm not saying he isn't, but he's like your father in a lot of ways. Try to be good, okay?

But not too good! (Your mother's glaring at me so I will say, listen to your mother first.)

Also, make a lot of friends. I met some of my best friends at Hogwarts like your Aunts Marlene, Alice, and Mary.

Same with me and your Uncles Peter, Sirius, and Remus.

And lastly, remember that we love you Harry. We love you so much and we wish we'll be able to see you grow up. If I'm not, know you were not unloved by us, no matter what others may say.

As if anyone would say otherwise. Love ya, kiddo. Always know that.

With all our love,

Mum and Dad

A few drops of water landed on the paper. Harry briefly wondered where they had come from before he realized they were his tears. Before long, he was sobbing at the words his parents had left him. Sirius pulled him into a hug, also crying, and they stayed like that for a while.

Once they stopped crying, Harry clung to Sirus's side, desperate for the one person who knew the same pain as him.

"Can you tell me about them?" he asked softly.

"Of course, Prongslet," Sirius answered.

"Prongslet?" Harry questioned.

Sirius started to smile again. At once, he launched into a story about when Lily was pregnant with him in the height of the summer and Harry listened in rapt attention.

Later, Remus would join them and would cry just as they did for his parents. And then, Ron and Hermione would hug him, although the temperature around them was unbearably hot, as he shared the letter with them. At night, he would dream of his parents.

His summers used to be filled with loneliness and sadness. But Harry never felt happier surrounded by his friends and family and the letter his parents wrote. This summer was already the best summer of his life and one he would cherish forever.

For now though, he was just a boy learning about the parents who had loved him.