Jim Potter sat in the living room at his and his parent's home in Godric's Hollow. The room was filled with family and friends. All of them sat in pensive silence as they took in the revelations of the day. His mum, Lily, hadn't arrived home yet, adamant that she was to talk to his once brother.

Jim sat as the fire in the cottage burned, protecting the room from the wrath of the winter. Jim thought of Harry, how he'd said so little but revealed so much. How could one memory prove to change their perceptions of who he was? How could a person who'd committed such crimes have noble intentions?

Jim idly noticed his mother walking into the room, looking so much older than he'd ever seen her.

"Mum? Are you alright?" His younger brother, Daniel, asked.

Daniel (Dan) was sixteen - almost seventeen - two years younger than Jim and five years younger than Harry. Dan was, like Harry, a spitting image of their father with their mother's eyes, though lacked some of the intelligence that Harry had been blessed with. Jim, on the other hand, had softer features and his hair was a dark red like their mothers, though he still held his father's eyes.

Jim had always adored both his brothers, Harry especially. Harry had been such a kind person when he was younger, but by the time Dan had started Hogwarts, people had started to see the change in him. Harry had always had an aura around him, exuding power even from a young age, but it had changed by his fifth year. Turning colder, more oppressing and sometimes downright frightening. They hadn't paid it much mind back then, leaving it to Harry just growing older.

But now it was clear that it wasn't just that.

Many hadn't picked up on the change until Harry had left Hogwarts, but by then, Harry had likely already taken The Dark Mark.

"Harry... Harry was - He's not the boy he was. He was teasing me... He was enjoying telling me of everything." Lily said.

"B-But Dumbledore, he asked Harry to do that stuff? Surely that has to count for something!" Dan asked.

"Harry clarified that any and all actions were on his own back," Lily responded.

"Harry was really young when he made that deal! Can't this be blamed on Professor Dumbledore?" Jim asked.

"No, Jim, Harry only committed most of his crimes after he'd turned seventeen; when he became an adult," Lily said.

"Dumbledore is dead, Jim. Harry won't be getting any protection from him now." Remus said.

"It's pointless, anyway. Harry - as much as he seems insane - truly believes he belongs in Azkaban." Lily sighed, taking a seat on the sofa next to his dad, James; who looked in deep thought. "Harry said that he only showed the memory because he wanted some entertainment."

"Is he going to show any more?" Dan asked.

"I hope not... Merlin knows what he might show for his entertainment." Ginny said from her spot next to Jim, shivering slightly.

Lily ignored Ginny's comment. "Harry... he knows so much. He told me things that only someone with access to Dumbledore's innermost and secret plans would have known. Harry believes he was the one that won us the war." Lily said.

"Harry can't of known all that!" Dan said petulantly.

"Why not? All evidence points to it... How else would we have known about Bellatrix' vault?"

"Snape?" Jim suggested.

"Bellatrix hated Severus. Believed him to be a coward and a fraud. Harry was the only one close enough to her to get that information. Let alone provide a key." Lily said.

"How?" Sirius asked.

Lily's cheeks flushed, lighting up with a faint pink hue. "I'd rather not think about it."

"No!" James and Sirius gasped simultaneously.

"He told me..." Lily said.

"Kid's got balls of steel!" Sirius said with an amused grin. "I mean... Bellatrix, of all people? Got to give credit where credits due, am I right, Prongs?" Nudging James with his elbow, eliciting a small smirk from James, who hid it from Lily.

"That's my son, Sirius!" Lily said indignantly.

"Oh, stop it! I was just joking. My cousin is a foul woman. Besides, it's not like Jim is all innocent in the romance department," Sirius said, waggling his eyebrows.

Jim felt his cheeks heat up under Sirius' scrutiny, looking toward the floor.

"Now isn't the time to discuss either of Jim and Harry's personal life!" Lily reprimanded. "He's letting himself be sent to Azkaban... What if we could help him?"

"Lily... We all know that even Azkaban couldn't hold someone like Harry, no matter what protections were put in place. Harry wants this." James said with a small frown.

"So we let him? He's still so young! He's got his whole life ahead of him. Why would he just throw it away?"

"Did you not hear him in the courtroom? Harry thinks, knows, what he did was wrong, and should rightfully be punished for those crimes." Remus said.

"Rightfully?" Lily questioned dangerously.

"You're not thinking straight, Lily! Need we remind you what James himself walked in on, with Ginevra?" Remus said calmly.

"Jim... Could you take your brother, Ron and Ginny up to your room whilst we have a talk, please?" James asked in a kind, but a stiff voice.

Jim nodded, looking toward his brother to come. The group made their way slowly up the stairs. Jim paused at the top of the stairs, looking down the corridor and at the only unfurnished door in the house, the door that led to Harry's old room. Jim had often wondered where Harry stayed when he'd been kicked out, and he still remembered that day as if it were yesterday. The shouting match that had been between Harry and his father was one of legend.

James had practically dragged Harry in by his collar, screaming at him to get his stuff and leave. Jim had only found out later what Harry had done to warrant such a reaction; listening to his parents talk from the top of the stairs with some extendable ears.

But things quickly had taken a turn for the worse when Harry had disowned the Potters and rolled up his sleeve to show The Dark Mark. It still baffled Jim that Harry had the balls at Eighteen to do such a thing, especially to one of the most respected Aurors in Magical Britain, but even when James had raised his wand cast a spell, Harry had just batted it aside and laughed.

They were quick to learn why, though. Once being found out, Harry had swiftly risen through the ranks to become one of the most feared Death Eaters to walk the Earth. Jim couldn't understand how much of it was just a facade, how much of what Harry had done was just to gain the loyalty of The Death Eaters, and how much of it was done because Harry genuinely wanted to.

Jim shook his head at such thoughts, dragging his attention back to his own room's door - the first one on the right - and opened it. Ginny followed closely; Ron next and Dan last. Closing the door as he came in. Jim slumped onto his bed, letting out a large breath.

They sat in silence, all of them unable to talk about the fresh revelations of the day. Jim stared up at his ceiling, looking at the white emptiness as he moved over what Harry's true role in all of this was.

Ginny sat on Jim's bed, then laid down next to him, putting her head on his chest.

"Do you think Harry had good intentions?" Jim asked.

"What do you mean, Jim?" Ginny asked.

"Like... Like did he really do everything he did just to help us?"

"Sounds like it, mate," Ron said.

"But why? Harry had such a bright future! And he threw it all away... for us." Jim sat up and reached under his bed for a small bottle of Ogden's Old Firewhisky. "I need a drink," Jim said to himself.

"Maybe he'll reveal more tomorrow?" Ron said as Jim handed him the bottle after taking a small swig.

"I doubt it... Harry only said it once Director Bones asked for Veritaserum." Jim pointed out.

"I didn't even notice that..." Dan said, looking off in deep thought.

"Why did he choose that memory, though? Of all the things he could have chosen, why that?" Ron asked, handing his sister the bottle.

"Well... It made them question him. Maybe he wanted to toy with them, enjoy the last days of freedom he has." Ginny replied.

"It's done its job then... Look at us now, we're all talking. The Ministry will be the same," Jim said with a huff.

"Why would he not tell us?" Dan asked.

"It seems that only Professor Dumbledore and Snape knew... Why would he tell a bunch of kids?" Jim guessed.

"But... But doesn't he want to be free? If he really is innocent?" Dan continued.

"He's not innocent, Dan," Ron said now. "Harry said it himself: Nothing would change," Ron said, using his hands to mimic quotation marks.

"But Harry was under orders from Dumbledore." Dan insisted.

"Dumbledore isn't above the law, neither is Harry, Dan," Ginny said.

"But if he did it for the good of our world, then that surely must mean something!" Dan declared.

"Maybe... I don't know." Ginny said with a frown.

"They might," Jim said. "Downstairs."

The group looked at each other before they slowly got up and quietly left the room, sitting at the top of the stairs. Jim pulled out some extendable ears.

"The Twins gave me some," Jim whispered with a small smirk.

Carefully, he levitated one down to the bottom of the stairs, letting it sit there.

"Harry doesn't deserve to be free, Lily! How can you not understand?" Remus once again said.

The four teenagers looked at each other, a varied set of emotions between them.

"He's my son! I don't care what he's done... I just want him back."

"He's a murderer and a rapist, Lily! Need I remind you what happened to my wife!" Remus shouted.

"He had his reasons," Lily said so quietly that the kids barely heard her.

"Reasons be damned! He deserves to be in Azkaban; if he wants to go, I say we let him." Remus continued.

Dan sucked in a small breath, but Ron was quick to cover his mouth.

"Now let's all calm down... I know it's been a long day for everyone, but fighting among ourselves won't achieve anything," James said, stopping another outburst from Remus. "Okay... Now, I believe Harry has to be hiding something. There is no other reason he'd avoid Veritaserum - even if he believes he could hold off the effects - that means there's something he doesn't want to be shown."

"Why that memory, though? Even if he was hiding something big, that has to be worse, doesn't it?" Sirius spoke.

"It throws The Ministry off of the trail... Whatever he wants secret has got no correlation to him joining or Dumbledore and his plans." James speculated.

The four of them looked at each other, all with a mixture of surprise and intrigue.

"That makes sense..." Jim whispered. "I mean, he suggested the memory as soon as he heard about it..."

Dan looked to be in deep thought, mirroring James from earlier.

The back and forth between the adults went on for a while longer, but nothing of note was really said, just more arguments between Lily and Remus, and James and Sirius taking turns to dissolve the situation.

They heard the adults getting up from their seats downstairs, all of them looked at each other with worry. Quickly and quietly, they got up to go back to Jim's room before they could be noticed, almost forgetting about the extendable ear, and Jim summoning it silently back to him just before he closed the door.

Jim let out a sigh of relief as he flopped onto his bed. "I think that's enough speculation for one night. Who wants to play a game of exploding snap?" Jim asked, summoning a pack from his cupboard.

"Sure mate! This is all too dreary for me," Ron said with a smirk. "It'll be fun to see if that moustache of yours will burn off!"

"Charmed it, Ron, It won't fall victim like your eyebrows," Jim said, eliciting a snort from Ginny. "Did you say Hermione was coming over later?" Jim asked, watching as the cards be dealt.

"Yeah, she said she wanted to see her parents after the trial, said she'd meet us here," Ron said, his face dropping slightly.

"Great! The more the merrier," Jim said jovially, trying to lighten Ron's mood.

"Ugh, at least I won't be outnumbered three to one once Hermione comes." Ginny chimed in.

"I thought you enjoyed hanging around us lot. Aren't the girls all too gossipy for you? What is it you said again 'all they do is talk about boys! Boys and their perfect arses!'. I agree with you if that's any consolation," Jim said with a cheery grin.

"Doesn't take from the fact that I would appreciate some female company every so often. The three of you can be insufferable together!"

"I can drink to that! Female company is always appreciated!" Ron chimed up with a wink, taking a large swig from the bottle.

"Not like that you prat!" Ginny said as he clapped the back of Ron's head.

"Hey! You made me spill some!" Wiping his mouth with his sleeve.

"Get over it you great prune."

"Enough you two! I don't need another one of your fights, I'm sure you don't want me to have to call Molly again," Jim chuckled.

"Don't remind me! One of those Hexes they sent almost took my head off," Dan said with a grimace.

"Don't be such a baby Dan, it was nowhere near you!" Ginny waved off.

"It left a hole in the wall behind me!"

"Details, details... Come on I'm about to crush you three in this." Ginny said as she studied her cards.

"You're on woman, I could beat you in my sleep," Dan said, studying his own with new intensity.

The night flew away, the four - swiftly becoming five - enjoyed their night, free of the burden of war, free of the Trial that had everyone's attention, allowing themselves to be teenagers once more. With the night late. Dan went to his room, Ron and Hermione left for the burrow and Ginny stayed, curled into Jim side - breathing gently onto his skin.

oooooooooooo

A/N: Just going to mention that the Marauders are a couple of years older than in cannon, so Harry is born in 1977; Jim 1980; Daniel 1982. The year at the moment is 1998.

So, what did you think? Always up for critic - as long as you're not just going to bash me - so let me know if there are any plot holes and all that jazz. The next chapter will be Harry POV again, just so you know.

Hope you enjoyed it!

-Salt