25 December 1980
"First Christmas, Harry," Lily cooed, leaning across the coffee table to give her five-month-old son a big kiss where he was sitting in Remus's lap. "Is it as good as you hoped it would be?"
Remus chuckled. "Given that he's five months old, I'm sure his expectations were well-met," he said, shaking his head as he bounced Harry in his lap. As if to agree with Remus, the five-month-old gave a sudden shriek of jubilant laughter, holding his tiny arms up towards his mother. Lily laughed, too, reaching across the coffee table to scoop Harry off of Remus's knees. At once, Harry snuggled against her shoulder, babbling softly.
For several minutes, neither Lily nor Remus spoke, and a lingering silence fell over the sitting room of the Potters' Godric's Hollow cottage, punctuated only by the tinkling Christmas music that was playing from the glittering baubles on the ceiling. Lily had been planning for Harry's first Christmas since the minute Halloween had ended, and her planning had left nothing undone. Every square inch of James and Lily's sitting room was draped in gold tinsel and scarlet ribbons.
But even months of conscientious planning hadn't been able to contend with the inevitable. Peter hadn't been able to make it to the Potters' for Christmas—he was stuck in Wiltshire for a mission. And James and Sirius had both left the house in the middle of dinner, after Moody had sent an urgent Patronus requesting the presence of two people at the Bones family's house in Upper Flagley immediately. Apparently, Dumbledore had received a tip from someone close to Voldemort's inner circle that Edgar Bones and his family had become top targets of the Death Eaters. James and Sirius had gone to help Moody and Benjy Fenwick set protective wards over the Boneses' home.
Suddenly— "It's stupid, isn't it? All of this…and I know he isn't going to remember any of it," Lily said quietly, patting Harry's back as she glanced around the festively decorated sitting room. The baby's bright green eyes were almost closed.
Remus looked at Lily, swallowing. "It's not stupid," he said softly. "It's been…a pretty gloomy past couple months."
"Try couple years," Lily said with a miserable laugh, shaking her head. She turned back to Remus, smiling determinedly as she leaned back in her armchair. "Maybe the next one won't be so depressing."
Remus nodded, even though the very thought of making it all the way to another Christmas seemed suddenly and frighteningly unbearable.
27 March 1981
"A what?" Remus asked, eyes widening as he gaped at Sirius across James and Lily's small dining table.
"A spy," Sirius said grimly, accepting a slice of James's birthday cake from Lily. "I overheard Dumbledore and Moody discussing it after the last meeting."
"What exactly did they say?" James asked, frowning as he swallowed a mouthful of cake. Remus knew that it had been almost four months, now, since either James or Lily had last been present at an Order meeting. After Harry had been born, the two had initially taken it in turns attending meetings, but in recent weeks, Dumbledore had advised the pair to avoid leaving their home altogether, unless absolutely necessary.
"They think we may have a spy in the Order," Sirius said, his voice stony as he popped a piece of cake into his mouth. "And with all of the names that've been leaked recently, it's not so hard to believe, is it?"
"Do they know who it could be?" Lily asked quietly, sliding a slice of birthday cake onto her own plate as she sat down at the table next to Remus. Remus felt a twinge of sadness as he watched her—this was yet another happy family event marred by sordid news.
"It didn't sound like it," Sirius shook his head.
"Well, we know it isn't any of us," James said firmly, and Lily nodded, reaching out and squeezing his hand.
Sirius chewed on a mouthful of cake, swallowing it. Then, he looked up and caught Remus's gaze, his expression inscrutable. Remus frowned confusedly at his friend—but Sirius's eyes had already flickered away.
Suddenly, there came a soft, muffled wail from the direction of the stairs—and at the same moment, there was a knock at the front door.
"That'll be Peter," James murmured, standing and drawing his wand. "Merlin, when was the last time he was on time to anything?"
"Oh, be nice," Lily scolded, rising from the table as well. "I'll go get the baby—I think he needs his nappy changed—"
"Allow me, Lady Prongs," Sirius interrupted, jumping up and giving Lily a flourishing bow. "This sounds like a job for his cool godfather."
Lily rolled her eyes. "If you think I'm leaving you alone with my son for even a second, you're mad," she told Sirius dryly. "He doesn't need you whispering in his ear about motorbikes and witches any more than you already do…" Lily shot an exasperated look at Remus as she followed James and Sirius out of the kitchen and into the hallway.
Remus grinned, allowing the familiar sounds of his friends' laughter and banter to fill him up as he took a generous bite of birthday cake. These golden hours of happiness were fewer and farther between than ever these days, and Remus wasn't going to allow them to slip away more than they already had.
17 July 1981
The sitting room of Edgar and Elinor Bones's house was filled with hushed, anxious voices. Moody had called an emergency meeting of the entire Order of the Phoenix—but in true Moody fashion, he had yet to arrive himself. Remus stood with Sirius and Peter near the back of the room, watching Professor Dumbledore pace up and down in front of the fireplace, his expression uncharacteristically tense and worried. Professor McGonagall, Mr. Dearborn, and Elphinstone Urquart stood a few feet away from him, looking strained.
Edgar Bones had volunteered his home as a meeting place for the evening. Dumbledore had decided, early last year, that Hog's Head Inn was no longer secure enough to host Order meetings, and though Remus didn't know the headmaster's exact reasons, he didn't find them hard to believe. Nearly a third of the Order—the Longbottoms, the Potters, Marlene McKinnon, and Edgar Bones—were in hiding, now. At the moment, Edgar was deep in conversation with Alice and Frank Longbottom, both of whom looked very apprehensive. Remus was fairly certain that it was because they had had to leave their young son, who was around the same age as Harry, with Frank's parents.
A sudden shadow was cast over the room as Aberforth Dumbledore plodded into the sitting room from the kitchen. Remus saw Professor Dumbledore look around and catch his brother's eye, and the two of them stared at each other for a moment. Then, Professor Dumbledore resumed his pacing in front of the fireplace. Remus swallowed heavily, crossing his arms. In his three years as a member of the Order, Remus had only seen Aberforth attend four or five meetings. For him to be here tonight could only mean that the situation was dour.
"What's going on?"
Remus whirled around, his heart leaping into his throat. James and Lily—who was holding an unhappy-looking, sniffling baby Harry—had just pushed their way through the crowded sitting room to join Remus, Sirius, and Peter by the sofa.
"Bloody hell," Sirius cried hoarsely, gaping at the Potters. "What're you doing here? I thought Dumbledore had you both under house arrest."
"Oh, we couldn't stand not knowing," Lily said anxiously, trying to quieten Harry, who was whimpering into her shoulder. She turned and shot a nervous look in the direction of the fireplace, but it appeared Dumbledore hadn't yet registered their arrival. "We wanted to leave him with Bathilda, but she wasn't home. What's happened? Has Dumbledore said anything?"
"No—we're waiting on Moody," Remus said bleakly, glancing in the direction of the front door.
"You don't think this has something to do with our supposed spy, do you?" James asked in a low voice.
Peter gave a nervous twitch, and Sirius's expression turned grim. Nobody said anything.
Then, Sirius reached out and took Harry from Lily's arms, bouncing him gently. "Hey—c'mon, mate, don't cry," Sirius soothed. "You're all right…you're fine…and you know what? Uncle Padfoot's got a really cool birthday present for you this month—you're going to love it, Harry, I know you are…"
Harry's miserable snuffles subsided slightly, and the nearly one-year-old curled up against his godfather's chest, hiccuping.
"We had to wake him up to come here," Lily murmured, rubbing Harry's back. "And he's had a bit of a cold lately, poor thing—"
But that was as far as Lily got, for at that very moment, there was a loud, sharp knock at the Boneses' front door. At once, nearly every single occupant of the sitting room jumped to their feet and faced the foyer, wands out. Footsteps thudded down the staircase, and a white-faced, terrified-looking Elinor flew into the sitting room from where she had been upstairs, getting her children into bed. Edgar stepped forward and squeezed his wife's shoulder reassuringly, though his own face was also set and pale. Clutching his wand tightly, he stalked down the sitting room and into the adjacent foyer. Moments later, Remus heard muffled talking and the click of a door opening and closing.
Then, at last, Alastor Moody stumped into the sitting room, with Edgar not far behind. He was as grizzled and gruesome-looking as ever—especially with his new wooden leg, which he'd obtained only a few weeks earlier, after an unsuccessful raid on a Death Eater hideout with several fellow-Aurors.
"Alastor," Dumbledore greeted Moody sharply, stepping forward. "What is so pressing that you have called everyone here tonight? Has the Ministry been infiltrated?"
Remus's stomach lurched unpleasantly. Glancing sideways, he shared a horrified look with Peter.
Slowly, Moody came to stand in the middle of the sitting room, his dark eyes sweeping over the enormous cluster of anxious-looking Order members crammed all around the expanse. (Hagrid took up about a quarter of the room, just by himself.)
Finally, Moody cleared his throat. "Albus, it seems you misinterpreted the urgency of my Patronus," Moody said gruffly, reaching into his cloak and withdrawing a medium-sized object. It took Remus a moment to recognize it for what it was—a positively ancient-looking camera. "I wasn't expecting so many of you to show up tonight. I had an idea at work today, after Scrimgeour and I hung up our latest Auror class's photo in the department's reception—I thought we could take a photo of the Order."
Several long moments of astonished silence followed Moody's pronouncement. Remus's brain had stuttered to a halt—he couldn't begin to process what he had just heard. Meanwhile, across the sitting room, even Dumbledore appeared to be too stunned to speak.
In the end, it was Gideon Prewett who spoke first. "Do you mean to tell us, Alastor," Gideon said slowly, his tone numb with disbelief, "that you've called us all here today—some of us, out of hiding—" he gestured pointedly at Marlene, who stood on his right, "—for a bloody photoshoot?"
Moody didn't respond, but merely narrowed his eyes at Gideon. Another heavy, astounded silence unfolded over the cramped sitting room, filling the air, until—
"Moody, you mad, old berk," Aberforth Dumbledore barked from the kitchen doorway.
And just like that, the tension broke. The room erupted with relieved, incredulous laughter—led by the Prewett twins, both of whom were laughing so loudly that baby Harry startled awake from his half-doze to blink around in bewilderment. Lily sagged against James, her face flooding with color. Dedalus Diggle dropped his purple top hat. Emmeline Vance and Dorcas Meadowes were clutching each other tightly. Dumbledore was chuckling, his bright blue eyes alight with amusement. And even McGonagall seemed torn between exasperation and elation.
"All right," Elinor Bones said loudly, over the din in the sitting room. She beamed, her thin face glowing, and took the old-fashioned camera from Moody. "Everyone, gather around—yes, just like that—squeeze in a little tighter by the couch, Sturgis, Elphias—you, too, Caradoc—Hagrid, move backwards a tad—and Sirius, why don't you give me the baby?" Elinor asked, reaching out and taking squirmy baby Harry from his godfather's arms. "You're not part of the Order, are you?" she cooed at the baby. "No, you aren't…"
"And thank Merlin for that," James muttered, eyes twinkling. "Harry could take those Death Eaters down in a second—nothing sends people running like a smelly nappy."
Remus grinned, shaking his head as he found himself being shuffled into the front row, directly in front of James, Lily, and Sirius. Lily looked around, frowning.
"Where's Wormy?" she wondered. "Oh, there he is—Peter!" she called, waving the fourth Marauder over from where he was standing, half-hidden, between the tall, broad-shouldered forms of Benjy Fenwick and Frank Longbottom. "Peter, over here, with us!"
Peter made his way over to them, smiling, though Remus thought there seemed to be something rather strained about his smile. He didn't have time to dwell on this fact, however, as Elinor began counting down from ten. Beaming, Lily reached out and tucked Peter between herself and James.
"—five—four—three—two—one!" Elinor called, bouncing little Harry in her arms as she directed the camera at the enormous mass of people squashed around her sitting room sofa. "Everyone say 'butterbeer!'"
"Butterbeer!" everyone chorused.
"Buh!" squealed Harry, waving his tiny fists in the air—and the sitting room rumbled with laughter for a second time, just as the shutter snapped with a brilliant flash of light.
Author's Note:
These were a few short vignette-type scenes from James and Lily's first and only year with their son that I felt were too short to be their own chapters, so I decided to put them together. :) A tiny bit of extra happiness before...um, nothing. :S
Much love as always,
Ari
