Being at the lake was amazing, James couldn't stop thinking about it, they, of course, interacted with Remus and Lily but he and Mia also had time just the two of them and having his girlfriend, in just a bikini while they splashed each other, he chased her around the lake and those chaste kisses played on his mind.
He knew that even though Mia was now officially his girlfriend, which he wasted no time at making sure everyone was aware, he needed to take things slow, he couldn't risk scaring her off, but he had such a pull to her.
He had been keeping his parents up to date on everything, they frequently wrote to each other, and they had been shocked when he had told them that he wasn't interested in Lily any longer. He couldn't tell his parents everything, but he had let them know about Hermione having no family and being attacked.
His mum straight away said Mia could join Sirius at Potter Manor once school is over and there wasn't a chance she was going to allow a young woman with no family to be left with nowhere to go after finishing school.
Of course, James knew this was exactly what his mum would say, she would open her house to anyone in need, and in truth, he knows that Mia needs more than just the marauders, he has seen the way Sirius lights up around his family and he knows Mia would be the same.
Reaching potions he couldn't help but grin when he caught sight of Mia's wild curls, it wasn't possible for anyone to miss his girl in a crowd. He wanted to go sit next to her but the seat had already been filled by Lily, it was so odd that Lily always seemed busy and bouncing around everywhere but since Mia came the redhead pretty much stayed with their little group.
He walked over and sat next to Sirius "Alright Padfoot" he grinned at his friend "I think we need to start planning our next prank, there isn't much time until school is officially over and we need to leave our mark on Hogwarts" he grinned.
Sirius face lit up "Yes Prongs! I know you and Remus are all lovey-dovey but there is plenty of time for that later" he said and pulled out a piece of parchment "This, my friend, is the start of what will be one of our best pranks yet"
James' eyes fall to the parchment and joined in with Sirius's grin "Has Remus and Peter seen this yet?" He asked curiously, Peter would join in on any prank but Remus could be slightly hesitant.
Sirius shook his head "Not yet mate, I got the idea in a dream, maybe I'm becoming a seer" he laughed then ducked his head as the Professor turned and stared at the two "Or maybe not"
The boys turn to pay attention to the class, their NEWTS were coming up very soon and if Mia suspected they were totally up to scratch for the exams she'd be on them about wasting time doing pranks when they had their exams to focus on.
Both boys have already decided they wanted to go down the Auror route, it was something that had been talked about years ago and neither boy had changed their minds on it.
The rest of the class went by fairly quickly and James waited by the door for Mia and the others to join them to head to the common room, Peter had left ahead of them and said he would meet them later.
Mia paused once they were out the potions classroom door "Guys I need to borrow you all, don't worry it's not going to take long but I think there are some things that you all deserve to know" She said and looked at James then Lily who both gave her a small nod "Follow me" she said and led the way to the room of requirement.
Sirius and Remus looked at Mia as she walked in front of the wall 3 times, Sirius looked at James "Mate your girls lost... Where the hell did that door come from?!" he moved over quickly and ran his hand over the door "Did you know about this?" he turned on James with an accusing finger.
James rubbed the back of his head "Erm... Yeah I did but in all honesty, I thought if you knew about it you would use it for one thing" he laughed while silently wishing Mia hadn't shown anyone else as this could have been their own little private space.
Mia shook her head with a small laugh and opened the door "He is right Sirius" she grinned and led the way in, with the others close behind. The room was similar to the Gryffindor common room except cozier, Mia led them straight over to the table and motioned for them to sit down.
"The easiest way for me to do this is for you guys to just listen and I will stop every now and again so you can get out your questions" She told them looking towards Sirius knowing he was the most curious of the group.
"As you will know from the Map, my name is Mia Redthorn, its Hermione Granger, Mia was what my gran used to call me and it felt like the best alternate name to use. I'm not from here" she paused "What I mean is, I'm not from this time, I'm from 1997 a future where Voldemort has killed half of the student and teacher population and was in the process of having complete control of the ministry and magic. You will notice that Peter isn't here, in my future, there is a reason for it however since being here I don't have those same concerns anymore, but I can't risk giving him this information just in case. I'm not going to tell you what has happened in the future because from what I can see he is an amazing friend and I don't want you guys to start acting differently with him"
She already knew she wasn't going to tell them everything as she knew certain details weren't needed, and she knew if Remus found out about Harry being James and Lily's son, it may add doubts in his mind about Lily and James and that wouldn't help anyone.
"In my future, there is a prophecy about a boy named Harry, when Voldemort hears of it he goes and kills his parents and tried to kill Harry but because of his mother's amazing sacrifice he is protected and Voldemort is gone for years but not completely destroyed. Harry was then sent and raised with his sister's muggle family, he had no idea about the wizarding world until he turned 11 and was to start Hogwarts and magical community all knew his name"
"He was my best friend and along with Ron were because an own little trio but from the first year onwards there were constant battles and threats. There were death eaters, the ministry getting involved in Hogwarts, a lot of pain and death but we found out how to destroy him... Voldemort. We left on a journey that changed our lives, Voldemort split his soul and create Horcruxes which held pieces of his soul, as long as part of his soul is out there then he will never be destroyed. We were able to work out what the Horcruxes were, how many there were, and where to find them. We got most of them but the final one we couldn't get close to"
She looked down at her hands, avoiding the look on their faces, even James and Lily only knew limited information "On the night I arrived here it was the battle of Hogwarts in my time, Voldemort and the death eaters had killed so many of us and the members of the order of the phoenix, Ron a third of our trio was gone and Harry... he was still fighting but more and more of us were dying. Professor McGonagall was the one who sent me back to this time, she knew that even if we somehow manage to defeat him, the number of deaths was astronomical"
"I am here to change the future and in turn hopefully save so many lives, and I am telling you all this because you have all become my family and I trust every one of you with my life and the outcome of the future" The silence that followed didn't' surprise her, it's not every day you get this kinda news.
Sirius was the first to break that silence "I knew there was something about you, I just couldn't work out what it was! You have my full support in whatever you need, you're right we are a family" he grinned across at her "And this room is amazing so definitely scored you some points there"
Mia let out a laugh "Why does your response not even slightly surprise me. But just wait till you find out what else you can do with this room"
James "Mia let's not share everything, this place could be our own little breakaway place" he grinned.
Sirius smirked at his friend "And why would you two need a little breakaway place huh... Getting handsy are we?"
A blush covered Mia's face and James awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck "I wasn't referring to that, just for some peace and quiet that's all" he mumbled looking apologetic at Mia
Remus thankfully decided to change the subject "Thank you for being honest with us Mia, I feel I should let you all know that Lily knows... About me" he said and looked at Lily "And following James and Mia's example we are officially a couple so you can all stay away from my woman"
Mia looked towards Remus, surely he couldn't know what happened between her and Lily, maybe Lily told him or worse many he recognised her scent on Lily. Holy crap. Maybe she was just overreacting.
James "Mia are you ok?" he leaned over and grasped her hand
Mia shook her head "Sorry, went into my own head. That's great you guys, you make an amazing couple genuinely, now just to get you and Peter partners" she grinned at Sirius "Though I'm not sure I can find someone with enough patience for you Sirius, I'd say James but I've marked my claim sorry"
Sirius rolled his eyes before grinning "I'm not a one girl kinda guy, there are 12 months in a year, that's a long time to restrict yourself just to one person, I enjoy exploring too much"
Lily pulled a face "That is something I really didn't want to know Sirius" she told him before turning to Mia "And thank you, without your encouragement, this wouldn't have happened… Well if you never came who knows what our lives would be like now, I think I speak for everyone when I say we all waiting for you without even knowing it" she said standing up and walking over to Mia and hugging her.
Mia looked around the table at everyone "Thank you guys, obviously, you know nothing can be repeated outside this room and if there is anything you guys ever wants to know let me know and we'll come here to freely talk about it" She smiled
"Oh just as an update on where we are at with the Horcruxes, Dumbledore is dealing with it, I have given him all the information I can and he lets me know whenever one of the Horcruxes is destroyed. He hasn't made them all yet in this time so we are definitely at an advantage" she said happily.
Sirius nodded "Well I suppose if this is all still going on after we become Aurors at least we have the insider knowledge" he nodded towards James, the idea of Voldemort coming back wasn't good, he knew his family would be right behind 'the dark lord'
James agreed with Sirius "Ok guys, I love you all but get out so I can have some alone time with my girlfriend" he said shooing them out of the door, once he got them out he returned to Mia and pulled her hand up so she was standing "You are the bravest, smartest and most gorgeous woman I have ever met, I am so lucky you're mine" he told her kissing her lightly.
Mia leaned her head against his chest after the kiss "You are a charmer Mr Potter" she smiled "I am the lucky one, I have traveled back in time and am now somewhere that I am safe, and I can actually be a teenager and think about my future. I don't even know what I want to do after finishing here... I've not thought about anything past Hogwarts" she said honestly.
James stroked the back of her head lightly, making effort not to tangle his hands into her curls "Mia I want you to know, there is a room for you at Potter Manor after we finish Hogwarts and that's not a sneaky way to get you sharing my bed" he laughed lightly "But mother dearest has fixed up your own room and it's yours for as long as you want it" he said "Me, Sirius and Remus were also thinking about getting our own house a few months after we finish and the guys have automatically assumed that you will be moving in with us. None of us want to lose you by our sides Mia, in case you haven't realised we all like having you around"
She lifted her head up and looked up at him with a big smile on her face "Thank you, James, I wouldn't want to be anywhere else" she told him, while she was independent, she didn't want to not be by James side.
Looking into her eyes, James stroked her cheek lightly "I love you, Hermione Granger, I know you have said to keep the name Mia Redthorn but I just wanted to use your real name the first time I told you"
Still smiling "I love you too James" she said as she went onto her tiptoes and kissed him.