"Look at this," Remus pointed to his Daily Prophet one morning in November.
"'Gryffindor Descendant Killed by Dark Lord.'"
"Poor fellow." James murmured, looking over the article.
"Wonder who he was?" Sirius leaned over his friend's shoulder.
"Doesn't give a name." Remus replied.
"Him and his wife." Rhia pointed out sadly.
"Put it away," moaned Lily, who was extremely tense about the current state of affairs.
"I only wanted to see how England's doing in the finals." Remus said, turning to the Quidditch page.
"Mr. Potter?"
James looked up to see Professor McGonagall hovering over his shoulder. "Yes, Professor?"
"Would you please follow me?" She nodded outside the Hall, her eyes flickering to the Daily Prophet on the table and back to James's confused face. "There's something we need to.discuss."
"Am I in trouble?" he asked as he stood, walking out with her.
"No." she shook her head, stopping in front of a stone gargoyle. James knew it lead to Dumbledore's quarters, he had been here many a time.
"Lollipop." She said and the gargoyle sprang to life, turning into a revolving staircase. James hopped on with McGonagall in tow. He followed her down the hallway and into Dumbledore's office, where he sat with his own copy of the newspaper.
"James." Dumbledore's aged face looked terribly drawn, as James had never seen it before.
"Professor, what is it?" James asked.
"Would you have a seat?" he gestured to an overstuffed wing chair and James sat obediently. "There's something you and I need to speak of."
James watched him shove the paper in a drawer and magick what looked like a telegram into the air.
"This morning, I received this." He held up the telegram. "It informed me something about you...and your parents."
"What about them?" James furrowed his brow.
"Your father, James, was of the line of Gryffindor, as are you, and as your children will be."
It took a moment for it to happen.but then it clicked.
Gryffindor.
'Gryffindor Descendant Killed by Dark Lord.'
"Dad!" was the only word that sprang from James's lips as he realized that it was his parents- his own mum and dad- that had been killed by Voldemort.
"Mr. Potter, please remain calm." McGonagall began, but James jumped up.
"When? How?" he shouted. Dumbledore stood up and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Mr. Potter, please sit down. All will be explained in time."
"No! Not time, now!" James sat, his entire body shaking.
"Mr. Potter, Lord Voldemort visited your house late last night. Someone reported a dark shadow entering the house from an upstairs window. When the Ministry arrived, it was too late. They died peacefully, if it makes any difference."
James just sat there in shock.
"Mr. Potter, arrangements have been made with your father's friend, Thomas Wallace. He'll handle the funeral arrangements, and you can stay with him this holiday. You are free from classes when the funeral is, if you wish to attend." James nodded.
"Now, back to classes with you," McGonagall interrupted curtly. James looked up at her.
"If its all the same to you, Professor, I think...I think I'd rather just stay by myself in the common room today, if you please." James looked at Dumbledore. "Would that be fine?"
Dumbledore smiled sadly. "Yes, of course James. Off you get then."
James stood up, nodded to his teachers, and walked out of the office.
"Oh dear, Albus...do you think he'll be okay?"
"Of course Minerva. James is a strong wizard, and he has wonderful friends. He's in the best place he could be at the moment."
~*~
"James?" Lily came forward first, touching his cheek gently.
"Hi." He said almost inaudibly.
"McGonagall told us what happened." Sirius said, sitting across from him.
"We're really sorry." Remus added.
"Is there anything we can do?" asked Rhia.
"No, I just...you think you can stay with me?" he asked and everyone's hearts were torn in two. He seemed so forlorn and helpless; each wanted to help him but had no idea how. "Just...you know, keep me company."
"Of course." Annie nodded.
"Anything." Peter added.
"I want to go to the funeral, but I don't want to stay with Thomas Wallace." James said, drawing little patterns on the chair's arm. "I think I'm going to stay here over holidays."
"Then I'm going to stay as well." Lily replied.
"And me." Rhia chimed.
"And me."
"Me too."
And it wasn't long before all agreed to stay together for one last Christmas at Hogwarts.
With Christmas right around the corner, the Marauders tried all they could to cheer James up, to no avail. He would walk around as if in a daze, not letting anything sink in. Lily, for one, was getting worried.
"I'm getting worried," she told Rhia the morning of the first day of vacation. "He doesn't register anything anymore...I know this is hard, but he's acting like a ghost. He doesn't talk."
Rhia patted Lily's hand. "He'll come around. Sirius did, and so will James. He's a strong boy."
Meanwhile, across the common room, Sirius was saying the same thing to James.
"You're a strong kid, James. Everything will be all right." James shook his head.
"How did you do it, Padfoot?"
"How did I do what?"
"How did you get through your dad's death?"
Sirius thought for a moment. "Well, I suppose it helped that I had my mum. And then Rhia moved in shortly after...I just, I dunno, dealt with it. It was hard at first, you know. I remember, I was sad for a long time. Completely depressed, but I tried to stay with people. I was at Rhia's a hell of a lot then. After that was denial." Sirius gave a short, bitter laugh. "Rhia had to smack some sense into me a lot. I'd wake up every morning, waiting for my dad to come pull me out of bed, but he never came. I'd run downstairs late, purposely every morning, blaming it on my dad. Then one day, I was sitting with Rhia at the brook by our house, and I just realized he was never coming back. That's when the crying really starts."
"I haven't cried yet," James observed. "I don't cry."
Sirius looked at him seriously. "I don't mean to be rude, but you will." James nodded.
"So...now what?"
* * *
"I was thinking about Christmas..." Lily spoke. Rhia looked up at her.
"What about it?"
Lily put down her books and shifted in her chair. She tapped her chin. "I want to do something for James. Losing his parents is horrible, and it's right near Christmas too! I want to do something really spectacular for him, so that he can have a happy Christmas under the circumstances. I just don't know what to do that would be big enough for the famous heroic James Potter, you know?"
Rhia laughed. "I know exactly how you feel. But what could be good enough?" The girls sat in silence a bit before Rhia jumped up, her eyes wide. "Oh! Oh, Lily! I've got it!"
"What?" Lily crossed her fingers, hoping it was good.
"Well, I don't have it exactly, but...what about something that would remind him of his parents?" She suggested. "Something good. Something that lasts."
"Something that lasts..." Lily murmured, thinking to herself.
~*~
"James!"
"G'way..."
"No, get up, Prongs! It's Christmas!"
James rolled over. He wasn't sure he wanted to face Christmas, knowing he'd never see his father carve the turkey again or his mum wrap presents or bake cookies or...
"You're getting up now, because Lil won't let us open presents without you."
He felt Sirius and Remus tug him out of bed.
"Fine, fine." He mumbled, pulling his robe on and trudging down the stairs with Remus, Sirius, and Peter.
"Merry Christmas!" he heard the others call out from around the tree.
"Merry Christmas." He smiled wanly, sitting next to Lily.
"Sleep well?" she asked.
"Yeah." He nodded, feeling extremely empty inside.
"Now can we open them?" Peter moaned.
"Yes, you may." Lily rolled her eyes and watched Peter dive into his pile of presents.
"Here." James handed Lily the presents he had gotten her, one large, one small.
"What is it?" Lily asked, untying the bow of the large one.
"Open it and see." He replied.
"Alright." She smiled and opened the box. "You shouldn't have!"
She lifted a large, old book from the tissue paper. It's golden embossed cover read Magical Mysteries and Romances of Olde.
"I knew you liked your Muggle romances, so I thought I'd give you the witch's version." He told her.
"I love it." She hugged him tightly.
"You haven't even opened the other one." He pointed to the smaller package on her lap.
"First you have to open yours." She handed him a scroll, rolled up and tied with a piece of purple ribbon. He gave her a curious look and unrolled it, his jaw dropping.
"Lily..." he murmured, staring at the page that had Deed of Property written across the top and a picture of a charming red brick house underneath.
"I've made the down payment." Lily replied. "You know we've been looking everywhere and this one was just right and wasn't too much and...oh, James, look at the name."
His eyes flickered down to the bottom of the page.
"Godric's Hollow." He read quietly. Godric. His father had been Godric Potter. "Oh, Lily, I don't deserve this."
"Yes, you do." She insisted. James sat staring silently at the scroll, feeling the tears Sirius had talked about prick at his eyes.
"Well, then," he bit them back manfully and continued, "you should open your next gift."
Lily smiled and opened the little box.
"Oh, James...." She pulled the diamond ring he had bought her out of his box, holding it up in the sun, quite aware that the entire common room had gone silent.
"It was the first thing I bought after I...I got my money." he stumbled over his words, not wanting to talk about the inheritance he had received upon his parents' deaths. "And now it's official."
Lily leaned forward and kissed James hard. Rhia laughed merrily. Remus smiled sheepishly and hoped it would be his turn someday. Peter rolled his eyes. Sirius-
"Wait, where's Sir?" James looked about after Lily pulled away.
"Dunno." Peter replied.
Remus stood and looked out of the portal.
"Not there." He said, puzzled and walking to the stairwell, looking up.
Sirius sat on the stairs with Annie in his arms, his lips on hers and his hand snaking it's way up her shirt.
"SIRIUS BLACK!" he shouted, pulling him down the stairs. Annie followed, torn between sheepish embarrassment and hysterical laughter.
"Oh, Remus, let them be." Rhia tugged him away. "It is Christmas, after all."
Remus muttered something inaudibly and Sirius grinned cheekily.
"Come on, you have to open your present from me." Rhia put a gift in his hands.
"Oh, Rhia...mine isn't as big as yours." Sirius put a medium-sized box in hers.
"Size doesn't matter." She rolled her eyes. "It's the thought that counts."
Sirius and Rhia grinned at each other before tearing open their gifts, giggling like when they were children. They both held up their presents. Rhia had gotten Sirius a book called How To Pull The Best Pranks (And Even Better, How To Get Away With Them) with a note taped to the cover telling him to let Remus read it, too. Rhia stared down at the black and white Sirius, grinning cheekily up at her. Sirius had given Rhia a picture of himself.
"Sirius!" she cried out, laughing. "What do I want a photo of you for, I see you everyday!"
Sirius laughed. "Ah, your real gift's upstairs on your bed. I just realized you didn't have any pictures of me in your room at home, and thought you might like this one."
Rhia laughed as she put the photo aside. Everyone opened up the rest of their presents, still laughing at the frame lying on the floor. Sirius had just let Peter flip through the prank book when Remus grabbed Rhia's hand and led her away.
"What is it?" she asked once they got into the stairway.
"I wanted to give you your present in private," he whispered, grinning slyly. Rhia raised an eyebrow.
"Why, what is it?"
Remus leaned over and kissed her softly, letting his lips linger there for a moment before pulling away again. Rhia licked her bottom lip. "Hmmm, well...it's no diamond ring, but it'll have to do!" They laughed. Remus bent down into the shadows and straightened up with a gift bag in his hand.
"Open it," he prodded. She took the bag in her hand and peered inside.
"Oh, Remus!" she exclaimed.
He pulled the gift from the bag, holding it up to the light. It was a long necklace with a small glass chamber at the end of the golden chain. Inside the chamber was a silver butterfly, fluttering around as if alive.
"It's not real." He said, fastening it about her neck. "Just an enchantment. I wouldn't have liked having a little animal encased there anyways."
"Me neither." She replied, turning around as her hand closed over the necklace. "I love it, thank you."
"You're welcome." He kissed her again and she pressed a small box into his hands. "What's this?"
"Your present." She said, grinning. He smiled and opened it.
"Rhia, you shouldn't have." He murmured, taking out the gift. It was a large paperweight carved in the shape of a wolf with diamonds set in it's eyes and looked quite expensive.
"But I wanted to." She said. "It reminded me of you. Of us."
He smiled and kissed her once more, breaking apart to see the others walking out of the common room.
"Finish later, it's time for the feast!" Peter cried with a grin.
"Poor fellow." James murmured, looking over the article.
"Wonder who he was?" Sirius leaned over his friend's shoulder.
"Doesn't give a name." Remus replied.
"Him and his wife." Rhia pointed out sadly.
"Put it away," moaned Lily, who was extremely tense about the current state of affairs.
"I only wanted to see how England's doing in the finals." Remus said, turning to the Quidditch page.
"Mr. Potter?"
James looked up to see Professor McGonagall hovering over his shoulder. "Yes, Professor?"
"Would you please follow me?" She nodded outside the Hall, her eyes flickering to the Daily Prophet on the table and back to James's confused face. "There's something we need to.discuss."
"Am I in trouble?" he asked as he stood, walking out with her.
"No." she shook her head, stopping in front of a stone gargoyle. James knew it lead to Dumbledore's quarters, he had been here many a time.
"Lollipop." She said and the gargoyle sprang to life, turning into a revolving staircase. James hopped on with McGonagall in tow. He followed her down the hallway and into Dumbledore's office, where he sat with his own copy of the newspaper.
"James." Dumbledore's aged face looked terribly drawn, as James had never seen it before.
"Professor, what is it?" James asked.
"Would you have a seat?" he gestured to an overstuffed wing chair and James sat obediently. "There's something you and I need to speak of."
James watched him shove the paper in a drawer and magick what looked like a telegram into the air.
"This morning, I received this." He held up the telegram. "It informed me something about you...and your parents."
"What about them?" James furrowed his brow.
"Your father, James, was of the line of Gryffindor, as are you, and as your children will be."
It took a moment for it to happen.but then it clicked.
Gryffindor.
'Gryffindor Descendant Killed by Dark Lord.'
"Dad!" was the only word that sprang from James's lips as he realized that it was his parents- his own mum and dad- that had been killed by Voldemort.
"Mr. Potter, please remain calm." McGonagall began, but James jumped up.
"When? How?" he shouted. Dumbledore stood up and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Mr. Potter, please sit down. All will be explained in time."
"No! Not time, now!" James sat, his entire body shaking.
"Mr. Potter, Lord Voldemort visited your house late last night. Someone reported a dark shadow entering the house from an upstairs window. When the Ministry arrived, it was too late. They died peacefully, if it makes any difference."
James just sat there in shock.
"Mr. Potter, arrangements have been made with your father's friend, Thomas Wallace. He'll handle the funeral arrangements, and you can stay with him this holiday. You are free from classes when the funeral is, if you wish to attend." James nodded.
"Now, back to classes with you," McGonagall interrupted curtly. James looked up at her.
"If its all the same to you, Professor, I think...I think I'd rather just stay by myself in the common room today, if you please." James looked at Dumbledore. "Would that be fine?"
Dumbledore smiled sadly. "Yes, of course James. Off you get then."
James stood up, nodded to his teachers, and walked out of the office.
"Oh dear, Albus...do you think he'll be okay?"
"Of course Minerva. James is a strong wizard, and he has wonderful friends. He's in the best place he could be at the moment."
~*~
"James?" Lily came forward first, touching his cheek gently.
"Hi." He said almost inaudibly.
"McGonagall told us what happened." Sirius said, sitting across from him.
"We're really sorry." Remus added.
"Is there anything we can do?" asked Rhia.
"No, I just...you think you can stay with me?" he asked and everyone's hearts were torn in two. He seemed so forlorn and helpless; each wanted to help him but had no idea how. "Just...you know, keep me company."
"Of course." Annie nodded.
"Anything." Peter added.
"I want to go to the funeral, but I don't want to stay with Thomas Wallace." James said, drawing little patterns on the chair's arm. "I think I'm going to stay here over holidays."
"Then I'm going to stay as well." Lily replied.
"And me." Rhia chimed.
"And me."
"Me too."
And it wasn't long before all agreed to stay together for one last Christmas at Hogwarts.
With Christmas right around the corner, the Marauders tried all they could to cheer James up, to no avail. He would walk around as if in a daze, not letting anything sink in. Lily, for one, was getting worried.
"I'm getting worried," she told Rhia the morning of the first day of vacation. "He doesn't register anything anymore...I know this is hard, but he's acting like a ghost. He doesn't talk."
Rhia patted Lily's hand. "He'll come around. Sirius did, and so will James. He's a strong boy."
Meanwhile, across the common room, Sirius was saying the same thing to James.
"You're a strong kid, James. Everything will be all right." James shook his head.
"How did you do it, Padfoot?"
"How did I do what?"
"How did you get through your dad's death?"
Sirius thought for a moment. "Well, I suppose it helped that I had my mum. And then Rhia moved in shortly after...I just, I dunno, dealt with it. It was hard at first, you know. I remember, I was sad for a long time. Completely depressed, but I tried to stay with people. I was at Rhia's a hell of a lot then. After that was denial." Sirius gave a short, bitter laugh. "Rhia had to smack some sense into me a lot. I'd wake up every morning, waiting for my dad to come pull me out of bed, but he never came. I'd run downstairs late, purposely every morning, blaming it on my dad. Then one day, I was sitting with Rhia at the brook by our house, and I just realized he was never coming back. That's when the crying really starts."
"I haven't cried yet," James observed. "I don't cry."
Sirius looked at him seriously. "I don't mean to be rude, but you will." James nodded.
"So...now what?"
* * *
"I was thinking about Christmas..." Lily spoke. Rhia looked up at her.
"What about it?"
Lily put down her books and shifted in her chair. She tapped her chin. "I want to do something for James. Losing his parents is horrible, and it's right near Christmas too! I want to do something really spectacular for him, so that he can have a happy Christmas under the circumstances. I just don't know what to do that would be big enough for the famous heroic James Potter, you know?"
Rhia laughed. "I know exactly how you feel. But what could be good enough?" The girls sat in silence a bit before Rhia jumped up, her eyes wide. "Oh! Oh, Lily! I've got it!"
"What?" Lily crossed her fingers, hoping it was good.
"Well, I don't have it exactly, but...what about something that would remind him of his parents?" She suggested. "Something good. Something that lasts."
"Something that lasts..." Lily murmured, thinking to herself.
~*~
"James!"
"G'way..."
"No, get up, Prongs! It's Christmas!"
James rolled over. He wasn't sure he wanted to face Christmas, knowing he'd never see his father carve the turkey again or his mum wrap presents or bake cookies or...
"You're getting up now, because Lil won't let us open presents without you."
He felt Sirius and Remus tug him out of bed.
"Fine, fine." He mumbled, pulling his robe on and trudging down the stairs with Remus, Sirius, and Peter.
"Merry Christmas!" he heard the others call out from around the tree.
"Merry Christmas." He smiled wanly, sitting next to Lily.
"Sleep well?" she asked.
"Yeah." He nodded, feeling extremely empty inside.
"Now can we open them?" Peter moaned.
"Yes, you may." Lily rolled her eyes and watched Peter dive into his pile of presents.
"Here." James handed Lily the presents he had gotten her, one large, one small.
"What is it?" Lily asked, untying the bow of the large one.
"Open it and see." He replied.
"Alright." She smiled and opened the box. "You shouldn't have!"
She lifted a large, old book from the tissue paper. It's golden embossed cover read Magical Mysteries and Romances of Olde.
"I knew you liked your Muggle romances, so I thought I'd give you the witch's version." He told her.
"I love it." She hugged him tightly.
"You haven't even opened the other one." He pointed to the smaller package on her lap.
"First you have to open yours." She handed him a scroll, rolled up and tied with a piece of purple ribbon. He gave her a curious look and unrolled it, his jaw dropping.
"Lily..." he murmured, staring at the page that had Deed of Property written across the top and a picture of a charming red brick house underneath.
"I've made the down payment." Lily replied. "You know we've been looking everywhere and this one was just right and wasn't too much and...oh, James, look at the name."
His eyes flickered down to the bottom of the page.
"Godric's Hollow." He read quietly. Godric. His father had been Godric Potter. "Oh, Lily, I don't deserve this."
"Yes, you do." She insisted. James sat staring silently at the scroll, feeling the tears Sirius had talked about prick at his eyes.
"Well, then," he bit them back manfully and continued, "you should open your next gift."
Lily smiled and opened the little box.
"Oh, James...." She pulled the diamond ring he had bought her out of his box, holding it up in the sun, quite aware that the entire common room had gone silent.
"It was the first thing I bought after I...I got my money." he stumbled over his words, not wanting to talk about the inheritance he had received upon his parents' deaths. "And now it's official."
Lily leaned forward and kissed James hard. Rhia laughed merrily. Remus smiled sheepishly and hoped it would be his turn someday. Peter rolled his eyes. Sirius-
"Wait, where's Sir?" James looked about after Lily pulled away.
"Dunno." Peter replied.
Remus stood and looked out of the portal.
"Not there." He said, puzzled and walking to the stairwell, looking up.
Sirius sat on the stairs with Annie in his arms, his lips on hers and his hand snaking it's way up her shirt.
"SIRIUS BLACK!" he shouted, pulling him down the stairs. Annie followed, torn between sheepish embarrassment and hysterical laughter.
"Oh, Remus, let them be." Rhia tugged him away. "It is Christmas, after all."
Remus muttered something inaudibly and Sirius grinned cheekily.
"Come on, you have to open your present from me." Rhia put a gift in his hands.
"Oh, Rhia...mine isn't as big as yours." Sirius put a medium-sized box in hers.
"Size doesn't matter." She rolled her eyes. "It's the thought that counts."
Sirius and Rhia grinned at each other before tearing open their gifts, giggling like when they were children. They both held up their presents. Rhia had gotten Sirius a book called How To Pull The Best Pranks (And Even Better, How To Get Away With Them) with a note taped to the cover telling him to let Remus read it, too. Rhia stared down at the black and white Sirius, grinning cheekily up at her. Sirius had given Rhia a picture of himself.
"Sirius!" she cried out, laughing. "What do I want a photo of you for, I see you everyday!"
Sirius laughed. "Ah, your real gift's upstairs on your bed. I just realized you didn't have any pictures of me in your room at home, and thought you might like this one."
Rhia laughed as she put the photo aside. Everyone opened up the rest of their presents, still laughing at the frame lying on the floor. Sirius had just let Peter flip through the prank book when Remus grabbed Rhia's hand and led her away.
"What is it?" she asked once they got into the stairway.
"I wanted to give you your present in private," he whispered, grinning slyly. Rhia raised an eyebrow.
"Why, what is it?"
Remus leaned over and kissed her softly, letting his lips linger there for a moment before pulling away again. Rhia licked her bottom lip. "Hmmm, well...it's no diamond ring, but it'll have to do!" They laughed. Remus bent down into the shadows and straightened up with a gift bag in his hand.
"Open it," he prodded. She took the bag in her hand and peered inside.
"Oh, Remus!" she exclaimed.
He pulled the gift from the bag, holding it up to the light. It was a long necklace with a small glass chamber at the end of the golden chain. Inside the chamber was a silver butterfly, fluttering around as if alive.
"It's not real." He said, fastening it about her neck. "Just an enchantment. I wouldn't have liked having a little animal encased there anyways."
"Me neither." She replied, turning around as her hand closed over the necklace. "I love it, thank you."
"You're welcome." He kissed her again and she pressed a small box into his hands. "What's this?"
"Your present." She said, grinning. He smiled and opened it.
"Rhia, you shouldn't have." He murmured, taking out the gift. It was a large paperweight carved in the shape of a wolf with diamonds set in it's eyes and looked quite expensive.
"But I wanted to." She said. "It reminded me of you. Of us."
He smiled and kissed her once more, breaking apart to see the others walking out of the common room.
"Finish later, it's time for the feast!" Peter cried with a grin.