A/N: I'm sorry about the lack of James/Lily straight-up romance recently! Unfortunately, they have fallen into the trap of most new parents . . . they're obsessed with their child! They'll get out a little in this chapter!
Thanks for reading and reviewing! I hope you like this!
Anna: You know, I actually really planned out when Snape started teaching to tally with the book. I was thinking that he told Umbridge he had taught 16 years, which is why I had him start the year before Harry was born. Maybe I read wrong! I'll go check it.
maraudergirl7: Sirius and Olivia wanted to keep it under wraps, so Sirius never told James what happened between them. Because James is far more discrete than I could ever hope to be, he didn't ask – he assumed that Olivia turned him down since Sirius didn't say anything. So, Lily didn't know anything, either. All this happened off-screen!
obsessedwithharrypotter: No, they're in Muggle London now. Godric's Hollow will be their last move.
Panter28: I'm not quite brave enough to attempt anything about Harry's years at Hogwarts. I'm thinking of doing something with him post-graduation so that he can meet all his parents' friends – the ones I've created for them, anyway!
Happy birthday, MPPSexxySiriusJamesRemus!
I don't own Harry Potter.
A Year of Success
"I'm home!"
"Hi, James," Lily smiled, turning her face up to kiss her husband. "How was the last day of school?"
"About the same as usual," he smiled. "The seventh years were a mix of sadness and excitement and the little ones couldn't wait to get home to their parents."
"Same old, same old, huh?" Lily grinned. "So, is Dumbledore taking you back next year?"
"Of course," James replied archly. "I am the best Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher he had this year."
"You're also the only one," Lily giggled.
He grinned, then turned to face Harry, who was sitting on the floor, playing with his favorite lion. "How are you, champ? What's that you have there?"
"Lion," Harry replied clearly.
James and Lily both stopped short, and turned to stare at the baby.
"What did you say, Harry?" Lily asked.
"Lion," Harry repeated, smacking the toy against the floor.
"Did he just . . .?" James couldn't finish his statement.
"He did," Lily whispered in wonder. "Say it again, Harry."
"Lion," he said again, grinning up at them. "Lion, lion, lion."
"Harry!" James exclaimed, scooping the baby up into his arms. "Congratulations! That was your first real word!"
Harry laughed as James swung him around. "Lion!" he said again.
"Can you try saying Daddy?" James asked.
"Dada," Harry said.
"Still not quite," James laughed. "But you'll get it soon. How about Mummy?"
"Mama."
"Close enough," Lily said, leaning over to kiss her baby's cheek.
James turned to Lily with a grin. "Wait until Sirius hears that Harry's first word was 'lion.' You know how he is about Harry being a Gryffindor. He'll be thrilled!"
Lily laughed with sheer joy. "I can't believe he can talk now! Just you wait – now that he's started, we'll never be able to get him quiet again!"
"Is anyone home?"
"Mum," James said in surprise, going into the living room to greet his mother. "Where did you come from?"
"My house."
James hugged her and kissed her cheek. "You know what I mean. I don't remember us talking about a visit tonight."
"What, I'm not allowed to come and visit my son and his family?"
James smiled, shaking his head. "Are you trying to make me feel bad?"
"Not at all, darling," she smiled. "Where are Lily and the baby?"
"Right here," Lily said, entering the room with a sleepy-looking Harry in her arms. "Harry just woke up from his afternoon nap."
"So I see," Mrs. Potter smiled, reaching out to take the baby.
Lily handed him over and grinned as her mother-in-law attempted to straighten the baby's hair. "You're not going to win that one."
Mrs. Potter shook her head. "Just like his father," she smiled. She kissed the baby's cheek. "Did you have a nice nap, sweetheart?"
Harry smiled happily. "Gam," he said, patting her cheeks.
She smiled and tickled him. "Have you missed Grandma, Harry?"
"Gam," he said again, laughing.
"Will you stay for dinner?" Lily asked, already trying to remember what she had in the kitchen for their evening meal. She and James had been planning to take Harry out for dinner.
"Only if the planning takes us that long," Mrs. Potter smiled.
"Planning?" James asked with a frown. "What are we planning?"
"Why, Harry's birthday party, of course!"
"His birthday is a month away," James laughed. "We have plenty of time to plan a party for him."
Mrs. Potter shook her head. "This is his first birthday, James. The celebration is going to take quite some time to plan." She took a seat and settled the baby in her lap. "Now, I want to have the party at my house."
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" James asked. "We don't want to draw any unnecessary attention to you, Mum."
"Don't be silly," she said. "If I want to host my grandson's party, I will host it." She gave them a grin. "Besides, I'm sure we'll invite enough Order members that we'll be extremely protected."
"She has a point with that, James," Lily smiled. "Almost everyone we know is in the Order."
"All right," James conceded. "What are you thinking of doing, Mum?"
"Well, I've certainly started thinking about it," she smiled. "I want to make sure that this is a party that Harry will never forget!"
"Mum, he's going to be a year old," James laughed. "Believe me, I don't remember a thing about my first birthday party."
"That's because it wasn't as big as Harry's will be," she replied. "Lily, do you still have those quills you used for interviews?"
"Yes," Lily replied, raising her eyebrows.
"Can we use one? I want to record what we say as we discuss the plans."
"Sure," Lily said. She waved her wand. "Accio interviewing quill and parchment!"
A quill and parchment zoomed toward her; she caught them and tapped the quill with her wand. Once everything was ready, she nodded at her mother-in-law.
"All right, let's start planning," Mrs. Potter said cheerfully.
By the time his mother left that night, James was exhausted. He looked up at Lily when she came into the living room, having just put Harry to bed.
"Tell me we never have to go through that again," he moaned.
Lily laughed. "I think we're going to go through that quite a few times between now and Harry's birthday. You'd better build up your stamina."
James shook his head. "The woman has gone insane."
"I don't think it's that odd," Lily offered as she crossed to sit with him on the couch. "Look at how much effort she puts into Christmas at her house. It makes sense that she'd be obsessed with her grandchild's first birthday."
"Well, I guess our plans for a small party are out," James sighed as Lily curled up against him. He began playing with her hair, twisting the red strands around his fingers. "I hope Harry likes to be the center of attention."
"He never has a chance to be anything but the center of attention," Lily smiled. "He is our only child, you know."
"We're going to have to go shopping for him," James commented, still playing with Lily's hair. "What do you think he'd like?"
"I don't know," Lily replied, "but this sounds like an excellent excuse for us to go play in some toy stores!"
James grinned. "When do you want to go?"
"Whenever we can find someone to stay with him," Lily replied. "Should we ask your mum?"
"No, she'll just get too excited. It'll probably send her into more party plans," James laughed. "Why don't we see if Godfather Sirius can spare the time? He hasn't watched Harry in ages."
"Good idea," Lily smiled. "He'll be so excited to spend time with him."
"Sirius will be excited to spend time with Harry, or the other way around?"
"Both," Lily grinned.
In the end, both Sirius and Olivia decided to come to spend the evening with Harry while James and Lily went out for dinner and then shopping for Harry's birthday presents. When they arrived, Harry was sitting the middle of the living room floor, laughing as his toy Snitch zoomed around his head. He reached up to grab it, then released it again.
"Whoa," Sirius grinned as he watched. "I think you have a Seeker on your hands, James."
James grinned as he came into the living room carrying his shoes. "Yeah, he has really good coordination. I can't wait to teach him to fly."
"Not until he's at least five, James," Lily said. "You promised."
"I know," James sighed. "So much for my plan to buy him a broomstick for his birthday."
"Not this year," Lily said. She picked the baby up, and held him close. "What do you want for your birthday, Harry?"
"Lion!" he exclaimed, giggling.
"You already have a lion," Lily replied. "Isn't there anything else you'd like?"
Harry pointed at Sirius. "Doggie!"
Lily sighed. "Okay, maybe Uncle Sirius will turn into a doggie for you now."
"Anything to please my fans," Sirius replied.
He promptly transformed, and Harry squealed with pleasure. The baby leaned out of Lily's arms, trying to touch Sirius's fur. Lily bent down so that he could pet his godfather. Harry buried his hands in Sirius's fur.
"Doggie Siri, doggie Siri," Harry giggled.
"Okay, Sirius, transform back," Olivia laughed. "This is getting weird."
Sirius transformed again, and reached out to take Harry from Lily. "He's really picking up a lot of words, isn't he?"
"Oh, yes," Lily replied. "He's becoming quite the little chatterbox."
Harry looked from Sirius to Olivia. "Livie, Livie," he chanted.
"Hi, Harry," she said, reaching out to touch his hand. "Are you ready to have fun with Uncle Sirius and me tonight?"
"Fun, fun."
"He needs to stop this repetitiveness," Sirius laughed.
"Yeah, you can work on that while we're gone," James grinned. "We'll probably be back around ten or so."
"Harry should go to bed at eight, so you'll have a couple of hours of peace," Lily grinned. "He's already had dinner, but he can have a snack if he wants later. There's some grapes already cut up in a bowl for him in the fridge."
"Sounds great," Sirius said. "You don't have anything to worry about."
"I know," Lily smiled. "We trust you. Have fun." She kissed Harry's cheek. "Bye-bye, sweetheart. You be good for Uncle Sirius and Auntie Olivia."
"Bye, champ," James grinned, kissing Harry. "We'll see you in the morning."
"Daddy," Harry whimpered, realizing that his parents were about to leave him. "Mummy."
James's face broke into a beaming smile. "About time!" he exclaimed. "He said them both, Lil!"
"Good for you, Harry!" Lily exclaimed. She kissed him again. "Now Mummy and Daddy will have to buy you an extra present."
"You should have offered him a present as incentive ages ago. He might have been saying them for months by now," Sirius laughed. He bounced the baby in his arms. "Say bye-bye to Mummy and Daddy, Harry."
"Mummy?" Harry said again, his eyes filling with tears. "Daddy?"
"We're going to buy you presents, love," Lily said, her resolve to leave her son melting at the sight of his tears. "We'll be home soon."
"Bye, Harry," James said, steering Lily toward the door. "Be good!"
They left, and Harry's eyes overflowed. He began to screaming, leaning out of Sirius's arms, stretching his own little arms toward the door.
"Oh, boy," Sirius said. "What do we do now?"
"I feel awful," Lily said as they got into the car. "Did you see his little lips quivering?"
"He'll be fine," James said confidently. "Sirius and Olivia will take good care of him."
"Yeah, I know they will, but still . . ."
"Lil, don't worry!" James said. "We've left him alone with Sirius and Olivia before, and we've left him with just Sirius even more often. He knows them and he loves them. He's just freaked out because we left. I'm sure he'll be fine in a few minutes."
"Can you use your mirror to check on him? You could just ask Sirius how he is, and then we won't have to worry about him anymore."
"No," James said. "Then Harry will just see my face in the mirror and think that we're back. It's better to make a clean break."
Lily turned the key in the ignition. "I feel like a horrible mother."
"Well, stop it," James said. "You're a brilliant mother, and you've earned an evening out. So, let's go have dinner, then hit the stores."
Lily smiled. "All right. Where shall we go for dinner?"
"How about that Italian place we found last month?"
"Gino's?"
"That's the one!"
"All right," Lily agreed. "But this time make sure you save room for dessert! I really want to try that tiramisu."
"Okay," James laughed. "I'm on it."
"Look, Harry, your Snitch!"
Harry's eyes followed the golden ball, but his screams continued. Sirius gritted his teeth.
"I've tried every toy he has! What's wrong with him?"
"Come here, Harry," Olivia said, taking the baby in her arms. "Mummy and Daddy will be back, precious. And Uncle Sirius and Aunt Olivia are here with you now. You know us, Harry! We're all going to have so much fun . . ."
She cast her eyes around the room, searching for something to distract him. She dismissed all the toys Sirius had tried. Finally, she spotted his favorite book.
"Perfect!" She carried the baby over to the bookshelves, and settled on the floor with him in her lap. She took the book from the shelf, and began reading.
Harry's screams gradually stopped as he listened to the sound of Olivia's voice reading the story. By the time she had finished it, he was sitting quietly in her arms, his tear-streaked face and occasional hiccups the only signs of the temper tantrum that had just ended. He looked up at her with Lily's eyes.
"'Gain?" he asked.
Olivia smiled, and flipped back to the beginning of the book. Sirius watched as she read it through again. When the story had ended for a second time, Harry climbed off her lap. Both adults watched as he toddled across the room to his discarded stuffed lion.
"You're going to make a fantastic mother," Sirius blurted out before he could stop himself.
"Excuse me?" Olivia asked looking up in surprise.
Sirius blushed slightly. "I mean, when we have kids . . ." He trailed off, realizing what he had said.
Olivia's eyes began to glow. She had been the one to say that they should wait, but now, when it was so close, she wanted nothing more than to hear Sirius ask her the most vital of all questions. "Is that a proposal, Mr. Black? Because if it is, I'm ready to give you an answer!"
"Well," Sirius hesitated. He knew that he wanted to ask her. He had wanted to for ages now. It would appear that his moment had finally arrived. But he couldn't remember a word of the speech that James had taught him. Suddenly, he realized that it didn't matter. He wanted to marry her, and she clearly wasn't going to turn him down. The way he asked shouldn't be based on James's words; it should be the way he would ask it.
"Sirius?"
He drew a deep breath, and turned to her with a smile that hid his true nervousness. "Sure. What do you say, Olivia? Will you marry me and have my children?"
"Yes!" Olivia launched herself across the room and into his arms.
Harry looked on in bewilderment as his godfather and auntie clung to each other, laughing and kissing one another. After watching them for a moment, he turned back to his lion. Sometimes, adults didn't make any sense at all.
"Thank you," Lily smiled as they walked out of the restaurant hand in hand.
"For what?" James asked.
"That was a lovely dinner. I'm glad you convinced me to go out and leave Harry behind – even if he was screaming his head off."
James grinned, and squeezed her hand. "I'm sure Sirius would have contacted us if they were still having problems. He's a great guy, but I don't know how long he would have been able to handle a screaming baby without calling in reinforcements."
"He has Liv with him," Lily replied. "I'm sure they can handle it between the two of them."
"That's the spirit!" James grinned. "And I get some time alone with you."
"So we can shop for our son," Lily laughed. "James, when did we become that old married couple who's completely caught up in their child?"
"About a year ago," James replied. "I guess it happens to everyone."
"I guess."
"Maybe we'll have to make this a habit."
"What?"
"Asking Sirius and Olivia to babysit so that we can go out for some time on our own," James said. "Harry's older now, so we can leave him without being completely afraid of what might happen."
"Well, that's not exactly the same as it is with other babies," Lily said, her voice tight with concern. "Harry has some very special challenges to worry about."
"And who better to leave him with than two Aurors?" James asked. "We need to start taking some time just for us, Lil, or we're going to forget what it's like to be a couple." He grinned. "Or are you trying to say that you don't want to spend time with me?"
Lily stopped walking, and he stopped with her. Without saying a word, she put her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply. The kiss lasted for several minutes, during which James put his hands on her hips to pull her closer.
"Wow," James whispered when she finally pulled away. "That was some kiss."
"Now do you think that I don't want to spend time with you?"
He grinned, settling his arms around her waist. "I think you may need to show me again."
Through amazing willpower, Sirius and Olivia managed to avoid discussing their new relationship until Harry had fallen asleep. They were sure to take him upstairs at promptly eight, and hurried his nightly routine as much as they dared. Fortunately, they had played with him quite a bit that evening, and he was tired enough to fall asleep almost at once. Once they had put him in his crib, Sirius waved his wand to cast the light that Harry always slept with over the room, then took Olivia's hand to lead her back down the stairs.
As soon as her feet hit the first floor, Olivia turned to Sirius with a beaming smile. "Is it real? Are we really getting married?"
"We're really getting married," Sirius grinned, pulling her close. "I love you, Olivia."
"And I love you," she replied, leaning up to kiss him. She pulled back and smiled up at him. "Can my nieces be part of the wedding?"
"Sure," Sirius replied, "anything you want." Then he stopped, his eyes darkening.
"What's wrong?" Olivia asked.
"Your family," he said simply. "How are they going to take this?"
"They'll be fine with it," Olivia replied. She tried to sound confident, but her eyes looked nervous. "They've adjusted to the idea that we're back together. This is the natural next step."
Sirius laughed hollowly. "I'm not so sure that they're completely okay with the idea of us as a couple. Your brother grabs his wand every time he sees me at work. I think he's just waiting for the perfect time to hex me."
Olivia giggled in spite of herself. "Just make sure you practice constant vigilance, then."
"Naturally," Sirius grinned. He kissed her again. "Tell me that it's all going to be all right."
"It's all going to be all right," Olivia murmured against his lips before kissing him again.
"Look at this!" James exclaimed, picking up a toy broomstick. "Let's get him this!"
"James, you promised that you wouldn't try to teach him to fly until he was older," Lily said, pushing their cart though the aisles of Diagon Alley's toy store.
"This isn't a real broom, Lil," James replied. "It's a toy. All it will let him do is hover a little bit off the ground. It'll help him get used to the feel before we get him the real thing. Then he'll have a better shot at staying on when he has his first real broomstick."
"Oh, all right," Lily conceded. "Let's get it."
James grinned, and tossed the toy into the cart. "He already has a Snitch . . . Should we get him this little Quaffle?"
"You're not planning to put goal posts in the backyard, are you?"
James's eyes lit up. "Do you think we could?"
Lily rolled her eyes. "We live in a Muggle neighborhood."
"Yeah, but my dad and I used to play. There are ways."
Lily shook her head. "Let's go back out to Muggle London, James. I want to look at the stuffed animals in that store we passed on the way to the Leaky Cauldron."
James put the toy Quaffle into the cart, then followed Lily to the cash register. After paying for the wizard toys, they left Diagon Alley.
It was a short walk to the toy store Lily had spotted earlier. She led James straight to the stuff animals, and spent a few minutes just looking at them, slightly smiling. They were all cute. After much deliberation, she chose a stuffed owl, remembering how much Harry loved to watch the mail delivery owls. James grinned as she stroked its soft wings.
"Do you think he'll like this?"
"Definitely," James replied. "It's cute." He looked through the shelves of animals. "Can we get him this little stag?"
Lily looked at the darling stuffed toy in her husband's hands with a grin. "We have to! It's too perfect!"
"Where to next?" James asked.
"Let's get him some puzzles. I saw a display of them over there. We should make an attempt at educational gifts."
James rolled his eyes. "You're starting to sound like a Ravenclaw."
"He could be in Ravenclaw," Lily replied. "That would be okay."
"Second only to Gryffindor," James agreed. "Let's go."
It was after ten when they finally walked back through their front door. Sirius and Olivia were sitting together on the couch, making a list of some sort. They both looked up when James and Lily walked in.
"Just wait until you see what we've found for Harry!" Lily said excitedly. "We got some of the sweetest things. How was he while we were gone?"
"Fine," Olivia said, looking as though she was about to explode with excitement.
"Liv read him a book to get him to stop crying," Sirius added. He, too, had a different glow about him.
Lily looked at James with raised eyebrows. He shrugged.
"Okay, guys, out with it. What happened while we were gone?"
"We're getting married!" Olivia exclaimed in a rush.
"What?" Lily and James yelled together.
"Sirius just proposed while you were out! We're getting married!"
Lily grabbed Olivia into a tight embrace while James hugged Sirius with much back-slapping.
"Very romantic, Padfoot," he said with a shake of his head. "You asked her in my house?"
"The moment had arrived," Sirius grinned.
"Did you use my speech?"
"Nope," Sirius replied easily. "It was better this way, though. I had to be me, not you."
"Fair enough," James grinned. "I'm just glad you got it asked."
"Me, too," Sirius grinned as he watched Olivia hug Lily again. "I didn't have the ring with me, though. I'm going to take her back to my place to give it to her when we leave here."
"I'm sure there are other reasons for wanting to take her home with you," James laughed.
"Perhaps," Sirius laughed.
Lily finally released Olivia, and flung her arms around Sirius. James hugged Olivia, kissing her cheek.
"I always knew you were meant to be together," Lily whispered to Sirius. "I'm glad you finally realized it, too."
"So am I, Little Flower," Sirius grinned.
Once the congratulations were over, they all sat down at the table together. James found a bottle of champagne that he and Lily had left over from their housewarming party, and poured them each a glass.
"So, have you had time to make any plans?" Lily asked.
Sirius and Olivia glanced at one another.
"Actually, we have," Sirius said. "We'd like to ask you two . . . we'd be honored if you would serve as our best man and matron of honor."
"Of course!" James exclaimed.
"We'd love to!" Lily grinned.
"Thanks," Olivia grinned. "The wedding is going to be around Christmas, so keep your calendar clear."
"A Christmas wedding?" Lily smiled. "That will be beautiful."
Olivia nodded. "We're going to make this a wizard wedding, so everyone will be in robes."
"I'm trying to talk her into Gryffindor colors," Sirius added. "What do you think? Men in red and ladies in gold?"
"Actually, it would probably look good," Lily mused, trying to picture the robes in her mind's eye.
"Yeah, I think I might agree to it," Olivia said, looking at Sirius with starry eyes. "You'll just have to be very good."
He grinned, and kissed her cheek. "I'm always good."
"When are you going to tell everyone else?" James asked.
"Probably over the next few days," Sirius replied. "We want to make sure that everyone knows before Harry's party."
"I'm terrified to tell Moody," Olivia said with a smile. "You know how he is about dedication to the job."
"He'll get over it," Sirius replied. He laced his fingers through hers. "The important thing is that we're together, right?"
"Right," Olivia said, raising their joined hands to kiss his. "And this time, we're together forever."
Harry's birthday dawned bright and sunny. Clearly eager to get to celebrating, Harry woke his parents quite early with his screams.
"Looks like the birthday boy is up," James smiled as Lily raised herself up on one elbow.
"So it would appear," she grinned. "Shall we go together to tell him happy birthday?"
"Sure," James agreed.
They both pulled themselves out of bed, and walked down the hall to Harry's room. Lily opened the door, and they walked in together. Harry stopped screaming at the sight of them, a smile shining through his teary eyes.
"Good morning, Harry," Lily grinned as she lifted the baby from his crib. "Today is your birthday! Did you know that? Happy birthday, sweetheart!"
"Happy birthday, Harry!" James said, reaching out to take him from Lily. "What do you want for breakfast for your birthday?"
"Daddy!" Harry exclaimed.
Lily laughed. "Sorry, we can't let you eat Daddy for breakfast. How about some toast? Does that sound better?"
"Toat!" Harry attempted to repeat.
"Yes, toast," Lily said. "Can you change him, James, while I make breakfast?"
"Sure," James replied. "Okay, Harry, let's get you ready to face the day."
By the time James and Harry descended the steps, Lily had breakfast ready. She had place a brightly wrapped package beside the toast and cup of milk on the tray of Harry's highchair. His eyes lit up at the sight of it.
"This is for you, Harry," Lily said as James put the baby into the chair. "This is your very first birthday present. Open it, and tell Mummy and Daddy if you like it."
Harry grabbed the package, running his hands over the paper. James grinned.
"Here, Harry, let me help you a bit," he said, pulling one end of the paper loose. "Just grab that and tear."
Harry took the piece of paper that James offered him, and pulled it hesitantly. James looked at Lily.
"This might take all morning."
"Give him a chance, James," Lily admonished. "It's his first birthday present!"
After several minutes of hesitant paper-removal, Harry managed to unearth the stuffed stag that James had chosen for him. He squealed at the sight of it, and hugged it close.
"This is what Daddy looks like when he transforms," Lily informed the baby. "It's a stag. Isn't it soft?"
"Sof," Harry agreed.
"Do you want to give the stag a name?"
The baby was silent for several moments as though seriously considering the matter. "Stitch," he declared at last.
"Stitch?" Lily repeated with a frown.
James laughed. "I think he's trying to say 'Snitch.'"
Lily rolled her eyes. "Everything goes back to Quidditch with you, doesn't it?"
"Watch," James said. He grabbed his wand from the table. "Accio Harry's Snitch!"
The toy zoomed into the kitchen, and James caught it. He held it up before the baby.
"Stitch!" Harry yelled, reaching for the ball.
"Ha," James said, giving him the toy. "Told you so."
"I forgot that you were the expert in baby translation," Lily grinned. She moved to pick up the plates of food for herself and James, bringing them to the table. "What time do we have to be at your mother's?"
"Well, we have to be there at two," James replied, "but I'd feel better if we got there early. If we wait until two, she's going to think that we're not coming – and we don't want to have to deal with a stressed-out Mum on a party day."
"Fair enough," Lily grinned. "Let's say we have to be there at one thirty, then."
"Perfect."
They did manage to arrive early for the party, although not as early as they had planned. They stepped outside onto the back patio, which had been specially decorated for the occasion. Streamers were hanging all around, and the many tables had been adorned with decorative cloths. Birthday gifts were stacked on a table along the side of the house. The fountain in the middle of the patio now spouted bubbles along with the water, which immediately captivated Harry's interest.
"Yook!" he cried, pointing.
"Yes, look at the bubbles," Lily smiled. "I think Grandma made the fountain do that especially for your birthday, Harry."
"Gam?" he asked.
"She'll be out in a minute," James assured him. "Hetty just went to tell her that we're here."
"There you are!" Mrs. Potter came out onto the patio with a beaming smile, already reaching out to take Harry from his father's arms.
"Gam!" Harry said with a smile, stretching his arms out to her.
"Happy birthday, Harry!" she exclaimed, cuddling the baby close and kissing his chubby cheeks. "Just wait until you see the presents Grandma has for you!"
"I hope you didn't go overboard, Mum," James said. "He will have other birthdays, you know."
"But none will be his first," she smiled. "Just let me have my fun, James, and stop worrying!"
James shook his head. "We just don't want to spoil him, that's all."
"I'm his grandmother! It's my job to spoil him!"
They were saved from responding by the arrival of other guests. Harry began to make the rounds, being passed from one pair of arms to the next. As more guests arrived, the stack of presents for the baby grew alarmingly. Lily looked at it with big eyes, then hurried to find James. He was talking to Remus, who, Lily thought, looked better than he had the last time she had seen him.
"Hi, Remus," she smiled.
"Hi, Lils," he replied, leaning over to kiss her cheek. "How are you?"
"Fine," she smiled. "You look good."
"Thanks," he said, smiling at her. "I was just telling James that I found a house."
"Really? Where?"
"It's actually way out in the country," Remus replied. "It's very isolated, but that's what I was looking for. I want something out of the way, something where I can hear myself think."
"Something where he can become a recluse," James laughed. "We're going to have to work harder to make sure that Remus stays a functioning member of society."
Lily shook her head. "When do you move?"
"In about a month," Remus replied. "You'll come and visit me, won't you?"
"Of course," Lily smiled. "I don't think Harry would get over it if we didn't."
Remus smiled. "Speaking of, I have yet to see the birthday boy."
"He was with Hagrid the last time I saw him," Lily offered.
They all turned to see Hagrid bouncing Harry on his knees. Harry shrieked with laughter, his hair flying with the force of the Hagrid's bouncing.
"I hope he doesn't end up sick," Lily said with concern.
"I'll go rescue him," Remus offered. "We'll talk later, all right?"
"Sounds good," Lily smiled.
"Good turn out for a baby, don't you think?" James said as Remus walked away.
"Have you seen the amount of presents he's got?" Lily squeaked.
"I've been avoiding looking," James said, making a face.
"James, it's like a mountain of packages! Where are we going to put them all?"
"We'll find a place," James said confidently. "We have a big house, and as I recall, you're quite good as charms – maybe you can shrink them all down or something."
Lily laughed. "It may come to that."
"Could we have everyone's attention, please?"
Lily and James both turned to see Sirius and Olivia in the middle of the crowd. They were both holding glasses of the punch that Hetty had been serving.
"Uh-oh," James smiled. "Looks like they're going to make their grand announcement."
"Are you going to speak?"
"Yeah, I had planned to," James replied. "I'm saving the best stuff for my wedding speech, of course, but I have to wish them well here, too."
As the noise died down, Sirius took Olivia's hand in his. "Olivia and I have something we wanted to share with all of you. I know quite a few of you know already, and I do feel bad for doing this at my godson's birthday party, but it's the only time we're all going to be together like this . . ."
"You're going on like Potter!" Adam yelled. "Get on with it, Sirius!"
Sirius grinned. "Fair enough. Okay, ladies and gentlemen, the big news is that Olivia and I are getting married!"
A flurry of congratulations went up around them. Lily noticed that Moody did not have the same excited expression as the majority of the other guests. He shook his head as he watched two of his best Aurors announce their engagement.
Once the commotion died down again, James stepped up next to his friends.
"Does everyone have a drink?" he asked.
A murmur of assent went through the guests. James grinned.
"Good. Now, if Sirius is going to use my son's birthday party as his forum for announcing his engagement, then he should know that I'm going to use this opportunity to give a preview of my best man speech at their wedding."
He grinned and winked at the happy couple. "Sirius and Olivia have both been a huge part of my life ever since we first started at Hogwarts. During our time at school, Olivia was always my partner in crime in Quidditch, and was the toughest captain I've ever had the pleasure to fly with. Sirius was my partner in crime in everything else, and was one of the greatest marauding masterminds I've ever had the privilege to work with."
Laughter rippled through the crowd. Lily saw both McGonagall and Dumbledore nodding at James's words.
"Since I was eleven years old, Sirius has been my best friend. He has stood by me when I needed support, he has given me advice when I couldn't find the answers, and he has given me a good beating when I deserved it. He has been my brother ever since our first day at Hogwarts. And, Olivia, as Sirius said to Lily when we were married, this marriage will make you my sister. Welcome to our family."
Olivia smiled, and brushed away a tear that was threatening to fall.
"These two have been with me through so much, and they've been with one another through so much more," James continued. "They've had their ups and downs in life and their relationship, but they have never, never stopped loving one another. The fact that they have decided to make a permanent commitment to one another stands as evidence of that love.
"Sirius, Olivia, you are two of my best friends, and I wish you all the happiness in the world. I ask all of you here to raise your glasses with me to toast Sirius and Olivia. May your love be constant and unfailing."
Everyone drank to Sirius and Olivia, who were both struggling with tears. As James stepped aside, Olivia stopped him, throwing her arms around his neck. James held her for a moment, and kissed her cheek. When she released him, Sirius pulled him into a brotherly embrace.
"Thanks, James," Sirius said quietly as they pulled apart. "I just have one question on all of what you said."
"Shoot."
Sirius grinned. "Now what are you going to use for your material at the wedding?"
James laughed. "Sirius, don't you know me well enough by now to know that that's an unnecessary question? There are always more speeches where that came from!"
Harry opened a few presents at a time throughout the day. Despite everyone wanting him to open them all at once, Lily refused, saying that he would get bored with it. He delighted his guests by playing with each new toy and turning the pages of each new book as soon as the wrapping paper fell away from them. He spent the most time playing with Sirius's gift to him, a stuffed black dog that was almost an exact replica of Sirius's Animagus form. Lily and James were also delighted with it; James commented that Harry still needed a rat and a werewolf before he would have a complete collection.
Midway through the party, Mrs. Potter brought out the cake that she and Hetty had made for the celebration. It was a gorgeous pastry, decorated with green trim that exactly matched the green of Harry's eyes.
"How did you manage to duplicate his eyes like that?" Lily asked, clearly impressed.
"Magic," Mrs. Potter said with a laugh.
They sang "Happy Birthday" to the baby, and he blew out the lone candle on his cake. Mrs. Potter then waved her wand to set the cake cutting itself, and Hetty began serving tea and coffee.
"Could I have everyone's attention?"
All eyes turned to Dumbledore, who had stepped to the middle of the patio. An instant hush fell over the crowd.
"I know we have already had one announcement today, but I feel it is fitting for the birthday boy to enjoy his own special toast," he smiled.
"Toat!" Harry yelled.
A ripple of laughter ran through the crowd. Dumbledore himself chuckled.
"Yes, sir, your very own toast," he smiled. "Never did I dream when I appointed James and Lily Head Boy and Girl that they would fall in love. Never did I imagine that in a few years' time I would be attending their child's first birthday party. But now, as I look at Harry, I am so glad that it happened like this.
"Harry Potter is a very special little boy. He is special for many reasons, but perhaps the greatest of all is because he has so many people who love and care about him. Even during his one year of life, he has managed to touch all our lives with his own special magic – the magic that all of very young possess. If he did nothing else with his life, it could be called a success.
"But he has so much more to do. Harry has already been a blessing to his parents, and to all of us here. But the day may come when he will be considered a blessing to the world."
Dumbledore looked at James and Lily as he spoke, and Lily's breath caught in her throat. She reached down for James's hand. Their fingers intertwined as they clung to one another. The headmaster then turned his penetrating gaze on the baby, who was smashing his hands into the piece of cake that his grandmother had given him.
"Happy birthday, Harry Potter. I know that you have many birthday gifts here, but please remember that the greatest gift you have today is the love of all those present – my love included. May you grow up always knowing that love, always feeling the support of your family and friends. And may you know many happy returns of this day."
Several people present were wiping their eyes at the end of Dumbledore's speech. Hagrid cleared his throat loudly, and blinked rapidly.
"Happy birthday, Harry!" he called, raising his glass.
His voice was followed by many others as others raised their own glasses.
"Happy birthday, Harry!"