Lily watched from afar as her son went through those incredibly difficult days following Dumbledore's murder, yearning to go to him, to wrap her arms around him and comfort him, yet unable to. McGonagall wouldn't allow it. She claimed that time travel was risky business and that the Potters and Sirius had to stay hidden away until she could devise a course of action. Finally, unable to watch her little boy from afar, she convinced James and Sirius to sneak her closer, a plan they readily agreed to. The two set about planning their "adventure," as Sirius called it, immediately and within a day the three were ready. Unfortunately that day was also Dumbledore's burial. Enchanting invisibility cloak James had been carrying the day they time traveled to cover the three of them; they sneaked down to the sun-soaked grounds for the somber affair. From the other side of the lake they watched, bowing their heads in respect and sorrow for the fallen hero, though their eyes never strayed far from Harry. At on point, James nudged Sirius and whispered, "Mate, tell me I'm seeing things!"

Sirius rubbed his eyes dramatically and opened them wide. "Bloody hell. Umbridge!" he hissed. His blood boiled at the unwelcome sight of the horrid woman. She had made it her mission in life to make his life, and by association James's life, hell until she graduated Hogwarts after their second year. Sirius's hand closed around his wand.

"Sirius," Lily warned, pointing towards Harry, who was walking in their direction, followed closely by a tall, proper-looking man, the Minister of Magic. He called out Harry's name and Harry turned to face him, quite obviously not happy to see him. After a moment Harry's resumed his walk, accompanied by the Minister. His parents and godfather listened to their conversation with interest, eyes growing wide in unison as Harry told the Minister, "Voldemort wants to kill me himself, and Aurors won't stop him." Seconds later the Minister turned a shade of purple that strongly reminded Lily of the brother-in-law she had met only once, Verne or something like that before limping away, passing two teenagers that were hurriedly approaching Harry. Lily could tell these were Harry's close friends. The way interacted and seemed to anticipate each other's thoughts and actions. They reminded Lily of James and his friends and one glance at him and Sirius told her they noticed it too. Then Harry said something that caught all of their attentions, "Godric's Hollow." The friend's exchanged petrified looks. The second Harry and his friends left, they ran for Dumbledore's – no, McGonagall's – office as fast as the Invisibility Cloak would allow. As expected, McGonagall wasn't there, so the three settled in to wait.

James began pacing the floor of the small office, mumbling to himself. Lily watched him for several minutes before getting to her feet and planting herself in front of him. "James," she whispered, eyes glassy with tears. Her husband looked up and she squeezed her eyes shut in a feeble attempt to keep the tears from tumbling down, but they leaked out the corners and slid down her cheeks, leaving glistening tracks behind. "Our son," he choked out through his own tears.

"I know," Lily nodded, resting her forehead on James's. "I know."

Sirius was watching the two, tears forming in his own dark eyes. James noticed and laughed softly. "Padfoot, you big softie!"

Swiping furiously at his eyes, Sirius retorted, "This is all your fault! I don't cry! I don't!"

Lily joined James in laughing and minute later Sirius gave up and let out his own bark-like laugh. They laughed and cried, letting out all the emotions that had been storming about in their stomachs and hearts. McGonagall came in and found them rolling on the floor, tears streaming down their cheeks and sliding into their open mouths as they giggled. The professor smiled at them understandingly before clearing her throat.

All three heads whipped up. "Oh, sorry, Professor!" Lilly gasped, wiping her cheeks and scrambling to her feet. The other two followed suit.

"It's quite all right," McGonagall assured them, waving her hand dismissively. "Now what can I do for you?"

James settled himself into one of the chairs in front of the desk and explained, "We were watching Dumbledore's funeral and afterwards Harry walked over by us and started talking to his friends. He's planning on moving to Godric's Hollow to prepare to fight Voldemort. It's a death sentence! He can't do that Professor! He's only sixteen!" James's voice grew louder with each sentence so that by the time he uttered the last one, he was yelling. Footsteps sounded on the stone staircase that led to the office and McGonagall's eyes grew wide as she waved her wand. Lily, James, and Sirius became invisible and ducked into a corner. McGonagall turned to the portrait of Phinnaeus Black and ordered him to play along just as the door to the office flew open. McGonagall whirled around towards the door in surprise. "Oh, Minister! What's wrong?"

"I…heard…yelling," Scrimgeour gasped, leaning on his cane as he struggled to catch his breath. "Something…about…Potter…I think. What's…going on?"

McGonagall smiled. "What you heard, Minister, was Phinnaeus here complaining once again about young Sirius Black leaving home."

Scrimgeour studied her shrewdly. "Is that true, Phinnaeus?"

"Yes, sir, Minister," Phinnaeus replied, for once not sounding surly. "That young hooligan betrayed the Black family! That blood traitor –"

"Thank you, Phinnaeus," McGonagall cut him off. "You see, Minister? Nothing unusual is going on up here."

Scrimgeour still looked doubtful, but he turned and slowly limped from the office, pulling the door shut behind him. McGonagall held a hand up in the direction of the Potters and Sirius to warn them to keep quiet and set about opening and closing drawers and seemingly working as usual. Two minutes later, she rose to her feet and quietly headed for the door with a mischievous smile on her face, opening it quickly. A loud crack filled the air as the door hit someone. A sheepish Rufus Scrimgeour lay sprawled on the floor.

"Minister? Did you forget something?" McGonagall asked innocently.

"I-Oh, yes, I think so. Is my…handkerchief in there?" Scrimgeour peered over her shoulder.

"No, I don't believe it is," McGonagall answered. "It's getting late. I'm sure you have work to get back to at the Ministry so I won't keep you any longer. Goodbye, Minister."

"Yes, goodbye, Minerva," Scrimgeour replied sourly before limping sown the stairs.

McGonagall walked to her window and watched until Scrimgeour walked through the gates and apparated away. Then she turned to the three people hidden in the corner, waving her wand at them. They returned to their normal state and let out the laughs they had been biting back.

"Nice one, Professor," Sirius congratulated her.

"Thank you, Black. Now, we have work to do." She indicated towards the chairs in front of her desk before settling into her own chair.

-x-

A/N: I know, it's super later and I'm really sorry. School's been mad crazy and I barely have time to do everything I have to do afterwards, plus I've been sick, but I stayed home today and I got this finished. It's short, but I hope you liked it.