Disclaimer: Ideas mine. Characters and places JK Rowling's. Oh, How I wish I had the money that woman has.

When they arrived at the Burrow, Mrs. Weasley, who had been walking about the front lawn with a strange man, came running hastily up to the three figures that had just appeared in the middle of the path leading to the house.

"Ah, Harry! It's so good to see you! We've all been worried sick. Have you ate eat?" And she went on fussing over him, trying to make his hair lay flat.

"No, really, Mrs. Weasley, I'm fine. Where's Ron?"

Looking taken back, she stopped pushing at his hair and smiled to cover up her disappointment at not being able to help him more in anyway. "I believe they're up in his bedroom, dear."

"They? Oh! Hermione's here already?"

"Yes, she arrived just yesterday. Now, you run along and go catch up with everyone. I'll make lunch shortly." Again she smiled as Harry took off running.

"Remus, Tonks, you should have sent word you were coming today, I could have had everything ready for your stay."

Remus replied, "Don't worry about us, Molly, you probably have a full house anyway. We'll stay at Tonks', we don't want to intrude."

Mrs. Weasley put on a stern face. "I won't have that. You'll stay here and tent out in the back like all the other wedding guests, and that's final. Now, Tonks, dear, could you come help me with the wedding planner?"

Remus was left standing in the middle of the path alone. However, he wasn't standing there long before he saw Harry walk out of the front door. Remus immediately set towards him in worry, as he was quite pale and looked rather stunned.

"Harry, are you alright?" Remus asked as he reached Harry's side.

"Huh? Oh… Yeah, fine." Harry said, but Remus could tell it was an obvious lie.

"Did you run into Ginny?"

"No," Harry said, looking taken back.

"Well then, what's wrong?"

"Just that I, err, that is to say… Ron and Hermione…" He trailed off, rather embarrassed.

"Oh," Remus replied in complete understanding. "Did they see you?" he asked as an after thought.

"I don't think so, that had their eyes closed. …Isn't that how everyone kisses?"

Remus smiled heartily, "Well, it is considered ruse to stare."

Both he and Harry started to laugh, and when they were done Harry spoke; "Erm, Remus?"

"Yes, Harry?"

"Well, my aunt gave me this box," he jerked the chest under his arm, "and she said, well she didn't say who it was from, but that she'd had it for a long time and she thought it was time that I got it."

He was quiet for a long minute, but Remus didn't say anything because he knew Harry wasn't done.

"I think it belonged to my dad," Harry finished at last, "it's got his initials on it."

Remus looked down to the chest and suddenly knew why it looked so familiar. How often had he seen that chest in his school days, during a time that seemed as if it belong to an entirely different person? Harry was right; the chest had belonged to James.

"You're right, Harry, it was your dads. We all had one just like it, James, Peter, Sirius and myself. They were Christmas presents from James' parents, your grandparents in our third year."

Harry smiled, "Well, I was wondering, would you like to be with me when I open it?"

Remus faltered slightly in his step; he had not expected that, and it made him feel guilty that Harry was turning to him when he rightly should have been turning to Sirius.

"Are you sure, Harry?"

"Of course. I think you'd really like it, and it would mean a lot to me. Will you, please?"

Remus, who had promised Sirius he'd look after Harry should anything happen to him, would have said yes to Harry even if he hadn't made the promise to Sirius, simply said, "Of course Harry, of course I will."

"We'll open it tonight, then." Harry said, as Ron and Hermione came hurtling out of the house towards him. "I'll find you after supper, then?"

Remus nodded, leaving Harry to run off to be with his friends.

Later that night, Remus sat alone at one of the tables in the yard, waiting for Harry to show up with the chest.

He'd spent most of the day catching up with Moody who was also camping in the backyard, but he'd also gone to Diagon Alley, simply because there hadn't been much else to do with Tonks busy with Molly all day.

Out of the darkness Harry came walking up to Remus. "Ron and Hermione wanted to come too, but I promised them I'd show them everything later. Besides, I expect they'll be …busy."

"Did you tell them you walked in on them earlier?"

"No!"

"And have they told you they're together?"

"No, but I don't think they really are together yet. I mean, you know, it just seems like they've just realized they like each other, but can't admit it yet. Then, when the kiss, they keep making excuses for it. I think that's where they are…"

Remus smiled, remembering all too well the stage of relationship that Harry meant. "Oh well, they'll admit it yet. But for now, how about that chest?"

Harry smiled as well, "Yeah, we should." Then he pulled a chain from under his clothes, on which hung a key that Remus recognized as the one for the chest, and a gold locket that Remus couldn't place at all.

"Harry, what's that?"

"Oh, that… I can't tell you about that, Professor. Not yet at least, sir."

"I respect that, Harry." Remus nodded, watching as Harry unlocked the chest, and lovingly opened the lid, while tucking the chain back under his robes.

Remus looked in the box and was surprised to find a letter addressed to Harry on top, the name scrawled across in James' writing. "Ah, he always intended for you to have this, then…" he mumbled, as Harry picked up the letter and began to read it. Remus waited in silence as Harry read the letter, before handing it to Remus, tears in his eyes.

"Are you sure, Harry?" He asked gently, but Harry only nodded.

Remus took the letter, and holding it up, began to read what James had written so long ago for his son.

Dear Harry,

If you're reading this, it means that your mother and I are no longer with you, and that you must be coming of age shortly. We left this in Petunia's possession, knowing that if we were to be killed, that is where you would probably end up.

I'm sure that the man you've become would make us both, your mother and myself, proud, and our only regrets are that we couldn't be there to see you grow, or aid you to become the man you have become.

We can only hope that our friends have had a part in watching and helping you grow, and that they – Sirius, Remus and Peter – have passed along all their good traits and talents on to you. If this is the case, your mother and I need not worry because they are three of the best men imaginable.

I don't know how much of your past with us you know about, or even how old you were at our deaths, but we hope that the your time spent with us will always be remembered, and that in our deaths we were able to ensure your survival.

Evan as I'm writing this, Sirius is here looking after you. Never have I seen a man love a child who was not his own as much as Sirius loves you. Should we die it's him we'd want you to live with, but the future is entirely uncertain.

We're preparing to go into hiding to help save you. Sirius, your Godfather (as I hope you have long since known), is going to become our secret keeper, as I trust him not only with my life, but the lives of you and Lily.

Well, Harry, I'd love to give you lots of advice, but I'm sure you know what I'd say anyway. Besides, there are people alive out there right now who could give you advice better fitted to your situation, which I must sadly say, I know nothing of.

I hope you're not sad that we are no longer with you, but happy that you're alive, and that we will one day meet again. But until then, our friends will protect you with their lives, so I shan't count on meeting you again anytime soon.

Just remember, we love you, and love is the greatest force in the world.

With love, my son,

James

Remus looked to Harry, who no longer had tears in his eyes, but was smiling. "Is that how he talked?"

"Oh yes, your father had an uncommon, but wonderfully poetic side when he wanted to."

They sat in silenced for several minutes before Harry found his voice. "Well, let's keep going then…"

The first thing that Harry pulled out was a well-used, red leather bound notebook, the cover reading; Accounts of the Dark Lord. Harry scrunched his face, "Is this Voldemort's? Why did my dad have it?"

Remus knew though that there was much more to it than that. "Oh, no, Harry, it wasn't Voldemort's. In fact, I think you'll quite find that this particular item belonged to your mother.

Harry flipped through it, noting the difference in the writing between it and the letter from James. "How did you know it was hers?"

"Because we all had them, all the members of the Order. And they were all a different color. I saw Lily with that journal as often as I saw her with you. I'd recognize it anywhere. We used then to record all our encounters with the Dark Lord and her servants; Death Eater, giants, Dementors, that sort of thing.

"After the down fall of Voldemort, Dumbledore gathered everyone's journals, always wishing that he had managed to get Lily and James', as they were among the ones who fought in almost every battle…

"This will prove useful to you in your attempt to destroy Voldemort, Harry."

Harry, who under any other circumstance would have found this notebook an amazing and wonderful find and would have spent hours perusing through it, now found himself more enthralled by the idea of what else may be in the box.

"Hey look!" he exclaimed, retrieving something else from the small chest, "was this one my dad's?" He asked, eagerly, holding up a notebook identical to Lily's, expect that it was bound in blue leather, and seemed to be in much better condition.

Remus nodded, knowing full well why Lily's looked more used. James was never one to waste time writing things when he knew someone else was doing the same thing, so he hadn't used his journal for several years. When Lily found out, she'd taken it upon herself to do both journals.

"What else is there, Harry?" Remus asked, now hardly able to contain himself.

Harry dug about in the chest; his eyes closed, and pulled out a silver hip flask, looking extremely puzzled by it when he opened his eyes.

"You father was very fond of Moody, Harry, and took several ideas from him…"

"Ah." Harry said quietly, already looking in the chest again, and pulling out a thing gold chain that appeared to sever only one purpose, to hold two rings.

One was a small, gold, and slender, holding a decent sized diamond; it was quite obviously a woman's ring.

Remus recognized it as the engagement ring James had given Lily. "Oh, that one," he said, pointing to it, "was the ring your father gave Lily when he proposed. Unless I remember incorrectly, it's a Potter family heirloom. And the other, see if you can figure it out yourself."

Harry regarded the second ring for a while. It was a male ring; gold, with a handsome ruby set into its face, each edge of the ruby gilded with gold. There was a shinny, gold 'J' set in gold on the ruby. Etched into the band was a small stag.

"Well, it was my dad's, right?"

"Well, it certainly wasn't you mother's. Can you imagine a delicate thing like Lily walking around with that on her hand?" Remus looked stern, but Harry laughed, as he knew it had been a joke.

"Indeed it was James'. It was his Marauder's ring. Like the chests, we all had one, only they weren't from the Potters. They were gifts from Sirius one each of our fifteenth birthdays. Here," he extended his right arm to show Harry a similar ring on his own hand, the only difference was that it was an 'R' and not a 'J' on the stone, and a howling wolf on the band.

"Did Sirius still wear his?"

Remus thought for a moment, "Yes, I believe that he did."

Harry pulled the ring on, it was a bit of a tight squeeze because it was still on the chain.

"It looks good on you," Remus muttered.

"Yeah…" Harry trailed off, taking the ring off and sitting it loving with the other objects from the chest.

"It's a wonder there's not a letter in there from Lily…" Remus said quietly, as Harry pulled out the next object.

"You were saying?" Harry grinned as he pulled open a letter. "It's from my mum." He smiled and pulled open the letter, but when he was don't reading it, he didn't hand it to Remus.

Harry looked guilty, "She didn't want anyone else to read it."

Remus shrugged, accepting Lily's request silently.

"This is the last thing," Harry spoke, as he pulled out yet another notebook. He began flipping through the pages, a smile breaking across his face. "Look, Remus! Pictures! I've never seen most of these before!"

And for the nest hour Remus and Harry pooled over the album, Remus telling Harry what he remembered from the pictures and events.

Finally, at long last, when the moon was high in the sky, and the hour nearing midnight, Harry flipped to the last page, which contained a picture of James, Remus, Sirius and Peter, with Sirius holding a baby Harry. Under the picture, Lily had written: My Five Marauders.

Soon after, Harry went to bed, but Remus sat up for many more hours, reflecting on his younger happier days with his friends, until finally Tonks came and insisted he go to bed.

Well now, that was a short interval ) But, you know why? It's because I already had these first two chapters posted elsewhere (HP-B) for several weeks, and just hadn't had the time to set up the story here on FF. However, now, both places will be updated at the same time :)

Loziret, why thank you :) And you're right, Remus would call her "mum," although so far as I can tell, it's pronounced the same way... And I'm positive that in the rough coppy I had it spelled "mum." But, that's what I get for being Canadian and not British, I suppose. Glad you like Smiles