Hullo lovelies! I hope everyone had a good Christmas, and if you don't celebrate it, then I hope you've enjoyed the last few days regardless x

With this, I just have one more chapter before part I is concluded. I could ramble endlessly about how I am feeling about that, but I shall spare you. I will say that I am thinking about taking a mini break after part I is finished to edit through it before I post part II. Otherwise I will probably wait until the whole story is finished before I edit it in its entirety. Although, I feel like I will most likely never edit it if I don't do the former?

Also, part II will probably consist of daily updates as it's mostly 'done'. I've also written the first two chapters of part III! Hooray for writing out of sequence haha.

Either way, please leave a review and let me know what you think x

My tumblr: indiebluecrown. tumblr. com

Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling, and only the story line and any OC's belong to me.

"We didn't realise we were making memories,
we just knew we were having fun."

- Winnie the Pooh

Wednesday, June 4th, 1980

Gringotts Bank, Diagon Alley, UK

James Potter had been busy. Yesterday morning, bright and early, he had swung by Lupin Den to bestow the ornate, copper box upon Remus as instructed by Draco.

"What's inside?" Remus had asked.

James scratched behind his ear and shrugged noncommittally. "It's important, but you don't have to worry about it for now. Just keep it somewhere safe."

"That's…counterintuitive. Are you going to give me the key to open it?" Remus asked, raising a brow as he examined the box. He frowned deeply when he saw the initials engraved on the lid.

"I can't really explain, but you'll be able to open it when the time comes," James said. Remus shot him an incredulous look, and James sheepishly smiled at his best mate. "I wish I could tell you more, Moony."

"You're not planning on going anywhere are you?" Remus's voice was small and quivering with trepidation.

"No, of course not, Moony. I'm not going anywhere," James replied.

James had technically lied to Remus's face, and then he'd stayed for a cuppa and a few sweets. He wished he could tell his friend the truth about Hermione and Draco, but he knew it wasn't his place.

Presently, the wizard was cautiously striding down the dusty, cobblestone streets of Diagon Alley on his way to Gringotts Wizarding Bank; his Invisibility Cloak kept him hidden from view.

The life had been sucked out of the area, it was dreary and dinghy even in the late morning sunshine. A shroud of soul-crushing darkness was strewn across the shops, and twisted down the cobblestone streets. Almost half of the shops were boarded up, their windows dark, and their doors closed for the foreseeable future.

James grimaced at the sight of the homeless witches and wizards that littered the alleys and were tucked into street corners. Some of them had lost their jobs, others had been chased from their homes by Death Eaters. They had nowhere to call home, nowhere to be safe. James knew from the Auror reports he still received as a courtesy from Moody that handfuls of them disappeared mysteriously almost daily.

(James may be on official leave as per Dumbledore and Moody's orders, but the latter preferred to keep one of his best Aurors in the loop, and kept him informed of everything he thought the wizard should know.)

In visiting Gringotts, James was taking a risk that he knew Dumbeldore would not approve of, but he had business that needed to be promptly attended to. According to Draco, today was the last day he had to get his affairs in order; the memory spell would go into effect tomorrow.

After he'd gone to see Remus, James spent the rest of the day meticulously preparing items to pack away into his chest. One day, his pack members and his son would see them. He'd roped Lily into helping him with some of it, but he hadn't fully explained the why behind his actions. Despite that, she accurately guessed that it had something to do with Draco's visit. The final item that he laid on top was the diary that Lily and James had kept during Hermione and Draco's unexplained absence.

James's visit to Gringotts was a lengthy one. He had to sit down for several arduous hours with Gringott's Head Goblin, Rognuk, as they discussed the changes to his estate and his will in the case of his death. All of it was to be left to his unborn son. Rognuk's black, beady eyes assessed James carefully before nodding at the peculiar request. Normally such declarations were left until after the birth of the child, or after they'd shown their first bout of accidental magic.

The pair was in a small consultation room off the bank's main lobby; there were a multitude of charms ensuring privacy and safety. If there was one thing the goblins prided themselves on over everything, it was the security of their bank and its patrons' affairs. The room's floors were dazzling white marble, the walls were made of white stone, and several rounded pillars with gold accents lined the circumference of the square room. A single round table with three chairs was in the centre of the space; it was made of white oak.

There was one instance where the goblin spoke frankly with James. He disagreed with James's choice to leave the Potter family vault key with them, and that in the event of his death, they were to bestow Albus Dumbledore with the key for safekeeping until it could be passed onto James's son. It was something that was simply not done. James insisted, and eventually Rognuk relented on the condition that Albus Dumbledore would not have direct access to the Potter vaults.

The newly drawn-up contracts were signed with a blood quill and sealed with binding magic. A silvery glow emitted from the pair as the magic settled over them. James breathed in and out deeply before he nodded at Rognuk and requested that he be able to visit his fault. There was something he wished to deposit.

The goblin grinned and it was all sharp teeth. Rognuk bowed his head deferentially, and said, "of course Mister Potter."

Afterwards, James was standing on the steps of Gringotts Bank, once more under his Invisibility Cloak and shrouded from view. He stared out at the streets that held many fond memories of his adolescence and he swallowed thickly. All of his preparations and measures were put into place. James's chest was sitting in the Potter family vault where it would remain for the next nineteen years; he probably won't recall its existence come the morrow.

James tilted his head to look at the sky, watching the fluffy white clouds and the blue sky; it was the ultimate contrast to the grim misery that laid waste to the streets of Diagon Alley.

James closed his eyes and imagined the Marauders—all six of them—racing down the streets of Diagon Alley, narrowly avoided witches and wizards on their way, laughter chasing after them, the glow and promise of youth clinging to them. James revelled in that afterimage, in that treasured memory. Their voices echoed in his ears. A tiny smile graced James's face, and his eyes fluttered open.

There was nothing left for James to do but to wait for his meeting with his brother tomorrow morning where they would bid each other farewell one final time. But, as James strolled down the streets of Diagon Alley on his way to an apparition point, he continued to envision wispy, vibrant, younger versions of the Marauders surrounding him. They were mucking about, talking excitedly, and kept him company on his way home.

Hermione jumped onto James's back, Sirius swung Peter in a large circle almost knocking down a disapproving old witch, and Remus and Draco skipped arm-in-arm. Everything had changed, and he was about to lose those precious memories, but he knew they would live on somewhere. They simply had to.