Chapter Forty-One

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Thinking back on it now, James supposed that what he had done had been a tad bit irresponsible. He really should have waited… Until they had wands to protect themselves, or to have Harry there with them to try to appease and explain everything.

But like any other time James had found himself in a pickle, it was almost always because he was just too spontaneous in his actions.

Yeah… spontaneous was a good word to describe himself.

"Now, Moony…" James spoke in a calm tone, his hands held up in the air to show that he was actually unarmed and harmless. Well, actually, as harmless as the daring James Potter could be... "Why don't we just talk things through? You can put your wand away, and I can win you over with my one-of-a-kind personality. What do you say?"

"SHUT UP! Just SHUT your FUCKING MOUTH, imposter!"

James winced at the word… Imposter. It really seemed like a filthy word coming from Remus' mouth when directed at them. Almost as though he were trying to curse them through words, but just without the magic…

'Though… the magic part just might be making its appearance soon…' James couldn't help but think as he eyed the wand clenched tight in Remus' fist that was directed right at them. Remus almost looked unhinged. Far from his normally well put-together self. In fact, James would gander to bet that dear old Moony had a glint that reminded James of his alter ego.

James frowned once again at the wand, before his eyes flitted up to his friend's face. Well, how about that? He's even practically foaming at the mouth just like he does on nights with a full moon!

Remus and his werewolf counterart have never looked more similar.

It would be funny if the situation wasn't so dire… with the wand pointed right at his forehead…

Yeah, he really should have waited for Harry before he contacted Remus. But it was as he thought before! He was spontaneous! And, he missed his friend… So, while his Lily Love and Padfoot were distracted by a little spat they were having, James had seen Fawkes sitting on his perch and… he acted as soon as the idea came to him.

But now, as a result of his action, he, Sirius, and his Lily Love had an angry werewolf standing menacingly before them, with his wand aimed at the ready…

"Remus, please!" Lily begged to their long, lost friend. "We're not imposters! Harry, he-"

"DON'T you fucking DARE say his name!" Remus growled, as he took yet another menacing step towards them. At the movement, James shifted slightly so that he stood in-between his Lily Love and Remus' wand. No matter the cost, his wife was going to make it out of this encounter alive. He had failed to protect her the one time it actually mattered… and his failure had made their son an orphan. James was interrupted from his thoughts when Remus jabbed his wand more instantly at them as he continued his threat towards them. "His name is too good to pass through the filth of your lips!"

"Moony, we can prove it to you…" Sirius said quietly, his eyes were imploring as he stared at one of the few confidants he had after he escaped Azkaban.

Remus chuckled darkly, "Oh, I would love to see you try. Anything you tell me will be a trick. But it won't work. I knew my friends better than anyone."

"But we can prove it!" James argued passionately, hope sparking in his chest now the Sirius brought forth the plan for them to prove their identities. "Just give us a chance, Remus!"

As he spoke, Remus took his attention off of Padfoot and turned to look James squarely in the eye.

"Alright…" He said, darkly amused at the unarmed 'death eaters' attempt to talk their way out of a corner. "Tell me some things that only James Potter would know."

James opened his mouth to reply…. Before he froze, unsure of what it was that he was going to say. He closed his mouth and thought, lifting a hand to scratch at his chin…

At the movement of James' hand, Remus' wand arm flinched ever so slightly.

"Er… Well… OH! While in Hogwarts we tried to teach the giant squid sign language!" James flashed Moony a winning, beaming smile. There was no way Remus could deny their identities now!

But Remus wasn't jumping for joy as he realized they were well and truly there, and celebrate how bloody brilliant they were to resurrect from the dead...

"Wormtail was there for that, too." Remus said dryly. "He could have told any number of Death Eaters that."

James' smile melted from his face, as deep disappointment found him. "Oh."

But salvation found them as Sirius jumped in. "There was that time where we swapped out the Slytherin Qudditch team's broomsticks with muggle brooms right before the match! Wormtail wasn't there for that!"

Though he would never do so out loud, internally, James was praising Sirius for his genius!

But the praise was cut short as they heard Moony scoff. "Yeah, but the real Sirius had told him all about it afterwards. He liked to brag about his pranks to Wormtail because he liked the hero-worship."

Well, shit… this was going to be a lot tougher than he originally thought…

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Harry watched her face turned into a mixture of confusion and surprise as his bizarre question made purchase with her. Merlin, was she gorgeous. The love bites on her neck and collarbone made her skin all the more enticing… After he had been reminded of how he and Ginny had spent their night in the alcove the night before, he found it difficult to concentrate on much else besides her creamy skin… her pouty lips… Even the pucker of confusion in her brow was the most adorable thing Harry had ever seen!

He knew that he was being quite cheeky, but he couldn't help it! His parents and Sirius were alive! And he wanted more than anything to be able to celebrate it with Ginny by his side!

Harry suppressed a grin as she worked out his request.

"M-My clothes? Why?" Harry could honestly tell if she were trying to figure out if he had gone mad.

Harry's full-blown grin spread across his face as he suppressed an exuberant laugh. Yeah… he was a cheeky bastard at the moment…

"Yeah," Harry said, before he licked his lips. "Maybe an old sweater that you would be okay to part with? You seem to be the same size as my mum, and-"

Harry cut of as her eyes widened measurably.

Fuck, her light brown eyes had flecks of gold in them? How had he not noticed that before? They were stunning…

"Y-Your mum…?!"

Harry started as he was brought back to reality, before he grinned widely at her. "I suppose I should explain, shouldn't I?"

Her eager nod demanded nothing less from him.

….

Fifteen minutes later, they were still going at it.

James and Sirius now had their heads together, brainstorming through memories of their adolescence together.

"Can't you two think of something where Wormtail wasn't there to see it or hear about it later?!" His Lily Love exclaimed, getting that agitated twitch in her left eyebrow that James always found adorable.

James whipped his attention towards Lily and exclaimed, "Lily Love! Don't yell at the werewolf threatening our lives!"

"I'm not yelling at the werewolf! I'm yelling at you idiotic prats!"

"I thought that we got rid of the name calling in our seventh year, Lils." James quipped, not even showing an ounce that the insult actually offended him.

"What about the time when James and I convinced you to let a house elf apparate you into the Slytherin girl's dorm rooms to steal all sorts of knickers?!" Sirius demanded, his voice getting terse and slightly desperate. His time in Azkaban starting to shine through again, as he showed a glimpse of slight madness.

Lily scoffed at the tale of one of their old hijinks, and James got a whap on the back of his shoulder for it.

Remus' cheeks coloured slightly. "Wormtail was there when the house elf apparated me back, and-"

"Shite!" Sirius cursed, running a frustrated hand through his long, black hair. "That beady eyed stalker was there for everything!"

Suddenly, it hit James. There was one secret that Moony had told James in their seventh year that they hadn't told anyone. Not even Sirius, and especially not Wormtail.

"I've thought of something…" James said, quietly, looking into Remus' eyes with an apology in his own.

"Well?" Remus snapped, his patience wearing thin.

"This is something that you confided in me in our seventh year. Not even Sirius knows."

Remus' eyebrows raised at that, and despite himself, curiosity overcame him.

Knowing that he had Moony's attention, James took a deep breath.

"You told me that you had a crush on Marlene McKinnon."

Remus' jaw dropped.

"WHAT?!" Lily gasped from behind him, her voice justifiably shocked.

James waited for a single beat of a moment, before he turned to look at Sirius' face…

Sirius' eyes looked as though they were about to pop out of his head from how wide they were and his face was a deep red colour that was quickly turning to purple...

"My Marlene?!" Sirius suddenly exclaimed, indignant.

"I never told Sirius because you made me promise not to tell…" James whispered as he looked back to Remus' wide eyes. "Because we both knew how Sirius felt about her, which was something that he never felt about any other girl before..."

They were quiet as James trailed off… and out of the corner of his eye, he saw the colour drain from Sirius' face...

"Or since…" Sirius whispered, looking depressed and regretful as he remembered the past.

They hadn't seen Marlene in death. She didn't dwell in the same place they had… James, Lily, and Sirius had dwelled in the place where spirits still had unresolved business. When Sirius had died, he had searched all over for Marlene, hoping to be reunited with her for the first time since her death by Death Eaters on an Order mission… but he never found her.

He had always blamed himself for her death. He'd never gotten over it. James didn't think that he ever would.

Sirius rubbed at his eye with the palm of his hand, and gave a large sniff before he looked up at Remus. "So, you really had a crush on her?"

Moony nodded, seeming shell-shocked by the sudden turn of events.

Sirius stared at Remus for a while before he chuckled. "Hell, I can't blame yah. She really was something…"

Sirius trailed off as he stared at nothing, remembering the past.

But the quiet didn't seem to do any good in keeping Remus in their good graces… With a shake of his head, and a sudden growl, Remus lunged forward and grabbed James by the shoulder…

"James!" Lily cried as James was harshly pulled away from her until he was face to face to the scowl of one of his best mates…

Remus' wand jabbed into the side of the James' neck, and James winced as the end of the wood poked uncomfortably at his lymph node.

"What was it that you said when you revealed to me that you found out my little secret?" Remus' tone was harsher than ever, getting more desperate sounding and far from the dark amusement he had at the start of all of this...

Despite himself, 'James' actually relaxed and smiled with a bit of a chuckle.

"We didn't much say anything…"

Remus frowned even more and jabbed his wand even further into his neck.

"...we actually sang."

Remus froze. Staring down at James in disbelief for a brief moment, before he backed away slowly… his wand still drawn and pointed, and a suspicious look still on his face.

"Show me." He demanded.

Without even missing a beat, and without an ounce of shame, James broke out into song…

"Blue Moooooonn…" James belted out, the words seeming to be coming straight from his gut.

Behind him, Sirius started howl in tune with the jazzy number. The howl was reminiscent of a wolf howling at the moon...

"You saw me standing alooooone…"

"Owww… Owww… Owwooooooo!"

"Without a dream in my heaaaaart…"

Dark laughter cut him off mid-note...

"Nice try, imposters," Remus laughed, looking even more dangerous than he had ever been… even when he was a werewolf. "It's true, that my dear, lost friends did sing a song when they were trying to tell me they knew I am a werewolf. But that wasn't the song they sang… it was actually a rendition of 'Moon River'..."

The situation slowly crept up onto James as he realized that such a simple mistake could cost them their lives… His heart fell into his stomach as he lost his breath.

Did Moony honestly expect them to remember every single detail of their childhoods together?!

Remus lifted his wand, a glower on his lips and brow, and started the wand movement that was bound to be a complex, dangerous spell that would surely harm them, in the least…

Well… their second life was nice while it lasted...

But then the door burst open, and in walked Harry, Ginny tucked into his side and a huge grin on his lips…

A grin that died as soon as he registered the situation before him…

His Lily Love let out a cry of relief as she noticed their son's appearance, while James and Sirius let out audible breaths that they had been holding.

James hadn't even noticed that he had been bracing for the impact of the spell.

"R-Remus?!" Harry exclaimed, dropping his arm from around Ginny in his shock. But Ginny hardly seemed to pay any notice, as she too was gaping at the situation before them. "What are you doing?! When did you get here?!"

"Harry!" Remus cried, his face growing panicked by Harry's appearance. "Get away from here! They're imposters!"

Realizing the situation and the misunderstanding, Harry adamantly shook his head. "No… they're not."

"Don't be fooled, Harry! They-"

"We've been trying to convince him that we are who we say we are…!" James said to his son, finally letting the hint of frustration he felt seep into his voice. "But the stubborn git won't believe us."

Remus' head whipped in James' direction, and lifted his wand again in a menacing manner.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Harry cried out, as he quickly leapt in between them and Remus' wand. His son's voice hinging on desperation and a hint of fury.

"Step aside, Harry!" Remus demanded, his entire demeanor vengeful.

Harry crossed his arms as he glared at his honorary uncle. "Like bloody hell I will! You know how difficult it was to find a way to resurrect them! I won't let you take them away from me again!"

Remus stared at him in shock for a brief moment, before he shook his head and looked imploringly into Harry's eyes. "Harry, you must have been confunded somehow-"

Beside him, Sirius scoffed. "See? He has an answer for everything!"

It was true. They could honestly go in circles like this for forever…!

Uncrossing his arms, Harry thought a moment. And Ginny took this time to silently make her way back to Harry's side, standing with him between a wand and his family. Harry smiled briefly at her as he lifted his arm to encircle her waist. Before he continued thinking, deep in thought.

Then, Harry brightened before he turned his attention back to Remus. "Moony… Would you agree with me when I say that Animagus forms can't be copied, even with polyjuice potion users?"

Moony nodded. "Of course. That is common knowledge."

Grinning slightly, once again, Harry turned to James and Sirius. "Well, come on, then. Let's see Padfoot and Prongs!"

Both James and Sirius froze. Of course… Why hadn't they thought of it before?!

Lily was right… They were idiotic prats…

A smile graced both of their lips before they wasted no more time…

They transformed.

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A/N: This chapter was super difficult for me to write. I had a hard time capturing all the emotion that should be happening in this chapter. That's why it's shorter.

So, I would appreciate it if you all left a review! I sort of lost a bit of my writing mojo, and I could use a lift in spirits by you guys telling me what you liked about the chapter.

Thanks so much!