House: Horned Serpent
Class: Arithmancy
Task 1 — What if James Potter had his wand with him on the Halloween of 1981?
Prompts: [Event] Halloween (main), [First/Last line] Brevity is the soul of wit., [Dialogue] "You are not hard to love.",
WC: 1084
TW: None
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"Brevity is the soul of wit."
Lily paused, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips as she fought to maintain her aloof persona.
Sirius leant forward, managing to maintain the leg casually thrown into Remus' lap throughout. His hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail, but a few curls had fallen free to dangle in front of one eye. He looked so much like his Animagus form that the beginning of laughter bubbled up into her throat before she bit it back.
Remus glanced between them both, eyebrow raised and nudged his glasses back up his nose with a quick crinkle of his nose. He tapped his pencil against the small notepad he was holding as if it was a countdown.
"What Shakespeare play is this from?"
Sirius' head snapped around to Remus, a look of intense concentration on his face as he tried to glean the answer from his boyfriend's face. He knew better than to try and peek — Remus' reactions were still as sharp as ever, and he had a firm grip on the pencil Lily had supplied them all with.
Lily's smile dipped as she caught sight of the look on James' face: his eyes blank and staring off into the middle distance, one hand tucked into his sleeve to grip his wand handle in it's holster. His arm was shaking slightly from the sheer force of his grip.
The gentle chiming of the doorbell didn't come as a surprise to her, but James flinched backwards, face paling.
There was a particular stillness about Remus and Sirius — born of long years in the other's company and countless plans, both acted on and tabled for now — glancing subtly at James before their gazes darted to her, a silent question on both of their faces. Lily nodded once, a sharp jerk of her chin.
"Treat! Treat!" Harry yelled, picking himself up from his nest of toys in the corner, dropping one with a clatter, clapping his hands together as he laughed along with the noise of the doorbell.
"Mind taking Harry to see the trick or treaters?" Lily asked Remus as Sirius slipped off the sofa to the floor in a contortion that made her winch as Harry made a beeline to him, arms outstretched.
"Sure." Remus tugged Sirius to his feet, Harry firmly clasped in the other man's arms.
Harry giggled, managing to grab hold of the tail of his lion costume — attached originally with velcro, much to James' mild fascination, but now fastened with one of Remus' sticking charms — and hitting Sirius enthusiastically in the face with it.
Sirius rolled his eyes around a mess of fake fur, bouncing Harry further up in his arms as they moved down the hall, Harry beginning to roar in excitement before the door swung shut behind them.
"Love?" Lily carefully sat down in the seat Sirius had just vacated, the middle seat empty between them.
"I just—" James broke off, shaking his head, chewing on his bottom lip as his eyes darted around the room — his head twitched with every movement and Lily felt nerves rise in her own chest simply watching him. "It's a lot at times."
Lily remained quiet, the silence stretching out between them.
"Keeping my wand on me that night was a split second decision," James said finally, drawing it from the holster to twist it around his fingers. It never left his side now — Moody's eye gleaming with pride whenever he saw it, his shouts of 'Constant Vigilance' noticeably decreasing.
"I could have just tossed it onto the sofa when you took Harry to bed. We were 'safe'," His face darkened at the mere allusion to Peter's betrayal, "It would have been fine for me to do. But, I put it in the holster instead."
James laughed, a desperate sound, racking his free hand through his hair. "What would have happened if I didn't? It gave us a second, but it was such a precious second so I could run to you and we could escape."
"Split second decisions can have long-lasting consequences," Lily murmured, shifting closer as she saw James sway. He allowed her to fold him into her arms, rocking him like she would rock Harry, pressing a careful kiss to his temple.
"I'm terrified all the time. We could have all died. Harry could have died or not, and then what would have happened to him?"
"He's a strong boy, he's our son." Lily hugged him tighter, ignoring the slight discomfort as his elbows dug into her arms and the crick in her back from leaning over easily. "We're here. We have a new house in a Muggle area, Moody's on the case of finding Him and his soul objects—"
"Moody's having a blast. Never seen the old bastard so happy. Kingsley too, though I think that's because Moody is happy," James interjected with a laugh.
"—and we're doing well," Lily concluded, tapping the holster on James' wrist with the edge of her nails.
James drew in a deep breath, ribs pressing against Lily's hold. "It's a lot this time of year."
"That's understandable. It's why I invited Remus and Sirius round. Good company and laughter makes the time go faster, plus Harry loves seeing his Uncles Moody and 'Pa'foot'," Lily laughed, James' face cracking into a grin.
"It was a good idea of yours." James wriggled in her hold to kiss her gently. "I'm sorry, I know I can be difficult."
"It's a good job you're not hard to love," Lily teased, managing to pull another laugh from him, the final modicum of tension leaving his shoulders.
"You are the best wife I could have ever hoped for." James kissed her again, the angle slightly awkward but it was still perfect.
"Come on then, you three," Lily called, rising back to her feet and picking her cards back up, tapping them against her thigh to organise them. "Let's continue the quiz."
James slipped back over to his seat, but not before sneaking a glance at Remus' notebook as the door swung back open.
"Harry's going to help me, because I'm unloved and uncared for," Sirius announced, sashaying back into the room.
"Awwww," Harry added with a pout, wrapping his arms tightly around Sirius' neck and squeezing.
"Honestly, Sirius," James said, all mock innocence and a perfectly straight back, "It's easy."
Sirius carefully covered Harry's eyes with his free hand, before flipping James off with the hand supporting Harry.