School ends, summer cools into autumn and at some point, Sirius and James have the fabulous idea of moving in together. The only issue is that renting is apparently for vagabonds and the impoverished and if you have a vault at Gringotts with a number above 600, it's actually insulting to suggest that tenancy is an option, apparently.
One mild night in September, Peter invites you, Alice, Marlene and the Marauders over to his mum's house in Reading for a barbecue (his mum being out of town), and Sirius decides to steal the show by announcing that one of his uncles has left him a disgustingly large inheritance and on a whim, he's bought a house. It's such an irresponsible, rash and quintessentially Sirius Black thing to do that you can't even bring yourself to be critical. Sirius is becoming alarmingly endearing and it surprises you how much you've missed him since Hogwarts; not having anyone to yell at on a daily basis and all that.
The night goes on and you all ply yourselves steadily with more beer and elf-made wine which James has pilfered from his parent's stash. At some point someone remembers the idea to cohabit like a big Gryffindor commune and Sirius is all too enthusiastic about the idea. Marlene and Alice scoff and tell Sirius that although they adore him, he's likely to wind up being a murder victim rather than a landlord if they're forced to live with him. Sirius doesn't bat an eyelid at this but does look expectantly at James and at that moment, you know you're in for an interesting year.
The house that Sirius now owns is in Godric's Hollow. When you ask him why he chose that location he says he likes the vibe of the place and mentions something about woods but all you can really think of is that it's the same, old wizarding village that James lives in. It doesn't make a lot of sense for James to move out of his parents' house and down the road to live with Sirius, but he looks pleadingly at you like somehow it's your decision and really, who are you to say no to James Potter?
That's how you, and Peter Pettigrew for that matter, end up being unofficial housemates in casa de Black in 1978. Remus Lupin is also an unofficial housemate but clearly feels guilty about it because he keeps trying to pay Sirius rent. Sirius laughs and bats him away, saying Uncle Alphard paid for this place anyway so there's no harm done.
To be fair, every visit is an incredibly good time for the first few months at least. Sirius is perpetually untidy and Remus is always cleaning up after him (because Remus is perpetually neat) and James is forever coming up with interesting new decorating ideas like sourcing a gargantuan muggle billiards table and installing it in the middle of the kitchen.
Peter and Sirius turn up one day with a record player and two of the biggest speakers you've ever seen and install them in the living room. You apparate to their place for dinner one night in October to find the windows blacked out. Your eardrums are accosted as you open the door and break through the barrier of the muffliato charm to find Peter and James jumping on the lounge belting out Celestina Warbeck's 'You Charmed the Heart Right Out of Me' to Remus (who is looking concerned for his friends' mental stability) and Sirius (who is looking thrilled).
James doesn't look embarrassed in the slightest when he catches sight of you in the doorway, he just pulls you into the fray, spins you around and catches you in a low dip which makes Peter clap and Sirius waggle his eyebrows. You're not certain, but in that moment you wonder whether you have truly made it to the inner sanctum of the Marauders.
That's hardly the most ridiculous of the goings on at Godric's Hollow, of course. One Saturday morning you witness the precarious activity of kettle-throwing (apparently re-enacting Remus' description of the meaning of 'hot potato'). Then there's the day that the curtains get burned down because James and Sirius decide to charm the toaster to jump toast onto plates. Unfortunately, someone turns the toaster up too high and flaming missiles eject at random angles. James singes off half of his left eyebrow and is exceedingly upset about it.
There's no raucous parties like the Gryffindor common room (you are in a war after all), but otherwise the house feels so familiar, so comfortable. It becomes a safe haven for the five of you, bunkering down and weathering the storm together. A lot happens in those first few months. Peter's parents get divorced and he starts to spend a lot more time with his mother. Dumbledore turns up on the doorstep and invites you to join a clandestine society known as the Order of the Phoenix (how he knows the location of Sirius' house and the exact time the five of you are there is unsettling). Then come the deaths.
They say that bad things happen in threes, and so it seems to be true. First, Remus' mother. You don't see Remus for a month, and when he returns for a visit he's hardened and less tender than he was before. Then, Orion Black. Sirius says he doesn't care much and that his father is no real loss to anyone, but he still goes to the funeral and James tells you that he comes home with red eyes and a welt on his lip where his mother hit him across the face with her signet ring.
Finally, it comes for you. One Friday, you return home from visiting Godric's Hollow to find the house empty and the phone ringing continuously. You pick up to hear an anxious female voice on the other end, explaining that your parents have been in a car accident, and you need to get to Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham as soon as possible. The next few days are a blur of anxiety, apathy and crushing grief. Your parents never recover so you're forced to stand sombrely with Vernon and Petunia at the funeral, before leaning into James and sobbing into his shoulder as your parents are lowered into the earth.
You never ask for his permission, but the day after the funeral Sirius opens the door at Godric's Hollow to see you standing there with a levitated trunk full of your possessions. He just opens the door wider, settles the trunk and collects you in a tight hug. You stay there, standing on the threshold, wrapped up in Sirius' arms that smell of mint and cigarettes for what seems like an eternity. It's not even strange or uncomfortable, it's just two grieving souls finding each other and clinging on for dear life.
After that day, you live in Godric's Hollow and there's no question about it.
You all find your ways to cope. Sirius and Peter develop a passion project for fixing motorbikes out the back. Remus beats you again and again in wizard's chess. James tries to cook for everyone and everyone sits dutifully through the meals and pretends to like them.
The boys disappear into the woods every so often to "maraud" and you learn to never wait up for them. Sirius celebrates his nineteenth birthday and Peter saves everyone's taste buds by getting him a cake before James can attempt to make him one. You attend your first meeting of the Order and come home comparing notes about how impressive Kingsley Shacklebolt is and wondering whether Emmeline Vance is, like her sister, half Veela.
The weather cools as late November rolls around and, probably as a consequence of having to spend more time inside, James and Sirius decide they don't like the colour scheme of the house. In your opinion, the cream walls and white ceilings are completely inoffensive, but it quickly evolves from casual dinner time discussion to full scale 'do it yourself' project. Sirius and Peter's motorbike projects have only ever been partially successful, so the thought of Sirius and James attempting a complete re-paint is slightly alarming.
It's more alarming when you discover that the boys plan to paint it like muggles because it's the 'manly' way. Remus (quite rightly) points out that it's also the most inefficient way, but no one listens to him and it is Sirius' house after all, so if he wants to ruin it, you suppose he can. There's a point where James and Sirius decide to throw paint at each other as well, but this phase passes and fortunately they manage to fix it with some intense cleaning charms.
Sirius (being Sirius) and James (being James) decide to paint the walls red, which is somewhat disappointing. As much as you love Gryffindor, the red walls, beds, sheets, couches and hangings clash horribly with your hair. You had hoped to escape that taxing colour scheme after leaving Hogwarts, but it seems it is not to be.
Peter clears out to his mum's house for most of the paint-job of 1978, which is probably a wise idea on his part. Remus says he's going to clear out too, but Remus hasn't been back to his dad's house since his mum died, and it becomes apparent he doesn't have anywhere else to go. Sirius tells him to stop being stupid and that he simply won't allow Remus to live anywhere else. Remus seems placated by this approach and ends up moving his minimal possessions into the spare room.
There's a moment, when Remus is leaning against the doorframe reading a book on paint-strippers and the three of you are sitting on upturned paint tins sipping Earl Grey, getting steadily woozier by the second from the pungent paint fumes, when you realise this is how it's supposed to be. Truthfully, you would love to live alone with James and make your own home, be a Healer instead of a member of a secret anti-Voldemort society and not be in the middle of a war. But right now you're content to sit on an uncomfortable metal cylinder and listen to Sirius, who is both your landlord and your quasi-dependant, prattle on about Quidditch with James and watch Remus' read what you can only imagine to be some invigorating content.
Despite the deaths and the war and the fact that Sirius and James may never completely grow up, the world seems a little less dark in that moment. When the paint-saga is finished and Peter returns, the five of you have takeaway in the living room and laugh about the red that's everywhere and forget about everything outside your four walls for an hour or two. In this house you have everything. Remus to talk to, Peter to laugh with, Sirius to provide constant entertainment and James to be your best friend, your lifeline and everything else.
You have a role here too. You bring the level-headedness that, quite frankly, they all need. You're there to remind them that they need to occasionally eat fruit and vegetables to avoid getting scurvy and that despite the work they might get from the Order, that they also need to sleep sometimes. You talk James out of making questionable cooking decisions and counteract Sirius' slightly manic energy. You balance them.
The walls might be red, there may be residual paint tins lying around the house and you might live off grilled cheese sandwiches and potatoes most of the time but this is home. You crave the tight knit friendships and fall totally in love with James in the process. It's not forever, but for now it's as close to paradise as you can get.
On the 31st of December the five of you huddle close together on the back step, noses red from the cold and gentle snowflakes clinging to your eyelashes to watch Sirius' latest batch of Dr Filibuster's Fireworks bring in the new year. Remus swigs from a bottle of Firewhisky and Sirius and Peter smoke too many cigarettes and James tries to imitate Celestina Warbeck again and you all shout at him so he throws slushy snow at you.
At midnight, James wraps you up in a bone crushing hug and kisses the living daylights out of you and Sirius drunkenly kisses Remus just because he can. He tries to kiss Peter as well but Peter hasn't drunk as much as Remus and manages to avoid him. Then you push them all back inside before you freeze to death and because James wants to turn the record player on and have a dance battle with Sirius who looks like he can barely stay upright.
Yes, you're fighting a war and three of you have lost parents in the last four months but for now everything is fine and the five of you let 1978 slide into 1979.