Disclaimer: Maybe one day I'll be like J.K. Rowling...probably not though, so don't count on it. lol

A/N: Thanks to the following reviewers!: Merlin38, harryismyhomeboy, Lena Andromeda Black, sweets555, Biff, laxrules18, Your ray of Sunshine, Bridgette Carter, And So The Wolf Howls, AnIrishLily, Ilove theLORD, Lils, Prince Jonathan's Lover, Kurinoone, killing u with umbrellas, darkmarkgirl, NazgulGirl, warm summer days. You are all amazing! I'm glad you're enjoying it! (I hope I didn't lose any reviewers since I haven't updated in forever...although I wouldn't blame you...)

Hey everybody! I'm back! I know, I know, I'm way over due for an update. I'm so sorry for not being here for like the past month and a half, and I know you probably don't want to hear all of my excuses, so I'll just say that I was incredibly busy with school work. But also, the main problem was that I was having major writer's block. I absolutely had no idea how to tackle this chapter, but I finally got an idea today so I ran with it. I hope it turned out okay.

I hope you all enjoy this chapter. And again, I'm extremely sorry for the long wait! It shouldn't take that long for me to update from now on. Have fun reading!

OOO

Chapter 13:

"Mum, it was only a broken wrist!"

Mrs. Weasley had started fussing about everyone the second they had entered through the door. Harry, James, and Lily had been given their fair share of attention from the anxious mother (which James found quite odd seeing as Molly Weasley didn't even technically know him or Lily). Now, it seemed that it was Ginny's turn, Mrs. Weasley's only, and youngest, daughter.

"To think what could have happened if Albus hadn't shown up," Molly exclaimed, observing Ginny's perfectly healed wrist as if she didn't trust anyone, not even Madame Pomfrey, with her daughter's bones.

As Mrs. Weasley continued to survey Ginny despite the young girl's protests, James nudged Lily and the two of them looked about their foreign surroundings. The first thing that both of them immediately felt was that this house was definitely a home. Dishes were cleaning themselves in the sinks, moving pictures of the Weasley children were posted randomly upon the walls, and the smell of baking bread drifted from the kitchen. From the outside, The Burrow looked like one gust of wind would push it over, but on the inside the place was so…homey; there was no better word for it.

"Mum, I'm fine!" Ginny claimed loudly, causing Hedwig and Pigwidgeon to hoot objectively from their cages.

Mrs. Weasley observed her daughter shortly for a moment before turning towards the rest of the group. "Alright, why don't you all go and unpack. Harry and James, you are in Ron's room. Lily and Hermione you guys are with Ginny. It may be a bit cramped…"

"Don't worry, Mrs. Weasley," Lily said politely, picking up the handle of her Hogwart's trunk, "Thanks for having us."

"We're glad to have the company," Molly replied, smiling fondly at Lily. She then turned towards her two kids. "Ron, Ginny, I need you two down here after you unpack. I need help getting everything ready. We're going to have quite a full dinner table tonight."

"The Order coming again?" Ron asked.

"And Fred, George, Bill, Fleur, and Charlie. I think they are all quite excited about seeing some of you…" she drifted off and glanced amusedly towards Lily and James.

"Ugh, please tell me Phlegm's not going to be shoved in with us three," Ginny said disgustedly, pointing towards herself, Hermione, and Lily.

"Yes, Fleur will be joining you," Mrs. Weasley said, casting a severe look at Ginny, although James was sure he saw the corners of her mouth twitch. "Now, take Hermione and Lily to your room, dear."

The three girls could be heard making their way up the stairs, the sound of their trunks bumping against the stairs heavily accompanied with the voice of Ginny, grumbling about the fact that Phlegm would be in her room.

"So, who's Phlegm?" James asked, following Ron and Harry, who knew the house quite well, up to the very top of the house into Ron's room.

Ron and Harry grinned towards each other, although Ron's was more of a dazed smile than anything else. His bright blue eyes suddenly became quite glassy as Harry shook his head in amazement that Fleur still had that much of an effect on his best mate.

"She's French and marrying Ron's brother, Bill. She's also part Veela, so watch out," Harry advised James, pushing open the door to Ron's room, as Ron himself seemed quite incapable of doing anything else except walk and breathe.

"Woah, Ron mate, do you suppose you have enough orange?" James asked sarcastically, the vibrant orange walls of Ron's bedroom nearly blinding him.

Ron shook his head, coming out of his stupor. "The Chudley Cannons are the best! And I was ten! Give me a break!" He said, plopping down on his bed, and lazily setting his trunk in the middle of the room. "Well, you guys can stay and unpack…I gotta go cut up beans or whatever horror my mum has planned for me, you lucky gits."

Harry immediately stood up, following Ron out of his room. "Don't be stupid, mate. I'll help," he suggested, shrugging.

Ron's face brightened. "Excellent, now I won't have to suffer using potato pickers, or whatever the hell they are, by myself."

"You mean a potato peeler?" Harry asked. The three of them laughed, and James followed them downstairs as well. Almost half way down the stairs, angry voices could be heard. Cautiously, the three boys continued and were greeted by Ginny, Lily, and Hermione at the bottom.

"I wouldn't go in there quite yet," Ginny said, leaning casually against the wall as if this kind of thing happened every day. "Fred and George decided to bring one of their…uh…developing products home. And, well, you know mum…"

At that precise moment they could hear Mrs. Weasley screeching. "…completely irresponsible! How many times have I told you to leave this kind of stuff at your store?"

"Er…" Lily began, "Developing products?"

"I dunno what mum is so mad about, really," Ron said, "Fred and George's business is booming. They own a joke shop in Diagon Ally. Their stuff is genius!"

"It is great stuff; mum is just a bit disappointed that they didn't put their brains to good use," Ginny explained further. They all fell silent for a moment, waiting to hear whether it was safe to enter the kitchen yet. "I think the hurricane is over..." Ginny stated. And she strode through the kitchen doors confidently.

Harry looked after her, slightly bemused. James and Lily grinned at each other. They hadn't really spent much time with Ginny, but the girl had spunk. She was incredibly confident in herself and a very humorous girl, and not to mention she was easy on the eyes. Harry and Ginny was definitely a good possible match.

OOO

At a quarter to seven, there was a knocking at the door. The group of teenagers simply ignored it as they continued setting the tables up outside. It was quite amusing because every so often Fred and George, the only ones who were allowed to use magic, would levitate plates with their wands and smash them into each other, and then quickly repair them with magic. James had to hand it to the two twins; they would have fit right in with him and his fellow Marauders back in his time.

They could hear Mrs. Weasley opening the front door. "Oh, Remus, you're here."

Lily and James dropped the silverware they had been holding. Remus? Remus Lupin? Harry watched his two parents thoughtfully. Before anyone could say anything, James had taken off, running through the back garden, into the house, and through the kitchen; Lily was right on his heels.

James skidded to a halt at the front door, his heart pounding wildly, as he stood right in front of Mrs. Weasley and a man. His light brown hair was graying, and his eyes held a permanent tired look about him. Lines of scars would be seen across his face, yet James recognized him easily.

"Moony?" James blurted out, immediately calling Remus by his old nickname out of habit. A flash of emotions seemed to sweep through Remus' eyes; sadness, disbelief, happiness, then sadness again.

Mrs. Weasley looked between the three of them, before quietly making her way back to the kitchen, leaving them alone.

Why hadn't anyone told James that Remus was still around? It was so strange, yet exhilarating, to see one of his best friends in the future. James and Remus held each other's gaze for a long while, Lily awkwardly standing off to the side.

"Prongs?" Remus choked out. And before either of them really knew what was happening, James and Remus had embraced each other like brothers; adult and teenager, yet best friends. Lily was drawn into the group hug by James, who grabbed her hand and pulled her in.

In the doorway, the Weasleys and Hermione were all watching, each one smiling widely.

OOO

Christmas Eve arrived in a flurry of snow and members of the Order coming in and out through the Burrow. Remus, with the consent of Dumbledore, had stayed at the Burrow and James and Lily had been having fun catching up with him.

Bill and Fleur were currently sitting together on a chair in front of the crackling fire, sharing sentiment kisses with each other, much to the disgust of Ginny.

"So," James said, as he, Remus, Lily, and Harry sat at the table sipping hot chocolate; Ron and Hermione were currently playing chess, and it was easy to say that Hermione was getting her but whipped. "I already know that Peter turned out to be a git," James said, glaring off into space for a second, "you have been around working for the Order, so where's Sirius?"

He'd been wondering this ever since Hermione had mentioned that Sirius had been Harry's godfather; yet no one had ever said anything else about James' best friend. The table went oddly quiet; Mr. and Mrs. Weasley glanced at each other, Harry and Remus paled, and Ron and Hermione momentarily forgot about their chess game as their pieces randomly began beating each other up off their own accord.

"Uh…" Remus started, staring at Harry who nodded subtly as he surveyed the table as if it was the most interesting wooden table he'd ever seen. "James…Sirius is dead."

James blinked. Lily gasped, clasping James' hand underneath the table. There was an absolute silence so thick that it could have been cut to pieces with a knife. "Dead? What do you mean dead?" James asked, completely shocked. He'd always assumed him and his best friends would be around forever, as if they were inevitable to death. But then he remembered sadly that he had died…

"Last summer," Remus continued, swallowing hard. "He went down saving Harry…you know that's how he would have wanted to go."

"He didn't want to go at all!" James objected angrily. Harry vaguely remembered he had said the same thing to Dumbledore at the end of last year.

"It was my fault," Harry said quietly, hanging his head. "If I hadn't been so naïve…"

Hermione and Ginny made to go over to Harry. "Don't say that…you know that's not true," Ginny said, clutching Harry on the shoulder, willing him to look at her.

James glared off into space, his sadness coming out in the form of anger. The feeling of Lily's hand in his own was no longer comforting or warm; he wanted her to leave him alone. He wanted to be alone.

Shoving his seat back forcefully, James got up and marched to the front door, slamming it shut behind him. He walked around the front garden, stomping on the snow angrily as if it would help him vent out his feelings. Spotting a lone bench further along, he made his way towards it and slumped down onto it, the coldness of the wood seeping straight through his jeans.

Sirius was…dead. James shook his head, staring around his surroundings, desperately willing himself to grab control of his emotions. Not to soon later, he heard the sound of snow crunching underneath footsteps approaching him. They were too heavy to be Lily's…

"James…" Remus said, sitting down beside his friend. There was silence as the two men simply sat side by side. Having known James for years, Remus let him sit quietly, knowing his friend needed time to think things through before talking.

"You know," James began, "I always thought the future would be so exciting."

Remus nodded. "We all thought it would be great." He agreed, remembering all the times the four Marauders had discussed their bright and famous futures as schoolboys while at Hogwarts. Each boy had thought they would become famous Aurors, or famous Quidditch players, with beautiful wives to have kids with, and most importantly that the four of them would always be friends; would always be the Marauders.

"I didn't expect it to turn out like this," James continued, sighing heavily.

"Well, you're not alone," Remus assured, observing the moon drifting out from behind the clouds. "All of us have been hurt in this war."

War. That was such a harsh word. It seemed amazing that such a small word could cause so much upheaval in so many lives. The word itself was like a lethal weapon; hell, it was a weapon. Those three meaningless letters held so much power it was sickening.

"I guess I should be grateful," James said thoughtfully.

Remus smiled. "Yeah, you got Lily Evans finally, and Harry's one special kid." James couldn't help but grin. "There will always be hard times, Prongs; what matters is how you deal with them."

It was as if a light bulb had gone off in James' head, illuminating his thoughts. His heart seemed to lighten enormously. "How did you become the smart one?" James asked jokingly.

"I was always the smart one. Who's the one who always planned the pranks back in school?" Remus countered, grinning as he remembered their times at school.

"True, very true," James said, allowing a soft chuckle to escape from his throat.

OOO

In a much higher spirit than the night before, Christmas morning arrived bringing with it even more snow than the day before. The early morning sun drifted through the thin curtains, reflecting off of Ron's orange walls and peeking through the two of the three sleeping boys' eyelids.

"Oi! It's Christmas, mates! Wake up," Ron bellowed infectiously, scrambling to the end of his bed and observing the small pile of presents at the foot of his bed. Harry and James hadn't moved, each one still soundly sleeping. "Did I not make myself clear? Presents!" Ron yelled again, throwing two of his pillows, one at James and one at Harry.

Simultaneously, Harry and James slowly sat up and bed, both of their black hair messier than usual from sleep. "Merry—" James yawned loudly—"Christmas," he finished, rubbing his eyes and immediately waking at the sight of the pile of presents at the end of his camp-bed.

"Hey, mate, thanks for this! It's wicked! How'd you get them?" Ron said happily, holding up a pair of brand new Gryffindor Quidditch Robes.

Harry grinned. "Lily and Hermione actually helped me with some of the sewing spells, but we turned Oliver's old robes, into brand new Gryffindor Ron Weasley robes."

Draping his new red and gold robes over his pajamas, Ron exclaimed, "You're the best bloody mate a guy could have, Harry!"

The door leading into Ron's room suddenly burst open, admitting Hermione and Lily into the room. "Merry Christmas!" The girls exclaimed happily.

"Where's Ginny?" Harry asked.

"She's…er…comforting Ron's mum," Lily answered.

Hermione nodded. "Percy sent back his Christmas present."

"Git," Ron and Harry said at the same time. "Anyways, good presents this year?"

Lily and Hermione nodded. "Thanks so much for the Charms book, Harry. It's excellent! I've already read chapter one!"

"No problem," Harry said.

Ron's face reddened, angry at the lack of attention he was getting from his bushy-haired friend. "Hey, what about mine! Did you get mine?" he urged.

"Yeah. The Chudley Cannons tee-shirt made my year, Ron," Hermione said, attempting to keep the sarcasm out of her voice.

Crossing his arms defiantly over his broad chest, Ron replied, "Well, you're welcome."

The group made small talk, as Lily observed James quietly. She hadn't received a present from him. She felt stupid for admitting it, but she had been looking forward to getting something from him. The two had become a lot closer from this whole experience. Could he had forgotten her so easily?

"Well, let's get downstairs," Ron stated, "Christmas breakfast feast!" Enthusiastically, he grabbed Hermione and Harry around the arm and dragged them down the stairs, the smell of the delicious foods being too much for Ron to resist.

Lily and James were left in a rather uncomfortable silence. James grinned at her and turned to shuffle through his trunk. Lily watched him curiously, wondering what on earth he was doing. When he emerged, his hands were held behind his back. "Merry Christmas, Lily."

From behind his back, he pulled out a delicately wrapped small box and held it out to her. She looked at it. "I thought you had…" she trailed off, embarrassed for almost admitting that she had been disappointed earlier this morning.

The grin on James' face widened. "What? You didn't think I forgot to get you something, did you?" Lily grinned sheepishly, but reached out and took the small parcel.

"I have yours as well," she said, pulling out of her bath robe pocket a square-looking shaped present.

"Open yours first," James insisted, his eyes shining eagerly as he watched Lily slowly take off the festive paper.

She gasped when she pulled out a fine silver chain out of the box. On the chain was a small emerald tear-shaped pendant. "James…it's beautiful!" she said, gazing up at him. He smiled and reached out to put it on her. She held up her hair as he clasped the necklace around her neck.

They stared at each other for a while. "Thank you," she said quietly, losing herself in his gaze. She shyly draped her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. A grin passed across James' face as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Now, open yours!" Lily said, releasing herself from James' hold somewhat reluctantly. His embrace had felt so warm, so welcoming, so right to Lily, and she finally began to understand why her future-self had ended up marrying him in the first place.

Out of the wrapping paper fell a picture frame. James picked it up curiously and his face immediately lit up as he saw the picture inside. "Is that—"

"—us," Lily said softly, grinning, "On our wedding day. I got it from Remus."

Speechless for a second, James simply observed the picture. They looked so happy, so care-free. James was all done up in his black tuxedo, his arm around his wife, dressed beautifully in an elegant, long white wedding dress. James watched as his picture-self kissed Lily on the cheek, smiling as if he were the luckiest guy on earth.

"Lily," he began, "this is…so cool!" he finally said. Lily laughed as she took his hand in hers gently.

"I thought so too…we'd better get downstairs before people start wondering where we are," she said, leading the way out of the room.

James' mind recalled back to the picture. Perhaps his future wasn't all that bad.

OOO

Well, there's the chapter that's been waiting to be written. Feel free to review and yell at me for not updating for over a month. Haha, I'm kidding...although if you really feel the need to yell at me, I suppose you can if you want (runs and hides under my bed).

I'll try to update faster. Definitely faster than this chapter took me anyway.

Thanks for reading!

--HeyLookTheSnitch