Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, and I am not making any money from this.
AN: IMPORTANT! Firstly, I would like to remind everyone that this story will be SLASH so if you don't like that then please do not read this. Secondly, this is NOT a Lily bashing fic, but it might seem like it a teeny bit in this chapter. I hope it doesn't seem that way, but I want to assure you that even if it does seem that way in this chapter that is not what the story will be like. I'd also like to remind everyone that the pairings so far are going to be JP/SB and Lily/Snape. I know who Harry will be paired with, but I'll announce that when we get closer. Lastly, I'm just writing this story for fun. Yes it will not be perfect.
The following months passed by in a blur for Harry. At five years old he couldn't understand why his parents didn't just smile and love each other the way they were supposed to. He spent a lot of time at his friend Neville's house; he liked staying at Neville's because he got to pretend that he was part of a happy family. He also spent a lot of time at his Godfather's house. His mummy and daddy's fights were worse than ever, and Sirius was the one that played with him and helped him when he was scared or feeling sad. Harry always felt happy and safe when he was with Sirius, he didn't understand why his mummy didn't like Uncle Sirius. Sirius was part of the family.
A month before Harry's sixth birthday his mum and dad sat him down. They told him that they loved him, but that they didn't love each other anymore. They went on to explain that this didn't mean that they loved him any less, but that they had divorce because all this fighting wasn't good for any of them. Harry didn't understand, all he wanted was for them to be a happy family. Had they loved each other before they had him? Was it somehow his fault that they didn't love each other anymore? They said it wasn't, but what if they were lying? What if it really was his fault?
They explained that there was some things that they needed to sort out, and that it would take a while. Harry would be going to stay with Sirius for a few months while they did that, but they both assured Harry that they would still see him every day. Harry could tell that his mum was upset about the idea of him staying with Sirius, but Harry also knew that his mummy didn't have any real family. The next day his mum helped him pack all the clothes and toys he would need while he would be staying with Sirius. She kept crying off and on, which made him feel bad. He didn't want his mum to be sad! The next day Sirius came to pick him up, and his mum cried even more.
Divorce was not a common thing in the Wizarding World. It was far trickier then it was in the Muggle world, as Lily was quickly finding out. Lily had never imagined her life turning out this way, her marriage ending in divorce. She had loved James once, had foolishly thought that he loved her the same way. But he hadn't, had he? He always, always, put the marauders before her. Always took their side, always stood up for them if she was fighting with one of them. They were the ones he turned to first, not her. Harry was nearly six now, and he had so far never known a home where his parents weren't fighting. It wasn't fair, to put her son through that. It also wasn't fair for her, to go her whole life being in second place to the one man that should have put her first.
But finally they had both agreed, they couldn't put Harry or themselves through this any longer. So, divorce it was. They had decided to sell the house, and split the money. James had refused at first, insisting that she should take all of the money from the sale of the house. But she couldn't stand the thought; she didn't want another reminder of her failed marriage. With Harry staying at Sirius' it was easier to get the house ready, and it sold quickly. Then they had to get the lawyers involved, and it was fairly easy to come to an agreement. James took everything that had already belonged to him or his family, and she had taken everything that had belonged to herself. Neither of them had wanted the things that they had bought together, so they were all sold and the money split between them. James had offered her spousal support, but she had refused. She didn't want his money, or his pity.
After only three weeks they had nearly everything settled. They only thing that remained was custody of Harry. Lily knew that James had assumed that they would have shared custody, but she wanted full custody of her son. He was all she had, her only family. She couldn't stand the thought of not seeing him every day. James hadn't taken it well, he insisted that he had been more than generous but he would never agree to give sole custody to her. That was when it had gotten ugly. He tried to convince her again to agree to joint custody, but Lily couldn't do it. Harry was her son, and she wanted to raise him as she saw fit. She wanted to see him every day, to be the one to tuck him in at night, and to be the one he turned to when he needed someone. She wanted Harry to put her first, above James. Was that petty? Yes, she supposed it was. But it was also human of her.
When she refused the idea of joint custody for a second time, James in turn filed for full custody as well. The custody battle lasted for weeks. Lily stayed with Alice and Frank Longbottom for the first week, before using her portion of the house money to buy a flat. She had decent enough savings, but the lawyers bills were piling up. She hadn't worked since before she had Harry, but she knew it was time to start working again. She got her old job at the ministry back fairly easily, although the money was not as much as she needed it to be if she did end up getting full custody of Harry.
The Wizarding world didn't have the same system as the Muggle one, and custody battles were rare. But finally, twelve weeks (three months) after they had sent Harry to live with Sirius while they sorted this out, the case was brought before the Wizengamot. Her lawyer presented her case as best he could. He showed them that she had a flat of her own, and a steady job. When James' lawyer presented James' case Lily knew she had lost. James had Potter Manor, a family fortune, a high paying job, he had already procured child care for while he had to work (Remus), and he had the benefit of showing that he had originally pressed for joint custody. James' lawyer also pointed out that James had made numerous offers of spousal support to Lily, but that she had refused.
In the end the Wizengamot had ruled in James' favor, and Lily could feel her entire world crashing down upon her in that instant. James had full custody of Harry; he had the legal right to make Harry's decisions. He had the right to have Harry live with him full time. If only she had agreed to joint custody when he had offered it… but she had been angry. James had tried to speak with her afterwards, but she left before he could find her. What she wanted was to see her son, to hold him. But she couldn't do that now, not without James' permission or unless it was her visitation days.
When she returned to her cold empty flat she had never felt more alone. In that moment she needed a friend, not Alice who never could understand the situation fully. Not Mary, who would try to cheer her up in all the wrong ways. She had lost everyone else, all her other friends to the war. Her parents were dead, and her sister hated her. She had no one. She sat curled up on her couch crying for hours. Numbly, she found herself leaving her apartment. She had to get out; she had to clear her head.
A few hours later she was shocked to realize she had instinctively gone to the one place, the one person, she had never thought she would see again. It was nearly three in the morning, but she knocked on the door anyways. She kept knocking louder and louder until finally the door opened.
"Lily?" She had never seen Severus so shocked before.
The last three months had passed in a blur for Harry, a very happy blur. It was nice living with Sirius. He liked that there was no yelling, and that he never felt scared. Sirius made him breakfast lunch and dinner, played with him, told him stories, and took him places. Uncle Remus and Uncle Peter were always around too, and everyone was always laughing. He saw his mummy and daddy once a week, sometimes more. But his mummy was always sad, and his daddy was always stressed out. Harry didn't like that very much. He missed them of course, but at the same time he didn't. It was confusing.
But Sirius told him that he would be going home soon, but not back to Godric's Hollow. Sirius told Harry about Potter Manor. Sirius told Harry a lot of other things, about his parents and love. Harry was excited, but scared at the same time. Sirius seemed to understand that though. So Sirius held Harry as he cried, and told him everything would be okay. He made them hot chocolate and they drank it in front of the fire. Sirius always did this when Harry was upset, and once again Harry felt better. Just like he always did.
James rubbed his eyes tiredly as he walked into Sirius' flat. It was late, it had taken James a while to finish filling out all the paper work that the ministry required. James could feel his headache getting worse, as it had been for the last few weeks. He was starting to get sick too, in the familiar way of the bond. It had been too long, two full weeks, since he had been able to properly unload to the Marauders the way that the bond required. He knew the others would be feeling it by now too.
It was hard to resent the bond, although he knew that without it his marriage to Lily would not have failed. But despite all the hardships the bond brought, it also gave him the three best friends he could ever imagine. Of course it was frustrating having no privacy. The bond forced them to tell each other everything. It forced them to keep each other's secrets. It forced them not to tell anyone about the bond. It forced them to help each other. To be fair, they would have done most of that with or without the bond.
Following the quiet voices of his friends into the kitchen he asked "How's Harry?"
Sirius gripped his arm. "He was upset tonight, but he's better now. He's asleep." Sirius pushed him into a chair. "You look like hell mate."
"I feel worse." James sighed, running his hand through his hair.
"You got full custody?" Remus asked, sitting across the table from James.
"Yes. I knew I would, but…"
"But it doesn't feel right." Peter stated, studying his friend's tired face.
James nodded. "I'm going to offer her joint custody again. Not legally, I'll keep full custody. But Harry needs her to be a proper part of his life. It wouldn't be right to deny him that. "
"James" Sirius said as he sat down in the chair beside him "it's not your fault mate. You tried to get her to agree to joint custody, she's the one that pushed for full custody in the first place. You offered her everything you could. You tried your best, and you're doing the right thing now – even though I'm pretty sure she wouldn't have done the same thing for you had she been the one to win full custody."
"I know Pads. I just feel like it's all my fault. It my fault our marriage didn't work out. If it weren't for the bond it might have worked out between us. But, I wouldn't trade the bond for my marriage to Lily even if I could." James sighed, covering his face with his hands. But he could feel the headache lessening already, the bond easing up now that he was talking to his friends. "I feel guilty that even if I had the choice I'd still choose the bond, and that I'd still choose you lot, over her."
The four friends spent the next few hours talking, sharing guilty feelings over James marriage, among other things that the bond required them to tell each other. Eventually they called it a night. Sirius went to bed and James, Remus, and Peter crashed in the living room. The next morning Harry greeted James enthusiastically, and the rest of the marauders helped James and Harry settle into Potter Manor.
The months following the move into Potter Manor were stressful and James and Lily settled into a pattern with Harry. Lily had been grateful that James was willing to share custody, even though he'd be keeping full legal custody. She knew that he didn't have to let Harry get equal time with her, but she was very grateful that he did. Eventually they fell into a rhythm. The each kept Harry for two week periods, and managed to stay civil with each other in front of Harry.
Lily was very slowly starting to reconnect and reform her friendship with Severus, and both James and Lily were slowly recovering from the divorce. Lily was doing well at work, and spent more time with her friends then she had when she was married to James. James found himself more relaxed not having to worry about Lily not wanting him to spend as much time with his friends. He felt better than he had in a long time, since the bond was no longer constantly put under stress.
Harry slowly got used to his parents living apart, although it was still hard at times. But he could tell that things were better now, and that both of his parents were happier. His uncles were at Potter Manor more than they were at their own homes, and Harry loved having them around. Uncle Remus looked after Harry when his dad was working, and he did the same for Lily. Remus not only took care of him when his parents were working, but he also tutored him. Sometimes he would let Neville come over and they'd get to do their lessons together. Peter always made time for Harry, and often took Harry and Neville out to muggle places, like the Zoo.
Three years passed in much the same manner. Lily and Severus had fully reformed their friendship, although she was still unaware that he was in love with her. James and Lily fought about Severus a lot, although never in front of Harry. Remus continued to tutor Harry, Peter continued to be the fun Uncle, and Sirius continued to be the best godfather ever. Harry considered Sirius to be one of his parents, although he was never brave enough to tell him that. Neville and Harry were best friends, and had sleepovers at each other's houses, and did their best to try and pranks on various family members. Lily had started dating off and on, although never anything serious. James was completely over Lily, but he never even thought about dating anyone. He didn't want to go through what he went through with Lily again. It had been three years since the divorce, Harry was now nine, and although they still had bad times things were much better on the whole then they had been when James and Lily were still together.
I live for reviews, so let me know what you think! The next chapter is written, and will be far more interesting than this, with more actually going on. This chapter was more just setting the scene and giving background. JP/SB will (slowly) start in the next chapter :)