Chapter XLVIII — Lily and James

Harry fell through the silvery mist and into the pensive. He could feel Ginny falling with him and he felt calmer as he fell. When he landed, he found himself standing in a small living room and he saw a tiny three year old girl with that familiar blonde hair that was on his aunt. He looked closer and even saw the long neck. She was sort of cute as a child though. He watched as she sat on the couch, swinging her legs back and fourth playfully. She looked like she was waiting for something. Then Harry heard voices and he felt Ginny grasp his hand, causing him to smile. He brought her hand to his lips and gently kissed her fingers as he saw a young couple come in.

The man had dark blonde hair and bright emerald green eyes so very much like Harry's that it made him smile. The woman had long dark brown hair and brown eyes and she was smiling as she held a bundle wrapped in a pink blanket in her arms. "Petunia, sweetheart, look mummy and daddy have brought you a beautiful baby sister to play with." Mr. Evans replied.

The three-year-old Petunia stood up and looked carefully into the bundle. "She's so little, Daddy. Can I play with her?"

Mr. Evans smiled warmly and kissed her cheek. "Not right now, Pet, she's too little. But you will be able to soon. You can hold her if you like, but you have to be very careful."

Petunia nodded eagerly and took a seat on the couch again as her mother laid the tiny baby into her arms. "She's so pretty."

Mrs. Evans nodded. "So are you, Pet. Hold her carefully."

Petunia grinned down at the bundle in her arms. "I promise to take good care of her. I'm going to help you do everything."

Mr. Evans ran his fingers through her hair. "That's my girl. Don't you want to know her name?"

Petunia nodded eagerly. "Yes."

Mr. Evans turned to his wife who smiled warmly down at her two daughters. "Lily."

The memory faded from their view and soon Harry and Ginny found themselves in the backyard of the same house. A five-year-old Lily was sitting on the swing and an eight-year-old Petunia was pushing her.

"Higher Pet, higher! I want to fly!" Lily exclaimed, her dark red hair flying out behind her.

"Don't be silly, Lily. You can't fly." Petunia said in a matter of fact sounding voice.

Lily grinned. "Sure I can, watch!" And to Petunia's horror, Lily jumped off the swing when it was high and floated softly through the air landing gracefully on the ground. "Tada!"

"How did you do that, Lily? You should have broken your neck!"

Lily grinned mischievously her eyes twinkling in a way that reminded Ginny strongly of Harry when he knew something that no one else did. "Magic."

Petunia laughed. "Don't be stupid, Lily, there's no such thing as magic."

"Petunia, Lily, lunch time."

Lily grinned at her sister. "Race you."

Then she bolted across the lawn, ignoring Petunia's disapproving glances. The scene changed again; this time Petunia was at school with Lily and they were obviously at recess. Lily looked about eight years old this time, which would make Petunia eleven. There was kid yelling at Lily.

"Come on, Evans, admit it, your sister is a freak!" The boy yelled out.

Lily shook her fist at him, her green eyes sparkling in her anger. "She is not! You take that back, Bobby Randolph, or you'll be sorry!"

Bobby wiggled his tongue out at her. "Oooh, like I'm really afraid of some little girl!"

Lily's anger rose and Harry watched as her eyes sparkled and Bobby fell over, sitting up with red boils all over his face. Lily looked up in surprise. Bobby screamed and ran into the school. Lily covered her mouth with her hand, giggling. "Look, Pet, I wished he had boils and he got some."

Petunia looked at Lily with concern. "Lily, how did you … I don't understand. You didn't do that … did you?" The young Petunia looked very disapproving and angry and a little fearful at the same time.

Lily shrugged. "I didn't do anything. But I did really want to hit him. How dare he call my big sister a freak?" She rushed into Petunia's arms, hugging her tightly, ignoring the fact that Petunia was staring down at her in disbelief and disgust. "I love you, Petunia, and I won't let anybody hurt your feelings like that."

Petunia softened and hugged Lily back, looking very happy for once in her life.

The scene changed again. The two girls looked to be about the same age as before but this time they were in their house again with his grandparents.

Mrs. Evans smiled. "Okay girls, let's see those report cards." Petunia and Lily handed them over and watched carefully as their mother read them over. "Petunia, you could have done a bit better here, you're grades are getting lower, love. Why can't you work hard at what you do? Your sister does such a good job in school." She handed the report to her husband.

"You're right, love, Pet, I know that you can do better. But these are still really good grades. But really, why aren't you studying hard?" Mr. Evans asked before turning to his youngest daughter with a bright smile. "How did you do, Lily?"

Mrs. Evans opened the report card and grinned, causing Petunia to grimace in the background. "All As and Bs, wonderful dear. But what's this? You got into a fight at school today with Bobby Randolph again?"

Lily nodded. "Mum, he was making fun of Petunia."

Mrs. Evans sighed. "What are we going to do about that temper of yours, Lily? You know better then to get into fights. Why can't you be calmer and well mannered like your sister?"

The scene changed again and Ginny leaned over to Harry. "So you get your temper from your mum then?"

Harry grinned. "And my dad apparently; scary to have both, eh?"

Ginny laughed and kissed him softly as the scene changed to Lily's eleventh birthday party. It was simply Petunia, Lily, and their parents out in the backyard. They watched Lily open up her gifts and a brown owl soared through the open window, landing on the table next to them.

"An owl!" Lily exclaimed with excitement. "Look Mum, an owl!"

Mrs. Evans smiled. "So it is dear. Why that has to be the most surprising thing that I've ever seen! Have you ever seen an owl do such a thing?"

Mr. Evans shook his head. "Never. Look Lily, he has a letter tied to his leg."

Lily giggled and pulled it off before opening the letter. "Wow, what weird writing. And who would send me a letter tied to an owl? Shall I read it out loud?"

When everyone nodded she began to read:

Dear Miss Evans,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Now you may be wondering what exactly that is, well it is a special school for young witches like yourself to learn how to do proper magic and to control it. Someone shall be arriving shortly to properly explain to you what this means.

Sincerely,

Albus Dumbledore

Headmaster of Hogwarts

"Then there's a list of supplies." Lily continued, as if what she had read was the most normal thing in the world.

"What?" Mr. Evans asked. "I don't understand. Is someone playing a joke?" He asked; unlike his daughter, he happened to find this news quite strange.

"No, they are not, Mr. Evans." Dumbledore replied from where he stood at the back gate. "My name is Albus Dumbledore. May I speak to you for a moment?"

Mr. Evans looked up in surprise. "Of course. Please, come on in."

Dumbledore grinned, his beard just as long as ever and still very white. "Wonderful. As I said, my name is Albus Dumbledore and I am the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Your daughter, Lily, has a place open for her at our school. I would be honoured if you would allow her to come."

"I can do magic?" Lily asked.

Dumbledore smiled warmly at her. "You most certainly can. You are a witch, and I am a wizard."

"Neat." Lily replied tucking a piece of her hair behind her ear. "Can you show me something?"

Dumbledore grinned. "Of course." He took out his wand and tapped the picnic table causing it to turn into a duck. The Evans looked over in shock but Lily giggled. Dumbledore turned it back into a table. "Now, the term begins on the first of September. I will send someone to help you and your daughter find her school things and get everything organized. Will you allow her to go?"

"Oh please say yes Mummy, please Daddy, I know I'm a witch, and I want to learn how to do magic!" Lily asked, throwing her arms around her father's waist.

Mr. Evans grinned down at his daughter before turning his attention back to Dumbledore. "How do you know that she's a witch?"

Dumbledore smiled. "Has Lily ever done anything that seemed impossible, something that you couldn't explain?"

Mr. Evans hesitated. "Well, one time we made broccoli for dinner and we told her to eat it and she refused and then when we looked over at her plate again it was gone. I had barely blinked. But we could not find it anywhere."

Mrs. Evans nodded. "And one time, I told her to clean her room and when I went upstairs five minutes later to check on her, the room was spotless and actually sparkling clean."

Petunia stood up. "In the school play ground, Lily got angry and gave some kid boils all over his body. No one could explain where they came from."

"And one time she turned her hair blue. We couldn't figure out what happened and we decided to take her to a salon in the morning, but when she woke up her hair was normal again." Mr. Evans explained.

"And one time we went into her bedroom only to find that she had rearranged all the furniture, she was only four years old. My husband and I were flummoxed by this and questioned Petunia quite severely asking if she had helped her."

Mr. Evans nodded. "Yes, and remember that time there was a bird up in the tree with a broken wing. Lily called to the bird and it landed right on her shoulder. She started stroking the wing and the next thing we knew the bird was fine and flying away again."

Mrs. Evans smiled. "That time we were driving to the store and Lily saw a store in London filled with teddy bears and she asked for one. Her father and I told her no and suggested maybe as a birthday present since it was coming up soon. She was about three and when I turned around to smile at her, the teddy bear that she wanted was sitting right in her arms. Neither one of us could figure out how it got there as we had been driving the entire time."

"And one time she was yelling at us in the house after she'd gotten into a huge fight with Petunia, the way sisters do and her eyes fired up and she glanced over at the fire place and the next thing we knew there were flames there. We just thought maybe the fire had rekindled itself or something." Mr. Evans explained.

Dumbledore held up his hand to stop them. "See? Your daughter is a witch. A very powerful one by the sounds of it. By coming to school we will train her to be more powerful and how to control her magic."

Mr. Evans looked down at his daughter and grinned. "Well then, I'm proud to have a witch in the family. Tell us what to do and we will make sure that our little girl has a place at your school."

Lily grinned and began to jump around in her excitement. "Really? Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Dumbledore smiled. "I will send someone to help you sometime next week to get your school things. I'll see you on September 1st, Miss Evans." He bowed and then he disapparated on the spot, leaving the Evans staring around in shock and trying to figure out where he had gone.

The scene began to change again and Harry grinned when he recognized the Hogwarts Express. Petunia, Lily, Mr. Evans, and Mr. Evans were standing on the platform looking around in shock. Harry figured that they must have still been reeling from being taken through the barrier. Lily had her trunk next to her and she was all excited as she looked around. Harry glanced around at the students and felt Ginny squeeze his hand.

"Look, Harry! I think that's your dad with Sirius!"

Harry looked over and sure enough there were two little boys with jet black hair. One of them was wearing glasses and his hair was sticking up all over the place. They were laughing and running after one another. He turned his attention back to his mum. Lily was saying good bye to her parents and then she got on the train, waving through the window and soon it was gone. The scene changed again and Harry realized that it had been a huge gap. Lily was fifteen years old and she was in the kitchen in the muggle house with Petunia, they were making dinner.

"I'm telling you, Pet, he's absolutely insufferable! He is so rude! And … he just … he thinks so highly of himself I want to curse him!" Lily exclaimed.

Petunia laughed. "I'm sure, he's not that bad. Come on, Lily, you did say so yourself that he is very handsome."

Lily smiled. "Well, he is handsome. I love the way his black hair sticks up everywhere on a regular basis. It's cute. But no, that is beside the point, James Potter is an insufferable prat!"

Petunia smiled. "Whatever you say, after all I've never met him."

Lily shrugged. "You wouldn't want to; you might get crushed by his ego."

The scene flashed again and this time the Evans' and his mum were back on the platform, they were obviously getting ready to start their fifth year at Hogwarts from what Harry could tell. He saw his dad the way he had seen him ages ago in Snape's pensive walking with Sirius and Remus, Peter running behind them trying to catch up.

"Hey Evans!" James yelled out. "How was your summer?"

Lily groaned. "Awesome, because I didn't have to see you."

Sirius laughed and patted James on the back. "She got you there, Potter. Good one Evans, but try not to bruise his ego too much, eh?"

Lily smiled. "But I so enjoy it."

James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter climbed onto the train and Lily said goodbye to her family and hopped onto the express.

The scene changed again; this time it was two years later and it was in the Evans household again.

Lily was standing at the kitchen sink grinning as she washed the dishes by magic. "I love that I can do magic outside of school now."

Petunia sneered. "Well, ducky for you. I still have to do it by hand."

"Oh come on, Pet, smile a little more. Ever since you found out that I've been dating James you've given me the cold shoulder. He's going to be here any minute to properly meet Mum and Dad. Can't you be nice for once?"

"I'm always nice." Petunia said. "Nicer then I should be."

Lily looked at Petunia in surprise. "I'm not sure what you mean by that, but I hope you realize that I love you. You're my sister; therefore you're my best friend in the world." She hugged Petunia tightly. "Now stop being an angry git, and tell me if I look alright." Lily's hair was cascading down her back and her emerald green eyes were twinkling in excitement and in happiness.

"You know you look fine. Besides why should it matter, everyone always notices you."

Lily glanced at her sister. "Petunia, did something happen?"

Petunia shrugged, then she turned, her face turning red in anger that Harry had only seen once. When Hagrid had come to tell him he was a wizard and she had blurted out the things about his mother. "Yes! Why is it that you get all the good grades? Why do you get more attention then me from Mum and Dad? Why are you a witch and I'm what you call a muggle? Why do you have a nice, handsome boyfriend who has had a crush on you forever? Why always you and never me? I hate you sometimes, Lily, I hate you."

Lily looked over at Petunia, tears in her eyes. "Pet, you don't mean that. I don't get more attention then you. And I don't know why I'm a witch and you're not and you're beautiful, you just haven't met the right man yet. Just wait and see, everything will work out for you in the end."

Mr. Evans came into the kitchen at that moment. "Ah, my two beautiful girls." He walked over and kissed Lily and Petunia on the cheek. "Lily, you look dashing, am I going to have to keep a bat next to me to keep James' eyes inside of his head?"

Lily laughed. "Of course not." The doorbell rang and Lily grinned. "That's him!"

Mr. Evans laughed. "Lily, I want to talk to you for a moment. Petunia can you go answer the door?"

Petunia nodded; her anger still evident in the way that she walked as she headed down the narrow hallway to the front door. She pulled it open and got her first look at a fully grown James Potter. His black hair was still sticking up in every which direction and his hazel eyes were shining in happiness. He wore glasses and he was tall and lean.

Ginny laughed. "Oh my, your dad was a hottie. I definitely see where you got your looks."

Harry blushed. "Er, okay."

They turned their attention back to the memory. Petunia was just staring at James. So finally after a few moments of silence, James spoke. "Hi, I'm James, you must be Petunia. Lily talks about you all the time."

Petunia nodded. "Yes, come in."

James walked into the house and followed Petunia into the living room. "Nice place."

"Yes. Would you like something to drink?" She said again in a stiff and familiar Aunt Petuniaish way.

James nodded. "Sure thanks. I'll just have whatever you'd like to bring me."

Petunia nodded and walked out of the room, she stopped in the doorway of the kitchen when she realized that her dad was still talking to Lily.

"Lily, honey, I'm serious. I know that you love him and I know that seventeen is considered an adult in the magical world, but you're my little girl. Are you sure that this is what you want?" Mr. Evans asked.

Lily nodded. "I'm positive, Daddy. I love James and we're getting married."

Mr. Evans nodded. "You always were my favourite daughter, what am I going to do when you're not around. You're sister will drive me mad within a month."

Lily laughed. "You'll survive. Besides, it's not Petunia's fault that she can be so snobbish and rude. I'm the only one that ever seems to get her to have some fun."

Mr. Evans laughed. "Yes, you are. Alright, love, let's go meet this famous James Potter of yours."

Lily grinned. "Okay."

Petunia stepped away from the door and then walked into the kitchen, her heart pounding. "If that's the way you really feel, then I'll be gone by tomorrow morning."

Mr. Evans looked up in surprise. "What Pet?"

Petunia stared ahead defiantly. "You heard me. I'll be gone by tomorrow morning, since it's obvious it's only Lily that you care about."

She turned and stomped out of the room, tears in her eyes.

The scene changed again; this time it showed Lily talking to Petunia in the Dursley house.

"Come on, Pet, it's my wedding. I want you there, and I need you there. You're supposed to be my maid of honour." Lily begged.

Petunia shook her head. "No, why should I go? Face my parents, they like you better."

Lily sighed. "Petunia, Dad always says he likes one us better then the other, but he switches them up all the time; it make us feel special, and you know that. He didn't mean anything by it. He and Mum really miss you; they were so disappointed when they discovered that you married Vernon without telling them or inviting any of us to the wedding. Will you please come to mine?"

Petunia looked up at Lily and sighed. "I'll think about it."

Lily grinned and leaned down to hug her sister. "Thanks Pet, you're the best. This is the invitation and here is your dress. I really hope that you're there. I can't get married without my sister. Besides, now that I've finally been give a chance to talk to you. I want to apologize to you for that last argument that we had. It was stupid and I know you don't really hate me. I love you, Pet, and I hope that you're there to help give me away."

She smiled warmly and then she left. Petunia put her head down on the table and she burst into tears.

The scene changed to the wedding ceremony of Lily and James.

Harry grinned as he watched his parents exchange their vows and then head into a reception party in the backyard of the Evans house. Petunia was dancing with her father when she excused her self and headed into the house. She went upstairs into Lily's bedroom, knowing that she had gone up there to change. She opened the door and found Vernon trying to kiss her.

"Come on, Lily, you are so beautiful. Just one little kiss." Vernon said in a drunken slur.

Lily pushed him back. "No, you are my sister's husband! Leave this room at once or I will curse you. Besides you're drunk!"

Vernon only grinned and placed his hands on her breasts.

Petunia came into the room and glared at them. "Lily, how could you? Vernon, step away from her."

"How could I what?" Lily asked. "Pet, you don't honestly think that I would do something with Vernon, do you? Do you actually think I initiated this?"

Petunia smirked. "I always thought you were odd. You are nothing more than freak! And now you've got yourself married to some rich husband, yet you still try to get your claws into mine? How dare you?"

Petunia walked over and slapped Lily across the face. "I hate you, Lily Evans Potter! I hate you! Stay away from me." A large red hand mark was printed on her cheek.

Tears welled in Lily's eyes. "That's really what you think of me? Have you ever loved me at all?"

Petunia nodded. "Before I found out you were a witch, yes, I did. Now I don't even know you. Why do you have to have everything?"

She turned and walked out of the room, dragging Vernon along with her.

The scene changed again; this time James and Lily were seated in the Dursleys kitchen.

James was glaring at Vernon as Lily held his hand tightly in hers. Lily and Petunia were both quite obviously pregnant.

"Pet, how come you didn't come to the funeral?" Lily asked.

Petunia looked at Lily in disgust. "How dare you come to my home? I don't want anything to do with you! It's your fault their dead, Lily!"

"You watch how you speak to her if you don't want to be hurt." James said angrily. "Your parents were murdered by an evil dark wizard, and you didn't even have the decency to attend their funerals!"

Petunia shrugged. "I want nothing more to do with them ever or you. Get out of my house, now!"

Lily nodded, holding James back. "If that's what you want. I had hoped that our children might be able to know each other."

Petunia shrugged. "No."

Lily nodded and her and James left.

Petunia turned to Vernon. "I never want anything more to do with my sister or her husband ever again. Do you understand? I never want their names mentioned in this house. Ever."

Vernon nodded. "Yes dear."

The mist swirled and Harry saw his aunt Petunia exactly the way she looked now, though slightly younger, get up to get the milk bottles from the front door. She looked down and seen the sleeping Harry there with a letter tucked into his blankets.

She screamed and then she fainted.

The mist swirled around them and seconds later Harry and Ginny were back in the living room; Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia sitting across from them.

"Well, now you know." Aunt Petunia said softly.

Ginny put the memories back into Aunt Petunia's head as Harry glared at her. "Why did you treat my mum so badly? Was it because she was more talented then you? She was magical and you weren't? Because your dad was closer with her? I don't understand. Were you so jealous of her that you just kept pushing her away?"

Aunt Petunia shrugged. "All of it. She was better than I was, and it ate at me because I knew that everyone else knew it too. When she started dating your father, he was so handsome and perfect and I knew that she was happy and I regretted every moment of it because she had something that I didn't so I lashed out. I do regret it, Harry. I did love her so much and I was so jealous and so angry all of the time that I never realized how much I needed her until she was gone. I'm so sorry for everything that ever happened between us, and I sometimes wonder that if I hadn't been so mean to her, would she still be here?" Tears fell from her eyes as she spoke and Ginny glanced at Harry, seeing the understanding and pity in his eyes as he looked at his aunt.

Ginny stood up and went to comfort Aunt Petunia as much as she could.

Harry shook his head at Aunt Petunia. "No, she wouldn't still be here, but I bet she would have died easier if she knew that you did love her like she thought you did."

Then he stood up and walked out of the room.

The next afternoon, Harry could be found sitting in the office of Potter Manor just resting his head on his desk, remembering the small flashbacks of his mum's life that Aunt Petunia had given him. He was so happy to finally have these flashes of his mum's life. It helped him to better understand her life and what kind of person she was. But he also kept seeing the image of his aunt's face when she found baby Harry on her doorstep. He put his face in his hands as the guilt swam through him. Did Aunt Petunia blame him for the loss of her sister? In a way it was his fault after all. He groaned and banged his head off the desk. That was where Remus found him when he walked in.

"Harry?"

Harry looked up. "Remus? What are you doing here?"

Remus smiled. "I just got back from that trip I was on. It didn't take nearly as long as I expected it to. I heard from Ginny that your aunt showed you some memories."

Harry nodded. "Yeah, it was neat to see my mum little like that. And I also understand why Aunt Petunia and mum were at odds for a while."

Remus nodded as if he understood where Harry's thoughts were going. "She doesn't blame you for her death, Harry, she might have at first, but Petunia understands that it wasn't your fault."

"Are you sure about that? I feel like she's blamed me for it my entire life."

"I'm sure. When she and Vernon had that long discussion with you, Harry, the one about your life? That was their way of apologizing, of taking the blame off of your shoulders. I understand that, and so should you." Remus replied.

Harry smiled up at the man that he truly considered his father. "Thanks, I needed that." He stood up and hugged Remus tightly. "Thanks for being a dad to me."

Remus smiled and decided to lighten up the mood. "Well, I need someone to practice on."

Harry laughed. "True. So what are you really doing here? Did Ginny call and tell you that I was sulking?"

Remus laughed. "Maybe. Well, she told me what happened." He grinned and placed Harry's pensive on the desk. "I thought maybe that you would enjoy seeing a few of my favourite memories of your dad."

Harry grinned. "Really?"

Remus nodded. "Yeah. When Ginny told me what happened, the idea came to me, and she told me that you would probably really love it. I just picked out my favourite ones and tossed them in there. There are only a couple."

Harry grinned. "Thank you."

Remus smiled. "No problem. I'll be at Grimmauld Place when you're finished." He said goodbye and left, closing the door behind him. Harry looked down into the silvery mist and grinned, placing his wand in the substance and soon he was falling through it and into another world of memories.

He found himself on the Hogwarts Express in a compartment. An eleven-year-old Remus was sitting there by himself. He looked a little pale and Harry wondered if a full moon had recently passed. He was staring out the window in wonder when the compartment door opened. James and Sirius stood there.

"Oi," Sirius said. "This compartment taken?"

Remus shook his head. "No, go ahead and sit down."

Sirius took a seat followed by James. James turned to Remus. "Are you a first year, too?"

Remus nodded. "Yes."

James grinned. "Awesome. I can't wait to start learning some actual magic. Mum and Dad don't let me do anything."

Sirius laughed. "Remember that time you stole your dad's wand and turned all the furniture in the house green."

James grinned. "I thought Mum was going to skin me! Besides, green is my favourite colour!"

Remus smiled as he listened to their cheerful conversation. He looked up in surprise when James spoke to him. "So, who are you anyway? I'm James Potter, and this is Sirius Black."

"Remus Lupin."

Sirius grinned. " Nice to meet ya."

Remus smiled. "Have you two known each other for a while?"

Sirius grinned. "Seems like forever. We went on vacation to a cottage in Scotland and I met James when I was eight. We've been best mates ever since."

James grinned. "Sure have, but we can always use more friends. Remus, where are you from?"

"London."

"Cool." Sirius said, pulling out a pack of cards. "Hey, do you guys want to play some exploding snap?"

The scene changed over to the boys' dormitory at Hogwarts a few years later.

Remus was sitting on his bed and he looked up, grinning when Sirius, James, and Peter came in. "Hey guys."

Sirius looked over at Remus. "Mate, we've got to talk to you."

Remus nodded. "Alright."

James sat down on the bed next to his friend. "We know that you're a werewolf. We're not stupid, we figured it out eventually."

Remus paled. "Oh, I'm sorry."

Sirius shrugged. "Don't be sorry, mate, it's not like you asked to be bitten. Anyway, James and I decided that we're going to keep you company when you go all moony on us. So we've decided to try and become animagi. What do you think?"

Remus looked up in surprise. "You would do that for me?"

James nodded. "Mate, what are friends for? Now come on, tell us what you think, honestly?"

Remus grinned. "I think it's brilliant."

The scene changed again; this time they were animals and the four of them were simply running through the grounds, Remus as a werewolf. The mist changed over to another memory; this one was of Sirius, Remus, Peter, Lily, James, and a girl that Harry didn't recognize on the Hogwarts Express. They all looked about seventeen. He grinned when he saw his dad lean over to kiss his mum.

"Ahh," Sirius said. "Come on, James, no snogging in the compartment." He tossed a chocolate frog at his friend and then he pulled the girl close. "Right Mandy?" Then he covered her mouth with his.

Remus just laughed and Peter shrugged. When the two couples broke apart James turned to Remus. "Moony, you don't mind a bit of snogging do you?"

Remus laughed. "I'm surprised Lily finally decided to kiss you at all."

Lily grinned. "Well, I hate to say it in case it inflates his ego, but he is pretty irresistible."

James grinned. "Don't I know it?" Then he kissed her again.

The mist swirled again; this one was James standing in the kitchen at Potter Manor with his arm wrapped around Lily's waist.

"Guess what?"

Sirius grinned from the kitchen table. "What, Lily is finally leaving you and running away with me to the Bahamas?"

"Haha, very funny, Padfoot. No," James said, turning to grin at his wife. "We're having a baby."

Sirius stood up grinning. "No shit? You hear that Moony, Prongs has gone and knocked up Lily."

"I take offence to the term being knocked up." Lily said as she was passed around between James, Remus, and Sirius for hugs and kisses.

Remus grinned when Lily was in front of him. "You're going to be a great mum."

"Oh!" Lily said as tears filled her eyes. "Thank you." She hugged him tight and then kissed his cheek.

"Hey!" James said. "Get your own woman!"

Remus laughed. "Yeah, I'll work on that."

Sirius grinned. "Well, now that this news has been said, can we eat now?"

The scene changed to St. Mungo's where Sirius and Remus were pacing the hall. Peter sat in the chair, his head in his hands. Finally after what seemed like hours, the door opened and James came out.

"It's a boy. Come on in and see." They walked into the room and found Lily sitting in the bed with a baby in her arms. Andrew and Gwen Potter were standing off to the side, grinning. James took the baby and brought him over to show his friends. "Guys, I'd like for you to meet the newest Marauder, Harry James Potter." James replied, leaning down to place a tiny kiss on his son's head.

Sirius grinned. "Man, he's even got your hair already!"

Remus smiled. "But he's got Lily's eyes, I wonder if they will turn green."

Peter grinned. "He's cute alright." His eyes glanced around randomly and then he managed a weird grin at his friends.

"You okay there, Wormtail?" James asked. "You've been acting odd lately."

Peter shrugged. "I'm a little tired."

"Cool, anyway I'm a dad!"

Lily laughed from the bed. "Yes, you are, now bring me back my son."

James grinned and placed Harry back into his wife's arms. "My pleasure."

Then he leaned over and kissed her softly.

The scene faded out and Harry found himself seated back in the study. He grinned; he would have to thank Remus later for sharing that with him. He leaned back in the chair and glanced at the picture on the desk. It was of Lily, James, and baby Harry. He smiled; they were happy.

Ginny opened the door and stepped inside. "Hey, how are you doing?"

Harry smiled and opened his arms for her, so she hurried over and sat in his lap. "Wonderful, thanks to you. Remus showed me some memories of my parents too. It was nice."

Ginny smiled and reached up to kiss him softly. "I love you, and I was worried about what happened in the pensive before when you saw your aunt treating your mum so bad."

Harry nodded. "Yeah, well it's in the past, so there's nothing that I can do about it." He brought his mouth down to hers and began to gently unbutton the shirt she wore. "But there is something interesting that I can do here."

Ginny laughed. "Oh really? And what makes you think that you can just have your way with me, Mr. Potter, and in the study no less?"

Harry grinned and pointed his wand at door, locking it and then putting a silencing charm around the room. "Everything."

Then he took her mouth in his once more.