Harry was in his room on Christmas Day evening, scribbling four letters at once. One to Hermione, one to Ron, one to Neville and one to Molly Weasley, thanking them each for their presents. Little did he know, his father was outside his bedroom door glowing beetroot, gearing himself up for what would become a horrifyingly uncomfortable talk.
"Harry?" he called.
"Yeah?"
James slowly opened the door and gave his son the most sincere smile he could muster. "How's the letter-writing coming along?"
"Good, I think. It always helps when you're actually grateful for what you've got."
Harry cast a giddy glance at the enormous pile of sweets, chocolates and clothes from his friends and classmates at school.
"Wow... you lucky sod. You know, I remember swapping presents with my friends at Christmas. We were so bad at buying gifts that we bought each other joke presents. Remus bought me some pink fluffy slippers in sixth year. I bought him and Sirius some dog biscuits."
"Eurgh!"
"Indeed. But we had a laugh, and that's all that mattered."
Harry nodded a little awkwardly. It wasn't like his father to peddle any moral message in his anecdotes. That was Mum's job.
"Does Mum want help with dinner or something?" asked Harry, watching his Dad lingering by the window.
James gulped. "Actually, Harry, there was something I wanted to... erm, why don't you sit down?"
"I am sitting down."
"Right."
James went and sat on Harry's bed and rubbed his hands on his jeans. He gulped again.
"Dad?"
"Now don't get me wrong, Harry, I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable, but whether you like it or not, your mother and I need some piece of mind..."
Harry gave his father a blank stare and slowly twisted round in his chair. The squeak that filled the room almost made James burst out laughing.
"Harry, erm... you've made friends pretty easily since joining Hogwarts..."
Harry rolled his eyes. "Is this about Alice again? Don't worry! I'll be-"
"No, no, erm... this is about you... erm... you seem to have a fair few friends and erm... well, what I was wondering was... are any of them girls?"
"Well, yeah. Hermione, of course."
James gulped. "Yes... of course." He stayed silent for a long time.
"Dad, is there a point to this conversation?"
"Harry, we need to talk about girls!" James blurted out.
James had never known of such an impenetrable silence as this one.
"There's really no need," Harry said eventually, blushing scarlet.
"Oh," said James. "Well, we can talk about boys too if that's how you-"
"No, no, I mean... just... blimey, Dad, this is awkward!"
James rubbed his face in his hands. "I know, I know," he told his son. "But your mother's worried that you lot are growing up and there isn't anything we can do while you're at boarding school in the Highlands. She... we... want to know that you're all clued up on... well, puberty."
"Dad!"
"Harry!" James parroted, mocking Harry's wavering pre-pubescent voice. Harry blushed again.
"Spare the gory details, Dad. I know about all the... functions."
Both father and son cringed in unison, then chuckled. James was relieved that Harry wasn't as dramatic as he himself was. Harry wasn't kicking up the tantrum that James had thrown when his father had sat him down for a serious discussion.
"Alright, well... is there anything you're worried about? Anything you don't understand?"
Harry shuddered through the awkwardness and thought for a moment. He shrugged, but his father didn't seem to take that as an answer. Instead, he leant back against the wall next to Harry's bed and folded his arms.
"Alright, here's something..." began Harry. "My Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher."
"... please don't tell me what I think you're about to tell me, Harry."
"He's picking on me."
"Oh, thank... sorry?" James asked, sitting up. His son looked a little unnerved by his father's expression. Slow-rising anger.
"He just... er, he picks on me. A bit. And Ron. And Hermione. And Neville."
"Snape? Snape is picking on you?" demanded James. Harry said no more. He watched James run a hand through his hair, glaring at the floor.
"Bloody bitter toe-rag..." mumbled James.
"You know him, then?" grinned Harry.
James looked up at his son, whose face looked as chubby and innocent as it did when he was a year old. His face immediately softened.
"You know, Harry..." began James. He knew Lily would berate this for him later, but right now, his son needed help. "I went to school with Professor Snape."
Harry's eyes widened. "But... he's ancient!"
James laughed. "Ha! Aged by boredom and loneliness, I'm afraid. But get this: we all used to call him Snivellus!"
Harry's mouth fell open for a split second before he began howling with laughter. James laughed too, in a refreshingly boyish way. He loved the fact that laughing with his son made him feel like a teenager again. Carefree, responsibility-free and worried about every little thing.
"Snivellus?!" parroted Harry, finally catching his breath. "What was he like?"
"A scrawny git, if I'm honest..." sighed James as his son laughed harder. "With very interesting taste in underpants..."
oOo
Six Days Later.
They were in for a good night.
James, Sirius, Lily and Isabelle had all noticed that Remus Lupin had added a spring in his step since meeting Tonks. He laughed more often: his sense of humour being even livelier than in his boyhood. He spent more time with Harry, Alice, Elsie and the twins without any signs of longing or despair. Today, he and Tonks had pitched up at The Potters' house without warning, declaring that there would be a new tradition: the marauders would take their families to the Devonshire moors and let off fireworks. It was a pulse of spontaneity that Remus was not famed for... but still, Lily and James liked the idea. So, the big group went on an hour-long walk up to the moors with a strangely excited Remus Lupin leading the way.
"This is nice," smiled Lily, slinking an arm around her husband's waist. In front of them, Remus and Tonks were charging up the hill. Behind them, Sirius was whispering things to Isabelle and making her laugh. Lagging behind were Harry, Alice, Elsie, Henry and Aida, all groaning and dragging their feet.
"It is nice," agreed James, giving her a quick kiss on the head. "But bloody cold. And I don't get what's gotten into Remus tonight. I love him like a brother, but even I'll admit that he's usually bloody miserable. What's he doing?"
Remus and Tonks were beaming at one another, jokingly arguing over who loved who the most.
"I'm going to be sick."
"Oh James, he's in love!"
"No... really?! D'you reckon?!"
She jabbed him in the ribs with her finger. He stumbled away, chuckling. He glanced back round at the children who were almost out of sight.
"Oi! You lot!" called James. "If you don't hurry up, we'll quite literally be on this hill until next year!"
"But it's so steep!" whined Henry, who was being pushed up the hill by an exhausted-looking Aida.
"Hey, Padfoot! You're daughter's being used as slave labour over there!" he said, pointing to the group of children. Sirius didn't glance back.
"Yeah, well, Henry's usually the one dealing with the constant demands from all three bossy women of the house!"
Isabelle, whose hand was in his, gasped and slapped his forearm. Elsie suddenly charged up the hill and leapt onto her father's back. He stumbled around before finding his balance. Elsie looked rather pleased with herself.
"Elsie's got the idea..." muttered Lily. She took a step backwards and then propelled herself onto her husband's back, throwing her arms and legs around his torso as her goddaughter had done.
"ARGH! Blimey, woman, you're heavy!"
"Shut up and walk!"
By the time the group reached the top of the hill, all their wheezing and panting was worth it. Darkness had fully descended and the moon was a safe, bright crescent that illuminated the whole of the moors. In the distance, the yellow twinkling lights of the rural muggle villages dotted the horizon. They had their own fireworks, exploding in the group's eye line in reds and greens and golds.
"Gather round, everyone!" said Lupin, stepping out in front of them all. "I have something I'd like to say."
"Oh bloody hell..." muttered James. Lily nudged him in the ribs again.
Remus cleared his throat as the children settled themselves. Harry and Alice sat close together on the ground, with Henry and Aida nearby. Elsie was still clutching her father's side.
"Well... I'd say it's been a relatively quiet year!" said Remus. People chuckled when he said it, but it was true. Aside from Lily's book being published and getting placed in a satisfactory place on the bestseller list, the year had been more or less peaceful. Lily wasn't sure how she felt about that...
"But," began Remus again. "I'd like to look to the future." He cast a nervous glance to Tonks, who crept up beside him and snaked an arm around his waist.
"Tonks and I are getting married!"
Isabelle and Elsie squealed. Sirius cheered. James was dumbfounded. Lily grinned stupidly. Harry and Alice stood up to congratulate them both while Henry and Aida pranced around the couple, chanting a funny little tune.
"Finally," James sighed, hugging his wife closer to him.
Lily grinned into her husband's side. "I'm so relieved," she whispered. He rubbed her arm. He watched his children laughing and chatting and interacting with their friends in a nice moment of foreshadowing what was to come for Moony. James had never seen himself as a maternal figure until he was married to the woman he loved. He hadn't realised that marriage was not a finish line. It was just a check point, and two lovers could explore any dimensions of love that they wanted to. James was proud to admit that he'd held it together when his children had been born, but remembering the sense of completion that he'd felt when Harry was born and again when Alice was born, he choked up to this day.
"Okay, okay!" called Tonks. "Listen up!"
The twins kept running around and chanting.
"Oi, shut up and listen!" Tonks yelled.
James grinned. She'd fit in just fine here...
"It's 1997 in thirteen... twelve..."
All over the hill, the clusters of marauders' families had their last conversations of that year.
"Sirius, did you tell them?"
"Not yet, my love. I don't think now's the right time for anguish, do you?"
Eleven, ten...
"Harry, I'm still scared."
"Of what? There's nothing to be scared of. I'll be there."
Nine, eight...
"Next time we're forced to climb a mountain, Henry, you're pushing me up it."
"You're joking, right? Next time I even see a mountain, I'm chopping my own legs off."
Seven, six...
"Here it comes, then: married life!"
"I love you, Remus. And I can't bloody wait to be married."
Five, four...
"Darling, I don't like this. This time next year, none of our babies will be at home anymore..."
"Lily, we haven't had babies in our house for a long time."
Three... two... one.
Colours exploded from the wands of the adults, completely eclipsing the meagre fireworks of the muggles in the villages below. It didn't matter to any of the friends congregated on the hill, who were cheering and embracing. They were all together in a new year of drama, promise and love. Lily knew this already, but now everyone understood: when muggles spoke of magic, this was what they meant.
oOo
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Nel X