Upon her return home that night, Amelia brought the news that the Golden Cup Horcrux had been discovered and destroyed.
"Good progress has been made on those blasted Horcruxes, " said Heather approvingly.
"With any luck, all the Horcruxes will be found and destroyed before Voldemort can rise again, " said Sirius hopefully.
"That's the goal, " said Amelia determinedly, "To destroy all the Horcruxes before Voldemort has a chance to return to a body or power so that he can be disposed of quickly when he does."
"Hey, Harry, " said Sirius eagerly, "I promised you when we met that I would tell you more about your parents and my relationship with them. I think right now would be a good opportunity for me to do so."
"Go for it, " said Heather and Amelia encouragingly.
"Okay, " said Sirius clearly, "So, as you know, James and I met on the Hogwarts Express. One of my fondest memories of James is that on that first train ride, I asked him what house he wanted to be in if he had a choice. In response, he raised up an invisible sword and answered, "Gryffindor where dwell the brave at heart."
"Cool, " chorused Harry and Amy, both raising invisible swords themselves.
Sirius grinned. Seeing Harry and Amy make their invisible swords took his mind back to the moment when James had made his. It was one of his fondest memories of James and it gave him goosebumps to be able to tell that story to Harry.
"There is an ancient sword that belonged to Godric Gryffindor that still exists today and is known as the Sword of Gryffindor. The current whereabouts of the sword are unknown, " explained Sirius.
"Ignoring the fact I was pulled from Hogwarts after only a day and it will be shut down at the end of the year, " Harry asked Sirius curiously, "Given the fact that I did get sorted, would you have expected me to have been sorted into Gryffindor rather than Hufflepuff?"
"I would have, ' admitted Sirius, "But you having been sorted into Hufflepuff doesn't bother me. However, I am curious about how it came about."
"I asked the Sorting Hat to put me in Hufflepuff because Amy, Susan, and Hannah had all already been sported into Hufflepuff and I had strongly bonded with them on the train. The Sorting Hat told me that any of the houses could help me on the way to greatness and I told the Sorting Hat that whatever greatness I was destined for would be a much happier greatness if I could share my life with Amy, Susan, and Hannah."
"Your super quick bonding with your own friends reminds me of how instantly I bonded with James, " smiled Sirius, "But, if I may ask, how do you feel about your three best friends all being girls?"
"That doesn't matter, " said Harry fiercely, "There are no boys or girls, only people. The only difference between a boy and a girl is the pronouns used to refer to them."
Amy, Susan, and Hannah all gave Harry genuine smiles at hearing this declaration.
"So, " continued Sirius, "What more would you like to know about James?"
"What was James's best branch of magic?" Harry asked Sirius excitedly.
"Without question, Transfiguration, " answered Sirius a nanosecond later, "James was also an elite Defense Against the Dark Arts student. James got O's in both subjects every year and had no problem achieving Outstanding O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s in both subjects."
"Was my dad the best in the year in those subjects?" Harry inquired hopefully.
"In Transfiguration, by far, " said Sirius proudly, "And he was near the top in Defense Against the Dark Arts."
"Sirius, " asked Harry, "I know you weren't as close with my mom as with my dad while at school, but do you know what her best subjects were?"
"That I do know, " smiled Sirius, "She was the top of our year at both Potions and Charms."
"That's an interesting contrast. " observed Harry, "Dad was more magically powerful while mom was a master of subjects that require concentration and focus."
"Great observation, Harry, " said Sirius approvingly, "I didn't have much to do with Lily at school and only became friends with her after she'd married James, but her reputation at school was second to none. I only became closer with Lily after she married James though."
"What do you think each of my parents best traits were?" Harry asked Sirius.
"For James, it was his bravery and for Lily it was her kind heartedness, " answered Sirius instantly, "Before that fateful Halloween night in 1981, James had fought Voldemort head on three times and managed to escape each time."
"Much respect for that, " said Amy admiringly, "It's one thing to talk about wanting to brave, it's a whole different thing to actually possess and display that bravery when it comes to it."
"I couldn't have said it better myself, " said Sirius in a quiet voice, nodding at Amy, "For all I still miss James every day, my pride in him is immeasurable. There are few people ever who have been more willing to lay themselves on the line than James Potter. Lily, meanwhile, was the type of person who would be there for you in your darkest hours even if no one else was. Her unconditional acceptance of Remus despite his being a werewolf is a great example of her kind and open heart. Even before I really got to know her, I also noticed Lily's humility at school."
"Humility?" said Harry.
"I observed at Hogwarts how Lily never boasted or bragged about any of her own accomplishments. This was in sharp contrast to James, who was honestly very arrogant at times, boasting loudly of his Quidditch talent or Transfiguration skills or whatever and would sometimes hex people just for the fun of it. Lily only paired up with James after James had deflated his ego a bit, " explained Sirius.
"How strong do think my mom's and dad's marriage was, " Harry asked Sirius.
"One of the strongest I've ever seen, " said Sirius matter of factly, "James and Lily loved each other and would have stepped in front a bullet, a curse, or even a bomb for each other at any nanosecond."
"When did my mom and dad become a couple?" inquired Harry.
"Seventh year at Hogwarts, " revealed Sirius, "They were actually Head Boy and Head Girl that year. They wouldn't have been compatible in their early years because Lily disapproved of James's arrogance and bigheadedness. But once James matured a bit, they were the right couple. Sometimes it's hard to explain, but once they were a couple it was clear they were right for each other. One uncomfortable note is that Severus Snape fancied Lily in their early years."
Harry let out a gasp of shock.
"Snape never truly loved Lily, " said Sirius firmly, "He just had a morbid crush on her. Lily and Snape were somewhat friends in their early years, but Lily severed ties with Snape permanently in our fifth year when Snape's true colors became clear to her."
"There was never any real chance of them being together, was there?" piped up Harry.
"Hell no, " confirmed Sirius, "Lily knew that Snape desired her rather than loved her. For some of the negative qualities about James that Lily wouldn't have approved of, once he'd deflated his head and matured a bit, Lily knew that James truly loved her."
"Was it more my dad's decision for you to become my godfather or was that a more mutual decision of my parents, " wondered Harry.
"It was a mutual decision by James and Lily. James and I had always been close and by that time Lily knew she could trust me with her son. James and Lily once told me making me your godfather was one of the easiest decisions they ever had to make., " said Sirius gratefully.
"From what I've seen so far. they made a wise choice, " said Harry happily.
Sirius felt tears flowing down his cheeks as he looked at Harry.
"Sirius, " said Harry firmly, "I can tell you're getting emotional now. That's enough of this discussion for one night."
Sirius nodded and Harry just sat silently.
Harry took in what Sirius had told him that night, glad to know a bit more about his mom and dad.