August 1995

Harry lounged lazily on their couch, his legs propped on the back and his head resting on an arm while he read through the latest Seeker Weekly. It was weird for their house to be so quiet. Not that they were always loud and boisterous, there was only so much noise two wizards could make, but it was oddly quiet with Sirius not being home. A clap of thunder caught his attention, and he sighed as he glanced out the window at the falling rain. It would have been great to go out and fly, whether with his broom or his wings, but the weather was too bad.

Of course, he wouldn't be out flying even if the weather was nice, because Sirius wasn't home, and one very firm rule in their home was no flying when there was no adult home. Not that Harry had had many opportunities to test the boundaries of that particular rule, given that Sirius never left him alone before today.

Sirius being absent also meant that he couldn't practice his animagus transformation yet. His father had told him, roughly a million times by Harry's count, that he was not to attempt the transformation without supervision, and Harry wasn't about to test him on that.

Then again, he technically wasn't alone now. Somewhere Dobby was doing whatever it was house elves do when the rest of the house is otherwise preoccupied. But there were no other humans in the house.

As the newly hired History of Magic teacher, Sirius had been called to a faculty meeting, and after much persuasion, he had allowed Harry to stay there by himself. Voldemort was dead. The death eaters they had captured the night of his rebirth had all been sentenced to Azkaban and put away, and their home had just about every protective charm imaginable on it.

But Harry knew, like he knew the back of his own hand, that his father was most likely nervously fidgeting during the entire meeting. His knee was likely bouncing, and he had probably checked his watch no less than a dozen times. He had even already called Harry twice on his mirror to check on him, once during a break in the meeting, and again when Sirius just decided to step out and calm his own nerves. Harry also knew that as soon as Sirius could get away from Hogwarts, he'd be back home.

And speaking of…

The floo chimed and before Harry could even put his magazine down, Sirius was pacing in front of him.

"I have terrible news," his father announced a little too gravely, going back and forth between the armchair and the fireplace like a ping pong ball.

Normally, those words would have caused a good deal of apprehension, but Harry had heard Sirius really upset, and this wasn't it. Sirius was being overly dramatic, meaning that whatever the terrible news was, it was not that terrible. He closed his magazine and sat up slowly, but before he could speak, Remus followed through the floo.

Sirius threw himself in an armchair. "This is just horrible," he said, rubbing his hands through his hair.

Remus rolled his eyes. "Your father is being a child, Harry."

"Yeah, I kind of figured that out on my own. One of you want to tell me what's going on?" Harry said, amused.

Sirius shook his head. "You tell him, Moony. I can't stand to even speak of it."

Remus smirked. "Gladly." He turned his attention to his godson. "Harry, today at the faculty meeting, we voted on the newest prefects, and congratulations. You have been chosen to represent Gryffindor."

Harry's jaw dropped. "Me? Really?"

Remus nodded. "Really. You shouldn't be so surprised. You have excellent grades, you're kind to your classmates, and your behavior record is…better than some."

Harry smiled, his eyes wild with disbelief, while Sirius was muttering to himself. "James's son, a prefect. Where did I go wrong?"

Harry picked up a throw pillow and threw it at his father. "You're ridiculous. My mum was a prefect, remember?"

Sirius just let the pillow bounce off his shoulder and continued to pretend his son and best friend weren't in the room. "I really tried to make him a Marauder instead, but I don't know what happened," he spoke to no one in particular.

Remus walked over and smacked his best friend in the back of the head. "I was a Marauder and a prefect, you idiot."

Harry chuckled and looked at Remus. "Did he react like this when Dad was made Head Boy?"

Remus let out a long laugh. "Not exactly…"

That question seemed to pull Sirius from his stupor. He sat up and looked at his son. "That is a story you've got to hear."

….

Flashback: August 1977

Euphemia Potter placed four breakfast plates on her dining table, one for her husband, who was currently seated and reading the Daily Prophet, one for herself, and two in front of two empty seats that her sons really should have been in already.

"Boys!" she called up the stairs before joining her husband at the table. "Maybe I should put a warming charm on their plates."

Fleamont raised an eyebrow as he folded his newspaper. "Or maybe they should eat when it's served." He stood and walked to the bottom of the stairs. "James. Sirius. Breakfast. Now please."

Two very groggy "yes, sir"s echoed down the stairs.

Satisfied that his sons were at least responsive, he joined his wife at the table again. They had barely started eating when two pajama clad 17-year-olds joined them, yawning and rubbing sleep from their eyes.

"Good morning," Sirius, who had always been more of a morning person than his best friend, greeted them enthusiastically.

"Good morning sweetheart," Euphemia responded, putting an affectionate hand to his face before tapping his plate.

Sirius promptly began eating, while James scooted his plate over to make room for his own head on the table. Something that sounded like "good morning," came out from under the mop of messy hair.

"James, sit up and eat please," Fleamont instructed with a chuckle.

James obeyed, but was less than enthusiastic about it.

"So what do you two have planned for today?" Euphemia asked, finally lifting her own fork.

Sirius shrugged. "Probably move the rest of my things to my flat."

Euphemia frowned. "Oh Sirius, you know you don't have to move out, don't you? You're welcome to stay here as long as you like."

Sirius smiled at her. They'd had this conversation several times before, but unlike James who would have grown tired of his mother's nagging, Sirius loved her for it. "I know, Mum. But this is something I want to do. I appreciate all you and Dad have done for me, but I need to do this for me."

Fleamont took a sip of coffee and gave an affectionate smile to his wife. He would prefer Sirius, who he considered his son in everything but blood, to stay with them too, but he accepted that this was a natural part of growing up. "I'll be coming over today to make sure all the protective spells are in order."

Sirius nodded. "Yes, sir. I appreciate it."

James finally had shaken himself awake enough to join the conversation. "We'll be careful, Mum, promise."

"Well, I suppose that's all we can ask for," Euphemia said resignedly. "I'll pack you a basket of food for your new place."

"Thanks," Sirius answered sincerely.

Further conversation was halted by the arrival of a Hogwarts owl, dropping letters off for Sirius and James.

"Our supply lists for the year," Sirius commented as he read over his.

Euphemia took it from his hand and read it herself. "We'll all go to Diagon Alley tomorrow and buy what you need."

"Mum…" Sirius began, but was quickly cut off.

"It is my last year to buy your school supplies, young man, and I don't care how old or independent you are, I am buying those supplies. So no arguments," Euphemia told him firmly, but with a kind smile to take the sting out.

Sirius held up his hands in surrender. "Yes ma'am."

Suddenly, as if he'd been hit by a tickling charm, James began laughing. In fact, he was laughing so hard his mother feared he may fall out of his chair.

"James, what in Merlin's name is so funny?" Fleamont asked.

James pointed at Sirius, but couldn't stop laughing enough to answer. "You…this…brilliant." He waved his Hogwarts letter in the air as if that would clear up everything he was saying…or rather not saying.

"Me?" Sirius asked, finding himself mimicking James's laughter, though he had no idea what he was laughing at, other than his hysterical best friend.

James nodded and took a couple of deep breaths. "Yes, you. This is brilliant, Padfoot. Just genius."

Euphemia and Fleamont looked at Sirius, who was completely clueless.

"I know I'm brilliant Jamie, but you're going to have to narrow down what you're specifically talking about," Sirius told him.

"This," James said, thrusting the letter onto the table. "This fake letter from Dumbledore naming me Head Boy. It's quite remarkable how authentic it looks."

Sirius picked up the letter and scanned it quickly. "This is incredible, but it wasn't me."

"Wasn't you?" James questioned.

Sirius shook his head. "No."

James's face morphed into a confused frown before smiling again. "It must have been Moony then."

"Have you considered the possibility that perhaps you were indeed named Head Boy?" Euphemia asked her son.

Sirius and James exchanged an amused glance. "No," they both answered in unison.

Euphemia frowned. "Well, this doesn't seem like something the Lupin boy would do. He's such a nice young man."

James rolled his eyes. "Mum, half the things Sirius and I get into trouble for are Remus's ideas. And it couldn't have been Peter. No way he's smart enough to pull this off."

Fleamont had picked up the letter and examined it himself throughout the course of this conversation, and now he looked up over his glasses. "James, this seems legitimate. Are you sure there's not a chance Professor Dumbledore chose you as Head Boy?"

James shook his head and took the letter back from his father. "No way. I'm going to go floo call Moony and get him to confess. You'll see. This is just a prank."

He stood and disappeared from their kitchen while the rest of the family ate their breakfast. About ten minutes later, James joined them again.

"Well, Moony swears it wasn't him." He ran a hand through his messy hair.

Sirius couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You're not saying…that letter is real?"

James nodded. "It seems that way."

Two enormous and mischievous smiles took over the boys' faces. Sirius clapped and threw his head back laughing. James drummed the table in excitement.

"This is bloody brilliant!" Sirius called out.

"Can you imagine what we'll get away with?" James told him.

Fleamont chuckled with his sons as Euphemia scolded. "James Potter, you will not take advantage of your position! This is an honor and you should treat it as such."

James plastered an innocent smile across his face. "Yes, Mum." He made the mistake of making eye contact with Sirius, and neither of them could control themselves any longer. They laughed and hooted all through the rest of breakfast.

"You know, Jamie, I'd bet all the Black gold in Gringotts that a certain Lily Evans is the Head Girl," Sirius told his friend, wagging his eyebrows.

James's smile grew even wider. "I'd bet you were right, Siri. You see, even Dumbledore wants us together. She can't turn me down now."

The Potter parents rolled their eyes, rebuked occasionally, and laughed when appropriate as the two miscreants continued to discuss their plans.

"So Jamie, what will be your first official act as Head Boy?" Sirius asked, interview style.

"Hmm…I'll need to start early. Something on the train perhaps. Maybe dungbombs in the Slytherin compartments?"

….

Harry was laughing and shaking his head.

"We had a big party at my new flat that night to celebrate. Moony came too. We made all kinds of plans for the school year," Sirius told him.

"Did he really throw dungbombs in the Slytherin compartments?" Harry asked.

"No," Remus answered. "Besides a couple notable exceptions, James turned out to be a pretty honorable Head Boy. Despite our plans, we had all matured significantly that year."

"Speak for yourself," Sirius told him, pretending to be offended and propping his feet on the coffee table. "I still haven't matured."

Harry snorted. "I have a mountain of evidence proving that is not true."

Sirius pointed at him. "Watch your mouth."

Harry laughed as he pulled his feet under him on the couch. "I wonder how Mum reacted when she learned Dad was the Head Boy."

Remus shifted his body on the couch so he could face Harry better. "Actually, I know the answer to that because I was there."

….

Flashback: September 1, 1977

James had just finished a Fizzing Whizzbee, the sherbert flavor lingering on his tongue, when he checked his watch and whacked Remus in the leg. "We better go. Prefect meeting time."

Remus nodded and popped the last of his chocolate frog in his mouth. He stood and slid open the door to their train compartment.

"See you peasants later," James commented to Sirius and Peter.

Peter simply waved, his teeth chattering from the Ice Mice he'd just eaten, but Sirius made a rude gesture with his hand before smiling. "Have fun. Pete and I will hold down the fort here. Don't pull any pranks without me."

"Wouldn't dream of it," James told him as he slid the door closed. He and Remus made their way to the prefects' carriage to find one person already waiting for them.

"Hi Remus," Lily Evans greeted her friend. Her Head Girl badge was proudly pinned to her robes. Her eyes wandered over to James. "You'll have to leave Potter. This is a meeting for prefects."

"I know Evans. That's why I'm here," he said proudly before reaching in his pocket, pulling out his own Head Boy badge, and pinning it to his robes, crookedly of course.

Lily watched the action, her eyes growing wide as she looked at the badge in astonishment. Finally she looked into her future husband's eyes. "No."

"Yes," James confirmed, his chest puffed out proudly and his smile beaming.

"No," she repeated, unconvinced. She'd seen James Potter pull off some ridiculous, and admittedly impressive if she were being completely honest, pranks in her life, and she was convinced this was just another.

"Yes, Evans," James told her, his ego growing wider as her shock grew.

Lily shook her head. "No. No way. Has Dumbledore officially cracked or something?"

James threw his arm around her shoulders. "I think this just proves that we're meant to be, Evans. You can't deny it any longer."

Lily pretended to puke, but James noticed that she didn't move out of his reach. Smiling a mischievous grin that rivaled James's, she looked at him innocently. "You know what else this means?"

James raised an eyebrow.

"I can hex you and get away with it."

….

"He spent most of the meeting driving her crazy," Remus was explaining. "I remember he tried his hardest to convince us that the Slytherin curfew was two hours earlier, and Gryffindor's was midnight."

"That's not a bad idea," Harry commented.

"Yes, well it won't work, trust me. Professor McGonagall will make sure of that," Remus countered.

Harry hummed as he settled further into the couch. "So, what are some of the benefits of being a prefect? Other than getting away with stuff."

Remus chuckled. "Well, let's see. You already know they have a special bathroom. They're also a sort of mediator between the students and the staff. You'll be meeting regularly with the heads of house, so you can bring any concerns you or your fellow students have to them and have some influence in changing school policy."

"You can take points too," Sirius told him, "So there's no way Slytherin wins the House Cup this year."

Remus massaged his forehead. "You can take points. You cannot take them indiscriminately."

"Oh I think I can find a reason," Harry retorted, and Sirius gave him a proud smile.

"That's my boy."

"Keep in mind," Remus interjected, his eyes rolling at his best friend's immaturity, "McGonagall and the other house heads are usually harder on their prefects. I speak from experience that if you get too many detentions in a month, they will suspend your prefect privileges," he admitted.

Harry raised a curious eyebrow. "How many is too many?"

Remus blushed. "I don't recall the exact number…"

"Seven," Sirius interrupted.

"Seven?" Harry's jaw dropped nearly to the floor. "You got seven detentions in one month? You'd lecture me for hours if I did that," he told his godfather.

Remus covered his face in embarrassment. He made to speak, but Sirius had completely taken over telling this story.

"His mum sent him a howler."

Harry snorted. "Really?"

All the poor godfather could do was nod in defeat. "Yes, unfortunately Sirius is telling the truth. I was grounded the first two weeks of the summer holiday as well."

"What did you do?"

Remus took a deep breath and crossed his legs, his forehead wrinkled in thought. "To be honest, I don't remember it all…"

"I do!" Sirius said cheerily. "The first one was for skipping class with Marlene McKinnon."

"Who's Marlene McKinnon?" Harry asked.

"She was a witch in our year. Talented, and very attractive. She and your mum were good friends, and she fancied Remus," Sirius explained.

"She did not," Remus countered.

Sirius shot his friend an exasperated look. Remus had a wife and a kid on the way, yet he still didn't feel like anyone could ever find him desirable. "She did, too," Sirius told him firmly before cutting his eyes to Harry. "There were dozens of girls at Hogwarts that fancied Remus, but he was always too mopey to see it." Turning his attention back to his longtime friend, he finished, "Anyway, she must have liked you, otherwise you two would not have been caught in a broom closet together during Charms."

"We were not caught in a broom closet," Remus argued, suddenly getting the urge to cover his godson's ears. "It was an empty classroom, we were skipping History of Magic, and we were just talking."

Sirius snorted. "That's not what I heard."

Remus glared at his friend while his godson shook the couch beside him with his hysterical giggling.

"Ok, you skipped class. What else?" Harry finally asked.

"I told you, I don't recall," Remus annoyedly responded. Staring into the inquisitive eyes of his godson however had his annoyance melting away before he finally admitted. "I do remember the last one. I was caught helping sneak food from Hogsmeade back to the Common Room for a party we were throwing."

"I thought the bun was going to blow right off Minnie's head that night," Sirius recalled.

….

Flashback: May 1976

"Will you three hurry up?" a sixteen year old Remus Lupin snapped as he watched his friends climb out of the one-eyed witch statue.

"Sorry, Peter took forever," James told him.

"Shut up. Your legs are like twice as long as mine," Peter retorted. "Plus I had to watch the map."

"Well speaking of, check it now. Is the coast clear?"

Peter held the map close to his face to read it carefully. "Yeah, we're good. McGonagall is out but she's nowhere near us."

Remus nodded, then frowned at his friends. "Can't you three use the cloak? I can be out patrolling by myself as a prefect, but if Minnie catches all of us, I'm really in for it," he asked them.

James held up the two butterbeer pitchers in his hand as evidence. "How are we supposed to keep it on all of us when we're carrying all of this?"

He wasn't wrong. Sirius was carrying a tray of various biscuits and pies and another pitcher of butterbeer, while Peter held a sack from Honeydukes and the map.

Remus sighed. "Alright, fair point. Let's just get back to the Common Room as fast as possible."

The four of them snuck around as quietly as they could until in the distance could be heard the unmistakable sound of boots hitting the stone floor.

"Wait, stop," Sirius whispered sharply. "Do you hear that?"

All four boys stopped, praying it had been their imaginations somehow uniting to trick them all. No such luck. The footsteps were getting closer.

James cursed quietly and glared at Peter. "I thought you said McGonagall wasn't near us?"

"She isn't," Peter defended, looking down at the map. "She's on the third floor."

Sirius, Remus, and James all looked at him.

"We're on the third floor you blithering idiot!" Sirius snapped, but further argument was halted by a furious Transfiguration professor coming around the corner.

Steam was practically coming from her ears as she lectured all four of them, banished all the snacks they were carrying, assigned them detention, and told Sirius, James, and Peter that they had a five minute head start to clear up whatever might be going on in the Common Room before she got there. The three of them wasted no time in scurrying away, but she held Remus back.

Remus would never forget the look of sheer disappointment on her face.

"I have been a professor at this school for many years, Remus Lupin, and never have I had a prefect behave so irresponsibly," McGonagall began.

"Professor, I…"

"Silence. Besides the detention you will be serving alongside your friends, I am suspending your prefect privileges for one month, along with writing to your parents. In that month, I suggest you think very hard about if you have the moral fortitude to continue being a leader at this school. Because if you are not mature enough to refrain from joining your friends in their outlandish schemes, I can certainly find someone who is."

….

A 'tisk, tisk' from his godson drained Remus's remaining embarrassment as he moved to land a playful smack to the back of Harry's head.

Harry dodged his godfather's hand, before laughing. Finally he looked up at Sirius. "Would you ever send me a howler?"

Sirius stroked his finely trimmed beard as he thought. "No, I don't think so. I'm not a fan of public humiliation as a form of punishment. Why? Are you and Ron planning to fly the car to school again this year?"

"No, we were thinking the motorcycle might be a better choice this time," Harry responded cheekily.

Remus doubled over in laughter, but Sirius was less entertained. "Do it, and you'll wish I'd sent ten howlers instead of what I will do."

Harry smirked. "Noted. So I'm assuming McGonagall eventually gave you your privileges back."

Remus nodded. "Reluctantly, yes. I managed to stay mostly out of trouble the rest of the year."

Harry nodded before a thought occurred to him that caused him to scowl. "Hang on. My first year, the night we helped Hagrid with the dragon, Filch caught us, and McGonagall was furious, of course. She read us the riot act, and I remember she specifically said that she had never caught four students out on the same night before. Then she took 150 points and said she had never been more disappointed in Gryffindors."

Sirius snickered. "Never before, huh? Yeah, she either forgot, which isn't likely, or that was just her way of making you feel even more guilty. She caught the four of us on more than one occasion."

Remus rubbed his forehead. "I still can't believe you smuggled a dragon out of Hogwarts as a first year. That beats anything we pulled off during our time there."

"I can't believe Hagrid let you," Sirius said under his breath. He gave his son a sharp look to stave off any inevitable argument. They'd had this discussion a few times before. Harry would always defend Hagrid's actions, while Sirius figured that Hagrid was lucky he wasn't Harry's guardian at the time. It would have taken a great deal of restraint to not hex the half giant after not only allowing his son to sneak his dragon away, but also taking him into the Forbidden Forest afterwards. Now that he was thinking about it, Sirius was sure he would have strongly considered pulling Harry out of Hogwarts altogether after that, had he been in the picture. He shook himself and looked back at his son. "You know, between that and how you arrived at school your second year, maybe you are continuing the Marauder legacy after all."

Harry smirked. He truly enjoyed any reminder of how he was like his father, even if the reminder came after a bit of mischief. He knew his father was a good man, and he wanted to be a good man like him, and Sirius and Remus too.

Sirius leaned forward and tapped his son's knee. "You know, I am really proud of you, right?" he told him sincerely.

Harry smiled. "Yeah, I know."

"Your mum and dad would be proud too. Ecstatic even. You're just an incredible kid, Harry James."

….

Later that evening, long after he'd tucked his son in for the night, Sirius sat in his study looking at photo albums of his friends and their time at Hogwarts.

He lingered a few minutes over a photo of James and Lily the morning of their graduation, Head Boy and Head Girl badged pinned respectively to their school robes. They were clearly in love and barely able to keep their hands off of one another. In the photo, Lily had her arm around James's shoulder before he picked her up and kissed her. She laughed and returned his kiss before the motion of the photo would start over again.

Sirius rubbed his lips as he watched them over and over again. So young and happy and carefree, but when he looked very closely, he could see the sparkle in James's eyes was just a little dimmer than it had been. Their years at Hogwarts had been the best of their lives, but now they were facing a dangerous world and fear had already begun to settle in. He silently vowed to do everything in his power to never let the spark of fun and mischief leave his son's…their son's eyes.

Sirius closed the album, stuck it back in its spot on his bookshelf, and walked upstairs. As he did every night, he quietly opened his son's door and checked on the sleeping boy. He had taken great comfort in watching Harry's chest rise and fall each night over the past several weeks, whether it was like now when he was just checking on his son before going to bed himself, or it was after Harry had had a nightmare and needed help falling asleep again. It had been a difficult summer as they both fought to heal from the events following the third task, but they were certainly getting there. Another memory drifted into Sirius's head.

….

Flashback: August 1977

Peter was passed out on the couch. Remus had called it a night nearly an hour ago and was currently snoring in one of the guest bedrooms. Sirius was tidying up from their Head Boy celebration when a small cloud of smoke caught his eye out the window. He looked out to see James sitting on the balcony, a glass of some sort of dark alcohol in one hand and a cigarette in the other. Frowning, he banished an abandoned crisp bag and joined his best friend in the cool air of the night.

"Hey," he said, sliding the glass door closed. Though it was well past midnight, the city street far below still showed signs of life. Bright street lamps and headlights gave a soft glow to the balcony, just enough for Sirius to see that underneath the carefree mask, James was suffering.

For one, James never smoked. Sirius did, fairly regularly, though not habitually, but James only joined his friend for a smoke when he was dealing with something heavy.

Sirius studied James for a moment. He knew James, considered him a brother, and he knew that James wasn't likely to open up if questioned. He preferred companionship over conversation when he was hurting, so Sirius pulled a cigarette from the pack next to James and sat down in the lounge chair beside him. James pulled a lighter from his pocket and tossed it to him, and Sirius used it to light his cigarette. There were about two minutes of silence, the only sound being when they each blew out a puff of smoke or James shook the ice in his glass, before finally James spoke up.

"You know why Dumbledore named me Head Boy, don't you?"

Sirius tapped his cigarette on the side of the ash tray and sighed. "Yeah."

"The war is getting worse," James said ominously.

Sirius nodded slowly. "Yeah, I know. Dumbledore wants you in charge if the fight comes to Hogwarts."

"Yeah," James whispered, crushing out his cigarette. He took another sip of his drink, then looked Sirius in the eye. Sirius had never seen such terror on his friend's face.

"I don't want to fight a war, Sirius. I don't. I want to play quidditch and marry Evans and have babies that are smart and beautiful."

Sirius stared back at him, his heart breaking. He had no idea what to say. He couldn't say, "That's not going to happen," or make those empty promises that adults had been making for the last few years as things got worse and worse in their world. They were the adults now. They knew what was happening. They read the papers and saw news of people disappearing, dying. There were just no words of comfort that could change their reality.

Fortunately, James saved Sirius from having to speak by speaking again. "No matter what, we've got each other, right?"

That was something Sirius would always know the answer to. "Always, James."

….

Sirius wiped a tear from his eye as he sat down gently on the side of Harry's bed and kissed the messy head. Sitting back up, he reached for the framed picture of James and Lily that Harry kept on his night stand.

"The war is finally over James. I wish you were here to see it. And your baby is smart and beautiful. Just like you and Lily."