Well, readers, it hasn't been two weeks. It's been a month.

I am so sorry for the delayed posting. Sometimes life likes to hit you all at once - I graduated, I was in an accident, I am moving and my beta got married yesterday. It has felt like a roller coaster. I cannot guarantee when I will post next, but I do have the next four chapters written. They need to be beta'd, and life has just been too crazy for me to send my beta my chapters. I can tell you that I will be doing my best to return to weekly or bi-weekly postings on Sundays.

Thank you all for your continued support on this fiction - I hope you enjoy this crazy long (for me) chapter. The majority of the beginning has not been beta'd, because I wanted to take the time today to add something special for you all since you had to wait so long.

This chapter is dedicated to my beta, Tearose_romantic (on A03). Your friendship and support means the world to me, and I am so happy for you.

After this chapter, we start getting into more of the plot of the story. Without further adieu, enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 6 – Grieving while Living

July 12th, 1986

The game had been cold but exhilarating. James Potter had managed to get the quaffle through the central hoop just before the snitch had been caught by the Ravenclaw seeker. He had just gotten them to 190 unanswered points when the Ravenclaw seeker had ended their misery. The Gryffindor after party was filled with butterbeer and firewhisky. Lily had had a bit more than she'd planned on. She found herself dancing with Marlene and Alice – celebrating a Gryffindor Quidditch victory as she never had before – when she had watched James come into the common room with a surprising hunger. His perfectly messy hair, happy hazel eyes, and grass stained uniform hit her all at once and she felt intoxicated in a way she had never felt before. She sent a lazy smile his way and he looked entranced, caught in a snare she didn't realize she had set.

Marlene pulled her away and cornered her, abrasively accusing her of liking James Potter. Of caring for him as more than the friend he had become. Her voice echoed in her mind, "I see the way you look at him, Lils. You can't fool yourself anymore – he really has changed. You can trust him now." Her heart was pounding. But she couldn't help the urge to correct her.

"Marlene, I don't like him, I love him." To feel conflicted was one thing, to admit that you love someone you thought you hated was another thing entirely. She needed to get away – to get away from the alcohol, away from the swirling thoughts. She stared into Marlene's surprised blue eyes and ran. She made for the door, passing James on the way. He lightly caught her arm.

She turned to look at his perfect face. Her heart skipped a beat. "Meet me in the Head's office when you're done, Potter." The words tumbled out of her sharply, she felt out of control of herself for the first time in such a long time.

His eyes locked on hers. She could see the confusion swirling within them.

She escaped his grasp, running out of the common room and towards the head's office.

So, it was true. She really did love James Potter. As much as she'd tried to deny it, Marlene had weaseled her true feelings out of her. Lily found herself holding her head in her hands at her desk, the desk they had now had so many honest conversations at. The desk their friendship had blossomed at. She lifted her head to look at the chair that sat opposite of her, wishing she hadn't told him to meet her here. She didn't know what she'd say if he actually came. Lost in her thoughts, she winced as she heard the door open.

She looked up. James' hair was calmer than it had been before, and she knew he must have been running his hand through it all night out of worry. What a pity. Lily let her eyes glaze over his perfect form. He was still wearing the grass stained jersey and looking at her wildly – the worry in his eyes made her feel unhinged..

"So, I'm back to Potter now, am I? What's wrong, Lily? Why did you run? I don't understand what just happened."

"Of course you're still James. I've just had a bit to drink, that's all." Lily felt her blush spread over her cheeks involuntarily. "It just came out wrong."

James bit his lip looking at her. "I didn't do anything to upset you?"

Lily shook her head.

James let out a sigh, his posture visibly relaxing. He went to the chair across from her and Lily shook her head, pointing next to her. "No, sit next to me."

Confused, James grabbed the chair and plopped it down next to her, sitting down quickly. "So, what did you want to talk about, then?"

Lily looked into his beautiful hazel eyes. "I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?" James laughed. "You really are a mystery to me, Lily. Three months of being your friend and I still don't understand you."

Lily felt her blush deepen and her palms begin to sweat. "Well, sorry I'm not perfect."

James' eyes quickly darkened. She didn't realize how close he had moved the chair to her until he had raised his hand and cupped her cheek. "Don't say that, don't ever say that. You're perfect to me, Lily."

Lily felt her breath quicken. She stared at his perfect face – his hazel eyes, his soft eyebrows, his high cheekbones and the nose that perfectly fit his face. The soft expression she found there melted her heart. She took her hand and used it to cradle the one that was caressing her cheek. She let her eyes wander to his full lips and felt as her own opened involuntarily. "I think I'm falling in love with you."

James' expression quickly turned to one of shock. "You're having me on."

Lily giggled, took the hand that was cupping her cheek to her lips and softly kissed it. "No, I'm not. I think I'm falling in love with you, James. I realized it tonight and it terrifies me."

She heard James' sharp intake of breath. "Lily, you're sure? You're absolutely sure?"

She looked up to laugh again but stopped when he saw the fear in James' eyes. "You're scared." She felt her head tilt. "Why are you scared?"

James didn't move an inch as he replied, "Because this has only happened in my dreams. And usually this is where it ends." He closed his eyes softly and took a deep breath in, opening them up again slowly. "When I told you that I loved you at the end of last year, I never thought you'd say it back."

Lily smiled softly at him and kissed his hand again. "You told me you'd change, and you did. You honestly and truly changed. You've shown me how good of a person you are, James." She inched closer to his face, a new look dawning in his eyes.

"Does this mean I have a chance?"

Her eyes met his as she brought his hand back to her cheek. "I'm terrified of giving my heart to anyone after what I've been through, but I realized that I trust you, James."

His eyes explored her face, and she almost felt like he was waiting for her to say something else. His expression gleamed with happiness when she didn't add anything. "So, what do we do next."

Lily rolled her eyes as she giggled, "You could kiss me."

Her heart fluttered in her chest as she watched James close his eyes and inch his face towards hers. She leaned into him, ready to finally –

James pulled back, his eyes sad. "I miss you, Lily."

Lily sucked in a breath as her body shot up into a sitting position. It was a dream. It was always a dream, now. She felt the palpitations in her chest as she tried to calm herself down. She stared at the phone next to her, her hand begging to call her sister, but she resisted when she saw the clock – it was 4:03. She silently cursed Vernon as she flipped the duvet cover off of her and slid her feet onto the hard floor. She wandered, ending up at the door to Harry's bedroom.

She opened it slowly, her heart finally slowing down seeing the peaceful face of her sleeping son. She glanced around the rest of the room. They had decided on painting it a cream color when they moved in. Lily couldn't help but smile at the golden snitches dancing across the top of the boarder of the room – it was something they had added for his second birthday. His twin sized duvet cover was littered with images of lions, and his bed was filled with stuffed wolves, stags, and puppies. She caught herself yawning and quietly closed the door to head back to her own bedroom. Harry was sleeping safe and sound.

She dragged herself back under her duvet cover, but spent the next hour staring at the ceiling – her head filled with the thoughts of what was to come today. Fears swirled around her mind without consent. She, Remus and Sirius had finally decided that today they would be taking Harry to Godric's hollow, but she wasn't sure she was ready. Neither did her dreams, apparently.

Her friends and house elves, of course, had gone back to the house to grab things for her in the days and weeks following Halloween. She had even glanced at her house in the background of James' burial. Images of James' dead body near the stairs haunted her nightmares, and she didn't think she'd ever get the image of the night sky shining through her son's nursery as she laid there damaged and bleeding, helpless to save her son, out of her head. She couldn't escape that horrible night.

At the same time, she needed to take Harry back to where it happened. He needed to see that house, needed to understand the magnitude of what happened that night. But the sheer violence of the night would be given away when he saw the state that the house was in. And the statue. She sighed. He was going to be turning six in a few short weeks. She stared out her window as the sun was beginning to rise. I suppose I'm just not going to be heading back to sleep this morning, she thought bitterly to herself. Lily proceeded to get up and get ready for the day, picking through her muggle clothes for the outing. It was too early to busy her mind with making breakfast, so she decided to settle on going down to the library for an hour.

She sped down the stairs to her second favorite place in the house, (only behind her personal library above her bedroom). To her surprise, she found Remus awake there as well. Remus was sitting in a small but comfortable arm chair they had in the corner of the library. He was using his wand to light up the book he was cradling. He'd decided to stay the night before they ventured to Godric's hollow. "Remus." She breathed.

"Hey Lil." He smiled at her from his chair. "I'm going to take a guess here and say that you couldn't sleep either?"

Lily sighed and nodded her head. "I just had too much on my mind. I'm also a little scared for today."

Lily squirmed where she was standing, wishing to God that she didn't have to return to the house where her husband died five years ago. No, she thought to herself, I can't back out now. I need to be the Gryffindor that I know I am. Lily needed to go to that house. She needed to do it for Harry.

Sirius, Lily, Remus, and Harry were standing at the graveyard in Godric's Hollow. Although it was a beautiful summer's day, none of the four of them could have told you that it was. They had had an emotional experience just getting to the grave. Lily, of course, had known exactly where it was. But every step they took closer to it felt like a dagger in her heart. The three adults felt guilty. They hadn't been there since the funeral all those years ago from the sheer pain it put them through thinking about the man whose body was in front of them. The small boy they had with them felt the difference in the mood than he was used to. He knew this was hard for his little family, but at his age it was hard to grasp just how hard.

He held his mum's hand the entire way to the grave. They stared at the gravestone that read,

James Potter

27 March, 1960 – 31 October, 1981

Lily Potter

30 January, 1960 –

The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

Tears rolled down Lily's face. She conjured a bouquet of flowers to lie on her husband's grave. They watched as the flowers conjured themselves over the grass. She held her growing son against her side as her tears fell.

"It's okay, Mummy. I know he's glad we're here."

That little voice that came from her side warmed her heart. She knew for him, she could do this.

Sirius's face was blank. Echoes of the past were haunting him. He hated death and still didn't know how to handle it even after all these years that James has been gone. His brother, his only family was within feet of him, but he was never coming back. Remus just hung his head, thinking of his packmate and the man that he hoped would be proud of the boy they were all raising.

Not one of them could have said how long they stayed there for, but Lily and Remus gave each other a look, and Lily nodded.

"We should get going." Lily whispered. She grabbed Harry's hand and turned around. Remus turned to follow but noticed that Sirius wasn't moving.

"Are you coming, Padfoot?" He asked, already knowing what his friend was going to say.

"I'll come eventually. I just need a few minutes. Go on, Harry needs at least one of us there."

"James! Wait up!" Sirius shouted. His best friend had run off of the train as soon as he could to find his parents. Sirius did his best to follow him but couldn't keep up. It was Christmas break, and Sirius had moved into the Potter's home the past summer since he'd run away from his own family.

He ran through the crowd of parents, all excited to see their children. Well, all but one family. Sirius saw his mother, Walburga Black, standing coldly away from the other excited parents. She was no doubt waiting for Regulus. She stared at them with her trademarked blank look. Their eyes met and Sirius could see the disapproval dripping from her cold, piercing blue eyes.

Disapproval and anger. The only two emotions he'd ever seen her show.

"Sirius!" He heard another familiar woman's voice shout. "Sirius, it's been too long!" Mrs. Potter's welcoming voice rang in his ears. He smiled and broke the eye connection with his own mother. Turning to face forward, he finally found James. He was pointing at Sirius and James' mother, who was standing next to him, was calling his name.

"Mrs. Potter!" Sirius said as he ran up to hug her. He glanced back at his own mother, disappointment now the only emotion in her eyes.

Four Years Later

"That was the best bachelor party ever!" Sirius said, still completely drunk. James' parents had agreed to let them stay the night at their house since Lily said he couldn't return to their flat.

"Thanks, Sirius. I mean it." He smiled at his brother brightly before he managed to trip over the uneven break in the sidewalk. Fortunately, James somehow managed to catch himself. The two boys broke into a howl of laughter.

Unbeknownst to them at the time, Mrs. Potter's eyes were watching them from the upstairs window. She sighed to herself and began the trek downstairs to help her two drunk boys into the house. Though Sirius had been a later addition, she still treated him as a son.

"Boys?" She called out from the front door.

The two boys' howling laughter abruptly ended. Sirius looked up. He had never seen anything that screamed "home" to him ever before. And he never would again.

While everyone else grieved for James, Sirius grieved for the only real family he had ever known. With that thought, he left the grave and joined his new family, one filled with love and longing for those who had been left behind.

Harry and Lily arrived in front of the row of houses that they used to live in. As she turned to look at Harry, she noticed that he wasn't looking at the houses any longer. Instead, he was looking at the huge statue of their family. The sculptor had captured James' face perfectly. Lily's heart skipped a beat when she saw the little baby Harry in her arms. He had his scar.

Harry let go of Lily's hand. He ran towards the statue at full speed, needing to look closer. He stared at his father's face with an extreme amount of curiosity. "Mum, it's just like the portrait from the Potter vault."

"I didn't even know that they'd put something like that up." She heard a voice from behind her. Remus was looking at the statue with sorrow etched into his eyes.

"I told them to do what they wanted here, since I knew we'd never live here again. A ministry official came to the hospital one night while I was recovering. I just told him he could do whatever he wanted as long as it was invisible to Muggles and wasn't too big. This is what they had suggested, but I didn't imagine it would be this large."

They felt Sirius' presence as he rejoined their little family surrounding the statue before them. After a long moment of silence, Sirius said, "He looks like just as much of a wanker as he did in life."

Lily turned to him with a flash of anger in her voice, "Sirius!"

But her anger died down almost as fast as it had come. She heard voices next to her beginning to laugh. And it was a lovely laughter, laughter that was carefree and light. She smiled at Sirius as he winked at her. As the laughter died down, the little family looked towards the mess that she had used to call a home with her husband. The bushes that James had added in the front were now completely overgrown, and one was dead. The front door had lost the shine that it had previously had. The section of the house that used to be Harry's nursery had a wall and the roof missing from it. Just seeing it brought back the images from her nightmares.

There was a plaque on the fence that she hadn't noticed before.

It read:

On this spot, on the night of 31 October 1981,

James Potter lost his life.

He is survived by his wife, Lily Potter.

Their son, Harry, remains the only wizard

ever to have survived the Killing Curse.

This house, invisible to Muggles, has been left

in its ruined state as a monument to the Potters

and as a reminder of the violence

that tore apart their family.

Around the entire plaque, there were words scribbled into the wood left by witches and wizards who had come to see the place where the Boy Who Lived had, well, lived. Some were just names, but others were messages that left Lily speechless.

Be happy Lily and Harry, you deserve it!

You've left an example for all of us to follow.

Thanks Harry!

Lily didn't even know what to think. Before she got the chance to digest what she had just read, she noticed a scribble that she knew all too well had etched its own note into the plaque.

I love you.

"Mum! Is this our old house?" Her thoughts were disrupted by the small voice that was growing louder by the second.

"This is it, dear."

"Wow." She looked down to see her almost six-year-old son staring at the hole in the house.

"Yes, wow indeed."

Sirius looked at the window sill at the front of his house. An image of James playing with his snitch, his hair a mess, danced in his head. It was like he was still there. That gave him an idea.

"I'm going to go in and grab one thing quickly, just wait here."

Sirius was already on the move before Lily could get a word out to remind Sirius that they were just there to show Harry what had happened, not for her to relive her nightmares. She leaned over into Remus' ear, "Remus, would you take Harry on a walk? I'm not sure what he's going to bring out of that house."

Remus nodded, and plastered a smile on his face. "Harry, why don't we go explore? This is a town with other wizards in it, so who knows what kind of creatures we could find. You know why?"

Harry's eyes sparkled. "Because magic animals like magic!"

"Very good, Harry!" Remus smiled a true smile as Harry took his outstretched hand. She watched as her friend took her son down towards Bathilda Bagshot's old house, and they began to look into the garden.

She sighed and turned back to her former home. It must have been another ten minutes before Sirius finally came back outside. He was running down the front walkway to her, carrying a square case she had seen before, but not in a very long time. When he finally reached her, out of breath, he huffed, "Lily, I found it."

She looked down at the familiar leather-bound case. It had a gold handle and a worn-out monogram that read JFP. Sirius' hands were shaking, and she helped him steady the case as he opened it. Inside, were two still feisty bludgers, a quaffle, and a perfect small golden snitch. The snitch had lost some of its shine from being handled for so many years, and she felt herself take a sharp intake of breath as she looked at it. She didn't dare touch it – knowing her, the snitch would fly away and never be seen again.

Sirius looked at her, his eyes weary. They were still holding the case together, so he only had to whisper. "It's almost Harry's birthday." Lily nodded. "What if we fixed up the case a bit and gave it to him? James' parents gave him this Quidditch set when he was eight, but I think Harry's a little smarter than his old pop was. As long as we tell him he can't touch the bludgers until he's eight, it would be safe. And then he could have James' old snitch."

Lily smiled at her old friend. The last few years they had been through so much together, learned how to parent together in a way that she only ever thought she would with James. He had become so much more thoughtful than he'd been in his former life. As Harry developed, he clearly had inherited her demeanor more than James and Sirius had adapted so incredibly well. "I think that's an incredibly sentimental gift, Sirius. And Harry is going to love it."

July 31st, 1986

"Everybody MOVE!", shouted Mrs. Weasley. She was trying to maneuver her way around her youngest children clamoring to swipe their fingers into the frosting she had just put on the birthday cake. She placed it down on the table outside and with her wand added a cooling charm and an alarm. "If any of you try to touch this cake, I'll know. I'm looking at you, Fred and George."

"But mummy, I want the balloon!" She looked down to see her almost five-year-old daughter staring up at her with bright brown eyes.

She chuckled. "You can have one of the frosting balloons when we eat the cake, Ginny dear. Why don't you go help Percy with putting the chickens in the coop?"

Ginny nodded and ran off. After making Ron, Fred and George help Charlie and Bill with the actual balloons, she finally felt like she could get some more work done. She still had a lot of food to finish getting ready. The Burrow was in absolute chaos, and she loved it. All of her children were home and most of them were helping to decorate for Harry's birthday party that was starting soon.

A bark from behind her told her she had less time than she thought she did. She turned around to see a giant black dog running towards her daughter, helping round in the chickens. In any other situation, she would be panicking. Instead she just rolled her eyes and went inside to get the rest of the food ready.

"Padfoot, get that one!" Ginny shouted as she ran around with the large black dog that she knew was Sirius.

The dog nodded and ran off towards a chicken that had gotten away from her and Percy and was heading near the pond. She laughed as she watched the dog nip behind the chicken, leading it towards the gate that her older brother had open.

She watched Percy as he rolled his eyes while Padfoot led the chicken through the gate and closed it. Percy then started walking towards the house, towards what he was certain would be a mess.

Padfoot turned into Sirius in front of little Ginny and picked her up in his arms. "How's my little Ginevra?"

"Siri, it's Ginny!" The four-year-old still had some issues with her s sounds, so she had come up with that nickname instead of trying to say his full name for a minute. "Don't call me the other one."

"You mean Ginevra?" Sirius said playfully.

"Yucky. Put me down, you're mean." With a barking laugh, Sirius put down the small girl. She would be turning five soon, and he couldn't wait to see how her fiery personality developed as she got older.

"Hi, Harry!" Ginny said, noticing Lily, Harry and Remus coming up behind Sirius.

"Hi, Ginny!" Harry let go of his mum's hand and ran towards his small friend. "Where's Ron?"

"He's inside with Fred and George! They're making balloons!"

The three adults chuckled as they followed the two young children inside. The scene they walked into was just as they expected it would be. Fred and George were holding a balloon above Ron's head, out of reach while he tried to jump up to get it. Percy, Charlie and Bill were trying to get all of the balloons blown up and all the walls while Arthur was transfixed with the Muggle streamers that Lily had given them just for the occasion.

"Good, you're here!" Molly said. "Come in, give me a hand with the food! It's such a nice day I thought we'd eat outside and then come in and do presents. We're still waiting on Luna. You're sure your sister and her son won't be coming?"

Lily chuckled. "Petunia can't get away for such a long drive, unfortunately. Dudley sent Harry's present in the mail."

Arthur looked up at her. "Muggles can send packages through the mail, not just letters?" Lily nodded. "Fascinating."

"Just get those streamers up, Arthur. You can ask Lily about her Muggle family later.", Molly huffed.

The party was everything they had expected it to be. Once Luna and her parents arrived, the children lounged around in the grass on picnic blankets eating the wonderful food Molly had made. It was just as all the other birthdays were around here – Harry had the same birthday treatment as the rest of the Weasleys, and he absolutely loved it.

The adults chatted about mundane things, how work was going at the Ministry for Sirius and Arthur. They chatted about a new job prospect for Remus, and when the next edition of the Quibbler would be coming out. Finally, they rounded up the children for a photograph and then brought them inside for presents.

When they got into the living room, Ron bolted for the present table. "This one's from me and Ginny!" Ron shouted, handing Harry a present before he'd sat down.

"Let Harry sit, Ronald.", Molly chided.

Ginny giggled and grabbed Ron's hand, pulling him down next to where Harry was sitting. The rest of the Weasley clan, the Lovegoods, Remus, Sirius and Lily followed suit.

Harry began to rip the paper off their gift, to find a framed photograph of the three of them laughing and playing near the chicken coop outside. "You always tell us how much you like all the photos of us by the fireplace, so we thought you might like one of us for yours."

Harry smiled. "Thank you, Ron and Ginny!"

The rest of the presents felt like a treasure trove for young Harry. From the rest of the Weasleys, he had received both a Cannons jersey and a Harpies jersey with the promise of listening to games together on the WWN. From the Lovegoods, he got a copy of The Young Wizard's Guide to Magical Creatures by Newt Scamander with illustrations of all of the creatures throughout. They went back outside to play and eat cake, and Harry thought it was a perfect birthday party.

"Harry, dear, I think it's about time we headed home for dinner." Lily said to her son, "Why don't we say goodbye?"

Harry pouted, but saw that the sun was setting and realized that meant he would be getting his presents at home, too. "Okay, mum." He turned to Ron and Ginny, "Thanks for playing with me on my birthday. I'll see you Monday!" He gave them both a hug and put his arms up towards Sirius, which he knew meant he wanted to be carried home.

"I guess it is quite a walk, kiddo." Sirius picked Harry up. Lily and Remus grabbed Harry's presents, and they were out the door with a grateful goodbye to the host family.

Sirius, Remus, Lily and Harry were finally sitting down to the comparatively quiet and light dinner Lily had made for her family. They had already had cake at the Weasley's, so Harry knew he wouldn't be getting another one tonight, which he was perfectly fine with. Lily had encouraged Harry to take a birthday nap so that he could last the night, so he was very energetic after he woke up for dinner. They were having their usual light banter, but Lily could feel the nerves radiating off of Sirius. While Harry was telling Remus a story about a game he had played with Ron and Ginny earlier that day, she leaned over to him and whispered, "He's going to love it, Padfoot."

Sirius looked up at her and nodded. "If you're done with your plate, Prongslet, why don't you ask your mum to rinse it off in the sink with you and we can get started on opening presents?" As had been expected, Harry's eyes lit up and he quickly asked for his mother's help with the chore.

Remus and Sirius moved to the living room, where they un-disillusioned the small pile of presents that they had accumulated for Harry. While they tried not to spoil him by any means, he usually gave a lot of his presents to the Weasleys to play with him so Lily had come up with the idea this year to give him a few extras specifically to share. They added the package they had received from Lily's Muggle family to the pile, and they waited for their little man to come in. Daisy, the house elf that was now working with the family while the other two kept the other Potter properties in functioning order, popped in. "Would yous misters mind if Daisy gives the little Master a present from us?" Sirius and Remus laughed.

Remus replied, "Of course, Daisy. Why don't you stay and give it to him yourself?".

Daisy gleamed, and the three didn't wait long until little Harry Potter and his mum came into the living room.

"Daisy, we rinsed all the dishes, so you don't have so much to do!" Harry said excitedly to the elf that was in front of them.

"That was very kind of Master, that was." Daisy said with a smile. "Master, wes wanted to get you something. It's not much, but wes hope you like it." With a snap of her fingers, a beautiful bouquet appeared in the vase on the coffee table. "They're flowers from the gardens at Potter mansion, wes hope you don't mind that we picked them, Mistress."

Lily smiled at the gorgeous lilies in front of her. "We love them, Daisy. Tell Finky and Tufty thank you and take the rest of the night off to rest and enjoy the summer night."

Daisy's eyes suddenly looked wet. "Thank yous, Mistress. Such kind Masters. Wes are lucky house elves we are." With a pop she was gone, and their focus turned to the pile of presents in the center of the room.

"Wow." Harry's eyes had grown as big as saucers when he saw the pile of presents in front of him.

"There's a rule that comes with some of these presents, Harry. Some of them you have to share with the Weasleys." Lily said.

"Mum, of course I will! Thank you so much!" Harry wrapped his mother's legs in a hug.

"You still need to open them, dear."

Harry turned around and picked up the first package he saw, which happened to be the package from Dudley. He needed help with the packing tape, which Sirius was quick to aid him with. Inside were two cards, one addressed to Lily and one for Harry. Harry picked up the card, and asked Remus to help him read it while Lily read the one for her. It simply said, Sorry, Lily. I couldn't stop him from picking it out and once Dudders has made up his mind, that's it. I hope Harry gets a kick out of it.

"Mum, there's Muggle money in the card from Aunt Petunia!"

"Well, you'll have to make sure you send her a thank you card, Harry." Lily smiled at him.

He moved onto the package itself, which contained a large cloth wizarding hat. It wasn't a wizard's hat that she would expect to see at Hogwarts, but the kind of hat that one found in the costume section of a children's store. Underneath were two wooden wands, and a note from Dudley that said, For the next time we play aurer, love Dud.

"Mum, he got me a toy wand! This is so cool!"

The three adults chuckled, and Harry moved onto the rest of the pile. From his mother, he opened a new magical train set, new Muggle shirts and pants, a new set of wizarding robes (his old set was too short for him now), new socks and plenty of Legos. He even got three new toy brooms, which was what he assumed his mother had been talking about when she mentioned sharing. He couldn't wait to take them over to the Burrow. Remus and Sirius had gotten him more books than he could count – he got Winnie the Pooh, which his mum said was her favorite Muggle tale growing up. He got his own copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard, books written by some guy named Dr. Seuss, and a new telescope for Remus to show him the stars.

"This has been the best birthday ever!" Harry said when the pile was finally depleted.

"Actually, kiddo, there's one more present we want to give you.", Sirius said. He went over into the playroom and came back with a package wrapped in plain brown paper, unlike the ones his mother had wrapped.

Harry took the package from Sirius and leveled it in his lap. He opened it and found a leather box with gold lettering that said JFP. "What's this?"

"Open it and find out, Prongslet."

Harry found the gold latch on the side and gently opened up the box. In it, he found an old Quidditch set. He thought for a second why Sirius had given him an old set, and then remembered the letters on the front. "Was this my dad's, Uncle Sirius?"

Sirius smiled, "Yes it was, Harry. We think you're old enough to take care of this now. Keep it safe, and don't open the bludgers unless you have one of us with you. The snitch was your father's lucky charm, he had it on him the entire time he was at Hogwarts."

Harry put down the leather box and hugged his Uncle. "I love it, Sirius. Thank you."

And with that, Harry had his first memorable birthday. It was filled with love and a warmth that he couldn't really describe. When his mum was done helping him set up his new train set, Remus and Sirius offered to play with him until it was time for his bedtime story. Harry carried his father's old quidditch set up to his room all on his own and placed it on his dresser. He took the picture of him, Ginny and Ron and put it on his nightstand. As his family read him to sleep, he squeezed his stag hard and swore he'd heard his father say, "Happy Birthday, Harry."

Thank you so much for all of your reviews. They really meant a lot to me to continue getting them this month, even when I was having such a difficult time. Thank you for all of your support, and let me know what you all think!

Writingblondie