Following the funeral procession, the many relatives and friends of Mr. and Mrs. Potter gathered in the church's back garden. A warm spell had been cast around the area, causing the snow to melt and the grass to show. The flowers that had previously been inside had been brought out to make it feel like spring. Many tables of food, both catered and brought by guests, had been brought out for people to enjoy. The three paintings that had previously stood in front of the coffins had been moved to behind a table that held autograph books where people were encourage to write a message in their memory.

Harry felt very out of place and uncomfortable, surrounded by so many people he was related to. No one approached him, because no one knew him. But Harry recognized quite a few from old photos, though he had no will nor want to try and talk to them. It was almost better that they looked over him as they walked by, because then he was able to observe their natural conversations and actions.

Remus sat across from Harry, and he too appeared somewhat awkward as he did not know anyone either. They watched as Sirius and James stood by the garden's gate, saying goodbye as relatives left.

"How are you two doing?" Lily sat down across from Harry and James, setting a plate with some small portions of different foods in front of them.

"We're ok," Remus answered, glancing at Harry who simply looked down.

"I heard that you visited James at the hospital while he was still with his parents. And that you also went back to his home while the ministry were still there. This must be quite awful for all of you."

Both nodded in response.

"You're both excellent friends for staying with him," Lily said with a small smile. "He told me that you helped clean the house, and at every opportunity have asked him what else there is you can do for him."

She frowned suddenly.

"Unlike Peter… I can't believe he didn't show up."

Harry's face grew dark at the mention of the name.

"I wonder if the owl never reached him," Remus said, picking at one of the small sandwich squares thoughtfully. Lily scoffed.

"There's no way he couldn't have. Maria's parents are muggle and she wasn't at home when the owl first came and they don't like dealing with owls so they shooed it away. That's why she didn't get the letter until much later when the owl finally tried for a second time to deliver the mail. But Peter has no excuse, his family is magical."

"He's been going through a lot, lately. His grandmother —"

"Yes, his grandmother." Lily said folding her arms. "I'm starting to think there's something else going on. Who could possibly miss so much school because an elderly relative keeps almost dying? I don't mean to be insensitive but I don't think that's really what's going on, it doesn't make much sense."

"Yes, it does seem rather odd." Remus trailed off.

"But I mean, what else could be going on?"

"I'm not sure, but I know it has nothing to do with his grandmother." Lily said confidently. "But anyways, try not to think about things like that for now. James is going to need good friends like you two for a long while."

"How is he doing?" Harry spoke for the first time in a long while.

"He's doing as well as can be expected." Lily said with a sigh. "I think there is really no way this couldn't have affected him. He won't ever be the same, but I think he will take this tragedy and make something good of it. He's been talking a lot about the activity of dark magic rising, I think he's seriously considering becoming an Auror to help stop it."

"Just like his father," Remus said looking down. Lily nodded.

"I think Sirius is thinking the same thing."

"I remember a few months ago they both wanted to be Quidditch stars." Harry muttered.

"Things change. Things happen." Lily looked down at the lush grass that had been revealed under all the snow. "I think after what has happened, the world has gotten a whole lot bigger and a whole lot darker for both of them. And they see that dwelling in things like Quidditch is only an action of ignoring the issues going on around them. Neither of them can ignore it anymore."

"None of us can." Remus said. Lily nodded.

"Well, I think I'm going to help clear the tables, it seems like a lot of people are leaving now. I hope you both really are doing alright. I can only imagine how you all feel." Lily stood up and walked towards an empty table, waving her wand to clear away the used plates.

"So, after this is over, I think we should pack up our things and go elsewhere." Remus said, turning to Harry. "I still don't think James can mentally handle living in the home his parents were murdered, even if he says he's fine."

"Do you think he'll be willing to leave?" Harry asked.

"No, but I'm still going to suggest it. We might be able to go to my home, though it's rather small. It's really our only option though." Remus sighed. "I'll try contacting Peter again, his house would be big enough for all of us."

"No," Harry said sternly before he could stop himself. Remus raised his eyebrows.

"It would be better to stay at James's house." Harry said looking away. "As long as James says he's ok, we should stay there."

"I'll talk to him about it…" Remus said, eyeing Harry closely.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o

That afternoon, Remus pulled James aside and suggested they stayed somewhere else. Like he had suspected, James was not interested in leaving.

"We have to clean the place up, organize everything," James had said as he pushed another plate of leftover food into the large refrigerator. "This house is so big it will take us months to go through everything, and living somewhere else will only take longer."

And that was the end of the conversation. That same evening, Lily showed up in the living room, stepping out through the fireplace carrying a large bag. James had asked her to stay for a few days and to help begin sorting through his parents things. They started in the attic, where they found a number of Christmas decorations yet to be brought out.

"They always waited until we got home from school," Sirius said, holding back all emotion as he opened a box of ornaments.

"Don't bother getting them out," James said, shifting another box of Christmas decorations to the side.

"Why not?" Lily asked, retrieving the box from the pile of other unwanted items. "Christmas is only a two days away, I think they would have wanted us to celebrate it. Would your mum really have wanted the house to feel cold and empty Christmas day?"

No one said anything as James stared back at Lily. Finally, he nodded stiffly and picked up another box labeled "Christmas" and carried it down the steps. The boys all looked back at Lily who had also reached down to pick up a box.

"I know you guys don't want to upset him more, but don't let him push away his feelings either." Lily said, before following James down the steps.

The rest of the evening took a very uplifting turn for the better. As they friends all worked together to hang decorations, the house began to slowly lose its haunted feeling. Life returned to the home, as they drank butterbeer and unpacked the boxes. They laughed as Sirius tried his best to transfigure a branch into a christmas tree ("C'mon mate, we've had to turn rats into tea cozies before and you can't turn a tree into a bigger tree?"), and laughed even more at the final result: a wonky ever green missing most of its upper branches. But a tree, nonetheless.

They placed tinsel and candles on the branches as well as delicate glass ornaments. As they hung them, James explained where his parents had got each ornament and what significance it held to the family. There quite a few dragon shaped ones that puffed out smoke that his father had got in Romania, as well as a particularly interesting one made of different precious metals that a goblin had given his mother in thanks.

Lily was the one who opened the box with the christmas stockings in them. She paused before she slowly took each one out and hung them above the fireplace. Each one had a name sewn into it: Mum, Dad, James, Sirius, Elzy, Lula, Quill. One after another Lily placed them side by side. She reached into the box, and found several more stockings, however there were no names on them.

"Mum always kept extras," James said, regaining a solemn tone.

"Look, Harry," Lily said, reaching into a basket that was sitting by the armchair. She pulled out another stocking, but this one had shining gold letters sewn in that read 'Harry'.

"Mrs. Potter must have been making one for you since she knew you were coming, that's so sweet of her." Lily said with a sad smile. She turned and hung up Harry's stocking, as well as the additional ones for herself and Remus.

"The house looks so much better now," she remarked, turning back to the group. "Your parents would have loved it."

James looked down, as well as the others.

"It's important you know, that even in times like this that we don't let the light go out. Just like Dumbledore said." Lily sat down in Mrs. Potter's arm chair. "By celebrating Christmas, and decorating the house, and hanging up the stocking's your mom made, we're honoring all of them."

"You're right, Lily." Sirius said, taking a sip of his butterbeer once again. "They all would have wanted this. They were all waiting for us to come home just so we could do this together. And even if they're not here with us visibly, they're here with us in spirit and in memory."

"Beautifully said," Remus raised his glass of butterbeer. "To Mr. and Mrs. Potter, for a wonderful Christmas holiday."

They all raised their glasses and drank in their memory.

o0o0o0o0o

Later that night, Harry found James still in the living room sitting on the couch. Harry and Remus had been taking turns staying in the guest room, and that night it was Harry's turn to sleep on the couch. Previously Harry had hated it, because he was the only one downstairs and he was laying so close to where the murders had happened that he couldn't help but feel an eery chill prickle down his back and sleep had evaded him. But now, with the decorations up and the warm glow from the tree, he felt much better about sleeping there.

"What are you still doing down here?" Harry asked, taking a seat next to James. James eyes did not move from the wall above the fireplace. Harry looked up and saw that the three painting had been placed side by side on the wall.

"Those paintings came out really nicely," Harry said quietly.

"I wish you could have met them, Harry." James said, not taking his eyes off the paintings. "I bet you anything they would have known exactly how we are related. I'm sure we are. They wouldn't have even had to have taken a family tree map out in order to have known. My dad would have had one glance at you and listed all the cousins we could possibly share."

"They both sounded like great people, I wish I could have met them too." Harry said sadly.

"When I told them about you in my letters, they were just as excited as you were. My mum went on for pages about what to get you for christmas and things we should all do together." James trailed off.

"But… At least we found each other. Distant family or not, family is the most important," he said firmly. Harry nodded.

"Do you remember anything about your parents?" James asked suddenly.

"No, I don't really remember them at all." Harry said.

"I wonder if they died like mine have, I can't imagine my parents would let me go missing for several months if they were alive." James said. "Maybe when we're organizing my dad's study, we can try and figure out who your parents are and if they're still alive or not. I'd like to help you get your memory back and reunite you with your family."

They sat there in silence for some time. Harry wasn't quite sure what to say to him. He was incredibly tempted to tell him right then that he was reunited with his family, more so than he could have ever imagined, but he held the words back.

If James found out that would mean Sirius and Lily would also find out, and if all three of them knew it would only be a matter of time before they learned about what was to come in their future. It suddenly occurred to Harry that it wasn't even in the too distant future that all of this would happen. In three years, Harry would be born. In four, James and Lily would be dead, and Sirius would be in Azkaban. Could Harry really do anything about it? If he could, should he?

"Well, I'm going to go to bed now." James said, standing. "Thanks for being there for me mate. We may not have known each other long, but I consider you a brother and a fellow marauder."

"That means a lot," Harry said with a sad smile.

"Things can only get better." James said, though Harry had a feeling he said it more towards himself than towards Harry.

o0o0o0o0o

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TwoSoulsEntwining: Sorry for the spelling errors/typos, I don't proof read anything before I post it (sorry, I just get really excited when I finish something and want to post it as soon as I do). I hope it doesn't get to the point where its impossible to read, I try to proof read as I go along and I usually reread it after I post it and then edit it. Bad system, I know, but oh well haha. Thanks for the review!

MSupernatural: I know, I love James as well. This is a really key turning point in his character though, and the whole point of the previous chapter was to establish him as an adult who is ready to face the world and the darkness he's about to face. I'm glad you like the story! I appreciate you reviews :)

And special thanks to Neverlookingbackfromlife who is slowly but surely reading my first chapters and reviewing each of them; you are a wonderful human being thank you!