James was howling with laughter at his son on the telly as he tried to bake Neville a birthday cake. Harry was a shit baker, honestly. And his little elf friend, Mavis, was fuming and Harry was destroying Severus' kitchen and James was dying.
Metaphorically, of course.
Watching Harry so brightly, so happily, explain to Severus that he was baking a cake while Severus looked bewildered and the elf was glowering was like a comedy sitcom.
James had been stressed about Harry moving in with Severus. Hell, he'd been downright terrified. Sure, Severus had been good to him so far and Harry liked him, but Severus used to be good to Lily too, didn't he?
And then he betrayed her friendship in the worst way and James desperately didn't want his son to go through that kind of hurt. Lily didn't talk about it, but Dorcas told him and Sirius that she'd cried for weeks in their dorm over Severus.
But Harry seemed happy. Over the moon, really. Severus let him do what he pleased as long as he told Severus what he was doing beforehand. And James' chest ached the first time Harry whispered a request to go to Ron's to fly with his siblings; he'd watched Severus' hands so closely, so carefully, that James knew Harry thought Severus would strike him for asking.
Severus didn't. He just told Harry to have fun, be safe, called him a brat, and calmly ate dinner.
Poor Harry had been on pins and needles during his day with the Weasley's the next day. In fact, Harry was so on edge that he didn't even notice the little looks and grins that one of the twins sent him while he was there.
Lily bristled at the looks, James laughed, but their son had been anxious and oblivious.
Since then though, when Harry got back home and saw that Severus wasn't mad at him, Harry had been happy, which made James happy. And now Harry was baking a cake and making James laugh and James thought perhaps it would be a good day for him and his son both.
And then bloody Regulus showed up.
"CHANGE THE CHANNEL!" he howled. He lunged across the sitting room and snatched the remote right from James' very startled hands. "CHANGE IT, JAMES!"
"You have the remote, you change it," James said. "What's going on?"
"Sirius." Regulus flipped the channels and James sucked in a shocked breath to see Padfoot paddling across an ocean.
"What happened?" James breathed. "LILY! LILY! IT'S SIRIUS!"
"He escaped," Regulus said, sounding equal parts shocked and impressed. "He turned into a dog and slipped right out."
"Merlin's saggy nut."
James watched his old friend paddle across the ocean, his thoughts focused on Peter:
Gotta get the rat. Gotta protect Harry. Gotta get the rat. Gotta protect Harry.
A bitter feeling welled up in James, an unfair thought really, but James was annoyed that it had taken Sirius twelve years to remember he had a fucking godson.
"What's going on?" Lily asked breathlessly after running down the stairs.
"Sirius escaped Azkaban," James said flatly. "He wants to kill Peter and protect Harry."
Lily scoffed. "Kind of him to finally remember Harry," she said with a sneer.
Regulus shook his head and sank down to the floor, practically with his nose on the telly. "Sirius thinks about Harry all the time," he said quietly, a slight tremble to his voice. "Sirius never forgot him."
It went unsaid that 'unlike me' was silently tacked on.
The three of them stayed glued to the telly the next two days, not even leaving to send for the girls or the twins.
They only flicked to Harry's Channel at night, making sure their son was asleep in his bed, safe and sound. Other than that, they watched Sirius until he made it back to London.
"He did it," James said. He shook his head as Sirius carefully made his way to Knockturn Alley. "You mad bastard, Pads."
Regulus sighed and looked rather put-out. "Anyone care for a drink?"
James checked on Harry quickly and laughed to see him arguing with Severus over if he was safe to go hang out with Susan or not.
"Sure," James agreed. He kissed Lily quickly and grinned. "Sirius Black, Azkaban escapee, can you believe it?"
Lily rolled her eyes. "Yes."
****
Was it incredibly amusing watching Harry hunt for Sirius? Yes.
Lily spent hours watching her son so diligently and manically search high and low for Sirius with his maps and his terrible calculations and his never ending energy.
Elaine came over one day and the two of them lost the plot when Harry and Susan spent an afternoon plotting and scheming in Knockturn Alley about catching Sirius and Sirius trotted alongside them with his tail wagging happily.
It was even better when Lily expanded the two tellies, put them side by side, and watched Harry think about revenge against Sirius while Sirius trotted beside him thinking about how much he loved Harry.
Lily had been skeptical, to say the least, when James suggested Sirius as Harry's godfather.
Sirius was impulsive. Sirius had a penchant for depression. Sirius was brilliant and a powerful wizard- but Sirius had biases that ran bone deep and Sirius could be cruel.
But Sirius loved her son more than anything and it was so painfully obvious that Lily knew making Sirius godfather was the best decision.
Sirius' thoughts weren't even wrapped up in 'James' son', or 'Lily's boy', as so many others tended to think about Harry as. No, Sirius thought about 'Harry, my godson', and it was perfect.
Well. As perfect as Sirius being an escaped convict and Harry hunting for him so he could kill him could be, anyway.
Lily did feel badly for Severus as Harry lied to him about his activities, and she worried about Harry's safety when he began casting magic on suspicious muggles, but overall this was perhaps the best summer her son had ever had.
He wasn't in any actual danger. He was eating, mostly. Lily thought perhaps a lifetime of missing meals was driving Harry to not eat much as he popped himself around the country trying to find Sirius. He had his friends, he had a warm bed that he didn't sleep in much, he had a home, and he had someone to ask him about his day.
Harry lied to Severus' face as he invented stories about shopping with Susan, but it was still rather amusing.
James was sitting with her one day, his attention divided between the Sirius telly and the Harry telly, when Harry popped back home and Lily groaned.
"Severus knows," she said, nodding to where Harry caught sight of Severus sitting in their living room.
"Knows what?" James asked.
Lily grinned at Harry's guilty look and his determination to act casual.
"Hello, didn't see you there. How's your research going?"
"Severus knows that Harry's not been with Susan," she said. "Can you swap over to Severus' channel? I want to see how he found out."
James sighed a little, but since Sirius was just skulking around a little wizarding village in Essex, he switched it over to Severus' channel in time for an argument to break out between Severus and Harry.
"I forgot to go see Susan."
"Do not lie to me. You forgot for the last four days in a row? Where were you?"
Idiot boy. He knows Sirius Black is searching for him…
He knows Sirius Black is searching for him.
"You've been searching for Sirius Black."
"At least Harry doesn't look scared," James laughed as Harry's thoughts were scattered and frantic, but wholly unafraid. "He's really warmed up to Severus."
"Yeah…" Lily tilted her head curiously at that. "But that doesn't seem very like Harry, does it? I'm glad he's not afraid to upset Severus, of course, but… but he doesn't seem much like himself."
"I can find him Snape, really I can. Look."
"He is a little high strung." James frowned while their baby ranted and raved about trying to find Sirius. "Severus is right, he really shouldn't be using magic on random muggles. Never know when it's patrol wizards in disguise."
"I won't be arrested, nobody even knows it was me, do they? And if they did, I don't think they could even catch me to arrest me. I'm not mad, I know what I'm doing."
Lily felt a little guilty, but she did agree with Severus' thoughts; Harry sounded like he thought he was invincible.
"Have you... have you taken anything? Alcohol, Muggle drugs, or any illicit potions?"
"Did he?" James asked Lily. "I… er… I was watching Sirius, I didn't notice Harry doing drugs though?"
"No he didn't," Lily said confidently. "He sounds a bit like it though, doesn't he?"
"You'd know," James chuckled with an affectionate kiss to the side of Lily's head. "My little hippie."
Lily didn't answer as she was struck silent by Harry's sudden rant about how he could find Sirius much quicker with Severus' help.
"He sounds like Sirius when he's scheming," James said slowly, no longer sounding amused at all. "Doesn't he, Lily?"
"Yeah." Lily was also unamused, as was Severus.
What the fuck?
They watched him cast a quick diagnostic charm on Harry and it come up blank.
There is no charm in the world to diagnose madness.
"He's not bloody mad, Severus," Lily scowled.
James bit his lip and watched Harry closely for a long moment. "Has he been sleeping?" he asked only a moment before Severus asked Harry precisely that.
"Not much, he's been a bit wound up," Lily said with a defensive tone she didn't understand. It wasn't as if James were the one accusing Harry of being mad.
"Harry, you do not sound fine. You sound insane. Are you feeling stressed over the situation with Black?"
"I am not insane, and I am not 'feeling' anything. You are stressed. I am fine!"
"He better not spend the rest of the summer calling Harry crazy." Lily watched Harry storm up the staircase to his room with narrowed eyes. "Why can't everyone just leave him alone?"
James ran a hand through his hair and adjusted his glasses. "He sounds like Sirius," he said, again.
"And Sirius isn't insane," Lily pointed out. "So who cares if Harry's a little peppy?"
James hummed and then shrugged. "No one, babe. It's just…" James cut himself off and sighed. "Nevermind. Harry's probably just excited to be having an almost normal summer, eh?"
"Exactly." Lily was relieved to hear James echo her thoughts. "He's just happy, for once. And he's having fun hunting for Sirius, it's funny really."
James hummed again and Lily brushed him off.
It was nice to see Harry having fun, even if he was a little off.
***
"I'm telling you Gid, there's something wrong with him," James said bluntly as he pointed his drink at the twins' telly. "I don't mean anything bad, I just mean…" James struggled to find a way to explain. "Look at him!" James gestured to where Harry just crashed his broom, again, and broke his wrist, again, and healed it and jumped right back on his broom, again. "That's not normal!"
"I dunno, mate," Gideon shrugged and watched Harry fly as if he would never be able to fly again. "He's excited, happy even? I don't see a big deal with it."
"I've always thought he was at least mildly insane," Regulus chimed in with. "Probably a side effect of the killing curse to the forehead."
"Reg!" James pointed to where Harry was diving straight to the ground with a fierce look in his eyes. "Who does that remind you of?"
"Oof." Regulus winced as Harry crashed again. "Well, he does look quite a bit like Lily..?"
"Not his looks." James threw an olive at Regulus' head that he easily snatched from the air. "The way he's acting."
For days Harry had been flying and spiraling more and more into the kind of manic behavior that Sirius used to dive in. And James could have brushed it off, like he did when Harry impulsively and frantically decided to go hunt for a basilisk, but he also wasn't sleeping or eating much.
"I suppose you mean Sirius?" Regulus asked lightly. "Hmm…" he tilted his head at the telly and watched Harry spiral straight up and then dive straight down. "Yes, I suppose I see it. Bellatrix was like that as well, you know. Quite mad, the two of them are. Perhaps Harry's brain wasn't scrambled when he was an infant, perhaps he was born that way."
That… that didn't actually make James feel better, honestly.
Because, if Harry followed Sirius' own spirals that he was well-known for in their dorm, then James knew what was coming next.
Two days later, James was entirely ignoring the Sirius Channel as he focused on the Harry channel.
'I'm sick,' Harry told Severus.
'I'm tired'.
'I don't feel good'.
James had heard it all before.
And he did what Severus was doing now- nothing.
Then he found Sirius, his best mate, his brother, his platonic soulmate, hanging by his neck from a rope off a rafter in their dorm.
Even if James could send a message to Severus, he had no idea what he'd say. 'Wait it out'? 'It'll get better soon'? 'Don't give Harry any ropes or knives'?
James barely helped Sirius make it to adulthood; he hoped that Severus could help his son more effectively.
"What's Sirius up to?" Lily asked as she cuddled up beside James on the sofa. "Oh, is Harry still sick?"
"He's not sick, he's depressed," James said. He pushed his glasses up and pinched the bridge of his nose in a weary exhaustion. "Why can't he ever catch a break, Lily?"
"Babe." Lily rubbed small circles on James' back. "I don't think he's depressed, I think he's just sick. He didn't sleep much the last couple of weeks, it's probably just all catching up to him now."
"I don't think so," James said quietly.
And Severus agreed with him.
James' attention was torn on the day that Severus had Narcissa come 'Harry-sit' so he could go speak with a mind healer about Harry's behavior.
On one telly, James was dying to hear more about what problem Harry had. He was on the edge of his seat and had to stop himself from summoning a parchment to take notes.
It all made so much sense.
Every symptom and diagnosis that Severus and the mind healer discussed, James could see it in his son's behavior. And, before Harry, James saw it all from his best mate.
Circular Madness.
Manic-Depressive Disorder.
"I think that's a little harsh," Lily said uncertainly. "Harry's just… unique."
James thought of the similarities between his son and Sirius— similarities that went back to James' grandmother, Dorcas, and he shook his head while he wrapped Lily in a comforting side hug. "Severus and the healer know what they're talking about," he said gently. "It isn't normal, Harry's behavior. And if someone doesn't fix it, I'm afraid he'll end up like Sirius."
"Sirius is fine!" Lily said with a scowl. "I'm sick of everyone acting like Harry's either evil or insane- he is fine."
James hummed and muted Severus so they could listen to Harry and Narcissa instead.
Lily couldn't help it- she was so protective and defensive of their son. Did James like hearing that his son had a mental illness? No. But he liked it much more than he would like seeing Harry struggle forever like Sirius did.
"Your father was a pureblood and most of the old families are related one way or another."
"So if I have all these relatives why did nobody tell me before now?"
"Oh being related to the Blacks is considered quite the disgrace."
"Hope Reg didn't hear that," James told Lily in an attempt to lighten her mood. "His feelings will be hurt and he'll be in here pouting any moment now."
Lily laughed, James' jest doing the job. "He died as a hormonal eighteen year old, cut him some slack."
"I can't, Lils," James said very seriously. "He doesn't cut me any, ever."
Lily grinned and swatted his arm playfully. "Oh, Harry's making more deals," she said. "Narcissa turned out to be rather attractive, didn't she?"
James inspected the porcelain skinned blonde woman politely bargaining with his son on the telly and shrugged.
"I prefer redheads with a bit of fire," he murmured suggestively.
Lily winked, but her focus really remained on their son.
"Why do you enjoy living with Severus?"
"'Why?' Not 'do I?' Who says I enjoy living with Snape?"
"Imagine how often he'd be grounded if we were there," James chuckled. "I think that kid would argue with a brick wall."
"Stubborn boy," Lily said fondly.
"It's a nice house, ya know? Plus it's mine. Snape says it can't ever be taken from me. It'll always be mine. I have a bedroom. Mavis has his own space he likes in the attic. And Sevvie gets to fly in the yard."
"You misunderstand me darling, not why do you enjoy your charming home, but why do you enjoy living with Severus? You chose him, there must be something you like about the eccentric man."
"Snape is not weird. He can be a bit of a git sometimes, but he's an alright bloke, isn't he? He's not a liar, and he knows more about me than anyone and he likes me anyway, doesn't he? So don't call him 'weird'."
"Shocking he didn't go to Hufflepuff with loyalty like that," James said proudly.
"Is it?" Lily asked, deadpan. "Is it really shocking that our son didn't go to the house best known for gentle and equal treatment, honest hard work, and fair play?"
"Welll… when you put it like that." James laughed and shrugged. "He's a loyal thing though."
"Plenty of people like you, Severus was perhaps the first though."
"Exactly. He was the first person that liked me for no reason."
James frowned just a little. "I guess we don't count then, do we?"
"I guess not," Lily agreed softly with a wistful look in her eyes. "Neither does Sirius or Remus, they both liked him before Sev did."
"Yeah then they forgot all about him when we died," James scowled. "Some bloody friends they turned out to be, eh?"
Sirius could almost be forgiven. It wasn't like he meant to go to Azkaban, even if he could have fought a little harder to keep Harry in James' opinion. It wasn't as if they named him godfather all willy-nilly, it was a title that carried weight in the Wixen world. A legal godparent had absolute right to take the child in the event of the parents' death, imprisonment, or any other reason that kept the parents from raising the child. Sirius had never trusted authority in his life, why did he have to choose the night of their death to do so with Albus?
Prat.
Remus had no excuse, in James' opinion. He didn't care how depressed he was over his crummy life. He could have fought for Harry after Sirius was imprisoned. It would have been a tough battle, a werewolf taking custody of a wizard, but they had tons of friends who would have fought tooth and nail to help Remus get it. Especially if anyone caught wind of Harry's life with Petunia.
And even if he couldn't get custody of Harry then, why the hell didn't he write him letters? Send him photos? Take him on the weekends sometime?
Remus lost his friends and his partner and then he forgot about Harry.
James was going to kick his arse the second he appeared in the afterlife.
"You do remind me quite a bit of Sirius when he was young though. Which is not meant to be an insult, despite what your reddening face tells me you consider it."
"I told them so!" James shouted, jumping to his feet and pointing at the telly. "I said 'Oi, Reg, who does Harry remind you of?' He's a little mini Sirius!"
"How?" Lily asked curiously. "He—"
"He'd get these grand ideas for pranks and plans for the future and he'd be bouncing around the castle, terrorizing people with just his energy. Nobody seemed to understand that these weren't just crazy ideas, they were plans and they were amazing and Sirius was a genius for coming up with them."
"That's how," James said, nodding to Narcissa. "And Harry's the same way."
"I thought he was depressed," Lily said in a scathing tone. "Now you think he has too much energy?"
"It's a cycle, babe," James told her, pacing around a little as he tried to explain. "Sirius would be so excited and have crazy ideas- like flying! He thought one night that if he jumped from the Astronomy Tower that his magic would kick in and make him fly so he wouldn't die."
"But it wouldn't?"
"I know! We all told him! But he wouldn't listen! Just like when Harry wouldn't listen to Severus about trying to find Sirius or fighting the basilisk! Then they drop down real low and get depressed! I'm telling you, Harry's got that manic-depressive thing and so does Sirius."
Lily looked disbelieving, but James couldn't argue the point anymore because Narcissa's cultured and soft voice caught his attention once more.
"Positively drained of all his energy. A mutual friend of ours told me that he once was so tired and disenchanted with life that he had attempted to hang himself in his dorm room. Then of course your father saved his life and Sirius moved in with him and your grandparents that next summer."
"What? My Dad saved his life?"
"You did?" Lily asked, shocked. "I- I never knew that!"
"Damn you, Reg," James muttered. Regulus had been the only person James told. Regulus had only been a fourth year and hadn't been as firmly established in the dark arts the other students around him slung so carelessly. James just wanted Regulus to know why Sirius needed out of their mother's house, he didn't want Regulus to hate Sirius, he wanted him to understand.
Regulus hadn't understood. All he seemed to have heard James say was that Sirius was moving out and that was that.
And then he apparently told Narcissa.
"It wasn't my business to share," James told Lily as he resumed his seat beside her. "Sirius had a shit life and I wasn't going to go around telling tales about him."
Lily wrapped her arms around him so terribly sweetly. "You're a good friend, James Potter."
James wished that any of his friends had returned the favor.
Narcissa explained to Harry a little about Sirius' home life, leading Harry's thoughts to drawing parallels between his own life and Sirius'.
"Was Sirius fixed once he was somewhere nobody was hurting him?"
"There was nothing wrong with Sirius to fix. He was just another brilliant star that burned too brightly in our sky."
"Poetic," Lily murmured. "Sirius would like to hear her say that, I'm sure."
"Harry doesn't think so," James pointed at Harry's captions where he was furious that Sirius paid back James' loyalty by turning against him. "I wish things were different," he sighed. "I wish that Sirius made different choices, I wish Harry wasn't planning on killing my best mate, and I wish… I wish they were all happy," he said quietly. "It's like we died for nothing, Lils."
Lily was quiet for a few minutes while Harry argued about why Sirius should die and Narcissa (shockingly) seemed to defend him.
Maybe not that shockingly, actually. Lucius might have known this whole time that Sirius wasn't the traitor.
Eventually though, Lily smiled softly as Harry began tentatively talking about having a joint birthday party with Neville, whose birthday was the day before Harry's. "That's why," she told James. "We died so our son could have a joint party with his friends."
"Yeah." It was easy sometimes to feel so discouraged, but Lily was right. James would take a million curses to the chest and spend an eternity dying over and over again if it meant his son could live.
He just wished his son could find some happiness outside of his manic spurts.
James did scowl rather heavily when Severus bargained with his son that evening: a brand new broomstick for a session with the mind healer.
Yeah, it was a clever and cunning idea, but Harry wouldn't go for it and damn if James didn't want to see his son get a Firebolt anyway.
It just sounded fast.
***
Lily was on cloud nine on Harry's birthday. Last year he got his first birthday gifts since his first birthday, and this year he got his first real party ever.
They hadn't been able to properly have a party for him when he turned one since they'd already gone in hiding, but Harry's friends were determined that he get one for his thirteenth birthday.
Lily was also giggling with Regulus and Dorcas (who she had reconciled with easily, it was hard holding a grudge against someone for an eternity) while her oblivious son thought Draco came over early solely to help decorate.
"I give it less than three years before Draco asks Luna to officially court," Regulus said, smirking at the doe eyed looks Draco gave to little Luna. "He's quite enamored by her."
"You think his dad will let him?" Dorcas scoffed. "I'm sure old Lucius already has a perfectly pureblood wife picked for his son."
"He does," Regulus said brightly, apparently quite up to date on the Malfoy family. "Pansy Parkinson, but I think Draco would kill his father before he married her. She resembles a 'smushed face troll' and Luna looks like 'a delicate fairy princess'."
"Are those exact quotes there, Reg?" Lily laughed.
"They are," he confirmed. "Poor Draco, I had hoped he would be a bit of a bachelor for a while, but it seems as if he'll be marrying Luna at first chance."
"I hope Harry dates around a bit," Lily said thoughtfully. "I think it would be fun to watch him go on dates; every mother's dream, isn't it? Getting an all-access pass to her son's dating life."
"Harry's thirteen now," Dorcas grinned slyly, "you'll be getting an all-access pass to your son's sex life soon."
The silence that followed Dorcas' words as they all considered the many horrid things they'd witnessed Harry deal with already was tense.
Lily knew it was meant to be a joke, but it wasn't funny, not really.
Thankfully, Regulus had no patience for silence.
"Shall we go watch Harry and Neville open their gifts?" he asked the girls politely. "Draco spent an obscene amount of money on ensuring his cousin could look every bit the pureblood prince that Draco considers himself to be."
Lily did roll her eyes when she joined the rest of the party and saw that James was staring so lovingly at the telly with Gideon by his side.
That soft, glazed, loving expression wasn't one he wore when their son was on the telly. Oh no, that sweet and wistful expression was saved for one person.
"Is Juliana flirting with our son?" Lily asked, startling James as she silently slipped to his side.
"No!" James helped. "She- uh…" he gestured helplessly to the telly. "She was trying to convince him to skip school, hide from Sirius, and travel the world with her for a bit."
Lily hummed. Even if that did sound like something she thought would be wonderful for her son, she figured James wanted it much more.
Juliana Zabini and her perfectly smooth olive skin and her graceful body and modelesque cheekbones on the Harry Channel constantly? It would be James' dream come true.
Lily stood on her tiptoes to whisper directly in James' ear. "When she dies, maybe we can convince her to join us one night."
James' eyes lit up with as much sudden excitement as his cheeks reddened from embarrassment.
"Shameless," he grinned at Lily. "Our son's going to be a trollop with genes like yours."
"You didn't just say trollop, did you Jamie?" Gideon laughed loudly. "Merlin, mate, get with the times."
"Leave Jamie alone," Fabian grinned, slipping up to his brother's side and joining them. "He was raised by an old lady."
"My mum would kick your arse if she heard you call her old," James said haughtily.
He was such a mama's boy.
It was as adorable as it was annoying.
It was less annoying now, but Lily had despised Euphemia Potter a little when she'd been pregnant with Harry.
Even though the woman had died a year beforehand, James still drove Lily mad about her.
'Mum always said that pregnant witches shouldn't apparate, Lils.'
'My mum told me that too much tea isn't good for pregnant witches, babe.'
'If it's a girl I think we should name her Effie, for my mum, you know.'
"Aah! They're together!" Marlene shrieked when Theo and Hermione arrived to Harry's party, hand-in-hand. "She did it! You crazy girl!!"
"She did what?" Elaine asked curiously. "I thought we all knew they liked each other, it isn't much of an accomplishment that they're dating now?"
"It's not an accomplishment that a muggleborn was clever, pretty, and interesting enough to get Theodore Nott, Tiberius Nott's son, to throw away all his pureblood, bigoted, bullshit for her?" Marlene raised a brow at Elaine and put her hands on her hips. "That's not an accomplishment?"
"I…" Elaine blushed a little. "I didn't know that," she said softly. "I don't know Theo's parents."
"Well his mum is dead, murdered by his father, lovely woman Christina was," Regulus said with an in appropriate amount of cheer. "And Tiberius went to school with the Dark Lord, they were classmates and Tiberius was the first marked death eater."
"The boys are opening their gifts," Gideon said hastily as everyone's mood dipped a little.
It would be nice if Lily could have her friends all over even once with talk of death eaters or death popping up. A loft goal, truly.
It was nice seeing Harry and Neville be absolutely spoiled to death by their friends. If anyone deserved it, it was those two boys.
Almost all of Harry's friends gave him photos to add to his ever-growing album, something that Elaine said Susan had coordinated. Harry also received more clothes than Lily imagined he could ever wear, books, and quidditch gear.
They all laughed when Sev threatened to dock Susan points when they got back to school for a cheeky remark she made and Hermione immediately quoted the precise rule that prevented such an action.
"She's such a know-it-all," Lily said.
"Remind you of anyone else?" James grinned as he threw his arm over her shoulder.
"I do know it all though," Lily sniffed.
"Riiight," Dorcas agreed in a sardonic drawl. "Of course you do, Miss Head Girl."
"You were always— shit!" Lily watched her baby open his gift from Sev and had a terrible feeling she knew precisely what he was about to do. "Don't, Harry!" She looked around at the guests surrounding Harry and groaned when Harry did precisely what she feared.
He got a pensieve from Sev and immediately summoned the prophecy to listen to it.
"Oh, he's dim, isn't he?" James groaned. "It's not like he can make them all take a vow to never repeat it."
Except, that was precisely what Harry did.
All the guests listened to the prophecy that Albus worked so hard to hide, the prophecy that ended Lily and James' life and marked their son for a terrible destiny.
Nobody spoke for a moment- not at Harry's party, not at the one hosted in his honor in the afterlife.
Then Harry broke the silence in a way that only her hysterically arrogant son could.
"He told me he had no equal. What a prat."
"Harry's bollocks must be the size of Jamie's big head," Gideon snorted. "Look at him, he doesn't care at all that he's got some terrible destiny."
"H-Harry that... that means you're going to have to kill V-V-Voldemort."
"I was always going to anyway, wasn't I?"
"Well, I'll drink to that," Dorcas said. She conjured them all champagne glasses filled with what smelled like tequila. "Here's to little Harry not giving a single fuck about having to kill Voldemort!"
"To Harry!"
***
"ARE YOU BLOODY FUCKING KIDDING?!" James conjured an entire stack of bludgers and began throwing them at the telly, carefully ensuring that he only struck Severus and not Harry. "I WILL KILL YOU MYSELF!"
Lily tripped on the stairs as she ran down them partially undressed in her haste to see what had James so angry. "What is it?" she said, watching the telly closely and not seeing anything terrible.
"Remus fucking scumbag Lupin got a new job," James hissed. "He's going to be the new defense professor."
"Okaaaay?" Lily said slowly, clearly not seeing the problem. "Remus will be a lovely teacher. And I'd think you'd be happy to have him in Harry's life?"
"That's just it!" James spat. "He probably took the job to help with the 'Sirius situation', not for Harry's sake!"
"Or Albus didn't offer it to him before now?" Lily suggested calmly. She put her hand on James' wrist, trying to prevent him from throwing more bludgers.
"You think Albus didn't offer it to Remus before he did Gilderoy?" James scoffed. He snatched a bludger with his left hand and tossed it at the telly, wincing when his aim was off and it hit Harry's cute face. "Gilderoy is a moron and Albus would have tried Remus first, I'm sure of it."
Gilderoy was also a coward.
They were all certain the man had arrived at some point, but none of them, not even Marlene who used to be housemates with him, had seen hide nor hair since his arrival.
Probably because James and Lily would do their best to find a trapdoor and shove him down to purgatory or hell.
"Dumbledore believes Lupin will assist in stopping Black should he be so foolish to try and break in to Hogwarts. But Lupin was quite enamored with Black during their later school years, I doubt that he will actively impede any plans of Black's to evade capture."
"Or that could be why Albus chose to hire him now," Lily said, nodding to Severus on the telly. When James merely crossed his arms in a petulant huff, she rolled her eyes and brushed his hair off his forehead. "I don't see why it matters, love. This will be great! Harry could possibly meet two of your best friends now and they can tell him all about you."
"I hope they start with explanations on why they forgot all about Harry these last twelve years," James sneered.
James would have died for them.
He wouldn't have even thought of it. James loved Sirius and Remus and Peter nearly as much as he did Lily.
James would have done anything for them. And how did they feel about him in the end?
Peter turned him in to die.
Sirius let Albus' self-appointed authority override his own duties to Harry.
And Remus left his son alone to be abused and neglected.
"They aren't my best mates anymore, Regulus is," James said stubbornly while Severus explained what enamored meant to Harry. "Or Severus, he cares about Harry, we can be best mates too."
"You, James Fleamont Potter, are trading off two of your beloved marauders for two Slytherins with dark marks?" Lily asked with a bemused grin.
"Yep." James threw another bludger at the telly. "Regulus asks me about my son all the time and Severus actually cares for him. Which is much more than I can say about Sirius or Remus."
"Lupin was in love with Black? That's disgusting."
"Because they are both men?"
"What? No, why would I care about that? I meant because Black's a scumbag. Embarrassing to be in love with him now, innit?"
"It is disgusting, isn't it, son?" James nodded in vehement agreement. "Bloody disloyal, baby-forgetting, child abandoning scumbags."
Lily shook her head at James.
People who thought that Lily held her friends to unattainable standards had clearly never met James Potter. How he expected Harry to be raised from Azkaban or how he expected Remus to get custody of a child was beyond her.
"I'm not being unfair," James told Lily quickly, easily interpreting the look on her face. "They should have done more, Lils."
"Like what?"
James glanced at the Sirius channel and watched Padfoot begin to make his way to Hogwarts.
"Anything," he said softly. "They should have done anything at all."
Lily held James while he calmed down from his fit and the two of them listened and laughed a little as Severus told Harry about the time Lily stole her mum's car.
"Your Mother once stole your grandmothers car for a joyride around the neighborhood, despite only being fourteen and thus having no license. When your grandmother asked me about it, I couldn't lie to her. Your mother was grounded for weeks."
"I was," Lily said with a wide smile. "Thank goodness I was too old for a hiding or my arse would never have been the same."
"You wouldn't lie to cover for your best friend?"
"Harry you have to understand- your grandmother was the sweetest woman I have ever met. And she was positively terrifying, I could never have looked her in the face and lied to her."
James eyed Lily solemnly out of the corner of his eye. "Your mum is a bit scary," he said. "My mum would never whip me."
"That's because you were a spoiled brat and I was a mischievous little monster."
James winked at her, fully recovered from his fit now. "And our son got the worst of both of us."
"He did. Poor Severus," Lily laughed.
"Poor Severus," James agreed.
It was mildly heartening when Severus told Harry about James' friendship with Remus and Harry immediately offered to kill him.
Sure, he offered because he felt bad that Severus would have to be around the man that almost killed him once (Sirius' fault really), but James hoped it meant that Harry would give Remus hell this year.
Harry had no way of knowing that it was hell that Remus fully deserved, but James hoped that Remus saw the karmic justice of it.
Fucking prat.
***
"Sirius is at Hogwarts."
James looked over his shoulder at Regulus, who finally made his way to the twins' place. "Yeah?" he said, curious about Regulus' lack of sarcasm or energy. "Everything good?"
"No." Regulus sat in the middle of the floor, blocking the telly and causing James to scoot over so he could see around him. "I've just told you, Sirius is at Hogwarts."
"And that's a problem?" Gideon asked him after tossing him a bottle of lager.
"Of course it is," Regulus scoffed. "Sirius gets to be at Hogwarts and I am trapped here with you plebeians."
James and the twins chuckled, too used to Regulus' fondly spoken insults to be really offended.
Regulus looked over his shoulder at James and pointed at him accusingly. "I am counting on your son to kill Sirius, he better not let me down."
"That's sibling speak for 'I want to see my brother again'," Fabian said while Gideon nodded with faux-solemnity.
"It is not!" Regulus said hotly with a pink tinge to his pale cheeks. "I hate him!"
He didn't.
They all knew he didn't.
"Piss off," Regulus said when the guys gave him knowing looks. "What's Harry up to?"
See?
Best mates ask about their friends' kids.
James turned up the volume instead of answering and was immediately caught off-guard by a remark made by Severus.
"Lupin will be riding the train."
"What?" James sputtered and nearly spilled his drink. "Gid! Change the channel! Is Remus really on the train?!"
He was.
James gaped at his old (supposed) friend as he leaned back on a compartment bench and slept.
"Bastard," he breathed before recognizing the compartment and brightening quite a bit. "Mates, bets on Remus joining us today?"
"Uh, a bit low?" Fabian said. "He looks like hell, but I reckon it's from the full moon last night instead of any fatal illness."
"Not that," James waved his hand airily. "Look where he's sitting."
Regulus was the first to understand because he started laughing after a couple moments. "I say a million galleons that Remus joins us today."
"I don't get it," Gideon finally said. "What's so special about where he's sitting?"
"That's the compartment Harry always used," James said smugly. He conjured himself a drink and a snack to prepare for the show. "And that's Harry's seat," he told them. "And Severus hates Remus—"
"So Harry hates Remus," Regulus said.
Gideon gave James a queer look. "Do you really want your son to kill your best mate?"
James shrugged and shoved a few biscuits in his mouth. "He should have checked on him," he said simply, if a bit muffled. "Whatever happens- it's on Remus."
"Okiedokie," Fabian shrugged. He snapped his fingers and conjured another chair for their sitting room. "We'll just save Remus a seat, eh?"
(Un)fortunately, Harry didn't kill Remus.
Didn't even curse him.
But boy did he rip him to shreds verbally.
They kept the channel tuned to Remus, certain that Harry would make an appearance soon, and James was glad they did because Remus' thoughts had him torn between laughing and throwing more things at his stupid head.
After Harry bragged about not needing protected from Sirius, Remus subtly turned his head and grinned.
Harry's so arrogant, so self-assured, and so like James.
"He's not wrong," Gideon smirked. "Arrogant toerag that you are."
"He doesn't even know Harry," James scowled. "I was an oblivious, entitled, twat. Harry just pretends to be self-assured."
James would never live with Severus though, not even if his life depended on it… which maybe, Harry's had…
Despite James' determination to not throw anything, he did chuck a quaffle at Remus for that thought.
"What?!" he said when the twins gave him looks. "He thinks Harry's life depended on moving in with Severus and didn't even bother writing to either of them to check on him? That's bullshit and you know it!"
"You're right, but shut up," Regulus said. "I want to hear Harry tell his friends that Remus is a werewolf."
Oh.
James actually wasn't sure that he wanted to hear that at all.
It was one thing for Harry to just kick Remus' arse, it was an entirely different thing to out him for his furry little problem.
"You guys have to swear not to tell anyone, I mean it. Snape said not to tell you guys but I didn't want anyone to take any chances and I told him that. So swear it, or get out."
Bossy like Lily.
"Lily is not bossy," James said.
"She is," said Gideon.
Yeah, she was. But he didn't like Remus thinking it.
"Lupin is the new Defense Teacher, and he's a werewolf."
What?! How…? Who…?
Damn you, Severus!
You petty, grudge holding, immature—
"That's so dangerous!!"
"Don't be stupid, he's not dangerous."
"Well, Snape did say that he almost killed him during the full moon once. But Snape's making him take Wolfsbane while he's here, so he'll be safe enough during the full moon. Snape says he's a git even without being a werewolf though, so I dunno."
"Hope that feels good, Uncle Moony," James said harshly. "Harry likes Severus more than you, and whose fault is it?"
"His," the twins said in tangent with nearly identical rolls of their eyes.
"Never thought I'd hear you defend Severus from your friend," Regulus said slyly.
"Out of Remus and Severus, one of them gave Harry a home. One of them asks him about his day. One of them cares about his safety and his happiness. And it's not Remus," James said as he pointed his drink at the telly.
"And people think Harry gets his viciousness from Lily," Gideon whispered to Fabian with a grin.
James heard him, he just didn't bother responding.
He hadn't been angry at Remus, or Sirius, for a couple of years. He understood that Remus was shocked and hurt and confused and depressed. But as time wore on and James saw his son's life get worse and worse, his empathy for Remus shrunk.
Yeah, Remus was a depressed werewolf with no steady income who was an outcast from both muggle and magical society. But Harry was an eight year old kid sleeping in alleyways and being preyed on by perverts.
Remus could have went to check on Harry, saw he wasn't with Petunia anymore, then tracked him down. And if Remus was too proud to use Harry's money James left him to provide for them, fine. He still could have protected Harry from the horrors of being a child living alone on the streets.
James couldn't spare Remus any empathy anymore- it all went to his son.
Remus worried briefly when Harry mentioned the dog he befriended over the summer and James wondered what Sirius ever did to deserve Remus to doubt his loyalty.
It was as annoying as it was ironic that almost immediately after Harry mentioned Sirius, not that any of them were aware it was Sirius, Ron Weasley mentioned his pet 'Scabbers'.
"Sure," James scoffed. "You can smell when I wet the bed, but not that Scabbers is Wormtail?"
Regulus perked up immediately. "You wet the bed?"
"No."
The twins guffawed like idiots while James determinedly listened to the kids chatter on the train. Conversation amongst them had turned toward Sirius and Susan was sweetly fretting over Harry's safety.
"I'm glad you're here, of course, but Harry... Auntie Amelia said that Sirius Black is after you. You would be safer in Italy, or France, or anywhere but Hogwarts."
Susan was a good friend for Harry.
And then she got even better:
"If he comes within fifty feet of you, I'll kill him myself."
Is Albus creating a castle of magical assassins?
"Nope, that's all 'James' son'," Regulus said, mocking the way Remus kept referring to Harry in his thoughts. "His evil is contagious."
"He isn't evil, Reg," James rolled his eyes. He pointed where Hermione made fun of Luna and Harry immediately made her apologize. "Harry's loyal and thoughtful."
A sentiment that Remus apparently shared.
Just as fiercely loyal as you were, James.
James threw another quaffle at him for even thinking that.
Where was Remus' fucking loyalty? He wouldn't even open his eyes and talk to Harry.
It was swift retaliation on James' behalf by his unknowing son as he outed Remus for his sexuality and prior relationship with Sirius to all his friends.
James had always encouraged him to be proud of who he was, but Remus was painfully insecure. Yeah, homophobia was a bit rampant in the muggle world, but witches and wizards had never really cared about who you loved or who you were shagging. Specifically, James' hippie friends with all their 'open love' and 'open sexuality' had never cared. And yet Remus still wanted to hide it.
He didn't get to hide from Harry's friends now though.
"Snape warned me to stay away from Lupin, said he used to be best friends with my dad and Black. They were arses in school, acted like big shot bullies, didn't they?"
"Ouch, right in the feels," Gideon laughed at James when he winced at the truth in his son's words. "How'd that feel, Jamie?"
"Bit well deserved," James admitted in a shamed mumble. If he could write even just one letter to someone still on earth, James would fill a parchment from top to bottom, side to side, with words of love and support to his son. And at the end he'd add a little 'ps' apologizing to Severus and thanking him for watching over Harry.
But he didn't get to send a letter. So he'd have to wait until the bastard joined him one day. They could drink with Reg and watch Harry burn the world, he supposed.
"And you won't be staying away from Lupin at all, will you?"
"Nope. Gotta find out more about werewolves, don't I?"
"Bets on Harry killing Lupin this year then?"
"Harry has killed the last two defense professors," Regulus hummed thoughtfully. "I'd say the odds of Remus not joining us by years end is exceptionally low."
"Cheers then," James said sullenly as he conjured them all fresh drinks. "Here's to Remus seeing the error in his cowardly ways."
The four of them clicked drinks and settled in to watch the kids play poker.
James did think it was a bit rich when Remus' thoughts swirled around to Sirius how he thought that Sirius deceived them and 'hadn't been worthy of any of their friendship'.
As if James hadn't been thinking the same thing about him for years.
The four of them had been talking a little about the upcoming duels for the night when Susan caught their attention on the telly.
"Why are we stopping?"
"Did the train ever stop for any of you?" Regulus asked the older guys.
"Nope," Gideon said with a shrug.
James shook his head and watched as the train compartment went suddenly black.
He had a bad feeling about it.
Remus did too, apparently, because he finally quit pretending to sleep and sat up quickly and looked around at the students.
Remus' first thought when he saw Harry sitting calmly on the bench with a knife twirling in his fingers was:
Merlin, he looks like James.
It was quickly followed with:
Well, no… he doesn't. Harry looks like… like a predator.
Who the hell is this kid?
"Don't recognize your nephew?" James sneered. "PROBABLY BECAUSE YOU NEVER WENT TO SEE HIM, YOU USELESS FUCKING DICK!"
"Merlin, will you shut up?" Regulus sighed. "Look, something's happening."
Remus lit his wand, planning on going to see what had caused the possible breakdown. "Stay where you are please."
"Don't suppose we have to though, right?"
James grinned. Man, Harry would be hell to raise with the mouth he had on him, but damn if he wasn't hilarious to watch sometimes.
Remus ignored Harry and moved to the compartment door. As soon as the door slid open before Remus could even touch it- James lost his smile.
Dementors.
Dementors on a train with Harry.
Dementors ten feet from his son.
The twins hissed in shocked breaths and Regulus tilted his head in confusion as the dementor in the doorway sucked in a rattling breath.
And Harry screamed. Harry screamed so sharply, so full of agony, that James felt his breath hitch in his own throat.
"Help him," James whispered to Remus, nearly choking on his words. "Damn it, help him!"
"None of us is hiding Sirius Black under our cloaks. Go."
The dementor inhaled again, driving another fresh wail of agony from Harry and a few cries from Neville and Theo.
It wasn't that James didn't care for Frank's boy or Harry's friend, it was just that his own son was screaming and it was scattering James' thoughts so much that he couldn't even spare a kind thought for the other two boys.
"Expecto Patronum."
James felt the knot in his chest loosen as Remus' silver wolf chased away the dementor and the light in the compartment flickered back on.
Then the knot tightened so hard that James was nearly grateful to already be dead because surely it was a heart attack he was having as Remus turned and he saw his son in the fetal position on the floor with Luna and Susan protecting him and soothing him.
Remus lunged over to Harry (bloody finally showing he cared, if he even did) and tried to reach out to him, and what did Susan Bones, aka James' second favorite kid in the world, do?
She slapped his hand.
Hard
"Don't touch him."
"Hmm." Regulus hummed thoughtfully while the twins screamed with laughter at Remus' shocked thoughts. "If Miss Bones survives to be eighteen before she dies, do you think Elaine would mind so very much if I marry her? I quite like her. She's terrifying."
"Oi! I thought you were marrying my son?" James said, clicking his tongue in disapproval. "Harry's way scarier than Susan."
"Give her a few years and she'll be a right terror," Gideon said. "Red headed women always are."
James raised his glass in agreement as he thought of his own red-headed woman.
"He's just fainted from the exposure to the dementor. I can help him, if you could all back away."
"Does he look like he's fainted? He needs a Healer."
"I don't know if I simply love with all of these insane females that Harry has befriended or if I'm in love with them, but I do know that I would add a bedroom to my cottage for Hermione Granger," Regulus said with a decisive nod. "Little bushy haired twit of a girl, she is."
"Seems like Remus agrees," Fabian said with a nod toward Remus' thoughts after he handed a chocolate bar to Ron to share.
She's incredibly rude, but not wrong… He isn't unconscious, but… but I don't think this is a common reaction? What did they make him relive?
James was suddenly extraordinarily grateful to have the Remus Channel on, as cowardly as they made him. He didn't want to relive whatever horrible memories the dementors drudged up in his son.
He watched as Remus hesitated over how to best help Harry before sighing and excusing himself to the corridor. He summoned his patronus again and sent a swift message to the wrong person—
"Madam Pomfrey, at least one dementor was on the train and caused a student to faint, he is now awake but is having some type of fit from the expose. I will bring him directly to you when we arrive. Alert Severus that it is his ward."
"Can you apparate on the train?" James asked the twins, the only duo he knew that would have tried it before.
"Nope," Gideon popped his lips and grinned. "We tried to do it after we graduated, thought we'd scare Molly before she made it to school one year."
"Shame," James said. "It'd be funny to see Remus put up with Sassy Susan, Snarky Hermione, Sweet Luna—
James loved that little pixie of a girl and he didn't care how detached from reality she was, she was adorable.
—and a Stressed Severus all at once."
"Don't forget a furious Harry when he wakes up and see's that he's embarrassed himself," Regulus added eagerly. "He's going to be livid."
James didn't think there was anything embarrassing about having a bit of a fit after dementor exposure. James had never been around one before, but he had seen Sirius succumb to their power in Azkaban after only a few months. He figured Harry would see it as some sort of weakness though, so Regulus was probably right.
"If he calls him 'James' son' one more time I might vomit," Fabian said cheerfully. "You think he forgot his name already?"
"Course not," Gideon answered his brother. "He knows it's Henry."
James chuckled then frowned when Remus rejoined the students and studied the odd assortment.
And it was kind of odd, the way Harry made friends from all the different houses, but it was also brilliant and made James burst with pride.
What could have drawn together such a queer assortment of students?
"Potter Powers," Fabian quipped. "Mark my words, there'll be another Gryffindor riding in the compartment by the end of the year. Freddie has 'a plan'."
"Is it a good one?" James asked curiously. "Wait," he watched Remus warily approach Harry again with his eyes trained on Susan's hands, "tell me later."
"Ladies, if you would please back up. I'm going to carry Harry up to see Madame Pomfrey. She'll get him fixed up quickly."
"I don't think so. You aren't carrying him anywhere."
"You tell him, Susan," Gideon nodded in mischievous approval. "You'll carry him yourself, won't you?"
"I don't think he's in any condition to walk."
"Madame Pomfrey can come to Harry."
"I already informed Madame Pomfrey that I would bring Harry to her."
"Now you'll need to tell her there's been a change in plans."
"Or I'll just take Harry up to the Hospital Wing and you all will go to the feast."
"No thank you. We'll wait here for Professor Snape."
"I didn't call for Severus I told Poppy that I would be bringing her a student."
"Well now you'll need to tell Madame Pomfrey that Harry Potter is injured on the train and will need her to meet you here."
"And if I were you I would inform Harry's guardian and Head of House as well."
That's what brought them all together- shitty attitudes.
James knew his son was curled up in a miserable ball on the floor, but dear Merlin he had never laughed so hard.
Harry's friends were some of the most obstinate, pig-headed, protective sons of bitches he'd ever had the pleasure to see.
It only got better when Remus summoned his patronus again and Ron Weasley mentioned how 'Course it's a wolf'.
"They're going to make him so damn miserable that he'll quit the job himself," James said.
Even Neville, shy and quiet Neville, joined in on the harassment when Remus told Poppy to meet him on the train and Neville told him to tell her to bring Severus.
"Your son's giving Neville a backbone," Fabian grinned. "They're going to make Minnie beg for retirement before they even get their OWLS."
"What is going on here?"
Was he already waiting on the platform?
James grinned to see Remus so discomforted by Severus' sudden appearance. Severus probably went to the platform before he even knew about the dementors— overprotective bastard.
Just the kind of guardian a chaotic kid like Harry needed, really.
"Granger, immediately and without sparing the details, inform me of the events that happened."
"Ooh, Remus is pissed now." Gideon chuckled as Remus bitterly wondered why the kids immediately complied with Severus when they fought against every word he said. "He has no idea how much Harry's opinion carries weight with those little mini-followers."
"And since Snape influences Harry's opinion, it's like a whole little army of Snape's personal minions," Fabian added. "Who d'you chaps reckon will be the next Dark Lord? Lord Snape with his right hand man, Chaos Harry, or Lord Potter with his right hand man, Sneaky Snape?"
"I think it's meant to be Minister Potter and his right hand woman, Vice Minister Bones," Regulus scoffed. "Do keep up, gentlemen."
James ignored their discussion as Severus diagnosed Harry while Hermione explained to him what happened. James smirked when Remus thought about how biased it was that Severus gave the students each 10 points for arguing against his instructions.
It was a bit biased, but damn if it wasn't funny.
It was also funny seeing Remus' confusion and wondering if Severus had fallen in love when he saw his new patronus. Well, it was funny until Regulus made a little comment about it.
"Perhaps he has," he said. "Perhaps he's spotted Lily's eyes on Harry's face and fallen in love with the child."
"That's disgusting," James said, his face twisting up at the mere thought. "Why would you even say that?"
Regulus gave him an impish little smirk and a shrug.
James tried to self-obliviate the thought from his mind while Severus sent Harry's friends off to the feast and Susan told him that 'Harry will be fine, or else.'
James honestly loved that witch. She was hysterical.
"You can go Lupin, I do not require assistance nor an audience."
"I'll stay, I'd like to make sure James' son is safe."
"First time for everything, eh Moony?" James scoffed. "Dick."
Severus was able to pretty quickly snap Harry out of whatever fugue state he'd been in; probably either with his voice, a sound Harry undoubtedly trusted, or with the neat little air trick they'd all but perfected in Harry's first year.
James grinned and rolled his eyes when Remus thought of how Severus didn't seem to care about Harry's language.
"He doesn't get it from Snape, he gets it from Jamie," Gideon said.
"Fuck off," James quipped, quite proving the point.
Harry clearly wasn't pleased to see Remus, and the red tint to his cheeks proved Regulus right (not that James would admit it), that Harry was obviously embarrassed to have an audience outside of Severus see him in a moment of vulnerability.
The guys, except for a glowering Regulus, all howled with laughter when Remus offered Harry chocolate and Harry asked if it had been charmed to turn his skin pink.
"That was the time that Minnie told us she put 'true consideration' into bringing corporal punishment back to Hogwarts," James said as he wiped away fake tears of laughter.
"You ruined my date," Regulus said darkly. "How was I meant to woo Lincoln Wood with pink skin?"
"Lincoln? The Ravenclaw seeker?" James asked. "I didn't know he was gay!"
"Oh he was," Fabian said with a sappy grin and a wink. "And let me tell you, Reg, you missed out."
It took Regulus a moment to connect the dots and then his nose wrinkled in distaste. "I take it back, Jamie, perhaps you did me a favor."
"Ta, then," James grinned.
James' glee at seeing Remus have a bad night only grew when Remus snapped something at Severus and Harry was glaring up in his face almost immediately.
"Don't talk to him like that. He's not the stranger handing out candy to kids, is he?"
"I do not require your defense, Potter. Go. Go find your friends and reassure yourself of their continued good health."
Harry glared at Remus for another moment before storming out of the compartment with a pointed farewell solely for Severus.
"Hope that hurt like hell," James said quietly to someone he once considered to be his closest friend. "You could have won Harry's trust and his loyalty had you made a single effort to connect with him. Too late now, Uncle Moony."
Harry isn't much like James at all…
"Thank Godric for that," Fabian cheered as he raised his glass high.
James laughed and joined his friends in a toast at his expense.
Seeing Harry rip Remus down a few pegs was great, but the real thrill of the night, and the reason the guys all got together, was when the feast finally ended and the Slytherin duels were preparing to start.
The twins had constructed some sort of elaborate play board of the different Slytherin students and their likelihood to challenge Harry, but Regulus had his own view on it.
"Not a single Slytherin will challenge Harry ever again," he predicted confidently. "They're as terrified of him as they are in awe of him. The Heir of Slytherin? The next and greater Dark Lord? They won't risk personally offending him at this point."
"Are Slytherin students really capable of thinking that far ahead?" James asked skeptically. "I mean, yeah I wouldn't want to piss off Harry, but at thirteen years old I wouldn't be basing that decision on any political factors."
"The older students will have been told by their parents to leave Harry alone and the younger ones will be following the older students' lead," Regulus said. He waved his hand airily. "Watch and see, Jamie."
James kind of hoped that someone challenged Harry. Not because he wanted to see his son get hurt, but since that was a slim risk, instead James just wanted Harry to do something he enjoyed to shake off the lingering effects of the dementors.
Except Regulus proved to be correct, again.
"What do you mean nobody wants to duel me? Since when?!"
"Since they found out you're Slytherins Heir."
I knew that would bite me in the arse at some point.
"Suppose he forgot that he can issue a challenge himself?" Fabian grinned.
"You could have peace for once?" Draco suggested to Harry after Harry bemoaned the fact that he had nothing to do now.
I don't want peace.
"Some people don't," Regulus said sagely. "Burn the world, Harry."
And boy, Harry gave it a good shot.
The other Slytherin boys in Harry's year told him to just challenge another student.
And who did James' fearless and confident son choose?
The seventh year chaser and beater on his quidditch team.
"Hell yes." The twins high-fived and Gideon summoned them all buckets of popcorn like the muggle cinema's had. "Let's enjoy the show, boys!"
James' dislike of Harry's dick of a quidditch captain eased just slightly when the two seventh years asked him to be their second and he turned them down.
"He's playing you. And Slytherin can't afford to be down three players."
"I truly didn't think Flint was capable of such critical thinking," Regulus hummed. Apparently Regulus liked to keep up to date on all the Slytherin's; he was a painful gossip in death just as he had been life. "Oh, Blaise, why would you do that?"
James chuckled when Harry's friend Blaise offered to be the second for Harry's opponents and Harry refused to reassure him that he wouldn't challenge him after he was done with the others.
Harry was a bit of a dick, but at least he was an equal opportunity kind of dick whereas James had been a bigoted dick against 1/4 of the students in the castle.
"Go!"
It was interesting, seeing Harry actually plan out his moves and his strategy this year. Yeah, he needed to play smarter and harder than usual when both the other boys were decent at silent magic, but still. Harry wasn't usually a 'think ahead' kind of kid.
Probably a side-effect of that damn Black Madness.
Speaking of which…
James slipped off his chair and sat on the floor by Regulus. "Hey, Reg, did you see Severus the day he went to the muggle healer?"
"Hmm?" Regulus watched the duel with an eager light in his eyes. "Oh, the day that the filthy muggle said my family line carries a genetic madness? Yes, I saw."
James' attention was split between watching his son while he dueled and laughed and waiting to see if Regulus was going to voluntarily share his opinion on the subject. When it was clear he wasn't, James cleared his throat a little. "And?"
"Ooh," Regulus hissed when one of the boys got Harry in the forehead with a cutting curse. "And do I think my family is quite mad? Yes, James, obviously."
"Winner- Potter!"
James actually wasn't really sure Harry was winning at all.
***
Lily laughed herself sick during Harry's first day of third year classes.
First off, Harry sassed Sybil Trelawney to the point that the woman had dropped her dazed seer act and truly glared at her son.
Lily thought that Trelawney seemed to take a bit of pleasure in telling Harry that his tea leaves held 'a grim'.
"Oh, girl, that's not good at all," Marlene said with wide eyes. "It's an omen of death."
Lily and Harry must have been connected somehow in that moment because Harry asked the exact question that Lily had been about to.
"Me dying or me causing someone else to die?"
Trelawney said it meant Harry would die soon, but Lily's second round of uncontrollable laughter came when her sassy little boy asked her, very seriously, if she could give him a better timeline because 'he had a lot to do'.
And then, when Harry asked Luna what 'the nargles' thought about when he'd die, she was so vague that Lily wondered if Luna had any seer abilities or if she'd merely made a lot of good guesses before.
"Lue can you ask the nargles if I'm going to die soon?"
"Not today."
"What about tomorrow?"
"I'll let you know tomorrow night."
Seer or not, Luna was adorable and hilarious.
After that, in Harry's first Care of Magical Creatures class, Lily and the girls laughed at the ridiculous irony of Harry thinking how unfair it was that dogs never liked him while he actually hissed at Hagrid's dog and made it cower from him.
"At least Sirius likes him," Dorcas smirked. "I'm almost hoping Harry adopts him and Snape and Sirius spend the summer together this year."
"I'm sure Severus will have his house warded against outside animagi," Elaine said quietly. "He did place some heavy wards there when Harry moved in."
He did. Lily saw him. And she'd been so pleased that someone was taking Harry's safety seriously.
"What kind of— ooh," Marlene sighed as Hagrid introduced the class to their creature of the day. "What are those? They're beautiful!"
"Hippogriffs! Beau'iful, aren' they?"
"Suddenly I'm rather happy that Susan didn't take that class," Elaine said as she warily eyed the creatures.
"Hippogriffs aren't dangerous," Lily assured her. "They're very proud though, but if you don't insult them then… damn it."
Lily's defense of the hippogriffs died on her tongue as Hagrid asked Harry to be the first to show the others how to approach a hippogriff.
Hagrid would choose the most stubbornly arrogant student, wouldn't he?
"It's polite, see? Yeh walk toward him, and yeh bow, an' yeh wait. If he bows back, yeh're allowed ter touch him. If he doesn' bow, then get away from him sharpish, 'cause those talons hurt."
Marlene and Elaine both gave Lily sympathetic looks as they too guessed at what was about to happen.
Never, in a million years, did Lily think that her baby would bow to a hippogriff. If he wouldn't do it for a duel, he wouldn't do it to an animal.
Lily held her breath when Harry nimbly climbed the fencing and dropped down in the paddock with a great grey hippogriff.
"Yeh've got eye contact, now try not ter blink... Hippogriffs don' trust yeh if yeh blink too much... now, bow…"
I'm not bowing to a fuckin bird.
"Then you better fucking run," Dorcas said, her brown eyes twinkling with silent laughter at Harry's antics.
Harry didn't run, but he did scamper away quickly enough to make Lily think maybe he did have some self-preservation after all.
"I thought he'd try and hex the hippogriff," she admitted to her friends. She caught a stray thought of Sirius' off the second telly and laughed, "Awe, Sirius is listening to Harry's class."
Right after Draco teased Harry about the hippogriff not liking him, Harry cursed at him and Sirius let out a happy yip of a laugh.
He's got such a foul mouth, I love it.
"He would love that," Lily laughed. "If nobody ever bothers to correct Harry, he's going to start swearing in English as much as he does Parsletongue."
"How do you know that's what he's saying when he's hissing?" Marlene asked Lily curiously.
Lily would have told her that she just guessed based on Harry's moods, or the context, but she gasped when Draco was suddenly struck by the hippogriff's talons and began screaming.
"You said they weren't dangerous!" Elaine wailed. "Look at him! He's dying!"
"He isn't dying," Lily said with a roll of her eyes. "He's fine."
Mostly.
He was bleeding and thrashing quite a bit on the ground, but Harry was already on his way over to him and Lily was confident he could heal up a few deep cuts.
"You're not dying, quit whining, you're embarrassing yourself. You sound weak."
"Harry James," Lily tsk'd at him. "Draco is your friend, you could help him without the comments."
"Could he?" Dorcas murmured. "Because I think he thinks he is helping with his comments."
If nothing else, they did get Draco to quiet down at least. Lily hoped Harry would learn to be a little gentler with his friends when they were sick or injured, but he needed someone to show him how to do so first.
Nobody had ever held Harry when he bled. Nobody ever whispered soothing words and sweet sounds to him when he was sick. And, as much good as Sev had been for Harry so far, Lily worried that with Sev's aloof personality and his own lack of a warm childhood that he wouldn't be able to provide that kind of modeling for Harry either.
The girls all clapped happily when Harry healed Draco and Hagrid awarded Harry ten points for it. Even Sirius barked out a cheer from his safe distance from the class.
Harry though, was clearly not impressed with Hagrid. "Why'd he attack Draco, huh? Can't you control him??"
"That must be an exceptionally arrogant hippogriff to have taken offense to something so silly," Dorcas said while Harry and his friends began an argument with Hagrid and the other students.
Marlene countered with something sassy, but Lily was watching Sirius as he thought about his godson.
Why's Harry so mad at Hagrid? Yeah, the hippogriffs are a bit dangerous, but Harry seems to like danger, so what's the problem? Must be because his friend was hurt, Harry seems like a loyal kid, just like his dad.
I hope Harry's friends don't repay him as badly for his loyalty as Wormtail did to James.
Lily desperately hoped so too.
***
James glanced at Lily and shook his head a little when there was a knock on their (rarely) locked door.
Remus was teaching boggarts today and James didn't want Harry's fear to be put on a bigger display than it already seemed like it was. It was luck that James even knew what would be in Harry's first class- the twins had mentioned it nonchalantly when they told James that two students in Neville's defense class had their boggart come out as Harry.
Which was hilarious, in James' opinion.
But he was pretty sure Harry's wasn't going to be so funny, and so he quickly made his way home so he and Lily could watch Harry's lesson together, in private.
Yeah, any of their friends could just click their channel to Harry's and see what was going on, and Regulus was probably watching either Sirius or Draco right now anyway, but James knew Harry's boggart would be something terrible and he didn't want to have an audience when he and Lily saw it.
Instead of throwing anything, James proved his maturity by simply squeezing Lily's hand tightly when Remus asked for a volunteer and then tried to strong arm Harry into doing it. Harry just scoffed and Remus zeroed right in on him.
"What was that Harry? You volunteer?"
"Not a chance. I'm not doing this."
"I thought he wanted Harry to like him," Lily said with a bit of heat already in her tone. "This whole lesson is daft, there should be an option to do it in private. I hated showing everyone my worst fear."
James remembered Lily's worst fear, her sister calling her a freak and telling her they were no longer family and that Lily should just 'consider herself an orphan from now on'.
It was a kind of disgusting irony that Lily's worst fear for herself became her son's actual life.
James had felt incredibly stupid that day, with Sirius' fear of his mother cursing him, Remus' fear of the full moon, and Lily's fear of being disowned, to show his own fear of vampires.
At least Peter had a dumb fear that day too though.
"Everyone will go today- you cannot learn the spell without testing it."
"I'm not doing it."
"Harry, I don't want to punish you, but if you refuse to participate in class then you leave me no choice."
Does he think I care if he takes a few fuckin points? Worth it.
"Punish me then."
"Maybe Sirius will get his name cleared and then at least one of your friends can build a relationship with Harry," Lily said kindly when Remus assigned Harry a detention. "Because clearly it won't be Remus."
"Clearly," James agreed quietly. Despite his own anger and disappointment in Remus, he had still held a little hope that Harry might be persuaded to like him.
It was petty, and James knew it, but it stung every time Severus had a fun little story about Lily to tell Harry and Harry didn't like any of the people that knew James very well. Sure, Minnie talked about him a bit, but she knew him as a mentor, not as a friend.
Right now though, James mostly just hoped that Harry would continue refusing to face his boggart and that Remus would drop it.
"Oh, shit." James sighed when Draco was the second student to face his boggart.
"Is that… a tornado of inferi?" Lily whispered, shocked.
James nodded miserably. "God, I hope Reg isn't watching."
They shared a look that expressed the likelihood of Regulus not watching his favorite student at the moment.
Yeah, James could see that Draco's fear was born from a jest Harry made last summer, but… but it wasn't likely to be funny to Regulus who'd been killed by inferi and whose corpse was likely going to be one for an eternity.
It was sick and made James feel nauseous.
"Should I go get him?" Lily offered.
James nodded, "Yeah. Harry isn't going to face his right now anyway, just run to Reg's place and see if you can't drag him over here."
Lily kissed James' cheek quickly and hastily left their place.
She was closing the door when a little Hufflepuff twat who bullied Harry in his second year, Macmillan, stepped forward and the boggart shifted into Harry.
James grinned just as smugly as Harry and his friends did to see that Harry scared Macmillan bad enough to be his boggart.
James was still laughing when Macmillan forced the boggart Harry into a hot pink curly wig, but Harry was pissed.
I will fucking kill him.
James shook his head at Harry; poor kid couldn't take a joke.
"Yes!" James did cheer a minute later when a Slytherin girl, Davis, stepped forward and her fear turned out to be a vampire. "They're very scary!" he told the girl on the telly. "Terrifying, honestly."
And then Blaise went and James' felt a swoop in his stomach that matched Harry's suddenly scattered and stressed thoughts as the boggart turned into Juliana Zabini- pale and lifeless in a coffin.
Harry was thinking about how the 'Black Widow' might one day have someone looking for revenge, and James was thinking about how fucked up it was to have a boggart reveal to everyone how worried you were about your mother's death.
Remus looked a little taken aback by Blaise's boggart, but it was nothing to the shock that reverberated on his face, Harry's thoughts, and James' entire bloody body when Theo Nott stepped forward.
How could someone call themselves a parent, a father, and be their child's deepest fear?
"HOW COULD YOU MAKE HIM REVEAL THAT?" James yelled fruitlessly at Remus.
"Hey, love…" Lily and Regulus stepped back in the room while Theo was staring blankly at the man that could only be his father.
"Tiberius was always a bastard," Regulus said quietly as Remus stepped forward and let Theo's father turn into the full moon. He took one of the seats beside James while Lily took the one on his other side.
"It's fucking sick, making them do this," James said, his voice thick. "Sick."
Regulus and Lily didn't say anything, but he knew they agreed with him.
It wasn't even funny seeing Harry show up as Ron's boggart. It was sad. It was sad seeing that a thirteen year old kid was afraid of disappointing his friend and everyone knew it now.
I thought we were friends? Harry thought. When Ron glanced at Harry over his shoulder, Harry just shook his head. I'm not going to kill you, prat.
Regulus forced a weak smile on his face when Ron's Harry-boggart was replaced by Pansy Parkinson's Harry-boggart, but James really couldn't see the humor anymore.
And, judging by the faces that Remus was making, all these clones were doing were ensuring that Remus was going to make a report to someone tonight.
It better not be Albus bloody Dumbledore either.
It was a little funny when one of the thickset boys in Harry's year, Crabbe, stepped forward and his boggart was a werewolf. It wasn't funny that Remus looked upset, necessarily, but it was funny when Harry howled and winked at Remus.
"Are they friends now?" Regulus asked.
"No," James shook his head as Harry thought about how 'brill' it would be to have werewolf strength. "Harry doesn't like Remus, he likes Moony."
"And there's a difference?" Lily asked.
To Harry, apparently there was.
James and Lily both let out quiet groans when Susan stepped up and the boggart became Amelia Bones, quickly followed by Harry- Harry dead, Harry a bloodied corpse.
James put his arm over Lily's shoulder and he felt a real flare of friendship in him when Regulus did the same for him.
"That was horrible," Lily said a little sniffily. "I'm glad we didn't watch the other class. I never want to see these kids' fears again."
James and Regulus vehemently agreed.
All the lesson made James want to do is get sick, get drunk, or fist fight Remus.
James and Lily were alone that night once more, after spending a good few hours with Regulus trying to cheer him up while he tried to cheer them up. Eventually, Regulus realized they were worried he'd been upset by Draco's boggart and left in a huff, yelling about how 'he didn't need some emotional Gryffindor morons worrying about him'. He did check with James that they were still on for cards the next night with the twins though, so James figured that meant he felt better.
And if James thought that Harry's detention with Remus would give Harry a chance to ask Remus where the hell he'd been for the last twelve years, he was wrong.
"Where's Remus taking him?" Lily wondered aloud when Harry, their poor son, showed up for detention with a pale face, trembling hands, and racing thoughts.
"Dunno." James flipped the Harry telly (as they now had the Harry telly and the Sirius telly) to Remus' channel. James glanced hesitantly at Lily and brought up the biggest problem Harry seemed to have with his detention, "Do you think Severus could talk to Albus or Minnie and make it where all of Harry's detentions are served with Minnie?"
Lily didn't seem to get what James' point was. "What would that help?"
James pointed to how quickly Harry's chest was rising and falling as he followed Remus through the corridors. "He's terrified, Lils, and- and it's men. He shouldn't have to be alone with a male professor when Minnie can do it just as easily and nobody can even cry favoritism."
"I think it's all adults, love," Lily said quietly. "He wasn't very relaxed at Amy's, was he?"
"Because she's DMLE…" James groaned when the corridor, not Remus' thoughts, clued him in on where he was taking Harry for detention. "He's going to make him face his boggart."
"No." Lily brought her hand to her mouth for a moment as she took recognized where they were now. "How could he? After the disaster that the lesson was?"
James waited until Remus confirmed it to throw anything.
"You face your Boggart, your detention is over."
"I'm not doing it."
"Then we'll be here all night tonight and every other night until you do."
James agreed with Remus' thought that Harry looked like he was mentally rearranging his calendar before he very calmly got up, conjured a bat, and swung it with all his might at Remus' stupid damn face.
Were Harry's test results really worth making him do it?
Could Remus not show even a little bit of grace to James' son?
James doesn't regret being a good friend, necessarily, but damn if he wasn't looking back at every time he'd worked so hard to understand his friends' moods and emotions and problems only for one of them to just ignore it in his own kid.
"If Harry doesn't kill him, I'm going to," James said. He let out a shaky breath and shook his hands before sitting back down beside Lily. The two of them listened as Remus promised to not tell anyone what Harry's boggart was and Harry finally agreed to face it.
"This is going to be terrible," Lily whispered.
James couldn't even argue- he could picture so many memories of Harry's that were nightmare inducing. The kid had no lack of trauma to draw from.
Which is why he was pretty fucking confused for a split-second when Severus stepped out of the wardrobe and advanced slowly on Harry.
James might have even been concerned, but he saw Harry and Severus interact for two years now— Severus' role as an adult may stress Harry out on occasion, like when he established 'rules' over the summer, but Harry liked Severus.
It wasn't until the boggart began talking that it all clicked in James' head.
"You're not special. You're disgusting. A monster. A nobody. You're worth less than the trash you slept on."
Has he been hurting Harry?!
"Are you not listening?" James snarled while Lily whimpered and the insults spewed from boggart-Severus' mouth to Harry. "OPEN YOUR FUCKING EARS, REMUS!"
As much as James wanted Remus to open his ears, he really wanted to clog his own.
It was like hearing all of Harry's worst thoughts about himself coming straight from the mouth of the man that Harry most admired.
It was a pretty specific boggart, revealing and horrible. Nothing was more terrifying to Harry than having his most desperate and despairing thoughts confirmed by Severus.
James would have preferred Harry to have Lord Voldemort himself pop up.
Remus did finally decide to intervene though when Harry stumbled backwards and was staring wide-eyed up at his boggart from the floor.
Remus banished the boggart and knelt down to Harry's side. "Are you alright?"
James would have warned Remus against it when he reached his hand out to Harry's shoulder, but at this rate he was almost rooting for Harry to kill him so James could have a long conversation with his old friend.
Harry didn't though. He just ducked away from him and told him not to touch him.
"I don't know what your game is- g-getting me alone and p-pulling that- but I'm not fucking falling for it. Don't touch me ever again."
"Baby." Lily stared sadly at the telly as Harry took off as quick as he could. She reached a hand out, probably wanting to hold their son close as badly as James did.
James would have taken another swing at the telly, smacking Remus in his face as he didn't even bother sending someone to make sure Harry got to his common room safely, but then Remus' thoughts suddenly eased James' anger.
Severus has some explaining to do.
"Switch Sirius over to Harry," James asked Lily, who had the remotes in her lap. "Let's make sure that Harry's okay then we'll watch Severus tear Remus to shreds, yeah?"
Lily's eyes got a mean glint in them, not unlike the one James sees frequently in their son. Suddenly though, she grinned up at him- a bit of a pained grin, but a grin all the same. "Does this count as a date? Watching my old friend destroy your old friend?"
James laughed just a little and kissed her forehead softly. "Sure, babe. Let's call this a date."