Letters From Mum

Dear Harry,

I don't know why I'm writing this letter and I don't know what I'm trying to accomplish by writing it. I hope you'll never have to read this and that in a couple of years I can just find this tucked in it's little envelope, remember writing this, and throw it away. I hope that you won't have to hear all of this in a letter. However, Dumbledore is worried for reasons he won't fully explain and, if worse comes to worst, I don't want you to grow up not knowing much about us. Except, I don't know quite where to begin.

It begins, I suppose, with your father and I. We met at Hogwarts, which is the same place where we met Sirius, Remus, and Peter...

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

James stood on the bank of the lake, skipping stones and swearing angrily under his breath. Sirius sat uneasily on the ground next to him. In seven good years of friendship he had never seen him this angry.

"Er, James, I think the lake is dead now," he said uncertainly.

"Shut up!" growled James in a low voice. Then he continued muttering a long, angry rant.

"Oh, come on, James. This isn't the end of the world. Lily Evans isn't the only girl at Hogwarts. You could have any girl you wanted, except her," said Sirius, trying to comfort his friend.

"I don't want any other girl, Padfoot. I want her," growled James. Sirius was taken aback by the sound of menace in James's voice. He sighed. "Sirius, just go away, okay? I need to work this out for myself. Oh, and do me a favor? Return this to the extra box of Quidditch balls. I don't want it." He handed Sirius a small, struggling snitch.

Sirius looked at the snitch a little sadly.

"She's really gotten to you, hasn't she?" he asked. James didn't answer. "Look, mate, I can't put this back for you. If I get caught in there again..." he trailed off. "I guess I'll be going, then."

As Sirius left James sat down. Why did he want Lily Evans so bad? Like Sirius had said, it wasn't as if she was the only girl in Hogwarts. Hell, he could have anyone and she would probably be jealous. That would show her, the stupid know-it-all.

"James?" asked a quiet voice. James turned around. There she was.

"What do you want?" he snarled.

"Back off!" she snapped. "I came to apologize. It obviously wasn't what it looked like down in the dungeons-"

"You're right, it wasn't. In case you care, Snivellus was trying to curse Remus," he growled.

"How was I supposed to know that?"

"You don't know anything!" he roared. "He knows about Remus and now, being the insufferable git that he is-"

"He doesn't know what about Remus?" she asked.

"It's none of your bloody business!"

"Unless you intend on breaking up with me, I think you ought to tell me," she said dangerously, her eyes flashing. James stared at her.

"Remus has a- a furry little problem," he said, compromising with his determination to tell her nothing and the desire to not lose the friendship that had finally formed between them.

"He owns a rabbit?" she asked, confused.

"What?"

"Well, you said he had a furry little problem. It sounds to me like he owns a badly behaved rabbit," she said, stumbling over her logic.

James laughed out loud.

"No, he doesn't own a rabbit," he said, still chortling. "I thought you were brighter than that!"

She fumed silently.

"Tell me!" she demanded.

"He's-he's-he's a werewolf," he said quietly. Lily stared as though he were stupid.

"Well, that's obviously not something you want Snape to know," she said knowingly. "All the same, that gives you no right to turn his ears into cacti and put the Leg-Locker Curse on him."

"Aw, come on, Lily, it wasn't that bad," he said. "I could've done a lot worse."

"Yes, you could have, but that's not the point, is it?"

James sighed and looked at the ground. "Do you want to come to Hogsmeade with me this weekend?"

"Huh?"

"This weekend there's a Hogsmeade trip and I was wondering if you would like to go with me," said James, turning an interesting shade of red. He rubbed the back of his neck in a nervous sort of way.

"Yes, that'd be nice," Lily said, and turned to walk away.

"Oh, wait, Lily," he called after her.

She turned.

"I absolutely refused to go into Madame Puddifoot's. I downright refuse! If that changes your mind-" he said.

"No, I'm okay with that," she said serenely.

He watched her leave. Finally, as the fireflies started to twinkle over the lake, he turned to go back to the common room.

"Oi, James," cried Remus from a distance away. James turned to face his friend.

"Yeah?"

"What was all that about?"

"Well, I just asked Lily Evans out, again," he said evenly.

"And-?"

"And, this time she finally said yes," said James without turning to Remus. Remus let out an uncharacteristic whoop.

"Wait until I tell Sirius!" said Remus triumphantly.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

He wasn't the greatest at romance, but James had his own quiet form of it. Though, if I remember correctly, that first date was a disaster. I don't blame him, though, it wasn't James's fault though. It was really more Remus's fault, and Sirius's. But you're awake now, and I have to go.

I love you.

Mum.