Disclosure: Nope, still not ours. All of it still belongs to the illustrious, beautiful, and talented Ms Rowling. Anybody who says different has obviously been listening to the goats again.

Thanks to our wonderful beta, Rachael. Your suggestions helped a lot.

Memory:

When Remus Lupin disapparated a short way from the Burrow, he felt a bit ambivalent about the planned activities ahead of him. He looked forward to seeing Harry, as well as everyone else who would be around. Every day, he was more and more grateful that his surrogate godson had the support of the Weasley family. Where that young man would be without Ginny, Merlin only knew. He knew the shape his young charge had been in at the end of the last term, not to mention what Dursley had done to him. He doubted that anyone else would have had such an effect on the young wizard.

He was dreading, just a bit, seeing the memories of his departed friends. It would be good to see them as they were, so full of life and vitality and plans for the future. The part that would make the experience bittersweet was the knowledge that all those hopeful optimistic plans had never had the chance to come to fruition.

On the other hand, it would be fun to relive some of the pranks the Marauders had perpetrated, in school and after. Remus chuckled as he wondered how surprised Harry would be to see just how much Lily had participated in their escapades. Once she and James had finally gotten together, shortly after the start of their seventh year, she had started adding her own unique brand of intelligence and cunning to the mix, leading to some of the most memorable pranks the school had yet seen. With Lily's blend of intelligence, bravery, cunning, and loyalty, it was no wonder the Sorting Hat had just about had a fit in trying to place her.

With the friends Harry had, Lupin wondered how long it would take this group to take up the mantle of the Marauders. Harry was the only heir to the original group, and Ron and Ginny were related to two who had done their best to continue that the legacy of Moony, Padfoot, Prongs, and yes, even Wormtail, would continue. Fred and George were highly prolific pranksters, and some of the things they had come up with were truly ingenious. The extendable ears alone were something that Moony and the rest would've given their eye-teeth for. With the knack these four had already demonstrated for finding ways of getting into and out of trouble, and the things the Twins were inventing daily, he was actually looking forward to the coming term, and being back at the school. It should be interesting, to say the least.

When he entered the house, it was to an unexpected scene. Harry and Ginny were seated next to each other on the sofa, with a small blond girl sitting on Harry's lap. She looked to be no older than ten, and possibly a bit younger. She was an adorable little thing, with platinum blond ringlets, fair skin, and amazingly clear blue eyes. She also had quite possibly the cutest laugh Moony had ever heard. The reason he knew this right away was because, as he entered, the two teens were tickling the living daylights out of her. It was the kind of laugh that made anybody who heard it want to know the joke, so they could laugh with her. Looking at Harry, Remus could see that his godson was not unaffected by this. In fact, he probably looked happier than he'd ever seen him yet. He was amazed and gratified to see this. He couldn't help but wonder what the scene might be in ten or fifteen years, after the war was over and this young man had a chance at a family of his own. It was a scene to remember, one to cast a patronus with.

After a moment, he shook himself from this reverie and walked into the room. Still unnoticed at the moment, he took a seat in one of the armchairs across from where they sat, just watching. When things calmed down a bit a few moments later, the little girl curled up in Harry's lap, Remus had to ask.

"So, Harry, who is the charming little lady on your lap, and why isn't Ginny jealous of her? I daresay she was a bit more possessive than this at your birthday party, if I'm not mistaken."

The little girl looked up at him and replied, "I'm Gabrielle. Who are you?"

"My name is Remus. I'm Harry's guardian. You're Fleur's sister?" Now that he'd heard the name, as well as the accent the conclusion was a bit obvious.

"Oui, monsieur Remus." She cocked her head to one side, seeming to consider something. "You are a werewolf, no?"

The normally unflappable man was taken aback, not knowing quite what to say for a moment. From the looks on Harry and Ginny's faces, they were as surprised as he was. Finally, he simply said, "Well, yes. How'd you know?"

The girl climbed down from Harry's lap, coming over to Lupin. She perched herself on Remus' knee and looked directly at him, her brilliant blue eyes boring into his paler blue ones. The expression she wore was frankly appraising, almost as if she was taking an inventory. After a moment or two, her gaze relaxed and she smiled at him brightly. He knew then that he would do anything he had to, for her to smile like that at him again. She was a very captivating little girl, and inspired protective feelings in him that nobody else had, apart from Harry. He knew that the wolf in him would let no harm come to this waif.

"My Veela blood tells me this. That you are close to 'Arry tells me that you are a good person. I just know that 'e could not be friends with anybody who was truly dark." Her young voice held such absolute conviction that, even had the old marauder not already been firmly on Harry's side, he would have changed, just to prove her right. "'Arry considers you family. As I feel the same for 'im, I could do no less, non?" Having said this, she wrapped her arms around him, giving him a hug that only someone a part of the Weasley family could rival, which he gave back as well as he could. To say that he was amazed was to vastly underestimate how gobsmacked he felt right now. In his recent history, only the people who lived in this home had accepted him so readily, werewolf or not. The only other one who had, since the Marauders, was Tonks. It would take a bit of getting used to.

With a fond look at Gabrielle, Ginny spoke up. "Now you see why I can't be jealous of her." She shook her head bemusedly. "She does that with everybody she meets. She just has this way of looking at you and knowing who she can trust." Wearing a mischievous grin, the petite redhead said, "She seems to know who Harry likes and trusts, and uses that as her measure. Personally, I think she just wants my boyfriend." Ginny giggled as she remembered something. "You should've seen her when she met Professor Dumbledore this morning. She just sat there with her arms crossed, glaring at him. She told him, "I remember you. You put me in that lake. I don't like you much." It was priceless. But the best part was when she asked if he was going to keep feeding him, what was it, Gaby?"

"Merde du chimere."

Harry was laughing as he said, "I don't think anybody has ever gotten the headmaster to snort tea the wrong way through his nose, before. Apparently, he has some knowledge of the french language."

Remus knew what she had said, too, and how much of an insult it truly was. He laughed along with the rest, noting that the young girl in question simply shrugged in a very Gallic way, a small smile on her face. When he looked back over at Harry, he noticed something he should have earlier. He raised an eyebrow at his surrogate godson.

"Harry, did you forget something when you got dressed this morning?"

The two on the sofa shared a look, and Ginny answered, ticking off items on her fingers. "Let me see...shirt, pants, socks, trainers, boxers (green silk, by the way, very nice). I think that's all of it. He even ran a brush fairly close to his hair. Something wrong?" She smiled at him innocently.

"Leaving aside the fact that I don't want to know how you happen to know that much about his boxers, where are the glasses? You know, black, round, with lenses that let him avoid walking into walls? Did you get contacts or something?"

"Well, this would actually fall more under the category of 'or something', Moony" This was said with a smirk that would've made Sirius proud.

"Out with it, pup. What's going on?"

Ginny finally took pity on him. "It was my birthday present to him. It's a combination of a potion and a charm. I found part of it in 'Most Potente Potions', and owled Professor Flitwick for the information on the charm. The spell was mentioned in the book, but not how to do it. The potion finished brewing this morning after Professor Dumbledore left. It took almost six weeks to brew, but it was worth it."

Watching as Harry pulled Ginny even closer, Remus could've been knocked over quite handily by a first year student with a bad cough at this point.

"Let me get this straight. With a potion and a charm, you fixed his vision. No more glasses?"

"That's right. No more glasses, no fresheners needed for either part of it. It's permanent."

Harry interrupted. "The funny part is that I didn't even think she'd gotten me a gift. I thought that the part she played in my rescue, not to mention the first birthday party I've ever had, was my gift." He smiled tenderly at the girl in his arms. "That, along with her love, was all the gift I needed."

Remus shook himself out of the daze he found himself in. A smile slowly crept across his face. "You know something? Padfoot was right, manky mutt that he was."

The happy couple across from him traded an amused look. "What do you mean, Moony? What was he right about?"

Still chuckling, the older wizard answered. "Well, two things, actually. Number one, he somehow knew the two of you would end up together.

"Second, the comparisons between you two and James and Lily are uncanny."

At the quizzical looks he received from the teens' faces, he continued.

"First, there's the physical resemblance. With the exception of eye color, you two are near ringers for the two of them. Ginny, your eye color is much deeper than James'. His were hazel, where yours are more the color of chocolate. Harry, your mother's eyes were closer to an aquamarine than a true emerald, like yours. They were green, but looked almost blue in the right conditions. Lily was maybe an inch or so taller than Ginny, and James was about your height, Harry. He actually stayed skinny longer than you have. You've started filling out earlier than he did. I don't know if you'll reach his height, but that doesn't much matter, really. You're the right height for Ginny, and that's what counts." This was said with a smile, as he saw the slight blush on both of their faces.

"The other comparison I've heard made is in ability and power. Be prepared, as more and more people will notice it, and comment on it. Your professors will notice it more than anyone else, as both of them were very bright and good in their classes.

"Ginny, the charm you used on Harry to prepare him for the eye-correction potion has only been used once, that I know of, in the three hundred years or so since it was devised. Lily did that for James, shortly after they got married. She was one of the most gifted Charms students Flitwick has ever had. By the time she did that for James, she was already working as an Unspeakable. She was never able to say what she did there, but I do know that it had something to do with devising new charms, especially those related to defense and home protection.

"Harry, I've never had the chance to assess your abilities in Transfiguration, but I believe you got an O for it on your OWLs, right?" Receiving a nod in response, he went on. "By the time we finished seventh year, James was acting as an assistant professor for McGonagall in that class. She had a few personal matters to attend to that couldn't be set aside, and there was nothing left to teach him on that subject anymore, at any rate. He was actually the one who worked out everything concerning the animagus transformation, and taught it to Sirius and Peter. That's the part that took three years. He'd worked it all out within two months of learning my secret.

"I happen to know that your DADA scores were the highest this century. Before you, the record was held by James. If I'm not mistaken, you beat his mark by a good twenty-five points, even before the bonus you earned with your patronus.

"I know that you haven't been given the best picture of your dad, but one very important thing to remember is that you only saw one memory of him, and that was from the perspective of somebody who hated him more than anything else. To be quite honest, I don't think even Voldemort hated your father as much as Severus still does. To Voldemort, your dad was one more obstacle to be overcome."

"James and Severus, from the time they first met on Platform 9 ¾, couldn't stand each other. For generations, the Snapes have been deeply entrenched in the Dark Arts. One of the top lieutenants for Grindelwald was a Snape, highly honored by his family for it. Severus was raised in that kind of atmosphere, one where muggles and half-bloods were viewed as something less than human. The first sight James ever had of Severus was him tormenting a smaller child just before getting on the Express. James 'accidentally' let his trunk ram into Severus as he went by, giving the child a chance to get away. With the fact that adults were all around, and that James sounded quite sincere when he apologized for his 'slip', there was nothing Severus could do but accept and get on the train. After that, well, it just escalated. To this day, he still has a lot of those old pure-blood attitudes, though he's much more careful about voicing them these days. I don't think I've heard him say the word 'mudblood' since fifth year, but the sentiment is always there." He smirked a bit. "Actually, the fact that he doesn't use the word anymore is all down to your dad. He said it once more after the memory you saw, just as we were about to get on the train to go home. He very loudly used the word to describe Lily, and James lost all reason. It was the only time I ever had to step in. By the time he'd finally cooled down, he'd decided to just prank Severus, rather than physically hurt him. The whole ride home, a rather rude inflatable sheep bobbed around, following Snape wherever he went. It was actually quite a brilliant charm. The best part was that every time he tried to banish it, it multiplied. By the time he'd reached the car he shared with Bellatrix and Narcissa, there were eight of them following in his wake. Then Rodolphus LeStrange saw them and tried the same thing. By the time we reached King's Cross, there was quite the little flock following along, and the more there were, the ruder their sayings got. At the end there, some of those sheep were using language that even had Sirius blushing."

By the time he finished telling the story, none of them could talk, for all the laughing they were doing at the mental image this gave them. After a few minutes, he was able to continue.

"The point I'm trying to make, Harry, is that what went on between your dad and Snape was something quite different from the way he was with anybody else. Snape had also made a lot of enemies besides James, in every house, including his own. James was a bit of a prat when it came to Lily, but most boys are at that age, especially when they're trying their best to win the girl's heart. Whatever happened between Severus Snape and James Potter, the fact remains that your parents fell in love shortly after the beginning of our seventh year, married as soon as they were out of school, and they would've had a fairy-tale ending, if not for Voldemort. Please don't doubt that they loved each other, and you, more than life itself."

Remus knew that there was one way to prove to Harry, once and for all, that was he was saying was truth.

"Do me a favor, would you? Go upstairs and get your pensieve for me, along with the canister with your parents' initials on it, and bring them down."

Harry nodded and headed upstairs. Remus saw the love in Ginny's eyes, as she watched Harry. He was a bit stunned, as he'd never thought he'd see a couple as much in love as James and Lily.

He was still marveling over this when Harry came back into the room, levitating the carved stone basin in front of him, while carefully carrying the metal canister. Remus took the pensieve and set it carefully down on the low table in front of the sofa, and slowly decanted the precious contents of the cylinder into it. Once he had it ready, he turned to Harry.

"From what Albus has said, you know how to use one of these?" At the answering nod, he stepped back. "Knowing your parents, I have a pretty good idea which ones will come up first. I'll stay out here and keep Gabrielle company, if you want to look at it alone. I might have a look later, if you don't mind."

Harry shot his former professor a grateful look. "I don't mind at all, Remus. Thank you." He turned to Ginny, a slightly shy look on his face. "Gin, would you mind going in with me? I don't know if I can do this alone."

"Of course, Harry. I'd love to see them. I'm here for you. Don't you forget it."

He kissed her tenderly but briefly. "Thank you."

Ginny laced her fingers into his, further lending him support. The young wizard took out his wand and touched it to the surface of the silvery liquid, giving it a small stir. The two of them leaned over, their faces touching the surface.

There was a brief falling sensation, then they were in the Gryffindor common room.

A dark-haired young man that Harry knew to be his father stood nervously in front of the fireplace in the common room. He kept casting worried looks at the portrait hole. Harry didn't know what he was looking so apprehensive about, but the feeling seemed to be contagious. The young observer was starting to feel the same way himself, a feeling only eased by the small hand tucked inside his. Soon though, James started to talk to himself, and the situation became clearer.

You great idiot. What makes you think she'll accept? She's turned you down four years running, so far. Why would she break that kind of streak now?

She has to. She's the only one I've ever wanted. If I can't have her, I don't want anybody. I...I love her.

Well, that explains why you're still a virgin at seventeen.

What the teenage version of James Potter either didn't see or didn't pay any mind to was the fact that the common room was by no means empty. All the chairs around the room were taken by students studying, playing games, chatting each other up and all the other activities students normally do in a boarding school on a Friday night, when away from the adults. In addition to anything else they might have been doing, most in the room were also watching James. It would have been a good bet that nobody have ever seen him this worried, about anything.

Of course, none were watching more obviously or with more enjoyment than the three seated on the sofa he'd now taken to pacing in front of. Sirius Black was laughing fit to burst, Peter Pettigrew looked vaguely worried, and Remus Lupin looked a bit bemused by the whole thing. Sirius had conjured a bag of popcorn a few minutes before, and was sharing it with his seated friends. This was high entertainment. After they'd watched him do a few laps of the carpet before the hearth, Remus spoke up.

"Prongs, calm down. I think she's noticed the changes you've made over the past year. In fact, I know she has, now that I think of it."

Startled, James asked, "What do you mean?"

"She asked me a few days ago why you weren't hexing every third student in the corridors."

"Yeah? What'd you say?"

A mischievous gleam came to the werewolf's face, reminding Harry that Remus truly was a Marauder.

"Oh, just that you had tapered back a bit. Now it's only every tenth, and only if they're in Slytherin."

James paled at this. "Moony! You didn't!"

At this point, all three of the boys on the sofa had lost all control, howling with laughter. The look on his face was really something to see. Remus obviously wished he'd thought to bring his camera. James quickly realized that he'd been had, and buried his face in his hands, muttering.

"With friends like this..."

Sirius asked, "Who needs enemas?"

James seemed to be giving much thought to throttling his best friend, and it seemed to be a close decision indeed.

Harry had had trouble not laughing at his father's predicament, and finally gave into it, as he heard Ginny's giggle beside him. This scene was a marked contrast to what he'd seen in the other pensieve, a few months prior. This James Potter didn't show any of the spite or arrogance Snape had gone on and on about.

As the three Gryffindors on the sofa sat amused at the expense of their friend and leader, the cause for his current anxiety came in from the corridor. Lily Evans walked into the room, looking curiously at the scene in front of the fireplace. She raised an eyebrow at the three boys doing a very accurate impression of hyenas, and gave a small smile, shaking her head.

Harry gazed on in rapt amazement. Much had been made by Sirius and Remus about the resemblance between Lily Potter (nee Evans) and Ginny Weasley, and even Dumbledore had remarked on it earlier that morning. Until this moment, none of this had sunk in, not really. As she looked around the room, her gaze alighting on the group in the middle of things (as usual), Harry saw something in her eyes that made him realize what everybody had been talking about. There was something there, something he couldn't quite put a finger on.

James had heard the portrait close, and turned to see who it was. He watched as she crossed from the portrait, her beautiful eyes sweeping the room, lingering a bit on the Marauders. It was obvious he wasn't sure what to make of the expression he saw on her face, but it seemed to give him hope. Just as she turned to the steps to the girls dorms, he spoke.

"Ev...erm, Lily?"

"Yes?"

"Did you hear about the ball coming up?"

"Well, as the headmaster made the announcement at breakfast this morning, and attendance was mandatory, yes I did. I'd imagine everybody heard about it."

"Oh, yes, well...I was wondering if...the thing is...has anybody asked you yet?"

"Yes, actually."

"Oh, okay then. Sorry." He started to turn away, looking quite despondent. "I hope you have fun."

"I haven't accepted yet. There was someone else I was hoping would ask."

He seemed to be getting up the courage for what should come next. After four years of rejection, he was sure he knew what the answer would be. Finally, he looked up from his shoes and asked her.

"Lily, would you go to the Yule Ball with me?"

"Why, yes. That sounds lovely."

He nodded and turned again, seemingly on automatic. "I didn't think so." He took a step, then stopped abruptly. He turned his head to look at Remus, with the most hopeful look on his face anybody had ever thought to see, as her answer seemed to dawn on him.

In a low voice, he asked, "Moony? Did she just say yes?"

Remus nodded and replied, "Yes she did, Prongs."

Slowly, as if underwater, James turned back to Lily. With an expression that said that he was almost afraid to hope, he asked, "Is he right? Did you really just say yes?"

She nodded and said, "Yes, I did."

"Really?"

"Yes, really."

"You'll really go with me?"

"For the last time, I said yes, you daft idiot. Are you trying to change my mind?" She asked this with an extremely amused expression.

"NO! Merlin, no. I just never imagined..."

She was clearly curious. "Then why keep it up?"

He shrugged. "Some dreams just won't die."

She looked at him, startled. "What do you mean?"

He took her hand, hesitantly at first, then with increasing confidence when she didn't pull away.

"Lils, ever since I saw you the first time on the platform at King's Cross, I have been head over arse in love with you. I just never knew how to tell you before, so that I didn't sound like an utter pillock."

She replied with a teasing smile. "You're still a pillock. But I have to admit, on you, it's cute."

The scene swirled again, before resolving into what was obviously the vast lawn in front of the entrance to Hogwarts.

It took only a moment for him to register that all of the people he saw were gathered for a wedding. There looked to be well over a hundred people assembled, all in their most elegant finery, clothes even nicer than he'd seen at the Yule Ball in his fourth year. He wondered for less than a minute who the couple would be, until he looked to the altar. James Potter was at the center, with Sirius and Remus next in line. All three were the only ones Harry saw wearing muggle clothing, tuxedos complete with tails. They even had the walking sticks to go with them. After a few moments, he heard the opening strains of the Wedding March, and the other half of the wedding party came into the scene.

Lily Evans, escorted by the diminutive Professor Flitwick, entered after her bridesmaids. Every eye was fixed on her, but none more so than James. He was absolutely transfixed, looking at the only woman who would ever matter to him. Her auburn locks were swept up into a bun, just a few tendrils falling loose to frame her delicate features. Her green eyes were alight with joy, as she returned the look that James sent her.

Harry didn't really notice any of the details of the ceremony, vows, what was said by Dumbledore as he presided, any of the little parts of the whole. All he could see, all he needed to see was the love the two of them obviously felt for each other. When the ceremony was over, and the newlyweds turned to each other for their first kiss as husband and wife, he felt Ginny's arm around his waist. Someday, when Voldemort was finally vanquished, he wanted to stand in front of his friends like this, proclaiming for all the world his love for the red-headed sprite beside him. He looked down at her, and silently vowed to himself that he would, somehow, do just that.

As James and Lily Potter slowly broke off their first kiss as a married couple, the scene swirled once more, dropping the two teens into what seemed to be a waiting room at St Mungos.

Just three chairs were occupied. James, Remus and Sirius were sitting, quite literally, on the edges of their seats. Occasionally, one would get up and pace around a bit before dropping back into his seat. Curiously, for such usually vocal men, none of them said a word, as if afraid to jinx whatever they were waiting for. Finally, a head poked out from behind a door at the other end of the room.

"Auror Potter?"

James jumped from his chair, as if prodded by a very large, very sharp pin.

"Yes?"

"Follow me, please."

The head disappeared behind the door, with James following closely behind. He was led down a corridor to a door marked 'Birthing Rm 12'. Harry followed his father through the door and saw his mother laying on a bed in the center of the room. James Potter was in awe as he gazed down upon his wife, holding their newborn son in her arms. She looked exhausted, but very happy. As James approached, she looked up at him.

"He's the very image of you, right down to your hair."

He gingerly drew a finger along his son's cheek. Small eyes opened for just a moment, causing James to gasp.

"He's got your eyes though, Lils."

She chuckled tiredly. "Well, at least he has something of me to him. Would you hold him for a moment, so I can shift position a bit?"

Carefully, as if afraid of breaking his son, James took the baby boy, cradling him in the crook of his arm as he'd seen Lily do. The small head drooped a bit, chin dropping to chest.

James softly laid a kiss on his son's head. "Welcome to the world, Harry James Potter."

Once more, the scene changed, this time to a small room. There was a crib with a mobile hanging over it, hippogriffs, griffons, dragons, pegasi, and all other manner of magical creatures hanging from it. The wall was decorated with snitches, broomsticks, bludgers, quaffles, and all the other things associated with quidditch. In the crib was a baby boy, no more than six months old. He woke suddenly and looked around, a fearful look in his wide emerald eyes. When he saw that there was no one there to hold him, he opened his mouth and let loose with a quite impressive yell.

Ginny later teased him a bit about this, saying that lung power has to be there from birth, and that she'd known it all along.

In short order, Lily came rushing into the room to pick him up and comfort him.

"My sweet Harry, what is it, little mockingbird?" She murmured to him, trying to calm him. Nothing was working, though. Finally, she settled into a rocking chair in the corner of the room and started singing to him.

Hush, little baby, don't say a word.

Momma's gonna buy you a mockingbird.

If the mockingbird won't sing,

Momma's gonna buy you a diamond ring.

If the diamond ring turns into brass,

Momma's gonna buy you a looking glass.

If the looking glass gets broke,

Momma's gonna buy you a billy goat.

If the billy goat runs away,

Momma's gonna buy you another today.

Brilliant emerald eyes drifted shut as he fell asleep, safe in his mother's arms.

A/N: Both of us are very sorry for the extremely long delay in updating. It's been entirely too long since our last chapter was posted. It won't be anywhere near that long before the next chapter is up, really. Bill's working on two new chapters for LCaS, and Lori's working on outlining a new story. Don't worry though, as that won't interfere with this one. Posting on the new story won't start until the first few chapters are written, as well as significantly more of this story being posted.