Epilogue

James was humming under his breath as he conjured up holly and tinsel to decorate the mantel. The Christmas holidays had always been his favorite part of the year, in no small part because of the festive decorations. And the presents weren't bad, either.

"Hey, Dad? What time are the others supposed to get here?" A near identical figure popped his head out the door from the kitchen.

"Not long now," James replied distractedly, before his attention was suddenly caught. "Harry... Are you snitching from the dessert tray again?"

"No." The fifteen year old quickly stepped fully into the living room, trying to hide his guilty expression.

"Uh-huh. I think I'm going to need you to stay out here where I can keep an eye on you, or else there'll be no biscuits left by the time the rest arrive." He said it in a severe tone, but the elder Potter's eyes were clearly laughing at his son's behavior - near identical to his own in years past, after all. Harry just rolled his eyes, moving closer and studying what all his dad had been up to.

"Looks good," he said. "But I think you've gone a bit overboard with the mistletoe."

There were sprigs of the stuff hanging in every single doorway, several of the picture windows and over the spot where people would emerge from the Floo.

"Have I not brought you in on the plan to finally set Remus up with a girl?"

"I believe this plan has been in works since you lot were my age." Harry responded dryly.

"Yeah, well, we've got a decent shot at it this year what with the flirting Nymphadora's been supplying towards the old wolf..."

"I think the sight of all this, though, might just send Moony running for the hills. Don't you?"

"...I suppose you may have a point there." The pair's chuckles, however, were cut off rather suddenly when James noticed Harry rubbing at the back of his hand again. "Scars still bothering you?"

"Hm? Oh- it's fine, Dad." And once again, the elder Potter had to sigh at his son's determination to be strong and not cause him any more bother.

"Harry... One of these days, I'm going to break you of that habit of automatically announcing 'I'm fine' when someone asks how you are. Still not entirely sure where you picked the ruddy habit up in the first place, honestly..." He added ruefully.

"It really is alright, Dad, just a bit of ghost pain, truly." Only slightly mollified, James nudged his stubborn teen offspring in the direction of the couch, swiftly taking a seat beside him as well.

"Did I or the others ever tell you about the time your mum walloped Darcy Mendeley in sixth year?" He suddenly asked.

"I don't think so... None of you tell all that many stories about Mum, and this sounds like one I'd remember." Harry replied carefully, with a watchful eye on his dad. "What happened?"

"Well, it turned out that Darcy, this Ravenclaw who had double Charms with us, didn't especially like the fact that Remus kept doing better than her on all the written work. So every day for about a month, she'd temporarily hex Moony's quill in that class to give whatever skin it came in contact with a bit of a nasty itch. Well, it kept getting harder and harder for poor Remus to concentrate and get his work done."

"Constant itching probably meant his hand was scratched raw, wasn't it?"

"That it was - see, you can be perceptive after all, you little dunderhead. And the rest of us knew that it had to be the work of a bully, but Moony wouldn't let us do anything about it. Then came the day when you're mum was a bit late to class, and spotted ole' Darcy firing the hex under her desk. Lily didn't say or do anything, not in front of Professor Flitwick." James grinned at that point. "But after class let out? She called for Darcy before the other girl could disappear down the hall, and right in front of the lot of us said 'This is for Remus.' And then socked her right in the nose."

Harry chuckled, and James ruffled his hair.

"My point, young Buck, is that Umbridge was even worse to you than Darcy was to Moony, and I dearly wish I'd been able to do more than go after her legally for that ruddy Blood Quill. No, don't roll your eyes at me - you don't always need to be strong for me, Harry. The fact that you think you need to says that I've done a bad job as a parent."

"You haven't!" The teen protested. "You've done a brilliant job, a-and I just want you to see it. That you've taught me how to take care of myself."

"Oh, Harry." James pulled the unprotesting boy into his arms. "It's going to be a few years yet before I expect you to fully handle that particular task. I can honestly say, after all, that taking care of you is more work than for the average wizarding child, and there's no reason in the world for you to start doing it just now while I'm still alive and kicking and determined to get old Voldesnort where it hurts the most."

"Exactly, you're busy trying to knock sense into Fudge and the Wizengamot - I should have been able to handle Umbridge on my own-!"

"Wrong. Actually, dealing with her might have been a nice break from all the politics." The man mused, resting his chin atop Harry's head. "Much nicer than getting a firecall from Minerva saying that you were in the infirmary after being forced to repeatedly use a Blood Quill in detention."

Harry at least had the sense to look a bit sheepish. "But, after a troll and Voldy and the diary and a basilisk and Wormtail and the Tournament-"

"All of which you got in trouble over, attempting to manage by yourself or with only your friends as backup." James added sternly.

"-well, still, what's one monster of a teacher compared to all that? Especially since I've learned how to survive Snape all these years."

"Argh, and that's something else entirely for me to feel guilty over." The teen huffed at his father's groan. "Alright. You're the bloody Boy-Who-Lived-to-Give-his-Dad-More-Grey-Hairs. Doesn't mean I can't help get rid of a witch using an illegal Dark artefact on students. So next time, tell me." To emphasize his point, James grabbed his son in a headlock and proceeded to rub his knuckles into the teen's scalp.

"Ack, Dad! Off! Quit it!" Laughing even as he struggled, Harry managed to drive the both of them to the floor, narrowly avoiding the coffee table. They were still wrestling when the fireplace flared green, and a dark haired man with a young girl riding piggyback stepped through.

"A-hem! Attention, attention, you measly peasants down in the dirt you, the Blacks have arrived!" Sirius announced with a mock glare. "And we certainly deserve a better welcome than this!"

"Hi Uncle James! Hi Harry!" The ten year old piped up from her odd position. "I'm taller than you!"

"So you are, Addie." Harry grinned, scrambling to his feet. "Taller than your dad, too!"

"Where's Laurel?" James also put in, standing himself.

"Had to work late - said she'll pick up a quick bite to eat, and meet us here around eight." Sirius replied, swinging his daughter around so that she could be handed over to her favorite cousin. "Are we the first ones here?"

"Indeed you are, Padfoot - Moony and the rest aren't set to arrive for a while yet."

"When's Uncle Remus gonna kiss Dora?" Addie suddenly asked, still in the process of settling herself on Harry's back. "I want to be a big cousin!"

"Is that how it works?" James asked with no little amount of amusement.

"Uh-huh!"

"Maybe you ought to be asking your parents for a little brother or sister instead, Adhara." Harry suggested with a wicked smirk at his godfather, who was quick to nip that idea in the bud.

"Uh, no. Laurel's made it pretty clear that if there's to be another Black child, I'll be the one to get pregnant."

Addie promptly stuck her tongue out. "And that's why Moony an' Dora need to kiss so that I can tease a baby cousin the way Harry teases me."

"I see. Well, hopefully it won't be much longer. Now why don't you two go play out back while we wait for the others to arrive?"

"Yeah! Buck, let's go play!" Rolling his eyes with a good natured groan, Harry set off for the back door. As soon as he left the house, the teen transformed, and Addie was suddenly sitting astride a young stag who proceeded to trot about. She giggled, immensely pleased.

Back indoors, Sirius sighed at the sight. "Makes me wish she was still small enough I was the one giving rides. Merlin, Prongs, do you realize my kid's going to be at Hogwarts next year?"

"Better enjoy having her around while you can, then." James suggested, his own gaze growing distant. "Seems like just yesterday I could still carry Harry slung over my shoulder."

"We need a specialized stasis charm to keep kids from getting older."

"Wouldn't work, Padfoot - eventually the responsible types would whack us over the head for not letting the pipsqueaks grow up and learn to fend for themselves."

"Still..."

"I know," James clapped a hand on his best friend's shoulder. "It would be nice to always protect them." He thought of the terrible dangers Harry had faced since starting school, the manipulations Dumbledore seemed intent on continuing and the murderous attentions of Voldemort. He thought of Lily, and how proud she'd be of their son and the responsible young man he was gradually turning into. "But eventually... We have to take a step back, and let them protect themselves."

Sirius hummed an agreement, but his eyes never left the pair outside. "...Plus, I guess there's the whole 'mums wanting grandchildren to spoil' thing..."

"That too."

A/N: Okay, I admit, the winter holidays and school starting up threw me WAY off track, but now we're back! And with this member of my Harry Potter Round Table Project complete, I promise to try and concentrate on adding more to the others as soon as possible. Hope you all enjoyed this little tale and join us again for further installment of my other AUs,

-Triscribe