James looked at his wife and son, asleep together on the sofa. He was leaning lazily against the door frame, just looking at the two perfect things in his life. Nothing else in his life was perfect right now. Him, Lily and Harry were cooped up in this house, unable to leave due to the danger placed on the young child with hair as messy as his father's. The Marauders couldn't see much of one another. Sirius suspected Remus. It was all breaking down out there, but the two people sleeping on the sofa.. Perfect. His mind started playing over memories of the past year.

"Lily!" James roared. The house was dark and felt empty. Please be home, he thought.

"In the bathroom, please come here!" came a squeaky voice. Something was wrong.

He sprinted up the stairs, three at a time. "Lily?" he opened the bathroom door curiously. His wife was sat on the floor, hugging her knees to her chest. She'd obviously been crying. A lot. He instantly sat on the floor, pulling her to him, wrapping his arms protectively around her.

"Snowflake.. Hey, come on.. I'm here, I'm home.. I'm safe. I promised you I'd come home." he said, trying to soothe her.

"I knew you'd come home. It's not that." Lily whispered, her head buried in his chest.

"Then what is it? You're scaring me a little, what happened while I was gone?" his voice gentle.

"James.. I'm pregnant."

And just like that, the earth fell from beneath him.

"James, stop shouting! I'm perfectly fine and I don't need you to protect me all the time! I am perfectly capable!" Lily was screaming at him. It had been a long time since they'd really argued like this.

"Potter! You are four months bloody pregnant, I am NOT having you going on on sodding missions! This isn't just about you, that is our baby in there, and they're threatened too! For Merlin's sake, think about these things!" he was furious with her. She wasn't supposed to go on that mission, but she had anyway. It had taken them both at least two months to come round to the idea of having a baby, and now she was endangering the child.

"Don't you call me Potter, just because we're bloody married! This surname business is.. Is.. It's ridiculous! You're ridiculous! I am four months, not seven! I want to help!" her face was red from shouting, she was on the verge of tears. Pregnancy hormones were awful, she thought. Whoever said pregnancy was a wonderful experience was a bloody idiot.

"Don't start with me! As much as you want to help, I want you and our baby safe!" he was shouting at his pregnant wife. He couldn't feel worse right now. But she needed to realise these things, and this was the only way to get through to her.

"I needed to be with you, James. I'm safe with you." she was suddenly calm. Her hands protectively on her stomach.

James couldn't understand Lily. He never had understood her. But, he understood this. She loved him, she loved their baby and she needed to be with him so she knew he was safe too. She needed to know he would be alive and well to be a dad. It was all or nothing, like it had always been with them. He didn't say a word, but he put his hand on her growing bump and kissed her softly. He knew it was enough to tell her he would never leave her. James would never leave his Lily.

Padfoot,

I have a son! It's a boy! I'm a dad! Merlin, that looks weird when I write it. Lily is fine, it wasn't easy apparently, and my hand hurts to write. Don't tell Lily I said that, she hit me when I said I'd probably never be able to play Quidditch again because of the damage she inflicted on my hand.

His hair is black, like mine. Lily reckons he looks like I did as a baby. Imagine it! A mini me! Now we just need you, Moony and Wormtail to produce male children, and we have mini-Marauders! I can't tell you how happy I am, I can't put it into words. I held my son first, and I can't imagine anything more amazing. My son. I have a son. I'm a father. Merlin.

Anyway, I have to stop writing because Lily is shouting that it's my turn to soothe the baby back to sleep, which I don't mind. He seems to like my Jimi Hendrix records. Not that Lily approves of that, but what she doesn't know won't hurt her.

I've put a picture in here of my boy, so you can see your Godson. Yes, you read that correctly. Uncle Sirius, Godfather. I should get you some of those business card thingys muggles have with that written on it. Anyway, look at the picture. Padfoot, meet my son, Harry James Potter.

Hope to see you soon mate,

Prongs

"Hey Harry.. Let's wake mummy up. It's mummy's birthday today. She's 21! How old is that!" Lily could hear him whispering to their son. They were both giggling, although James was probably tickling the 6 month old. If James even dared wake her properly, she'd hex him.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY MUMMY!" James shouting, practically throwing Harry on her.

"OW! JAMES!" Lily screamed, clutching the baby. "You could have hurt him!"

"He's fine! He's adventurous and brave, like his parents!"

James and Lily couldn't help but laugh at each other, Harry looking up at his parents in confusion.

"Lily." James groaned. "I'm so bored!"

She sighed. "James, you know why we're stuck here. It breaks my heart that not enough people have seen our beautiful baby boy, and that you can't see the Marauder.. Or that I can't see my friends either. Nymphadora would love to be able to play with Harry, and I know he'd adore her. But you know why we can't do these things. We can't behave like a normal family in a normal world, because we aren't either of those things."

He thought it was unfair and unreasonable. It kept his son and wife safe though. "I'm still bored."

Harry stumbled up to his parents. He couldn't walk very confidently, he was only just able to walk. He walked straight into his dad's leg and fell on his bottom. "Hm!" he pouted and hit out at his obstacle, his father's leg. James roared with laughter, looking down at his young son. He picked him up, throwing the child in his air and catching him. Harry was screaming with delight. He loved playing with dad. James sat the boy on the kitchen counter, covering the boy's eyes.

"Where's daddy? Huh? Where's everyone gone? Where's daddy?" he removed his hands, grinning and shouting "Boo!" to Harry's delight.

Lily smiled warmly as she watched her boys. Her husband was a wonderful father. He was always playing games with Harry. Always cuddling him. Always telling him what a special, amazing little boy he was. Harry wasn't even a year old, and he had a strong bond with his father. It was beautiful for Lily to watch.

"Da." Harry spoke. He'd never spoken anything resembling a word before. Just the usual, daft baby noises.

James's face lit up in excitement. "What Harry? Say that again? Dad. Daddy. Dad. Dad. Who am I?"

"DA! DA! DA!" Harry burst into laughter, stealing his dad's glasses.

Lily rushed to her child, picking him up and cuddling him. "That's right! Oh Harry, such a smart boy! That is daddy, you're right!"

She was positively glowing with glee. James kissed her on the cheek, Harry on the forehead and took back his glasses. He couldn't remove the grin from his face. His boy knew who his dad was.

James walked into the living room, his eyes ablaze with excitement. Lily's face fell straight away, she knew his mischievous look.

"What?" she asked.

"Padfoot's present for Harry just arrived." he grinned.

Not even 5 minutes later, the 1 year old baby was zooming around on the toy broomstick. James was following him around to keep an eye on him, he'd already broken a vase that Petunia had sent as a Christmas gift, not that James or Lily minded about that, and almost killed the cat. James couldn't contain his happiness at what a natural his boy was on the broomstick, his son could be a Quidditch player when he went to Hogwarts. Lily objected.

"Why shouldn't he play! He needs to carry on the good name of Potter!"

"Because all the girls will be after my baby boy and he's not allowed to date until he's 30!"

James doubled over laughing at her, "Lily, he's a Potter! The girls will be after him whether he plays Quidditch or not!"

"Big headed prat." she muttered.

"Hm, you don't help deflate my ego, you're always accidentally admitting you love that I played Quidditch so much." he smirked.

"Oh shut up Potter, you re-" SMASH!

They looked at each other in panic before they both shouted "Harry!" and ran to find their son giggling on the grass with half a plant pot on his head.

Harry began to stir, and Lily had slept so little lately. James quickly picked up the boy, giving his wife a quick kiss on the cheek before going upstairs to put Harry to bed properly. The young child leaned his head on James's shoulder, sleepily sucking on his thumb. He made a mental note to remember moments like this so he could embarrass the boy when he started bringing girls home. His father had done it to him, and his father before him, and so on. It was a fatherly duty.

James put Harry in his cot, pulling the blankets up to cover the small boy. He stood looking at his young son for a moment, taking in everything. His jet black, messy hair.. His green eyes.. He really was the best thing James ever had. His and Lily's. Not just a house or anything they owned together.. Their son. The best thing they would ever have together.

"You're lucky, kiddo. You have two extremely good looking, intelligent parents." He smirked. "But more importantly, two parents who love you more than anything in the whole world. We'll always be with you, until the end."

James walked out, leaving the door slightly open. "Goodnight son." he spoke gently, walking back downstairs to join Lily.