James Potter,

Never slept before midnight. 

Never wrote anything down. 

Never skipped a meal. 

Never stayed on his side of the bed. 

Never put sugar in his coffee. 

Never missed a pun. 

Never forgot a birthday. 

Never brushed his hair. 

Never were socks that matched. 

A/N: Something a little different to commemorate my angels this year. 

It’s November 1stand the Potter House is the stillest one in Godric’s Hollow.

The cat is screeching and clawing, begging to be let in, to escape the onset of the winter breeze. 

Neighbours peeked their head out at the shrill meowing, but the resident of the house don’t stir.

On the foot of the stairs lies a broken vase, and up the trail to the nursery a multitude of trinkets fallen from clumsy hands that they hadn’t been able to clear up.

The door to the master bedroom is ajar, the hallway still illuminated by a light that someone in a hurry had never got the chance to switch off.

Lily lay with her hair sprawled across her face. James with his eyes closed. Their still expressions are peaceful.

The silence is nearly eerie, not even the wind dared to disturb anything. That is until the sharp wailing of the baby still in his crib cut through the quiet like a knife.

Harry was in the nursery, grabbing onto the bars and calling for his parents vehemently in the only way a baby knew how.

James groaned loudly and Lily’s eyes flew open at the sound of her son, her expression mirroring her husband. Both of their heads were pounding as the hangover had begun to set in at the first sign of consciousness.

“We should probably go check on him, huh?” Lily turned her head towards James who was lying beside her. He had fallen asleep with the antler headband she had gotten him still on and it now sat awkwardly atop his ears. Looking down she realised she’d fallen asleep in her costume as well.

There was another sharp cry from Harry and she hadn’t even realised she’d frowned until James sat up and gave her a soft smile, “I’ve got him, love.”

As he went to go soothe their son, the events of the night before coming back to her slowly. The din around Godric’s Hollow had given James a bad case of cabin fever and Lily had tried to ease it with an impromptu Halloween party, just for the Potters. It hadn’t been much, but it had alleviated the tension, if only temporarily.

As the memories of the night before came flooding back, so did something else that gripped her heart with an unexplainable fear.  

A bang on the door. Lily holding Harry close as she ran up the staircase. James telling her to run. A sinister face. A flash of green light. Her sweet baby sobbing—a nightmare. One of many similar ones, but this one somehow so much more vivid as if just concealed from her by nothing more than a sheet.

This one felt like it was almost real. If she reached out, she was almost sure she could feel it under her fingertips. 

A hearty giggle broke her out of her reverie and she looked up to see her boys enter the room, two identical mops of black hair running at her joyously.

James pretended to drop Harry onto her lap, before handing him to her gently and crawling under the covers to join in on the cuddles. She looked down at them fondly, Harry on her stomach, making playfully noises and James already falling asleep on her shoulder.

She could feel herself drifting back to sleep with her family surrounding her and for just a moment she wasn’t afraid. It was just a bad dream and it couldn’t touch them.

A little advice to all those going back to hogwarts today.

James says “Just remember, the ride from King’s Cross to Hogsmeade Station is prime time to strategise for all the pranks you’re going to plan—oh and stay away from Love Potions, they’re nasty business.”

Sirius says, “The Forbidden Forest is full of wonderful treasures—ow! Evans for Merlin’s sake, stop hitting me!— I mean...study hard kids. Also if you see a cat, whether Mrs. Norris or an odd looking Tabby, lurking the halls, cease all conversation immediately. “

Remus says, “If you hear stories of the Marauders’ antics or those of the Weasley twins, it would be best if you do not try to repeat those actions...without a proper look into precautions. Also store up on loads of chocolate.”

Peter says, “No matter how much your mum’s cooking was a torture this summer, don’t overstuff yourself at the welcome back feast. You always regret it in the morning.”

Lily says, “Always be prepared for the onslaught of school work and never leave anything till the last minute. Always remember who your real friends are, even if sometimes they think its funny to create love potions or lure children to near death in dark forests.”

A/N: a terrible comeback, but something that played on my mind a lot after recently watching Deathly Hallows. I love my Lily so much. 

Harry be safe, be strong. He had always thought it was just a voice, a chant his brain had conjured up for means of self-preservation. A set of words he had come up with to hold him from snapping back at Aunt Petunia. To remind him Dudley was twice his size and he wouldn’t be able to win that fight. To make it through the dark, cold nights he spent falling asleep on an empty stomach. To keep him out of harm, to keep him powering on. He’d never questions why the words were spoken in a voice that was different than his.

Harry be safe, be strong. He doesn’t recognise the voice until his third year, until the Dementors came around and pulled a scream out from his subconscious. He’s lying in his dormitory when he realises with a start, Lily Potter was the voice in his head. He forgets about it sometimes, more important things shoving the voice deep into the back of his mind. Yet when faced with trouble it appears, as if his mother were there, whispering in his ear. The nights spent in the Forest of Dean, it plays in his head till he finally falls into a fitful sleep.

Harry be safe, be strong. After the war, he heard her more than ever. When his own thoughts rose, towering demons in his head, the voice would bury them deep. He tells Ginny about the voice one night, the first person he had ever told. She smiles and says it was his mum’s way of keeping him out of trouble. That made him smile too. It gets to be too much more often than not, the sheer responsibility of being the Chosen One, even after the fight is over. He’s alright in the end because he hears it loud and clear.