Chapter Text
It was after dinner one night at the Burrow when you had volunteered to handle the cleaning, especially since Molly desperately needed the sleep and you were technically on break from St. Mungo's. As you finished the dishes, you could feel a pair of green eyes staring at you, the young man they belonged to trying to decide whether or not now was a good time to ask you about what he had seen that night during his Occlumency lessons with Severus along with the memories he had seen during the Battle of Hogwarts. You were the only survivor out of all of his parents' friends along with being his godmother, and Harry needed answers now more than ever considering Ginny was pregnant with their first child. Chuckling lightly, you turned toward him after finishing up and saying, "For Merlin's sake, Harry. Just ask the question."
He smiled lightly as he sat at the table. Your bluntness always made him feel better, knowing that you wouldn't hold back unless he asked you to do so. You sat down next to him as he said, "I really should know by now that I can't hide anything from you, _____."
You rolled your eyes as you said, "With all the trouble your dad and Sirius got me into, I had to preserve myself somehow."
Harry nodded in agreement at that, remembering you, Remus, and Sirius talking adamantly about your school days during his time at Grimmauld Place with the Order of the Phoenix. A comfortable silence ensued after you had brought the tea that you had been making for the two of you over and asked, "You've been wondering just how much truth was in Severus' thoughts and memories about all of us, haven't you?"
Harry nodded once again before saying, "And even if the others were still around, they'd be as vague about it now as they were when they'd tell me about it back then. You'd still be the only one who would be able to tell me everything about all of them considering what happened between Snape and Mum. "
"I'd also be the one mad enough to tell you," you said with a small chuckle before asking, "So where do you want me to begin my tale? Unless you want us to use a Pensieve?"
He chuckled and sipped his tea before setting the cup on the table asking, "I've had more than enough experience with it. I also know that I don't need one when it's you telling me about the past. You said that you knew Dad before school, right? Why don't we start there?"
Nodding, you looked out the window as you said, "As I said before, your dad knew how to get me into trouble."
"What on earth are you doing?" you said while looking at your neighbor. He simply gave you that mischievous grin of his before turning back to whatever he was working on for his latest scheme. Sighing, you turned to start walking back to the living room when James grabbed your hand and pulled you over saying, "Come on, _____. This is my best plan yet. I'm gonna need your help, though."
"It can't be that good of a plan if you can't do it yourself."
"That's low, _____."
You shook your head at him pretending to be hurt by that comment. You'd known him since the two of you were in diapers, and you were smarter than the average nine-year-old. The one thing you knew above all else was that James Potter was a trickster by nature, and you ended up dragged along in his hair-brained schemes more times than you cared to admit. Sighing, you went along with it, considering he would spend weeks begging and pleading until you gave in anyway. Taking the various items, you helped him set up the prank for the other dinner guests' children considering the party Mr. and Mrs. Potter were having had practically all of their friends around.
Despite the Potters being purebloods, they adored muggle-borns and half-bloods alike, including yourself. Your mother is a muggle-born while your father is a pureblood, thus your half-blood status. Your parents have always been great friends to the Potters, making you their honorary niece. They knew you from the day you were born and spoiled you endlessly, although part of that might have had to do with the fact that you had yet to beat the pulp out of their son and had enough patience to handle him.
You were shaken out of your thoughts when the other children started screaming and laughing at the various disgusting sludges exploded from their containers onto them. One look at James next to you told you that whatever punishment was worth it, if only for that utterly happy smile on his face. Both of you ran for his room, as Mr. Potter hadn't given James his Invisibility Cloak yet, and shut the door as quietly as possible, quickly setting up the Wizard Chess set and acting innocent. That trick was something that the two of you had learned came fairly useful earlier on in your lifelong friendship, and when Mrs. Potter and your mum came inside, the former with an amused smile while the latter had her arms crossed, the two of you looked up at them as you asked, "Is it time to go home already?"
Your mother's narrowed eyes said it all. Sighing, you bid your best friend goodbye, hugging before leaving with your shoulders sagged, knowing that you wouldn't be allowed to go to the Potter's house for a month.
Chuckling lightly at the memory, you shook your head as you said, "He wasn't allowed to use his broomstick for months. Your grandfather made sure of that. And he became quite the whiny little brat at that time considering I was still able to use mine. Fortunately, that was one of the few things I would never give in to with him. Your grandfather was downright terrifying when someone made him mad enough, and I was not going to be the target for it."
"I can't imagine you being scared of much, _____. It seems odd," Harry said with a small smile, to which you rolled your eyes before hearing someone come downstairs. Seeing your daughter appear in the doorway, you chuckled lightly while getting another cup of tea and handing it to her saying, "I was wondering when you'd show up."
"There's only so much I can take with a pregnant woman," she said while taking it gratefully, "I blame you."
He laughed at that, having known your daughter since their first year, before saying, "Aren't you pregnant too?"
(D/N) stuck her tongue out at him before saying, "Watch it, Potter. Sooner or later both of us are going to become nearly insufferable with our hormones, and you will be miserable. Let’s consider ourselves lucky Ron and Hermione aren’t trying yet."
You laughed lightly before she turned over to you and asked, "So how much of the Marauders story have I missed?"
Even though you'd told her the story countless times, she never tired of it. Still chuckling, you said, "Just the dinner party before James and I started school."
She simply smiled as she sipped her tea, waiting for you to carry on. You told them about all kinds of other mischiefs the two of you had gotten into before your thoughts turned to that first train ride as you said, "It was funny to see James so nervous even though he tried so hard to hide it."