Disclaimer:
Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 264: Friends
James appeared at the entrance of Hogsmeade.
"Tempus." He lifted the palm of his hand, and some glowing numbers indicated the time for him.
"A bit late…" He hoped his friends would understand. Recently, he had been more engrossed than usual in one of his projects.
He went ahead and located the Hog's Head tavern, where Remus and the others were waiting for him.
"Mister Potter. It's good to see you." Aberforth Dumbledore greeted him with a smile from behind the counter.
James returned the greeting with a polite gesture.
"Haven't seen you much over this past year. Are your students keeping you too busy, or are you working on another one of those inventions?" Aberforth asked.
Over the past decade, James had shared many of his creations with the public. Not the more dangerous ones, but things like the Wolfsbane potion had been given away for free.
Many have called him an idiot for not trying to earn a fortune with his inventions, but the truth was that James already had more than enough money to last him five lifetimes.
He also cared little about fame, though his altruism ended up making him even more well-known than in his previous life.
"As you know, Abe, I am always working on something," James told the man. "But before you ask me about it…"
"I know." Aberforth nodded. "You are even more crafty than my brother…" The old man sighed. "Your friends are on the first floor."
"Thank you." James turned around and went upstairs.
It was easy to find his friends, as they were the only ones on the entire floor. After all, not many people came here in the middle of the week.
"Look who finally decided to show up." Sirius spotted him and pointed at James using his jar of beer.
"James! It's been so long." Peter called for him.
James observed the two of them as he approached. He saw Remus almost every day, but Peter and Sirius were a different case.
Peter had not changed much since the last time he saw him, although he looked very tired. If James had to guess, it was because he came here right after finishing his work at the Ministry.
Sirius was in a much more jovial mood since he had several days to rest after returning from his expedition.
James could tell that his friend had changed a bit from their last encounter.
"Your magic feels sharper, Sirius." James pointed out as he went to take a seat. "I take it your visit to those tombs was not a peaceful one."
Sirius raised an eyebrow. "You can say that again…"
"And I would like to hear about that in more detail, but first…" James poured himself some beer and glanced at Peter. "How is married life treating you, Peter? You look exhausted." It's only been a year since he got married to a nice girl called Liora Honeywick.
"Oh?… do tell, Peter. Is Miss Pettigrew not letting you rest at night?" Sirius had a mischievous grin on his face.
Peter became clearly embarrassed. "I-Its not like that!"
"Come on… stop teasing him about that." Remus said. "Otherwise, he may not share the news with you all."
"News?" This piqued James' interest.
"What happened?" Sirius leaned forward. "Come on, tell us."
"I…" Peter took another sip from his glass. "I'm going to be a dad very soon."
"Wow…" James looked shocked. "Congratulations, Peter." For a moment, his mind began to recall memories of the old Peter, the one he originally met during his previous life.
That man had lived a miserable life, always hiding… always afraid. But most of all, he was always being tortured with guilt, knowing that his actions had ruined the lives of so many people who used to be so important to him.
James now observed this version of Peter. He was a happy man with friends, a good job, a nice wife, and who would soon be a father.
He still didn't know how or why he ended up waking up in this world. But it was moments like this that made him feel grateful for it.
"A father already?!" Sirius exclaimed. "Are you really ready for that?"
"Sirius." Remus gave him a glare. "Of course he is ready. Peter is much more responsible than you are."
"That's not what I meant." Sirius responded. "It's just… a big commitment."
"I'm ready for it, Sirius." Peter said with determination in his eyes. "And besides, I know I can count on my friends."
"Peter…" Sirius muttered. "That is so corny, man."
"You know I'll help you with whatever you want, but… don't ask me to babysit. I'm no good with babies." Remus said.
"I can make you a homunculus for that." James suggested.
"I just can't believe that two of my friends married so young…" Sirius sighed. "I honestly expected that from Remus but…"
"Hey!" Remus complained. "That's hardly fair."
"For more than one reason…" Peter glared at Sirius.
He said this because until not so long ago, Sirius had been married as well. However, his marriage to Marlene McKinnon had not lasted too long.
They were always in some sort of disagreement. The final nail in the coffin was when Sirius announced he was going to become a Curse Breaker, meaning that he would be traveling all over the world for most of the year.
The two of them were divorced before Sirius went on his first expedition.
But it wasn't like the man spent many nights alone after that. With his long black hair, trimmed beard, and pretty grey eyes, there weren't many women he failed to seduce.
As if he could tell what his friends were thinking, Sirius leaned back on his chair and smiled proudly. "I'm just saying that you don't know what you are missing. I have met some wild foreign witches, let me tell you about that."
"I rather you didn't…" But Remus knew after a few more beers, he was going to tell them anyway.