The Marauders - Order of the Phoenix - Part Two

Time is Flying

James couldn't believe it when he was filling out an order form to Quality Quidditch Supplies to post off and he dated the form 1 May 1979. "Bloody hell," he muttered. He looked up at Lily, who was humming and doing her make up in the mirror over the dresser. "Time is flying lately, you noticed it?"

Lily had her mouth opened and was swiping a mascara wand over her eye lashes. "I thought it was just me."

"Can you believe it's May already?"

"Not even a little bit."

There was a knock on the door then and James went, carrying his order form, to let the first arriver to their dinner that night in the front door...

The past two weeks had sailed by. They'd been filled with family dinners - Dora, Peter, Sirius, Remus, Lily and James at every one, but a rotating door of extras had paraded through depending on the day. Marlene McKinnon had come by one night, and another it was Jasper Odair and Meg Johnson. Dora was excited when Florean Fortescue came along with Minerva McGonagall and Elphinstone Eurquart. Frank and his mother came one night and Augusta, too, and Augusta had been surprised to learn Dora was really Mia Black, who she recalled from her own days at Hogwarts and they had a right time of catching up.

That night, May the First, they were to have Andromeda, Ted, and Nymphadora Tonks over.

Dora was attending every dousing and every de-scaling. Between appointments at St. Mungo's, James and Lily were taking it in turns to take care of her and Dora was taking it on very well. Despite the pain of the removal of the scales, she hardly complained, and tried at maintaining small talk.

Dora had very quickly become the center of their lives, it seemed. She was always going about doing small chores and taking walks to the grocer down the road. She sang quietly as she went about her day, and James would be sitting at the table humming along while working on studying strategies and training plans for Oliver Kent, and reading up on gaming committees and league managers, recruiting scouts, and team organizers, trying to prepare himself. He didn't even realize he was doing it until she would come along side him trilling the same song he thought he simply had stuck in his head.

As for keeping him fed - well, there was no denying Dora Potter was doing that. James had gained an easy five pounds in the two weeks since she'd moved in and was well on track for more than that.

"Here, have a sandwich," Dora would say, putting a plate beside his elbow.

"Mum, I just ate breakfast an hour ago."

"You look hungry."

"I'm --"

"I made it just for you, sweetheart, look - crusts cut off and everything."

"Thanks mum."

"Can't have a sandwich without crisps, can you?"

"Mum --"

"I've just taken some butterbeer cookies from the oven. Still warm and gooey... But you say you're not hungry..."

"You know I'll make room for a couple of those, mum."

"Here, have four."

"Mum!"

Sometimes Sirius was there, too, and she'd make enough food to feed the army of a small country. Or a large country, for that matter. The British Royal Navy didn't eat as much food as Dora Potter would set out when the lads were all in the house and Remus more than once had to explain that his stomach couldn't handle so much food, because Dora insisted he was "nothing but skin and bones" saying, "you need to fatten up to give something for my Sirius to hold onto" and Sirius would grin at Remus and wink.