The Bonds of Spirit are stronger than the Bonds of Blood

Chapter Twenty Three

All throughout the summer, Sirius kept in touch with Lily. The pair would send letters to each other daily, just chatting about their day. Sirius started the chain, with a letter talking about how he was lucky enough to get to stay with James and his parents for the summer. His first letter read

"Dear Lily,

I have the best news! My supposed parents are off for some ridiculous family reunion of sorts, and, not wanting to be around the family embarrassment, they left me behind! This means I can spend my entire summer with James, Mum, and Dad! This is going to be the best summer ever! Remus is joining us for the last few weeks, and Peter might be able to join soon! All in all, for once things are looking perfect! How're things going with you?

~Sirius"

Sirius had to remember not to use the Marauders' nicknames for each other. While they used the nicknames openly, Lily didn't know who was who yet. Perhaps in his next letter he would explain. After all, it had become second nature to refer to James as Prongs, Peter as Wormtail, and Remus and Moony while answering to the name of Padfoot. Her response was swift, flying in with Sirius' owl. Her letter read:
"Dear Sirius,

That is amazing news! I'm so happy for you! Though, I suppose you would have ended up with James even if your parents had made you remain at home with them this summer. You do have the habit of doing whatever you please after all! You have to tell me all about your adventures, alright? Things are going, well they're going... It's just a typical summer. Tunie is ignoring my very existence still, but at least I have Severus to pass the time with! We started up a new game with a series of stones. Trying to get them to balance without having to use our magic! It's surprisingly interesting, especially when odd shaped stones end up in the mix!

~Lily"

Sirius couldn't help but laugh at her response. She knew him incredibly well, considering they had only begun to speak to each other this past year. And even then they didn't get to speak all that often. Classes kept them busy, and Sirius spent as much time as possible with James, Remus, and Peter while Lily spent a good chunk of her time with Alice and Lydia, or even Severus Snape. But somehow the two had become like family to each other. With a smile, Sirius wrote his reply.

"Dear Lily,

Your summer sounds dreadfully dull! But if you are able to have fun with it, that's really all that matters. Prongs, that is James, and I have been running amok around town. We managed to pull a few pretty epic pranks! I can't really explain what we did, I don't want to get caught after our amazing get away, but it was hilarious! The town is usually dull and quiet, so of course James and I couldn't resist shaking things up a bit! Can you believe we are going to be fourth years soon? Time really flies! Well, except in Professor Binns' class! There it just crawls along and tries not to die of boredom!

~Sirius"

Lily always responded very quickly, helping Sirius have the best summer ever. After sending his letters he would meet up with James and his parents for tea, then they would be off to play some form of game or pull a prank. Some days they played a mock Quidditch game in the back yard, with their parents cheering them on. It was tough, considering James was a Seeker, but they managed to create their own version of the game. Mr. Potter handled the practice bludgers, sending them flying simultaneously at the boys while shielding them as well. The bludgers just gave the game a more authentic feel. Mrs. Potter played chaser against Sirius, egging him on to fly faster and try to catch the quaffle. By the evening, after supper had been finished, a letter would return with Sirius' owl, ready for the reading.