Hugs 🌟✨ A Harry Potter story

 prologue

October 31st 1981

"Trick or treat!!"
It was a cold dreary night on Halloween 1981. The wind whipped around stinging the faces of small children who were running to collect sweets from their neighbors. Squeals of excitement, shouts of joy and muffled conversations between parents reached the ears of James Potter as he stood staring wistfully out of the window. He watched on, silently brooding, wishing he was out there. He should be out there. Creating Halloween adventures that would turn into memories, with Harry while Lily rested at home. Not only talking to other parents amusedly about the constant chaos of parenting a toddler with never ending sugar cravings; but also the excitement of life in godric hollow and the possibility of him and Lily having a second child. Harry would be bouncing upon his dad's shoulders adorned in a tiny costume transforming him in to a pumpkin or cat or mini Quidditch player. However that wasn't reality. Having the darkest wizard of the time after your family tends to make social opportunities scarce, impossible even. The sardonic laugh that slipped between James's lips fogged up the glass, the colourful what if world outside blurred beneath a vail of condensation. Lily might call that irony but James was not a man of literary nonsense.
James tried to continue watching the carefree families trail in the cold, with a pang of sudden sadness that ripped through him, he thought back on the last few months, his son had his first birthday, more and more of their friends had died way before their time. Witty sarcastic Marlene who'd always laughed at Sirius's jokes, quiet Dorcas so brave and bright, Gideon and Fabian with their dad jokes and comedic double act. Faces swum across his vision all frozen in petrified happiness. Forehead dropping against the chilled, mist window James allowed him to spend a moment to grieve.
When his moment had ended he forced himself to straighten and plan. Worse case scenarios verses best case scenarios, escape routes, dreams for a future which somedays seemed so far away. Just last week they had to increase the security. This meant that tonight there would be no children knocking on the door shouting trick or treat, and no sweets to hand out to the gleeful children all dressed in costumes. All they had was the show like sights and sounds that came through the window.
In their safety there was isolation.

With a tired puff of air and creaking of the hall door Lily entered the room, carrying Harry who was dressed in his favorite blue pajamas. James turned and his pensive look instantly changed into one of love and happiness. He embraced them both, needing to feel his wife and son close, tears suddenly were burning and blurring behind his eyes.
Taking Harry into his arms swinging the boy around hearing the child's happy baby giggle; he heard a soft whisper in his ear "are you okay?" Lily was taking his expression in; green eyes wide in worried thought as she scrutinised him in that shrewd yet sincere way that had tripped him up and made him fall even more head over heels for her.
Images of the past forced a smile to creep across his face and an easing of the burden upon his shoulders. "I'm much better now" he whispered back. Surprised how true the words were.
They all moved over to sit on the navy sofa that sat against the cream coloured wall adjacent to the window. James placed Harry on the floor and he immediately picked up his stuffed animals and was babbling animatedly and waving his arms, while Lily and James sat in silence absorbed in there little bubble that was safe from the dangers of the outside world.
After a while Lily got up and left the room with a mumbled "Be back in a moment." Leaving James to entertain Harry, who began to play one of Harry's favourite games which involved producing coloured smoke as shapes, animals or just puffs from his wand for the glee of his son?
As Harry's baby laughs grew more in volume they became more infectious causing James to laugh along with the child. "In these moments," James thought. "The war doesn't exist." Then he chided himself for his sappiness after all he was a cool dad.
After a few minutes Lily returned and stood in the doorway smiling at the scene in front of her as the little boy jumped up in an attempt to catch the smoke, laughing with the abandoned joy of childhood, the entire time shrieking "Shiny daddy!" More shiny!"
"Alright" she said the hint of a chuckle edging into her voice "time for bed... and that includes Harry"
"Very funny" he answered and with one last puff of smoke from his wand James scooped the child into his arms and gave him a kiss on the top of the head. "Night Night Jay Box." He handed Harry over to Lily, in the process giving her a quick kiss. "I'll be up shortly," he told her.
"You don't want to sing the sleepy time song?" Lily deadpanned.
"I'll leave that up to you m'dear," James responded swallowing back a yawn.
Once they had left the room, Lily rolling her eyes as she began to softly sing the sleepy time song, James stretched and threw his wand to the sofa just for a second intending to pick it up on his way upstairs, the sound of rustling leaves could be heard faintly outside, but James simply passed it off as the wind or some trick or treaters running to the next house.
Parenting did strange things to a man.
CRASH!
The front door slammed open with such force that the walls shook and dust fell from the ceiling. Swallowing back a curse James went running out into the hall, adrenaline flooding his body, panic coursing through his veins. Yelling up the stairs "Lily, take Harry and go, I'll hold him off!" He didn't have the time to send a silent pray to god or merlin or any benevolent omnipresent force that may be out there. Hoping his words of warning would be enough.
And then he realized. He didn't have his wand... "Stupid self-centered idiot."
Fear flickered across his hazel eyes as he turned and faced Voldemort face on, just as he had the previous times he had faced the bastard. Realising in the split second before anger clouded his mind that there was a smug look planted on Voldemort's face.
Pop!
A brown haired, hazel eyed stag stood in front of the dark wizard, in fact a very angry brown haired, hazel eyed stag. The animal had launched itself in the air instantly flattening its enemy in shock and disbelief. The Dark Lords wand had flown from his hand upon impact with the creature and his shock had temporarily stopped him from doing what he had come here to do.
Stunned Voldemort assessed his positioned. Pinned and trapped. It was for this reason that the existence of silent magic was forgotten; he was just getting ready to use a bout of wandless magic when a deafening roar was heard hurtling towards the house. The stag wondered distantly how long the Dark Lord and he had been in this impossible state.
A disheveled Sirius Black stumbled from his motorbike and sprinted towards the house wearing a casual outfit that had become creased in the wind with windswept hair that was knotted in multiple places. As he entered the foyer looking close to tears the first thing he spotted was the very recognizable large stag that was extremely out of place and then he saw the wizard beneath the stag. Without a thought he quickly took out his wand and cast all the immobilizing and incarcerating spells that he knew on the wizard, before proceeding to cast a patronus which he sent with a message to come to Godric Hollow to the ministry's aurora department and Dumbledore. He then turned to the stag and said in a shaky voice "are you okay"
Pop!
And the stag transformed back into James. Without answering he windlessly, silently summoned his wand and up the stairs two at a time heart pounding with anxiety, he reached the nursery door and opened it seeing his wife and baby boy safe. The sigh that shuddered through him almost hurt with relief he stumbled forward collapsing on the floor in front of his family, tear rolling down his face shaking with both relief and fear.
"James what..." Lily asked tremulously, body still taut with tension.
In answer he wrapping them in the tightest embrace he could muster. "We did it he's gone Lils. We're all safe Harry's safe," James forced out before falling in to a steady rhythm; whispering how much he loved them both.
Back downstairs Sirius was still pointing his wand unwaveringly at the supposed Dark Lord softly singing a chorus of "Moldy Vouldy what a gag. Got his ass handed to him by a stag." After a few minutes the cracking sound of apparition reached his ears and hit wizards and aurors flooded the building. Within a few minutes the wizards had taken the dark wizard and escorted him away, in their wake Dumbledore, eyes twinkling with shocked humour, informed Sirius that Remus Lupin had been informed and was expected imminently before taking his leave. Remus arrived shortly after the headmaster left; the two friends eyed each other warily before Remus quietly asked what had happened. Sirius explained that they had been a switch in secret keeper last second and that it was there former friend Peter Pettigrew that had betrayed the Potter's and then went on to explain the nights events from when he had arrived ~...and then James transformed back and ran off ups..." and then as a dawn of realization hit Sirius, he had completely forgotten about his best friend his guilt grew. He sprinted upstairs and into the nursery quickly followed by Remus who had realized where Sirius was going. As they both entered the nursery they saw the family of three close together on the floor and slowly approached as they got closer the small family broke apart and the two men sat down on the floor with their friends. Family.
"I'm sorry" choked out Sirius. The group looked at Sirius quizzically and he elaborated "it was me who suggested that you change secret keepers and me who suggested we make it that rat! It's my fault that you nearly died tonight. I know it." Sirius looked round the group and eventually locked eyes with his best friend hoping... willing him to be able to forgive him.
After what felt like an eternity James spoke "I'm alright" he looked over at Lily and down at the now sleeping Harry in his arms "we are all alright." Sirius looked confused "you asked earlier if I was okay." James elaborated as if he was telling them about the weather.
"How can you be so... so nonchalant about this?"
"Simple padfoot, it wasn't anyone here's fault so we move on with our lives and hope he never comes near any of us again, the rat or Voldemort, and if he does I will kill him myself, I solemnly swear it." James said with a slight smirk to his face "Now we just have to move on." he looked round at his friends family he corrected as he said this and after he had finished his little speech he turned his head and rested it against the top of Lily's, whose was resting on his shoulder, and reached the arm not holding Harry out to his brothers.
"I owe you an apology," Remus sniffed, running his hands across his face. "I'm so sorry padfoot; I shouldn't have accused you of being a traitor because of your family. You can't help who gave birth to you and you've been loyal to the course since you were 11 pretty much. I'm so sorry, you're my brother and I should have trusted you."
Sirius blinked franticly. "It's alright but I also need to say I'm sorry moony. You wouldn't hurt a fly forget spying for the death eaters, I love you to."
The two men, friends, brothers, took each other in for a moment, quiet. "Guy's," James cleared his throat pointedly. "My arm is beginning to hurt. How can he be so heavy, what are you feeding him?" he turned to Lily and asked her the last bit. Lily rolled her eyes and sighed at James, carefully picking Harry up so as to not wake him and placed him in the crib and kissed him on the head. Sitting back down on the floor with her family she fell into James one armed embrace. Both Remus and Sirius fell in to the hug, laughing at the mad but cute couple that was Lily and James as they cried. They all moved into a group hug and stayed like that for the rest of the evening. Waking up curled against each other to the sounds of Harry giggling and babbling as he stood against the bar of his crib.