"Well maybe I'm in love, think about it every time I think about it, can't stop thinking 'bout it." -Accidentally in Love, by Counting Crows

The war had finally ended. Things were returning back to normal, but something was wrong. It was the gap that the Fallen Fifty had left behind, still causing grief among the students and alumni alike.

Harry Potter decided to visit 12 Grimmauld Place once more, to remember all the time he'd spent there. He opened the door and instinctively said, "I'm not Snape," before remembering that the curses Mad-Eye set up didn't work anymore. He walked through the house, remembering the months of planning to break into the Ministry. He chuckled when he saw the chair Mundungus had sat in when Kreacher smacked him with a frying pan.

Harry kept walking, and he stopped at the door to Sirius' room. He walked in and sat on the old bed. He saw the drawer where he found Lily's letter and wondered if other letters might be in there. In the second drawer, something caught Harry's eye. It was a vial of memories, with a piece of parchment surrounding it. Carefully, he removed the parchment and read what it said:

Harry-
You asked why Lily ever fell for James. I'm not sure how to tell you in words, so this is James' memories that he gave to me. Enjoy.
-Snuffles

Harry held the vial in his hand, wondering what memories were in there. He made up his mind and went outside, apparating into Hogsmeade.

He stood at the gates to the castle, remembering his sixth year when he almost never left the train. He remembered how Tonks had sent a patronus to Dumbledore to get in. Harry wondered if it would still work.

"Expecto patronum," he muttered, sending a message to Professor McGonagall. A few minutes later, Hagrid came and opened the gate for him.

"Hey, Harry! How yeh doin'?"

"I'm doing okay, Hagrid. How about you?"

"Oh, yeh know, same ol', same ol'. Buck- er, Witherwings is doing fine too."

"That's good to hear. Is McGonagall in her office?"

"That's righ'. Want me to take yeh up?"

"I think I'll be fine. Thanks though," Harry said, and headed off for the Headmistress' office. As he stood in front of the gargoyles, he realized he didn't know the password. As he stood thinking, McGonagall herself came down the stairs.

"Potter! What are you doing here?" The headmistress asked.

"I- er- found a vial of memories in Sirius' old stuff and wanted to borrow the Pensieve," Harry said nervously.

After a moment, McGonagall said, "Alright. I have to meet with Professor Slughorn right now, but the password is 'Tabby Cat'."

"Thanks, Professor!" Harry said and walked up the stairs to the office. As he entered, his eyes immediately went to the portrait behind the desk: Dumbledore's. He wasn't in the picture at the moment, but the other portraits waved and greeted Harry warmly. He waved and poured the vial into the Pensieve, dipping his head into the liquid.
~~~~
Harry looked around, realizing he was on the Hogwarts Express, watching the Marauders chatting about pranks for the year.

"-and then we could break into the Slytherin common room and change the decor a little bit," Sirius was saying eagerly.

"How are we going to break in without the Slytherins noticing?" Remus said. "The 7th years alone would outnumber us 10 to 1 if we're caught."

"Aw, Moony, why are you always ruining our fun?" James whined.

"Because otherwise, you'd have twice as many detentions as you already have! And that would interfere with your Quidditch captain duties, would it not, Prongs?"

"Fine, you win this one," James pouted. Suddenly he sat up straight, and Harry noticed that Lily and her friend opened the compartment door.

"Ah, the whole gang's here! How can I help you, ladies?" Sirius asked smoothly.

"Just wondering what you were up to," the girl said while smirking at Lily, who looked mortified.

"Just discussing how to wow the school this year," James said, ruffling his hair. "Alright, Evans?" Harry saw Lily sigh, as if this was an everyday event.

"For Merlin's sake, Potter, how many times have I told you to keep your big head in your own business?" Lily snapped.

"If you go out with me, then I will, Evans," he replied. "It's our 7th year! Lighten up!" Harry felt awkward standing there, listening.

"I'd rather be a Slytherin than go out with you." Lily turned to the other girl, saying, "Sorry, Marls, but I have to head to the prefect's meeting."

Remus sighed after Lily and Marlene left, then turned to James and said, "We should get to the prefect's meeting too, Prongs."

"I still don't know how you got Head Boy, Prongsie!" Sirius exclaimed.

"James is cool, though," a mousy boy who Harry immediately recognized as Peter Pettigrew said.

"Why, thank you, Wormtail," James said in mock politeness. "It's just my natural charisma, Padfoot. You wouldn't know."

Sirius tolled his eyes, and Harry followed as James and Remus went to the prefects' compartment. They opened the door, and Lily looked up sharply. "Hey, Remus," she said. "And Potter, get out."

"Not so fast, Lilyflower," Harry heard James say. "I believe this is my compartment, too."

"Right, and Dumbledore and McGonagall are getting married tomorrow," she snorted, rolling her eyes.

"But I've got the badge to prove it." Harry saw the glint of a badge in James' hand. It said Head Boy on it.

"You- Potter- what- how- Has Dumbledore gone mad?" Lily spluttered, turning a shade of red that matched her hair.

"The prefects ought to be getting here soon. We should get ready for them, Evans," James smirked.

The scene changed around Harry. It appeared to be after the prefects' meeting. Lily was saying goodbye to the others, as James and Remus were leaving. Suddenly, James poked his head into the compartment again. "You coming out, Evans?" Harry noticed that James sounded genuinely concerned, not conceited like he was earlier.

Lily nodded. "In a minute," she said, flashing a tight smile. Harry stayed in the compartment as James left again. He saw Lily pull out a letter from her pocket and start crying. The letter read:

Dear Ms. Evans,
We regret to inform you of the death of your parents, which occurred on June 1, 1977, at 7:41 in the evening. They were attacked by Death Eaters in their home. Your sister, Petunia Evans, was not in the house at the time and is unharmed.
From,
The Ministry of Magic

Harry felt stunned. So that's why the only family he had was the Dursley's. It was the Death Eaters and Voldemort who had torn his immediate family apart, as well as countless other families. It was a good thing that the next generation would never need to know the horrors of Lord Voldemort's time.

Harry watched as Lily kept crying to herself silently. Then a sound outside of the compartment made both of them jump. James was opening the door. He sat down and said, "Alright Evans?" He sounded actually concerned once again, but Lily sent him hexes with her eyes.

"I'd be fine if you got out, Potter. Does it really hurt to mind your own business?"

"It hurts to see you crying, Lily. I want to help you out."

"Well too bad, because I'm fine." Lily stood up abruptly and stride out of the compartment, leaving James and Harry alone.

The scene changed. The welcoming feast had just ended, and Harry could see the prefects leading their houses to the common rooms. McGonagall stood up and walked over to the Gryffindor table. "James and Lily," she said. "Follow me."

The three, as well as Harry, wove their way through the crowd. McGonagall stopped in front of a picture of the castle. "This is the Heads' common room. You may pick a password, so long as it is appropriate. If you wish at any time to visit your friends, you may visit the Gryffindor common room or invite them here. I will be giving you both your schedules tomorrow morning at breakfast." She turned around and walked back to the Great Hall. As James and Lily tried to pick a good password, Harry looked around at the other students going by. He thought he saw Sirius slipping behind the statue of the one-eyed witch, but that could've been his imagination.

"Okay, does 'Expecto Patronum' work?" James asked after ten minutes of arguing.

"Whatever, I just want to put my stuff down," Lily said.

"I can take your trunk for you, if you want, Evans."

"Like I would let you do that, Potter. Let's just get inside."

The Heads' common room was like a smaller version of the Gryffindor common room. It almost seemed to be personalized for the two of them. Lily put her trunk on the floor next to a couch and sat down in front of the fire. James tried to sit right next to her, but she moved to another chair.

"So, Evans, are you going to tell me what the train ride incident was about?" James asked.

"You are never going to leave me alone, Potter, are you?" Lily sighed in exasperation.

"If you'd tell me, then maybe I would. I want to look out for you."

"I can look after myself perfectly fine, thank you very much!"

"I know that, Lily. That's one of the many reasons why I like you. But I want to be there for you, just in case."

"You're an insufferable little prat, Potter!" Harry watched as she took out her letter and, with a flick of her wand, send it shooting at James' head as she raced for her dormitory.

James caught the paper with his Quidditch reflexes, read it, and looked at the door to the girls' dorm. Harry assumed Lily must've been crying in there. The two Potters walked to the door, and James opened it a crack.

Lily was sitting on her bed, hugging a photo and sobbing. She didn't say anything when James walked over and sat next to her on the bed. She hugged him and cried even harder.

"Th-th-they're g-gone and I m-m-miss th-them so much," she choked out. Harry sat next to James and Lily, feeling like he was closer to his parents than ever before. He felt a sense of nostalgia, remembering the time he spent with his friends in the present-day common room. It felt odd to think that the Mauraders might have sat in the same seats as he, Ron, and Hermione had so many years later.

Finally, maybe an hour later, Lily sat up, sniffing a little. "Th-thanks, James. I'll see you in the morning," indicating his cue to leave. James stopped at the door. "And Lily?"

"Yeah?"

"You didn't call me Potter."

"Don't let it get to your head, or that might be the only time I don't say it," she laughed.

"Alright then. Sweet dreams, Lilyflower."

The scene changed. Harry guessed that it must've been later in the year, because people besides Lily and Remus were studying. James was walking up to Lily, who was reading a potions textbook next to the Black Lake.

"Hey Lily!" James called.

"James, I'm studying for potions right now. Can it wait?" Lily sighed.

"You're still calling me James then?"

"I'm pretty sure friends are supposed to address each other by their first names. Now what's so important that you have to interrupt my studying?"

"Well, I was just wondering, since we're friends now, would you consider going to Hogsmeade with me?" Harry thought that his father was going to die of embarrassment for once.

"Like as a date?" Lily looked up with a gleam in her eye. What emotion was that?

"That'd be the general impression, yeah."

"Potter?"

"Yeah?"

"Ask it the way you used to in fourth year."

Harry watched James' smile grow from uncertain to overconfident. He leaned on the tree like the obnoxious fifth year he used to be. "Alright, Evans?"

"Keep your nose in your own business" Lily smirked.

"I will if you go to Hogsmeade with me."

"Sure, James."

The two of them smiled at each other. So this was the beginning of his parents' relationship. The moment was broken by Sirius jumping out of his hiding spot in a bush. "HAH!" Padfoot yelled. "You owe me 10 galleons, Moony!"

Harry watched as Remus walked over and sighed, handing a handful of gold coins to Sirius. The latter grinned wickedly and shouted to the other students, "ATTENTION ALL STUDENTS! JAMES AND LILY ARE NOW DATING! CASH IN YOUR BETS EVERYONE!" Students all around the water's edge started handing money to each other, and Lily stared at them. "Was everyone actually betting on us? I thought that was just the ruse you used in fifth year to get me to date you."

"Nah, we did actually make quite a fortune betting that you'd say no fifty times before the end of sixth year," Peter said, walking over to the rest of them.

"And that you'd ignore James for a solid month  after he kissed you in fourth year," Sirius grinned.

"And of course the one where you'd fall for Prongs in seventh," Remus summed up.

"As long as I get a cut of the profits," Lily smiled at James. "You were betting on me, after all."

"Of course, Lilyflower." James took Lily's hand. "As long as we're a couple for more than a month. I've grown to like you quite a bit."
~~~~
The memory faded, and Harry pulled his head out of the Pensieve.

So that was how it started. That was the beginning of the next generation, Harry's generation. That was how his parents grew to love each other so much. It took trust and years of experience to love someone as much as James and Lily did.

Harry filled the vial with the memory again and left the Headmistress' office. As he walked down the stairs, he stopped in front of the painting of the castle, where he could almost see James and Lily arguing over the password all those years ago.