"Are you sure you're alright, Mum?" James pressed. He darted back across the room for the third time, fixing the blanket on Dora Potter's lap. "Odair offered to go and cover for me if I needed him to and there's nobody in the world I'd trust better at the job than Odair, apart from maybe Longbottom and he's --"

"I am more than fine, Jamesy," Dora insisted. She was sitting in a chair by the window in her room at Mungo's. "You heard the mediwizard! There's not a bit of flint in my lungs, not a scale on my back, and not a single symptom. And if I go on this way 'til tomorrow we can go home and get on with life! I can make you your tea set!" She was beaming. "I'm telling you, your Father healed me."

Or else Mopsus has been 'round, James thought.

"You're sure you don't want me to stay?" James pressed.

"James so help me Godric, I will hex you if you don't go to your flying lessons and help that little girl you've been on about for the past two weeks. I mean it."

"Alright, relax mum, no need to go into attack mode... Alright. I'm going." He started for the door again.

"James Charlus Fleamont Potter!" she snapped.

He stopped and spun 'round, "What? What am I in trouble for now?"

She gave him a Look, paused, then tapped her cheek with one finger, tilting her face meaningfully.

James smiled and trotted back and bent down, kissing her face. "Have I mentioned that you're the most brilliant mum and I love you so much?"

"You might've mentioned it a time or two," Dora said, smiling. She turned and kissed his cheek in return, too.

James met Lily and Sirius in the waiting room. "Don't worry, I'll keep a good eye on Mum while you're gone, Prongsy," Sirius promised James. "Took the day off from Spillers to spend it with Mum." He hugged James and patted him on the back. "I've brought loads of games." He tapped his jacket pocket and grinned.

"Very good. She'll enjoy that quite a lot, I'll reckon," James said, "Thanks."

Downstairs in the hall of floos, Frank and Alice were waiting for James and Lily. "How's she doing?" Frank asked as James and Lily approached and they all turned to head for the bank of hearths along the wall.

"She says she's healed," James said.

"Healed!" Alice exclaimed, "Of dragon pox?"

James shrugged, "That's what she says. I dunno. The mediwizards are sayin' it's a miracle. They don't know what to think." He didn't tell them about her claiming it'd been his Dad who had done it. "If she's still not showing any symptoms in the mornin' they say she can go home."

Lily was beaming, "Isn't that marvelous?" she asked Alice, who nodded eagerly.

"Nobody deserves a miracle more than the Potters," Frank said, smiling as he put his arm 'round Alice's waist and directed her to one of the floos.

They took the Floo Network to Hogsmeade, coming out in the Three Broomsticks, where they had a quick breaky before leaving Frank and Alice and the other three walked up to the castle. The path seemed shorter than it had when they were kids and James once again marveled at how different Hogwarts seemed when one was no longer a student there anymore. Although it was still big and beautiful and felt home-y and safe, the castle no longer had the imposing, overwhelming feeling it had once held.

He glanced over at Lily as they walked and he said, "Feels like Seventh Year all over again, doesn't it?"

Lily looked over at him and nodded, "It does."

James held out his hand and she slipped hers in his, weaving their fingers together as they walked through the trees, which smelled of autumn and earth - a scent she strongly connected to James through her amortentia. She pulled him into her so their shoulders touched and then leaned her head against his arm as she walked, closing her eyes for a moment. 

"Maybe after we talk to Dumbledore later on we can take the scenic route getting out of the castle and visit some of our old haunts and have a go at doing rounds?" James suggested, smirking.

"James Charlus," Lily scolded.

When she didn't finish the scolding he said, "Well, you didn't say no."

Lily laughed.

Hagrid was waiting at the gates for them, smiling, Fang at his side. "Potters! An' not jus' the one but the both'uv yeh!" he called out as they came up the last stretch of the road to Hogmeade, "Good ter see yeh, Lily! Good to see yeh." He held open the gates for them to pass through.

"Hiya Hagrid," said James.

"How've you been, Hagrid?" Lily asked.

"Where's Fluffy?" James questioned.

"Well I'm alright, thanks fer askin', Lily. As fer Fluffy, well Professor Kettleburn's borrowed 'im for one of his lessons," Hagrid said, "He was needin' sommat what was tamed and would go easy on 'im - what with his bandages an' all." He was leading the way up the path toward the school.

"Oh dear," Lily said. "What's he lost now?"

"Nuthin' lost this time, but he's got a deep flesh wound on 'is left shoulder from a nasty clabbert bite."

"Ouch," James said. "Poor Kettleburn. I feel like every time I see him he has one less limb."

Hagrid chuckled, "Yah, he's always havin' fun with 'is creatures," he said as though having one less limb was a sign of having a grand time. James looked at Lily behind Hagrid's back and made a face with raised eyebrows and she stifled a laugh at the expression.

It was rather nice, following Hagrid across the grounds. Lily felt as though James's demeanor became more boyish the moment they'd stepped through the gate, as though he was about to go off and get into mischief with Sirius, Remus, and Peter at any moment and the thought of it made her smile as he strutted along the path, chatting with Hagrid. At the spot where the path split, Hagrid bade them all farewell and headed toward the castle as they headed down to the pitch.

Lily helped lay out the broom sticks for the students, and James gave a couple of the broom sticks a quick cleaning and twig trim before they came streaming out onto the pitch.

"Oh dear," Lily murmured.

James looked up. "What in Godric's name...?" he muttered, shaking his head. He walked across the pitch to where Macy was leading Sarah along at the tail end of the firsties coming onto the grass. "Everyone go on and find a broom, I'll be right over. No mounting them 'til I come 'round... Macy, what is going on?" he asked, reaching Macy and Sarah.

Macy looked up at James and flushed. "Mum and Dad heard Sarah was taking flying lessons and... well..." she was signing as she spoke.

Sarah was wearing so much protective gear you'd think she was an egg being dropped from the top of a tall building. James shook his head. The poor thing had on a helmet, elbow and knee pads, a chest pad, and was biting on a mouth guard.

"That's absolutely -- way too much," he said, shaking his head, "She's more likely to get hurt with that stuff on than she is without it!"

Macy shrugged. 

James reached down and unbuckled the helmet, sliding it off Sarah's head gently and chucked it aside. "I have - a - surprise - for - you," he signed carefully and slowly.

"For me?" Sarah signed back with Macy translating for James.

James nodded and he unbuckled the knee pads. "C'mon," he said, standing up and waving for Sarah to follow him, tossing the knee pads off with the helmet.

Macy and Sarah followed him over to where the other first years were with the brooms, laughing and talking. Lily reached into the bag hanging 'round her shoulders and pulled out the package that James had slipped in. He turned back to Macy and Sarah. "A friend of mine had some advice how to solve our little issue with how to communicate while you're in the air... and we worked together and came up with what I hope will help." James waited for Macy to finish translating what he'd said, then handed Sarah the package.

Sarah took it and unwrapped the brown paper and string to reveal -- a pair of flying goggles. She stared at them, then looked up at James in confusion.

"Put them on," James instructed, motioning like he was putting on goggles as Macy signed the actual words for Sarah.

She put then on her head and Macy and James helped to adjust the strap and when she'd got them on, James said, "Hi Sarah. They look spiffing on... do they work?"

Macy started to translate but Sarah let out a funny gasp of a sound and her fingers were suddenly flying excitedly. "She says she can see the words?" Macy looked up at James. "What?"

"They are magically modified flight goggles. They show her the words in front of her eyes so she can read everything I'm saying," James explained. 

"How?" Macy's jaw was dropped as Sarah was signing quickly and excitedly that it was true, she could see everything he was saying.

"Magic," James whispered, winking at Macy.

Macy couldn't believe it - even as she followed along with Sarah, translating what Sarah said for James, but suddenly not having to translate what James was saying for Sarah. Lily couldn't help but notice the pride and joy in Macy's eyes as she watched Sarah's excitement. It was clear how much Macy really loved her sister and the sight of it warmed Lily's heart so much. She smiled and wiped some tears from her eyes and said a little prayer that Macy and Sarah would always have each other, that they'd never drift apart... that neither would ever call the other a freak.

Macy was crying, too. When Sarah held out her hand at James's command and her broomstick rose straight up into her waiting palm on her second try, even without the verbal command, Macy let out a shout of excitement and turned and wrapped her arms around James. 

"Thank you," she said as Sarah whooped and cheered.

The other students who had been doing the lessons now for a couple weeks all cheered for Sarah's success, too, but none as hard as Logan Ollivander, who clapped his hands so hard that James reckoned the poor kid was going to crack his skin.

Lily and James were walking up the path to the castle after the flying practice, watching the first years run ahead of them. Sarah hadn't wanted to remove the goggles and was still wearing them as she walked with Macy, who was carrying the discarded safety gear with her able-to-be free hands. Lily grinned and said, "I'm glad Jasper's idea worked out well."

"Well Jasper came up with the words-to-writing bit... I'm the one that applied it to the flight goggles," James said, grinning crookedly.

"Oh what a smart husband I have," Lily said, pausing and turning to kiss James's chin.

James grinned.

They made it up to the castle at last and headed right up to Dumbledore's office. Frank and Alice were waiting outside by the gargoyles when Lily and James arrived, Frank leaning against the wall while Alice sat on the floor, legs criss-crossed. She got up as Lily and James walked up, and Frank pushed off from the wall, looking solemn. "Right then," he said, glancing at the gargoyles. "How did your flying lesson do?" he asked.

"Sarah was delighted with the goggles," James said. He'd told them about the goggles over their breakfast and Frank had been ecstatic at the thought of them while Alice had nearly cried with excitement for Sarah getting to learn to fly despite her parents being "utter holder-backers" as she'd said. "And she's a bleedin' natural, too," James added, "It was like watching a duck take to water - like she'd been doing it all her life. I've never felt so proud in all my life. First time on and everything."

"Really, she was very good," Lily nodded.

"She has a grand instructor," Alice said, smiling at James.

James grinned.

"The best she could have," Frank said, clapping James on the shoulder. "Just don't let it grow your ego too much, Potter."

"I wouldn't dream of it," James said.

Frank smirked - he could practically see the ego growing from the outside, he thought - and then he looked the gargoyle beside him in the face. "Freddo," he told him, and the gargoyle tilted it's head, then jumped out of the way of the door. "Dumbledore and his obsession with muggle candy - I swear, if anyone needed to break into the Headmaster's office they ought to just come here and start shouting random confectionaries and they'd be in in no time flat!"

Nervousness went through James as they rode the spiraling staircase to the top and he drew a deep breath at the door as Alice pranced forward to knock. 

He'd never come here and not think of Regulus Black.

The door opened promptly and Dumbledore looked taken-aback by the presence of Frank and Alice. He'd been only expecting James and Lily, but after their discussion the four of them had agreed it would be best to take Dumbledore by surprise and just admit right off that they'd talked about what he was asking from them all.

Which, indeed, Dumbledore wasted no time in doing.