The Missing Marauder: A Harry Potter FanFiction

Epilogue Part One

Sirius barked pleasantly as the little toddler, Harry Potter, pulled on his ear.  

Lily giggled and James smiled. "You really should consider becoming a dog permanently," he said, "Harry just loves dogs."  

"He loves animals in general," Lily added.  

The great black dog snorted and seemed to roll his eyes at them. The toddler sneaked up behind him and grasped his tail and pulled it hard, giggling crazily. Sirius yelped with surprise and jumped up, causing the child to fall backwards.  

Harry looked up at the dog and started wailing.  

The dog lifted a paw and started staring around in worry, not knowing what to do. He then stepped closer to the crying toddler and put his cold nose right onto his cheek.  

Harry sniffed a few times before smiling, laughing, and wrapping his little arms around the big dog's neck.  

Lily smiled and went into the kitchen, leaving James to watch over their son.  

Hours passed before the toddler became drowsy, and eventually drifted off into blissful slumber.  

Lily took the small boy upstairs to put him to bed, and Sirius and James, both in human form, were standing around in the living room.  

"Are you taking him out for Halloween tomorrow?" Sirius asked, fiddling with the Black family crest ring on his middle finger.  

"I don't think so," James replied, "He's only one."  

Sirius shrugged. "The whole concept of Halloween is completely new to me."  

"I'm amazed you never went trick-or-treating," Lily said as she came down the stairs, "It's a tradition!"  

"What can I say?" Sirius asked with another shrug, "I was simply a bad kid who always was being punished, particularly around Halloween."  

"Ah, well," she sighed, walking past him to a calendar on the wall, with a picture of a water lily on the rippling surface of a small pond. She took a pen off of a coffee table that was against the wall and crossed off the small box for October 30th. "To answer your question, Harry isn't going trick-or-treating. He's too young."  

"I don't know," Sirius said, crossing his arms, "He's fifteen months-"  

"Fifteen months is too young," she said. Then she added, "It's late. You should probably get going."

"Oh, come on," Sirius muttered, "Five minutes to midnight isn't late. Midnight is late. Five minutes to midnight is not late."  

Lily smiled. "Okay, then in five minutes it will be late, and you should probably get going."  

"That's all you had to say." He grinned and patted James on the shoulder and said, "I'll see you soon."  

"Why don't you come tomorrow?" Lily asked.  

"Because, unfortunately, I live in London and you live in Godric's Hollow. Even on my totally awesome flying motorcycle, it just takes too long to get here," Sirius replied in a sigh, "But I'll come back on the first of November. Maybe the second."  

"Send us an owl when you're sure," Lily told him as he pulled the front door open.  

"Will do," he agreed, "Good night."  

"Good night," Lily said.  

"'Night," James said.  

And then Sirius was gone.