After the Wizengamot hearing at Wizengamot court , it was nearly midnight. The verdicts had been passed, truths had been unveiled, and justice—however incomplete—had been chased. As the Ministry slowly emptied, the participants drifted back to their lives. Cael, the professors, James Potter, and Sirius Black returned to Hogwarts.
Cael, exhausted from a long day of testimony, discovery, and confrontation, made his way straight to the Gryffindor dormitory. His limbs felt like stone, his thoughts thick with everything that had happened. He barely managed to reach his bed before falling into a deep, dreamless sleep.
Outside, the night was still, the grounds of Hogwarts bathed in silver moonlight. The stars shimmered gently overhead as James and Sirius walked together under the open sky. There was a tension between them—years of silence, pain, and betrayal clinging to the quiet air.
Sirius walked with his head bowed, shoulders heavy with emotion. He matched James's pace but said nothing.
James broke the silence first, his voice soft and nostalgic.
"Do you remember… the Astronomy Tower? That night in sixth year when we levitated half the Slytherin robes up there and hexed them to flash 'Gryffindor Rules'?"
Sirius gave a small laugh. "Yeah," he said hoarsely. "We got detention for three weeks. But Merlin, it was worth it."
"Those were good days," James said, his eyes distant. "Sometimes I wish we could go back—just once. To feel what it was like to be that young, that free. No pain, no burdens. Just the careless joy of being a student, living in the moment."
Silence again. The kind of silence that hung between men carrying too much history.
James stopped walking.
"Sirius… I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I'm sorry I didn't believe you. That I didn't fight for you. You suffered for years, and I let it happen. I should have never trusted the Dark Lord over my best friend. I left you alone… and you paid the price in the darkness of Azkaban. I'm so sorry."
Sirius's hand trembled. "No." He shook his head violently. "No, James. I'm the one who failed. I should've protected you. I should've been there. I should've known Peter was—"
"We both made mistakes," James said gently. "We trusted the wrong person."
Sirius exhaled shakily. "We trusted the wrong person," he echoed. "And it cost everything."
James turned to him. "You know… he isn't dead."
Sirius blinked. "What?"
"The Dark Lord ," James said. "He's not dead. In last Two years , Harry… he encountered him."
Sirius stopped in his tracks. "He's back?"
James nodded slowly. "In some form—weak, but out there. Dumbledore believes he's trying to return… to resurrect himself. And if that happens, he'll come after all of us."
He paused, voice lower now. "And I… I need you, Sirius. I can't do this alone. Not anymore. Not with what's coming. I need a brother again—someone I can rely on. I can't keep fighting this on my own. I can't protect Harry alone, not when he's at the heart of all this… and will be for years to come."
James looked at him, eyes tired. "He needs you. I need you."
Sirius looked at him—really looked at him. "You've got me," he said firmly. "You and Harry—you're all I have left. I'd die before I let anything happen to either of you."
James's voice cracked with emotion. "Thanks, Padfoot." He reached forward and pulled Sirius into a tight hug. His voice was barely a whisper. "I missed you, brother. For so long… I was alone."
Sirius's arms wrapped around him. "Me too. I missed you every single day."
They stood like that beneath the moonlight, two souls stitched back together by pain and memory.
Then, James stepped back, wiping at his eyes with a crooked smile.
"There's something else," he said. "I have a daughter."
Sirius blinked, stunned. "A daughter?"
James laughed softly. "Her name is Lyra."
Sirius stared. "Wait—what? You remarried?"
"I did," James said. "Her name is Elena Greengrass ,a great woman ."
Sirius choked. "The same Elena Greengrass you rejected in sixth year? The one who swore revenge on you for humiliating her?"
James gave a crooked grin. "Yeah. That same one. I think marrying me was her revenge."
Sirius burst out laughing. "How in Merlin's name did that happen?"
James's smile faded into something softer—something sadder.
"After that night… when everything was taken from me… I broke, Sirius. I fell apart. I drank myself half to death. I couldn't even look at Harry. I neglected him. I was drowning so deeply in my own sorrow and pain that I forgot I still had a son who needed me."
He looked down, ashamed.
"I spent my nights in pubs, trying to drink away the grief. Trying to forget. But then Dumbledore showed up. He'd heard about the fights, the drinking… what I'd become. He had no choice but to take Harry away from me."
James's voice trembled slightly.
"I'd become a pathetic alcoholic. Just a shadow. It was about a month after the incident when Dumbledore finally sent me to St. Mungo's."
He paused, then looked up with a faint glimmer in his eyes.
"And that's where I saw her again. Elena. She was working there… and somehow, she got assigned to me. Of all people. She helped me through the trauma. She didn't judge me. She cared. Made sure I didn't drink… made sure I didn't try to hurt myself."
He exhaled, voice soft.
"She saved me, Sirius. In more ways than one."
Sirius looked away, guilt shadowing his face again.
James continued, his voice low.
"One night, early on… I ran away. I couldn't take it. I needed firewhisky—I needed to forget. I'd been dreaming of Lily… her eyes, her voice. It hurt so much I could hardly breathe. So I slipped out of St. Mungo's and went straight to a pub."
He paused, eyes clouded with memory.
"She found me there. Must've followed me. I was drunk out of my mind. She stormed in, shouted at me in front of everyone… then sat down beside me."
A faint, wistful smile touched his lips.
"And she drank too. Said she wasn't going to let me drown alone. She'd lost people too—her younger sister and her brother. Both killed by Death Eaters. We were two broken souls that night… but somehow, in that moment, we understood each other."
Sirius frowned. "So what happened ?…"
"We both got drunk—two broken people, trying to forget. One thing led to another… and the next morning, we woke up in the same bed."
James sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.
"We were under the influence of alcohol , and we did something we shouldn't have. When we woke up… it was painful. For both of us. There was confusion, guilt… and a heavy silence. We hadn't meant for it to happen. It wasn't love it was grief."
James looked down, his voice heavy.
"After that night… she avoided me. Didn't come looking for me, didn't say a word. She even changed her shifts so we wouldn't run into each other."
He took a deep breath.
"So I left the hospital. Tried to move on… to forget. But five months later, I got a letter from her. She asked to meet."
He paused, then added quietly,
"I went. I had to. I needed to face whatever she had to say. I still carried the guilt over what happened between us."
James continued, his voice barely above a whisper.
"When we met… she didn't say anything at first. Just sat there in silence for a long time. I could tell she was struggling to find the words."
He exhaled slowly.
"Then she told me—she was pregnant. Said she hadn't been with anyone else. That the child was from that night we'd spent together."
Sirius's eyes widened.
"She didn't ask for anything," James said quietly. "No demands, no expectations. She told me I didn't have to be involved—that she'd raise the child on her own."
He paused, eyes distant.
"She even said she was planning to move to the United States, to avoid the shame. Told me it was okay if I didn't want to be part of the child's life… she'd take full responsibility."
His voice softened.
"She only came to tell me the truth. To let me know I had a child. Then… she got up and left."
"I was in shock when I heard," James admitted, his voice low. "At the time, I'd been looking for a house in the Muggle world—somewhere far from the wizarding world, where I could raise Harry in peace, away from all the threats and pain."
He ran a hand through his hair, eyes clouded.
"But when she told me she was pregnant… everything shattered. I felt like I'd betrayed Lily—disrespected her memory, everything she stood for. I was disgusted with myself. And Elena… she was under so much pressure. Her family—pure-blood, traditional—they saw a child outside of marriage as a stain, a shame. You know how those families are."
He shook his head slowly.
"I couldn't let her face that alone. Not after everything."
James's voice softened.
"So I went to Dumbledore. Told him everything. And he… he reminded me of what Lily would've wanted. That I couldn't keep punishing myself forever. That maybe… it was time to live again. He said I had a responsibility now—not just to Elena, but to the child. And for Harry too. He said having a family, having someone—a mother figure, a sibling—might be what Harry needed most."
He looked up, eyes filled with emotion.
"So… I went after her."
Sirius didn't speak. His eyes were locked on James's face.
"So I married her," James said. "She was under immense pressure. The scandal, her family… everything. But when I proposed, she smiled like the sun broke through the clouds. And over time, Sirius… she healed me. She became a mother to Harry. She treated him as her own, sat by his bed when he was sick, taught him how to tie his shoes, how to cast his first charm. She gave me a daughter, and gave Harry a home."
James's voice thickened. "She gave me purpose again. When I didn't think I had any left."
Sirius was silent for a long time.
Then he said softly, "You love her."
James nodded. "I do. Not the same way I loved Lily—but deeply. Respectfully. She's extraordinary, Sirius. She saved my life. She gave Harry a mother. And she gave me another reason to live."
Sirius smiled, his eyes shimmering. "I'm glad. I'm so glad you found someone… who brought light back into your life."
James clapped a hand on his shoulder. "And now, it's your turn. You're not alone anymore. You're free."
Sirius gave a crooked smile. "I suppose I'll need a haircut."
"And some proper robes," James added with a grin. "Because tomorrow, I'm introducing you to my son, my daughter… and my wife."
Sirius laughed—really laughed—and for a moment, he looked like the boy James remembered, mischievous and bright.
"Then I better not look like a mad dog," Sirius said, grinning. "Let's go home, Prongs."
The two of them walked back toward the castle together, the stars above watching silently as old wounds began to close, and something long-lost returned to both their hearts—
hope.