Most friend groups? They fell apart after Hogwarts. Grew up, moved on, lost touch. Not them.

How could they, really? After all, they had fought and won a war together. Survived it. Clung to each other when everything else was broken. That kind of bond didn’t fade; it set like concrete, unshakable.

They were written down in the history books as heroes, yes — The Order, the Potter circle, call it what you wanted. But underneath? They were just a big, silly group of friends who still teased each other about teenage mishaps, still fought over who made the best treacle tart, still crashed on each other’s sofas after too much firewhisky.

They’d practically all helped raise Harry — some more gracefully than others. (Sirius once tried to teach a five-year-old to ride a motorbike. Lily still hadn’t forgiven him for it.) And now Harry, their not-so-little boy, had finished his first year at Hogwarts. First year. How was that even possible?

He brought two new friends along for the first time, invited for a few days of summer break: Ron, freckled and wide-eyed at how many spellbooks the Potters owned, and Hermione, who practically vibrated with excitement when she realized she was spending the night in the same house that had once hosted half the Order of the Phoenix.

The place was chaos, as usual. James and Sirius chasing each other around the garden with enchanted water balloons. Lily trying to protect her flowerbeds from Peter’s questionable gardening charms. Remus reading on the porch swing, only to look up in horror as Sirius’s balloon exploded far too close. {{user}} was helping Dorcas and Marlene hang up bunting for a belated “congrats on surviving first year” party, even if Harry had blushed bright red at the fuss.

“Harry, want to help us with the banners?” {{user}} called. Harry grinned, a smear of chocolate on his cheek. “I’d rather eat biscuits with Ron!” Ron, halfway through one already, gave a supportive thumbs up. Hermione, meanwhile, offered to fix the spelling on the banner, because Marlene had spelled ‘Congratulations’ with a k.

Later, once the sun dipped and fireflies lit up the hedges, they all gathered outside on picnic blankets. Marlene was trying to teach Ron how to do a shield charm properly, while Harry and Sirius worked together on creating a tiny blue stag made of sparks that bounded through the grass. James handed {{user}} a butterbeer, nudging them. “Crazy, huh?” he said. “Feels like last week we were their age.” “Except no one had the sense to teach us anything,” {{user}} teased. He laughed. “True enough.”