________
James Potter was furious. Five years ago, he was resurrected by his wife. He thought that he had a second chance at life, to be with his family and friends once again.
Unfortunately, things did not go as he planned.
For one, the world changed beyond recognition. After being resurrected, he had a hard time adapting to many modern concepts and ideas. Although he had information implanted in his mind to deal with the problem, it was still difficult to adapt culture-wise.
For example, he was used to writing letters and sending them with howls. But now, this form of communication has now become obsolete, with only a few stubborn and old fashion wizards still using them.
Another aspect that was hard for him to adapt to was the change of his friends and family. He first learned that Rat Tai or Peter Pettigrew betrayed him and caused his death.
Then there are the others. Lupin is no longer suffered from lycanthropy, has a family, and is a respected professor at Hogwarts. James was happy for him, just slightly missed the fact that they could not hang out as much since he was now always busy.
As for Sirius, he was the most changed. He was part of the Imperial Navy training as a Scout. Soon, he will be sent to different planets in our galaxy to gather information for the Empire.
With the current technology, it would be quite easy for them to communicate from light-years away. However, Sirius will be in constant danger based on what planet he is sent to, where will he have time to talk to him?
For now, he was more worried about whether his friend will survive these expeditions. He thought about persuading him not to go. However, he remembered that his friend was a Gryffindor; he long for bravery and adventure.
Luckily, Sirius still had a few years before his deployment. So, they still have a long time together.
Of course, of all the changes, the one that disheartened James the most is his family. His son is already grown up with a wife and children of his own. He regretted not having the chance of seeing him grow.
However, given the circumstances of his death, he was just glad that Harry was found and had a somewhat happy and normal childhood.
Now, here comes the real trouble. One of the people who served as a father for Harry while growing up turned out to be his sworn enemy, Snivellus Snape.
On top of that, he discovered that because of how long has passed, his wife had a strange relationship with his enemy. So, after resurrecting, he was furious and wanted to challenge Snape.
He failed miserably. Back then, he was merely a Tier 0 Apprentice that did not even break his first limiter. How could he be Snape's opponent?
Ashamed, James contacted his friend to ganged up on his old school rival. Although Sirius was all for the drama, Lupin tried to convince him to let go of the past and act their age. James would not have it.
In the end, Lupin was also convinced and followed the two. The result? They still failed. Although they did not lose, they did not win as well. It was then that his wife told him that Snape is one of the most trusted individuals of the Arcane Emperor and has access to the best resources of the Empire.
The only reason that the three of them even stood a chance was that Snape took the higher road and did not completely embarrass them.
After coming to this realization, James Potter decided to delve deep into the magic art and increase his strength. He wanted to deal with Snivellus himself.
Unfortunately, after five years, with his wife's support, he only broke the second Limiter and became Tier 2. This was quite fast and displayed his talent.
Increasing mana and becoming Tier 3 is simple with the Empire's resources. The real trouble is having a soul powerful enough to control said mana. This requires in-depth study of spells or experiments with magic; this requires learning a lot of knowledge.
Unfortunately, James is like his son and loves fighting and using magic than studying. So, he was still stuck in Tier 2.
At first, he did not mind his progress since he knew that Snape was only one limiter higher than himself. However, two weeks ago, he learned that Snape was about to become Tier 4, and in a few years, even Tier 5–thus further the distance between them.
…
As Lily watched the two of them walk in the room, sword drawned and ready to fight at any moment, she sighed lightly. She was confused about what to do.
As a member of the Illuminati, she has to spend a lot of time with Snape. More importantly, they can discuss many secrets that she cannot share with her husband because of his low-security level.
Over the years, she has noticed that these secrets have started to create a rift with James. Although she tried to explain the situation to him, and he seemed to understand and accept, the estrangement was still there–albeit reduced.
On top of that, Lily is aware that in the future, she might have to travel to other worlds with Snape and the other members. By then, she will have to leave home for years and spent hundreds of years with him.
By that, the situation will become more complicated.
As she pondered these issues, Lily suddenly remembered the last time she met Molly Weasley and complained to her regarding her situation.
She looked at him with a straight face and said, "Why do you need to choose? Polygamy is not only legal in the Empire, but also normalized. So, choose both of them as your husband."
She was shocked by these words as she never considered this. Despite the many changes that have occurred over the years, some of her thinking has not changed from the olden days.
So, she never considered this approach.
So, once Molly said this, she quickly denied such an approach. Unfortunately, ever since she said this to her Lily has been unable to remove the idea from her head.
…
After walking into the room, Snape smiled at Lily. Over the years, he has tried to become less gloomy and even practiced his smile. Although he was still wearing a black magical robe, it did not look as gloomy as his previous one as it was decorated with magical patterns.
He even had a badge on his clothes that displayed his status as a Tower Master and a Potion Grandmaster.
"Have you prepared your thesis for the Symposium? Do you want to work on it together?"
"If she is going to work with someone, it will be me," replied James. However, Snape just gave him a look before ignoring him.
James was familiar with that look. It was the look of looking of an idiot, implying that he was not good enough to work at their levels.
Lily looked at the two of them, sighed internally, and wondered what to do.
________
Title: Quality