I own nothing. Ok, this spiel is old, and I'm going to leave it in here with the chapter
Three issues I'm going to address:
1.) Someone said Remus was out of character. Now, we know Harry was born in July of 1980. Due to information JKR had given out, Snape is 35 around the fifth book which makes Remus 35; this is in the year 1995. We now know that Lily and James were 20 when they had Harry, as were Remus, Sirius, and Peter. Since they were about 17 when they got out of Hogwarts, my timeline is very possibly correct.
This means that the Remus in this story is 17 years younger than the Remus we know currently in Book 5. I think it's safe to say he may have been slightly different. A lot can happen in 17 years to change a person. As he's growing he's also growing apart from his friends. There's got to be a reason the made Sirius secret keeper (aside from the fact that he's James's best friend) and then Peter, while Remus is apparently the most level-headed. Maria is a girl who Remus is attracted to-he's going to do things for her he wouldn't normally do. Members of the opposite sex affect friendships. It's a fact of life.
2.) I was slightly offended when a very faithful reader/reviewer told me not to make the plot more complicated than it has to be, and that the story would have made more of an impact if I had ended the story sooner. I'm sorry if I'm offending you as well, but I've got to say that this story is going on until Lily and James die…which is over two years away from this point in the story. If they get together and live happily ever after right now, nothing interesting will happen in the next 17 or so chapters. Plot devices need to be created and put into the story now; these ideas need to be developed. Please don't tell me to keep things simple; I'm insane.
3.) Confusion about Patel. I'll try to explain as best as I can.
A.) Pretend we're happily put-put-putting along in this story and we get to the point where Lily's baby is born and she and James are back together. It's a boy and he's born on January 29, 1979 (what a random date). On July 31, 1980, he gets a little brother named Harry. Now, he grows up and has an experience that makes him go crazy. He goes back in time to May of 1978 and stops his mother from finding out James is an Amoris.
Instead of this changing the future, as was expected, it creates another world-in this world, Lily never found out James was an Amoris and they got married right out of Hogwarts after she tells him she's pregnant. Maria is killed in September (she and Remus got married as well). Remus disappears two weeks after her and turns up dead. Lily and James name their baby Remus.
Lily miscarries her next baby, (this is Harry). She gets pregnant and has a girl, whom she and James name Maria Adelaide. Two years later they have a girl and name her Elizabeth.
Lily and James die, as does Elizabeth.
Remus takes Adelaide underground and when she's fourteen she's rescued by L'Ordine di Luce. The Order of Light knows what has happened and with Dumbledore's help, they devise a plan to right the world. Adelaide is sent to the real world (MY STORY WORLD) and teaches Lily and James. She makes sure Lily finds out James is an Amoris. Because both Adelaide and Remus are trying to change this point in time, the balance of the cosmos is thrown off. Heat and rain will occur because of this. The world is as it should be once more.
You all know Remus won't be born, because Harry doesn't have an older sibling. The story part is why he isn't born.
Thank you for all your helpful comments and suggestions. I was pleased with the length and depth or the reviews I received and I'm glad you were all comfortable enough to criticize constructively and leave me with a good feeling inside.
P.S: L'Ordine di Luce is in no way the mob/mafia except for the whole killing its own members thing. They're a good organization. Like the Order of the Phoenix expect Italian and more universal.
If you're still confused, e-mail me with questions or stick them in your review. That way questions are easier to keep track of.
**
Chapter 23: "Nothing Will Change"
[I'll Never Love This Way Again, by Dionne Warwick]
--
"If my parents ever…if they're ever…you know…"
"I know…"
"I want you to be there. I don't care if we've broken up or if I've slapped you twenty times or if we're fighting. I just want you to be there to help me."
"I promise…"
He shoved through the crowd of people, elbowing one girl in the stomach and a pushing a short boy into a taller one. He ignored everything and broke through the throng, entering the space before the fireplace.
She was sitting curled up on the couch, shivering so hard her teeth were chattering. A blanket was draped over her body despite humidity of the day. Maria stood over her, stroking her hair gently and crying silently. Sirius sat on the arm of the chair, his hand on her back. Remus was standing behind her and Peter-Peter was nowhere to be seen.
Remus noticed him first and he pressed gently on Lily's shoulder. She started and turned her face straight towards James.
"James!" she whispered, her voice breaking. "Please…"
He crossed the space between them in two strides and put his hand under her elbow, dragging her to her feet. He put his arm around her waist and half-led, half-dragged her up to her dormitory, kicking the Admittance Stone three times with his foot, not caring who saw.
"Get out," he spat at Clara, who was reading a magazine on her bed. She took one look at Lily's pale face and James's arm around her waist and bit her lip, looking…almost sympathetic. She got up and left the room, closing the door behind her quietly.
"Lie down," he whispered. Lily sat down and he pushed her shoulders gently down to the bed. He lifted her legs onto the bed and pulled off her shoes. He lifted her up and strained to pull the covers out from beneath her, tucking her in as best he could. He hesitated a second before kicking off his own shoes and lying down on top of her bedclothes.
"James…" she moaned again. "I can't-she can't-"
He grabbed her hand, which was lying on top of the covers, and rubbed it between his own, trying futilely to warm her up. He kissed her palm and quickly pulled away, feeling almost guilty. She pressed her hand to his cheek and began to cry quietly.
"What do I do? What do I do?"
"Shh," he cautioned, putting his hand over hers. "Don't…just sleep," he finally said.
She buried her head underneath the covers but he could still hear her crying.
He stroked her hair and eventually she wore herself out and fell asleep. He waited until her breathing was regular until he carefully got off her bed and went down to the common room.
Remus was sitting by the fireplace with Maria in his lap, hugging his neck. He looked up when James came down the stairs and wordlessly held out a sheet of paper.
James shook his head and pushed the paper away, feeling sick. "What's happened?" he asked hoarsely.
"Her mum," Remus rasped. "Had the baby-they both died."
James shut his eyes and clenched his teeth. "Who wrote to…her?"
"Father-her sister took over I think. Handwriting changes."
"Oh, Merlin," James said. "I can't take this."
Maria looked up at him, eyes snapping. "You'd better, James Potter! She's going through enough right now and you're the only one who can help her, and you had better hope she survives this."
James paused. What did she mean by that? Taking one look at Maria's angry expression, he decided not to press and only nodded. "I think I'm going back up there," he said, and Remus gave a little jerk of his head.
When he reached her room, Lily had changed into a nightgown and was sitting on the window seat, staring off into space. She didn't look up when he shut the door, or when he stood beside her.
"I don't want to talk about it," she said in a low voice.
He nodded. "All right."
She turned to him after a moment, looking lost. "I do want to…I want you to…I don't…" She took a deep breath and he sat on the window seat behind her, wrapping his arms around her stomach and pulling her up against his body. He started when he realized she was wearing absolutely nothing underneath but didn't remark upon it. She obviously wasn't thinking straight.
She twisted to the side and pressed her face into his shoulder, blowing warm breath onto his shirt. "I'm tired," she whispered, and his hand went automatically to her hair. His other hand slid down to her lower back and he drew small circles through the thin nightgown, willing her to sleep. He could sense deep purple light flowing between them-purple, the color of relaxation.
Within moments she was asleep and he slid one arm underneath her, lifting her with a good deal of effort. He laid her down on her rumpled bed and then paused before removing his glasses and climbing in beside her. He tentatively put his arms around her waist and pulled her closer, almost groaning at the familiar feeling of her head tucking into his shoulder and her face pressed against his chest. She nuzzled his neck and curled up against him, her cheeks still wet with tears.
--
__________________________________
June 23, 1978
__________________________________
Lily's eyes fluttered open and she inhaled the smell of…something familiar. She yawned and shut her eyes, her mouth brushing against something warm. She opened her eyes again and looked up, recognizing James's profile. She was laying the most awkward position; her head was tucked into the curve between James's neck and his shoulder, her legs were entwined with his, and her torso was curved outwards.
But it was incredibly comfortable.
Lily quite suddenly became aware of the sensation of James's hand resting just under her breast. She shut her eyes and put her own hand over his, sliding it away.
Quite suddenly, his hand was resting on her stomach, the heat of his skin burning through her cotton nightgown. She swallowed hard and tried to look away from the clasped hands over her belly-her belly!-finally moving it to her waist. He made a strange snuffling sound and she laughed.
Her memories from the previous night flashed through her head and she moaned, curling up into a ball. James suddenly woke and his hand went straight to his wand. He caught sight of her and squinted before grabbing his glasses and slipping them on.
"Lily? What-oh."
She stared at him. "Why are you here? Why did you stay?"
He stared back at her. "Because you…your…well…your mum."
"I feel dizzy," she gasped, a powerful wave of nausea sweeping over her. Oh, God…not now! Not in front of him! She rolled off the bed and pushed the curtain aside and hurried into the bathroom. James followed her in and held her hair back with cool hands as she retched.
When Lily finished she was crying. This was how it should be…he should be holding her hair back every morning while this happened.
She had to tell him; now more than ever.
He reached for a towel and gave it to her, and as he did his sleeve lifted and she caught sight of something that shimmered. She caught his hand and pushed up his sleeve, ignoring his gasp. It was something almost like a tattoo-a golden string instrument (a harp, perhaps? A lyre?) with a white, yellow, and red sunburst behind it, rimmed in a line of red and then white.
"What is this?" she whispered.
He snatched his hand back and shifted. "It's…it's for a job."
She frowned. "You haven't gotten your N.E.W.Ts results yet."
He shrugged. "I've got a job," he said, more firm this time.
Lily opened her mouth to say something but shut it, shaking her head. She was too tired and she needed to think. "Please leave," she said.
James shrugged. "Okay." He hesitated, looking at her curiously, before turning and leaving the bathroom. She heard the door to her dorm shut as he left.
She stared at the wall for a moment, wondering just what was going to happen to her now. She had so few options-certainly not an abortion, but having a baby…
And what if she died while having it? Who would take it and raise it? Certainly not James.
"Don't be ridiculous," she told herself aloud. "You're not going to die while having…a baby." She sighed and wiped her eyes, getting up to brush her teeth.
Not like her mother.
The thought startled Lily, and she looked up at the mirror, her mouth full of foaming toothpaste. She stared at herself in the mirror: straggly red her, dull green, bloodshot eyes, terribly white face. She hardly recognized herself. She wasn't nything out of the ordinary, so why did the most unordinary things happen to her?
Her best friends died, her mother died. Who would die next? Her father? Petunia? James? She now had a whole new understanding of what Adelaide had felt like. Losing your mother was…unthinkable.
I'm never going to be like that! she thought fiercely. I'm going to love my child forever and I'm going to be there forever!
She shuddered and spat out the toothpaste, hurriedly rinsing her mouth and washing her face. Blocking out all thoughts of her mother's plump and friendly face, she got dressed and crawled back into her bed. She pulled the covers up and curled up in the cold hollow where James had lain. It still smelled like him.
She couldn't stand it. She got up and went over to her chest of drawers and pulled out the music box she had removed from her foyer in December. She ran her fingers reverently over the latch and snapped it open. Earlier that year she had transferred all her letters into the box. The lilting tune reminded her of happier times and she bit her lip, forcing back tears.
She had assorted letters here from all seven years, some which she thought were important and others which she wanted to remember just for the sake of it. She sifted through them and pulled out one form the end of her first year. She held it to her face and sniffed it; it still smelled of her mother's perfume.
Dear Lily,
How are you, dear? Everything here has been fine-we're all so proud of you for getting top marks on your exams! Your dad asked me to tell you how much he misses you, and I've got to add in my two cents. I miss you more-
Lily put the letter back in the box and slammed the lid, cutting of the tune mid-note so it hovered, poised on a crescendo. She laid down on the floor and rolled over on her stomach, pulling from her bed the blankets which still smelled like James; she pressed them to her face and curled into a ball, letting the scent of him comfort her while she cried.
--
________________________________
June 27, 1978
________________________________
James had not seen Lily in four days.
He only had four days left to see her-and then he was never going to see her again.
He couldn't shake the feeling that this chapter of his life-his years at Hogwarts-was not yet over. He had the strangest feeling that something important had to happen, and then he could finally let go.
She had stayed in her dorm for four days. Didn't she get bored?
Immediately he winced. She wouldn't be bored-she would be grieving. He ran his fingers through his hair and shoved his hands in his pockets. He encountered a piece of parchment and drew it out, confused as to where it had come from. It was the letter from yesterday, the one that had supposedly burned to ashes. How had it gotten in his robes?
He shrugged and put it down on his desk. The door to his room opened and he turned in surprise. Nobody knew the passwords to the Heads' Rooms except Lily, and she wasn't likely to come see him. Aside from that, all his friends thought he was in Hogsmeade.
It was Peter. He crept into the room quietly and saw James. He froze and opened his mouth slightly, not saying anything. Then, he backed away and shut the door, and James shut his eyes, wondering if he had even been there in the first place. He shook his head and forgot about it.
He still wanted to see Lily.
He frowned and got up, heading back to the common room. He encountered few people on the way because dinner was going on. He reached the portrait in record time and she raised an eyebrow, brushing a hand over her pink dress.
"Password?"
He swore violently. "I don't know it."
She shook a finger at him. "No entry."
"You know I belong in there!" he burst out. "Now let me in!"
"I'm sorry, my dear, but no one gets in without a password!"
"Well then-"
The portrait suddenly swung open and James froze in mid-sentence.
"What are you doing here, James?" Lily asked tiredly, her eyes drooping.
"I wanted to talk to you," he said.
She shook her head and pressed her fingertips to her temples. "Not now."
James cocked his head to the side and regarded her with a curious gaze. She looked impeccable aside from the rings under eyes and the slight redness that told him she had been crying. Her clothes were absolutely perfect.
"Could you move? I haven't eaten since lunch yesterday. I'm already late for dinner."
Just then, a rush of students came up behind James, signaling the end of the dinner hour. Lily groaned and stepped aside as people began to rush through the portrait. She looked slightly lost and James grabbed her hand, pulling her through the portrait hole.
"Stop-"
"We'll go get you food," he said gently, and she fell quiet. He led her down to the kitchens and ticked the pear. He pulled open the portrait and was immediately attacked by a group of house elves. He set them to work preparing a full plate of warm food for Lily and it was before her in only ten minutes. She picked at it and James glared at her. She caught his fiery gaze and finally began to eat in earnest.
When she finished and was toying with her fork, she looked up at him. "Thanks."
He smiled. "Anytime."
She shut her eyes for a second before holding out a something to him. He took it and read it, setting it down after he finished.
"What are you going to do until January?"
She looked down at her hands. "I guess…I think I'll go home," she said. "Stay with my dad for a few months. I'll travel a bit…go to America. I guess I'll stop in to see Emily. She sent me this great letter." Lily smiled slightly at the memory and then looked up at him. "Then I'll come back here. They only need to me to teach from January until July and then Flitwick's coming back."
James handed her the letter. "Give Emily my love," he said stiffly.
She took it from him with trembling fingers and frowned, standing quickly. "I will," she said quickly, heading towards the door. She paused. "Is that all?"
He nodded and she shrugged, smiling bitterly. "Okay then. I'll see you around, James."
He stared after as she left, his brows etched in consternation. There was something about her-something jaded. Her mother dying at this point in time was probably the worst thing for her. She had lost her sweetness and gained a sharp edge.
I'd better watch myself or I'm going to get sliced to pieces.
--
______________________________
June 28, 1978
______________________________
Sirius and Remus decided to have a chat halfway through the next day and they sat down in their dorm, having locked the doors already and told Peter to come up. While they were waiting for him, Sirius glanced at Remus and smiled slightly.
"You and Maria okay?"
Remus shrugged. "We're fine." He shifted. "We're not in it for the long run." He sighed. "You should have just stayed with her and saved her the trouble of dealing with me."
Sirius sighed and shook his head. "Remus, Remus, Remus," he said. "You haven't shagged her yet, have you?"
Remus rolled his eyes and the doorknob turned. He pointed his wand at it and opened it. Peter poked his head in and shut it behind him, sitting down on his bed next to Sirius.
Remus locked the door and turned to his two friends. "All right. Something needs to be done."
Peter frowned. "About what?"
Sirius hit him hard upside the head. "Prongs and Lily, you git," he said exasperatedly. He looked at Remus. "I swear, one day I'm going to-"
"That's enough," Remus said sternly. "You both need to sit on opposite sides of the bed."
Sirius and Peter moved, still glaring at each other.
"As I was saying," Remus continued, "we can't exactly interfere-"
"I think we should," said Sirius. "I mean…they aren't going to get together without our help-"
"But if we push too hard," Remus interrupted, "we'll ruin everything. Perhaps…perhaps irreparably."
"You don't really know that," said Sirius. "For all we know, it could work like a charm. We can ask Maria to talk to Lily…she's got to have a reason to get back together with James by now-"
Remus shifted and crossed his arms. Sirius froze and narrowed his eyes. "What do you know, Moony?"
Remus shrugged. "Nothing. Did you find anything in his room, Peter?"
Peter nodded his head fervently. "I went in yesterday but he was there and I just left-he didn't even say anything. I went back today and found this." He pulled out a letter from his pocket and smoothed it out, handing it to Remus. He took it and read it.
"I don't get it," he said. "What is this?"
Sirius snatched it and skimmed it. The blood drained from his face. "James is an idiot," he said softly. "He's joined the Order of Light."
"Could you explain what that is and why it's so bad?" Remus asked impatiently.
"It's a secret order. It's not known by the general public but most Dark families know about it." Sirius smiled bitterly. "So of course any Black knows about it. Dumbledore and the Ministry know. See-they teach their members spells that have been specially formulated to work against the Dark. They go all around the world and fight evil-but they're not the cleanest organization. There's been some scandal about how they kill members if they become a threat-"
"Merlin," Remus said, feeling sick. "So he's joined?"
"It's binding," Sirius whispered. "Unless they let him go he can't ever leave. And if he doesn't show up for training now-I think he'll die."
Remus frowned. Despite his promise to Maria, he had been toying with the idea of telling James anyway and facing the consequences. Now it was impossible-he would stay if he found out about the baby, and then he would die. Remus sighed.
"You know something," Sirius said again. "What is it?"
"Lily…Lily's got a secret."
"She's nutters," Sirius muttered. "If she were sane she wouldn't have made this mess in the first place."
"She's hormonal," Remus corrected.
Sirius's head shot up. "What?"
"She's pregnant," Remus clarified. Peter gasped and Sirius jumped up.
"All right. The bitch is going to have a little chat with us, right now."
"Don't be crude," Remus said crossly, grabbing Sirius's arm and pulling him down. "You can't tell James and you can't tell Lily you know. Maria told me not to tell you even but I guess I've got to."
"So let me get this straight," Sirius said bitterly. "She finds out she's pregnant, finds out he's an Amoris, breaks up with him-and then doesn't tell him he's going to be a father?
"I think she found out after," Remus said quietly. "And you can't tell James because then he'll stay. He's given his word to this thing in Italy-if he breaks it he'll be screwed. If Lily doesn't want to tell James she doesn't want to tell him. She's obviously decided to do this by herself."
"So we just let it go?" asked Sirius disbelievingly.
Remus paused. "Yes," he said after a moment, "we just…let it go."
--
_____________________________
June 30, 1978
_____________________________
James surveyed the Gryffindor common room with a look of extreme distrust on his face. It was full of people dancing, drinking, and celebrating the end of the school year as he had never seen before. In seven years at Hogwarts, he had not seen a celebration such as this one.
"Get your arse down here!" yelled Sirius, lifting a bottle of some unknown substance towards James. He grabbed it and walked down the rest of the stairs.
"If McGonagall comes in here-"
"Don't be a spoilsport," Sirius said instantly. "And drink that," he added absently, staring out at the crowd of people.
James downed the rest of the bottle, shaking his head as the whisky burned his throat. He felt slightly dizzy but then the world righted itself and he grinned at Sirius. "Thanks," he said gratefully. "I needed that."
"We've got one night left. Enjoy it."
James winced. There was only one way he could enjoy this night, and the thoughts were too lewd to share with Sirius. "I will."
He spotted Lily standing uncomfortably over by the fireplace, her arms crossed over her chest, glowering out at the crowd. She grabbed a bottle from a sixth year's hand and snapped something at him. He scurried away, terrified, and Lily swallowed some of the drink. She spat it out and put it down on the floor.
James frowned and then laughed when someone kicked over the bottle, splattering Lily's robes. She burst into a screaming fit and then ran upstairs. Moment later, she was ack in a new set of robes, fit to kill.
She barreled into him.
James grabbed her arms, made sure she had steadied herself, and then dropped her arms like hot coals, stepping back.
She stared at him, her face red and her bottom lip caught between her teeth. James reminded so strongly of Patel-of
Adelaide-for a moment that he was staggered.
"Er…"
"Want to dance?"
She stared at him, dumbstruck. Her mouth opened on a refusal, he was sure, but then she snapped it shut and nodded shortly.
He took her wrist gently and she jangled slightly; he looked at her in askance.
She gave a little shrug and lifted the sleeve of her robes. He saw ten metal bracelets, red and orange, aligned on her right wrist. "I wanted to feel pretty," she said softly, her tone of voice somehow matching the slow tempo of the music.
He, of course, wanted to assure her that she was always pretty, but he wasn't precisely sure what would happen if he did.
She clasped her hands behind his neck and he placed his hesitantly on her waist. They stood, an arm's length apart, shifting from foot to foot in a parody of a dance.
When the song ended they stood staring at each other for a moment before she smiled tightly. "Thanks, James," she said, very quietly.
He gave her a weary nod and walked away.
"Wait!" she said, something desperate underlying her voice. He paused and turned back.
"Let's have another dance." She hesitated before adding. "For old times' sake."
He locked his eyes on hers and shrugged, moving closer. He took her hand again and smiled at the jangle of her bracelets as he pulled her slightly closer.
"Is this okay?" he asked tentatively.
She smiled tremulously. "It's fine."
The only difference in their positions was that James's hands were now wrapped fully around her waist.
One more dance became two, two became three, three became four. Each dance saw them moving steadily closer to each other, until they were as close as they could possibly be, hanging on to each other for dear life. They never changed their slow pace, even when the dancers around them were moving quickly to the beat the two of them did not hear.
There was a crash. Lily tried to pull away but James held tight, knowing this would most probably never happen again.
"I should go see…"
"Sirius will do something," James said hoarsely.
She shook her head. "This is wrong…" She looked up at him. "When are you leaving? For that job?"
"Tomorrow," he said quietly. "I'm…I'm going to Italy."
That tattoo on his arm burned and he winced. He knew what it was: a warning not to say anything else.
"Why Italy?"
He shrugged. "I'm half Italian. I wanted to see my roots." In truth, he wanted to work out where he was going to live and what he was going to do in Italy until his training began. If he stayed in England, he would only be closer to Lily, and the temptation to see her would be even harder to resist.
She gave him a half-smile and his spirits lifted slightly.
"Well-" She made to turn away but he quickly caught her wrist for no particular reason at all. He held tight and he felt something crack under his hand just as she winced. He snatched his hand away, fearing he had hurt her, and lifted her sleeve.
Something metal crumbled and fell to the floor. Only eight of her bracelets were left; two lay broken, embedded in the thick rug that blanketed the common room floor. There was a small scratch on her wrist that was oozing blood where the metal had cut her.
Without thinking, he brought her wrist up to his mouth and kissed the spot right near her cut before pressing his thumb over it and applying pressure. He pulled it away a moment later and aside from the small smear of blood, he had stemmed the flow.
"I think this is pointless," she breathed, as a slower song began to blare out from the walls.
"What?"
"Us, dancing around each other…" Lily winced as she caught the pun but said nothing about it. Neither did he. She looked up at him, her eyes clear but sad. "We both know I love you to pieces-"
"And I love you-"
"So what are we trying to avoid?" she said breathlessly.
He frowned and pulled her tightly to him. She rested her head on his shoulder and sighed, sagging against him with relief. They remained like that until people began to leave for their dorms.
They finally pulled away and looked at each other, faces flushed.
"One night," she whispered. "We have one night."
"It won't change anything," he warned after a moment.
She looked down. "Of course."
He leaned forward and kissed her softly, tasting the drink she had spat out earlier, and then he took her hand and led her out of the common room, to their last night together for a long time.
--
Maria, Remus, and Sirius were splayed out on top of Sirius's bed, a bowl of pepperimps between them and bottles of butterbeer in their hands. It made the most interesting combination. The awkwardness between Maria and Sirius had not been dispelled, but they had decided to put it aside in their interest of the last night they would ever have together, even as friends.
"Shouldn't you two be shagging each other senseless right now?" asked Sirius after a pause in the conversation.
Maria rolled her eyes but Remus flushed.
"You still haven't? You're bloody mad."
"You're both leaving tomorrow," Maria said. "What's the point of sleeping together and getting attached if he's just going to leave? It's been what-a week and a half since Remus and I started dating?"
"You and Remus are pretty attached from where I'm standing," Sirius said under his breath, but they both heard him anyways.
"I'm right here," Remus interrupted.
"Where's James?" Maria asked, changing the subject.
Sirius frowned and looked over at his friend's bed, which was empty. "You know what, I don't know. I went downstairs a second ago and everyone was gone."
Remus frowned. "Then where is he? Maria, what's wrong? Why are you so quiet all of a sudden?"
Maria closed her eyes, a contented smile on her face. "Isn't it obvious? James is with Lily."
"How do you know that?" Remus queried.
Maria kicked him lightly in the shin and entwined her hand with his. "If you were still in love with your ex-girlfriend and you knew she was still in love with you, what would you do on the last night you're likely to see her?"
"Ah," said Remus. "I get it."
Sirius let out a laugh. "They'll end up together in the end. You know they will."
Maria looked worried all of a sudden. "But…the end of what?"
Sirius and Remus exchanged worried glances, knowing trouble was ahead.