To all the readers of my previous story, I have not given up on it, in fact the first chapter for the sequel to The Sparrow's Pearl will be up within this next week. I just wanted to put my feelers out to see if anyone had an interest in reading this story. If you like it, let me know!

A young woman sat at the window seat facing the drive leading up to the house. The house itself was a remarkable structure, a large sprawling mansion; it stood at the top of a hill overlooking extensive grounds that were bordered by both a large lake and extensive woods.

A flock of birds suddenly erupted from a tree and the young woman looked hopefully in that direction but it was only for want of different scenery the birds moved at all. The young woman sagged in the seat and returned to her book. The book seemed uninteresting and as normal as a book could get. The young woman who was reading it however was an entirely different matter.

She was tall, though it couldn't really be seen as she was sitting, her legs wrapped gracefully around her. She sat with the poise of one who spent much time in her youth perfecting it. Her long dark brown hair was wrapped into a loose bun so that some tendrils had escaped and now framed her face as if she had spent hours in front of the mirror. Her strikingly blue eyes stood out of her well tanned face and accentuated the beauty that seemed to radiate from her. This girl however, was even more extraordinary than just her elegance. She was a witch.

"Tea Missus?" offered a young house elf, "Still hot. Saved you some dinner if you'd like. It's your favorite."

The girl turned away to face the house elf and smiled, "Thanks Dotty."

She reached for the steaming tea and looked back out the window.

"Missus," said the elf looking sadly at her young mistress, "It's late, you must eat something."

The young woman simply shook her head, "I can't Dotty, I'll wait until he comes home."

She wrapped the overlarge sweater she was wearing tighter around her and smiled at the comforting smell. Her brother was always there when her mind started to "think too much" as he always said. Not tonight however. Tonight he was off with Lily.

A soft pop caused her head to snap towards the tree again to see a tall young man with his coat flung over his shoulder start to saunter up the drive. She smiled and reopened her book. She only had a few moments before-

BANG

The great front door hit the wall and she could hear echoing footsteps coming closer and closer to the library.

The double doors exploded open and in sprang an equally as handsome young man as the girl was beautiful.

'Alas, my idiot brother has returned.'

"Kayleigh! I'm in love!" he shouted as he plopped down next to her, his green eyes glowed in permanent mischief.

"Yes you've mentioned," said Kayleigh rolling her eyes in amusement.

"Come one Kayls, I just had a magnificent evening with my dear Lily flower and have no one to share it with except you."

"James," she said softly, "Mum and Dad aren't back yet."

James instantly sobered seeing his sister's worried look.

"Kayls, if anything were seriously wrong Dumbledore would've come to see us." James assured her, "That my sweater?"

Kayleigh smirked, "Yup. Mine was still dirty from Quidditch."

James chuckled, "I still think the last goal you charmed."

Kayleigh laughed looking out the window thinking of past Quidditch games. Both Kayleigh and James were legendary Quidditch players at school. Kayleigh, a chaser, and James, a seeker had helped their team to the Quidditch cup the past three years in a row.

Another small pop made both Potters jump; a thin figure ran up the drive and rang the doorbell shifting form one foot to another. Kayleigh quickly stood up and walked downstairs toward the front door. James was about to follow when he saw the newspaper his sister had thrown on the table earlier that day. The number of deaths kept going up. Death eater attacks were expected anywhere; no one was safe.

James ran a hand through his messy hair. His posture was the same as his sister's but unlike hers, his hair never gracefully framed his face, instead it resembled the look of someone who had just jumped off a broom. HE stood at the top of the stairs and watched his sister carefully talking to the guest.

"I discovered your furry little problem third year, your patronus is a wolf."

"Your patronus is a coyote and I was really the one to curl Filche's hair while you got detention."

Kayleigh opened the door for Remus as James quickly walked down the stairs.

"Sorry Remus, Dumbledore's orders."

"No problem, my mum makes me do the same," he replied, Remus looked around the empty house, "Your parents not back either?"

Kayleigh shook her head trying not to show her concern but James could see it in her eyes, as could Remus, yet neither brought attention to it.

Remus sighed, "I got tired of sitting alone."

The three walked towards an overly large living room where a large fire was burning in the fireplace, Kayleigh curled up on the end of a couch, her head resting on the armrest and her book laying open before her.

"Heard from Sirius lately?" asked Remus sitting in front of the fire.

"Says the women in France are plentiful and cannot resist his English charm,"

Remus sniggered, "Can always count on Sirius to find women wherever he goes."

James laughed but it soon became quite again as the three sat trying to keep their minds off the dangerous mission their parents were on. Kayleigh fiddled with the dials on the radio as the announcer was reading the names of the witches and wizards killed that day.

Finally frustrated with the intense silence in the room, James pulled out a deck of exploding snap and dealt to Remus.

"Your date with Lily went well then?" Remus asked with a knowing smile.

Lily and James had been a couple since their sixth year. Lily had finally succumbed to James incessant flirtations and declarations of love. James still managed to find a way to talk about her as if it was the first time he had ever set eyes on her.

James and Remus spent the next two hours playing exploding snap and talking about the new training methods James had picked up from the muggles.

James looked towards Kayleigh who had remained quiet throughout their games to see she was fast asleep. Her face was showing the worry that she had tried so desperately to hide while she was awake. James sighed wearily causing Remus to look towards Kayleigh.

"Poor thing," commented Remus.

"She hasn't been getting any sleep with all the raids lately," James slowly stood up, "Give me a second Mooney. Let me put her to bed."

Remus watched as James carefully pulled the book from her hand and gently scooped her in his arms. It was touching to see how much James cared for his younger sister, it was clear that while James loved Lily, he still loved Kayleigh in a special way.

James considered putting his sister in her own bedroom which was directly across the hall from his, but she seemed too vulnerable tonight. The way she clung to both him and the sweater as a lifeline made James worry. This was a sharp contrast to the fun loving Marauder who didn't have a care in the world. James brought her instead to his room and gently laid her on his bed. A pang of guilt flashed through him as he watched his sister who was clearly having a bad dream. He sat down next to her and rubbed her back like their mother would do when they wouldn't sleep. James hadn't been there for his sister when she needed him and it hurt him in a way nothing else could. HE sighed and kissed his sister on the forehead and went back downstairs to keep Remus company.

James plopped down on the floor next to Remus who looked at him with a sad smile but chose not to brooch the subject.

"Have you planned the beginning of the year prank yet?"

James smiled knowingly, Remus might act like a responsible and innocent student, but he was just as much of a prankster as any of the Marauders. Just as James was about to explain the intricacies of the plan he and Kayleigh had laid out, a loud wailing cut its way through the night. James jumped up and pulled out his wand followed by Remus. Remus's grip tightened as the door slowly opened.

"Five sixteen and five thirty two."

Remus looked towards James who relaxed as the body of his father wearily came through the door.

"It's when we were born." James explained, "Bloody hell Dad you…uh… you-"

"James? Everything ok?" cam a tired voice from the balcony, "The alarm."

"Sorry sweetheart, your mom and I just-"

"Oh thank God you're home!" breathed Kayleigh quickly walking down the stairs to give her father a hug, "It was getting late and I didn't want to go to bed without making sure you were home."

Thomas Potter smiled at his daughter, "Your mother and I are back, we are both perfectly fine, just forgot where the boundaries were."

Thomas Potter was a handsome man who stood almost six feet tall, much like his son but his eyes, were bright blue like his daughter's.

"Ah there you are Remus," came the kind voice of Karen Potter, "Your mother will be worried sick. Come on I'll bring you home. Death Eaters are everywhere tonight."

Remus waved to James and gave Kayleigh a quick hug and quickly followed Mrs. Potter out the door. Mrs. Potter was an extremely kind person but it was best to do what she said as quickly as possible, her daughter was almost exactly the same way.

"Go on up to bed Kayleigh, you look like you haven't gotten a wink of sleep." Thomas said looking worriedly at his daughter.

Kayleigh nodded and gave her father a quick hug before trudging back up the stairs again.

James looked towards his father, "Rough night?"

Thomas shook his head, "Voldemort is gaining more and more support every day. It seems as if every death eater we apprehend another five take his place. The order simply does not have enough people at its disposal to cover enough ground."

"Can't the Ministry help at all?" offered James.

"The Ministry is so infiltrated at the moment, we can trust no one."

Karen Potter reentered the house and saw James still talking to his father, but Kayleigh was nowhere to be seen.

"Kayls gone to be already?" she asked looking at her husband in concern.

James nodded, "Yeah, she's been reading a bunch lately, and that always makes her tired. I should probably be going to bed. Night mum." He said kissing his mother gently on the check.

As James opened the door to his bedroom he was not surprised to see Kayleigh curled up in the middle of his bed fast asleep. James shook his head as he pulled on his pajama pants and shirt. Even in her sleep she was worried. He couldn't wait until they got back to school where she would be surrounded by the rest of the Marauders and Lily. Even her constant bickering with Sirius would distract her from the seriousness of the rest of the world.

James crawled into bed and was careful to give his sister enough space. His sister was not one for affection; tonight had been rare that she had even given hugs. While she was a truly caring person, she was often reluctant to show her affection in physical form such as hugs and kisses which was why several relationships had not worked out.

James was nevertheless surprised when he felt his sister cuddle up next to him, but James simply smiled and wrapped his arms around her. He couldn't be with his sister every night, but he would be there for her now.

Let me know if you would like to read more! Any review is welcome even if you totally hate this story.