Moria stirred as she felt a pair of arms wrap around her. She smiled into the pillow before cracking one eye open, trying to see him through the mass of brown hair covering her face. She couldn't help but shift and release a soft laugh as she felt a kiss on her bare shoulder.

"Your five o'clock shadow is scratchy, Mr. Black." She murmured and heard Sirius chuckle.

"It makes me manly Ms. Prescott, and you know it." he teased pulling her close to him and she made no attempt to fight.

"Love you." She murmured out.

"Love you too." He said kissing her shoulder again and she smiled.

"So how did your mission go? You got back pretty late." She said finally turning around. He sighed and ran a finger across her cheek.

"It went fine…no casualties on our side. A few on the other and we managed to catch a few." He said. She looked at him.

"That's good."

"Yeah…so how are the plans for the wedding going?"

"Perfectly fine. Lily finally got Madge's dress, and no, I'm not telling you what it looks like. I know you and you'll try and tell James." She stated and he rolled his eyes before kissing her forehead. Moria smiled. A little bit later they were getting dressed, Moria making some breakfast. Sirius was standing at the doorway, staring at her as she went to grab a box to make oatmeal.

Merlin, did she look lovely. Even if she was wearing one of his shirts and a pair of boxers, her hair pulled back messily into a ponytail, the morning light that was streaming ever so slightly from the window from the living room gave her a delicate glow. She turned around about ready to make some tea but stopped and blinked when she saw him.

"What?" she said, a blush growing on her face. He said nothing, just smiled as he walked up to her.

"I just realized how incredibly lucky I am to have you." He said, kissing her gently. She smiled returning the kiss, gripping his shirt with her hands.

"So…plans for tonight?" he asked and she smirked.

"Bachelorette party. I'm the designated driver." She murmured, making a soft sound as his mouth trailed her neck.

"Don't let the bride go wild…at least not without taking any photos." He joked.

"Oh please…I don't think the bachelorette party could be any worse than the bachelor party you, Remus, and Peter put James through." Moria stated. That had been a fun wake up call for Moria as four grown men apparating into the flat, piss-drunk, and the only one that had been slightly sober had been Remus, who passed out shortly after arriving. Likewise, Peter had no memory of trying to fly out of the window to which Moria had had to tie him to a chair, while James and Sirius took turns sharing the porcelain god throughout the night, and Moria had to stay up to make sure that they were all still breathing in the morning. Long story short, the next day all five of them were grumpy and moody.

Sirius grimaced. "…I'm definitely watering down the firewhiskey next time."

"Did Sirius Black actually learn a lesson? I'm shocked." Moria joked.

"Hey, all in all, it wasn't that bad."

"I seem to recall a rather loud, and angry call that we had to listen to from Lily when she found out that all four of you got tattoos. Though I must admit it was rather amusing to see antlers on James's back, a moon on Remus's back, and a rat's tail for Peter. Boy did Lily's face turn red for that. The paw print is adorable by the way." She teased, tapping the small paw print that was on his shoulder, and he glowered at her before picking her up and hoisting her over his shoulder. She gasped and looked down at him.

"Put me down." She said, trying hard to seem angry, but ultimately failing.

"Not without a price Ms. Prescott." He said looking at her with a grin and she laughed.

"And that would be?"

"Oh I've got an idea."

"Lily, come on. Stop worrying."

"But what if he gets cold feet?" Moria and Alice heard from behind the changing screen. They both rolled their eyes.

"Lily, come on. This is James. Remember? The boy who essentially stalked you throughout Hogwarts? And besides, if he does, Alice and I will hex him to bits." Moria stated, pulling at her dress.

"I know…but still…I'm nervous." Lily said as she walked out, thumbing the fabric of the dress. The heart shaped bodice of the strapless gown showed off strong, toned shoulders and arms, and glittered with a sprinkle of cut-glass beads. The skirt fell from a trim waist in soft ruches of taffeta accented with a few beads. Moria smiled.

"Besides…he'd have to be mad to get cold feet."

"Come on Prongs, Lily isn't going to be a runaway bride." Sirius stated as he attempted-again- to tie James's tie. And once again the tie became a lopsided bow with one side being completely larger than the other. James scowled.

"Easy for you to say, you and Moria have been going out for nearly four years. Lily and I have only been going out for a year and before that she pretty much hated my very existence." James grumbled. "I'd be mad not to at least expect that."

"I swear to Merlin, Prongs, one more word-"

"Are you trying to murder the groom? Because I think Lily would strongly oppose that." A feminine voice called out and both men turned to see Moria standing at the doorway, a slight smirk on her face. "And now I see why you two didn't wear your ties in school." she said and Sirius glared playfully at his girlfriend.

"Tying a tie is harder than it looks, Moria. There's-!" he began to say as she walked by him and then watched in mute shock as she effortlessly tied it to where it actually looked like a tie. She looked at him a playful smirk on her face.

"You were saying Mr. Black?" she teased as he walked up to her, trying to act angry but she could still see a mischievous look on his face.

"We'll talk about this back home." He growled out pulling slightly pulling on the sleeve of her dress pulling her to him.

"Keep it clean." James stated as he pulled on the dress robes.

"Yeah, yeah Prongs." Sirius joked, looking at his best friend amused. "Let's go and get you married."

Moria watched from a table in the yard as Lily and James danced around to the music. The wedding had gone off smoothly, no cold feet grooms or runaway brides. Moria glanced and smiled at James and Lily's parents who were off in their own corner smiling at their children, watching as Lily and James danced…well Lily danced. James looked like a deer on ice. Unfortunately Petunia Evans had not arrived or had even answered her sister's invitation which for Alice and Moria was an insult. But they had kept their mouths shut. Petunia had only met each of the other girls once. Alice for a brief time, Moria for a bit longer…and boy had Moria gotten her impression.

Petunia Evans, well actually now Petunia Dursley, hated anything associated with the wizarding world. Her husband did as well. She had met Vernon once as well. Not only did he try to force her to buy drills from him, but the way he tried to dominate her own decisions made her EXTREMELY uncomfortable. She had never been happier when Lily had decided to leave and all but dragged Lily out the door of her sister's home. In all honesty she was glad neither of the couple had shown up, knowing Petunia she would have been difficult just to get attention.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a hand closing on hers. She looked up and smiled at Sirius.

"Hey."

"Hello beautiful. Have I said you look incredibly sexy in that dress?" he asked kissing her cheek and she laughed.

"Yes you have, but it is getting you brownie points which I assume you want to use when we get back home." She stated.

"And here I thought in weddings the bridesmaids all had hideous dresses." He teased and she grinned.

"Heh. I'm the last of the three not married, Sirius. Lily doesn't want to end up in a hideous bridesmaid gown." She said, not noticing Sirius look at her as though examining her. She was busy staring at the new married couple with a sense of peace. Maybe this was proof that in the future, good would happen.

Maybe good wasn't too far away.

Bryn blinked wearily as she woke up in the back of the alleyway to the sounds of wailing. Dimly she crawled over to the cardboard box, shifting the blanket to soothe the boy who was lying in it. She smiled slightly as he blinked, looking at her and then offering a large smile, giggled. The smell of food suddenly appeared. She was near a garbage dump from a local store. Chances were that there was some stale food. Which she did find. She slid down onto the ground, nibbling on the stale bread and pulled a newspaper near her to both act as a placemat and for her to something to read. After eating, she lifted Geoffrey out of his "bassinet" and began to nurse him. She smiled bleakly.

She didn't know who his father was. She probably would never know. All she knew was that it had been a dark, new moon night, and that all she could remember was pain, blood, and screaming. Nine months later, the same repeated, only this time it produced life in the blood. So many people would have been bitter about the child. But she could never blame this child. Never. He didn't have a choice. And he was her miracle. He would always be her miracle. Dimly she glanced at the newspaper page as Geoffrey continued to slurp down his food. She was thankful to see it was about recent marriages. Anything cheerful and upbeat to make her mind forget about all the pain she was going through. All the pain she was putting her son through. She glanced at the names and went down the list. She stopped on the middle section, her eyes widening at the two names and then the picture next to it.

"James Potter marries Lily Evans."

Lily married James? Bloody hell, the last time she had seen them they hadn't even been dating. She continued to scan the picture to try and see her friends. She saw Moria and Sirius who extremely close to each other…were those two together as well? Alice was next to Frank in the background. She then spotted Remus and felt her heart crack. He still looked the same, a few years older. He still had that cheerful yet peaceful grin on his face. He hadn't changed a bit.

But she had.

She looked down as Geoffrey shifted, rubbing his face with his tiny hands. She smiled softly, kissing his forehead, as she tried to make him more comfortable. How long could she do this? How long could she protect her son? She didn't know that. She barely knew what the next day would bring. She swallowed as she helped Geoffrey burp, and then settled him down on her lap, humming softly as she brushed her fingers across his golden fringe and allowed her mind to wander.

A phrase echoed in her mind that time healed all wounds. And while that may have been true for most people, for her it wasn't.

In anything time didn't heal her wounds…

Only created new ones.

Cepheus sighed as he flipped through another newspaper article, another muggle newspaper from 1965. It seemed that muggle newspaper articles about shows were the only thing he could find any evidence of his elder sister. He had seen pictures of his sister in previous newspaper articles and had already made the connection between Mable and Moria. That brunette woman that he saw in the hospital room was indeed his niece. A part of him was glad that his sister had had a child, a child free of his family. But there was one thing he couldn't figure …something that had been bothering him in the back of his mind. Why hadn't Mable contacted them when she had discovered Moria's witch abilities? Sure they hadn't talked…their relationship strained and broken in the last remaining years that Madge had lived at home and even though their parents had disowned her, they had still kept Mable's account at Gringotts open. That would have given them some reason to meet their niece or granddaughter. Or better yet, why hadn't Moria asked them when she had found out their last names? Surely she knew that the name Ellesmere was rare in the Wizarding world. Unless Mable had made everyone believe that she was a muggle, or-

He didn't look up when he heard footsteps, thinking it was merely Laurentia, Cora, and Marigold.

"Hi Honey, I'll come help you in a few minutes. Going to finish with this paper." He said. However he was forcibly pulled out of his thoughts and finally looked up when a rough hand yanked him up. He was staring face to face with an enraged Wulfric. Looking behind his elder brother's shoulder, he could see his ENTIRE family was behind Wulfric, staring at the room that was filled with newspaper articles, files, and Merlin knew what else. His parents Fillius and Alcmene, his sister Mathilde, his sister's husband Astrix, Wulfric who now looked about ready to beat his face in, Wulfric's wife Carina and behind all that who looked to be trying to shove the others away, Laurentia were in there.

"Didn't know there was going to be a bloody family reunion. Where are the kids? Surely they should be allowed into this joyous occasion." he asked coolly.

"They're outside with your daughters, you bastard." Wulfric growled out as Laurentia finally managed to get to Cepheus's side and glared at Wulfric.

"How dare you come in here and call my husband that!" she hissed out. Wulfric looked at her.

"I told him to leave his suspicions alone! Does this look like leaving it alone?!" he spat out throwing his arms up in the air. The remaining of the family all looked at Cepheus, betrayal blatant on their faces. But this time he stood his ground.

"I wanted to know what happened to Mable. I'm not denying that. It would be cowardly to deny it. Just like you are." Cepheus explained. "You are a coward Wulf." He said evenly and saw his brother's face turn a shade of red that he didn't even know existed. "You were there Wulfric, you saw Moria. She had Mable's face, her eye shape, bloody hell even the same type of wavy hair. You're the auror here. You figured it out before you even left the hospital room! If this had been any other case you would have looked over her record in seconds." He said glaring at his family.

"You might have wiped your hands of her, our 'dirty little secret'; that the Ellesmere's had a squib for their daughter. But I wasn't. I couldn't. She wasn't an outcast. Not to me. She NEVER was. She was my older sister." Cepheus stated looking at his family angrily. "And wouldn't you know it, my suspicions were true." He said finally looking at Wulfric, whose face paled.

"Moria Althea Prescott was born June 16, 1960 in the Royal London Hospital at 3:30 in the morning to Maarten Prescott and Mable Prescott nee Ellesmere." Cepheus said and he could feel everyone besides his wife stiffen and saw some of them go slack jaw in shock. "Still think I'm stupid?" Cepheus stated moving away from Wulfric. He then pulled up the most recent newspaper but before he handed it to his brother saw something that caught his eye He stopped and began to read the article barely hearing his wife now berate the entire family for intruding on their home and then causing grief.

As he read on, his heart dropped and he felt as though he had been physically punched in the gut. His vision faded and he heard his family now calling out at him frantically and felt Laurentia suddenly guide him down to the couch, calling his name repeatedly until he returned to the real world and saw his family had now swarmed him.

"Cepheus?!"

"Sweetheart what's wrong?"

"Son?!" he heard his parents finally call out and felt someone wrench the newspaper out of his hand. He tried to speak but was fairly certain that if he did, that he would most likely puke. Wulfric looked at his brother in concern. What had changed his brother's emotions so quickly? The same thought must have traveled and permeated into the others minds as well because they swarmed around Wulfric to try and read the article.

What they saw shocked them.

Horrific Car Crash Kills 2, Orphans Child

And as they read on about the scene of the accident, the stark image of a mangled car was center in the picture, showing where the car had smashed into the side of the hill after falling off the road. The man had been killed immediately, his neck broken. The woman had survived for about thirty minutes after the crash before passing as well. Their child in some miracle had somehow survived with only minor scratches and bruises. And at the bottom of the page, they saw why Cepheus had nearly passed out.

Staring back at them with a matching pair of glowing smiles was a man with brown hair and brown eyes…

And their daughter, their sister, their Mable in the pictures of the parents deceased.

Dead.

Gone.

SO AN INTRODUCTION TO BRYN'S SON GEOFFREY (A NEW CHARACTER :) TEEHEE)