"Peter, mate, think you could squeal any louder up there, then? You're a bloody Marauder, man; act like one. Grow a pair, yeah?" A few disconcerting creaks and cracks followed, along with another squeal from Peter. Sirius huffed, and continued, "Oi! There's a piece of wood just by your foot; use it to pull yourself back up."

"Levitate me," Peter moaned, grunting.

"Misplaced my wand, sorry," he stated, nonchalantly.

I frowned at my cottage after hopping out of my car, reaching into the back seat for the two gallon buckets of sky blue paint I had just purchased for the kitchen. Leaving my three friends alone had been a dubious act on my part, and I'm unashamed to admit that I agonized each minute of the hour I spent stopping from one shop to another for maintenance supplies.

James' hair was even more of a disaster than usual, as my ceaseless worry goaded him into his stressful habit of running his hands over and over through his hair. That helped my anxieties, though; rarely was he ever as sexy than when he mussed his hair. Nearly snogged him in front of the paint counter and the young, freckly teenager working the mixing machines.

"What do you suppose they're up to?" I asked James as he got out of the passenger's seat and quickly hurried around to take the paint cans from me. I got the rest of the materials out of the car and hurriedly dashed up the driveway. "Ooh, they'd better not be messing with my fireplace; I'll murder him good if Sirius has touched those mermaid moldings around it."

"Relax, love. Their voices are coming from the backyard, I think. And, what's with you and mermaids all of a sudden?" James asked, throwing me a bemused, lopsided smile as he hurried after me to the backyard.

"Nothing, but I happen to like those moldings. It adds charm to the living room," I sniffed. Honestly, I'd done nothing for the past three days defending every aspect of my new cottage to the four knuckleheads. "You lot have no imagination, that's what's your problem."

"Oh, Lily, it's all meant in lighthearted jest." My only reply was a gloomy frown. James stopped abruptly in front of me, setting the paint on the ground, and drew my chin up so I could meet his eyes, which had a tender quality to them suddenly. "Honestly, Lily. They're just teasing, you know that."

My frown dissolved and I met his worried eyes with a bright grin. "'Course I know that." I dropped my stuff and circled my arms around him waist, "And, I really appreciate you helping me repair a few things around here."

James winced after another particularly loud creak interrupted us. Then, his expression turned earnest and he entreated, "There's a really nice complex not five minutes from my flat. Very fancy, and very exclusive, but I can pull a few strings and have you moved in quicker than a snap of the fingers; get you out of this dump...Lily?"

I stared at him blankly for a moment, before my mouth stretched into a wide grin and I reached up to grab his lapels, pulling him down for a kiss. He hesitated at first, but then seemed to take the kiss as an acceptance to his suggestion, and soon returned it with fervor. I laughed delightedly into his mouth when he scooped me around the waist and twirled me, never breaking our contact.

Finally, he set me down, both of us breathing heavily. His hair was messier than ever, his alluring eyes bright and hopeful. Still grinning, I cupped his cheek with my hand. "James, darling," I sighed, then continued after a brief pause, "my cottage is not a dump." I lightly slapped his cheek and swooped down to pick up my supplies.

"Wha-," I heard him mumble dazedly, and, throwing a grin over my shoulder at him, he shook his head regretfully and said, "You've been spending too much time with Sirius. Devious, you are, my not-so-innocent Lily."

I laughed and trotted down the path leading to the backyard. I stopped mid-chuckle, though, when I took in the scene before me.

The cottage was only two stories, with a balcony wraparound along the back side. Below the balcony, there was a rectangular, wooden porch that connected to the kitchen door. I had envisioned getting a nice little table and chair set—perfect for a summer lemonade break, especially with the balcony offering shade directly above when the day got too hot. No where in my vision did I recall Peter Pettigrew's legs dangling from a large hole that had not been in my balcony before James and I left.

"What's all the noise out here—oh." Remus appeared out the kitchen door just as James and I turned to take in the scene, looking at the legs dangling in his face. Sirius, who had stooped down to inspect a weed patch across the yard, looked over his shoulder before he stood, an amused grin on his face.

"'M stuck," Peter's voice called out, muffled, kicking his feet.

James snorted, drawing my eye quickly to him, and then he began laughing, Sirius following soon after. Remus and I exchanged an eye roll, and I softly elbowed James, tutting.

I stepped forward, dropping the bags and patting around my body for my wand. Where'd I put that bugger?

"You alright, Peter?" I called up to him, walking over to Remus and Peter's legs.

"Fine," wheezed Peter. "A little uncomfortable..." Suddenly, his legs flailed about wildly. "Spider! Spider!" That set Sirius and James both off again, each bent down, resting their hands on their knees as they giggled uncontrollably like school girls. Remus and I began backing away from Peter's kicks, but I wasn't quick enough to dodge one sound kick directly at my face.

I let loose and very unladylike, and very loud, curse, stumbling back and clutching my nose. "Sorry! Did I get someone? There's a really big spider up here, guys...gah! It's coming closer!" Peter moaned.

"Lily?" James caught me as I stumbled back into him. Something hot and sticky was dripping down my face. "Damnit, Peter, she's bleeding." James whirled me around and pushed my hands away, cringing at the sight. My eyes were watering from the pain that shot up and down my nose, expanding across my whole face. "Get him down, Sirius. Remus, don't you know some healing spells? Lily, you alright, love?"

Through the blood pumping in my ears, I distantly heard Sirius call out a few enchantments and vaguely noticed Peter dropping to the ground, panting.

"James, you're going to need to let go of her, if you want me to fix her nose," Remus said calmly.

"I think it's broken," I mumbled miserably. Remus hesitantly reached around James—who hadn't released his tight grip on my shoulders—and pinched the part between my eyes. I winced violently and jerked back, "Urgh, don't touch it!"

"Remus!" snapped James defensively.

"Lily, pinch that section there; lean your head back. James, give me your jacket and—Merlin's sake, James, let go of her already," Remus sighed irritably.

"Have you done this before?" I asked worriedly, thankful the pain hadn't taken away my sense of self-preservation. Remus may have been the most level-headed of the bunch, but that didn't mean he knew the first thing about healing. Remus just smiled and pushed James' bunched-up jacket under my nose to try and stop the blood flow. I kept talking, uncertain whether or not they could understand my very muffled voice. "Use the resarcial spell. That—that should set the nose...or something...er, bone." The pain certainly wasn't doing justice for my healing knowledge. I began shaking nervously.

"Oh no, I'm sorry, Lily," I heard Peter say in the background.

"Actually," I said in a strained voice, sounding absolutely absurd while trying to fake a casual tone as I waved everyone away, "maybe I should just do it myself. Can someone find my wand? I can't seem to locate it..." I backed up, nearly tripping over some rusty furniture left over from the previous owner. James jerked forward and put his arm around my shoulder.

"Lily, dearest," he murmured into my hair, "stop being ridiculous. Remus is more than capable of simple healing spells. Right, Remus?"

"'Course," Remus replied, smiling gently as he pulled out his wand. "You can't imagine the amount of gashes and concussions I've healed while on tour." He looked pointedly at Sirius, who blinked back with raised eyebrows, the picture of innocence.

"Any broken bones?" I asked dubiously, leaning into James for reassurance.

"Well, no," replied Remus, who quickly went on, "but it can't be too difficult."

I frowned deeply. Sirius sauntered over just as I took the jacket away from my face. "Cor, Lily, you look like the Bloody Baron," he remarked, stuffing his hands into his pocket casually.

I opened my mouth to tell him off, but Remus jumped in with a wave of his wand and a spell confidently rolling off his tongue. A jet of blue light pelted me in the face, and I closed my eyes, feeling the air stir around me, ruffling my hair. Moments later, the air stilled and all was silent.

Then, "Bloody hell, Remus!"

My eyes flew open, and I turned my head to look worriedly at James, who was glaring daggers at Remus—who rubbed his neck sheepishly. Sirius and Peter began giggling, Sirius holding a hand to his forehead and shaking his head as the laughter shook his frame.

"What?" I demanded, wincing at the persistent pain in my nose. Obviously the spell hadn't worked. "Nose is still broken, but I think the blood flow stopped," I said, my voice picking up with optimism.

"Remus," James said in a very weird, high-pitched tone, "maybe you should, uh, just try another spell. Quickly."

"Uh," Remus said, mouth opening and closing. "I think...well, do we still have any of our spell books handy?"

"I've got some healing books in my car," I offered, pinching my nose again, my eyes squinting over at Sirius and Peter. "What is so funny?"

"Nothing," James jumped in before either could answer. I gave them both a hard stare before turning back to Remus.

"I have some of my healing books in my car," I repeated to him, pulling his arm towards the side of the house. "Come on."

James quickly darted ahead of us, "I'll get them, Lily. Why don't you go inside and sit down?" He was gone quicker than I could reply.

Inside the cottage was even dustier than the first day I had shown them around. Peter, who had finally ceased giggling, sneezed immediately. I sat down on an upended milk crate that had once held some cleaning supplies, her eyes darting towards the ceiling when another groaning creak sounded suddenly.

"This place is worse than the Shrieking Shack," observed Sirius, looking around rather haughtily.

"No, it's not," remarked Remus matter-of-factly.

Sirius looked over at me and said, grinning, "I think I ought to tell you, Lily, you've got something in your hair."

I made a noncommittal tone, lifting a few strands to reach my line of vision. Then, I blinked. And blinked again. Vaguely, I saw Remus slowly back away. I grabbed a chuck of hair, pulling it to my face and blanched. "What did you do!?" I shouted at Remus, tearing my eyes away from my now electric-blue hair to his guilty face. I wanted to scream more at him, but the shouting hurt my nose, so I took a deep breath and settled for glaring.

"Sorry!" Remus pleaded, "I'm not sure what...what I did." Try as he might to maintain eye contact with me, his eyes kept darting to something above my head.

My face hardened suspiciously. "What?" I demanded quietly.

He didn't answer, but tried to smile reassuringly. Then, Sirius shoved a mirror in front of my face, and I got a clear glimpse of three bright pink tulips growing from the top of my head. I lowered the mirror and glowered at Remus.

A/N: Has the world truly ended? I finally update? Merry Christmas, kiddos! No idea when the next one will be, but I hope you enjoyed this astonishingly late update!