Disclaimer - I do not own Harry Potter because, if I did, there would be a lot more romance, fluff, drama and James. Simple as that.

AN - It's been ages but I can't be bothered apologising. I am sorry (oh, whoops) for the wait, but it couldn't be helped. I hope you stay with this story in spite of my inability to post anything remotely on time. ENJOY!

Last Time: Lily and James were finding it difficult to find the time to spend together; James, Sirius and Cat had started auror training and were making new friends; Remus was crushing on his trainee healer and Peter was generally unimportant. (Nothing big has happened... yet)

Chapter 3 - New Beginnings and an Ultimatum

It three am and Lily was wide awake. She had spent her entire Sunday pouring over muggle textbooks about the human body in preparation for her first day as an intern at St Mungo's Hospital. Her first day which was to officially commence in... Six hours. Lily groaned and rolled over, facing away from her alarm clock. It would be okay if she had any confidence in her future but, truth be told, Lily wasn't sure that healing was the profession for her and her lack of conviction and altogether motivation was really concerning her. With NEWTs at least she had had a goal. What if she was no good at healing? Sure, she had an aptitude for charms, from which many healing spells stemmed, and she was a dab hand at potions which would obviously come in handy but was it really what she wanted to do with her life?

The result of her worries was a restless night, which is something nobody wants the night before they start a new job.

In Diagon Alley James, too, was lying awake staring at the ceiling. He was anxious for his second week of auror training to begin. There had been an article in the Sunday edition of the Prophet that had severely disturbed him - an editorial that had actually been published about the importance of blood purity and maintaining the pure bloodlines in wizarding marriages. He was obviously worried for Lily's safety, but it was more than that. He didn't understand how people could actually think like that. How many people were going to be put in danger? How many were going to die?

These thoughts forced him out of his bed and into the kitchen of his shared flat.

Where he ran into Remus, who was sitting on the countertop eating a bowl of cereal.

"Moons? Cereal? It's three am."

"Yeah, can't sleep."

"Me neither."

"What's on your mind?" Remus asked, getting out a second bowl and passing James the box of Coco Pops.

"The usual - Lily, blood purity, Death Eaters, and basically our world going to hell in a hand basket, as Mum used to say," James sighed, "You?"

"A girl," Remus replied simply, "What's new with the Death Eaters?"

"It's not so much them as the people who support their ideals," James waved his hand dismissively. "A girl?"

"Yes, in spite of the fact that I am neat, intelligent and talk about my feelings with others, I am straight and therefore like girls," Remus intoned sarcastically.

"I know you do. Stop trying to change the subject. Who is she?" James said, slightly impatiently. "And, on a side note, if I was to question any Marauder's sexuality, it'd be Sirius' due to the abnormal amount of time he spends on his hair."

Remus chuckled slightly.

"Well?"

"Well, what?"

"Who is she?"

"Oh, well, her name is Laura-"

"Ooh, good name," James grinned.

"And I've only met her, what, twice?"

"A promising start," James interrupted again.

"She's an intern at St Mungo's so she's, you know, bright. And beautiful. She gave me my potions and whatnot, and last time I was in there we had a discussion about Shakespeare because she saw King Lear on my dresser-"

"That muggle poet guy that Lily likes? That's good."

"Anyway, it's stupid. She's practically my healer, I'm her patient. It wouldn't be ethical," Remus mumbled, stirring the dregs of his cereal dejectedly.

"Remus, mate, you're in there once a month for one night at the most. You're hardly a proper patient," James said, through a mouthful of cereal. "And I know you. It has nothing to do with her being your healer, does it? It's about the werewolf thing? Well, she already knows. It's not like she'll be surprised and drop you."

There was a pause.

"Sorry, didn't mean to be so harsh there," James said. Remus shrugged indifferently.

"It's just..."

James waited patiently.

"Just, I don't want to be another charity case. That's what I was to Claire and that went horribly. And I'm still not sure what went wrong with Anna, not that it matters, but let's face it, my relationships never work out. And how awkward would it be if I did go out with Laura then things didn't work out? I'd still have to see her every month, when I'm at my most vulnerable... I don't know..." Remus sighed heavily.

"Moony," James said bracingly, "You'll never know if you don't give it a go. What's the worst that can happen? It doesn't work out and it's a bit awkward. Nothing life-threatening. Just... Try to be optimistic," he offered.

Remus smiled slightly and set down is bowl of cereal.

"Thanks, Prongs. It's good advice. I wish I could help you out with yours but-" he sighed again, which James took to mean something hopeless about Death Eaters.

"No worries, I'm going to stay up and watch some muggle telly. Care to join me?"

"I think I'll be able to sleep now, but thanks anyway. Goodnight," Remus said, returning to his room.

I wonder what's on telly at three in the morning? James pondered as he slumped into the couch, physically and mentally drained but unable to sleep.

Maybe I should write Dad a letter? I haven't spoken to him in ages. And so James grabbed the notepad on the coffee table one of the pens Remus had bought for the flat ("because they're more convenient than quills, Sirius!") and began to write to his father.

Dear Dad,

What's new? I feel like we haven't spoken in ages. In spite of the fact that I've been training at the Ministry for a week, I still haven't run into you which makes me think you're probably away on a mission somewhere. But don't worry, Ringo will find you.

I suppose if you're away then you didn't read today's article in the Prophet? It was an editorial sent in by one of the readers about how pure-bloods should only marry other pure-bloods. And the Prophet published it!

I shouldn't be surprised, really. It was only a matter of time before someone in the Prophet gave in to their fear and published what Voldemort wanted published.

In other news, auror training is good. Hard work, I guess, but knowing that I'll be able to help properly at the end of training helps.

I've got some great people in my group, too, so it's not all bad.

Only thing is, I have hardly gotten to spend any time with Lily since we graduated. It's hard. I mean, it wasn't awkward when I saw her on the weekend, but it didn't feel like it did at Hogwarts. I feel sort of distant. It's weird. Did this ever happen to you and mum? I only ask because I really love her and I don't want to let us drift apart.

Wow, it must be the wee hours of the morning if I'm asking my dad for romantic advice! I think I'm ready for bed now.

I really hope you're safe, Dad. Write back if you have the chance.

James.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Nothing much, you?"

"You."

"I'm touched," Caradoc grinned, his smile dazzling Anna slightly.

The were currently on a boat in the middle of a large, glassy lake somewhere in Scotland. Anna had taken the day off work to floo to the training lodge where Caradoc was staying with the members of the Pride of Portree (he was trialling to see how he'd fit into the team). Since training was scheduled for that evening, the pair had decided to spend the day alone together just enjoying each other's company. Caradoc had planned on fishing - a muggle pastime that he had not tried before.

"No, but really. There's something I've been meaning to tell you for a while now," Anna said with a coy smile, although she was twisting her hands with anxiety all the same.

"You're not pregnant or anything, are you?" Caradoc joked.

"Oi! I don't look it, do I?" Anna hit him on the should, indignant.

"I'm kidding, Anna," he grinned.

"Hmm, well maybe I don't want to tell you what I was going to tell you now," she huffed.

"Oh, come on," Caradoc whined, "I was just kidding!"

"Well, okay, you've twisted my arm," Anna grinned, eager to get it out there. "I love you."

"You... wait, what?" Caradoc was genuinely lost for words.

"I love you, you nut. I don't know when it happened, but you've gone from that guy who I used to date, who used to be a bit of fun to a proper, genuinely-caring-about-us boyfriend. And I didn't realise it until the other night but I love you. I'm falling in love with you..." she trailed off. She hadn't meant to just blurt it out. She had wanted to work up to it with some dramatic pauses for effect. Usually your happy-go-lucky, in it for a laugh girl, not the serious one who got teary (which she certainly was now) when talking about her feelings, Anna was a bit surprised to find her stomach twisting itself in knots waiting for her boyfriend's response.

"Are you sure?" Caradoc asked, still mildly in shock.

Anna merely nodded solemnly, her boyfriend realising that he had been waiting for her to say those three words ever since he'd admitted that he was falling for her back in Dufftown before the Death Eater attack.

"I know I haven't said it to you because I didn't think you wanted me to. Because of the thing with Remus and our history and... Oh, bugger it, I love you too," he said passionately, leaning across and pulling her in for a mind-blowing kiss that left them both breathless.

"I don't know why I didn't say it sooner," Anna beamed. "I know I've never felt this way before. Just so happy and everything's okay as long as you're here."

"Oh, now, don't go getting mushy on me," Caradoc chastised jokingly. "That's not the Anna Brown I fell in love with."

Anna just rolled her eyes, "Oh, shut up and kiss me."

"There she is," Caradoc grinned before rolling so that he was effectively lying on top of Anna in the small boat.

Needless to say, not a lot of fishing got done that afternoon...

Sleep-deprived, nauseous and a little bit cranky, Lily arrived at St Mungo's five minutes before her orientation was due to start. She had been so nervous that she'd hardly eaten a thing for breakfast and her study had continued well until five AM. Yawning widely, she tried to hang onto the tiny bit of consciousness she had left.

I can do this, I can make it through the day without falling asleep. Five am bedtimes are a thing of the past, she mentally repeated over and over.

"Lily Evans?"

Lily looked up at that familiar, accented voice.

"Matt!?"

Standing before her, sporting blue intern robes and neatly combed dark blond hair, was Matthew Frazer - the Australian backpacker she had met during her summer holiday.

"You're a witch?"

"You're a wizard?"

"What are you doing here, Lily?" he asked incredulously, mouth half open in white-toothed wonderment.

"The same as you, I presume - training to be a healer?" she replied, with a grin.

"Small world, huh?" Matt said, moving forward to give Lily a hug, which she returned with enthusiasm.

"Wow, I can't believe you're here," Lily said. "It's so good to see a familiar face."

"Tell me about it. Not only am I in a new country, but I am living with strangers in a muggle share-house and starting an incredibly demanding training course that I feel completely unprepared for," he exclaimed.

"Well at least we can lean on each other. I don't have any of my friends from school doing this course so I'm just as stressed as you."

"Lily!?"

"Dorcas?"

Lily saw the short, dark-haired witch walking happily towards her, her black Ministry-issue robes billowing out behind her.

"What are you doing here? I thought you worked in the Department of Mys-"

"Whoa, stop talking! Experimental charms division, remember? Here to see some allegedly imperiused wizards who tried to break into a muggle orphanage this morning. Aurors are waiting for me somewhere..." she said darkly, before her eyes landed on Matt. "And who is this?"

"Matthew Frazer, Mam," Matt replied, sticking out his hand politely.

"Dorcas Meadows, Ministry of Magic," she replied, shaking his hand with her left one. Lily caught a glimpse of something shiny in the light.

"You're engaged!" she gasped, pointing at the ring. Dorcas blushed. "You weren't wearing that at the last meeting," Lily said, referring to their last Order Meeting. She and Dorcas had been corresponding via the owl post since they had met following the Death Eater Attack the night of Petunia's wedding.

"You haven't been to one in a while. And besides, it's about time," Dorcas replied with a grin.

"We should catch up some time, outside of the you-know-what," Lily suggested.

"Good idea, you can bring that gorgeous boyfriend of yours," Dorcas said. "How is Potter?"

"Honestly? I'm not really sure. I only just got back from Australia - where I met Matt-" she gestured to the awkward boy next to her, "And we haven't properly talked. Well, we didn't do much talking when we saw each other, that is," she blushed.

Dorcas chuckled.

"I know that feeling. Ah, to be young! Anyway, I had better track down these patients. Best not keep the aurors waiting - I wouldn't want to get on the wrong side of Mad-Eye."

"Fair enough, he's a bit... Formidable," Lily agreed.

"See you soon."

"For sure. Nice to meet you Matt," Dorcas said, walking away down the corridor.

"Sorry, Matt," Lily apologised. "I know it's rude to do that but I haven't seen Dorcas in ages-"

"No need to apologise, Lily," Matt smiled. "It'd be nice to meet some of your friends at some point. And your boyfriend. I literally know no-one here."

"Why'd you come to London anyway? Don't they have magical hospitals in Australia?"

"Well, they do. But they aren't as highly recommended as St Mungo's. Nowhere is. And I thought, if I'm going to learn, I may as well get the best training possible. But you're right. Three years is a long time to be away from home."

"Do you think you'll stay here after we're done training?" Lily asked as they continued to search for their supervising healer and trainee group.

"It depends how things pan out here, I suppose," he said, looking at the ground.

"Evans, Frazer?"

"Yes," the pair replied.

"I'm healer Syracuse. I'm in charge of the training program and I will be assigning you to your supervising healers. If you'd like to wait with the group in the level five tearooms, I'll be with you shortly. I'm trying to round up everyone before we begin," she smiled warmly.

Lily and Matt then made their way towards the elevators which took them to the fifth floor, talking about the times they had spent together during the holidays and generally catching up. Lily was surprised to see Matt of all people at St Mungo's but she was more than a little glad. Having a friend going into the course would make things so much easier, especially considering her other friends were so busy with their own lives.

When they reached the tearooms, they were met with a sea of faces - both old and young - all in the same blue intern robes talking nervously among themselves. Ten minutes after Lily and Matt's arrival, Healer Syracuse entered the room with a handful of fully qualified healers in her wake, wearing green robes. Lily recognised one of them as Jean Brown - Anna's mother - and gave her a smile of recognition. Although Lily had never really liked the way Jean and her husband often neglected Anna (whether it was due to Jean's work, or their travels together as a well-off sociable couple) but Jean had her moments.

Lily found herself lucky enough to be assigned to Jean as an intern (something she suspected Jean had requested) which meant that she already had an advantage over the other interns as she knew and, by and large, got along with her healer. She was better off than Matt, who was assigned to the perpetually grumpy-looking Healer Daniels. They spent the rest of the day on rounds with the healers, taking notes and helping patients take potions, etc. Lily was exhausted by the end of the day and wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed, so she and Matt arranged to have drinks after work the following night at a muggle pub in London. Lily had to admit she was looking forward to talking with her new friend, but was grateful for the comfort of her bed that night when she got home.

Hey Lily,

How has your healer training been going? I know you've only been there two days but Cat said you already have a friend in the program. Someone from your holiday? I thought you were only travelling with muggles? But anyway, I thought we should have dinner tomorrow night (Wednesday - just incase your training has been so hectic you've forgotten the day of the week), just you and me. Owl me back because I want to cook for you.

Love, James

James,

That sounds really nice. I'll tell you about Matt (the non-muggle friend from Australia) tomorrow night. But why don't I cook? No offence, but according to Remus the last time you cooked for your flatmates, you all got food poisoning and I don't much fancy spending our limited time together with my head over the toilet bowl.

Love, Lily.

Oh, ye of little faith!

But, well, Remus is telling the truth so fair enough.

I'll be over at seven thirty, unless training runs over. I'll let you know if it does.

Love, James.

It was Tuesday night and James was sitting on his bed in the Marauders' humble flat, staring out the window, trying to will an owl to appear in the distance carrying a note from either Lily of his father. It had been months since he had seen his dad in the flesh and although James knew that it was because his father was busy fighting the Dark Arts and Voldemort's Death Eaters, it didn't make him miss David any less. In fact, worry for his dad's wellbeing sometimes made the poor former quidditch captain sick to his stomach (although he wouldn't admit that to anyone except, maybe, Sirius).

James had been writing in his Occlumency Diary a lot, of late, something he attributed to his absolute exhaustion after auror training. There was just so much going on and so much to remember, that he thought his head might explode if he didn't write it all down. And then there was, of course, his concerns about Lily. He felt that maybe all the space they'd had, so soon in their relationship, had been more detrimental than helpful. The impression he was getting from her letters was that although she loved him, she could quite easily do without him. And not being needed was not something the Potter men were used to. Had he actually asked Lily, he would've discovered that she did not feel this way at all, but James had always been rather stubborn.

Then, as if all his wishing and hoping had finally paid off, James' keen, quidditch-honed eyes picked up on a small dot in the distance. Crawling across his bed to the window, he yanked the glass pane upwards, letting the black owl into his room.

Immediately James felt a sense of trepidation - this was not his father's owl.

James Potter,

You are an intriguing personality, I will give you that.

In spite of my efforts, my threats and my interest in you, you have repeatedly refused to comply with my wishes. I do not wish to unnecessarily spill magical blood, so I am offering you one last opportunity to save yourself and your mudblood girlfriend. Stop resisting with your pathetic Order. Dumbledore is a fool if he thinks he can thwart me with a couple of school students and a handful of aurors who, Lord Voldemort would like to assert, have failed completely in trying to keep the muggles and the mudbloods safe from my Death Eaters, of whom they have captured very few.

If this does not tell you all you need to know, then you are not nearly as bright as everyone seems to think you are.

I know everything about your world, James, and I intend to destroy it, bit by bit, piece by piece.

Starting with your mudblood girlfriend. She helped identify three of my Death Eaters yesterday who were claiming to be under the imperius curse. Of course, they were simply acting on my instructions to kill those muggles. Miss Evans was able to identify that they were acting of their own free will. And I cannot have that.

I have it on good authority that she is training to be a healer with Jean Brown. They make a lot of house calls, as I understand it.

Imagine if they were to answer a call from one of my Death Eaters. I think that their subsequent actions would upset you, and probably her family a great deal.

Women like Lily Jane Evans are a great asset to this so-called 'Resistance Movement' and Lord Voldemort cannot possibly support this. So I leave you with two options.

One, continue as you are and I will... eliminate said asset myself, or two, you remove her reason for fighting. You know what her reasons are. To put it in terms you will understand - you ditch the mudblood or I will dispose of her myself.

The choice is yours.

And, James, I will not be as lenient with my time as I have been in the past. You have a fortnight.

Lord Voldemort.

James knew that he would never show the letter to anyone. Not even Dumbledore could keep Lily safe twenty-four hours a day. As much as James wanted to scream and rage and rant at the letter and, more importantly, at its sender, he couldn't. He had been out-manoeuvred. It was over. He could not bear to cause Lily pain, even though he would have to emotionally destroy them both to keep her safe. She could never know, either. She would insist that there was a way around it, try and deceive Voldemort, even though he would undoubtedly uncover their efforts immediately.

"Dammit, Lily!" he raged quietly. "Why couldn't you keep a low profile? WHY did you have to get those Death Eaters arrested?" He jumped off the bed and began to pace. He honestly could see no safe way out of the situation without hurting Lily.

Unless he made her want to dump him. The thought occurred to him that if he treated her poorly enough, she would grow less and less patient and would be the one to break it off. As much as he didn't want to ruin all the effort he had put into making Lily realise that he was a good person, James much preferred that Lily hate him rather than Lily be emotionally torn to shreds by him.

And besides, she's already started to make new friends. She might not even be that upset, said the nasty voice in James' head. She'll move on and she won't think twice about it.

It was at that point that the reality of the situation hit him.

He was going to lose the love of his life and there was no way that he could prevent it.

A great heaving sob tore itself from his chest and he fell to he knees in the middle of his room, his body convulsing with inconsolable anguish.

Cat and Sirius, who had been in the lounge watching muggle television, heard the commotion and rushed into James' room, prepared to fight off the enemy, only to find their friend hunched over himself on his carpet. Cat was the first to notice the note crumpled in his hand.

"What's that?" she asked.

James, realising what would happen if anyone but him saw the note, whipped out his wand and set the paper on fire, reducing it to a pile of ash in one second flat, thankful that he hadn't shed any actual tears.

"Prongs, mate, what's wrong?" Sirius asked, unnatural frown creases marring his usually smooth forehead.

James remained silent, just wanting them to go away.

"James?" Cat pushed.

"Nothing," James replied, getting up and turning away from them. "Just bad news."

"What sort of bad news?" Sirius asked, concerned.

"Nothing," James repeated, staring resolutely out his window but not seeing anything. "It's fine."

"Mate, if you want-"

"I said it's FINE!" James shouted, effectively ridding himself of his troublesome friends who proceeded to Sirius' room to worry over their friend's odd behaviour.

James then saw another owl flying towards his window. This time, he recognised it as his own owl, no doubt carrying Lily's reply.

Seven thirty it is. I can't wait to see you and tell you about everything that's happened.

I miss you.

Love Lils xx

James dissolved into tears.

That Friday, Remus lay in his hospital bed, every muscle in his body aching, his bones heavy and the pain in his left arm screaming out for attention. But Remus wasn't focused on any of these things, nor was he listening to a word his healer was saying to him (she was mostly talking aloud to herself anyway). No, he was too busy watching the third-year intern Laura as she busied herself with the sheets of the patient in the bed opposite his.

"So drink those potions, Lupin, and then you should rest some more. You should be fit to go home tomorrow morning," said Healer Stevens, before marching out of the ward.

Remus made a noise of assent and continued to follow Laura with his eyes. He wanted to say something to her - James was right, what did he really have to lose? But what to say? Remus wanted to be intelligent and funny and kind, but how can that be expressed in a short sentence? What Remus really wanted was to go on a date with the pretty girl, but he knew it would be many, many months more before he could work up that sort of courage. It was fortunate then that she was the one to start the conversation.

"How are you feeling?" Laura asked, her brown eyes travelling over Remus' body searching for visible injuries, making the werewolf blush.

"I've been worse," he grimaced, "But Healer Stevens thinks I'll be out tomorrow morning so it can't be to bad."

"Ah, an optimistic patient, that's what I like to see," Laura joked, and Remus finally identified the slight Scottish accent in her voice.

"Are you from Scotland?" he blurted, his ears now turning the same colour as his cheeks in further embarrassment.

"Yes, well picked up," Laura said, putting down Remus' chart and looking at him intently. "Most people guess Irish because my accent's not that strong."

"My grandfather was born in Scotland," Remus explained. "I used to love listening to him read the newspaper aloud when I was a kid. Whereabouts in Scotland are you from?"

"We lived in the Highlands when I was a kid, near Loch Ness, then we moved to the Lakes District in England because the weather was marginally better for my mother's health. We have a farm with all sorts of magical and non-magical creatures, but I live in London for obvious reasons."

"Did you ever see Nessie?" Remus grinned.

"Not to this day, but I'm sure she's in there somewhere," Laura replied. "Do you know much about muggle folklore?"

"My mum is a muggle."

"I'm half and half, too, except my mum is a witch. My dad's the muggle of the family."

"I don't remember you at Hogwarts," Remus probed, unable to help himself.

"What is this, Remus, twenty questions?" Laura teased and Remus blushed again. "I was home-schooled because mum was ill on and off during the years when I would have been at Hogwarts so we stayed home to look after her."

"I'm sorry," Remus apologised. "Is she okay now?"

"At the moment," Laura replied with a small smile.

There was a small pause.

"I'm sorry. I'm keeping you from your work," Remus said quietly.

"No, it's alright," Laura replied. "Honestly, it's more interesting to talk to you than any of my other patients. And besides, it's almost time for my break."

"Well in that case, I had better let you go. No-one likes to miss out on their tea break," Remus joked.

"Would you like one? Tea?"

Remus hesitated for a moment.

"That would be nice... if it's not too much trouble," he added hastily.

"Be right back," she turned and, with a swish of her ponytail, was gone.

Remus lay back, staring at the ceiling in wonderment. He had managed to have an entire conversation with the beautiful healer without embarrassing himself too badly. He was toying with the idea of writing about it in his occlumency journal when Lily entered the ward.

"Remus!" she said quietly but with great enthusiasm, hurrying over to his bed and giving him the once over. "How are you?"

"Never been better," he joked, pulling himself back up to sitting. Lily wrapped her arms gently around him in a hug that she was as much grateful for as he was.

"I feel like I haven't seen you in years!" she exclaimed.

"Training that busy?" Remus remarked.

"It's ridiculous! I'm working with a qualified healer but I had the misfortune to get the one who does house-calls. I'm actually with Anna's mum, coincidentally enough. But it's just been a mad week. I was supposed to see James on Wednesday night but he... Well, he forgot..."

Remus looked closely at Lily, noting the slightly purple rings under her eyes which briefly held a look of bitter disappointment. He thought it best not to mention that James had spent Wednesday night at the pub with his auror training group...

Remus was going to ask if she was alright, but she continued to talk at top speed.

"But it doesn't really matter, I mean, he's busy and tired too so I can't really complain. Although Cat said their whole training group went out on Wednesday night for drinks which is when James was supposed to be having dinner with me... But he was probably just at home sleeping; like I said, it's not his fault. Oh, and I met up with one of my friends I met in Australia! Turns out he's a wizard and he's come here to do his healer training. I was so relieved to find someone I knew on the first day - it's been so good to have someone with me who's going through the same things."

Remus was slightly taken aback by Lily's ranting - she was usually a lot calmer than this and he suspected that one to many pepper-up potions might be the cause...

"But Matt's a really nice guy-"

"He's a guy friend?"

"Yeah, and he's really good to talk to, you know? Kind of like you but doing healing and he's Australian. Oh, but I'm being so rude. How are you, Remus? I came as soon as I could go on my break - I've been wanting to check up on you all morning."

"I'm alright," Remus replied. "Are you?"

"Yes, yes, yes, I'm absolutely fine," Lily nodded fervently, though her voice cracked slightly. "Why do you ask?" her eyes seemed to be getting a little damp.

"You just seem a little stressed, that's all," Remus said, frowning to see his friend so erratic.

"No, no, I'm good, I'm good," Lily said quickly, swiping impatiently at her eyes. "Just a busy day."

"Oh, okay," Remus said, still eyeing her with concern. "Well, my day is going surprisingly well."

"Really?" Lily asked, trying her best to focus on Remus. "What's happened?"

"Well, Healer Stevens has a third-year intern working for her, and her name's Laura and she and I get on quite well. What?" he stopped at the look of amusement that had suddenly appeared on Lily's face.

"Nothing, nothing, go on," she replied.

"I guess it's just nice to have someone here to talk to."

"Why aren't James and Sirius here?"

"They couldn't get out of training just for me. But it's nice, though, because she's someone new and interesting and-"

"Milk and sugar?" Laura asked, entering the ward with a tray of tea and biscuits. Remus turned bright red.

"I'll see you later, Remus," Lily said with a wide grin, as she walked past Laura on her way out.

"Who was that?" Laura asked casually, as she set down the tray on Remus' nightstand.

"My friend Lily," Remus replied as Laura sat down in the chair next to his bed. "We were prefects together at Hogwarts and now she's dating one of my best friends, James... Although I'm not sure how long that's going to last," he frowned.

"Really, why?" she asked as she poured the tea into some mugs.

"What is this, twenty questions?" Remus grinned as he added two packets of sugar into his tea. Laura just rolled her eyes. "Well, she's here all the time and he's doing auror training and this week forgot he had planned a date with her."

"Ooh, ouch," Laura said. "That doesn't sound good."

"Hmm," Remus agreed. "Thanks for the tea."

"No problem, it beats sitting in the staffroom so it's not trouble."

"Who do you normally spend your breaks with, then?"

"No-one, usually I sit in the fifth floor tearooms with a book."

Remus was suddenly filled with a warm feeling in his chest that had nothing to do with the tea. Not only was Laura a Shakespeare fan (something he had learnt last week) but she enjoyed reading nearly as much as he did.

"So, James has Lily. What about your other friends - the ones that always visit you when you're in here?"

"Well, Sirius - the good-looking one is dating Catherine. They're both doing auror training with James and nearly got married last year because they are both very stubborn people-"

"Wait, what?"

"It's a long story," Remus grinned. "And Peter, the shorter, err, plumper one, he's single if you're looking for love."

Laura laughed gently and Remus couldn't help but be glad that he had made her laugh because as far as laughter went, it was quite pretty.

"What about you?" she asked offhandedly. Or at least, Remus thought it was offhandedly.

"No. I'm not seeing anyone. It's hard in my... condition."

"You don't let it stop you from dating, do you?" Laura asked curiously.

"How many werewolves do you know who date?" Remus countered.

"That's a good point, Remus, but you should be braver than that. You shouldn't let what you become once a month dictate what you do with the rest of your time."

"You sound like my friends."

"Sounds like your friends have the right idea," she challenged.

"Well, I did date," Remus said awkwardly, not sure he wanted to divulge the ins and outs of his complicated history.

"And what went wrong?" Laura asked softly. "You don't have to tell me!" she hastened to add.

"The first girl, Anna. I fell in love with her but then she ditched me when she found out about my condition-"

"I can't believe that-"

"But she later apologised," Remus interrupted, "And wanted me back but by then too much had happened."

"I can see why you wouldn't want to date, I guess," Laura said. "Not that it's any of my business, of course."

"Later in my seventh year I dated a girl called Claire, but then I found out that she was really just with me out of pity. She didn't really care about me," Remus trailed off. "I'm sorry. You didn't ask for my life story."

"If it makes you feel any better, my track record is not much better than that," Laura said.

Remus looked up at her, "Don't feel obliged to tell me just to make me feel better," he said, a hint of bitterness in his voice, thanks to refreshed memories of Claire and her charity-case tendencies.

"I don't."

There was a silence as they sipped their tea. Then Laura struck up a conversation about Shakespeare's sonnets. It was a safe topic that they were both interested in and served to break the tension quite nicely.

"My break's nearly over," Laura said at last, aware that her break must've finished at least twenty minutes ago, but not really caring.

"Oh, okay then," Remus said, desperately not wanting their time to end.

"You should probably take those potions now. The one on the right is the sleeping draught so take that last, yeah?"

"Okay, thanks," Remus smiled.

"I'll see you later," she replied, walking out of the ward. Remus thought this would be the perfect opportunity to write in his journal.

Remus' Occlumency Diary

I just spent over an hour talking with Laura. It was undoubtedly the best post-wolf morning I've had in a long while. I can't believe how much we have in common, love of muggle literature included, of course.

I haven't felt this way around a girl in a long, long while. I get embarrassed really easily in front of her, I always want to look my best (which is rarely possible, considering the time of month she always sees me), I really want to impress her... The strangest thing, though, is how she is just so easy to talk to. I don't know if it's something they teach you as part of your healer beside manner or something, but there's just an openness to her that makes me want to tell her everything. I had no intention of talking about Claire or Anna and yet it just came tumbling out of my mouth.

I really like her.

"Remus?"

The werewolf was drawn out of his reflections to see Laura once entering his ward.

"I thought your break was finished?"

"It is. I was just wondering if maybe you'd like to go for a drink sometime?" she asked, willing herself not to play with her hair - a nervous habit.

Say yes, say yes, say YES! Remus' brain was screaming, but the logical side of him wasn't having a bar of it.

"You're not asking me because of my pathetic history, are you?" he asked. "Not trying to make me feel better about myself?"

"Remus, I'm a healer. I have an entire hospital to take pity on if I wanted to. I'm just asking for a drink."

"Isn't it against protocol, or something?" Remus asked, for some reason trying to find a way out of it. Blind panic could be the best term to describe what he was feeling.

"You're only in here once a month and one drink is hardly anything to be broadcasting," Laura protested, starting to get annoyed.

"But... Why?"

"Look, if you don't want to, just say no," Laura demanded, putting a hand on her hip.

"No, of course I want to!" Remus said quickly.

"You do?"

"Well, yeah."

"Okay, sure. I'll owl you," she smiled. "Now drink those potions," she said in her best healer voice before leaving for the last time that day.

As Remus drifted off to sleep, he felt incredibly happy and calm and it had nothing to do with the potion.

Lily's Occlumency Diary

I'm sure he didn't mean to forget.

I mean, auror training is difficult and time consuming. He was probably so tired by the time he got home that he couldn't stay awake long enough to send me a note.

Mind you, knowing this doesn't make me feel like any less of a loser. I spent two hours making a proper roast beef and dessert, just the way mum used to when dad had had a big day at work. And there I was still sat at the table at ten o'clock when Cat stumbled into the flat, tipsy as hell and dragging Sirius - who smelt like a brewery - behind her.

It was one of the most embarrassing moments of my existence. Me sat there in my favourite dress with the jewellery James gave me, sodding candles and all. And he doesn't show.

I know I should feel mad but mostly I'm just depressed.

This healing thing isn't all it's cracked up to be. It's long hours and it's not nearly as rewarding as I would've hoped. Half the time the patients don't even want your help. I just feel super under-valued at the moment.

I wrote a letter to Dorcas this afternoon. On my first day of training I got to help with the tests on alleged imperius curse victims (because they knew I have an aptitude for charms). We discovered that three of the five involved in the muggle attacks that morning were not imperiused and were therefore acting of their own free will, which meant that I effectively helped in a very important arrest.

Anyway, we've been writing to each other for a while now - ever since the attacks the night of Petunia's wedding last year - and we've become friends through the Order as well. She reckons I'd be better placed in the Experimental Charms division of the Ministry of Magic, and right now I'd have to say I agree with her. I'm already sick of blue robes and that hospital smell. I thought I could put up with it but after a while it starts to give me headaches. It's a good thing, I guess, that I get to go on house calls with Jean. Although she can be a bit... Never mind, I should just be thankful I'm not in Matt's position with Healer Daniels as my mentor. I'm really glad Matt's in the program. It's good to have a friend to chat with on tea breaks. He wasn't really familiar with the whole Voldemort/War thing and once I filled him in he seemed to be second guessing his decision to come to England. But as he said, it is the best English-speaking, training hospital in the wizarding world.

....

I still can't believe James forgot.

Harry sighed as he turned the page of his mother's diary. He did not like where things were going. How on Earth did his father manager to get around Voldemort's ultimatum, and at what cost? Harry decided that it would be best to take a break from reading for a moment and perhaps talk things over with Ginny. Voldemort's letter was bringing back painful memories of Harry sacrificing himself during the Battle of Hogwarts to save his classmates and all others who opposed Voldemort. It was still something that played over in his nightmares - not the walk to his own death, but the feeling of hopelessness he had felt when he thought he would no longer be able to help or save or rescue his friends. No doubt this was how his father had felt all those years ago. Like he was surrendering with no hope for his or Lily's futures.

AN - It's been months. And of course I would stay up till 3am to write this, just like the old days. It is pretty much a rule of writing that the more assignments you have to do, the more fanfiction you will write. So enjoy it while it lasts :P

But thank-you to those of you who have stuck with this story and to those of you who have also read the original scribblings and have deemed it good enough to read the sequel :) your support and reviews are greatly appreciated!!

I have the entire sequel mapped out and now that we're getting to the juicy conflict bits and new romance-y bits (both of which are soooo much fun to write) there shouldn't be as long a wait between chapters. It won't be quick, mind you, but neither will it be months between chapters. Because that annoys me as much as it does you because I can never remember who's who and what they did last time haha.

NEXT TIME: Will James succeed in turning Lily away? What will happen to their friendship?
Remus and Laura go on their first date, Cat and Sirius take their animagi out for a spin, Anna gets involved in reporting an incident that will put her in danger, another Order Meeting, and James continues to have an emotional breakdown. In short, bits you will enjoy, bits that are filler, and bits you will no doubt hate. but in a good way :P

Till then, please review, thanks for reading and HAPPY FANFICCING :D