A/N: Hello all! Sorry about the wait, things have just been crazy; I'm packing to go back to school, and there's so much to do! Anyway, this chapter is basically getting to know the kids and John a little better, and developing a few of the details on certain friendships. Next chapter will involve some excitement, I promise! So please, please keep reading, and I would really appreciate reviews :)

Chapter Three

Ireland was without a doubt the most beautiful place Sirius had ever seen. He had rarely ever been on vacation as his family tended to leave him at home when they went, and although he thought Hogwarts was rather picturesque, it had nothing on the rolling green hills, clear blue water, and the ever changing sky of Ireland.

As they walked down a dirt path toward town, he couldn't help but tune out the constant chatter around him and just take in the absolute beauty of it all. The sun may not have been shining, but it was warm enough not to be cold in the wind that whipped around them. Different shades of grey and white clouds decorated the open sky, constantly changing.

Only Sirius' closest friends knew about this side of him; the side that appreciated the beautiful things of the world, whether it be something as vast as the Irish countryside, or something as small as one of the pretty white daisies that littered the hills and pastures that surrounded them.

Automatically he looked over at Rachel who, for the first time in ages, looked truly happy. Her hand was clasped around Charlie's, and she was gazing down at the small child with loving eyes as he chatted happily to her. Letting Lily and Bill pass him, Sirius lingered back a little and plucked one of the larger daisies from the side of the path. He jogged slowly to catch up with the rest and came up behind Rachel, tucking the daisy behind her ear. She jumped at the sudden contact, then turned around and smiled brightly at Sirius.

"How did you know daisies are my favorite flower?" she asked him curiously.

"I'm just that amazing," he grinned. Rachel rolled her eyes but couldn't help but laugh.

"Well I wouldn't go that far," she teased, but stood on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. "Thank you darling, that was very sweet of you." Charlie looked between them, obviously noticing the exchange and asked,

"Are you married?" His question was loud enough for the others to hear, and James, Lily, Remus, and John all turned to look at them, looking extremely amused. Sirius just rolled his eyes while Rachel blushed; their friends teased them on countless occasions that they were practically dating since their close relationship called for much teasing, mock flirting, hugs, kisses on the cheek or the forehead, the occasional tickle fight, and of course inside jokes, extremely deep conversations, and a considerable amount of love for the other. But Sirius knew for a fact that Rachel did not feel for him in this way; he was the only one who was aware of her feelings for James. And so they normally would just laugh their friends accusations off and pretend to either be insanely in love, or to be insanely disgusted.

"Thank Merlin no," Rachel finally told Charlie, sneaking a wink at Sirius. "Sirius and I are very good friends…but I have no doubt that we would drive each other insane within a week if we were married."

"But you called him darling," said Charlie, confused. "Mummy and daddy say that to each other, and they're married."

"Someday, Charlie, someday," Sirius said with a sly grin, and Rachel turned to face him, one eyebrow raised.

"Oh really? Well this is news to me," she smirked. "I mean I know you could never live without me, but getting married is taking things a bit too far…"

"Please, I could so totally live without you."

"Yeah right. You would probably cry for the rest of eternity."

"Tears of joy maybe."

"I am hurt."

"Good."

"I don't like you."

"You love me!"

"Do not!"

"Yes you do!" Sirius grinned, grabbing her around the waist and slinging her over his shoulder.

"SIRIUS BLACK, PUT ME DOWN!" she shrieked, trying not to laugh along with everyone else.

"Only if you say you love me!"

"Never!"

Charlie looked at John with a very confused expression. "I don't get it…" he said, his forehead creased in concentration.

"Don't worry about it, little man. Those two are just very, very weird."

"No kidding," James grinned.

"I heard that," Sirius called, and James looked back at him. Rachel was still slung over his shoulder fireman style, but she had stopped struggling and was now resting her chin in her hand, her elbow propped against Sirius' shoulder, looking extremely bored. Her hair had fallen out of its bun in the excitement of being thrown in the air, and her face was now cloaked by messy blonde curls.

"And are you gonna argue?" James asked, raising an eyebrow. Sirius cocked his head, considering this for a moment and finally said,

"Eh you have a point."

"Of course I have a point. I'm always right."

"Yeah ok," Remus snorted, swinging Charlie up onto his shoulders. "Should I start a list of why that in itself isn't right?" James glared at him, but was saved a response by an interruption, courtesy of the young Bill Weasley.

"Are we almost there?" he asked in a voice that his mother would have chastised him for.

"Hmm…well I think I see some buildings up there…" said Lily, squinting a little. "Is that it?"

"Yes, yes it is!" Charlie and Bill exclaimed excitedly. Charlie began to bounce up and down on Remus' shoulders, and Bill tugged on Lily's hand, urging her to go faster.

"Where do you think we should take these newbies first?" John asked the two children, handing the stroller to James as he turned to face Charlie and Bill.

"The Laughing Leprechaun!" they said together.

"It's the joke store," Bill told his older friends. "I got a whoopee cushion there when we first came here, but Charlie broke it." Here he shot a dark look at his younger brother, but Charlie was oblivious as he was giggling furiously at being swung around in the air by Remus.

"When did you first come here?" Sirius asked Bill.

"Ummm about a month ago? Our house burned down, and so Dumbley-door told mum and dad to come live here, and Uncle Fabian and Uncle Gideon came with us! Mr. Potter and John have only been here since that famous man died." Sirius felt Rachel take in a sharp breath, and he squeezed the hand that was resting on his shoulder.

"Their house didn't burn down," John muttered quietly to James. "Well, it did…but it wasn't some random thing."

"Death eaters?"

"I wish you were wrong."

"But why?" Sirius asked. He and Rachel had also been listening while Lily and Remus let the kids describe the Laughing Leprechaun in largely exaggerated detail.

"The Weasleys are a target because they're 'blood traitors' like us…but because they aren't aurors, they didn't have any protection wards up."

"How did they escape?"

"It was a badly planned attack; the anti-apparation wards the death eaters put up were very poorly constructed, and Arthur is a genius when it comes to charms, so it took him less than 10 seconds to take them down. Luckily Molly and Arthur were in the attic putting the boys to sleep, so they just grabbed the boys and came to the cottage before the death eaters could get them. Dad and I were there at the time, so we went back with Arthur and killed all three of the death eaters, but it was too late for the house."

"I thought aurors tried not to kill."

"Yeah, that's the way it used to be," John said darkly. "But the death eaters aren't gonna spare anyone, and we're already down in numbers. We have to keep up somehow."

"Well you'll be getting at least three new ones in a year," James said, motioning to himself, Sirius and Rachel. John raised an eyebrow and looked at Rachel.

"Really?" She nodded. "I'm sure you'd be excellent…but I hope you realize that a good portion of the wizarding world isn't exactly all about equality. There's lots of discrimination when it comes to women working in the Ministry, and even more so in the auror department. We only have two female aurors."

"Well then, soon you'll have three," Rachel said confidently. "I'm not going to sit back and watch the war happen when I can help stop it. Those sexist pigs will have to deal with me personally before they tell me no…and when I'm through with them, trust me. They won't."

"Number one rule of life," Sirius smirked. "Never anger Rachel Wood."

"I thought it was never anger Lily Evans," James grinned.

"I heard that!"

"Oh crap…"

James was saved by the excited squeals of Bill and Charlie as they reached the Laughing Leprechaun. There was a large sign with a leprechaun smiling a smile so big it could rival that of the Cheshire cat, and next to him was a pot that was filled with rubber chickens, bouncy balls, and other joke products.

"This is it, this is it!" Charlie beamed, and John ruffled his hair.

"Shall we go inside?" Bill and Charlie ran inside, followed closely by Remus and Lily, then by John and James who was still pushing Percy's stroller, while Sirius and Rachel remained outside the door.

"Can you put me down now?" Rachel asked exasperatedly.

"Not till you say you love me!" Sirius grinned cheekily, and Rachel rolled her eyes. Her face lit up in a mischievous smirk and she said,

"Well then I guess we're going to have to stay out here…we won't fit through the door like this. What a shame, Remus and James will know all about muggle pranks and you won't have any idea what they're like. Then Remus and James will bond over their muggle prank items, leaving you out of the loop and having to resort to having Peter as your only best friend while they become famous for their muggle and magical pranks that no one has ever dared to try before…"

"You're evil," Sirius pouted, lifting Rachel back to the ground. She shook her hair out of her face and smirked again.

"Takes one to know one. And I don't know if evil is the right word…brilliant would work."

"Yeah ok," Sirius snorted. "Brilliant. Right." They finally walked into the joke store, and caught a glimpse of red hair. Deciding to follow the hair, they took off down the aisles filled with fake items, fart sprays, trick candy, itching powder, relighting birthday candles, and other such products.

"You know it's true."

"Only in that pretty little head of yours." Rachel grinned, knowing she had won, and turned to look up at Sirius.

"Aww you admit it…you called me pretty!"

"Did not."

"Did too! You think I'm gorgeous," Rachel said in a sing song voice, poking Sirius in the side. He jumped, and batted her hands away, trying not to laugh.

"Yeah right," Sirius scoffed. "You know I'm an ass man." Rachel rolled her eyes and stuck up a finger she wouldn't have dared to if Bill and Charlie were around. "Thanks, but I'd really rather not."

"Your loss," she smirked. Sirius laughed and pulled her to him, ruffling her hair. She glared at him and went to put her hair back in its bun, but Sirius caught her hands.

"Leave it."

"Why?" she asked, looking up at Sirius as if this was the craziest idea he had ever had. He took one of her curls and tucked it behind her ear.

"If I said 'you're right', would that make you understand?" He smiled crookedly at her and went to catch up with the others, leaving Rachel behind to look extremely confused by herself.

"Wow, stink bombs!" Bill said excitedly just as Sirius joined them. He raised an eyebrow and said,

"Uh oh, should I walk away again?"

"Well I'm not gonna drop them now," he said, as if this was the most obvious thing in the world.

"How about we leave the stink bombs here," John suggested. "And the fart spray." Charlie set the bottle down disappointedly.

"Thank you," Lily muttered so only John could hear her. He grinned and said,

"Oh don't thank me…thank Molly's temper."

"It's a red head thing," Lily grinned.

"This is all so cool!" James said, quite impressed with the selection of muggle pranks. "I don't think there is such a thing as itching powder at Zonko's or Gamble and Japes…"

"Well then let's stock up now!" Sirius said, grabbing a container off the shelf.

"Sirius…" Lily groaned.

"What? It could be a good distraction if any death eaters are coming after us," Sirius said innocently.

"Yeah, I'm sure that's your reasoning behind it," Rachel snorted, coming up behind them. Sirius couldn't help but smile to himself when he saw she had left her hair down.

"Unfortunately he does have a point…" Lily sighed. "But you can't use that excuse on the stink bombs. If Bill and Charlie can't have them, you shouldn't be able to either."

"Oh we don't need stink bombs with this stuff," Sirius grinned.

"Oh and FYI…Rachel and I are not death eaters, so if you ever use that on us, we will hurt you."

"A lot," Rachel added.

"I wasn't going to…"

"I know that face. Yes you were," Lily said skeptically, studying Sirius' face and noticing the nearly hidden smirk, and the mischievous glint in his grey blue eyes.

"No, I wasn't. But now I am," Sirius said with an evil grin.

An hour and a half later, a group of five very happy boys, two very wary girls, and one baby who was oblivious but would have been wary if he had known what being wary was, left the Laughing Leprechaun, laden with joke products. Bill and Charlie were now the proud owners of a rubber chicken, X-ray goggles, a bald head wig to scare their mother, and trick candy. John and the Marauders were laden down with itching powder, smoke balls, fake cockroaches, silly string, and squirt gum (all of which they also used the death eater excuse on). Rachel, the more mischievous of the two girls, had gotten some trick candy, smoke balls, and a shock gun. She and Lily both picked up fake pregnancy tests and fake tattoo sleeves just to freak out the boys.

"So did you like it?" Charlie asked his new, older friends hopefully. They all nodded exuberantly.

"It was great!" James assured him, and Charlie beamed.

"Where are we going next?" Bill asked John, who looked to his little brother and his friends.

"What would you guys like to do?"

"Well I wouldn't mind going to a clothing store…or a bookstore," said Lily.

"Bookstore! Definitely bookstore!" Remus and Sirius said together. Lily grinned evilly and said,

"Oh that's too bad…Rachel and I were going to try on lingerie. Oh well…" All four of the boys' eyes widened and Sirius said,

"Did I say bookstore? I definitely meant clothing…"

"Too late," Lily smiled sweetly. "The bookstore it is!" John led them (rather disappointedly now) to the bookstore, which held not only books, but games, puzzles, movies, and CD's. The last two fascinated the non muggle borns immensely, and they were very disappointed that the cottage didn't have a 'Telly-V' or a 'disco machine'.

Instead, they contented themselves with looking through all the games while Lily and Remus immersed themselves in the shelves of books. James and Rachel joined them after a while, and Sirius and John took the three boys back to the children's books. They emerged an hour later, bearing fantasy novels (they amused Lily now that she knew that there was more truth to them than the authors realized), a history of Ireland (history greatly interested both Rachel and James; their fathers and Rachel's mother had gotten them into it at a very young age), The Game of Things (Sirius was fascinated with the muggle games, and Lily had assured him that this was worth it), and a few children's books to read to Bill, Charlie and Percy at night.

"So is it lingerie time?" James asked with a grin as they left the bookstore, and Lily and Rachel rolled their eyes.

"Not in front of the children, James!" Sirius said in mock horror, looking at Bill and Charlie who were busy tugging on John's arms, begging him to take them to the Banshee for lunch. This was a definite no go, however, as the Banshee was a night club and bar, not a family restaurant. John had promised to take the teenagers on a night that he, Gideon and Fabian all had off, and no arm pulling had been required.

"We'll save the clothes shopping for another time," Lily said.

"Wow you aren't putting up a fuss about going clothes shopping?" James said to Rachel. "Are you turning into a girl?" Rachel glared daggers at James and punched him in the arm.

"Believe it or not, I am a girl, dumbass. And I do happen to like shopping. I just don't buy anything."

"Why not?"

"I have perfectly good clothes."

"Your jeans are ripped, and your converse are almost worn through," Lily pointed out. Rachel sighed exasperatedly and said,

"I don't care."

"Hm…you know how I said I would buy you ice cream if you let me French braid your hair? How about I'll buy you an entire meal if the next time we go shopping you buy an entire outfit."

"Deal."

"An outfit that I approve of." Rachel bit her lip, and considered the options for a moment before saying,

"Fine…"

"We'll need to get something to wear clubbing anyway," Lily pointed out.

"So who's ready for lunch?" John asked, coming back over with Charlie and Bill, both of whom seemed to be pleased at the prospect of lunch, whether or not it was at the Banshee or not. Bill took Lily's hand and began to chat happily to her, while Charlie did the same with Rachel.

"So where are we going?" Remus asked, taking a turn with the stroller.

"It's called the Golden Pot; we've been there a few times." They crossed the street, avoiding the cars that everyone but Lily were completely thrilled about seeing, and made their way into a very brightly colored restaurant.

"Hello," a girl of about 19 with a dark pixie cut greeted them, her eyes lighting up as she took in the sight of John, James, Sirius and Remus. "Welcome to the Golden Pot. Table for four? I mean, er…nine?"

"Nine would be excellent," John smirked. "And we'll need a high chair and two kids menus."

"Right, right of course," she said, smiling widely at John. "Right this way please." She led them toward a large table in the back, her hips swinging in a way that Lily deemed was quite unnatural, and placed the menus on the table."Anything I can get you guys to start off?"

"I would love a water…and your phone number," John said with a wink, and the girl smiled coyly. Lily and Rachel tried their hardest not to roll their eyes as the rest of them placed their drink orders. As soon as the girl left, Remus turned to John.

"Do you even have a phone?"

"Yup! It's hard to pick up muggle chicks if you don't have a phone."

"You got a phone just to pick up girls?" Rachel asked in disbelief.

"Yes ma'am."

"That's so—

"Genius!" Sirius said, cutting her off.

"Not the word I was going for," she said grumpily, and Lily rolled her eyes in agreement.

"Men," she said, shaking her head.

"Rachel, can you please read the menu to me please?" Charlie asked, looking at the blonde with large, hopeful eyes.

"Of course sweetie…." Rachel and Lily helped the children with their menus gratefully, glad to get away from the flirting tactics the boys were discussing. The waitress returned shortly after with their drinks, and a few napkins (one of which bore her number).

"You're waitress will be right out," she promised, flashed John another smile, and left their table.

"Curse that Potter charm," Rachel muttered, and James, who was sitting to her left, heard her. He turned to her and grinned.

"Ah so you finally admit it…Potter's have charm!"

"Well John does," she said with a smirk.

"Damn straight!" John commented, not looking up from his menu.

"I am plenty charming!" James said indignantly. "Well maybe not to you…but if I wanted to be I could."

"Gee thanks," Rachel said sarcastically, turning back to her menu. "Glad to know you care about me so much." James, realizing how this had sounded, smiled sheepishly and gave her a one armed hug.

"I love you!"

"Yeah ok." Out of the corner of her eye Rachel saw John look at Sirius curiously. Luckily for John, she couldn't hear what he was saying.

"It's James isn't it."

"Huh?" Sirius asked, looking up from his menu at John, who was sitting to his right. James and Rachel were on the opposite side of the table, now engrossed in a Quidditch conversation with Remus and Lily. Bill and Charlie were telling each other what they were going to order in excited voices. John knew this conversation would be private, so he continued.

"I know Rachel better than any girl I've ever met. I've suspected on occasion before, but I never actually thought…but it makes sense."

"What makes sense?" Sirius asked, hoping John hadn't figured it out.

"Rachel has a thing for James…she was always better at covering it up, but now that she's in such an emotional and vulnerable place in her life, it's harder to keep her emotions in check, which is why she doesn't want to talk to anyone about her parents. She's afraid of spilling everything that's hurting her. And now the combination of everything is just bringing her down."

"You'll have to ask her."

"You don't deny it."

"It's not my place to confirm anything."

"Don't worry, you aren't betraying Rachel's trust. I figured it out. And what's got your panties in a twist now?" John asked raising an eyebrow.

"I don't wear panties," Sirius snapped, bristling at the accusation.

"Ok, how about what's got your broomstick patterned boxers in a twist?" John amended, and Sirius scowled. "Ah…I know. You're pissed that even though you know about her thing for James, Rachel still won't talk to you about her family."

"Are you psychic or something?" Sirius sighed, not bothering to lie. It was always useless around John.

"No, I'm just awesome," John said with a grin. "And I have to admit, I wonder why she won't either…"

"Because she wants to talk to James," Sirius said bitterly. "Not me. She'll only talk to me after she talks to him. That's how it's always worked."

"Someone sounds jealous," John smirked.

"Please. Me? Jealous? I only get jealous when the Slytherins get cream puffs at their table and we don't," Sirius scoffed. John snorted and said,

"Yeah right. You're smitten with her, aren't you?"

"John, get your head out of your ass," Sirius said, rolling his eyes. "I don't get smitten with women. I just get them, and then after I've gotten them, I get them out as soon as possible."

"Any woman would be lucky to have you," Lily said dryly, overhearing the last part of their conversation.

"Of course they would," Sirius smirked, ignoring the sarcasm. "And if I have anything to say about it, our waitress will be one of the lucky many."

They enjoyed the rest of the meal together, private conversations aside (except for Sirius' conversation with their waitress, during which he got her number after begging John to allow him to use his phone), but overall the focal point of attention was on the three youngest boys. The Hogwarts students learned that Bill and Charlie were both fans of the Irish Quidditch team, that Bill liked reading to Charlie and Percy at night instead of being read to, and that Charlie liked animals of all shapes and sizes, not just dragons. Both boys were proud of their older brother status, and wanted Molly to have more children, especially because their parents had told them they could name the next baby if she got pregnant. Bill was set on the name George for a boy, while Charlie wanted the name to be Fred. Both of them agreed on Lucy for a girl.

Bill and Charlie, however, were also quite excited to learn that Lily, Sirius and Remus were on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, and Charlie was thrilled that Rachel was just as avid an animal lover as he. Because of this, the next stop after lunch was the pet store, seeing as muggle towns didn't have Quidditch supply stores.

"Can I get a tarantula?" Bill asked John as they browsed through the aisles of different animals. John looked down at the six year old and said,

"What do you think?"

"No…"

"That's right."

"Is Molly adverse to pets? Or at least ones that don't have eight legs?" James asked.

"No, she just doesn't want Bill or Charlie getting one yet because she knows she'll end up being the one to take care of it."

"Not true," Bill pouted. "If we got a dog I would walk it."

"And would you pick up its poop?" John asked.

"Ewww no! That's gross!"

"My point exactly."

"Where did Rachel and Charlie go?" Remus asked, looking warily at a large snake that was staring right back at him.

"They're looking at the kittens," said Lily.

"I don't get why Charlie likes cats so much," said Bill. "I want a dog, but he wants a cat. Cats are boring."

"I don't know, cats can be pretty fun," Sirius grinned, and Remus and James rolled their eyes.

"Only when you're chasing them, you prat," Remus muttered in his ear.

"Oh shush Moony. Hey look at the Husky puppy…is that what you looked like when you were a little kid? Ow!" Sirius rubbed his arm where Remus had punched him. "Ass."

"That's what you get for comparing me to a dog," Remus said, and his face broke out into a grin. "Dogs are lame."

"Take it back!"

"Make me," Remus said, grinning cheekily.

"I could…or we could go make fun of Prongs for the fact that no one ever wants to buy a deer."

"Padfoot, no one ever wants to buy a werewolf either…"

"Yeah, but that doesn't entail making fun of James."

"Good point." James was saved the ridicule from his friends, however, when Rachel and Charlie approached, a new addition to the group in Rachel's arms.

"You got a cat?" James gaped.

"You know I've always wanted one…" Rachel said sheepishly, cuddling a tiny black and white fur ball in her arms. "And when we were walking away he meowed at me…I felt so bad just leaving him. And if you don't adopt them…" she trailed off, remembering that they were in the presence of children.

"What happens?" Bill asked.

"The store owners—they take the animals home with them," Rachel lied, wincing at the utter ridiculousness of her excuse. Luckily the boys bought it and Charlie said,

"Wow, that's a lot of animals to take home!"

"That's why we have to adopt them," James said. "You already bought him?" Rachel nodded. "Well then, little guy, welcome to the group!" The group left the pet store in even better moods than before; even Sirius and Bill, the supposed cat haters, were fawning over the new addition. Apparently, the kitten was only six weeks old, and had been the runt of the litter, so he was extremely tiny.

As the group made their way down the main street, Bill and Charlie began to lose their energy, so the young adults decided it was time to head back to the cottage and put them down for a nap before dinner. Lily and Sirius took turns carrying Bill, John had Charlie, and Remus had the stroller, leaving James and Rachel to walk a little ahead of the group.

"So have you thought of any names?" James asked his best friend, and Rachel looked down at her kitten thoughtfully.

"I think I'm gonna name him after a character of something," she said.

"Book, play…"

"I dunno…just a character I love. Like Aragorn."

"Aragorn? For a cat?" James asked skeptically.

"It was just an example."

"If you're gonna go with Lord of the Rings, try Pippin. Or Frodo. Oh, how about Sauromon!"

"Ok, first off, my cat is not evil. Second of all, if Aragorn is too much, Sauromon definitely is. Let's keep Pippin on the table though, I like that."

"How about Achilles?"

"Wow, change of direction, but also a good one. Rhett?"

"Rhett…"

"Butler. Gone With the Wind?"

"Rach, you know I don't read chick books."

"Yeah I know. Plus he's not really a Rhett anyway.

"Huckleberry?"

"Oh God no, I hated that book. Hercules?"

"Definitely in the top 3," said James. "Romeo?"

"A little cliché, but I like it."

"How about Dracula?" James suggested. Rosie just raised an eyebrow and lifted the kitten up so he was face to face with John. The kitten purred and licked James' nose. "Ok, maybe Dracula isn't very fitting."

"Did that cat just bite James' nose?" Sirius asked in shock. Lily looked at him and began to laugh.

"No you idiot, he licked him!"

"I don't trust it," Sirius said skeptically.

"Why do you hate cats so much?"

"I just…do."

"Or you're secretly an animagus, and feel like enjoying the presence of a cat would be betraying your animal form, which of course is a dog." Sirius stopped midstride and gaped at Lily.

"What?"

"Please, I'm not stupid."

"How long have you known?" Sirius asked, not bothering to deny it. He respected Lily and her intelligence too much to do that.

"I've suspected for a while, but I've known for certain since the whole fiasco with Severus last year," Lily said brusquely, not liking to broach the subject of her former best friend. "I obviously didn't talk to him about it, but there's not many ways in which you, James and Peter could have handled that situation without getting yourselves or Severus hurt in the presence of a werewolf if you were all human. So I asked Rachel what her opinion was, and you know what a terrible liar she is."

"Wait, Rachel knows too?"

"I thought you guys told her," Lily said, confused. "She already knew."

"Huh. We never told anyone…but that's beside the point. You aren't going to turn us in though, are you?"

"Of course not! It may be against the law to be unregistered," she began in the sort of 'you should really register yourselves' voice, but continued in a normal tone. "But you're doing it to help your friend, which I think is very admirable…not to mention fully trained and graduated wizards haven't been able to manage turning into an animagus, and you guys have been able to do so since what…the beginning of sixth year?"

"Fifth, actually."

"Even more impressive. Does Dumbledore know?"

"Probably, knowing Dumbledore," Sirius snorted. "But we haven't actually told him. Are you kidding? If he let it slip to McGonagall, she would probably have our heads for dinner."

"Or be extremely impressed," Lily said. "She is your transfiguration professor, after all."

"I'd rather not find out what her reaction would be though," said Sirius. "If there's one place I don't want to be, it's McGonagall's bad side. Or Japan, but that's beside the point." Lily did a double take and looked at Sirius oddly.

"What's wrong with Japan?"

"I don't like sushi," Sirius said simply. Lily laughed and said,

"All right, I understand that…it is rather gross. The only thing I eat raw is brownie batter."

"Not cookie dough?" Sirius asked, shifting Bill's sleeping form slightly in his arms.

"I'm actually not big on cookie dough."

"And here I thought it was mandatory for women to like cookie dough…"

"Why would you think that?" Lily snorted.

"I thought it was a necessary part of 'girls nights'."

"Huh?"

"You know, a bunch of girls sitting around in their underwear talking about boys—more specifically us Marauders—having pillow fights, the occasional make-out session, and eating cookie dough. Girls nights."

"Your knowledge of women astounds me," Lily said dryly. "FYI, 'girls nights' don't normally involve pillow fights or lesbian love play."

"What?" Sirius asked, horrified at the thought his fantasies might not truly exist.

"I take it back, I take it back! Of course they do…sometimes there's even chocolate syrup involved…" Lily lied, and Sirius began to breathe normally again. She patted him comfortingly on the back. "Better?" Sirius nodded, still recovering from his shock. "Good." The cottage came into view as they crossed over a hill, and John joined Sirius and Lily.

"Home sweet home," John smiled, albeit a little sarcastically. He loved the cottage, but it still wasn't home to him; home would always be the house he grew up in. "After Molly and Arthur get back, want to head to the beach? I don't think it's supposed to rain today." As if on cue, a loud rumble of thunder boomed overhead, and Sirius laughed.

"You forgot to knock on wood."

"Just kidding," John said, cracking a smile. "We might want to walk faster if we want to avoid the rain, though." The entire group took John's advice, and just as they were putting the boys down for a nap, the heavens opened up and dumped on them. The sound of the rain was comforting, however, as Remus lit a fire and the six friends gathered in front of it, warming themselves and playing with Pippin, listening to James gloat about the fact Rachel had chosen one of his suggestions for a name for the kitten, telling John funny stories from their year at Hogwarts, swapping the latest media gossip, and enjoying each others company.

Tada! Please oh please review-I'll be so very grateful!