I know it's been a while, but I've been super busy. I hope you like this, and I hope to post another chapter v. soon. Also, check out my new story (that was already written because I've had it forever so it isn't taking up time from this story and CYKAS). Please review!

The next morning, Antlia awoke to the most wonderful smell. Seeing the warm July sunshine outside, she hurried to dress and meet the day. Walking out the front door, she gasped. The entire house was covered in white blossoms. The roses had bloomed, and they were the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. The vines creeped and crawled around windows, the chimney, all the way to the roof, and nearly the entire manor had some of the floral covering on it.

"It's beautiful," she couldn't help but sighing as she summoned a book she had been reading from the library and headed to the fountain. She was going to enjoy the day. She had barely got there and settled down in a newly appeared chair, when Alpha bounded up and snuggled up to her side happily. At least she wouldn't have to enjoy the day alone.

It was nice to have a friend, and the house was so peaceful, Lia couldn't help enjoying her day.

"Come on, boy," she said as she headed upstairs to get ready for bed, allowing Alpha to head into the room ahead of her. He immediately jumped up on the bed and laid down as she went to the dresser and pulled the pins out of her hair, brushing it out after a long day outside. She pulled out a nightgown and got ready for bed, humming a bit and talking to her companion idly about nothing.

"You can stay here tonight if you want," she said to the dog, as she got into bed. " I just cracked the door if you want to escape, but I don't know if that husband of mine lets you sleep on a nice bed like this one. It's more than big enough for two. If not, I'm going to sleep. Thanks for keeping me company, you were a good dog today." And as if accepting the invitation, Alpha curled up at her feet and seemed content to stay so she flicked her wand at the light and went to sleep.


Antlia opened her eyes and snuggled deeper into the warm body next to her with a sigh as she closed her eyes again. She was contemplating getting up when a warm arm wrapped around her middle and pulled her closer. Yes, it was rather too comfortable to get up just yet… arm?

Shooting out of bed, she scrambled for her wand, disoriented by the barely familiar room, and the fact she had an unexpected bedmate.

"HUH!" exclaimed Orion, sitting up from his spot on top of the covers, her movement waking him.

"What are you doing!" demanded Antlia quietly, her wand lowered but still shooting sparks as he rubbed his eyes disoriented.

"Sleeping, now come back to bed, darlin'," said Orion sleepily falling back and then realizing he was nude except for a pair of blue boxers, pulling some sheets over him to cover up.

"Why are you in my bed?" Lia said looking around the room.

"You said I could stay, now either let me sleep or come back to bed," muttered a still half asleep Orion.

"I most certainly did nn…." protested Lia. "YOU! YOU!"

"FUCK!" exclaimed Orion, shooting out of the bed and stumbling as he hit his feet.

"GET OUT OF MY SIGHT YOU BASTARD!" shrieked Lia shooting another hex at him as he scrambled for his wand, trying to duck her onslaught of spells. "YOU! YOU! TOOK ADVANTAGE OF ME!"

"I was just keeping you company," he said frantically dodging spells as he realized his wand was tangled up in the mess of sheets on the bed.

"You let me pour my lonely heart out to you for two days!" she said flaming with embarrassment. "YOU WATCHED ME UNDRESS!"

"Not like I hadn't seen it all before," he said as she threw a rather violent curse his way, hitting his arm, causing instant bruising. "You give a rather nice show," he added with a laugh, causing her to scream in frustration. "I had to stay close to protect you two!"

"That's very nice and well, but who's going to protect you from ME!" she said, throwing another series of spells his way, a rather powerful stunner hitting him in the chest before he could answer. And it was just her luck that as he fell, he happened to crack his head on the bedpost, blood immediately flowing out of the gaping wound on his forehead.

"RYAN!" she screamed, realizing she might have really hurt him and rushing to his side, rolling him over. His eyes snapped open, and before she could register anything happening, he had rolled on top of her and stolen her wand, pinning her hands above her head as he cast a spell of his own and a burst of white came out the tip. He looked at her, the tears that had welled up in her eyes when she watched him fall threatening to fall as blood dripped from his head wound to her face.

"Ryan?" she said tentatively, reaching for his face as he had almost immediately released her hands upon unarming her. "Oh, Merlin, I… I…" and she was hysterical as he slowly rolled to sit next to her and she sat up. "I… I'm sorry… Oh… You're…."

"I deserved that one," he said quietly as she sobbed, her hands shaking.

"I'll… let me… where's… yes… wand…"

"I already asked James to send his wife over, she can heal me up," said Orion, moving the wand away from her grasp.

"But… I… I did… I can.."

"You're barely coherent, darling. Ellie can fix me up as well as you could normally, but I don't think you're in a state to patch me up right now."

"I'm sorry!" she wailed as quick footsteps could be heard in the hallway. "I…. you're…"

"Black!" came a loud voice from the door.

"Present," replied Orion, raising a hand, and James and a young woman in a dressing gown came around to the side of the bed where Orion was sitting with his back against the side, holding a corner of the sheet to his head, trying to staunch the blood running from the gash in his forehead while Lia knelt next to him looking miserable and guilty as silent tears ran down her face that was also covered with his blood.

"Oh, bloody hell!" exclaimed James, looking sick at the blood, not sure who it was coming from.

"I'LL GO PEACEFULLY!" exclaimed Lia, throwing her hands in the air seeing James, wand in hand and in his auror robes as he must have just been getting ready for work. "I DIDN'T MEAN TO REALLY HURT HIM!"

"We're not here to arrest you for throwing a couple spells at your husband," laughed James. "I mean… if anyone, maybe Orion should be in trouble. You are supposed to dodge those!" he laughed.

"Of course, any good husband dodges all of his wife's hex's, James," said Ellie pointedly as she knelt down next to the crying Lia and calm Orion. "Nice to meet you, I'm Elaine Potter," she said sticking out a hand for Lia to shake. "I'm a healer. Orion's message said he must have hit his head after catching a stunner, and that you were too hysterical to fix him up."

"I… I didn't… I'm a…" said Lia, trying to calm herself before she got the hiccups. Orion must have anticipated the same thing because his free hand was rubbing her back.

"Yeah, James," Orion said over Lia's mumblings. "Like you've never needed a couple of counter spells after a run in with Ellie here."

"That's different, my wife happens to be an exceptionally bright witch with a fiery temper," James defended himself.

"And mine isn't?" demanded Orion, causing James to pale. "Last I checked, my wife had a pretty interesting temper and knew her way around the business end of a wand."

"Okay, point taken, sorry Lia. Didn't mean to imply you weren't a formidable witch in your own right," he amended sheepishly.

"There, good as new," said Elaine with a smile, looking at Orion's newly headed head. "No long term damage done, and I'll bet you deserved it," she said. "Let's get some breakfast together, Lia. I want to meet the girl who captured Orion here's heart so fully! Besides, from what I've heard, we might have quite a bit in common, besides being married to marauders that is."

"And I'll take Orion in to work for a bit. I'm sure the girls will be safe with your airtight wards," said James pulling a protesting Orion to his feet.

"No, I need to protect Lia and the baby!"

"They'll be fine, I'm sure the wards on this old house will hold to protect one of their own and an heir. You need the break from each other and Ellie can watch her for a few hours, we'll be back around lunch," said James, pulling the still mostly naked Orion from the room so he could get decent for work.

"Come on, I'm sure the house elves already made tea, and we'll have them whip up some food. I for one would like an omelet," said Elaine, gently leading the still shocked Lia from the room. "Believe me when I say I've seen Black with worse, and most of the time he deserves it. He wasn't upset, and he was fine."

"I… I could have killed him!" Antlia finally burst out as they entered the kitchen to find two elves busily preparing breakfast, tea already on the small table.

"But you didn't. Now, I want to hear all about your marriage, and everything with you and Orion and this mess. It seems like you could use some companionship."

"That's how this mess kind of started. But, I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me first say there's two sides to every story. And this is mine, the right one…" and Lia began the saga of their life together, in the process becoming fast friends with Ellie Potter.

"And so there I am, when this big black dog shows, up and let me tell you! My heart stopped, and I was sure I had seen the grim!"

"NO! But! OH!" exclaimed Elaine. "And this morning! I… I… James would be dead."

"Oh, it was a close call… but… I really do regret overreacting, but he… I'm still upset he would trick me like that… not that I haven't come to expect him to lie and deceive… about everything!"

"He's definitely been using your ignorance to his advantage."

"I just… I didn't even think to question it."

"You were lonely, but no more worries, you have me now, and I'll introduce you to my very best friend Victoire Lupin. You'll like her. Her only major character flaw seems to be that she also married a marauder… but… I mean… so did we."

"If she's anything like you, I'm sure I'll like her very much. Thank you so much for being so kind and understanding and letting me pour my heart out to you. You really didn't have to you know."

"But I did. You seem so nice, and I think we'll end up becoming close friends. If for no other reason than that our husbands are best friends and inseparable. I need someone to try and help me control Black. However, I think we would have become friends even if we met under different circumstances," laughed Ellie, already rather liking this sweet, funny French woman.

"I need a friend right now, so thank you, Elaine," replied Lia with a big smile.

"Oh, it's Ellie now… or El, or Lainey, we're on a nickname basis now," joked Ellie.

"Lia," said Antlia sticking out her hand as if they were just meeting. "Antlia is much to formal, and strange."

"I kinda like it…. Fits you…" said Ellie with a smirk, causing Antlia to laugh and shake her head in protest.


Orion and James flooed into the front entry, and the first thing they noticed was the laughter coming from the open door of the morning room. James casually looked in, leaning against the frame with a smile. Ellie was sitting on a sofa, her feet propped up in front of her, hands resting on her seven month pregnant stomach while she watched Lia react some sort of hilarious story from the opposite chair.

"And that's how I met your husband!" laughed Lia as Elaine giggled, helplessly gasping for air.

"I'm pretty sure it wasn't that funny. She was bawling her eyes out and in grave danger," snapped James when the laughing seemed to go on and on and neither noticed their husbands in the doorway. Lia looked over and laughed again.

"You don't remember me," she said, walking slowly up to him. "Perhaps, some firewhiskey might jog your memory?"

"What?" replied a puzzled James, wondering why she was closing in on him.

"It was a dark, hot summer night in Paris, you and me all by our lonesome in the alley behind my favorite club. Surely you remember…. Prongsie?"

"James?" growled Orion, wondering why Elaine seemed to think this was hilarious as James still had a puzzled look on his face.

"You said I couldn't hold a candle to miss-200-rejections?" said Lia pouting and putting her hands on her hips, sounding unamused as James' eyes widened. "Yeah, not exactly what every insecure seventeen year old wants to hear from a hot stranger at a bar. I was quite devastated."

"Antlia… oh… OH!" laughed James. "And you listened to me pour my heart out… oh…. This is just great… Ellie… sweetheart… I was terribly drunk… and I wasn't really that pathetic… and…" James broke off, his protests drowned out by his wife's mirth.

"Oh yes you were," said Orion and Lia at the same time, surprising themselves and looking away from each other uncomfortably.

"I… I… love you…" laughed Ellie. "But really… you were… quite… lovesick… although… it's a little…. Sweet… in a sad pathetic sort of way…" James rolled his eyes and crossed the room to sit with her, a faint blush coloring his cheeks.

"I'm glad I can finally see what was so great about her," commented Lia. "I mean, I only listened to you go on about her for hours."

"Well, I'm glad I finally met you again. It was obvious that you were special from the first, and I'm very glad to have met you again," said James sincerely. Ellie sighed, her laughter abating, and pulled him down for a kiss.

"For the record, at that point, I was falling for you."

"I know."

"Cocky bastard!" laughed Ellie. "See what I have to put up with! No wonder it took so long!"

For those of you new to my stories, or who read Marauders Class of 2018 ages ago, read Chapter 13 to see James and Antlia's first meeting. I wrote her in knowing she would be Orion's wife which is why they never met. But, I like to think that's part of her personality that Orion fell in love with. The kind of girl that you can meet at a bar and talk about another girl to for an hour but she'll actually listen. The kind of girl that will save you from an aggressive blond veela, but make no move herself. You know… the nice kind. Please Review- Ellie