I would like to start out by apologizing/explaining why this chapter took such a long time to post/write. I almost regret saying this, but I'm not really sorry. You see, a week after I posted the last chapter, that relative in the hospital I mentioned a few weeks ago was, for all intents and purposes, taken off life support. He was able to hold on for about a week after that and I spent a great deal of time with my family and him at the hospital and at home. When he passed away, it was an expected blow and even though I knew what was going to happen, it was very hard. Then to make matters more confusing and hard, it was the end of the school year so there were all sorts of award banquets and end of the year celebrations that were supposed to be happy events. On one day, I was at the funeral in the morning and later that night I was at one of said celebrations. You can probably guess how conflicting and confusing it was; going from burying a loved one to going to hang out with friends, trying to pretend nothing was wrong.

I didn't know what to write for this because I didn't feel like me for a while and in my mind, a story is a reflection of the author so I didn't want to write something that was completely wrong and I would hate later. Plus, I simply needed to be with family and sort through everything.

Finally, about four days ago, I checked reviews for the first time in three weeks and I just suddenly snapped back into my "writing place" and sat down to write this.

So there you go. That's why this chapter has been missing for almost a month. I feel terrible that I sort of left everything hanging and no one knew what was going on, but as I hope you now understand, I just couldn't write. Now that I am done with school, I will have much more time and I hope to finish this story by the end of this month so I hope to post a new chapter at least once a week, if not twice if I can manage it.

One last thing before I let you get to this chapter. The vision Elyse references later regarding Ben happened in Book Three Chapter 11 so if you just want to refresh your memory of it, this scene here sort of explains/clarifies what happened in a part of it. It really isn't a spoiler because it is sort of obvious and it doesn't really give much away.

Without further delay, please enjoy the next chapter!


A loud bang woke Ben abruptly from his sleep. He groaned into his pillows. He had never wanted to wake up from the dream he was having. He was no seer, but it was of a future that could never be; Annabelle was alive, her son was born, Ursula was married to him and they were expecting their own child, James and Sirius had forgiven him, Remus was miraculously cured of his lycanthropy, and the war was over and won. It was perfect.

Knowing that he would never be able to fall back asleep, Ben picked his head up from the warmth of his pillows and rolled out from underneath his blanket to sit on the edge of his bed. The room was completely black, which wasn't that odd. His roommates would often leave the curtains closed tight and with the sun rising later, it wasn't uncommon for them to wake and it still is completely dark out.

He stood up, knowing his way around the room and thinking that his eyes would adjust to the darkness in a few minutes. The second he took a step, he realized his mistake. His foot connected with something, causing him to stumble. Ben reached out to grab his bed post, only to catch air. He stumbled forward and crashed into something else and he tumbled to the floor.

As he laid there in pain, a snort from the other side of the room caught his attention.

"Padfoot," James scolded though it was obvious to hear he too was trying to hold back laughter.

"Sorry, Prongs, I couldn't do it anymore." Sirius said, laughing outright now.

Ben heard the familiar sound of the curtains being opened but Ben's vision remained black. Panic started to override the pain he felt and he frantically found his way to his feet. "What the hell is going on?" He demanded, fear seeping into his usually calm voice.

"What is it Benny Boy?" Sirius asked mockingly.

"Are you a bit blindsided by our little prank?" James continued in the same manner.

Ben's jaw dropped in horror. "What have you done?"

"Well you see, ever since Ursula's vision was damaged, Paddy and I've been doing a lot of research to try to fix it. As it happens to work out, we came across a lot of information on not just how to heal blindness but also how to cause it."

"It's quite simple really. To learn how to fix it you need to know how it was caused."

"Unfortunately, there is absolutely no permanent cure for blindness caused by Flammel Disease but we've figured out a couple good ways to someone blind."

"All in good fun, of course," Sirius finished. Although he couldn't see, Ben could practically hear the smirk undoubtedly on Sirius's face.

"Why?" That was the only question Ben could think of and wanted to know the answer to. He had known that with everything he had said in the past, not everyone would be immediately forgiving. A bit presumptuous, he assumed that Elyse would forgive him first (since she was a seer and she had to have seen what he was going to do) and the others would follow suit in time.

Sirius crackled, "Why? Why? You're honestly questioning that? I thought that you were just a prick, not an idiot." He sneered.

"Oddly enough," James said solemnly, "That was what Sissy questioned too."

With that, two pairs of footsteps exited the room and slammed the door quite loudly. Thus erupted a muffled argument from the stairwell as some of the males in Gryffindor didn't appreciate being woken up so abruptly.

Ben cautiously tried to take a step but he only knocked his shin into something else, causing him to hiss in pain.

"They emptied your trunk around the bed," Remus cautioned from the other side of the room. "Give me a moment." He requested. Remus thrust a vile of something into Ben's hand. Trustingly, he drank it without a second thought. It took about a minute but soon his vision was back. He groaned when he saw everything around his bed. Remus hadn't been lying when he said the other two emptied his trunk.

At this point, Peter had also woken up and was ready to leave. When he walked past Ben's bed, he purposely kicked a few books before he left the room without another word.

Sighing, Ben started to clean up the mess from around the bed. He was moderately surprised when Remus knelt down next to the bed and started pulling out some of the stuff that had been either kicked or thrown under there. With the two of them working together, the mess was quickly cleaned up. Ben was just stacking some books when he said, "Oh, Remus, keep my violin out would you? I think I'll play later."

"I don't have your violin." Remus said.

Ben quickly turned around, "That's not possible. I didn't put it away so you have to have it." He said panicked.

Remus shook his head sadly, "You don't remember do you?"

"Remember what?" Ben demanded,

"You had some sort of…fit…or something a little after Annabelle died. We walked in and found small bits of wood and some torn up strings. When we got up the next morning, it was all gone. The house elves probably thought it was garbage. I'm sorry. You can probably sneak out later tonight and get one at Hogsmeade from that music store you go to. I'll even try to get James to let you borrow the map."

Ben collapsed against his bed, his whole body seeming to deflate from the crushing emotions. "I can't." He admitted softly.

Remus looked concerned as Ben looked like he was near tears. "What do you mean? You can always get another violin."

"That wasn't just any violin, Moony," Ben paused as he tried to compose himself. "It was a gift from Annabelle."

Remus realized the situation and swore. He sat down next to his friend and put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry Ben. Maybe the house elves kept it?" He tried to suggest optimistically.

Ben snorted disbelievingly, "They've kept scraps of wood from how many months ago?"

The duo sat silently on the edge of Ben's bed, one of them thinking of the loss of a precious instrument and the other trying to figure out what to say. Remus eventually found his words and said, "I don't think it matters. The violin, that is."

Ben's head snapped so quickly, Remus thought for sure he was going to get whiplash. But before Ben could say anything, Remus continued, "What Annabelle said is that she wanted you to keep playing, correct? I think that is a better way to honor her memory than never playing again because you don't have the one she gave you."

"I just…" Ben tried to find the words he wanted. He gave up and simply shook his head. "I would do anything to get that back."

Remus put his hand comfortingly on his shoulder before standing up. "Come on mate. Let's go get some breakfast."

The owls must have already come because Ursula was reading the Prophet and James had a letter from his parents. Out of the corner of his eye, Ben noticed Ursula tense when he sat next to her.

"Good morning," he greeted as pleasantly as he could.

Ursula mumbled a response back before going back to reading the paper. Ben's heart sunk but he didn't do or say anything else. Determined not the mention anything about this morning, he turned towards Elyse.

"Did you see the announcement board this morning?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I saw it. Woot're yeh thinkin aboot fer 'at?"

Ben instantly responded, "I'm going to be an auror."

Sirius and James both failed to hold back a snort of amusement.

"Seriously?" Sirius asked incredulously. "I thought aurors were supposed to be brave and honorable; not a wanker and a prat."

"And trustworthy. Don't forget trustworthy," James added.

Ben sighed and decided not to argue with them, knowing that no matter what he said, they would just refute it. Elyse however had something to say about their words towards her friend which then resulted in an argument between the three. Remus and Ben both tried to stop the quickly escalating argument (it didn't help when Peter jumped in on James and Sirius's side) before someone said something they regretted.

Softly, yet loud enough for all of them to hear, Ursula said, "I think he'll make a good Auror."

"What!" the two raven haired boys exclaimed. Ben simply stared at Ursula in awe, his heart swelling with happiness that she not only believed that he would follow his dream but that she was defending his character after everything that had happened.

Ursula folded up the paper and leaned forward, "Sirius, am I dead?"

Sirius looked at her, startled by the horrible question and confused as to why she asked it. "No."

"Then how could you possibly understand what it was like for him to find out about Annabelle? His sister died. How would you react if after this Christmas break when I spend the last week at Elyse's McGonagall and Dumbledore walk up to you and tell you that I was murdered? Do you think you would be thinking rationally at all? Hell no so grow the hell up and start acting like a decent human being. Same goes for you James. Don't judge Ben by what he did and said when he was devastated, you judgmental prats." She stood up and threw the newspaper at the pair.

"You should read that. Eight more families were just slaughtered this past week. Think about the remaining families and if they are thinking all of their actions through rationally right now. Are you going to judge them as well?" With that, she grabbed one more piece of toast and walked out of the Great Hall.

Seeing Sirius's and James's glare at him, Ben quickly ran out of the Hall after Ursula. He found her walking up to the stairs back to the tower.

"Ursula!" He shouted a few flights down to get her attention. She stopped and waited for him to catch up.

"What do need?" She asked as she continued up the stairs.

Ben kept up with her as they continued back into the tower, "I just wanted to thank you for what you said. Out of everyone there, you have the most right to hate me right now but you still defended me."

Ursula was silent a moment as she looked down at the ground. She stopped at the landing of the girls' staircase, "I don't think I ever hated you." She admitted.

"Same." He said. "No matter what I said, I could never, ever hate you." Taking a humongous, gigantic risk, Ben quickly asked, "Do you want to go on a walk around the Black Lake?"

He spoke so quickly that his words seemed to blur together. Ursula seemed to understand him none the less and after a moment's thought nodded and said, "Let me go grab a coat."

With a quick smile, Ursula disappeared up the stairwell. Ben waited until he was sure she wouldn't see him before he smiled like a man who had just been given the gift of a lifetime. Realizing that he was in a simple shirt and knowing that it was cold outside, he quickly ran to his own room to grab his jumper. He nearly fell down the stairs as he threw the jumper over his head as he quickly descended down the stairs.

"Ready to go?" Ursula asked from the bottom of the adjacent stairs.

Ben nodded and the pair walked out the common room side by side. They didn't speak, simply adjusting to being back in each other's company. It had been nearly a year since the two had amicably been alone together. Mentally, Ben was kicking himself for thinking of anything to say. He knew he was the one who had to step back and allow Ursula to move at her own pace in their relationship.

They just made it to the Black Lake when Ursula suddenly asked, "Why do you want to be an Auror?"

"That's all I ever wanted to be. As a kid, I would wait up for my dad to come home from work and tell Anna and me these wonderful stories about all the people he saved. We thought he was a hero. Then Anna joined the department and I idolized her. I wanted to be just like her. I told her I was going to be an Auror back in first year and she looked so proud that I was following in her footsteps. Now that she's gone, I don't want her memory to die away." For Ben, that was the most he had spoken about his sister to anyone, besides his parents, since her death.

Ursula nodded and was silent throughout his entire explanation. Looking ahead, she said, "I want to be an Auror to prove everyone wrong."

Ben actually stopped walking and stared at her in shock, "You want to be an Auror?!"

She nodded but didn't elaborate any more. Ben decided to risk it and pushed for more questions. "What do you mean?"

"Everyone expects Blacks to join the Death Eaters and I'm sure there are some people out there that still think that of Sirius and me. I know that there is no way to not get dragged into this war so I've chosen to enter with my head held high and on my own terms so I'm becoming an Auror."

"Are you going to join the Order?" Ben asked softly, mindful of a small group of passing students.

"Sirius, James, and I are planning on joining right after graduation." She admitted. "What about you?"

Ben shrugged, "Honestly, I don't know. Everyone expects that I will join but…I don't know."

"Is it about Annabelle?"

"There is a part of me," Ben confessed, "that blames the Order for what happened to my sister. She was targeted partially because of her affiliation to the Order and they should have known she would be a prime target in the first days of the war. Does that make sense?"

Ursula nodded and reached out to squeeze his hand comfortingly just for a moment. "It makes all the sense in the world." She let go of his hand and continued walking forwards, Ben just a step behind her, a brilliant and pleased smile on his face.

The rest of the week progressed slowly. The holidays were only weeks away so that made the boring classes even worse to sit through. The only things that happened that were remotely interesting were the career meetings with McGonagall. Sirius was first, followed by the rest of the Gryffindors in alphabetical order. It was Wednesday when it was finally Elyse turn. She had to wait through the first two classes, the first being Transfiguration and the next being Defense. McGonagall's class wasn't that bad but in Defense Pod started to talk about 'active defense', a rant he had given three times in the past two weeks and Elyse felt her eyes start to flutter close after about five minutes. Figuring she wouldn't miss anything, she lowered her head to her desk and closed her eyes, letting sleep take her. Only, it wasn't sleep that took her. It was a vision.

A baby's joyous squeal mixed with a lower male laugh filled the air in the room. A fully grown James Potter held a young child that bore striking resemblance to him in the air, occasionally tossing the baby up gently and immediately catching him only to blow raspberry's on his son's stomach. The baby just laughed louder, causing James to laugh louder.

Lily appeared in the doorway. She leaned against it with a loving smile on her face as she watched her husband and son laugh. "James," She spoke up after about ten minutes. "Harry's bed time was fifteen minutes ago."

James pulled Harry to his chest and Harry instantly nuzzled into his father's warm, soft jumper. He started speaking baby gibberish and would occasionally hit his little fist against James's chest to accentuate the point he was trying to make.

"Aww, come'on Lily-flower, he can stay up a little longer. He and daddy are bonding." Subconsciously, his smile grew wider when he said the word daddy.

Lily shook her head and walked over and gently took Harry into her own arms, "I'm sorry but Mommy wants to get some sleep tonight. Besides, everyone is coming over tomorrow. I don't want him to be cranky."

"Sorry Bud," James said as he ruffled his son's hair. "Mummy has spoken. Let's get you to bed." He wrapped his arms around Lily's waist as she carried Harry up the stairs to his nursery. Lily rocked Harry back and forth while humming a soft lullaby while James wrapped his arms around both of them.

The room was a mixture of muggle and wizard styles. The crib was intricately crafted with the name Harry James etched into the side. The mobile, made of snitches and Quaffles, spun in a circle all on its own. On a nearby bookshelf there were multiple books showing James's and Lily's mixed heritages, two such books being the Grimm Brother's Fairy Tales and the Tales of Beetle and Bard. Propped up in the corner was a miniature broom next to a rocking chair with a homemade red and gold afghan.

Once Harry was settled down, Lily placed him in his crib. Both James and Lily leaned over the edge and just watched Harry squirm around in his bed to get comfortable. He reached to the snitch every time is passed over him, causing James to laugh and smile proudly.

"That's my little seeker," James said proudly. He leaned over the railing and kissed Harry's head. Harry squealed happily at the touch of his father and latched his little fists onto this father's messy hair.

Laughing, Lily gently pulled Harry's hands away. "No, no, Harry. You need to go to sleep," She whispered in the quiet night, trying to sooth her rambunctious son. She gently kissed his little fists before tucking him in.

"You can dream of catching your snitch," James suggested, knowing full well that Harry didn't truly understand. "One day you'll play from Gryffindor and Mummy and I will go with the rest of your aunts and uncles and we'll all watch you win for our old house. You know what; I'll make you a deal." James reached into his pocket and pulled out a snitch. He looked at it sadly, rubbing his thumb back and forth over the still closed wings. Lily reached out and covered his hand with hers. She smiled comforting though there was a familiar pain in her eyes. James was jolted out of his thoughts and smiled tightly at Lily before looking back at Harry.

"One day, Harry, you will know the story behind this snitch and be able to understand what it means. It is my most prized possession. So here's the deal; you make the team, I'll give this to you. You'd like that, wouldn't you Harry?"

Harry gurgled and nodded his head. He then yawned and his eyes started drooping. Lily laughed gently and smiled, "Goodnight Harry. Momma loves you."

"Daddy loves you too." James added.

"We love you so, so very much." Lily said as she gently stroked Harry's soft cheek. "Sweet dreams, love."

Harry's eyes drifted close and soon soft snores were the only sound in the room. The parents stood and watched their son for a moment while wrapped in an intimate embrace, James's head resting on Lily's shoulder while her hands fiddled with his wedding band. Lily grabbed his hand and gently pulled him forward but James shook his head.

"Just give me a minute; I'll be there in a moment."

Lily gave him an odd look but nodded. After a quick kiss on the lips, she turned and left the room. James stood over Harry's bed, just watching his son.

"You know," he began suddenly, "I may be the most brilliant wizard who specializes in odd and surprising but I'll admit that this is a bit much for me." He was perfectly still before suddenly turning to look exactly where Elyse would have been standing if she had been visible to him as she watched the vision. "Hello," She yelped and felt her heart start to beat faster which was wrong because she wasn't visible yet he somehow knew where she 'was' in the room.

James snorted as if something amused him. "The way you explained the details of the room, that is the only spot you could be. How could I know that? You told me. Yup, Lucky," James's breath caught in his throat for a moment, "I know that you saw this happen when we were still in Hogwarts together. We're in Defense right now, correct? Good old Pod. I remember that bloke quite well. He was certifiably insane but brilliant, almost as brilliant as me." He said arrogantly. Then he seemed to deflate. "Pity what happened."

He was silent a moment as he remembered whatever happened to their current (past?) professor. He then shook his head, "Anyway, you'll find out soon enough. According to you, I had this amazingly wicked speech I prepared but I forget it and you're right. I can't think of a damn thing I was going to tell you.

"If I remember correctly, right now for you I'm at the epitome of what Lily loving calls my 'toe-rag prick phase'. I was just talking to King about that yesterday. Damnit, I shouldn't have said that. Eh, it should be fine. You told me that I accidentally tell you about someone. You can't tell me about this now. You'll know when you need to tell me about this and I'll get the message. I know you're dying to know about all the specific things you haven't seen about all of us. I would love to tell you, I honestly would, but I don't think you could bear it; knowing that is. I will tell you something though."

He took a step forward and went to reach his hand out as if to put it on her shoulder. He pulled his hand back at the last moment and instead looked down right into her eyes (if she technically had them) and said, "We're all happy and safe, some of us are just safer than others because they…well, they left. Don't worry."

The visions started to fade and Elyse could vaguely start to hear Pod's voice again. However, James's voice brought her back to the vision for just a second.

"Elyse? Thank you for being the best friend a bloke could ask for. And I'm sorry." There were tears in his eyes and for a second, just barely a second, Elyse saw how vulnerable and sad he looked. Before she could hear him say anything else, it was all over.

Elyse sat up with a gasp. She instantly sought out James who was currently enchanting little paper planes with Sirius to throw at the back of Ben's head. Sirius and James had ignored Ursula and continued to torment Ben just in more subtle ways so Ursula didn't notice.

Pod was still ranting and taking active defense so Elyse figured she hadn't missed much. Sure, knowing how to defend yourself was vitally important. With her knowledge of the future, Elyse knew that better than anyone. Yet, her most recent vision plagued her thoughts for the rest of the day. It distracted her to such a degree that she almost missed her career meeting with Professor McGonagall. It wasn't until Ursula mentioned to her in the passing period did she remember.

Running to McGonagall's office, she made it with barely a minute to spare. She took a few deep breaths before knocking on the door.

"Enter." The professor called from inside her office.

Elyse walked in and looked around the room. It was odd being in there and not being in trouble for something. McGonagall looked up from the papers on her desk and gestured towards the empty seat opposite of her.

"Good afternoon, O'Brian. As you are aware, this meeting is to advise you on any future career paths you are considering and to see what OWLs you need to learn to take the appropriate classes in the next two years. Do you have any ideas as of now?" McGonagall said briskly.

Elyse shrugged nervously, "I 'aven't really though o' anythin. I figure I'll 'know' sooner o' later."

McGonagall shook her head and started rummaging through the papers on her desk. "Your Transfiguration grades with undoubtedly earn you at least an Exceeds Expectations while your History of Magic grade could use some work. Professor Flitwick thinks you are a wonderful student who is certainly above average in Charms theory but not as strong in actual use. Potions, Herbology, Astronomy and Care of Magical Creatures are right in range for your level of intelligence. However," McGonagall looked up from the paper and sternly looked at Elyse over her spectacles, "the one grade I simply cannot understand is how you are failing divination."

Elyse snorted, "It's a joke! 'E got no idea woot he's talkin aboot. I know teh future. I know woot's going ter 'appen."

"O'Brian, you know how I traditionally feel about divination. You're truly an anomaly. The gift you possess is unparalleled and even I cannot doubt it. Still, I want to caution you to not be so brash and reliant upon your ability."

"Woot do yeh mean?"

"What I am saying is that relying on the future to tell you what will happen is not advisable. You have to make your own decisions and deal with the consequences or rewards without cheating and finding out how it ends."

"But I kin see everythin. Woot does it matter if I kin know woot 'appens if it always will happen?"

McGonagall shook her head, "Tell me O'Brian, do you know the profession of any of your friends?" When Elyse nodded, McGonagall continued, "Do you think it would be wise for them to know what you have seen?"

Elyse thought about that. To her, the future was always certain, one hundred percent fact. She remembered all the visions of her future and felt…trapped almost. Like no matter what, she had to do that, like she had no free will. What if she told Ben the vision where he had achieved his dream of being an auror only to be forced to resign for some unnamed reason? Would he even want to become an auror if he knew?

"Perhaps the reason you have not seen your own choice is because you still have to make it."

For the first time in her entire life, after hearing that, Elyse began to question her gift.

The next day, McGonagall was walking back from teaching her first year Hufflepuff and Slytherin class. She knew that her next fifth year she had to see would undoubtedly find some way to surprise her. Expecting him to be late, she took her time and stopped to speak to Professor Flitwick in the hall.

When she got to her office door, she was surprised to see it partially open. She opened the door the rest of the way and sighed and tried to hide her amused smile. James Potter was lounging in her chair, his feet propped up on her desk, munching on a cookie from the tin she kept on the corner of her desk.

"Minnie! Just the woman I wanted to see!" He exclaimed happily with his trademark crooked smile. "I must say, these cookies are phenomenal!" He took his feet off his desk (she noticed his slight wince as he did so) and leaned forward on the desk, his arms crossed, and with a serious look on his face. "Are you my mother? Only my mum can make food as good as this."

McGonagall shook her head and moved out of the doorway to place her papers on a table in the back of the room. "So she did. She was the one to give me those."

James feigned outrage, "She makes you cookies but not her only son!?"

"I believe it was a thank you for keeping her only son alive," she countered pointedly. "Now, if you would please remove yourself from my chair so we can begin."

He sighed and made a dramatic show of getting up, using the desk for support, before hobbling over to the opposite side of the desk. McGonagall sat down and reached into a drawer to pull out his reports and some pamphlets about different careers.

"Potter, you obviously know what this meeting is about. Do you have any ideas with career path you wish to pursue once you graduate?"

James shook his head, "Aww, Minnie, you think that I actually want to follow a career?"

She looked at him sternly. She put the papers back down on her desk and said, "Pray tell, how do you plan to support yourself."

"Permission to speak freely, ma'am?"

McGonagall raised her eyebrows but nodded none the less, "Granted."

"I'm set to inherit one hell of a fortune. I could never work a day in my life and live a lavish life and barely make a dent it in. I've figured that I could support all of Gryffindor Tower and all of their children for the next thirty years and still have some left over. But my brilliant mind would go to waste if I didn't do something but you know me; do you honestly think I could work a simple nine to five job or have to report to someone? As you've figured out, I don't exactly do well with authority." His entire being seemed to ooze cockiness and arrogance.

"Potter, trust me when I say this; we all know." McGonagall said dryly.

"But there are some people in this school I respect greatly," James said, his eyes softening slightly. "People who have inspired me, you could say. So I've decided to take a different path, perhaps one that is a bit unorthodox, but I feel that it is the best choice for me. It will keep me occupied and utilize the skills and abilities I have. It might even bring a little bit of, oh, maybe some order to my life."

James's devilish grin gave away the meanings behind his words. McGonagall simply stared at him, a feeling of pride and admiration budding in her chest. She remembered having a slightly similar conversation with the Black twins earlier in the week and there was no doubt that the three of them had spoken a great deal about this before. There was a small bit of fear in the back of her mind, knowing that joining the Order of the Phoenix carried the possibility of death. But she also knew the skills and talents they all possessed and she thought, she hoped, that that was enough to keep them alive.

"In that case, I would suggest continuing with Transfiguration. The art of deception and being able to disguise yourself is vital. The more complete and convincing the guise the better. Charms and Potions are vital for knowledge of healing; often on the fly and quickly. Defense Against the Dark Arts is self-explanatory, I believe. A knowledge and familiarity with herbs is also suggested for the same reasons as Charms and Potions. You don't know where you will be or for how long so it would be advisable to know what you have at your disposal in any given environment."

James nodded, mentally taking note of what she said. "Anything else?"

She nodded, "Work with the Black twins. We are strong as individuals but stronger still as a group. We like partners, small groups of individuals who work seamlessly together."

"Thanks for the advise Professor," James said as he struggled slightly to stand up. "If you would excuse me, I'm going to go run Quidditch practice." He was allowed to fly a limited amount of time (he took the time limit as a suggestion) so he had to settle at times simply watch from the ground. He was thankful that he wasn't Ursula, who wasn't allowed to play at all until further notice. According to Madame Pomfrey, another hit to the head and severe permanent damage was highly likely.

"One last thing, Potter. Know that under no circumstances are you to join before you graduate. Is that understood?"

James jokingly rolled his eyes but nodded none the less, "Yes Minnie," he said before he continued out of the office.

Much later that night, Ben was strolling through the halls. Peter's meeting with McGonagall had gone late so his meeting time got pushed back. A pair of footsteps caught Ben's attention and he looked over his shoulder to see Remus and Lily, doing their prefect rounds.

"Hello Ben," Lily greeted with a kind smile, "What're you doing out past curfew?"

"I've got my meeting with McGonagall. Pete's ran late."

Lily nodded, "Do you have any idea what are you are planning for your future?" She asked amicably as the pair of prefects joined Ben and walked together.

"The Auror department at the Ministry. And you?"

"I've been speak to Professor Slughorn about possibly doing an apprenticeship with him after I graduate. I would like to become a potions mistress and possibly teach one day. What about you, Remus? You've never said."

Remus shrugged, self-loathing and submissiveness presenting themselves in his eyes. "No one would ever hire someone with my…condition. I'll have to find work in the muggle world, if I could even do that. I'm going to be shunned from this world, rightfully so."

"That's rubbish and you know it Remus Lupin!" Lily scolded, her green eyes glinting with anger that he thought so lowly of himself. "You don't deserve that at all!"

"Tell that to James and Ursula," Remus muttered under his breath.

At that, Lily actually reached out and slapped Remus quite viciously on his arm, "Don't you dare for a second think those two blame you for what happened to them! They love you and would never think less of you."

Remus decided it was best not to argue with Lily. Ben cleared his throat nervously before asking, "So what would you do Remus?"

He was silent a moment as he thought about it. He eventually said, "If I could, I would want to be a professor. I have to teach Peter enough that I think I can handle any student."

Ben and Remus shared a joking smile as they remembered their combined efforts to try to explain many simple concepts to their mutual friend.

Lily beamed at Remus, "I think you would make a marvelous Professor. What subject would you teach?"

"Seeing as potions is out of the question," he quipped, nudging Lily with his shoulder slightly, "I would like the maybe teach DADA or maybe Charms."

"Any Order?" Ben questioned, the infliction of his words went unnoticed by Lily but Remus caught it. His brows furrowed as he considered the question. Finally, he nodded slowly, "I think so."

Lily looked between the two of them confused. "What are you two talking about?"

"Just some Marauder business," Remus effortlessly distracted her.

It seemed to work when she groaned and rolled her eyes, "Don't tell me you've named yourselves!"

Ben smirked, "A Marauder will never tell."

"Ugh, you are all impossible." She jokingly complained.

"Well," Ben said as he stopped in front of McGonagall's office, "where's the fun in being possible?" With that, he knocked on the door before opening it. He stepped into the office.

McGonagall was sitting behind her desk, looking just as intimidating as she did in class. "White, sit down." She directed him.

Ben did what she asked and moved to sit down in the chair across from her.

"I am guessing that you have some sort of idea about your future career?" She asked briskly.

Ben nodded, "I want to become an Auror."

She nodded as if that idea didn't surprise her in the least. "I'm assuming also that you know about all the requirements and the OWLs you need to even be considered for acceptance into the program?" When Ben nodded, she continued. "I'm not surprised. Considering your family, you know the requirements better than most."

Awkwardly, Ben nodded as McGonagall continued to stare at him. "Can I go then?" He asked hesitantly.

She shook her head, "I have another matter I wish to speak to you about. For this meeting, all of your professors write a small report to assess your skills in their area o expertise and sometime make suggestions for the student. This is what I received for you." She handed him over a single sheet of parchment. Ben looked down and read it.

Professor Prongs feels Mr. White is a traitorous, hot headed wanker and therefore suggests he look into pursuing a career as a chew toy for the Giant Squid.

Professor Padfoot agrees with Professor Prongs assessment and would like to add Mr. White is a pretentious twit who should look into becoming Filch's cat keeper.

Professor Wormtail thinks Mr. White is an undeserving, stupid, mean jerk who threw away the best thing that will ever happen to him. I recommend he become nothing because that is all he can hope to be.

Professor Moony knows that everyone's emotions have been high for the last year or so and in some part of his brain, he understands (but does not condone) what Mr. W—

Professor Prongs and Professor Padfoot think that Professor Moony doesn't understand the current situation. They also regret to say that fellow Professors Lucky and Muse were unavailable for comment.

He took a deep breath, knowing that James and Sirius (and Peter as well) would not simply give up on his choice of profession. He just never thought they would go and do something like this. He sighed and looked back at McGonagall.

She cleared her throat before saying, "I was aware there was some conflict between you and them but I find this unacceptable. If you would like, I will speak to these gentleman and get to the bottom of this."

"Professor, in all honesty, I would prefer if you didn't say anything." Ben said. "I have to deal with them on my own and if you get involved, it won't help my case."

McGonagall nodded. "Very well. Just know that if I catch them doing anything further, there will be no second chances and they will be punished."

"Understood." Ben affirmed, knowing that they wouldn't simply stop at threat of detention. He could only hope.