Four years later...

"Y'know, back in our sixth year, Sirius and I were trying to plan the ultimate prank to leave the school with," Rory said to Remus. The two of them were seated in the kitchen of her home while keeping an eye on her three-year-old niece, Emma. "We sort of forgot about it after a while but...once we left, we knew what we wanted to do... The night you all graduated and everyone was headed home, after the feast, we were going to fly in on our brooms and call our names out...light off some fireworks, y'know just cause enough chaos so McGonagall could wish she could give us detention one last time. But we never got the chance... We got a Patronus message from Mad-Eye Moody and... Well, I know you already know that, it's just...it's always gotten in the way of things. Bloody hell, that sounds selfish... You know what I mean, though.

"The Order comes first, and I completely understand and agree, but I haven't been able to have a life...never been able to plan ahead because that Patronus could come jumping or running or galloping or swimming over and there's no negotiation, I have to go. I feel like ever since seventh year, the life I'm living just hasn't been my own."

"I understand, Wily, but we've dedicated our life to it," Remus gently said. "We made the right decisions. You've no reason to regret not graduating, your place simply was no longer at Hogwarts."

"I know," she assured him. "I just — You're right, we've dedicated our lives to it...perhaps to a fault... There's not many of us left, Remus."

She hadn't called him by his first name since she'd first given him the nickname Moony, and that was how he knew how serious this was. Sure enough, Rory began fighting back tears.

"It was so stupid of me to put my guard down — That's what happened! I just...I thought we'd be okay... Everyone was getting married... Marlene and Benjy...they never got the chance. I was getting comfortable, I was feeling safe, as much as it was interrupting my life, at the same time, I realized it was my life — the Order. It was my top priority. And then...Sirius convinced me to...to marry him and... Now where is he?! Locked up in Azkaban for a crime he didn't commit!"

"Rory..." Remus began carefully.

"No!" but she immediately rejected what he had to offer. "I know what you'll say but it wasn't him! I know you two've grown apart, I know he thought you were a spy, but I need you to believe me — he is innocent! I know it hardly matters now but... Godric, Moony, you're my best friend and I need help! I can't do this alone! He's left me here and — Ugh, I sound so fucking pathetic —"

"Rory, I'll help you," he told her wholeheartedly, rushing to embrace her. There was no stopping the tears then. "Of course I'll help you. You're...you're my best friend too. You're not alone."

"You're the only one I've got left!" she said, still sobbing. "They're all gone, Remus! They were our friends and they're all gone!"

Remus had no words. What could he possibly say to fix things, anyway? Rory was right — James, Lily, all of the McKinnons, Benjy: they'd all been killed. Alice and Frank suffered a fate arguably much worse — imprisoned in their own bodies after being tortured through use of the Cruciatus Curse. And the man Rory loved, to whom she'd just promised to spend the rest of her life with, was locked away for life, and didn't say a word to her about so much as leaving the house the night it happened. The story goes that he betrayed James and Lily to Lord Voldemort, himself, and killed Peter and twelve Muggles afterwards, but Rory didn't believe it. All she knew for sure was that Peter hadn't been heard from and Sirius was in Azkaban for a crime he didn't commit.

"How could he just leave like that?" she asked, softly, starting to calm down.

"Wiles, he was the Secret Kee —"

"Remus, believe me," she pulled away from him to look in his eyes and say.

And though Remus wouldn't admit to her that he was still unsure, he nodded confidently.

"You'll move in, won't you?" Rory asked hopefully, the determination in her eyes from her previous statement, beginning to dim.

"Of course," he assured her.

"Thank you," she said with a feeble attempt at a smile.

And for the first time in years, Rory heard him reply with, "You're always welcome."

Suddenly, infant cries could be heard from upstairs and Rory groaned.

"Ah, I was wondering where Calvin was," Remus said, remembering Rory's new nephew.

"Yeah, don't get me wrong, I love my niece and nephew but...they take a lot out of me, especially without..." Rory couldn't bring herself to say without Sirius or now that Sirius is gone. It just wasn't easy to say out loud.

"Say no more, I'll take care of it," Remus insisted, and he got up and made his way toward the stairs before Rory could even object.

Once upstairs, he had to peek his head in the first two rooms and see if they held the baby, which they did not. But on his third try, he found the source of the crying. His eyes immediately fell upon the foldable, fabric crib which was up against a wall, right in his eyeline from the entryway, a blue "C" stuck on the side. But when he looked inside, Calvin wasn't crying although the screaming continued to be heard.

Turning around, he found a wooden crib up against the opposite wall with a script "E" hung above it on the wall. Peering inside, sure enough, he found the source of the crying. There, laid a baby boy with the tiniest bit of brown hair and unmistakably grey eyes.

Hello! Sorry it's been so long, I realized I had the final chapter sitting in my documents and just totally forgot to upload! If anyone is interested, there IS a sequel that I'm working on! Thank you to everyone who has been reading and favoriting, you guys keep me motivated!