Hello all of my wonderful readers!

So sorry for the late update- I was on vacation! It was wonderful, but now I'm back to reality and back to work!

This chapter is kind of short, so look out for the next update in a few days!

Thank you for being so awesome (and patient!)

Read, review, and enjoy!

Despite the fact that Remus and I never again mentioned the conversation we had, I felt much better about the situation I was in. It created a bond between the two of us, a platonic bond, but one none the less. It was nice to have someone in my corner, who adamantly felt the same as I did about the war.

None of my other friends would have admitted their fear. As Remus told me later in my shift, there is bravery in admitting that you're scared. I held onto that thought, reminding myself at times when I felt I couldn't go on with the relationship, couldn't go on with being a part of the war.

I was going to be okay. Sirius and I were going to be okay. I needed to breathe and remember that I had people in my life that had my back. I found peace in that continuous thought.

Fall finally rolled into London, bringing with it beautiful color change and brisk, cool days. I was happy as I put away my summer clothes for the season, breaking out my scarves and boots once again. The fall weather also brought with it school and I quickly noticed the lack of children running through the streets of Diagon Alley while I was at the pub.

Sirius and Alice also started back to school, sans Frank, as he had finally passed his auror exams and had secured a job within the ministry. Sirius, it had seemed, was disappointed that he could no longer pick up guard duty shifts, as he was back in the classroom full time. He had taken so much time off to spend with me that, by the time he was ready to start picking up shifts, he was no longer able to.

I wasn't complaining. I found even more peace in the thought of him safe in the confines of the Ministry. I knew that was a peace I couldn't hold onto for much longer, so I was going to enjoy it while I could.

It was late October, far enough into fall where the summer weather was a blink of the past, and the pub was incredibly slow for a Friday night. It was getting darker earlier, it was getting colder faster, yet the threat of You-Know-Who was still on the continual rise. It didn't seem like there was much to celebrate, but the number of owl orders for alcohol had increased dramatically over the past couple weeks.

In the customer's defense, it really didn't seem like there was much to celebrate anyways.

"I don't know about YOU," Lily said, snapping me back from my thoughts. Her red hair was tied back into a slick ponytail, a gray scarf donned her thin neck. She paused to take a large suck from the straw that was stuck into her alcohol filled drink. She cringed as the liquid hit the back of her throat. "But I think I know what I'm going to be for Halloween."

James laughed, turning to his wife with a smile. "I will never understand the muggles fascination with dressing up for Halloween. It's JUST a holiday. Besides, I would never want to dress up as a vampire...or a troll."

I dipped a dirty glass into the sink, rinsing the previous butterbeer out. "I can understand the muggle fascination with it," I interjected, "being raised your entire life to think these things don't exist, yet they're just living out of sight."

"I, still, would never want to be a troll," James responded, taking a swig of his butterbeer, "They live in mountains, they eat raw animals, and worst of all...they stink."

Lily and I let out a tinkle of laughter as James popped out of his seat, stomping around the pub with his arms spread wide. He stopped to let out a roar that was too high-pitched for a mountain troll, I was sure. The other patrons in the pub glanced over at James, narrowing their eyes as he interrupted their conversations. Lily reached over and grabbed the back of his shirt, yanking him back down onto the barstool.

I laughed again, as he rubbed the back of his neck in false protest. Before he could ask, I whisked away his empty bottle, popping open another butterbeer for him. He caught the bottle out of mid-air, tipping it toward me in a cheers motion.

I turned to cash out another customer who had just brought their bill up to the bar as I heard the door creak open behind me. The fall wind rolled over the threshold, blowing my blonde hair over my shoulder. I barely had time to turn, holding the coins in my hand, when I heard "STUPEFY!"

A couple jets of red light blasted through the bar, knocking wall decor to the ground and smashing mirrors. People who were crowded around tables screamed as they flew out of their chairs in an attempt to apparate, but the death eaters were quicker. They sent more beams of curses in rapid succession toward the people who tried to get away, leaving them haphazardly thrown over tables and chairs. Glass littered their hair and robes, some were bleeding from small cuts on their arms and faces.

I ducked under the bar, leaning my shoulders against the sink. I tried to slow my breathing, focusing on the cool steel that was pressed against my back. I needed to stay quiet, I told myself, stay quiet and figure out how to get a message to the Order without the assailants knowing I was hiding under the bar.

My heart beat painfully against my chest. I was quite sure that they death eaters could hear it.

"Well, well, well," a low voice started, his boots thunking slowly against the wooden floors, "Lily and James Potter. We meet at last."

My ears perked up at the sound of my best friend's names. Were Lily and James okay? I tried to shift my position under the bar, but my movement caused a loud bang as the thin metal of the sink gave way under the pressure of my back. I fell back to the floor, my face burning with mortification. The death eaters hadn't seemed to notice, though.

"If you took off that mask," James retorted testily, "I could tell you if we have met before. Just to be sure, you never know these days."

There were a few more sets of footsteps that came closer to the bar. Either Lily or James shifted in their seats, the barstool creaking under their weight. "I can assure you," a woman's shrill voice interjected, "that we've never met you. And you've never met us."

James snorted, clearly the woman did not understand his sense of humor. "What can we do you for?" There was a pause before the sound of a glass bottle being set back onto the bar. "Any reason in particular that you stunned everyone in this establishment apart from us?"

One of the death eaters, it seemed, had started to pace the floor. "We have a proposition for you," the one with the low voice continued, "from the Dark Lord."

"From Voldemort?" Lily finally joined in, gasps erupted around us at the sound of You-Know-Who's name. "What does he want?"

"You DARE speak his name," the woman cried at them, clearly very upset at the lack of respect. "Your filthy, mudblood mouth-"

"Bella," another death eater cut in sharply, "enough. We don't want to offend anyone." There was a huff of indignation, followed by a long pause before anyone spoke again. "The Dark Lord knows about the Order of the Phoenix."

I could see Lily's eyes narrowing as her piped up yet again. "Knows? How?"

"It doesn't matter how he knows," the first death eater waved her off, "the point is that he does. We have a proposition to pass along, a proposition from him directly. Join our side, leave Dumbledore in the dust. The Dark Lord will reward you greatly."

"Reward us greatly?" James started, "How the hell would he-"

"We aren't interested," Lily cut James off, getting to the point, "we have no interest in joining HIS side."

"Very well, then," the first death eater said coldly, "if you change your minds-"

"You do realize that I am muggle-born, right? We won't be changing our minds."

There was a brief pause before I heard a shuffling of feet followed by a loud "STUPEFY!" which was yelled by the only woman death eater in the room.

"LILY!" James cried as I heard Lily fall to the floor with a sickening thud. James started to throw curses and charms at the death eaters with rapid force, before the gang turned on him. He quickly was on the defense, warding off oncoming torture curses vigorously.

I took a deep breath before hopping to my feet, whipping out my wand, and pointing it toward the closest death eater to me. "STUPEFY!" I screamed, watching as the red jet left the tip of my wand and hit the cloaked man in the middle of his chest. He was thrown back, cracking against one of the overturned tables before falling to the floor, unmoving.

"Haley?!" James said in surprise as he flung another jinx toward the death eater closest to him. The woman who, I could now see, had black, curly hair frizzling out from beneath her mask and the hook of her cloak. She jumped easily to the left, the purple light deflecting off the floor before sinking into the ceiling. "I thought the curse got you!"

I turned my wrist, attempting to jinx another death eater who had taken the place of the one I had just stunned. He deflected the jinx with a quick flick of the wrist, sending me another one that forced me to duck under the bar. The green colored curse slammed into a bottle of firewhiskey, causing it to explode. I put my hands over the back of my neck, ducking my head as my hands were pelted with the small shards of glass.

I stood back up, throwing a bat-bogey hex at him once more. He stepped to the right, completely avoiding my curse yet again. I swore under my breath, frustrated this one didn't go down as easily as the first. "I was hiding- STUPEFY!- in case something like this- CONFUNDO!- happened. Aren't you glad I didn't get- EXPELLIARMUS- stunned like everyone else? STUPEFY!" The dance with my duel partner had started to heat up, the last curse he threw at me barely grazing my right leg as I hopped out of the way.

James had successfully taken down another death eater- the woman from earlier. We each had our own duel partner now, dancing around the pub, avoiding each other's curses and spells. I narrowly got away from one particularly nasty sounding jinx, jumping quickly to the left before slamming my body down onto the wooden floor. I rolled over, avoiding yet another jinx. It smashed the glass cabinet that stood erect in the corner of the bar.

"STUPEFY!" I heard James yell, his curse slamming into the chest of his duel partner. He went flying, crashing into the wall before sliding to the floor, unmoving. The death eater I was fighting now realizing he was outnumbered, quickly turned on his heels and apparated out of the bar.

James grabbed onto my forearm, hauling me to my feet before turning his attention to his wife, who was starting to groan from her position on the floor.

"What the hell was that?" I said to him as he crouched down next to Lily, gently sitting her up and leaning her against his chest. "I mean...was that really what I think it was?"

James nodded grimly, cradling Lily's head as he scraped his gaze across the back of it, looking to see if any bumps or bruises had formed in the meantime. "If by 'we need to reopen the thought that we have a spy in our midst' was what you were thinking...we are on the exact same page."

A shiver went up my spine as I sank into the nearest barstool, observing the torn-apart pub.

If Lily and James were being recruited by You-Know-Who already, my heart sank at the thought of who had already accepted.