March 1980

The Leaky Cauldron

The Leaky was in full swing and while she'd come to actually get to see Marley for a bit, she'd barely caught her. Everyone had been so bloody busy lately that she found she missed the early days when she'd just arrived and things were a bit more simple.

The barstool next to her scraped against the floor and she jumped, surprised to find Remus slipping into the seat. "Hello, stranger."

"Remus! What are you doing here?"

"Sirius and James are supposed to finish up soon so we were gonna meet here for a pint. You?" Remus lifted a finger to Marley, smiling a hello and requesting a beer. "Meeting James?"

She grimaced and shook her head. "I didn't mean to break up your boy's night or anything. I just wanted to stop in to see Marlene but it's packed. I'll order a takeaway and head back."

"You'll do no such thing." A lopsided smirk curled his lips, and he nudged her with his elbow. "Let's eat; I'm starved."

"Well, aren't you a sight for sore eyes," Marlene crooned, pushing a pale beer Remus' way then leaning across the bar to press a kiss to his cheek. "Where are your idiot friends?"

"Peter is off with Dorcas. Paddy and Prongs ought to be here soon."

Marley groaned and rolled her eyes. "They're insufferable with this blasted training. Sirius seems to think they've made him Head bloody Auror. They'll be filing reports and standing on street corners but he's been acting like they'll be pairing him up with Moody next week."

Hermione laughed, but she had to agree that Sirius had been a bit much since the two Marauders had accepted their new roles in the Auror Department. Still, James' reaction had surprised her most. From what she'd gathered about James Potter in his time at Hogwarts, he was exceptionally clever but rather lazy. He took nothing too seriously, not even his coursework, yet he still managed an impressive number of O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s.

She'd only assumed that his new role would be a way to pass the time, but he'd thrown himself into it. When he wasn't working with the department training, he was training with Sirius and Remus, running and exercising, pushing his body to the limit until he was so sore and exhausted that he'd collapse in bed.

Even with his increasingly hectic schedule, he'd find time for her. She found herself completely lost in new love and since discovering exactly how much she enjoyed sharing a bed with James Potter, she wanted to do little else. It'd been only a few weeks but at every given opportunity she was stealing kisses and tugging him into her bed. He seemed only happy to oblige. Even when he was bone tired and broken from training, he'd bring her over the edge time and time again.

She was helplessly in love, and she fought a grin that tried to work its way onto her lips at the thought of him. They ordered their meals and ate as they shared easy conversation.

"You didn't want to join the Auror Department with the other two?" she asked, dipping her chip in a pile of ketchup.

Remus shifted, something flickering across his face. "Um, no."

"Maybe something else? I was thinking of applying at Flourish and Blotts just for something to fill the time."

Swallowing a long drink, he winced as he placed the glass down. "It's—well, it's not that easy for me. Employment is complicated when you're..."

Hermione's features crumpled, and she sucked in a sharp breath between her teeth. "I'm so sorry, Remus. I didn't even think of it—I'm an idiot."

"I doubt that," Remus said with a laugh. "And it's alright, I'm used to it. I can find odd jobs at times and the Order has had enough to do with volunteering. It'd be nice not to have to rely on James paying for the rent and my beers, but what can I do?"

"I'm sure he's happy to do it," she reassured him, avoiding his gaze as she poked at the food on her plate.

Remus choked on a laugh. "He's a good bloke; I'd do just about anything for him."

A thought flickered to life and before she could think better on it, it pushed past her lips. "Is that why you encouraged Lily and James to get on?"

She'd caught him as he was taking a drink, and he hacked and sputtered, beer falling from his lips as he violently tried to clear his throat. When he'd regained his constitution, he blanched and gawked at her. "What?"

Grinning, Hermione rolled her eyes and nudged him. "I'm not that stupid, you know. It's quite clear that you and Lily Evans are in love with each other."

The muscles in his neck worked as he swallowed nothing but air. "That's not—"

"It's okay. I can see now why you'd have wanted to push them together if he was keen on her. You seem like someone who would forfeit their own happiness for your friend."

"I wish it was all that simple." Scratching the back of his neck, he relented and let go of a long breath. "I did encourage them to get on back then. James was—is—such an utter prat but I know the better side of him and Lily deserves—well, Lily deserves the very best. James is the best. I want her to be happy more than anything."

"More than you want to be with her?" Hermione pressed, her voice dripping with low sincerity.

Remus' face snapped to hers and for the first time, she allowed herself to really study him. His brow forever furrowed in concern, mossy eyes that seemed wiser than his nineteen years. He was handsome, that much was obvious, but there was more there: a kindness and understanding that she knew would withstand the test of time.

"Yes," he said simply, eyes fluttering back to his plate. "I want her to be happy more than I want to be with her. I don't even want to be with her; what kind of sod would I be if I did? Sign her up for a half-life with a werewolf for a partner who can't keep a job and depends on the charity of his friends?" Snorting, he pushed his food away roughly. "Sorry, I'm not usually so self-deprecating."

Her chest flooded with grief as she watched him, knowing full well that these feelings about himself were present even when he'd found Tonks."Don't give up hope, Remus. You're my professor after all and the best Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor I had." Her lips curled in a smile. "Trust me, I've had my share."

A moment of silence followed and eventually it was him to break the silence. "Have you—" he paused, his face scrunching to the side. "Have you heard from her? Lily?"

"I haven't."

Swallowing, Remus nodded. "I figured as much."

"I'm sure she just needs some time to process everything. Being a Muggle-born, I've seen it first hand. She'll come back around, I bet."

A wry smile bent his lips. "Maybe by then I'll have my shit together enough to deserve Lily Evans, eh?"

Sincerity dripped over her features, and she sagged. "You already do, Remus. You already do."

xXx

The cauldron bubbled in a lovely shade of chartreuse, ribboned with shimming silver as it came to a low boil. Checking the instructions once more, Hermione felt confident in her brew and charmed a spoon to stir in slow rotations for the next thirty minutes. There'd been a shortage of moon-harvested Aconite, so she'd need to head out to forage at some point in the next few days so that it could steep in the moonlight for a fortnight before April's full moon.

Humming happily to herself, she stuck her wand in the knot at the crown of her head and swivelled in her chair to inventory ingredients. As the months wore on, she found herself becoming far more proficient at Potions than she had been even at Hogwarts. Frank had been happy to assist her, but she found she needed it less and less and as she sorted through Boom Berries, cataloguing them by size and then storing them in the cupboards overhead.

In the months since she'd begun, she'd been able to outfit the safe houses as well as headquarters with enough basic healing potions and salves to see them through for a while yet and while she'd made exactly zero progress in hunting for Horcruxes, it eased her anxiety to know she was helping the war effort in some way.

She found it easy to push thoughts of Horcruxes and impending death to the side these days, things were quiet where the war was concerned and there was a sense of normalcy that Hermione desperately wanted to cling to.

A soft knock at the door grabbed her attention, and she swivelled back, warmth flooding her chest as she set her sights on James.

"I thought I'd find you here." Crossing the space, he wrapped his arms around her. "How was your day?"

"Better now," she said, smiling gently up at him. His eyes were shadowed in pale purple, exhaustion evident on his face from weeks of little sleep and pushing his body to the limit. "You?"

Leaning down, James quickly pressed his lips to hers and then pushed the wayward curls from her temple. "Long, but also better now. What are you working on?" His gaze travelled to the open book on the table, and she panicked and reached for it, but he was faster, sliding it out of her reach. "Well, well—cheeky witch."

Rolling her eyes, she ignored the blush that blossomed along her cheekbones. "I'm caught up on my other draughts; it only makes sense I also take the potion if we're going to be—"

"Shagging at every waking hour?" Amusement laced through his words as his hand drifted to her bum and he pulled her from the stool only to set her deftly on the potions table, settling between her thighs.

Hermione snorted. "Intimate. I was going to say intimate." His lips found her neck, trailing up towards her jaw in long, wet kisses that set her skin on fire. "You're exhausted, James. You need to sleep; you don't need sex."

"I always need sex if it's with you." His teeth grazed her ear, and he tugged her bum towards the edge of the table so he could hitch her knees on his hips. "I don't know why you're wasting time with the potion, though. I've mastered the charm."

Choking on a laugh, Hermione pulled back and held him at arm's length. "You forget that I am fully aware that you are rubbish at the contraception charm as your dependency on it led to the birth of my friend, Harry."

"Bollocks," he grinned, finding her lips again. His hand skimmed up her side, curling around her ribcage as he kissed her deeply.

"You know—" A new voice pierced through the air and both Hermione and James jumped, flailing wildly as she hopped off the counter and turned. Her blush deepened as she set eyes on Alice and Frank in the door, both with matching smiles. "That's meant to be a sterile space," Alice said.

"We weren't—" Hermione began, tugging on her shirt then cradling her burning cheeks. "Nothing was happening."

"Do I need to have the talk with you, James?" Frank asked, his eyes twinkling in a tease.

James snorted and threw his arm around Hermione's shoulders. "Seeing as you're about five minutes older than me—I assume not, mate. Thanks for the offer."

Hermione grimaced, eyes clenching shut as she made a strange uncomfortable noise.

"Is there a reason you're interrupting my snog, Longbottoms?" That air of pure Gryffindor arrogance was evident again in James' tone. He often dropped it for her, but it was a shield he carried whenever he spoke to anyone else.

"Actually, yes." Alice shifted uncomfortably, hands cradling her bump. "Moody has officially taken me off active duty until autumn. You'll be Frank's partner for the foreseeable future."

James' hand fell away, and he stood tall; Hermione couldn't breathe. Too soon. Auror training should take months, and he'd barely been in the program for a fortnight. "How is that possible?" Her voice trembled though she willed it to stop.

"Special clearance from the Minister and Head of D.M.L.E.; your most recent exams were some of the best the department has seen, and they've seen it fit to move you along. Sirius as well, as long as his marks come back above proficient."

"Brilliant," James said finally, though his voice was a bit tighter than she'd expect. "What do you need from me?"

Scratching at the back of his neck, Frank grimaced slightly. "We need to go into the Ministry. Moody and Kings want to expedite your paperwork so you can start immediately."

Hermione huffed indignantly, feeling as though someone had landed a punch to her gut. "He just got back from training all day. How's he supposed to stay on top of it if he's not allowed to sleep?"

With a low chuckle, James reached down and brushed his lips against her hairline and squeezed her once for good measure. "It won't be long, love. I'll come back as soon as I can."

Moments later, Hermione found herself in an empty potions lab with an irritated flame growing in her belly. The complacency she'd felt vanished as she realised the imminent danger that James would be placed in. With a tight pout, she returned her attention to the cauldron, now simmering and releasing floral notes into the air. Behind her, glass vials shook with accidental magic.

xXx

She'd stayed awake as long as she could, desperate to see him again for more than a handful of minutes and a stolen kiss, but she was soon dozing off in bed with a book splayed over her chest. When she woke the following morning, the sun hadn't yet finished its climb over the horizon, the room filtered with gentle rays of light.

But James was there, and her heart sung. He must have snuck in sometime in the middle of the night and divulged himself of his clothes and crawled into her bed but she couldn't remember when. Rolling gently in his arms, she was intent to let him sleep but her fingers couldn't resist running along the cut of his jaw and over his stubbled cheeks. She burrowed into his embrace and breathed him in greedily.

As she wiggled closer, his arms wrapped tightly around her, and he hummed a good morning.

"Sorry," she whispered, fingers falling to his chest. "Go back to sleep."

Against her thigh, she felt him waken, and he pushed against her with a sleepy smile, eyes still closed. "I'd love to, dear, but someone seems eager to say hello."

With a quiet laugh, she shook her head and wiggled so she could press a kiss to the corner of his mouth. "Sleep. There'll be time for that lat—Oh!"

In a swift move, he'd rolled them so he was now flat on his back and she was lying across his chest. Shifting so she was sitting up, she glared down at him as he peeked through one slanted eye. His hands found her hips and rocked her against his erection, but she remained stoically annoyed.

"You need rest, James Potter. I don't need you keeling over from exhaustion. I can only imagine how insufferable you'd be."

One hand skated up her shirt and palmed her bare breast as he pushed up into her. "What if I promise to let you do all the work and I'll lay here like a good boy? That's rest enough." His thumb grazed her nipple, and she gasped, her hips bucking involuntarily. Drifting from her shirt, his hand came up to curl behind the back of her neck and he dragged her over him, kissing her languidly as his free hand roamed her backside and thighs.

As she continued moving against him, her resolve withering and dying with each ministration, their kisses deepened. She lifted up just barely and James made quick work of her knickers, sliding two fingers into the hem near her sex and pushing them off to the side. With another shuffle, he was positioned at her entrance, and she slowly seated herself on him, dragging a moan from them both.

James hissed an expletive under his breath as she rolled her hips again and again, his hands guiding her as they worked her hips. She never sped up her pace; instead, she moved lazily around him. Sleepy Sunday love with roaming touches and feather-light kisses that left her breathless. James manoeuvered her shirt over her head, curls spilling over her shoulders.

She fell over him, her breasts pressed against his chest as she rocked against him, the position providing the most lovely friction. One arm wound around her waist, the other buried in her curls as he dove his tongue between her lips. He flexed, hitting new spots in her, and when she came around him, she saw stars. Throughout her slow orgasm, he held her tight, breathing hard into her ear until she was finished and then driving up into her with a quicker pace than she'd set, spilling into her with a strangled groan.

They fell apart, lips and tongues still tangled in lazy kisses and fingers mapping out new trails over each other's bodies.

"So," she said when they'd finally settled into each other's arms, James yawning loudly, "you're an Auror, now."

"I'm an Auror." Disbelief coloured his words but he said nothing else.

"Did you always want to go into that department? Was there something else you'd thought about doing if this all hadn't happened as it had?"

James hummed and rested his chin on the top of her head. "I wanted to play Quidditch, of course, but I'm not sure I ever really thought on doing that for real. Just a childhood dream." Another yawn. "What about you?"

The space between Hermione's brows wrinkled, and she shook her head. "Not really. I was a bit preoccupied there at the end. I think I would have just been happy to make it out alive and would have happily traded my adventures for something a little quieter. That's all I want when this is over—a quiet, normal life."

"I could give you that," he said quietly; she could hear the smile on his face.

She smiled too and shifted to stare up at him, finding his expression unreadable. "I'd like that."

James sucked in a sharp breath, and she could feel his arms tighten around her body for a moment. "I had something I wanted to ask you but I haven't really been sure how…"

Panic swelled and crashed in her chest, a thousand thoughts springing to life. She merely hummed in response, not trusting her own voice.

"When this is all over—when we've fixed everything properly—what happens then? Do you go back?"

His words slammed into her like a wayward punch, and her breath left her in a sharp huff. Her lips parted but before she could answer they both froze and winced, feeling a frantic call pulsing in their tattoos.

Hermione's hand shot to hers, fingers tracing the angry lines of the Phoenix. Reeling on James, she could see it on his face as well. Visions danced across her mind: clues as to where they were supposed to be. Blue eyes behind halfmoon spectacles and a silver beard, Longbottom Hall.

She gasped. "Is that—"

"Yes. Dumbledore's here."

xXx

A/N: Hi all! Thanks so much for the patience with this chapter. Incase you didn't happen to catch my note on Tumblr, I have decided to drop back to once a week updates for the foreseeable future! It gives all of my team a few more days to work through things and I'm ever so grateful for all the lovely work they've done on this fic so far!

MCal has alpha read through chapter 33 but will no longer be alpha'ing this project. I am so grateful for her time and care through the first 33 chapters of this story and wish her all the best.

Thanks also to the rest of the BritAlphabet: Famulousa, Ravenslight, and NuclearNik! I appreciate you guys!

I will return next Monday… as will good ol Dumbles.