A/N The summary originally said that the fifth chapter would be about James and Lily- this one isn't. That chapter hasn't been cancelled like the Harry chapter was, just postponed. The J/L chapter will be up before next week. I added this one because a reviewer suggested a Lupin chapter and I couldn't get the plot for this one out of my head, so I had to write it.

Just a few language notes- in England (and Australia) to get pissed is to get drunk, not angry, and I'm not sure if it is possible to look at someone with fraternal affection- I have a tendency to use words in the wrong context. This chapter is probably full of mistakes- I actually think Dudley is only a few days older than Harry, but I needed something for them to use as gossip, and Dudley's birth sprang to mind.

And to finish off an excessively long author's note, where I live the legal age for drinking is 18; coincidentally, it's also the legal age for getting married. In this fic they were married at 18,which may make them too young to drink under English law. I don't know what the legal age is there.



Remus flipped the paper open, squinting in the fading light. Too lazy to get up and find his wand to light the candles, he simply suffered it. He flicked through the pages, looking for the employment section.

He paused when the social pages fell open. He didn't usually read them- he didn't really care when Narcissa Malfoy threw boring parties that every guest pretended to enjoy or if the Wyrd Sisters were planning to tour Canada.

But today there was a large colour photo that made him drop his coffee in surprise. He didn't even notice it burning his leg; his gaze was transfixed on the photo. It was taken at some Hogwarts event; he didn't other reading the article to find out which one it was. It contained about thirty kids of various ages, showing off for the camera in the background. In the foreground, completely oblivious to the photographer's presence, Harry Potter was deep in conversation with a giggling redhead- Virginia Weasley, if he recalled correctly.

Ginny was playing nervously with her hair, staring up at the older boy with undisguised adoration. Harry was either unaffected by this or carefully ignoring it, smiling at her with an expression that was best described as almost fraternal affection.

Remus spun his chair around and rolled it over to the bookshelf on the other side of the study. From the second shelf he pulled a cheap photo album.

**Remus rang the bell twice to warn Lily as he flew down the slightly tilting hallway. She squealed and leapt out of the way as he blew past.

"I'm sure riding that in here is against school rules!" She shouted after him.

He applied the brakes and swivelled around in his seat. "Nope. The Founding Four were too busy banning curses and ritual virgin sacrifices to bother with the muggle bicycle, which by the way wasn't invented until several centuries after the school was opened."

"You're a smart arse sometimes Remus," she said.

"Yep. But I'm a cuddly smart arse. Where's my good morning hug?"

She laughed and allowed her friend to come over and wrap his arms around her petite frame. One of Remus' many oddities was that he was incredibly affectionate to everybody. A werewolf who loved hugging people. It would be funny if he weren't also in the habit of punching anyone who laughed at his affliction.

"Look what I've got," he said proudly, pulling away and holding up a square package.

"What is it?"

"I have no idea. It's still wrapped up. My family sent it."

"A present? Is it your birthday?"

"No, it's the anniversary of the first time I transformed into a werewolf. My family send me a present every year, to be supportive."

"That's nice."

"You think? I reckon it's a bit weird. Anyways, a present is a present, so lets open her up."

It was a camera. A shiny, clean, loaded, top-of-the-line, state-of-the-art, you beaut, swanky, professional looking (is that enough adjectives yet?) wizard camera.

Lily immediately put her hands over her face.

"I wasn't even pointing it at you." Remus objected.

"You were planning to."

"What, you can read minds now?" he laughed, and they walked off in search of photograph victims. **



He'd adored that camera. Later, he was glad that he'd loved it so much, because when he really felt like he'd fallen into a black hole he could pop open a bottle of red and get quietly pissed at his kitchen table while looking at the photographic proof that he had once been happy. Not that that was a regular occurrence anymore, although it had been an almost nightly routine in the early days after Lily and James died.

He found the photo he was looking for and whipped it out of the protective plastic sleeve. He placed it next to the newspaper photo and was stunned by the resemblance.

They were almost identical. Both showed a Potter conversing with an obviously smitten redhead- Ginny and Lily even wore their hair the same way.



**Remus jogged up the path, a video under one arm and a bag of chips under the other. The garden was still surprisingly healthy. Remus had been under the impression that James could kill plants just by coming within two feet of them.

Inside, Sirius was taking off his coat. Remus tossed the video to him.

"What did you get?" Sirius asked, staring at the case.

"The title is written on the spine. I didn't even know videos existed until Lily told me about them yesterday, so I didn't know how to pick a good one. The lady at the video store said that this was her favourite."

Sirius looked at the title. "The Crucible. Looks interesting. Its about witches, so it has to be good."

They started up the stairs together. Lily was in the kitchen as usual. She loved her kitchen because it was always warm and cheerful.

She was dressed in black sweatpants and one of James' old t-shirts. This was an odd look for Lily, who always tried to look attractive. The scungy t- shirt was hardly flattering or feminine.

Remus glanced over at Sirius and inclined his head towards Lily, who had her back to them. "I bet you ten galleons." He whispered.

Sirius' eyes widened. "You think?"

"I don't think. I know. Do we have a bet?"

"Sure."

James was sprawled on the lounge, looking content. Peter was sitting on the floor, digging into a bucket of popcorn. Lily came in and settled herself comfortably next to James. He wrapped his arms around her, pouring even more syrup on the scene of marital bliss.

Remus managed to get the video into the VCR and turn it on, with Lily and James yelling instructions- Lily's were genuine, James was just yelling fake tips to confuse him.

"Wait, you have to jump up and down three times before you stick it in, then touch your nose with your tongue or the video player won't work." James said, his face perfectly straight.

"I married an evil man." Lily said with a sigh.

"Yeah, but I make up for it by being handsome and a great kisser."

During the boring bits of the video they chatted.

"So, what's going on in your neck of the woods?" Sirius asked casually.

"Well, Petunia has given birth to a pig." James said.

"They've named the unfortunate child Dudley. Dudley Dursley. There should be a law against giving children names that awful."

"And Arabella's cat finally had her kittens. Five of them."

"She's keeping the lot."

Remus nodded. "You know, if 'Bella isn't careful she's going to wind up one of those crazy old cat ladies."

"Our good friend Severus Snape is teaching at Hogwarts now."

"Poor kids."

They continued like this for a while until-

"Oh, and Lily's expecting a baby."

There was a long pause while everyone waited for James to tell them he was joking. He didn't. Remus turned to Sirius. "I believe I just won ten galleons."

"Perceptive git." Sirius muttered, counting out the money.

"But you weren't trying for a baby." Peter said.

"She was an accident." James admitted.

"She?" Remus asked. "You know the sex?"

"No, we don't know. He just believes that we're definitely going to have a redheaded little girl names Rose Potter, who will be Gryffindor Seeker and Head Girl. He has a whole fantasy life built up for his daughter. But he'll be disappointed, because we're having a son."

"You don't know that." James said.

"James, the kid lives in my abdomen. I know a few things about him."

"Have you though of any names?" Sirius asked, interrupting an obviously long running argument.

"Well, Rose if it's a girl. And James won't even consider picking out a boy's name because he insists that we're having a girl, so he'll probably end up with a boring name like John or Harry." **



Remus woke with a start. He'd drifted off. Glancing out the window, he saw that the sun had set and darkness had fallen.

He shut the newspaper, deciding to forget about the job search for a while. He left the room, stumbling over furniture in the gloom. His wand was in the kitchen in a drawer. "Lumos," he commanded, illuminating his small cooking/eating area. 'Untidy' would have been a kind description for the room. Cleanliness wasn't next to godliness in Remus' dictionary. He looked at the clock. He'd been asleep longer than he'd realised. It was quite late at night. Coincidentally, in about twenty seconds it would be exactly fifteen years to the minute since the Potter's were killed.

He stood watching the seconds tick away. Its amazing how long twenty seconds can be when you're clock-watching. After eleven seconds, the large doggy door he'd installed in the back door clanged loudly. Remus didn't turn around.

"I see you remembered too." Sirius said quietly.

"How could I forget?"

They stood in silence, watching the clock. The hands moved slowly to the minute he'd been waiting for. He was almost disappointed when nothing happened. It was a minute, just like any other minute.

"You want a drink?" Sirius asked. There was the heavy click of a wine bottle being placed on the table.

"Where'd you find that?" Remus asked. Sirius couldn't even buy food for himself, so the purchase of alcohol was out of the question.

"I found it in vault 466 in Gringotts." Sirius explained, easily locating the corkscrew he knew was in the second drawer. "The goblins don't care who they're serving, so long as you've got your key."

"So that's…"

Sirius nodded.



**After James and Lily's spur-of-the-moment wedding, they had a small, spur- of-the-moment party to celebrate.

They partied into the small hours of the morning, until there were only the Marauders and Lily left. Someone had bought a case of wine as a wedding present, and there were two small bottles left.

Too exhausted to do anything else, they were all sitting on the floor. Lily was nearly asleep in James' lap, and Peter was asleep with his back against the wall.

Sirius opened one of the bottles and poured five small glasses. "One last toast?"

"I'll do it." James offered. He took his glass and, with surprisingly clear speech considering the amount of celebrating they'd done, said "I'd like to propose a toast to the new Mrs Potter, my favourite person in the whole world, and to my three best friends," he sighed contentedly. "I feel like my life is a jigsaw puzzle and I've finally found all the pieces."

"I'd forgotten that alcohol makes you go all soppy." Sirius said with an affectionate punch on James' shoulder.

Remus kicked Peter to wake him up. "We three had better stumble home then."

"What are we going to do with this last bottle?" Lily asked sleepily, lifting her head off her new husband's shoulder for a second.

"Keep it. Drink it on your golden wedding anniversary." Sirius suggested.

"I have a better idea." James said. "Why don't we keep it, and the last living member of this group can drink a toast to the others?"

"What a depressing note to end our wedding on." Lily murmured.

"I like the idea." Sirius said sombrely. Everybody paused, all thinking the same thing- with Voldemort steadily gaining power; it probably wouldn't be very long until that bottle was opened. **

Remus shook his head and picked up the bottle to put it away. The neck was sticky with dog drool because Sirius had been carrying it in his mouth in dog form.

"I think you should open it." Sirius said in the same sombre tone he'd used all those years before.

"Only Lily and James are dead."

"Sure, James and Lily are the only legitimately dead members of the group, but look at the rest of us. There's Peter, who faked his own death a decade and a half ago and has been under someone else's command for years, never doing anything unless he's told to. That's not living. And me, I'm more dog than man, hiding in the shadows, being people's pet. The only people I ever talk to are you and Harry, and I never do anything except hide. Nope, we're not all dead, but we're not living either. You're the last man standing."

Remus felt tears prick his eyes as Sirius poured two glasses of wine. "May the curse of the Marauders never strike again," he whispered.

Sirius handed him his glass with a smile. "We haven't had the best of luck, have we? Maybe Snape wasn't just making idle threats when he said he was going to hex us after that dead rat incident in fourth year."

Remus went to drink his wine, but Sirius stopped him. "You have to make a toast to those of us that have fallen."

Remus thought for a moment, and then lifted his glass. "To the missing pieces of the puzzle."