*

JULY 14, 1984

Muchachos Restaurant

Sirius rang the little bell at the front desk, waiting for someone to appear. James was standing behind him, admiring the furnishings of the newly opened restaurant. Liana was hanging on to his arm, too happy to speak.

In a few minutes, a tall redhead walked in, and upon sighting Sirius and Liana, grinned happily.

"Mr. Black, you're back! I was wondering when I'd be seeing you again. You certainly look a lot better today than you did the last time I saw you. Hi, Liana, I hope you're fine too?"

"Lily, we're all fine! Forget the formalities; we don't need them. Now, can you get us a table for three?"

"Three – have you brought a friend with you?" Lily asked, having not spotted James at the back.

"Yeah, I daresay you've met him. James, this is Liliane Evans – you know her, don't you? She was at school with us, and now she's working here."

It was a slightly tense moment. Lily recalled the last time they had met. It had been the day she was supposed to get her job, and their brief meeting at the road crossing hadn't been the happiest of reunions. He had insulted her, and walked off. Well, now, she couldn't bother bringing it up again. She just smiled at him.

"Oh, Mr. Potter and I have met – about three years ago, quite by accident, I assure you. Well, now, I'll get your table ready, if you'll just follow me, please."

Lily walked through the hallways, her red heels clicking against the floor with every step she took. The white dress she was wearing was lined with red stripes and her green embroidered apron was tied neatly around her waist. She had left her loose, and all in all, she looked a model waitress.

"James, you never told me that you'd met Lily, before. What were you doing in London? You ought to have seen me," Sirius whispered as the three followed Lily to their table.

"It wasn't exactly what I'd call a meeting. I just had to go to Gringotts, and I met her on the way to the Leaky Cauldron at the road crossing. We walked into each other, to tell you the truth. She kept trying to get a conversation up so I just basically told her to buzz off and I went on my way. We were holding up the traffic, anyway," James said.

"You're making it sound as though you didn't want to talk because it was Lily, and not because you had to go somewhere," Liana said slowly.

"So, what if that was the reason? I reckon I was pretty rude, but you would've been too, Sirius. Don't you remember what House she was in? I guess that's why I was a little prejudiced against her. I don't regret it, and I'm not about to apologize either," James said shortly.

Lily walked up to a corner table by the window. Turning around, she motioned towards the table and placed a menu at each place. Liana smiled at her as the three sat down. James, eager to avoid any conversation, picked up his menu and pretended to be reading it.

"So, do any of you want something to drink – except for Mr. Mr. Sirius, that is," Lily asked, grinning.

"Miss Evans, isn't it against your rules of etiquette to exempt any of us from ordering what we want?" Sirius asked in a stern voice that made Lily laugh.

"Isn't it against the rules that Miss Matheson has set for you to drink too many alcoholic beverages?" Lily asked, mocking him.

"Hey, I'm a free man, and I'm over twenty-one. But, either way, I've promised Liana that I won't drink anymore."

"Well, we'll see how long this promise of yours remains unbroken, then, shall we? Liana, you don't want anything, do you?"

"No, I'm all set, thanks," she answered.

"Um, will you have something, Mr. –" Lily started.

"You can call me James. And no, I don't drink alcohol," James said without looking up.

"Well, then, I'll be back in a few minutes when you're ready to order, okay?"

Lily prepared to walk away, but Sirius called her back.

"Come on, Lily. Get yourself a drink and sit with us. It's a Wednesday night. You can't possibly be busy now," he said.

"Oh, no, we have a big group of people coming in later this evening. There's a whole crowd coming from one of the new banks that've opened up near here. I couldn't possibly –"

"Lily, don't bother refusing. You're terrible at making excuses. Now sit down."

While Sirius was busy trying to make Lily accept his offer, Liana was busy watching James. He had changed over from pretending to read the menu to hiding behind it. He was turning slightly red, and Liana kept shooting glances his way. When he finally gave up using the menu as a shield, he looked Liana in the eye. When he finally realized what she was trying to tell him, he shook his head and sighed.

"Lily, just sit down. You should know better than to refuse an invitation from Sirius," James said, avoiding eye contact.

Lily – surprised that he had actually asked her to join them –spent a moment or two trying to fathom why he had requested her presence, and then smiled at Sirius and Liana.

"Thanks – uh, I'll just get an extra chair, then. And I'll have to tell Ana that I'm not going to be on duty for a while. I'll be half a second," Lily said, turning around.

"Lily, you can just sit here. This is a table for four, after all," Liana said slowly.

Lily looked back at her, a questioning look in her eyes. But she waved her thoughts off and said, "I'll have to tell Ana anyway. And I'll also have to change out of my uniform. I do have to follow the rules, you know."

She walked away, her dress swishing against her legs. As soon as she turned the corner, James spoke up again.

"What is with you guys?"

"What is with us? Liana, do you have any idea?" Sirius asked the woman at his side.

"Padfoot, will you please be serious for just a second?" James begged.

"I'm always Sirius."

"Sirius, please…" Liana said, tired of his jokes.

"Okay, fine – if you say so I will. But there's nothing up, James. Why should anything be up? What possibly could be up?"

"Never mind, it's useless trying to get anything out of you. Just tell me something, how did you meet Lily?"

"We met her here. And Liana here has some long connection with her. She's her aunt's long lost cousin's son-in-law's niece's godfather's best friend's girlfriend or something or other like that," Sirius said.

"You dope, she's my brother-in-law's best friend's cousin's friend – or girlfriend or something," Liana corrected.

"Hey, I got the girlfriend part right. You ought to give me credit for that," Sirius said, shrugging.

"I guess it figures," James piped up, "that that's the only part that you got right, eh Sirius?"

"Shut it, you."

"James, tell us about you. What've you been doing lately? This stupid git's not opened any of your letters, and he won't let me either," Liana said.

James set his menu down and sat back in his seat, apparently preparing himself to tell a long tale.

"Well, first I thought of going abroad like Moony, so I decided to check out the Western Continents a bit. It was a big mistake; I'll tell you that much. The people out there are more interested in money and politics than anything else. Okay, so you've got your sports and your schools and all that stuff, but it's too boring for me. Even the local newspaper – something called The Spellbound Times – stupid name, but anyway, it's boring as hell," James said with displeasure.

"Is it really all that terrible? Don't you have any joke shops, or candy stores, or bars or anything like that?" Sirius asked, scandalized.

"Oh, yeah – I mean, if there's one thing you have it is sweets and candy all over the place. You'd think they're the ones who invented anything with sugar in it. And bars – you'll probably find at least one in every city," James concluded.

"What about joke shops? Don't they have anything like Zonko's?" Sirius asked again.

"Honestly, anyone would think you're an overgrown fifteen-year-old, the way you're pestering him about games and sweetshops," Liana put in, giggling.

"And anyone who hears you laugh would think you're a child, too."

"Oh, shut up. James, please continue," Liana said, motioning for him to continue before Sirius said anything else.

"Well, after the States, I came back to Britain, but I decided to go down to Wales," James went on.

"Wasn't Pete staying down there? Something came up, right? His mum got sick or something. I never thought he was that fond of her, but there you have it. People can change when facing serious situations," Sirius said casually.

Liana looked at him suddenly. How true… she thought. She wasn't sure why, but she felt her attachment to Sirius changing into something else. She wasn't sure if the reason she still waited on him hand and foot was just because of habit or if she really did feel the same way for him. Oh, you're getting stupid ideas. Snap out of it, girl, or else you'll find yourself on the wrong street.

"Yeah, well, anyway, I planned on seeing him sometime, but when I went down to his mum's place, and well, it was kind of strange, really…" James trailed off.

"What's strange?" Liana asked, her eyebrows rising slightly.

"Well, he wasn't there. He just wasn't there. I mean, I'd understand if he had transformed or something, or went out, but – I don't know. It seemed as though he hadn't been to see his mother at all. She was there, and I'll tell you she was live and kicking all right. She seemed confused when I asked about Peter. She said he hadn't written or visited since the summer of sixth year," James said shrugging.

His tale was disrupted by Lily's arrival again. She had changed into a casual forest-green top and a knee-length denim skirt. The bracelet, which she usually wore, was once more hanging on her wrist, and she had taken the ribbon out of her hair, letting it fall around her shoulders. James caught himself looking at her – as in not just seeing her, but really looking at her.

He had never bothered to really see how she looked, or what she looked good in. he had just taken her presence for granted as one of the Slytherins whose sole purpose of living was to loathe all Gryffindors. But now that they had graduated and Sirius was forcing him to be friendly, he saw that she was quite pretty – for a Slytherin. No, I think she's prettier than a lot of girls I've seen – maybe even that Ravenclaw chick that had Remus twisted around her finger. But I can't let that make me get carried away. It remains to be seen what she's really like. Beauty is only skin-deep, after all.

"Hey, oh, I'm sorry if I'd interrupted any story-telling that's been going on. You can keep going. But, well, are you guys ready to order?" Lily asked, pulling out her notebook from behind her.

"Lily, come on! You're our guest today – not a waitress," Sirius moaned.

"It's kind of strange to be a guest at your own workplace, you know," Lily said, slightly bemused.

"Never mind that; just sit down. You might want to scoot over, James," Liana said, turning to him.

James shifted over until he was right next to the window. Lily noticed this, but decided that it would be better to keep her mouth shut. She sat down shyly on the very edge of the seat. It seemed as though the two were trying to keep as far away from one another as possible – which, of course, was indeed the case. Sirius rolled his eyes at James.

"Come on, Lily. James doesn't bite. And even if he does, it's only within a three-centimeter radius. You don't have to sit two feet away from him," Sirius said. Liana shook her head silently.

Lily turned slightly pink, but shifted over a little nevertheless, and James followed suit. But both refused to look at one another.

James decided to pick up the conversation where he had left off. "Okay, so where was I? Oh, right – what did I do after Peter's place?"

"Um, sorry to interrupt again, but whom is Peter?" Lily asked.

"He's another one of our friends from Hogwarts. Anyway, I reckoned that Peter had probably just forgotten that he was meant to go there and ended up in Germany with Remus or something like that so I didn't think much of it. So, I go and meet up with my folks again in York and believe it or not they're going girl-hunting," James said disgusted.

Liana grinned up at him and Sirius slapped the table, laughing. Even Lily smiled a little.

"What's so funny about that?" James asked, annoyed.

"Liana, can you picture James with a steady girlfriend?" Sirius asked, trying to keep a straight face.

"Sirius, oh, stop it, Siri, you're embarrassing all of us. Can't you keep shut?" Liana said, even though she herself was trying to keep from bursting out like Sirius.

"Oh, shut it, you two. It's my mum who's looking for girls, not me!" James said exasperatedly. (A/N: I like using big words, don't you? Not – I hate them, but I couldn't find any other adjective to use…) "No, Sirius, I didn't mean it that way. So don't even get started…" James added quickly.

"So, has your mum found anyone, yet?" Sirius asked solemnly; though, his eyes were twinkling the way they did only when he had an idea brewing in his head.

"No – thank goodness, she hasn't. I mean, as soon as I found out I tried to convince her not to, but when that didn't work I just left. I didn't think I'd be able to put up with her showing me pictures of all her friends' daughters for more than two days. Sirius, don't try setting me up, please."

Sirius had been mentally scanning all the girls he knew from Hogwarts, but James' sudden warning had brought him back down to earth quite suddenly.

"Hmm – oh, no, why would I ever do a thing like that?" Sirius asked innocently.

"Why would you ever not do a thing like that? Well, anyway, after I left home I came back to London for a week or two to pick up some things in Diagon Alley and then I stayed for a bit in Hogsmeade. I was thinking of asking Dumbledore if I could take up the role of Transfiguration professor, but McGonagall's still around. By the looks of it, she's going to be around for a long time," James said with a wide grin. "It's hard to believe, but there you have it."

 "What do you mean by that?" asked Lily suddenly.

"Oh, never mind – it's an inside joke. Mind you, it's long and old so you probably won't get anything out of hearing it," Sirius said, waving it off. Liana asked him too, for she was as much in the dark as Lily was, but after noticing that they both remained silent, she gave it up.

"So, you were saying?" Sirius said, gesturing for James to continue.

"Well, after seeing Dumbledore – he, well, I don't know how to explain this. I'm still not very sure if he meant what he said. I told you in my letters a couple of times that I was working with Muggles – well, that was true, but not completely…" James trailed off.

"What are you talking about?" Sirius asked, suddenly intrigued. Liana leaned forward cautiously. Lily just stared at her hands, which were twisting about uncomfortably in her lap.

"Well, I'm sure you've heard of the things the Prophet's been saying lately, correct? That is to say, the things about those on the Dark Side – you know, Voldemort and all the, uh, Death Eaters?" James said as he lowered his voice.

As Liana and Sirius nodded slowly, Lily shivered involuntarily. She had refrained from thinking of Death Eaters and Voldemort ever since she had graduated from Hogwarts. She didn't think she could bare the pain of thinking of Severus ever again, especially if she didn't know whether he was alive or dead. She had stuck to just trying to forget. Now, as James spoke, she tried to shut out his voice as much as possible.

"Well, they're saying that he's been steadily gaining power for the last few years. He's out to do – something – rather dangerous, and the Ministry is getting really worried. Some of the Ministry officials in the Department of Futuristic Criminal Acts – you know, the FCA – are saying that his most important crime is yet to come. But – I don't know, Dumbledore was saying that we're supposed to pray that it does come – that it'll be a good thing. Personally, I just believe that it's all a load of shit."

"Well, what did Dumbledore ask you?" Liana asked softly.

"He asked me to – well, it's supposed to be on behalf of Barty Crouch. He's the Head of the Department of something or other related to crime. I can't remember exactly. Well, anyway, he wants me to join the Ministry as a Hit-Wizard," James said. When no one said anything, he continued, "Well, he gave me the option of either a Hit-Wizard or an Auror. I still haven't decided. But, you understand why they're asking, don't you? There are supposedly two new wizards who've joined recently. You know who I'm talking about, Sirius. It's Snape and Caraway."

Lily was in shock. How did James know about Severus and Sidney? Lily couldn't help it. She looked up at him slowly. Her emerald eyes were threatening to fill up with tears.

But maybe – just maybe – he knows something about them. Maybe he knows where Sev is. Maybe he knows whether or not those two are alive or not. Maybe – just maybe – he can help me help them stay alive and come back.

Lily listened carefully from that point on. She learnt of all the people the Death Eaters had tortured or killed after Snape and Caraway had joined – the Prewetts, the Longbottoms, the Mitchells, and a number of other couples and families. Apparently, Caraway was one of Voldemort's most favored Death Eaters; he shared this title with another Slytherin from before their time by the name of Lucius Malfoy. Malfoy had graduated from Hogwarts from before Lily had even joined.

Well, at least Caraway is getting the attention he always wanted. I just hope they're both okay.

"You know, they say that something happened to Snape, though; he's disappeared or something. At least, that's what I heard. It's possible they've just sent him on some top-secret mission or whatnot. Caraway's been hurt in a Ministry ambush, though; that much I know for sure," James said. He didn't realize that though he was lessening Liana's and Sirius' fears, he was adding to Lily's worries.

Lily looked at the clock that was hanging on the far wall. It was ten-fifteen. The restaurant closed at eleven, even though the bar was open until one in the morning. Oh, only forty-five more minutes – I'd better get back in the kitchen and see how Ana's doing…

"Oh, I'm sorry to leave you three, but I'd better go and see how everyone's doing. They're probably missing me in the kitchen. Well, it's been nice talking to you, Mr. Potter," she said, giving him a watery smile.

"Oh – yeah – bye – and by the way, it's James – not Mr. Potter," he said, giving her an unexpected smile.

Lily returned it. There was something about the way Lily smiled that couldn't be reproduced by anyone else. When she smiled, it was not just her mouth, but her eyes twinkled and her smiles came straight from her heart. Perhaps, this was the reason why James felt his stomach suddenly disappear. He looked back at Sirius as she walked away, but he couldn't keep those emerald-green eyes from swimming in front of his face…

"James, are you okay? Maybe we should leave too…" Liana asked suddenly.

"Oh, no – I'm fine, really. I was just thinking – I haven't told Dumbledore anything – or the Ministry. I'd probably get back to them soon."

"What – you're leaving, already?" Sirius said, jumping up.

"No, I'll be hanging around for another week. I just guess I'd go back to the hotel if I'm going to be up early enough tomorrow morning to meet Crouch," James said, shrugging his shoulders.

He walked off before the other two could stop him. They sighed and gathered up their stuff. There was no point staying now that James was gone.

*

Lily fumbled with her keys. For some reason, she couldn't get the little silver one to fit into the lock of her apartment. She swore at them, kicked the door – she even tried threw them at the wall – though she hadn't expected that to get them to work – but to no avail.

"Oh, get open you freaking door! This isn't the time to stay shut!" she yelled.

Then, she was struck with a novel idea. She had a wand. She could magic it open. She pulled her wand out after making sure the coast was clear. As she muttered the unlocking charm, she heard a soft click as the door swung open. She let out a sigh of relief. She walked in and shut it behind her.

Now that she was confined in her own space, she felt everything that had been building up inside her burst out. Her shining eyes gave way to tears, and she let out a gasp as they rolled down her flushed cheeks. Not wanting to have her neighbors walk in to see what she was up to, she ran into her bedroom and collapsed on her bed.

"Severus – why did you have to go? Oh, Severus…"

*