Author's Note: Hello, and welcome to Chapter 7, or more aptly titled, "In Which James has Lots of Thoughts and Feelings." I ended up rewriting a lot of this chapter, so it took a bit to get it out. I'm hopeful I'll be able to wrap this up before the end of the year, but with these changes, I have a lot of tweaking to do to Chapters 8 and 9.

I'm including a trigger warning up front this time because I really am concerned that this content could be harmful to some readers. This chapter will detail Lily's captivity, and part of the big reason for the rewrites was because I decided to change how I handled this. It will be included in James' section that starts when he's back in his office after his convo with Remus. I do not go into explicit detail, but everything is heavily implied. The note at the end will offer a quick summary if you want to skip it and just get the synopsis, but I will add that you'll probably miss some important plot points if you do this. Totally okay-just want to be upfront!

Thank you to all who continue to read, review, follow, or favorite. I hope you enjoy!

"I'm never out of options," Olivia Pope, "Scandal."

Now: James, the morning after the gala

James woke early that next morning. He stretched out, allowed his mind to relive every moment of the night before, took several breaths, and then finally, finally, looked to his left.

And there she was.

The early morning sun made her resplendent.

Her red hair flowed, a dark red river cascading across the pillow, down her bare back. Her creamy skin, illuminated in the soft light. Her lips, rosy, slightly smirked, held the promise of more, of maybe, of the life they might have had. He let his eyes wander to her ear and spotted that small freckle he had caressed with his own lips more times than he could count.

She was golden.

And his heart broke.

Because he knew.

He knew she'd wake and want to talk. She'd make excuses. She'd explain.

"It was the champagne," she'd say. "It didn't mean anything. We can be casual."

He could hear it, and he felt it, in his bones, as if the conversation had already happened.

And he simply couldn't. Not after all this time.

Not after "baby," and "Jamie," and everything he had felt when he held her, moved inside of her, loved her, all over again. Life couldn't go on normally after that.

So he took another moment, a final moment, to let himself drink her in here, in their bed, for what he was certain would be the last time. Let himself get caught up in everything they had lost.

And then he forced himself to stand and leave their little cocoon, and with it, all the dreams and hopes he had pinned to them.

Because Lily Evans in the morning was too enticing. Too beautiful. Too like home.

Too dangerous.

And he had to leave before he became too far gone.

"You look like you need a coffee," Remus said as he opened the door to his apartment ten minutes later, after James had written a quick note to Lily and apparating from the house.

"That's putting it mildly," James said, running a hand through his hair.

"Late night?" Remus asked casually, too casually. He gave James a quick look, and that look spoke volumes.

"You aren't surprised to see me," James responded flatly.

"You left with Lily," Remus responded with a half-shrug. "I expected you to either be exuberant or like this," he said, waving a hand at James' disheveled appearance, his dour mood. "There's rarely an in-between with you two."

James heaved a sigh and accepted the coffee from Remus, sitting at his worn table, taking a long drink.

"We fucked," James said, feeling a pang of shame. He wasn't 18, and didn't make a habit of discussing his sexual exploits with his friends. To do so felt tawdry, but said exploits were exactly what had brought him to Moony's door at 6:30 AM on a Sunday.

"Just fucked?" Remus asked, his tone without judgement.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means…" Remus trailed off. "Was it just fucking? Or are you in your head again about her?"

James shot him a look that hopefully conveyed all the words he didn't want to say. Thankfully, Remus understood his non-verbal communication.

"And I'm assuming you didn't talk to her this morning?"

Again, James didn't answer and allowed his silence to speak for him.

Remus sighed, but didn't respond. The two drank their coffee quietly for several minutes, allowing both of htem to ruminate on their thoughts.

Finally, Remus spoke.

"I'm going to say some things that part of you will not like. The part of you that loves Lily, that has always loved Lily, will want to reject immediately. But I need to say it, okay?"

"Okay," James said bracing himself.

"You don't owe her anything. Nothing. You were a good partner to her, and would have been an incredible husband. She walked out on you, and left you in shambles. You didn't hear from her for months, and when you did, it was cold and callous. So jumping back in to bed with her and starting a new relationship with her? As your friend, one of your best friends, is not something I'd advocate."

James took another long drink, letting Moony's words wash over him.

"But," Remus continued. "I also want you to be happy. Not whatever version of happy you've forced yourself to be these last four years. The version of happy you've been for the last several weeks, which happen to coincide with the moment you walked into her office and asked her to work with Moody. So, if you are going to do this—really and truly consider getting back together with her—you have to make sure she's ready. That whatever demons from the past are making this," and he waved his hand at James, "so difficult, are put to bed."

James sighed, running his hand through his hair, taking off his glasses to rub his eyes.

"It isn't easy," James said. "There are things—big things—I don't know that she's faced. That she's over. And not just the Crouch things, but others—and…until she and I can talk about them, until she really lets me in, I don't see how we'd ever truly move forward."

"She's guarded," Remus supplied. "She keeps you out, even at the best of times."

"Yes," James answered, heart lightening at Remus' succinct analysis of the problem, what had always been the problem, since the night Mulciber had taken her.

"Then," Remus continued, but his tone was cautious, "if you mean for a new start, that would have to change. You help her let you in, but you let her in, too. She has baggage, but James, you do too. The two of you sit down, expose your shit, and decide if you can live with each other's pain. If she can't or won't," Remus shrugged, "then that has to be it."

Head clearer after talking with Remus, James made his way to the office. He didn't want to go home yet, not ready to take on Lily if she was still there. It had felt so simple the night before when he had suggested they talk over breakfast, but now, in the cold light of day, the way he had felt waking up with her this morning, he knew he was not ready. Wasn't prepared to have the conversation they needed to have.

Because it all came down to that night. The night she was taken.

He'd be lying if he said he hadn't thought about it often over the years; he was forced to see Mulciber more than he wanted through work, and one simply didn't forget what happened. It lurked, always, beneath the surface, touching James' consciousness from time to time. He had never made peace with it, never felt it was right, but knew it hadn't been his place then to force the issue, especially when he harbored so much guilt for the role he had played in enabling the dominos to fall as they did.

Especially when Lily had all but banned mention of the subject in the time that followed.

He had tried—Merlin knew he had tried—but she would shut down, unable to look at him and speak about it. She had said she wanted, needed, to move on. To not dwell on the past but to instead just be happy. And so, he dropped it, like so many other subjects that were too hard, too painful, to discuss. But what he knew now that he didn't back then, was in letting it go, dropping it, he had allowed Lily to start walling herself off from him to the point that they couldn't communicate about anything difficult, sealing their fates by the time Barty Crouch was arrested.

Sitting at his desk, he pulled out the old file he kept, just to torture himself.

Battle of Galloway Missing Persons, the file read in Moody's familiar slant. With a heavy heart he opened it, but his mind was firmly lost in the past, even as his eyes skimmed over the familiar details.

He and Lily were not supposed to go to the Battle of Galloway. They had both been on duty for a week straight without rest; it had been a routine mission in Wales that had gone south and had resulted in the two being on the run for seven days, narrowly escaping with their lives and in possession of strange diary that they had been sent to retrieve by Moody and Dumbledore. When they had finally made it out and back to the safe house, it was to a scene of chaos as The Order was calling in all hands on deck.

"Not you and Evans," Moody had barked as the two had prepared to join the others. "You need to recover."

Both James and Lily had argued, but Moody had held firm. Eventually though, after the Order had left, they had snuck out to the battle, even though James had a gut instinct this was a mistake. But Lily had been adamant they needed to help, and so he had agreed.

An hour into the battle, it was very clear there would be no winning, that they needed to get out. As explosions blasted around them, fires raged, and an endless supply of Death Eaters threatened to surround them, James screamed at Lily to get out, he'd follow her.

They had nearly made it to the perimeter of where the Death Eaters had set up anti-apparation wards, James covering Lily's back as they ran for their lives, when suddenly, she was gone. A masked death eater had jumped from the shadows, hit her with something and before James could so much as fire a curse, the pair were gone.

Somehow, someway, he had made it back to headquarters where Moody had been livid upon discovering that not only had Lily and James gone to the battle, but that Lily was taken.

"Her name wasn't listed as one of the missing. You two were reported as off duty," Moody had bellowed. "Why the hell was she there, Potter?"

"We wanted to help—"

"A lot of good you did," Moody spat. "And now she's gone—"

The shame and guilt had threatened to overwhelm James, to choke him. "What are we going to do?"

"What can we do?" Moody shrugged, looking helpless. "We're drowning. We have a plan to defeat them, but their numbers are staggering. I can't pause everything to go on a manhunt, much as I want to."

"But—" James cut in, pleading.

"They leveled a village outside of Leeds to the ground last night, Potter," Moody said, shaking his head. "While completely decimating us in Galloway. We have to assume, as much as we don't want to, those women…they're dead or good as dead. This is the job sometimes, Potter," Moody said quietly, and his face looked desolate, broken. "This is what it means to be a soldier. You sacrifice for the cause."

"It's Lily," James said, and he heard the sob in his voice.

"I'll see what I can do," Moody said, "for all of them. If—and it's a big if at this point-I can make contact with my man on the other side, I'll see what we can do. But it's a long, long shot."

The two weeks that followed were some of the worst of James' life. The Order was spread thin and James had been ordered to London to a different safe house with a group of young fighters he did not know, nor did he trust, especially when they reported back to Moody he had been going out on his own for hours at a time; they did not know he was searching for Lily, as he had not disclosed she was missing to anyone other than Moody; with Sirius, Remus, and Peter scattered on various missions, he was an island. There was no denying there were spies within their midst, and he had determined his best chance to bring her home was to keep news of her disappearance under wraps for now, to handle it himself. It was his mess, his fault, and he wouldn't put anyone else's life at risk. And if he died in the process, so be it.

He had just reached a point where desperation had set in deep into his bones, to where he was unable to ascertain which way was up, when a patronus from Moody appeared in his room.

"She's back, come now," along with the coordinates of a different safe house.

When he appeared and saw Lily in the flesh, looking tired, with bruises on her face but otherwise unharmed, he had fallen to his knees and wept. Because the fact that she was alive, that she had survived…

It was more than he had ever hoped for.

But as James had learned, although she had survived physically, mentally, Lily carried large scars.

In a haunted voice, Lily had relayed what had happened. She had been taken by Damien Mulciber, who had been a year ahead of them at school but had always had a perverse fascination with Lily. Lily had been beautiful and magnetic even back then; very popular and well liked, and therefore, had a higher profile than most muggleborns. And the thicker the blood tensions got in school, the more sinister Mulciber became. So knowing he had gotten his hands on her…it sent a shiver right down James' spine.

"I was in some sort of dungeon when I woke," Lily said, her voice hoarse, a blanket draped around her shoulders. James had an arm wrapped around her, stroking her hair. "There were a bunch of us, but Death Eaters kept coming in, looking us over, and then taking them away one at a time. I think—" she paused, shuddering. "I don't know exactly why they were taking them, but I have suspicions. I think they're keeping them as slaves to torture and—" she cut herself off again, shaking her head.

"Mulciber made it clear a few times I was his, but he wanted to break me first. He made me watch when they took the others away; so many of my friends led out by Death Eaters, others by foreigners I didn't know. I saw them take Mary, she's with Rowle or Rookwood—they came at the same time—but Mulciber wouldn't let anyone else take me. He was definitely in charge of the whole operation, decided who could take who, and I saw him take money from them. He had me moved, eventually, to a room by myself, and I think he was planning to-to-to—" she broke off with a sob.

James swallowed the bile creeping up his throat. He knew exactly what Mulciber wanted to do, what he had threatened to do since Lily was in 5th year. Mulciber had long muttered threats and leers her way, especially in James' vicinity because he knew how it infuriated James, his own infatuation with Lily Evans the worst kept secret in Hogwarts during that time.

"But then someone fucked up," Lily said. "I don't know who, or how, but he was about to—you know—when he was called away."

"Our spy told me her location—only hers. He didn't know about any of the other girls," Moody supplied. "I created enough of a diversion that I could get in and get her out."

"You should have told me—" James started.

"The spy wasn't even sure if she'd still be alive, Potter. I needed to go anyway, for something for Dumbledore, something he thinks might have been housed at the Mulciber estate, so it was all very hush-hush. We got incredibly lucky."

"I'm lucky," Lily said, "but the others—"

Lily broke off with a small sob, clearly shattered, and James felt himself shatter, too. Because the truth was, the women were scattered all over England, possibly even farther, if they were even still alive. And the horrifying, reality was, most had remained missing in the weeks, months and years that followed.

Lily had recovered, slowly, but the haunting of her captivity forever lurked; she would go quiet for long moments of time, and he knew she was back there, in that place. The worst had been the survivor's guilt he knew she harbored, but whenever he tried discuss it, to bring it up, her walls went up high.

And so he had allowed her to live with it, to handle it how she wanted, but became more protective, more cautious of her safety than ever before. He had Moody hold her back from missions or fighting, or if she did go in, made sure he was with her. Over time, they adjusted. They were young and busy fighting, and as the tide of the war turned, began to feel more invincible.

When the war ended, Mulciber never went to trial. Both he and Lucius Malfoy turned state's witness, handing over enough dirt to the ministry that Minchum had felt it necessary, as an act of good will, to dismiss their charges. Lily, along with James and Moody, had quietly protested, Lily even writing a statement of what had happened, urging the ministry to find the other women. But there simply hadn't been enough evidence, and the ministry was much more concerned about other issues, issues deemed much more important than a handful of missing women they presumed were dead already. So instead of investigating, instead of bringing justice, a hasty restraining order was issued as a way of protecting Lily, an act James recognized as a way to trying to appease them.

And that was that.

Lily took a job in public relations, removed from the fallout of the war, and other than occasionally ranting about deals being given out to ex-Death Eaters, she seemed to be okay, to be thriving even, until Barty Crouch's doomed campaign for Minister.

Time and perspective allowed him to see he had mishandled things; he had always blamed the Crouch debacle for the demise of their relationship, but this, this was part of it, too. Her fascination with Crouch had stemmed from his hardline stance against people like Mulciber; Lily had seen him as an avenue for justice while allowing her to keep her anonymity. He now saw how all the pieces fit together. That she had been hurt and he had allowed her to hurt, that he hadn't fought harder to help her was part of how they had ended up here, too. Here, where Lily's walls were higher and thicker than before; where he was alone and, if he were honest, quite miserable without her. Where their past continued to haunt them.

They were stuck, and the thought hit him like lightening in his bones. Forever doomed to lurk in this place where happiness was right there just out of reach if only they could get out of their own way.

Pondering this, James refocused on the file, looking at the names that were so familiar to him, that he had looked over more times than he could count. This time, though, he paused at one of the names.

Meredith Pramble.

There was a Madeline Pramble that worked as an assistant in the department of developmental charms. She flirted shamelessly with James every time he ran into her, which lately, had been more often than one would think two people from totally different departments would see each other.

It was a long shot, the likelihood of a connection slim, but if she was related, if she had some information…if he could find one of the women…

He grabbed his quill and a piece of paper and wrote a quick note.

He waited at a bar for Madeline Pramble on Tuesday night. She had, predictably, jumped at his invitation to meet up. He almost felt bad for getting her hopes up, but his plan was to buy her a drink—only one-and keep the conversation mostly on the subject he wanted to discuss, and hopefully, she'd be smart enough to read between the lines.

So when Madeline Pramble showed up in a very slinky red dress and fuck-me heels, he knew this might be a little trickier than he initially thought.

Trickier still when, as he ordered said drink, her hand found its way to his thigh.

"Madeline," he said, removing her hand, running a hand through his hair. "I actually really wanted to chat with you about someone who might be related to you."

She deflated a bit, but tossed her sleek hair over her shoulder. "Oh? And who might that be?" she asked, her tone a little coy.

"Meredith Pramble? I think I knew her doing the war and wanted to discuss a few things with her."

Madeline's face took a strange turn, but she quickly masked it. James had been an auror for long enough to know something about the name Meredith Pramble registered with her.

"She's my cousin," Madeline said, her tone to casual.

"She still around? Have you heard from her lately?" He took a drink of his whiskey, his eyes never leaving her.

"She moved to Canada about two years ago. The war…" Madeline trailed off. "It turned her kind of, well, strange. My aunt and uncle didn't hear from her for about six month stretch, and then one day she just turned up at home, no memories of where she had been or what she had done. They took her to Mungos, but physically she was fine. Said it was probably just PTSD or something."

"Was a memory charm performed on her?" James asked, his gut twisting.

"Healers couldn't find anything. Said if it was a memory charm, it was a strong one, probably mixed with some Dark magic, too," Madeline shrugged. "She got a bit better over time, but then one day just up and said she was moving to Canada. Far as I know, she hasn't been back since she left, but keeps in touch. I got a letter from her not too long ago."

James nodded. "Any chance you might pass on her address to me? I'd like to reach out, if you think that would be okay."

"Oh, I don't know. She's really private," Madeline responded, now a little irritated.

"You'd be doing me a huge favor," James said. "I promise, it's just a friend looking to check up on another friend," he continued, emphasizing the word friend, which seemed to have a soothing effect on his companion.

"Okay," she agreed, smile now returning to her face. "I'll bring it by your office tomorrow morning. We can chat about weekend plans then, too, hopefully."

James groaned internally. It was going to be a long night.

Madeline had done her part and delivered the address to James the following morning, and without overthinking it, James had written a hasty note, briefly explaining why he wished to meet with her at her earliest convenience. Her cross-Atlantic move would complicate things, especially if he wanted to act quickly, but after all this time, it was finally a lead.

A lead to do something, anything, to rectify the horrors of the past that no one else seemed able to fix. An opportunity to potentially have a corroborating witness to Lily's statement that might finally bring Mulciber to justice.

And as for Lily…

Well, James wasn't quite sure if this would mean anything for Lily, but it might allow her to find someone to speak to, someone who could understand, someone to help her.

Thinking of Lily, he steeled himself. He needed to owl her—he had said on Sunday morning he would—but before he could grab his quill, he heard Moody bellowing for him.

"Potter! My office. Now!"

James sensed his urgency and quickly made his way to the office, where a letter sat on Moody's desk.

"What's going on?" he asked, trying to project calmness as he took in Moody's appearance. His boss seemed agitated, wild, but also, there was hint of resignation, of despair.

"Just got this from the ministry. An inquiry panel's been called for Monday. As of now, I'm resigning as head of the Auror office. Until the ministry appoints someone new, you are the acting head."

"What? No—" James started, but Moody held up his hand.

"It's done. I won't allow them to humiliate me. The panel is just an excuse to sack me. I won't allow it."

"Alastor, you can't! Lily has a plan. She—"

"Has done all she can. She's been trying all week to get this killed. The most she can do is make them look bad, to point out the hypocrisy in the system. None of that will save my job."

"But—"

"James," Moody said somberly. "It's done."

"Give it a few more days," James said, feeling desperation bleeding into his tone. "Just until Monday. It says here—" James read over the notice, "you won't appear until 3. If we can't fix it by Monday, resign Monday morning. Don't quit yet!"

"It won't make a difference," Moody said. "I've been a soldier my whole life, Potter. I know when it's time to sacrifice a battle to win the war. And I can't win this battle. Not this time. Now, we turn our focus on saving the Auror office. You're the man to do that."

"No," James said, and he felt his jaw clench. "I won't accept it. Save your resignation for Monday. I'm going to see Lily and we will find a way—"

James was cut off by Moody's door flying open and a disheveled Mundungus Fletcher crashing through.

"It's Lily," he said forcefully, eyes meeting both Moody and James.

"What happened?" Moody said, rising.

"Where is she?" James asked at the same time.

"We got notice of the inquiry panel. She's out of her mind—"

"Where is she?" James asked again, this time his tone sharp.

Mundungus took a breath, and James could have strangled him during the pause, which seemed to stretch on for hours. And when he did finally respond, he said the last five words James ever expected him to say.

"She's gone to see Mulciber."

Then: Lily

The bar was busy tonight, which was good, because Lily didn't want to have time to think.

"Another round, please, love," a middle aged man said, motioning to his table across the bar.

"No problem," Lily said, giving him a smile, and began to pour beers for the four regulars who came in to watch their favorite football team each match.

It was far from the fast-paced world of Ministry public relations, but it was something.

For the first three months after ending things with James, Lily split time between Petunia's couch and Marlene's while working as a bar tender in a Muggle town. It earned her enough to pay her own keep. She had money saved of course, and just last month had rented her own apartment in Muggle London; she should have been excited at the development, but was finding that even staying with Petunia and Vernon was better than being alone with her own thoughts, her own memories, her own heartbreak.

She missed James so much it was like having a phantom limb; she could feel him, but he wasn't there. At night, she'd dream of him, of being with him again, only to remember what had happened again in the morning when she woke.

Today had been a particularly difficult day, she thought, swallowing hard, forcing her mind to remain focused on the present.

"Pour me a beer, Lil," a voice broke though, and Lily gave a soft smile when she looked up and saw Marlene sliding into the bar stool across from her.

"Just a sec," Lily said. "Let me take care of them then I'll be back."

Marlene gave a little nod, motioning for her to take care of what she needed, and entertained herself by people watching. It was not uncommon for Marlene to drop by while Lily was working. Although a pureblood, Marlene was fascinated by Muggle culture, and especially liked Muggle alcohol.

But Lily was far from dumb, and knew Marlene's visit today was not a coincidence.

"Back," Lily said as she returned to the bar and slid Marlene a beer while pouring herself a double vodka on the rocks. "Out with it," she said, motioning to Marlene, who gave Lily a faux-innocent look.

"Out with what?" Marlene said, shrugging.

"I know why you're here," Lily said. "There's not a whole lot to say."

"Listen, it could be exaggerated, you know. Brit Witch Daily gets excited about gossip, runs stories without fact checking, relies on unnamed sources close to so-and-so, you know how it goes."

Lily shrugged, forcing herself to remain detached even though she desperately wanted to believe Marlene's words. "I don't have a right to care. I sent the ring back, told him to move on—"

"Which was my fault," Marlene interjected. "Peter had painted James as so sad, and you seemed to be doing okay—"

"It was my choice," Lily said. "You didn't imperio me to write the letter. It was the right thing to do."

"Except you're miserable," Marlene said, raising a brow. "Don't deny it."

"And he's happy, which is what he deserves, Marlie," Lily said. "They look gorgeous together in that article. 'Potter Heir and Quidditch Darling Make Debut'" Lily said, quoting the article Brit Witch had ran that morning announcing James' new relationship with Tori Pemberly, whose father owned the Appleby Arrows and looked perfectly sophisticated and in her proper place on James' arm at a gala the evening before. "It doesn't matter that I have—" she paused, taking a long swig of her drink.

"Regrets," Marlene finished for her. "You can admit it, just to me."

"I don't regret it," Lily said. "I shouldn't have married him. We weren't communicating correctly, and even if the Crouch thing hadn't happened, we had some unresolved issues we needed to discuss."

"And do those unresolved issues have anything to do with Damien Mulciber?" Marlene asked, her voice quiet, casual, but laced with concern just the same.

Lily stilled, and she was certain her face had drained of all color.

"Why would you ask me that?" she said when she finally found her voice again.

"I heard some rumblings a few years back. Nothing concrete, but enough to ring some alarm bells. Plus, you've had nightmares in your sleep, Lil. I've heard you calling out from the couch a time or too, and from what I've heard…it isn't good."

Lily dipped her head, allowing herself a moment to find her composure, to swallow her embarrassment, and hating herself that she felt embarrassed at all.

"I was taken," Lily finally whispered, and she balled her fists, allowing her nails to dig into her palms, focusing on the pain to distract herself from the hot tears she felt coming to her eyes, "during the Battle of Galloway."

"Merlin, Lil, what the fuck do you mean, taken?"

Lily shook her head. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Right now? Or with me?"

"With anyone, ever," Lily replied, and she gave Marlene a long look, one she hoped she'd understand.

"And James?"

"Knows enough," Lily gave a shrug. "But we didn't talk about it either. We danced around it, and in hindsight, I think it's why I was so pro-Crouch, and James knew it, too, but we never really talked about why, and…" she trailed off, and gave herself a mental shake. "Sometimes the things you don't say become bigger baggage than the things you do."

Marlene was quiet and took a long drink of her beer.

"If you are ever ready to discuss it, you know I'm here, Lil. I would hate to see this—any of it, James, Mulciber, Crouch—haunt you."

Lily nodded. "I'll face it all eventually," she agreed, making eye contact with Marlene. "When the time comes, I'll know. And thank you," she said, giving Marlene a small smile.

"You don't have to thank me, Lil," she said. "We're friends. The least I can do is show up when you're sad and miss James, even if you won't admit it."

"I am sad," Lily said. "And I do miss him. But I made my choices, so now I live with them."

"If you say so," Marlene said. "But fact remains, you are deeply unhappy."

"Things will get better," Lily said with a shrug. "At least that's what Petunia says. And also that I need to do better with keeping up with my waxing and manicures."

Marlene let out a little laugh, took a long drink of her beer, and then gave Lily a smile.

"I might just be able to help with that," Marlene said. "The things getting better, not the waxing or manicures," she said, waving her hand. "I might have a client for you."

"Client?" Lily said, giving Marlene a surprised look. "As in PR? No way, I'm toxic."

"So is she," Marlene said. "Listen to this…"

And so Marlene proceeded to tell Lily about the trophy wife of the CEO of the Daily Prophet, where Marlene was currently employed, who was being painted as a gold digger by her husband's legal team and his newspaper during their very acrimonious divorce proceedings. Lily had seen the stories, and everything from the woman's sexual past to her medical records was being made public knowledge; it was beyond ugly, and highly sexist, both of which rubbed Lily—and Marlene, too—the wrong way.

"Here's her contact info," Marlene said, sliding it to her. "Do with it what you want. But if you're interested, you should help."

And help she did. It took her two months, but by the time she was done, not only had Lily turned the tide of public opinion, but she had the husband ousted from his job for conflict of interest, had ensured the wife obtained a settlement so obscene that most papers wouldn't even run the number because it seemed so improbable that they assumed it had to be fake, and helped the wife found a little magazine called "Witch Weekly."

LE & Associates was born, and Lily found success was the best distraction for a broken heart.

Trigger Warnings: James shares what happened at the Battle of Galloway and Lily's account after she's rescued.. He and Lily go into battle against Moody's express orders and she's taken by Mulciber, along with several other young women. Mulciber is essentially selling the women to Death Eaters, but keeps Lily for himself. Lily believes he intends to rape her, but she is saved by Moody and an unnamed spy on the inside before anything happens.