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Disclaimer: I don't own anything that can be traced back to the Harry Potter universe or the Guiding Light universe.

Chapter Four: Dinah

James woke up and stared at an unfamiliar ceiling. Pure instinct made him go for his wand before he remembered. He hadn't been captured and he wasn't in prison. This was Company- his new 'home', as decreed by Dumbledore. He permitted himself to breathe. A faint voice spoke in his head. James?

Hullo, Annamaria. Glad to see that this worked.

Ditto. It's awful here without you. That old bastard Barty Crouch came and tried to interrogate me and Elizabeth yesterday- said he thought we were in on the plot to kill you.

It was by sheer force of will that James refrained from thinking of any number of painful and possibly fatal things he'd like to do to Bartemius Crouch just then. What happened?

He got the impression that Anne was laughing. Remus gave him a black eye and a broken nose to remember us by, I hexed him, and Elizabeth used every word our mother ever told us not to on him as she showed him the door.

Lizzy talking like you after the First Battle of the Ministry? he teased. I find that hard to believe.

Shut up, James.

As you wish. What's been going on besides that?

You and Lily's murders are still being investigated-we all know who did it, but not who was in on it. Both of you are much better loved by the Wizarding populace dead than you were alive. They only seem to realize how much the two of you did for them now that you're gone. His sister's 'voice' was heavy with the irony of the situation. Sirius has been thrown in Azkaban-no trial, nothing. Dumbledore did testify publicly against him, though. There might have been a hint of pain in Anne's tone then, but he couldn't be sure. Anne and Sirius had always claimed that they didn't care for each other at all, they were just married because they didn't want James to get up-one on them by marrying Lily.

Wonder what Dumbledore's planning with that? James wondered 'aloud'.

I don't know, Anne confessed honestly. He never does anything without a reason, though. She paused. Oh, shit. The servants are starting to wake, and it's pretty well known the look I have when I'm talking to you like this. I'll be back-for lack of a better term-later. Anne retreated, and he was alone in his head again. He chuckled grimly to himself. Dumbledore had asked him before he left if there was any way that he and Anne would be able to communicate across the Atlantic Ocean, and he had told the old man that they wouldn't even be able to tell if the other was alive at such a distance. Dumbledore was known for a Legilimens, but Occulmency had always been one of James's strengths. So had lying like a dog.

A quick glance at the clock told him that it was far too early for anyone else to be up, but there was no probability that he'd be able to go back to sleep. Just as well; he needed to think. He hadn't been able to think things all the way through since he left Madam Haldanski what seemed a lifetime ago.

The fellowship of the Marauders was broken. It was curiously painful to think about. He had always known that even such friends as they had been wouldn't be able to hold to the promises they had made or the loyalty between them remain forever, but he supposed at some point he had started to believe that his surrogate brothers and he truly would stand together to the bitter end, and go down together when they met their Maker. It had been stupid, a foolish dream that had held for twenty-four long years, but now it was over. Sirius was in prison for a crime he didn't commit, Remus was landed with Elizabeth and Anne and not a friend in the world, Peter was sworn to the Dark Lord, and James himself was so far from all of them, an exile in a strange land. If the Marauders had to break, they should not have broken like that, but Fate was seldom a kind mistress.

Control of Wright Enterprises should have passed to Anne, in accordance to his will. Morgan's inheritance-a division to herself and shares in all-would have gone to her maternal half-sister Melanie, also one of his ex-girlfriends, who would use Morgan's name in her transactions since no one knew that Morgan was dead. Elizabeth and Remus both would have inherited fixed amounts, the same amount as Harry, and a certain percentage from the company to keep them up. If by some happy chance Harry ended up with Remus and Elizabeth, they would make a oddly grouped but undeniably wealthy little family. The unusual turns of events that had lead up to and followed his 'death' would cause some problems, but he trusted Anne to deal with them. Even if he had been dead, Anne would have remembered that she was a Potter and a professional first and a sister second. None of them would want for anything, he could guarantee that. James had always prided himself on taking care of his own.

He bit his lip unconciously as a more complex problem than fate and numbers came to mind: Why had Dumbledore gone to so much trouble to make the world believe he was dead then not actually kill him? It hardly made sense, and would be virtually impossible to keep secret forever, unless the old man had a way to modify Voldemort's memory, which was ridiculous. He could understand why Dumbledore would want him dead, but that was all he understood. He lay there puzzling over it for maybe half an hour before he realized that all he was doing was keeping himself from thinking about what was really important- Morgan and Lily.

Not now, he thought automatically. Now is not the time to remember them, not when I need all my wits about me. I'll think about them later-later, when it's been long enough that I can handle it and I don't have to worry about surviving from day to day in this town. The restraunt'll be opening now anyway.

It was only then that he realized that he had decided to stay in Springfield.


A few tired-looking customers were already sitting around tables drinking coffee when James made his way downstairs. Marina looked up from brewing a fresh pot to give him a quick smile that he returned. He sat down and ordered tea from one of the waitresses, a blonde who looked like she was about to fall out of the green shirt that seemed to be the Company uniform. A few minutes later, she returned with a glass of what he recognized as iced tea. Americans, he thought in exasperation. Any English waitress would have understood at once. He explained it very patiently to the girl, who went back, grumbling something about picky customers. A loud voice shattered the sleepy quiet of Company, clearly infuriated.

" Screw you, Jeffrey! You've got no power over me!"

The speaker was a brunette, a woman who looked somewhat like Morgan at a distance. They probably don't look a thing alike up close, he thought firmly. Being totally dependant on glasses to see had its disadvantages, and taking one person for another was one of them. A tall man in need of both a haircut and a shave stomped in behind her.

" Oh yeah, Dinah? Who was it that got you out of prison, or have you forgotten that?" He was red-faced and clearly as angry as the woman.

" I paid you back for that by letting you make me your cross between a whore and a Cassie Winslow doll," Dinah snarled. " I don't owe a damn thing to you, Jeffrey O'Neill. If there's any owing, you owe me one!"

A man who had been behind the bar walked over to them. " Is there a problem?" he asked. He didn't look like a man to tolerate anyone disturbing the peace around him. A veteran, maybe. He had the hardened, cautious look. James knew it well-he saw it on his own face every morning in the mirror.

" Not for much longer, Buzz, " Jeffrey said tensely, identifying the man as Marina's grandfather, the owner of Company. " I was driving Miss Marler here over for her morning coffee because her car broke down, there's evidence why you shouldn't play the Good Samaritan to women who you know are freakin' lunatics." Apparently satisfied that his comments had been digested by Dinah Marler and Buzz Cooper as he intended, Jeffrey left. Buzz resumed his place behind the bar, and Dinah slammed her purse onto the table next to James's as the blonde finally came back with the proper kind of tea. About two minutes later, she spoke.

" Life sucks."

" I'll drink to that," James replied.

" Your girlfriend screw you over?" Dinah demanded.

" No. She kicked the bucket."

" Wish Jeffrey would." She turned slightly. " Hey, Marina!"

" What?" Marina called back.

" Give me a margarita, and don't give me any crap about not drinking in the morning. I'm already a whore, so what the hell do I care if one more sin is on my soul?"

" The customer is always right," Marina replied, with a hint of disapproval. James saw the corners of Buzz's mouth fold down. Dinah obviously wasn't one of Springfield's most beloved citizens. She drank most of her margarita in two swallows.

" Ever just want to get so drunk you forget everything?" she asked James.

" On a daily basis."

" New in town? Being new here's enough to make anyone think that life sucks. Everyone's so nice until you're a part of Springfield that it makes you want to hurl."

" Some people call it courtesy."

" I've never been a very courteous person-you probably worked that out while I was fighting with Jeffrey." James agreed with that, but took a drink of his tea to avoid answering directly. No need to be rude, when he was the newcomer and she was the local. " So, what're you doing in Springfield when the rest of the world is out there?"

James studied her for a moment. He had been right-hair colorwas the only physical trait Dinah shared with Morgan. As for other traits, that would have to wait. There was something calculating in Dinah's blue eyes, something that put him in mind of himself. " I'm here because I have nowhere else to go," he said vaugely.

Dinah's laugh was hard with bitterness. " Me either."

A reply to my reviewer:

I'm glad you've enjoyed the story so much. The pieces of James's past start to come together after his first Springfield Christmas, but for an idea, see the summaries in my profile. Next chapter up today, maybe ch. 6 too. Updates will be close together for a while.

Augusta