a/n: Ok, if I do badly on my paper that's due tomorrow (which I haven't started yet), I'm blaming all the people who ever wrote to me to "update soon…" lol jk…mustn't blame others for my lack of self control w/ writing :) So I presented some info in this chapter, that occurred in Long Lost Love..but I didn't want a repeat scene, so presented it in another manner; frankly I don't like it that much, but I hate repeating stuff.. :/ newhos, this is where it gets meaty (er so I'd like to think…lol)…it's what I've been waiting to get into since like…hell I can't remember…but it's been a while, so I'm excited about these next few chapters :) yay!

Chapter 36: 1981

Kierra sighed as she looked up at the clock.

"Alright, we'll continue our discussion of the goblin rebellions tomorrow," she said as she flicked her wand at the door, making it open. "Make sure to finish reading chapter seven too, I'm feeling very quiz-happy this week!"

The class groaned in unison as they filed out of the classroom. Kierra grinned at this as she tossed her papers in her bag and headed out the door as well. She slowly made her way down the hall, very glad it was lunch break. As she stepped into her office and shut the door behind her, Kierra let out another sigh…

'Good, no one waiting for me outside my office…for once, I get to eat my lunch in peace…' she thought as she plopped onto the chair behind her desk. With one hand she reached into the drawer and pulled out a sandwich and began to eat, while with the other hand she waved her wand at the window sill across the room and lazily muttered "accio…" between bites of her peanut butter sandwich. Right away, her mail flew over to her and landed on her desk. Kierra put down her sandwich and took a sip of pumpkin juice as she glanced at the letter sitting at the top of the pile.

"Faculty meeting dates…" she muttered as she tossed the letter aside, looking at the next one, "National Curators' Association monthly digest…(she tossed this one aside as well)…ooh!" she squealed as she reached the last letter, one that was addressed to Kierra in very sloppy handwriting, handwriting she recognized from anywhere…

Kierra tore open the letter and grinned. Thank goodness James had only addressed the letter. Kierra glanced briefly at the door to make sure it was shut, so she could enjoy her letter from Lily…

23rd of April, 1981

Dear Kierra,

I hope this finds you doing well and in better spirits than when we last talked. I can understand why your boss was angry at you for losing that old goblin skull…it must have cost the institute a fortune! Well, no matter, I'm sure he's over it by now…It's been a few weeks and we haven't gotten any notice from you of you being sacked, quite relieved, I must say.

I'm sitting here at my desk with your letter in front of me, so I can answer all of you questions in order. I'm sorry dear, but you are so inquisitive! Anyway, here goes. James, Harry and I are all doing great. Harry's actually taken his first steps! He can only walk a little though—he tends to fall down every few steps he takes; but that's ok, he'll learn to walk properly soon enough…and another piece of exciting news for you about Harry—he finally learned to say 'daddy'! James is absolutely thrilled…he's been taking Harry everywhere, to his parents' house, my parents' house…everywhere…just to show Harry off…very silly if you ask me. I never went flaunting around when Harry learned to say 'mummy'…Well, that's James for you.

What else? Oh, right. The war. As you know, I can't explain too much, should this letter be intercepted. I think we're overall doing better now…Moody is absolutely spectacular, he catches dark wizards by the dozens. As Alice might have told you already, she and Frank actually escaped Voldemort again. That makes it three times now! One more than myself and James. Not that it's anything to brag about, I know. It's just…I don't even know the word to use…startling, I suppose. That puts me in mind, Kierra. Should you write back, please do not put our address on the letter, just put 'Potter', you're owl is very clever and I'm sure he'll be able to find us without an address. And once again, please be careful about what you say, just in case. James, Harry and I have had to move twice now these past few months, and frankly, I'm a bit tired of moving now. The problem is, we keep hearing things from our spies, and it seems as if Voldemort's knowing our every move. We've steadily become more and more isolated, in fear that someone within our acquaintance is playing spy. Right now we're pretty much only communicating with our close circle of friends, a few colleagues from the ministry, and of course the folks from the order.

I suddenly have realized that this letter has become progressively depressing. And yet I have another sad piece of information to give you, as something horrible as happened since writing the above. As you know, Dominique and Sirius's baby was supposed to be due this very month. However, Dominique went into labor exactly three months early; it actually happened a few hours after we had lunch with them. The gang met us at our house. It was all the same; we ate, Dominique and Sirius bickered a little"—

Kierra stopped when she saw that the next few words had been scratched out. She pulled the letter closer and looked carefully at it. "Remus left abruptly"—Kierra read aloud. She frowned as she looked at the scratched out, incomplete sentence. Did Lily think her incapable of hearing about Remus? Kierra reluctantly shrugged this idea off and continued…

…and as usual Peter had to leave early. Seems as though he always has to go back to work for something or the other. Well, a few hours after everyone left, someone from St. Mungo's flooed over, and told us that Dominique Black was in labor. We rushed over immediately, but not before owling Sirius, as he had gone back to work after lunch. Several hours later, Sirius had arrived, and Dominique had begun to go deliver. Here's the part I have been dreading to say…"

Kierra glanced down at the stains on the parchment. They looked like dried up tear stains…

…most unfortunately, Dominique had a miscarriage…"

Kierra's eyes widened as she fell back slightly in her chair. She felt as if she had been punched in the stomach. How could this be? How…? Kierra looked down at the letter and reread the sentence over. It couldn't be…

…the healers ran some tests and examined the baby, only to find that she had died sometime during the contractions. Apparently, as Dominique told me later on that week, the healers had warned her and Sirius last year when they were having trouble getting pregnant. Do you remember when Dominique thought she was pregnant, back in our seventh year? I think she really was…but that too was a miscarriage, it just happened at a much, much earlier stage. As it turns out, the healers had warned them that child bearing would be difficult and very risky for Dominique, because they found her reproductive organs to be very weak. She explained that even if she were to get pregnant, the likelihood of being able to keep the fetus alive and give birth to it was very slim. That's why we're now sure that this in fact was not Dominique's first miscarriage. I know, this is truly sad…they wanted a child so much. Sirius told James and me that he wanted to consider adoption, but Dominique had shot the idea down. She wanted very much to be the biological mother of her child.

Harry is crying now, I reckon he needs to be changed again. Kierra, I've very sorry, I absolutely hate to be the bearer of such bad tidings. Please write when you can. James just left for work (Crouch put us on rotational shifts so one of us can be home with Harry), but he sends his warmest salutations to you. Please keep all of us in your thoughts.

With Love,

Lily Potter

Kierra frowned as she replaced the letter on the desk. Things were not looking good for her friends…The Potters were being chased by Voldemort and his followers, as were the Longbottoms. She had no idea what to make of Sirius and Dominique…Kierra had recently had a row with Dominique, and they hadn't spoken or written for several months; and she was never really close to Sirius, so they didn't keep in touch either. This happened three months ago? Kierra sighed as she folded the letter and stuck it in her desk drawer. …So she was the first of the friends to faze out… 'Well,' she thought, 'it was bound to happen, living across the ocean and all…'

As she glanced through her plan book, Kierra wondered what had become of Remus. It had been two years now, and none of her friends ever mentioned him, except a few months ago, when James had told her that Mr. Lupin had passed away. The news was quite shocking to Kierra. She greatly respected and admired Remus's father, and the loss suddenly drove Kierra to write to Remus—only, she never sent the letter. She had written a long letter, asking him how he was, expressing her sadness over the death of Mr. Lupin, and telling him he and his family were in her thoughts… But just as she sealed the envelope, anxiety suddenly filled her. What if he didn't want to hear from her? It had been about two years since they had spoken…surely if he cared for her, at least for her friendship, he would have written. But he hadn't. Maybe he'd feel awkward, receiving a letter from her. After careful thought, Kierra replaced her letter to Remus inside her desk drawer and only hoped that her friends were there for him…

Kierra tossed her other junk mail into her drawer when she finished looking through them. As she shut the drawer, Kierra noticed Lily's letter peaking out from underneath the junk mail. 'Poor Dominique…' Kierra thought. It was actually because of Remus that the two weren't speaking anymore. She remembered receiving a letter from Dominique months ago, announcing that she was pregnant. Kierra remembered her going on for several pages about how happy she and Sirius were about the baby, but how they were in dispute over whom the godfather would be—James or Remus. Sirius had wanted James, because he was Harry's godfather, and he wanted to return the honour to his friend. Dominique on the other hand, being so close to Remus, wanted him as the godfather.

"…anyway," Kierra remembered Dominique saying in her letter, "I want to do something nice for Remus. His father's ill, he's despised in the community for being what he is, and he doesn't seem to have a life anymore…I mean, I know he'll love our child no matter what, but I think he'd love to be dubbed 'godfather'…it would give him a sense of duty, someone he can care for. Maybe it'll make up for his lack of love life. He's practically sworn off women, you know, ever since you left…"

That had set Kierra off. Though they were only written words, she could just imagine Dominique writing those words with the intent to make Kierra feel guilty…as if it were her fault that Remus had a pitiful life.

Kierra wrote back, congratulating Dominique on the pregnancy, suggesting that maybe they choose Peter to be the godfather, as he seldom got chosen for anything, and kindly asking Dominique not to put the blame on her for any problems Remus was having. "He was the one who left me, you know…" Kierra wrote, "shagged, slept, and left. What was I supposed to do, send him flowers or something?"

The mail-fighting had continued for about a month, with Dominique defending Remus's actions, and Kierra fending for her self. Finally, she had had it when she received Dominique's last letter, in which she accused Kierra of being selfish and inconsiderate for breaking up with Remus.

"You were one of the best things that ever happened to him," Dominique wrote, "You put life into him, and you made him happy. Now you've just sucked the life out of him, Kierra. Were you thinking of anyone else besides yourself when you decided to leave? Probably not, very typical of you…"

Furious, Kierra collected all of Dominique's letters and threw them into her fireplace…and hadn't written to her since.

And now, Kierra was finding herself very sympathetic towards her. Dominique couldn't help it…she had a short temper, and loved Remus, probably more than she loved Sirius, though in a more platonic way, of course. Perhaps Dominique's anger towards her was justified…and now, she lost her baby. Perhaps she should write Dominique…but the incident occurred nearly three months ago…surely Dominique would be angry at her for such a delayed sympathy note…

Kierra sighed and looked at her watch. Great…five minute to get to the museum..

Kierra got up and grabbed her bag. She hated giving tours to little children…they were always touching everything and they always ogled at her when she talked, as if they'd never heard a British person speak before… As she climbed into her fireplace and grabbed a handful of floo powder, Kierra wondered what she'd say to Dominique if she were to write her a letter…

Dominique shifted slightly in bed as she turned the page of her book. She glanced sideways, scowling at the man next to her.

"What?" he asked in a coarse voice.

"Put that out…it's disgusting…" Dominique replied as she turned back to her book.

Sirius rolled his eyes as he put his cigarette to his lips again. "I'll put it out when you put out the lights…"

"I'm not tired."

"Well I am…"

"Well maybe if you didn't smoke like a chimney, you wouldn't be so tired…"

"A few cigs a day isn't smoking like a chimney, and for your information, it's 1 in the morning. Most normal people are pretty beat by this time…"

"There's some extra blankets in the linen closet, and a fairly comfortable sofa in the living room."

"This is my room, and I plan on sleeping here." Sirius said.

"Well, it's mine too, and I plan on reading in here"—Dominique replied—"hey!!"

Sirius had grabbed Dominique's book and threw it on the ground. "Go to sleep." He said curtly.

Dominique glared at him briefly before she turned to her nightstand and crushed the flames of candlelight with her hand. She fell back on her pillows and stared at the ceiling for several minutes.

"Put that fucking cigarette out," Dominique said testily, "now."

Dominique glanced at the clock through the darkness. It had been about half an hour since the lights had gone out. She glanced sideways, and saw Sirius lying on his side, with his eyes closed. She wondered if he was really asleep.

Dominique shifted her gaze to the small candle that flickered on their dresser. It was a tiny candle, producing just enough light to keep the room from being pitch black. She hated total darkness. Dominique inhaled the gentle scent of lavender that the candle produced. Such a soothing scent…She glanced again at the dresser; the candlelight managed to illuminate some of the photos in close proximity. The one closest to the tiny flame was a photo of herself with Sirius. It was their wedding…

Dominique frowned as the couple in the photo smiled and waved to her cheerfully. Not bothering to wipe the tears forming in her eyes, Dominique quietly rested her head against her pillows, lying on her side so she had her back to Sirius.

Sirius opened his eyes slightly when he felt Dominique shifting around in bed. He saw her sitting up, leaning against the headboard, as she stared across the room. He watched the tears falling silently down her cheeks as she lay back down after a few moments.

With slight hesitation, Sirius extended his arm out, putting his hand on her shoulder.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing," she replied without so much as turning to look at him, "go back to sleep."

Sirius sat up. He watched Dominique, whose eyes were closed. Even in the darkness, he could see shiny tears settling in the corners of her eyes. Sirius wondered if she was really trying to sleep, or if she was just trying to avoid conversation with him.

Sirius sighed quietly as he lay back down. He glanced sideways at Dominique, whose back was turned to him. It was hard to imagine that a few months ago she was big and pregnant. Almost by magic, Dominique had lost all her pregnancy weight, and looked like her slim self again, if not thinner (he was certain Dominique would never use magic to alter her body). Sirius studied the curves of her body, wanting so much to caress them. It had been so long…but because of the pregnancy…yes…the pregnancy—the current tension between them was because of the miscarriage.

Well, not entirely. They were certainly depressed about not being able to have children. However, there were alternatives; alternatives that Dominique was not willing to look at. What was the big deal about having a child that wasn't their own blood? Sirius could not understand why his wife was so against adoption. They were helping out a child in any case, giving him or her a home. He couldn't understand what was so wrong with that…

Sirius ran a hand through his shoulder length hair, which was only a few inches shorter than his wife's hair. Who was he kidding? As much as he wanted to blame the tension on the miscarriage, he knew it was a very indirect factor, and that there were other things that played a bigger part in causing his marital problems.

He was keeping things from Dominique. He didn't want to hide things from her, but he had no choice. What was worse was that she knew he had secrets—and her inability to pry them out of Sirius led her to distrust him. He could understand her frustration. It would soon be over though. After the war, he could tell all. In the meantime, he needed to do his best to keep Dominique in the dark. It was after all, for his friends' safety.

He stared at the space between himself and Dominique. Sirius closed his eyes and sighed, remembering the days when they would be entangled in each other's bodies every night. Now, every night there was a one to two feet gap between them on their king size bed…

Ever so quietly, Sirius scooted down to Dominique's side of the bed. He carefully slid his hand under the sheets, and rested it on Dominique's hip.

"Dominique…" he whispered, rubbing her hip gently.

No answer.

"Dominique…" he started again. "How about it?"

"I'm tired…" Dominique muttered softly.

Unabashed, Sirius leaned forward, planting a kiss on her cheek. "Come on," he said softly into her ear. As he trailed kisses down her neck, Sirius slid his hand across her stomach, pulling her closer to him…

For an instant, he thought he had won. Dominique leaned against him, and even craned her neck slightly, to allow him to continue kissing her. But just as victory registered in Sirius, Dominique seemed to change her mind, and immediately recoiled from him. However, before Dominique could so much as pull away from him, Sirius tightened his grip around her waist, and forcefully pulled her against himself.

Dominique let out a small gasp as she tried to free herself from Sirius's grip.

"What do you think you're—ooh!"

Sirius had let go of her, and she fell forward onto the bed, landing on her stomach.

"What the hell"—

"Don't what the hell me, Dominique," Sirius said angrily, "I'm your husband"—

"So what? That doesn't that give you the divine right to do whatever you want to me!" Dominique retorted.

"Dominique, I wasn't trying to rape you or anything!"

"When it's not consented, it is"—

"Well, it's one of the so-called privileges of being married, D!" Sirius barked as he got out of bed, "when you're married, you can shag your spouse and not have any legal problems"—

"What kind of rubbish is that?" Dominique cut in, "if I don't want to"—

"But you're supposed to want to!" Sirius shouted. "We're married, we're supposed to be happy, and you're supposed to like it when I get near you!"

"Well, I don't"—

"No shit, Dominique! I know you don't like it! But what the hell am I supposed to do when it's been five months, huh?! I mean, damnit, I'm your husband for God's sake!"

"Well maybe if you acted more like a husband, I'd be keener on doing it with you!" Dominique spat.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"It means that maybe if you actually wanted to be with me…wanted to spend time with me, talking with me, NOT just shagging, Sirius…that's what I mean!" Dominique cried angrily.

"I do all of those things"—

"Like hell you do," Dominique said exasperatedly, "you spend more time with Anna than you do with me!"

"Is this what it's all about?" Sirius asked incredulously. "Anna? You're jealous of a bloody colleague? It's not my fault that Crouch always assigns us together!"

"Well you could always tell him to put you with James or someone!"

"Why should I?" Sirius barked, "She's not bothering me! I actually like working with her! She's the most productive partner I've had these two years!"

"Well, I don't like her"—

"That's too damn bad, Dominique. We're simply working as professionals together, and if you have a problem with it"—

"What, you think it's irrational of me to hate the woman who's after my husband?" Dominique asked.

"She's not after me, D"—

"Please, first time I saw her, I hated her. She wants to get into your pants, I know it. And what's worse is that you know it too, and you're not doing anything to get away from her!"

"You know, I don't understand you sometimes," Sirius said angrily as he absently lit up another cigarette, "we're married and you go ballistic every time I come near you. I don't think you don't even want me anymore. But when some other woman comes along and gives me the attention that you've been neglecting to do, you get all pissed. What the hell do you want from me? And where the bloody hell do you think you're going??" he asked as Dominique headed towards the door.

"None of your business…"

Sirius raced forward and grabbed Dominique by the wrist, stopping her in her tracks.

"You tell me where you're going"—

"You never tell me where you go, so why should I tell you where I'm going?"

"What's there to tell? I'm either going to work, or James's place, or Peter's!"

"Oh, but you don't go to Remus's"—

"He lives further away!"

"Or Anna's?"

"Damnit, woman, I have never been to Anna's house before!" Sirius shouted as he let go of Dominique.

"Uh huh"—

"You know what, I've got vertiserum in my briefcase. You want me to take some, and you can ask again?" Sirius asked. "Yea, let's do that…" Sirius walked back to his desk and opened his briefcase up. He pulled out a small vile and turned around to face Dominique—only to find that she was gone.

Frustrated, Sirius sighed and walked towards the window. He looked outside and saw Dominique on the lawn, mounting her broom. Instead of calling out to her, he watched as she shot into the air, and slowly disappearing into the night sky. Sirius sighed and turned around. He glanced momentarily at the vile in his hand before he hurled it across the room, letting it smash against the wall.

The next morning, Sirius awoke to a loud clattering noise. He sat up quickly and rubbed his eyes. The noise was coming from downstairs. Grabbing his wand, Sirius quietly went downstairs, following the noise. He stopped in front of the kitchen when he saw who was making it.

"Where the hell were you last night?" Sirius asked hoarsely as he put his wand down. "I stayed up half the night waiting for you!"

"And good morning to you too…" Dominique replied curtly as she placed a plate of scrambled eggs on the table for Sirius. "I fancied a little fresh air, that's all."

After a moment's silence, Sirius nodded and sat down at the table.

"By the way," he said after a few minutes, "the Potters are coming over tonight."

Dominique, who was about to take a sip of her coffee, lowered her mug and looked at Sirius warily. "tonight?" she asked. "And you're telling me now?"

"I only invited them yesterday…"

"Well, why didn't you tell me yesterday?"

"Slipped my mind…"

"Yea, a lot of things seem to slip your mind these days…" Dominique muttered as she headed to the kitchen counter to get a bagel.

"What was that?"

"Nothing…" Dominique replied.

"Oh, D!" Lily exclaimed happily as she hugged her friend, "It's so good to see you! Seems like forever…"

"I know…We're always working different hours…never get to see you!" Dominique replied.

As they pulled away from each other, Lily frowned slightly.

"Something wrong?" Dominique asked.

"Oh, no…" Lily replied quickly. "I just, uh"—

"Lily, hey!"

Lily and Dominique turned around to see Sirius coming out of the kitchen.

"D, you better check on the soup…I think I did something to it…" Sirius said.

Dominique only rolled her eyes. "I thought I told you just to stir it occasionally…"

"I did! But then it looked kind of runny…so I thought I should add some stuff"—

"Say no more…" Dominique muttered as she headed towards the kitchen.

Sirius shrugged and turned to Lily, and James, who had just entered the living room with Harry in his arms.

"Come on in guys," Sirius said, as he led them into the living room.

"Anyone else coming?" Lily asked.

"Oh…Peter's coming, isn't he?" James asked.

"Yea, he is," Sirius replied. "Alice and Frank couldn't make it though…"

"What about Remus?" Lily asked.

"Oh…well"—to Sirius's relief, the door bell rang, and he quickly got up to answer it. A moment later he reappeared with Peter by his side.

"So what about Remus now?" Lily asked, looking at Sirius warily.

"Well…he couldn't make it either…"

"Oh," Lily said, with a note of disappointment in her voice. "I really miss his company…he never seems to be able to make it to anything anymore…he must be awfully busy taking care of his mum."

Sirius and James exchanged a fleeting look before nodding in agreement.

Just then, Dominique reappeared at the living room entrance. "Oh! James, Peter, hey!" she said brightly.

The others looked up, and Peter and James smiled and said hello to her.

However, James did a double take at Dominique. "D, you're a toothpick!" he said with a note of surprise in his voice.

"Well you could hardly expect me to keep all that water weight on…" Dominique replied with slight amusement in her voice, though she felt a bit of uneasiness in discussing the matter, since she couldn't even refer to her pregnancy without feeling awkward.

"Well, of course not…but still…" James said, as he turned to Sirius, "you need to re-fatten her up…"

Sirius raised an eyebrow at his friend. "I'll try, mate…"

James smiled in return, but just as Dominique returned to the kitchen, his smile turned into a frown.

"What?" Sirius asked.

"Oh good God, mate, what are you blind?" James asked. "What happened to D? Why is she so freakishly skinny?"

"Freakishly?" Sirius asked.

"Well, not quite freakish…but she's well on her way to getting there…doesn't she ever eat?"

"Er…yea I suppose…"

"What do you mean, you suppose?" Lily asked. "When I hugged her, I felt like I was hugging a ten year old or something…"

"I think you guys are hallucinating…she looks fine to me…" Sirius said.

"That's probably because you see her every day…" James replied. "We haven't seen her in weeks…and trust us, she looks different…"

Sirius only shrugged.

"What's wrong?" Lily asked suddenly.

Sirius turned to her. "Nothing…"

"Are you and D ok?" she asked, looking very concerned.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Yea, we're fine…well…we'll be fine…after this bloody war is over, we'll be fine…"

Lily, James and Peter nodded in understanding.

"Dinner's ready!!" Dominique called out from the kitchen.

"Delicious…" Lily said as she helped herself to another roll. "Outdone yourself as always…"

Dominique smiled slightly. "Thanks"—

"D," James interrupted, "you made this fabulous meal, and you've hardly eaten anything yourself! Take some"—

"No, I'm not that hungry…really…James!"

James had leaned forward and dumped several pieces of chicken onto Dominique's plate. "Good stuff, that protein! Eat up now!"

Dominique sighed and shook her head as she continued to eat. When she had finished, she excused herself from the table to use the bathroom.

"Geez woman, you went like a minute ago!" James said cheerily, only to receive a scowl from Dominique in return. "That's a pretty active bladder…" James continued after she left.

He looked sideways, where Harry was sitting on his mum's lap. "Just like you Harry!" he said in a baby voice, tickling his son's foot. "Yea, you wet yourself all the time! Yes you do! Yes you do!" he continued in his baby voice.

"James, really…" Lily said, rolling her eyes at her husband, but smiling at the same time.

"Hey, how come Remus isn't here?" Dominique asked as she reentered the dining room.

"Sorry?"

"I know Alice and Frank had to work…but Remus was free…how come he didn't come?"

"Busy…" James and Sirius said at once.

Dominique and Lily shared looks for a moment before turning back to their husbands.

"Doing what?" Dominique pressed on.

James sighed. "We ought to get talking now, Padfoot…"

"About what?" Lily asked.

"Well…Sirius and I have been discussing stuff for a while," James said as he absentmindedly took Harry from Lily's arms and cradled him. "We all know for certain that Voldemort's after us…and that he has got an insider working for him, telling him our every move…"

"And you guys hardly socialize with anyone now…" Sirius said, "the spy has to be someone in our close acquaintance."

Suddenly Lily's eyes widened. "You don't think"—

James and Sirius nodded.

Lily stood up quickly, staring at James angrily. "How could you think that?!" she demanded, advancing on her husband, who too had stood up and was now backing away from her. "How could you think Remus is the spy?! He's one of your best friends!"

"Lily, listen to me…" James said, "Voldemort's known to have all sorts of people on his side! Giants, goblins…and the latest news at the ministry is that he's been taking on werewolves"—

"How dare you use that against him!!" Lily shouted angrily as she paced after James, who was walking backwards around the dinner table. "I could just kill you for your stupidity James!"

"But Lily"—

"And this must be why he never comes to see any of us! You two bafoons haven't been inviting him to anything, have you?!"

"What? No! That'd be too obvious! We invite him to some stuff"—

"You dolt!" Lily exclaimed. "I could just kill you"—

"I've got a baby on me"—

"Drop the baby…no, no! I mean…put him down gently!" Lily said quickly.

"Why, so you can strangle me before I finish explaining?" James asked. "Heck no…"

"Fine…" Lily said as she advanced on her husband.

"Ok not another inch forward! I've got a leaky baby, and I know how to use him!" James said as he held Harry out at Lily.

"James"—

"Don't make me use the other end!"

"James, sit down."

It was not Lily this time, but Dominique. James frowned and sat down, followed by Lily.

"You just better not let her kill me before I can explain everything to her…" James said.

"You better explain to all of us…" Dominique replied. "I'm also very confused as to why you think Remus is the spy…"

"Ok listen," Sirius said, "the spy has to be someone in our close acquaintance…"

"But we have quite a few close acquaintances…" Lily said.

"Yea, but how many of them know all our whereabouts?" James asked. "Not many…"

"Look, Lily…James, Peter and I have been friends with Remus since we were eleven, we've been best friends…" Sirius said, "he's the last person any of us would've imagined…the last person any of us would've wanted…but it fits."

"How?" Dominique and Lily asked at once.

"Think about it…" James said, "He's clever…one of the smartest in our class…Voldemort would never get an idiot for a spy…"

"But still…that's not good enough reason…" Dominique protested.

"But look at his character, his personality…" James continued. "He's"—

"Charming, sweet, sensitive, caring, gentle, thoughtful"—

"quiet, unemotional, mysterious, and extremely calm…" Sirius interjected.

"So what if he's calm?" Lily asked.

"And unemotional? He just keeps his feelings to himself! So what if he doesn't wear his heart on his sleeve?" Dominique added.

"Well, here's the thing. It's the perfect cover up." James said. "That's the one thing about Remus that's always stumped us…it was always so hard to tell how he felt. You think he's feeling happy, but in reality he's not. And he's always calm, even in the most extreme, nerve wrecking situations. That just doesn't add up, unless he has ulterior motives…"

I just can't believe this…" Lily muttered. "Remus?"

"I don't like it anymore than you," James said gently. "He's always been one of our best friends…but you and I know that there's someone in our group who's betraying us…and he fits the bill…"

"But listen…but listen, he can't know that we think this…" Sirius said quickly. "We still see him sometimes, because we don't want it to look obvious…"

"And he knows that we think there's a spy…he just doesn't know we caught on…" James added.

"I just don't see it…" Dominique muttered. She slowly turned to Sirius. "Is this what you've been keeping from me?" she asked.

Sirius nodded, glancing briefly at James.

"D, where are you going?" Lily asked, as she saw Dominique get up and head out of the kitchen.

"I just want to be alone…think about all this…" Dominique replied.

As soon as he heard the sound of the bedroom door shut, James immediately turned to Sirius.

"She doesn't know everything, does she?"

Sirius shook his head. "I haven't told her about the prophecy…or about you all going into hiding…"

"I think it's safe to tell her…" Lily said. "I trust her."

"The only thing is," Sirius replied, "I'm worried about her talking to Remus…I don't think she's very convinced…and she's good friends with him…she might tell"—

"She wouldn't…" Lily said at once, though she no longer talked confidently. "even if she's not convinced…heck, I'm not even convinced…"

James and Sirius looked at each other again.

"Lily, please, trust us on this one. You and Harry are the most important things in my life. I've thought all of this through with Sirius. Please, just trust me…" James said, looking at his wife pleadingly.

Finally, Lily nodded. "When and where are we going into hiding then?" she asked.

"I want to consult Dumbledore first…" James said.

"Speaking of whom, have you talked to him about this Remus theory?" Lily asked.

"Not yet…" James replied. "I'm going to see him tomorrow first thing…and we'll talk about everything…"

Lily nodded again. "We should get going, James." She said quietly.

James nodded and got up. "Right. Hey, Padfoot…try to keep Dominique at bay a little longer, would you? Just in case…"

"Course" Sirius replied.

Sirius followed Lily, James, Harry and Peter outside. He watched Peter disapparate after saying goodbye. He then turned to James, who was helping to fit Harry in his baby seat on his broom.

"Let me know how the meeting goes…" Sirius said quietly.

James nodded. "I will. Just...keep an eye on Dominique."

Sirius nodded.

"…tell her to gain some weight too…" he added, smiling slightly.

Sirius only rolled his eyes in return. Soon, the Potters had kicked off, and had disappeared into the night. Hands in his pockets, Sirius slowly made his way back into the house.

Suddenly remembering Dominique, Sirius went into the bedroom to check on her. When he came in, he found her lying in bed with the lights out. He drew closer and saw that her eyes were closed. Her body heaved gently to the delicate rhythm of her breathing. Feeling a surge of affection for his wife, Sirius leaned forward and touched her cheek. It was soft, warm, and moist. He frowned as he thought of Dominique crying herself to sleep. Sirius sighed heavily as he undressed himself and climbed into bed. Hopefully the war would end soon…