A/N: I'm sorry you had to wait so long for this chapter. For some reason, it took me forever to write it. Now, I want to address two concerns I've been seeing over and over again before we start today!

1. Yes, I am fully aware that Olivia, Laura, and Dana are no where to be seen in the books. However, neither was Remus until the third book – and Hagrid did write to James and Lily's friends to get pictures for Harry in the first book. So, did they all die? Well, you'll have to wait and see! Believe me, I have plans for all of them.

2. Yeah, James and Lily have been married for an entire chapter, and there's still no Harry! What am I thinking? Well, first of all, I'm thinking that I wanted them married before Lily got pregnant, and second, I'm thinking that they need to defy Voldemort thrice! One more time to go, guys. Please be patient!

I'm sorry if any of that sounded rude. (My mom always says that I'm rude about correcting people.) Please be patient with me. I really feel that going slowly is best with this story. Remember how well it worked out with James and Lily's romance? All right, that's all from me and my semi-rant – now, on to the story!

I don't own Harry Potter.

Propositions

"Have fun at work, love."

"We don't joke about that," James said, giving Lily a grin. He leaned over to kiss her cheek. "I'll see you tonight."

"I'll be here," Lily replied as she, too, prepared to Apparate to work. "Take care."

"I will. You, too."

"I will," Lily promised.

With two pops, both Potters Disapparated.

James Apparated into his wing of the Ministry offices. He made his way down the corridor to his office, calling greetings to his coworkers.

"James, have you heard?"

James stopped, and turned to face the office to his left, which belonged to Emmeline Vance. A fellow Order member, Dumbledore had only recently placed her in the Department of International Magical Cooperation with James.

"Heard what?" James asked, stepping into her office.

"We have a new Head of Department."

"I didn't expect them to find someone so quickly."

"No, neither did I," Emmeline said, her tone thoughtful. She waved her wand, shutting the door behind James. "This man that they've chosen . . . I'm not sure that he got this job on ability."

"You've met him?"

"We walked in together. He said he's going to have a meeting with the department this afternoon."

"So we have to work with him all morning without meeting him?"

"Yeah, that's pretty much it." She paused. "He seemed a bit odd to me."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I'm not exactly sure . . . I just know that something isn't right about him."

"Do you think we should keep an eye on him as much as on what's going on in foreign lands?"

Emmeline smiled at James' word choice. "I'm afraid so. Aside from the odd feeling I got from him, I'm truly not sure how he got this job. Seriously, James, he just doesn't seem bright enough. And waiting to meet with your department until the afternoon? He doesn't seem like he has much drive."

"Drive was all that Fudge had."

"Well, I think we've taken a step back, then."

James shook his head. "And I thought it couldn't get worse than Fudge."

"Oh, I think it can," Emmeline said grimly. "We're in for it now, James."

Minnie walked straight into Lily's office, her face set in determination. Lily looked up from reading her morning memos in surprise.

"Good morning," she said.

"Morning," Minnie replied shortly. She closed the door behind her, and cast a silencing charm on the room. "We need to get to work."

"All right," Lily said, shoving the memos aside. "Do you have new information?"

"Not exactly. It's more like I've been working on a plan of action."

"Good," Lily replied, leaning forward. "What's your plan?"

"We need to find sources close to the Death Eaters. Preferably, sources who are Death Eaters. We need someone who's willing to work both sides. They'll feed us information, and help us get inside if we need to."

Lily nodded slowly. "And how exactly are we going to convince someone to do that? If Voldemort catches them as a spy, he'll kill them without a second thought."

"That's part of the problem," Minnie admitted. "We're looking for someone with nothing to lose."

Lily looked thoughtful. "Or someone who's convinced they won't lose anything."

"A recent graduate," Minnie grinned. "That's the time when you feel most invincible."

"And are the most willing to make rash, stupid decisions," Lily pointed out. "I'm not sure that's what we're looking for."

"True," Minnie said thoughtfully. "I know what we need to do this, I just don't know how to get it – or them, as it were."

Lily remained silent, thinking. Who could help them find spies? A dozen names flew through her head, each easily dismissed, until . . .

"Minnie, I think I know who can help us!" she exclaimed.

"Who?" Minnie asked, leaning forward.

"Dumbledore!"

"Really?"

"He knows about my Order membership, and he was really excited about me working for the Prophet, hoping that I could do things just like this. I'm sure he'd help us find someone with the appropriate connections."

"Can you talk to him?"

"I'll send him an owl right now."

"Be careful how you word it," Minnie cautioned needlessly. "We don't want it to fall into the wrong hands."

"I know," Lily said.

She picked up her quill, and held it over a sheet of parchment. After a moment's thought, she began her short message.

"Professor Dumbledore,

"I am currently writing a story for the Daily Prophet that pertains to your area of expertise. Would it be possible to schedule a meeting with you to obtain a clarification, and perhaps a statement? I would greatly appreciate any help you could give.

"Thank you!

"Lily Potter"

"There," Lily said, handing the parchment to Minnie. "What do you think?"

Her eyes scanned the brief message before looking back up at Lily. "Perfect."

"Excellent." Lily sealed the letter, and stood up. "I'll go send it right now. Knowing Dumbledore, we'll have a reply by this afternoon."

An owl flew into James' office, dropping a piece of parchment on his desk. He looked up briefly.

"Thanks," he said.

The owl hooted softly, and took off. A scream in the hall indicated that the owl had left more than a memo in the department. James laughed, and picked up his memo. He raised his eyebrows at the short message.

"Department meeting in staff room at 3:30 today."

James had not even put the memo back on his desk when Emmeline appeared in his doorway, obviously quite upset. He smiled at her.

"I take it you've heard from our new boss?"

Emmeline walked all the way in, shutting the door behind her. "What the hell is this? This is ridiculous! There isn't even a verb in his one-line message!"

"Calm down, grammar police," James grinned.

"James, grammar was hardly my point."

"I get your point," he replied, the smile sliding off his face. "It's going to be tough to work for him, but I think we can do it."

"I can't wait to tell Dumbledore about this," she glowered.

"Whoa," James said, sitting up straighter. "There's no need to involve Dumbledore."

"What to you mean? He placed us here to –"

"To work with other countries," James interjected. "He didn't place us here to spy on our coworkers. This Nott guy hasn't done anything to us. We can't go running to Dumbledore just because our boss can't construct a sentence."

Emmeline dropped down into the chair opposite James. "It's just so frustrating! I know he's not going to be good for the department!"

"Yes, I'm pretty sure of that, too," James said calmly. "But let's just lay low for awhile, and watch what happens. Everything could turn out better than we think."

Emmeline gave him a look that clearly said she didn't believe him.

"Em, we can't let everyone know that we're working for Dumbledore. Half the point of us being here is that no one knows what we're really doing. We'll lay low, and keep an eye on Nott. If anything about him doesn't add up, we'll go to Dumbledore. But we can't go to him yet. We don't have anything to report other than that the guy seems like an idiot, and that's not enough to get us anywhere." He grinned. "Really, how much did Fudge know?"

She opened her mouth to make a comment, but James stopped her with a look.

"Dumbledore can't interfere in the Ministry too much," he said softly. "It'll look suspicious. No one can know why we're here, Emmeline. We're Ministry employees here, not Order members. We can't forget that."

"I know," Emmeline said quietly. "I just wish Dumbledore was the only one we had to report to."

"Join the club." James ran his hand through his hair. "Well, let's try to get some work done before our 3:30 deadline."

Lily walked though the door of the Three Broomsticks, clutching her work bag. Madam Rosmerta smiled at her.

"Hello, Lily," she greeted her.

"Hi," Lily said, glancing around the bar. She felt a bit nervous in spite of herself. This meeting could prove to be rather stressful.

"Meeting Ludo Bagman again?" Madam Rosmerta asked with a knowing smile.

"No, not this time," Lily replied, still casting her eyes around the crowded room.

"I believe Mrs. Potter is looking for me."

Lily turned around with a smile. "Hello, Professor."

"Hello," Professor Dumbledore smiled. "Madam Rosmerta, do you have an out of the way table we could use for our interview?"

"Of course," Madam Rosmerta smiled, leading them to a secluded corner. "Can I get you anything today?"

"Just a cup of tea for me," Lily said.

"I'll have a brandy," Dumbledore said, giving Lily a wink.

"Right away."

Once Madam Rosmerta had left, Dumbledore turned to Lily with twinkling eyes. As always, he instantly put her at ease.

"Now, Lily, I have an odd feeling that tells me that your message had nothing to do with the reason we're actually here," he smiled. "Am I close to the truth?"

"Yes, indeed," Lily said, feeling immensely relieved.

"Well, then, I suggest that you tell me what it is that we need to discuss."

Lily nodded. "Professor, as you know, one of my colleagues and I have been researching the Death Eaters," she said quietly.

Dumbledore nodded, then silenced her with a look. Madam Rosmerta reappeared carrying their drinks.

"Here you are," she smiled. "Is there anything else I can get for you right now?"

"No, I don't think so," Dumbledore replied.

Madam Rosmerta nodded, and left them alone. Dumbledore took a sip of his drink, and nodded at Lily to continue.

"We started by researching probable Death Eaters," she said. "We have written a piece that incriminates several people, which we are planning to present to our editors by the end of the week."

Dumbledore nodded. "Your information has been invaluable thus far," he said. "You have helped the Order far more than you realize."

"Thank you," Lily smiled. "But now that Minnie and I have seen what we can accomplish, we want to probe deeper. We want to infiltrate the Death Eaters, and to expose their plans before they have a chance to enact them."

Dumbledore raised his eyebrows. "You want to spy on the Death Eaters?"

"Well, we actually want to put the pieces together, and to write the stories that will delay or stop their plans," she said slowly. "We were hoping to find sources on the inside who could do the actual spying."

Dumbledore nodded, understanding what she was asking of him. "And you want me to help you find these spies."

"If you can," Lily replied.

Dumbledore nodded again. "I think I will be able to help you."

"Really?" Lily nearly exclaimed.

"Providing you use the utmost discretion," Dumbledore said with a hint of a smile.

Lily smiled sheepishly, and lowered her voice. "And you would be willing to put me in contact with these people?"

"I will need to speak with them first. I'll contact you as soon as I have spoken to them."

"Thank you, Professor."

"Thank you, Lily," Dumbledore replied. "Your dedication to our cause is admirable – and highly useful."

"Voldemort killed my parents, sir," Lily said, her voice edged with steel. "I will do anything I can to fight against him."

"Hello?" Remus called as he walked into his flat.

Silence met his ears. He sighed. He always came home from his training before Sirius came home from his. Undoing the clasp of his robes, he walked down the hall to his bedroom to change. It was times like these that he missed James the most.

In the days before James had married Lily, the two young men had always arrived home at the same time. In the hours before Sirius came home, they passed the time together, sharing the events of their days, playing Exploding Snap or chess, arguing over whose turn it was to make dinner. Now, Remus was alone when he came home.

He changed into an older set of robes, one that his mother would tell him to replace if she knew he still had them. It didn't really matter what he was wearing. He didn't intend to go out again tonight.

Remus was just walking back down the hall toward the kitchen for a snack when he heard a knock on the door. His eyebrows went up in surprise, and his hand went to his wand in a defensive gesture. No one ever knocked on the door; they always just Apparated or Flooed inside.

He moved cautiously to the door, and opened it slowly. Two men he had never seen before were standing outside it.

"May I help you?" he asked.

"Are you Remus Lupin?" one of them asked.

"Yes," Remus replied.

"We need to talk to you."

"About what?"

The second man looked around a bit nervously. "Can we come inside before we have this discussion?"

Remus nodded, and opened the door wider. His hand was still clenched around his wand. He wasn't sure he had made the right decision in letting them into his home.

"Mr. Lupin, we are here with an offer for you," the first man said as the door closed behind them.

"What sort of offer?"

"An offer to make your wildest dreams come true."

Remus laughed. "What do you know of my dreams? We've never met before. I don't even know your names!"

"Everyone has the same dreams," the second man said. "Dreams of happiness. Superiority. Power."

Remus frowned. "I'll agree with happiness, but I've never desired superiority or power."

"Really?" The first man had picked up the conversation again. "Not even in your other form?"

Remus took a step back. "What are you talking about?"

"We know all about you. We know what you are, and about the monster you become during the full moon. We know that the werewolf inside you desires only power and superiority."

"You know nothing about me," Remus said angrily. "If you knew anything about me at all, you would know that I have spent my life fighting against the werewolf. You would know that I don't listen to his desires. I only listen to mine."

"You should listen to his desires," the second man said. "He is a part of you – a part of you that we want to help."

Remus was about to make another angry statement, but stopped himself. They wanted to help? Could they help him rid himself of the wolf? The second man quickly explained his statement.

"We can offer you the chance to indulge the werewolf's greatest desires and fantasies."

"You are sick!" Remus exclaimed, his anger returning. "Both of you are completely sick! There is absolutely no way that I will ever choose to indulge anything that wolf desires!"

"You haven't heard all we have to say," the first man said defensively. "Mr. Lupin, we are here from the Death Eaters. We want you to join our ranks, and to help bring the werewolves of England around to our cause. We want you to join our army, to help us fight for the way of the Dark Lord, to –"

"STOP!" Remus yelled, his eyes sparkling dangerously. "I will have no part of this! I will not become a Death Eater!"

"Are you saying that you oppose us?" the first man asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Yes, that's what I'm bloody saying!" Remus yelled. "Get out of my home before I have to hex you out!"

"You will regret this," the first man said. "This is your last chance to reconsider."

"GET OUT!" Remus roared, bringing his wand up to force them out of the flat. "I never want to see you or any of your mates again!"

"You will regret it," the second man said. "We have ways of making you pay."

"No price is too high," Remus snarled. "I want you out."

Nodding at one another, and then at Remus, the two men left. Remus slammed the door behind them, then sank down to the floor against it. The entire conversation swam through his head, with his own final words playing over and over. Was it true? Or was there a price that was too high?

"Good lord," he muttered. "What if they hurt Laura?"

"James,

"Please meet me in my office at Hogwarts at 5:30 on Friday.

"Sincerely,

"Albus Dumbledore"

Clutching his short message from Dumbledore, James found himself wandering through the halls of Hogwarts for the first time since the day he had moved out of Gryffindor Tower. He had never expected to be here again, but was pleasantly surprised to find the school unchanged. He had nearly gone though one of the secret passages into the school for old times' sake, but had changed his mind. Dumbledore obviously wanted to discuss something important with him; this was hardly the time for acting like a carefree schoolboy.

"Ah, Mr. Potter. Right on time."

James smiled as he approached the gargoyle that guarded Dumbledore's office. The Headmaster was standing in front of it, waiting for James. "Hello, Professor."

"Come," Dumbledore smiled. "Let's go up to my office to talk." He turned back to the gargoyle. "Jelly slug."

They remained silent until they had reached Dumbledore's office. He motioned for James to sit, and took his own seat behind his desk.

"James, I called you here to discuss your job."

James nodded slowly. "Is there something more I need to do at work?"

"Well . . . not exactly."

James frowned slightly. "What do you mean, sir?"

"How are you getting on with your new Head of Department?"

The question took him aback. "You mean Nott?"

"Unless the Ministry has appointed a new Head that I haven't heard about," Dumbledore smiled.

"He's . . . well . . ."

"Be honest, James."

James smiled apologetically. "He's horrible, sir. Completely ridiculous. He has no idea what he's doing, and he's quickly destroying all the good that our department has done in the past. Emmeline and I have discussed it; we're not sure how he got his job."

"He has the right connections," Dumbledore stated. "But, then, so do you."

James raised his eyebrows. "Sir?"

"James, I'm prepared to remove you from your position with the Ministry."

"Excuse me?"

"Yes, you heard me right," Dumbledore chuckled. "I had Miss Vance join the department in anticipation of this moment."

"Sir, I don't mean to be rude, but I do need my job. I need to work."

"Yes, I'm aware of that," Dumbledore replied. "And I have no intention of removing you until you have another job in place. I have a suggestion for your next job as well."

"What would you suggest?"

"I would suggest that you apply for a vacancy here at Hogwarts," Dumbledore smiled. "Our Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher is retiring at the end of this school year. I'd like for you to apply for the position."

"You want me to be a teacher?" James asked blankly.

"Exactly," Dumbledore beamed.

"But, sir, I don't know anything about teaching."

"You will receive training. I want to have our next teacher hired by the end of the month. That will give you the last term of the school year to work with the staff, and to learn the procedures for next year." He paused, and looked at the younger man. "James, I know you are young, and I'm sure that you've never considered teaching. However, I observed the way the students naturally followed you when you were a student here, and I watched you accept the responsibility of being Head Boy. I am confident that you will learn to conduct yourself as a teacher, and a good one at that. I am also certain that very few people alive today are as skilled in defensive magic as you – and most of those are employed as Ministry Aurors."

James looked at him speechlessly.

"I don't expect your decision tonight," Dumbledore stated. "Think about it, and talk it over with Lily."

James nodded dumbly. "When do you need to know?"

"I would like your resume and a letter of interest by the end of the week."

"Lily, Minnie, could I see you, please?"

Lily and Minnie exchanged a glance, and followed their editor, Damon, into his office. He motioned for them to sit down, and shut the door.

"What is this that you've given me?"

"It's an article about several Death Eaters, sir," Minnie said at once.

"They aren't identified Death Eaters yet," Lily added. "That's the point of the article."

"And this is local news?" Damon asked.

"They are local citizens," Lily said. "And their work affects local people."

"And your sources?"

"Very reliable," Minnie said. "And very anonymous."

Damon frowned. "I don't understand. When were you ever assigned to cover this?"

"We weren't," Lily said. "But we did it anyway."

"It's something we had to do," Minnie added. "And, as I'm sure you noticed, we managed to get our other stories done as well."

"Yes, you did," Damon said slowly. "Ladies, this requires quite a bit of research."

"Yes, we're aware."

"And it requires intimate knowledge of many sources."

"Yes, sir."

"And it requires certainty that you are right."

Minnie and Lily exchanged glances. "We are," they said as one.

"You have no doubts?"

"No."

Damon nodded. "I'm going to pass this to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement today, to see if it can help them before it is released. We'll print it in three days."

"You're really going to print it?" Lily exclaimed, barely stopping herself from jumping out of her chair. For all their certainty, she and Minnie had feared that their story would find itself in the bin.

"I'm going out on a limb here, ladies. If you're wrong, you'll both find yourselves writing pieces for the gossip columns for the rest of your careers."

"And if we're right?" Minnie asked, exchanging a grin with Lily.

"We'll see."

"Lupin, could I see you for a moment?"

"Sure." Remus stopped the spell he had been casting, and stepped away from table he and Dana were working at. Without thinking about it, he took his wand with him.

His teacher, Healer Byrd, was waiting for him by the door. He gave Remus a rather sympathetic look, and led him into the hall. The head of the Healer training program, Healer Winters, was waiting for them. Remus looked between the two men, both of whom wore very grave expressions. Byrd's expression was tempered with sympathy; Winters' with steely anger.

"Mr. Lupin, we have received some very distressing news about you," Healer Winters said slowly.

Remus frowned slightly. "Oh?" What could he have done that required such a severe reception from the head of his program?

"Yes. It has recently come to our attention that you are . . ." he lowered his voice, "a werewolf."

The color drained from Remus' face, and he stumbled back a step. He felt his fingers grow cold.

"Is it true, then?" Healer Byrd asked quietly, his expression practically begging Remus to deny the charge.

"Yes," Remus whispered. "Yes, it's true."

"Mr. Lupin, you should have told us this ages ago," Healer Winters said, his eyes glittering with barely-contained anger. "You have endangered our staff, our students, and our patients with your presence in our program."

Fearing what was coming, Remus began to shake. "I never thought that I was endangering anyone, sir. The only time I am a danger is during the evening of the full moon, and I am always secluded for that. I would never do anything that would put another human being in danger."

"Be that as it may, we are still not able to confidently predict the nature of a werewolf," Healer Winters said, his tone hard. "Mr. Lupin, I am dismissing you from our program."

"What?" Remus gasped. He staggered back another step, his wand falling from his hand.

"Surely you can understand," Healer Byrd said softly. "We can't take the chance that you would hurt one of the patients, or anyone else."

"It isn't safe to have you in the program," Healer Winters said harshly. "Had we known of your condition in the beginning, you would never have been accepted."

Remus drew a shaky breath, trying to pull himself together. "Sir, I spent seven years at Hogwarts without any adverse consequences as a result of my condition. I never harmed another student, nor any of the teachers. I would never have applied to your program if I thought of myself as a danger to others. I'm sure that I can finish without any incidents."

"And what then?" Healer Winters asked. "You will be a certified Healer, correct? What of your patients?" He shook his head. "No, Mr. Lupin, you cannot be trusted. Please collect your things. You are free to go home."

"I can't even finish the day?"

"The sooner you are gone, the better for all of us."

Remus had no clear recollection of how he got home. He somehow managed to stumble into his flat, dropping his training supplies on the floor. He made his way to the couch, and sank down onto it, staring straight ahead. He had no idea how long he sat like that.

Several hours later, Laura, Apparated into the flat.

"Hi, love!" she said cheerfully. "Are you ready to go out for dinner? I thought we could . . ." She trailed off as she looked at Remus. "Remus?" she asked hesitantly. "Are you all right, love?"

Remus barely turned his head in her direction. "No."

Laura sat down next to him, and took his hand in hers. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"I'm sorry," he said. With that, tears began to fall down his cheeks.

"My God!" Laura exclaimed. "Remus, what happened to you?"

Remus didn't say anything. His head fell forward, and landed on Laura's shoulder. Not knowing what else to do, she put her arms around him, holding him close, gently rocking him back and forth.

When Sirius came in, it was to this scene. Laura was holding Remus, who was sobbing into her shoulder.

"What --?"

"I have no idea," Laura said honestly. "He's been like this ever since I got here."

"Moony?" Sirius said, kneeling down in front of them. "Are you all right, mate?"

Remus lifted his head from Laura's shoulder, his face tear-streaked and miserable. "They know, Padfoot. They know about me."

"Who knows what about you?"

Remus looked over at Laura. "I've failed you," he said softly.

"You could never fail me, Remus. Never," she said empathetically. "Tell us what happened."

Remus shifted his eyes back to Sirius. It was too painful to confess his failure to Laura. "They found out that I'm a werewolf," he said quietly. "I've been dismissed from Healer training. I've lost my career."

Laura sucked in her breath quickly, and Sirius closed his eyes.

"How did they find out?" Sirius asked.

Remus shook his head. "I don't know," he replied.

In the back of his mind, he wasn't sure if that was true. What if he did know? He was afraid of what – or whom – the source of all this pain could be. He hadn't told anyone about the Death Eaters' visit, fearing the repercussions. Now, the time was nearing when he would have to tell his friends exactly what had happened.

"So then he asked me to apply for the position! Can you believe it?"

"James, that's incredible!" Lily exclaimed. "Are you going to do it?"

"I don't know . . . I just don't know. It's sort of scary, don't you think? I've never thought of myself as a teacher before."

"I'll bet you could do it," Lily replied. "You always helped me a lot with Transfiguration when we were at Hogwarts – well, seventh year at any rate."

"Thanks, love," James laughed

"No, James, I'm being serious! I think you'd be a great teacher."

"Are you required to say that?"

"Not at all! I would never tell you to do something that I thought was all wrong for you."

"You think I should apply for it, then?"

"What do you have to lose? It's not exactly as if you're overly attached to the job you have now. The worst that could happen is that you'll get the job and hate it. Even then, you'll just be back where you are now."

"That's true," James grinned.

"James!"

"Is that Sirius?" Lily asked with a smile, hearing the voice come from her husband's robes.

"Yeah," James grinned, pulling his mirror from his pocket. "What's up, mate?"

"James," Sirius said, concern etched in every line of his face, "you've got to get over here. Bring Lily."

"What happened?" James asked, the color draining from his own face.

"It's Remus," Sirius replied tensely. "Hurry, mate. We need you."