A/N: I want to apologize again for the lapse between updates. I'm finally done with my Master's (yay!), and I promise to update regularly from now on! Thank you so much for your patience! Now, as promised, here are the answers to your questions!

I don't remember who asked this one, but I'm working with the theory that Apparation is impossible when holding a baby. That's why everyone Floos or uses portkeys when holding Harry.

Leah Zuckerman: Thank you so much! I'm so glad you had fun reading my stories. These are the only two I have up right now. I have thoughts rolling around in my head for a sequel to this one centering on the surviving Marauders, as well as one about Harry learning about his parents' past, but we'll see if they actually happen. Right now, it's looking like yes!

dazed 'n confused: Yeah, it was supposed to be "fried eggs." If you knew how many times I read these chapters before I post them, you'd be laughing hysterically over such a stupid mistake. Ah, well, hopefully it won't happen in this chapter!

Reina de la Noche: According to my ever-changing outline, I have 16 more chapters to go. The outline is actually pretty stable now, so I'd say it's an accurate number. I have every intention of having it done before HBP comes out. I want to get the story done before it becomes AU!

LupinLover922: I have 16 more chapters to go, the last one of which is an epilogue. My goal is to have everything completely done with this story by July 11. I hope that helps!

patsfan1237: I do have plans for all the friends, which I hope to address in the last chapter and epilogue. I'm also thinking of a follow-up story to this one, but if that does happen, it'll be after HBP is out. I haven't heard much about the break-away group, so I don't have an answer for that one!

tennisprincess15: I know that Harry would disagree with me, but I've never really seen Peter as "willing and happy" to give up the information on his friends. He starts crying at the end of POA when Remus and Sirius question him about killing James and Lily (both in the book and the movie), and in GOF he is only helping Voldemort because, as Voldemort himself said, his friends have turned on him. I think he was just very confused about who to support, was, as Sirius points out in POA in different words, looking for the best way to save himself, and doesn't have very much confidence. As for the way I'm going to make his character go – you'll have to keep reading!

RaysofHope: Remus and Laura will pop up in this chapter, and will be more of the focus in the next one. The two chapters after that will center on them. As for having a baby … sorry, I can't give everything away right now!

NewAesthetic: Remus and Laura are never far from my mind! They'll be in this chapter and the next, and will be the focus of the two after that. I haven't planned to focus on Neville and his family much. I've considered it, and they will be discussed a bit, but they'll never be a major part of the story.

Thanks so much for all your support, everyone! I love you all! Thank you for reading and reviewing!

I don't own Harry Potter.

Too Many Goodbyes

Lagrimas de tristeza no me dejan olvidarte
Tears of sorrow won't let me forget you
-Spanish Eyes, Madonna

James was still holding both Harry and Lily when they stopped crying. Harry managed to cry himself to sleep, and rested quietly in his father's arms; his red face was the only outward sign of the screaming that had echoed through the house. Lily, too, was calm. Unlike her son, she was not sleeping. She was curled up against James; one hand clutched the front of his shirt as if holding on to him would protect her from the evil outside her house.

A crack split the air, and both James and Lily jumped. James's sharp movement awoke Harry, who began screaming again. Without stopping to comfort the baby, James sprang to his feet. Lily shot up with him, grabbing his arm.

"James, be careful," she said in an urgent whisper.

"Here," he said, giving Harry to her. He took out his wand. "See if you can quiet him. They can't know that he's here."

"They already know," Lily said desperately, rocking the baby back and forth in an effort to quiet his screams. "What are we going to do, James? What can we do?"

"We have to keep them away from Harry," he said urgently. "Get him out of here, Lily!"

"Where am I going to take him? And what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to –"

James's sentence was cut off by a new voice. The woman's voice that cut through the air shocked them both.

"Lily? Lily, are you here? Lily!"

Lily's eyebrows shot up. "Minnie?" she exclaimed incredulously. She gave Harry, who was still crying, back to James.

"Lily! Where are you?"

"In here!" Lily yelled, hurrying toward the sound of her friend's voice.

The girls managed to meet in the kitchen. They looked at one another in disbelief for a moment, then threw their arms around each other, both crying.

"You're all right," Minnie said over and over, clutching Lily to her. She finally pulled back, and looked at her friend. "How did that happen? Why did that happen? What's going on?"

Lily drew a deep breath. "I can't tell you everything," she said. "Suffice it to say that Voldemort is after Harry. He heard that we were in the Prophet offices somehow – I'm guessing a Death Eater tipped him off. It would appear that he thought it would be the perfect time to kill my baby."

Minnie looked horror-struck. "But why . . .?"

"I can't tell you," Lily said. "If you know what's going on, you'll become a target, too."

Minnie shook her head as the pieces began to fit together. "My God, Lils. Is that why you quit the Prophet? To keep Harry safe from You-Know-Who?"

"Yes," Lily admitted.

"Does . . ." She paused, and swallowed. "Did Dorcas know?"

"Yes," Lily said again, her eyes shining with sorrow and anger. "I told Dorcas the whole story, and look where it got her. Do you understand why I can't tell you?"

"Yes, of course," Minnie said. "But, Lily, are you all right? You, James and Harry? Are you safe? Are you going to be okay?"

"We're going to be fine," James said, entering the room with Harry in his arms. He waved his wand, sending a baby bottle from the refrigerator to the stove, where it began heating itself. "We're taking all the precautions we can."

"Which reminds me, I need to put password protection the house," Lily said. "I was going to do it as soon as I got back from the Prophet offices, but I was . . . a little distracted."

"You have every right to be," Minnie said. She hugged her friend again.

"How is everyone else?" Lily asked.

"Okay," she replied. "Everyone's pretty shaken up, but only a few people were hurt." She gave Lily a meaningful look. "I'm sure this will come as a shock to you, but Rodolphus Lestrange wasn't hurt."

Lily's eyes snapped fire. "I knew it!" she exploded. "I knew he was the reason for everything that happened! Min, we should have proven that he was a Death Eater when we had the chance!"

"We couldn't," Minnie said softly, her eyes full of sorrow. "We didn't have enough evidence."

"Well, we should have found more evidence, then! We should have found enough to put him in Azkaban for the rest of his life! We should have made sure that there was no way he could ever hurt anyone again!" Lily yelled, quickly becoming hysterical. "Because of him, Voldemort nearly killed Harry! Because of him, Dorcas is dead!"

Lily collapsed into sobs again. Minnie pulled her into a tight embrace. She cried along with Lily as she rocked her back and forth, both mourning their fallen colleague.

The next day, Lily was still reeling from her experience at the Daily Prophet. James felt horrible leaving her for work, but it couldn't be avoided. Hogwarts didn't employ substitute teachers; if a professor was out for a day, it was up to the others to cover the absentee teacher's classes. James didn't want to put that burden on his colleagues; and the very thought of Snape teaching his classes, even if only for a day, made him shudder. With that thought in mind, he pulled on his Hogwarts robes, and made his way to the living room, where Lily was sitting in the rocking chair, feeding Harry.

"You'll be all right today, won't you?" James asked with concern in his eyes.

"I'm fine," Lily said, giving him a false smile.

James crossed the room, and knelt down in front of her. He put his hands on her knees, as her hands were occupied with the baby. "Don't lie to me," he said softly. "And don't give me that smile. I know it's not how you feel."

The smile slid off her face in an instant, and her eyes filled with tears. "I'll be fine today, James," she said in a hitched whisper. "Go to work. Your students need you."

"You need me too," he said, feeling his resolve about going to work melt.

She shook her head, the motion sending a tear down her cheek. "I have Harry here with me," she said, trying to smile again. "The two of us can take care of one another."

"You're sure?"

"I'm positive. I want you to go to work. I need – I need a sense of normalcy, and if you're here, that's not going to happen. I want to treat this like it's any other day."

James reached up to touch her cheek, wiping her tears away. "You know that I love you, don't you?"

"Of course," she said, this time succeeding in smiling. "I love you, too."

"Good," he smiled. He kissed her nose. "You take good care of Harry."

"I always do."

"I know you do." He smiled, and leaned down to kiss the baby's head. "And you take good care of Mummy."

He rose to his feet, and looked down at Lily, the concern still shining in his eyes. Lily smiled sadly.

"I'll be fine, James," she said again. "If I need you, Harry and I will come to Hogwarts. We're close enough to walk now, you know."

James smiled, feeling a bit better about leaving. "That's true. You promise you'll come if you need me?"

"I promise. If you're teaching, I'll just sit in your office and wait for you."

For the first time, James looked comfortable with the idea of leaving her. He leaned down to kiss her lips.

"I love you," he said again.

"I love you," she replied as he straightened up.

"I'll see you later."

"Bye," Lily smiled.

James blew a kiss to Harry, and left the house. He walked to school quickly, trying to make up for the time he had lost talking to his wife. He truly hoped that she would be as "fine" as she had said that she would be.

When he got to Hogwarts, he went straight to his office without stopping to chat with his fellow teachers as he usually did. He wanted to use the time to mentally prepare himself for his lessons.

When he walked into his office, he noticed a piece of parchment on his desk that had not been there the day before. Frowning slightly, he picked it up. He unfolded it to read the short letter.

"James,

"Please come and see me as soon as you have a moment. We need to talk.

"- Albus Dumbledore"

James drew a quick breath. What could Dumbledore need to talk with him about? He knew that there was no way that he could wait until later in the day. He left his office, and walked briskly through the castle to that of the Headmaster.

When he stepped off the staircase, Dumbledore's office door was already open. He stepped forward, and tapped on the open door.

"Headmaster?" he asked. "You wanted to see me?"

Dumbledore looked up from his desk, his eyes lighting up. "James! I didn't expect to see you so soon."

"Well, sir, your message made me a bit nervous," James admitted as he entered the office.

"You have no reason to be," Dumbledore assured him. "Please, sit down."

James took a seat opposite Dumbledore, and waited for him to begin. Dumbledore waved his hand at the door, sending it closed. Then he folded his fingers together, and looked at James over his glasses.

"How is Lily?" he asked seriously.

James's eyed widened. "You've heard?"

"Of course. The Aurors were called in to stabilize the situation. Naturally, Alastor and Frank told me of what had happened."

James exhaled slowly, and ran his hand through his hair. "Lily's – well, she says that she'll be fine. She's still rather shaken up."

"Yes, I can well imagine," Dumbledore said. "And attempt on one's life tends to make one a bit nervous." He ran his hands over his eyes. "And Harry? How is he?"

"Fine," James smiled. "I don't think he has any idea that he was in danger. He's awfully small to pick up things like that."

"It is amazing what babies notice," Dumbledore replied. "Most people tend to underestimate them." He paused, the concern heavy in his voice. "He was not hurt?"

"No," James said. "He's fine. I think he's going to be the one that will get Lily through today."

Dumbledore sighed. "Did she see Dorcas's death?"

"Yes," James said shortly.

Dumbledore nodded slowly. "That will take some time to heal from, I'm sure."

"Yes," James agreed. "Lily and Dorcas had an excellent relationship."

"She was a good person," Dumbledore said sadly. "She will be sorely missed by many."

"What does this mean for the Order?" James asked, assuming that the "many" Dumbledore had referred to included the Order members.

"We have lost members before," Dumbledore said simply. "We will do the same as we have in the past. We will mourn her loss, but we must accept it and move on. It is the only way that we will be successful."

James nodded slowly.

"We will, however, need to be sure that all the members have been notified of her death," the Headmaster continued. "We will hold a meeting next week to discuss what has happened."

"If your purpose is solely notification, that seems a bit late," James said. "Next week is a long time from now."

Dumbledore nodded. "It is," he agreed. "Hopefully, it will be enough time for Lily to begin to heal."

James and Lily were eating dinner the next week when the golden phoenix feather appeared, summoning them to the Order meeting. Lily looked surprised as it landed between their plates on the table.

"Are we being summoned to some disaster?" she asked as James picked up the letter.

"No," he said, scanning the short message. "There's a meeting tonight."

"When?"

"We have five minutes before this becomes a portkey."

Lily sighed, and pushed back from the table. "I'll go get Harry's things."

Five minutes later, James and Lily were both holding the letter that had appeared on their table. James held Harry, while Lily had his diaper bag slung over her shoulder. Lily looked at James a bit nervously.

"Make sure you really hold on to him," she cautioned.

James smiled tolerantly. "I've been traveling by portkey for awhile now," he said. "In fact, I think the first time I did it, I was Harry's age."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Yes, but this is your first time doing it with a baby in your arms."

"He'll be fine," James said soothingly.

Lily opened her mouth to say something else, but her words died on her lips as she felt the jerk behind her navel that indicated that they were being transported to their destination. After a few moments, she felt her feet slam into the ground. She struggled to hold her balance, not wanting to stumble into James and Harry.

"Steady there," said a familiar voice as a hand grabbed her arm to keep her on her feet.

She smiled as she looked up. "Thanks, Sirius."

"No problem," he said, giving her a wink. He leaned down to kiss her cheek. "How are you, Little Flower?"

"Fine," she answered honestly. During the past week, she had found that she was able to go on with her life. The guilt wasn't as pressing this time as it had been when her parents had died. Maybe she was getting used to the horrors that came with her life.

Sirius gave her another smile, then took Harry from James's arms. "And how's my favorite godson?" he asked. He grinned at the baby, lifting him high up into the air, then cuddling him close. He grinned again, and kissed the top of his head. "I can't wait until you're old enough to talk. We're going to have such great conversations."

James laughed. "Are you anticipating that he'll be a chatterbox, then?"

"With you two for parents, how could he not be?" Sirius grinned.

Lily was about to make an indignant reply, but was cut off by Dumbledore's voice.

"If you could all please find a seat, I'd like to begin," he called.

James, Lily and Sirius made their way to three seats in the middle of the room. Remus and Laura quickly sat down behind them, while Olivia and Peter took two seats next to them. While she was greeting them, Lily didn't notice who had sat down in front of them. Just before Dumbledore began speaking, Alice Longbottom turned around.

"Hi, Mum," she said cheerfully.

"Alice!" Lily exclaimed with a grin. "How is Neville?"

"Fine," Alice grinned, holding up the baby for Lily to see.

"Oh, look at you!" Lily exclaimed, reaching out to touch the baby's cheek. "He's sweet, Alice. He looks like you."

"So everyone tells me," she grinned. She kissed Neville's cheek, and lowered him back to her lap. When she looked at Lily again, her eyes were serious. "I've heard that you quit work."

"Yes," Lily said with a sigh. "I had no idea it would cause so many problems."

"You can't blame yourself," Alice said firmly. "In the end, it was Dorcas's decision, not yours. There was nothing you could do."

"I know," Lily said. She smiled sadly. "Things can work out awfully, can't they?"

"It's not always –" Alice's statement stopped abruptly as Dumbledore stepped to the center of the room.

"Welcome," he said, his eyes twinkling at them. "I'm glad that all of you could make it on such short notice."

A ripple of laughter ran through the room. Dumbledore's messages did not suggest attendance at Order meetings; they demanded it. The old man smiled, then continued.

"As I'm sure you've all heard by now, we have lost one of our members," he said, the twinkling in his eyes dying down. "Dorcas Meadows was killed by Voldemort one week ago. The attack took place in her office, and was unprovoked."

Whispered comments broke out around the room. Everyone had heard these details over the course of the past week, but that did not help to ease their outrage over what had happened to Dorcas.

"Dorcas was a wonderful person," Dumbledore said. "There is no need for me to enumerate her qualities; you all knew her as well as I did. And you also all know as well as I do that she was incredibly dedicated to our cause. She died in defense of our efforts, giving her life to save the lives of Lily and Harry Potter. Through her refusal to inform Voldemort of their location in the Daily Prophet offices, she bought them the time they needed to escape."

Lily bit her lip and blinked rapidly. All that Dumbledore was saying was true. If it had not been for Dorcas's sacrifice, she and Harry would both be dead. She reached over to take the baby from James's arms, and held him close. Looking at her, James felt the concern rise up in him again. She had been doing so well. Perhaps this meeting wasn't a good idea. It didn't seem to be helping her at all.

"Dorcas showed the sort of dedication that we have come to expect from all of you," Dumbledore continued. "The best way for you to honor her memory is to demonstrate that dedication to the fight against Voldemort and his forces. If we all can be as sure of ourselves and as brave as Dorcas, there is no reason that we will fail."

Peter squirmed slightly in his seat. What was Dumbledore talking about? Dorcas had been killed for what she had done. If they all followed her example, they would all be killed one by one until there was no one left. Relief spread through him as he realized that he would not be one of those who were killed. He had found a way to be loyal to two masters. He had found a way to save himself from Dorcas's fate.

Sirius glanced at Peter for a moment, watching the conflicting emotions on his face. What was going through his head? He sighed, certain that it was fear of dying. Peter wasn't comfortable being out on the front lines risking his life the same way that their other friends were. He was far happier hiding behind them – as he always had been. For some reason, their first battle with Snape flashed through his mind, focusing on the picture of Peter stuck in the stair at Hogwarts as Sirius, James and Remus defended him. Sirius shook his head. The only reason that Peter had joined the Order in the first place was to avenge Kathleen's death. He hoped that the memory of the one girl he had ever loved would be enough to keep him steady on course.

Dumbledore finished speaking about Dorcas, and called forth Frank Longbottom and Alastor Moody to update the group on Death Eater movements. They spoke for quite some time, discussing what the Death Eaters had done, what they had tried to do, and what the Aurors were doing to stop their progress.

At long last, the meeting was adjourned. Alice turned around in her seat again.

"I'm sorry about what happened," she said softly. "Frank and I have had similar run-ins with Death Eaters, and I know that it's not fun."

Lily sighed, and tried to smile. "Well, they've driven us from our home and killed our friends. It can't get much worse, right?"

Alice shook her head. "I certainly hope not." She paused. "Listen, now that we're both off work and have these two little boys at home with us, maybe we can start getting together during the day."

"You've decided not to go back to work?" Lily asked in surprise. She knew how dedicated Alice was to the Auror department, and how much she loved her job.

"I had decided that before Neville was born," Alice grinned. "After all those years of waiting for him, there's no way I was going to leave my baby." She grinned wider. "I think that Frank's mum was disappointed with my decision. She was rather eager to babysit."

Lily grinned. "James's mum is the same way."

"I'm glad you understand," Alice laughed. "What do you say, then? Shall we start arranging play dates for our little men?"

"That sounds wonderful," Lily agreed. "Harry's going to need some friends before he starts at Hogwarts."

Alice laughed again. "Yes, we wouldn't want to have them branded as anti-social before they're five months old!"

Frank appeared at Alice's side, and took Neville from her arms. "Hi, Lily," he said with a smile. "How are you?"

"Fine," she smiled back. "Alice and I were just talking about getting Harry and Neville together for a play date."

"That sounds great," Frank grinned. "And I think it will be great for the boys' mothers to get out and be around adults during the day as well."

Both women laughed and nodded. One look into each other's eyes assured them that they were both thinking the same thing: It would be wonderful to have an adult conversation during the day while their husbands and friends were at work.

"I'll be in touch," Alice promised.

"I can't wait to hear from you," Lily replied with honest sincerity.

It was not yet late when Lily and James began preparing to return home, but Harry had already fallen asleep. Lily smiled as she looked at the sleeping baby in her husband's arms.

"Poor little guy," she said affectionately. "I think his first Order meeting tired him out."

James grinned, and kissed the baby's head. "I'm sure he'll sit through more boring things than this meeting during his lifetime – for example, Professor Binns's class."

"James!" Lily laughed. "You can't talk about your colleagues like that!"

James merely laughed, and picked up the portkey that would take them home. "Here, grab on to this."

Lily nodded, and reached out to touch the pen in his hand. Within moments, she felt the jerk that transported her home.

"Finally! Where have you been?"

Lily screamed as her feet slammed into her kitchen floor and the unknown the voice filled her ears. Awakened by his mother's scream, Harry began to cry.

"What's going on?" James asked, rocking the baby back and forth.

Lily was clutching her heart as she recognized her friend. "Dana, what are you doing here?" she cried. "You nearly scared me to death!"

"You did give me the password to Apparate or Floo into your house, you know," Dana grinned. "You have no one to blame but yourself for these surprise visits."

"Not funny," Lily said. Her eyes swung from Dana to Aidan. "Did we have something planned this evening? We were summoned to that Order meeting so fast, I didn't even think about any plans we might have had . . ."

"Oh, no," Dana assured her. "We just thought we'd drop by."

Lily looked away from her friends, and so did not notice the look that passed between Dana and Aidan. James did see the nervous smiles on their faces, but barely had time to ponder their meaning before Lily was speaking again.

She reached out to take the still-crying baby from James. "I should make you put him back to sleep, since you're the reason that he's awake at this point," she said as she tried to hush Harry.

"Actually, I wouldn't mind," Dana said with a smile. "I could probably use the practice."

It was more her tone than the words themselves that made Lily stop her ministrations to her son. She lifted her eyes from the baby's face to her friend's, her mouth open in an "o" shape.

"Dana," she whispered, "are you -?"

Dana grinned and nodded, her eyes shining with tears of happiness. "In May, Harry will get to meet his new playmate."

Lily gave a shriek, and passed the baby back to James. She flung herself forward, throwing her arms around Dana.

"Dana, I can't believe it! How long have you known?"

"I just found out yesterday," Dana replied, hugging her friend close. "I wanted to tell you first – well, after Aidan and our families, of course."

Lily reached up to wipe away the tears that were beginning to fall down her cheeks. She stepped back from Dana, and turned to hug Aidan, who was having his hand shaken by James. James took the opportunity to kiss Dana's cheek, congratulating her.

When Harry was asleep and tucked into his crib, the four adults sat around the kitchen table, discussing all the aspects of parenthood. James looked at Aidan with a grin.

"Any words of advice, then?" Aidan asked, recognizing the laughter in James's eyes.

"Silencing charm," James grinned. "Just put a charm on the nursery, and you'll sleep like a baby."

They all laughed, and Lily playfully hit James's arm. She turned back to Dana and Aidan, her expression thoughtful.

"Have you told the others?" she asked.

"Not yet," Aidan replied. "We wanted to tell you two straight off, since you already have Harry. We parents need to stick together."

"I was thinking of having everyone over to tell them," Dana said. "Do you think everyone will be able to make it next Saturday?"

"Probably," Lily said. "Let them all know, and start planning! This is an excellent reason to celebrate!"

On the appointed Saturday, James and Lily took Harry to Dana and Aidan's house for their dinner party. They were the last to arrive, which had become a habit since Harry's birth. As soon as they walked in the door, Sirius took Harry from Lily's arms. He sat down on the couch and arranged the baby in his lap, beginning an in-depth conversation with him. Olivia, who was sitting in Greg's lap across the room, watched him silently for a moment.

"You're quiet," Greg said softly.

Olivia blinked, and looked away from Sirius and Harry, focusing on Greg's smiling eyes. "I just never knew that Sirius liked children so much," she confessed. "Watching him with Harry is so different – it's actually kind of fun."

Greg frowned slightly, but quickly let his face relax into a calmer expression, as if it didn't bother him in the slightest to hear his girlfriend speak of her former boyfriend in such intimate terms. "It makes him seem kinder? Is that it?"

"Not exactly," Olivia said uncomfortably. She would never tell him the truth – that watching Sirius with Harry made her realize what a good father he would be one day. "It just makes me look at him a bit differently, that's all."

"Different good?" Greg pressed.

"Yes, different good," she replied. "And after the way he's been acting around me recently, anything that makes him look better is a good thing."

"How has he been acting?" Greg asked, his eyes narrowing.

Olivia bit her lip. She hadn't meant to tell him that. Greg always got so upset when he thought that Sirius wasn't treating her the way she should be treated. And Sirius never treated her badly – he just hadn't been talking to her the way he normally did. He was holding back from her in a way he hadn't since they had first become partners. She hated it when he withheld himself from her, and he knew it. Why was he acting this way?

"Olivia, what do you mean?" Greg asked.

"He's just been a bit distant, that's all," she admitted. She lifted herself off his lap. "If Harry is here, James and Lily must be as well. Do you want to come with me to find them? We need to say hello."

"Sure," Greg replied, standing to his feet. He took Olivia's hand in his and kissed it. "We're okay, aren't we?"

Now it was Olivia's turn to frown. "Of course. Why wouldn't we be?"

Looking into her wide eyes, he realized that she honestly hadn't meant anything by her observations of Sirius and Harry. "No reason," he smiled. "Sometimes I just have to work to convince myself that you're with me, that's all."

She laughed. "Greg, you are too sweet. Of course I'm with you. Now let's go find Lily and James."

They made their way through the rooms of the first floor of Dana and Aidan's house and found the Potters in the kitchen, chatting with Remus and Peter. All four looked up when Olivia and Greg entered the room.

"Hi, Liv!" Lily said cheerfully, hugging her friend close. "I feel like I haven't seen you in ages! Where have you been?"

"Working," Olivia sighed as Greg and James shook hands. "Things are getting crazy with all the Death Eater activity. We've seen an amazing increase in the past few months."

Remus shook his head, and put his finger over his lips. "Not tonight, Liv," he said softly. "We need to concentrate on the good things that are happening for once in our lives."

"Good things?" Olivia repeated. "By good things would you be referring to the partner that barely talks to me anymore?"

James, Remus and Peter exchanged a glance. Noticing the look that passed between them, Olivia's annoyance increased.

"Sirius won't talk to you?" Lily asked, sensing that Olivia needed to let out her frustration.

"No, he won't," Olivia said angrily. "And something tells me that at least three of the people in this room know why. Would anyone care to fill me in?"

Remus and Peter both looked at James. He sighed, and touched Olivia's arm.

"Let's go outside to talk."

Olivia's eyes widened. This must be serious. "All right."

She followed James to the backyard, where he cast warming charms over them. He smiled slightly.

"Unfortunately, I don't have Lily's ability with charms, but hopefully this will keep us a little warmer."

"I'm warm enough," Olivia said. "What's going on, James? Why won't Sirius talk to me?"

James drew a deep breath, and exhaled slowly. "Liv, when has Sirius ever held back from you?"

"When he's in a tough emotional place," she said at once. "He was like this when his uncle died, and . . . I think when your dad died, even though we weren't really together then. I could still tell. I know he gets horribly angry, but inside – the part he really needs to release – he just can't for a while. He thinks he can, and he tells everyone that he can . . . And because he has such a violent means of expressing himself, everyone believes him. But I always made him talk everything through . . . he hated that, you know."

James smiled sadly. "But he needed that," he said softly. "He still does. He still needs someone to make him realize how he feels, to make him talk . . ." He sighed, and ran his hand through his hair. "His brother died, Liv. That's a lot for him to deal with."

Olivia gasped, her hands flying to her face. "What?" she cried. "How? When? What happened?"

"You didn't know?"

"No," she said softly. "He never said a word to me about it."

"You didn't hear about it a work?"

"James, one Death Eater dying isn't news," she said. "The ones right in the inner circle are important enough to tell the world about, but someone like Regulus . . ." She trailed off, her eyes widening again. "Was he killed by an Auror?"

"No," James sighed. "It would appear that he was killed by the Death Eaters."

"They're destroying their own ranks?" she whispered, her voice full of wonder. "Why on earth would they do that?"

"I don't know," James confessed. "I don't have the details, and I probably never will. But that's what's going on with Sirius right now. I've tried to get him to talk to me about it, but he won't. He went to the funeral with Andromeda, which I think was the best thing for him, but he hasn't really talked about it since then. Every time I try to bring it up, he just says that Regulus knew what he was getting in to when he started."

"He doesn't believe that," Olivia said at once. "He never thought that Regulus understood the risks of being a Death Eater. That's why he fought so hard to keep him away from it."

"I know," James said softly. "He's dealing with the loss of Regulus as well as his own personal failure as an older brother. He worked so hard to keep Regulus away from the Death Eaters, and not only did he fail at that, he failed to keep him safe." He ran his hand through his hair again. "He actually seems like he's pretty much back to normal at this point. I've been impressed with his transition."

"He's not completely over it, though, is he?" Olivia asked. She bit her lower lip. "I suppose I could try to talk to him."

"Be careful, Liv," James said. "He hasn't brought it up to me in ages, so I think he's pretty well moved on. Don't reopen any old wounds."

When James and Olivia walked back into the kitchen, Dana was lifting a dish from the oven. She put it on the counter, and pointed her wand to levitate it into the dining room.

"There you are!" she smiled. "Go on into the dining room and sit down. We're just getting ready to eat."

They walked into the dining room, where James slid into the seat next to Lily. She looked at him with a smile, and he squeezed her hand.

"What happened?" Lily asked in a low tone.

"She didn't know about his brother," James whispered. "Apparently, he never told her."

Lily frowned. "That's odd."

"Is it?" James asked.

"Hey, no secrets," Laura teased from across the table.

James looked directly across into her eyes with a grin. "I was just saying that you look lovely tonight."

Laura laughed. "I haven't seen you give anyone that flirty smile since before you started dating Lily. Should I feel special?"

"Always," James said, his smile changing to a genuine one.

Even the smile could not hide the concern in his eyes. Laura looked far worse than the last time he had seen her. Her cheeks were paler, she had clearly lost weight, and her eyes looked too large for her face. James looked at Lily, who shook her head mutely as Dana came in with three plates of food floating in front of her.

Dana set the plates down on the table, and stood in front of her chair. Aidan looked up at her for a moment, then rose to his feet with her.

"Everyone, before we begin eating, we'd like to tell you the reason for this evening's party," Aidan smiled. He looked at Dana, who nodded.

"I'm pregnant!" she exclaimed, a beaming smile breaking out across her face.

A gasp went up from the table, followed by a cheer. Everyone jumped up from their chairs to congratulate the happy couple, neither of which could stop smiling.

"When are you due?" Olivia asked, a beaming smile crossing her own face.

"May eleventh," Dana smiled. She giggled. "And I expect you all to clear that date on your calendars now so that you can be there to welcome my little one!"

"Of course we'll be there," Sirius grinned. "We were there for Harry, and we'll be there for . . . Have you chosen a name yet?"

"Not yet," Aidan laughed. "We're still arguing over that one."

Dana made a face. "He wants to name a boy Liam."

"It's a good Irish name!" Aidan protested, his accent thicker than any of them had heard it in years.

"Yes, but my brother's best friend when he was little was named Liam," Dana said. "That boy made it his mission to torment me every time I saw him." She made a face and shook her head. "He was awful."

"We'll talk about it later," Aidan said. "What do you all say we start eating all this food?"

Dinner progressed rapidly as everyone talked and ate. Words tumbled out of mouths as everyone tried to make him or herself heard over the commotion. After the final course had been eaten, Lily, Olivia and Laura volunteered to help Dana clean up. While the men took Harry into the living room, the women used their wands to store leftover food and clean dishes.

"I guess that offer means a lot more in the Muggle world," Laura giggled as the last plate zoomed into the cupboard.

"I, for one, am glad to be done early," Olivia smiled. "I need to – well, I want to talk to Sirius, if he's willing."

Dana raised her eyebrows. "What happened to not wanting anything to do with him?"

"We're still friends, Dan," Olivia said in exasperation. She quickly left the kitchen, leaving the others to watch the door swing behind her.

"And what happened to her happy relationship with Greg?" Laura asked.

"That's true," Lily sighed. "She's always just bouncing around emotionally, isn't she?"

"She is that," Dana agreed with a sigh of her own.

Laura crossed to sit down. "I hope she can get it together someday."

"So do I," Lily replied. She looked at Laura with concern in her eyes. "Are you feeling all right, love?"

"I'm fine," Laura said quickly. "I'm just a bit tired."

"Have you been to see Dr. Hayward recently?" Lily asked. "Maybe he could adjust your medication so you'll have more energy."

Laura smiled sadly. "He's always adjusting it," she confessed. "I'm – I'm not sure how much more he'll be able to do for me."

Dana and Lily looked at each other with eyes wide open with fear.

"What do you mean, Laura?" Dana asked softly, sitting down across from her friend.

"Nothing – everything – I don't know!" Laura exclaimed. She took a deep breath, and looked down at her hands, which were shaking. "Can we please not talk about this right now? I really don't want to be the one who puts a damper on your fantastic news, Dana."

"But we will talk about it?" Lily asked.

Laura smiled her sad smile again, but remained silent. Her silence scared Lily and Dana more than any words ever could have.

Olivia walked into the living room, and let her eyes scan the faces in front of her. James was talking to Greg and Peter to her left, and Sirius and Remus were playing with Harry to her right. Hoping that she was doing the right thing, she crossed to join Sirius and Remus.

"Hi, guys," she smiled.

"Hey, Liv," Remus said, swinging Harry up in the air. "Shouldn't you be in the kitchen with the other girls, talking about the awful things your men have done recently?"

Olivia laughed. "We don't make you guys are topic of conversation all the time, you know."

"Oh?" Sirius grinned. "What else is there?"

"Harry," she said, reaching up to run her hand over the baby's head. She smiled, and leaned in to kiss his chubby cheek. "I can't believe how big he's getting."

Remus grinned, and adjusted the baby in his arms. "Well, he's almost four months old. He's practically grown up."

Olivia made a face at him. "Leave me alone."

"You're the one who came over to join us," Remus laughed.

"Well, I actually came over because I wanted to talk to Sirius," she replied.

"To me?" Sirius asked in surprise.

"If you have a minute?"

"Sure," Sirius said. "I think that Harry can take care of Remus until we get back."

Olivia smiled, grateful that he had realized that she wanted to talk to him in private. "Let's go into the dining room."

They walked together across the living room and entered the room they had so recently vacated. The candles that Aidan had lit for the meal were still burning, casting flickering shadows into the corners of the room.

"What's going on?" Sirius asked, looking at her with concern. "Is it something about work?"

"No, it has nothing to do with work," Olivia replied. She took a deep breath, and looked Sirius straight in the eye. "I was talking to James earlier, and he told me about your brother. I just wanted to let you know that I'm sorry. It shouldn't – things shouldn't have happened that way. Regulus deserved far better."

"Yeah, he did," Sirius said. He exhaled, and ran his hand through his hair. "James told you about this?"

"Yes," Olivia replied, "and I'm glad he did. Don't you think that I deserve to know what's going on in your life, Sirius? I know we're not – we're not together like we used to be, but we're still friends. Friends share things like this."

"Not friends like us, Liv," Sirius said softly, blinking back tears.

"What do you mean?" she asked, her voice just above a whisper.

"I didn't want to tell you," he said hoarsely. "I didn't want you to see me like this."

"What are you talking about?" she asked, stepping closer to him. "You're supposed to grieve for your brother, Sirius."

"I didn't want to – I want to be strong for you, Liv. I can't be strong when we're talking about something that's tearing me apart inside."

Olivia blinked. She had never expected to see this side of Sirius. She had always suspected that it existed, but to have his guard completely lowered like this – she didn't know how to respond. Doing the only thing she could think of, she reached out to touch his arm.

"Let me be the strong one this time," she said softly.

Sirius drew a deep breath, trying desperately to control his tears. "I can't," he said so softly that she barely heard it.

"Yes, you can," she said, stepping even closer. "Just let go. I'm here for you."

A crash and then a shriek split the air, ending their moment. They looked at one another for a split second, then pulled out their wands, and charged into the living room.

At least ten masked Death Eaters were spilling into the living room, shooting curses at anyone they could see. Without exchanging so much as a glance, Sirius and Olivia went into Auror mode. All emotion left their bodies except the adrenaline to fight against the intruders. They had to defend Harry.

The three girls from the kitchen ran in at the same time as Sirius and Olivia, all with their wands drawn. Lily's eyes betrayed her terror as they searched the room for her baby.

"Remus has him," Laura said, grabbing Lily's hand. "He'll take care of him."

"But where are they?" Lily asked desperately.

As if he knew what she was asking, Remus, who was still clutching Harry to him, ran to Laura and Lily.

"Take him!" he yelled, offering the baby to his wife. "Take him and get out of here!"

"Where should I go?" Laura cried, taking the baby that Remus practically shoved at her.

"Go to my house," Lily said in an urgent whisper. "You know the password; just Floo there."

"You can Floo from my bedroom," Dana added. "Go now! Hurry, before they see you!"

Laura took off at a sprint, while the others took up the battle against the Death Eaters. Lily had never been so terrified. She wanted desperately to be with her baby, to know that he was safe. But she knew that it was better this way. Laura wasn't strong enough for a battle like this. Lily knew that Laura would do everything in her power to defend Harry, but she also knew that multiple Death Eaters could be too much for her to handle.

"They'll be fine," Remus said as much to reassure himself as to calm Lily. "Laura can do this. She'll make sure he's safe."

"I trust her," Lily said. She turned to face her friend. "And I trust you."

Remus smiled at her. "Duck left," he said, the smile sliding off his face.

Lily did as he instructed, and Remus raised is wand to Stun the Death Eater who had been behind her. The sound of a body smacking against the floor confirmed that his spell had hit its mark.

"How did they find us?" Lily muttered to herself. "How did they know? How did this happen?"

The battle quickly became intense. The Death Eaters lost no time in using Unforgivable Curses, as well as horribly damaging curses that Lily had never heard of. She caught sight of Peter at one point, and saw her own terror and confusion reflected in his eyes. However, while she was doing all she could to aid in the battle, Peter appeared to be frozen in place. She wanted to shake him to make him move, but didn't have the time.

"Stupify!" she yelled, closing in on a Death Eater.

She watched as he hit the floor, and shot another spell at him to tie his wrists and ankles. Then, without warning, she felt a pair of large, rough hands close around her throat. She gasped, then coughed.

"Where is your son?" the Death Eater demanded.

Lily coughed again, struggling to breathe through his tightening grip on her neck.

"Where is he?" the Death Eater yelled, shaking her.

Even if she had been able to speak past the hands that were quickly cutting off her oxygen supply, she wouldn't have been able to tell him. As gasping for air became impossible, all the details in her mind became fuzzy. She felt her eyes rolling back as darkness closed in around her.

"Stupify!" Aidan yelled.

The man who had captured Lily fell to the ground, dragging her with him. Taking deep, soothing breaths, she looked up at Aidan with a grin of thanks, then bound the Death Eater so that he couldn't move. Massaging her throat, she stood to return to the battle.

A shriek reverberated through the house. Alarmed, Lily jumped. She looked around wildly, only to discover that one lone Death Eater remained in the house.

"REDUCTO!" Sirius yelled.

Lily turned in time to see a Death Eater fall to the floor, clutching his chest. Judging by his appearance, Sirius had successfully broken his rib cage, allowing the bones to splinter into his lungs. Remus crossed to help the man. After Stunning him and putting him into a full-body bind, he began healing his cracked bones and punctured lungs.

"Stop it, Remus!" Dana shrieked hysterically. "Leave him to die! He deserves to die! They all do!"

Shocked beyond words, Lily turned slowly to face her friend. Dana was on the floor, clutching Aidan to her. She sobbed uncontrollably as she rocked back and forth.

Lily reluctantly moved her eyes from Dana's face to Aidan's. His eyes and mouth were open in a shocked expression. Lily sank down to her knees as the reality hit her. Aidan was gone.