A/N: This chapter had so much more it was supposed to include, but I decided to break it in half. I hope you like it!

Review responses …

LogicalRaven: This chapter and the next one are dedicated to you – I think there's a lot you've been waiting for forever in them!

Black Emerald Dawn: Okay, I promise I'll lift the fog of sorrow soon! Sirius and Olivia . . . there's a couple with some issues! They're working on it, though . . .

Elephant Wings: Dana had to arrange things with her job to get time off. Unfortunately, she couldn't just pick up and leave for a week without sorting stuff out. That's the worst part about being separated from family and friends – the distance can be a problem. That's also the reason she doesn't come to visit a lot. She's working on a building her new life, so she has to be in France. If she was in the UK every other day, there wouldn't have been a point in her moving away. She doesn't want to escape the memories of Aidan, just the danger associated with living in the UK. That doesn't really have anything to do with her friends. Right now, her focus is on creating a new life as quickly as possible.

Camilinah: Sorry, I have no plans to write about Harry while he's at Hogwarts. I can't compete with JKR! But I am thinking of something post-Hogwarts . . . But it'll be awhile before I get to that.

Panther28: Let's see … this is chapter 50, and I have to go to 63. So, about 12 more. My plan is to have it done before book 6 is published. Keep your fingers crossed!

Okay, everyone, enjoy! Thanks for reading and reviewing!

I don't own Harry Potter.

Friendship

Dana remained with them for a week, the entire time she had been able to take away from her new job at her local hospital. She moved back into her bedroom at Olivia's flat, but spent most of her time with Remus, trying to help him make sense of all that had happened. Remus was grateful for her efforts, knowing that, along with Peter, she understood what he was feeling better than anyone. He clung to her emotionally, thankful that she was there with him and that she understood.

They had reached the halfway point of their time together. They had attained a level of comfort together that they never shared before Laura's tragic death. She stood in his kitchen, waving her wand to make his favorite dishes for dinner. Remus watched her from his position seated at the table. Despite his parents' protests, he had moved back into the house that he and Laura had shared two days after the funeral. He sighed as he watched Dana work.

"Are you all right?" she asked, using her wand to make the chicken turn itself in the roaster.

"I'm just starting to think that my parents were right," he said.

"About what?"

"About this house . . . me living here . . . I'm not sure this is where I belong anymore."

"But, Remus, where would you go?" Dana frowned. "This is your home."

"It was, once," Remus replied. "I would think you would understand, Dana. You left the country after Aidan died. I'm just thinking of moving to another village."

"Oh, I see what you're trying to say," Dana replied, relief showing on her face.

"What did you think I meant?"

"I don't know – I was just worried that you were going to go off by yourself somewhere and become some sort of hermit."

Remus smiled slightly. "I wasn't planning to completely cut myself off from society. I guess I just need a little break."

Dana turned to face him. "This process of getting back to normal is all about how you best deal with the changes in your life, Remus. You have to decide what will be the best way for you to make yourself whole again. For me, that meant moving away with my mum. I never wanted to be alone. This way, I'll always have her with me, even if I do live in France. And in a few more months, I'll have my little baby, too."

Remus smiled at the mention of the baby. "Have you chosen a name?"

Dana sighed. "Not exactly," she replied. "I think I'm going to honor Aidan's wishes if it's a boy, though – I'm going to call him Liam Aidan."

"I'd forgotten that Aidan wanted Liam for his name."

"I've hated that name since I was a little girl, you know. But Aidan just loved it, and that's what he wanted his son to be named. The least I can do now is to give him that."

Remus's face fell. "I'd give anything to have Laura's baby with me here now."

"Oh, Remus," Dana sighed, crossing to sit down with him. "I know how much you and Laura wanted a baby."

"It just wasn't meant to be," Remus said softly.

"The words are lovely, but do you really mean them?" Dana asked gently, reaching out to touch his hand.

Remus looked away from her for a moment. When he looked back, his eyes were filled with a painful sorrow that exceeded anything Dana had seen in them since her arrival. She sucked in her breath sharply at the raw grief that she saw.

"Dana, I would give anything to have Laura back here with me. Anything. But I would give even more to have our child. I understand why Laura was taken from me. Well, not why, exactly, but I understand that it's better for her. She was so sick for so long, and in so much pain . . . I know that she's free of that pain now. That's something that I can hold on to. But to not have her child . . ." His voice trailed off, and he laughed mirthlessly. "It's like some sort of cruel joke."

"Oh, Remus," Dana sighed again.

He ran his hands over his face, then continued as if she hadn't spoken. "The universe has a great time mocking me, doesn't it? First I become a werewolf when I was just a little boy, which cast a dark shadow over my entire life. Then, I lose the love of my life twice – first because of my inability to be upfront and honest with her, and then with a shocking finality because her body just fell apart. As a final insult, I can't have the one thing I've always wanted yet, before Laura, never really dared to dream I could have: a child."

"Remus," Dana whispered. "Please, you can't do this to yourself."

"Why not?" he yelled. "Why can't I, Dana? Don't you think that I, of all people, have the right to be angry?"

"You have more right than anyone," she said. "I fully support your anger if that's what you're feeling right now. However, this self-pity . . . Remus, it's just not healthy."

"How would you feel?" he asked, his eyes blazing. "How would you feel if you had lost not only Aidan, but also all hope of ever having his child? Wouldn't it just tear you apart inside? Wouldn't it drive you to this sort of anger?"

"I know that this sounds ridiculous and empty, Remus, but you know that there is a reason for everything."

"Oh, really? And what exactly is the reason for this?"

Dana bit her lip for a moment. "I don't deny that you would be a wonderful father. Any child would be lucky to have a relationship like that with you. But, Remus, I see a couple reasons for why you and Laura didn't have your baby."

"Go ahead, then," he said angrily. "Impart your wisdom."

She drew a deep breath. She knew that he was expecting her to say that a werewolf could never support a baby financially. While laws and prejudices made that true, she knew that reminding Remus of that fact was unnecessary and would probably cause him to explode. She decided to go down the safer route.

"Well, the first reason is the most obvious. If you did have a child, it would grow up like mine – with only half its family. Every day, I wish that things could be different for my baby. He's going to be born into a family that's been shattered by tragedy. I love him so much already, but he's never going to have his father here with him to love him. If you had a child, it would have to spend the rest of its life without Laura – without really knowing its mother's love and care. Can you imagine how much that would hurt?"

Remus blinked. "I never thought of that."

"It's true," Dana said. "I worry about my baby all the time. I don't know what kind of scars he's going to have because his father isn't here for him."

Remus was silent for a moment, considering her words. "You said there are other reasons?" he asked at last.

Dana nodded. "Think of Laura."

"She would have been an incredible mother."

"I know that. But she was sick for so long . . . I know that you two wanted children before you were even married, but think back to when we first started to see that she was ill. If you had been successful, if she had been pregnant . . . Remus, pregnancy isn't easy. It's a tough thing for the body to handle. You know that as well as I do. We learned all about it in class. Imagine if she had been pregnant. Her body, her heart . . . I don't know for sure, but chances are they couldn't have taken the strain. It could have killed her sooner, maybe even before the baby was born. If that had happened, you would have lost your wife and your child all at once. Don't you think that would have been worse than this?"

"I would never have been able to forgive myself," Remus said softly. "I would have felt like I killed them both."

"Exactly!"

He sighed. "All right, I see your point."

"You also have to remember, Remus, that you can give your love – all the love that you would have given your own child – to another child."

"Yours?" he asked with a sad smile. "You live so far away, Dana –"

"Harry," she said, cutting him off.

"Harry . . ." Remus looked off into space, thinking of his friends' son.

"Yes, Harry. You have Harry right here with you all the time. I know that he has James and Lily, but he's a very special little boy. I think he deserves all the love he can get."

"Yes," he said. "Lily and James's son deserves the best of everything."

"Then give him the best of you," Dana said urgently. "Love him like you would your own son."

"But he's not mine. He's not even my godson."

"I know that Sirius is his godfather, but do you think that makes you less important in his life? What would James and Lily say?"

"James . . . and Lily . . ." Remus ran his hands over his face again. "Lily has been a wonderful friend to me since this happened."

"Exactly," Dana said. "And she would never do anything to keep you from her son, would she?"

"Not if she had another choice," Remus admitted. "She's been so good to me, Dana."

"You let her," Dana said. "You need your friends now, Remus. Don't shut us out."

Remus nodded. "I won't," he said softly. He tried to smile, but failed. "You're a better friend than I deserve, Dana."

She shook her head. "I'm just doing the same as you would do for me."

"But I didn't. You lost Aidan, and we all just sat back and let you leave."

"That's what I needed you to do," she said softly. "And I'm doing for you what you need me to do." She leaned over to hug him. "I'll always be your friend, Remus. And I'll do my best to be whatever you need me to be."

He kissed her cheek. "Thank you, Dana. Thank you for everything."

"Prongs?"

James picked up his mirror from the coffee table to see Sirius's face looking at him anxiously. "Hey, Padfoot. What's going on?"

"Can we talk?"

"Of course," James replied. "Can you come over here, though? Lily's out with Minnie for the afternoon, so Harry and I are on our own."

Sirius grinned. "Lily left you alone with the baby?"

"Imagine that," James replied with a sarcastic smile. "So, can you come here?"

"Sure. I'll be there in a minute."

Within moments, Sirius Apparated into the Potters' living room. He looked at James with a smile, and let his eyes wander around the room.

"Where's Harry?"

"Sleeping," James replied. "And, I might add, it took me a long time to get him that way, so don't even think about waking him up to say hi. You can play with him when he's done napping."

"You have no faith in me."

"Yeah, that's why you're his godfather – because Lily and I don't trust you with him."

Sirius grinned for a moment, then his smile faded. "I need to talk to you, James."

"All right," James said, noticing the change in his friend. "Sit down. Do you want a drink?"

"Do you have firewhiskey?"

James laughed. "We don't have anything stronger than butterbeer."

"All right, I'll have one."

James waved his wand. "Accio butterbeer!"

Once they were seated in the living room with their butterbeers open, James looked at Sirius critically. He took a sip of his drink, then surveyed his friend again.

"Are you going to talk, or should I start quizzing you?"

"I'll talk," Sirius sighed. "It's about Olivia."

"Olivia?" James said, raising his eyebrows. "Is there something going on between you? I mean, I know you've been trying to get her back for awhile, but she was pretty devoted to Greg . . ." He trailed off, his eyes widening. "She broke up with Greg. But she told Lily that was to protect him . . . She said she was freaked out after what happened to Aidan. She didn't want to put him in danger."

"Yeah, I know," Sirius said, running his hands over his face. "But the fact remains that she's now single again."

"And you want to win her back." It wasn't a question. James knew how much Sirius wanted to rekindle his relationship with Olivia.

"No, James, it's not like that anymore."

"What do you mean?" James frowned.

"Listen . . . You were right."

"About what?"

"Remember when your dad died, and I told you that the first thing I did was shag Rebecca?"

A smile flitted across James's face. "You're a horny bastard, Black. And you have terrible ways of dealing with tragedy." The smile suddenly faded as understand dawned. "Are you saying that you shagged Olivia right after Laura . . .?"

"No!" Sirius said quickly. "But, listen, here's what happened. I was in the chapel, and Olivia came in to light a candle. She was a wreck – she told me that Laura had died . . . I don't know, James. One minute I was hugging her – we were comforting one another, you know? – and the next minute, we're making out."

"You snogged her in the hospital chapel?" James asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, that's pretty much it," Sirius said, his face coloring slightly. "You don't need to make is sound so wrong."

"Tell me exactly how it isn't," James laughed. "You didn't shag her in the chapel, did you?"

"I already told you that I didn't shag her."

"Okay, okay. So where is this going?"

"Well, I stayed with her pretty much all day," Sirius continued. "At the end of the day, we went to Diagon Alley to send all the funeral information to Dana. After we had sent the letter, Olivia asked me to come home with her."

James raised one eyebrow. "Seriously?"

"Seriously."

"Did you go?"

"Yes. She was really upset, and she said she didn't want to be alone."

"And what happened?"

"Nothing. It was . . . James, it was pretty awkward. I could tell that she didn't know how to act around me, and really, I didn't know how to act around her, either. So we just sat on the couch together, and we ended up falling asleep."

"And the next morning?"

"We had breakfast, and then I went home. At that point, she had gotten Dana's response to her owl about Laura, and they were working out whether or not Dana could get the time off to come to the funeral and where she would stay . . . Liv was pretty busy. I just wanted to stay out of the way."

"And now?"

"I haven't spent a lot of time with her since then."

"But you want to." Again, James didn't need to ask. He knew that his friend had never stopped loving Olivia, and that he would do anything to spend extra time with her.

"James, I . . ." Sirius paused, and ran his hands over his face. "I've been watching Remus ever since Laura died. I know that he's completely torn apart, and I would do anything to bring Laura back to him, but I can't help but think of how lucky he is."

"Lucky?" James repeated in disbelief. "Lucky because he lost his wife?"

"Lucky because he had so much time with her," Sirius corrected. "Watching him, I've realized that I want to have that with Olivia. She's the love of my life, James, just like Laura was for Remus. And in our line of work, anything could happen to either of us at any point in time. It's too dangerous to think that we have forever stretching out before us."

"What are you trying to say, Sirius?"

"I'm saying that I want Olivia back in my life and my heart, no matter what it takes."

James's eyes widened as he realized what Sirius meant. "Are you saying . . .?"

Sirius nodded. "When Olivia walked out of my life the day Remus and Laura got married, it was because I wasn't ready to marry her. I didn't want to be a husband. But now . . . I'm ready, James. I want her back, and I want her with me forever. If that means that I'm ready for marriage, well, then, I'm going to have to tell her that."

James's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "You're going to propose to her?"

Sirius nodded. "I just need to find the time, the place, the ring . . . and the right way to say it. You're the eloquent one, James. What do you say? Will you help me figure out how to tell Liv how I feel?"

James grinned. For some reason, his only thought was of how happy Lily would be. "Padfoot, you've come to the right place. Let's get started!"

A soft pop sounded as Dana Apparated into Olivia's flat. Olivia, who was in the kitchen, came out into the living room.

"Hey, Dana," she smiled. "How's Remus?"

"Getting there," Dana sighed. "He's a mess, Liv. I wish there was more I could do to help. I have to leave in a few days . . . I don't know how I'll be able to go back to France knowing that he's in such a terrible place."

"So don't go," Olivia said. "Stay here. You can live with me again. It'll be just like old times! Come on, Dana, say you'll stay."

Dana smiled sadly, and ran her hand over her stomach. "Nothing ever stays the same, Liv. I could come back and live here with you again, but it won't be like it was before. For one thing, I'll have this baby in a few more months . . . And I really don't belong here anymore. I need to create a new life for myself. You understand, don't you?"

"Yes," Olivia sighed. "But that doesn't mean I miss you less."

Dana crossed to hug her. "I miss you too, sweetheart." She took Olivia's hand, and led her to the couch. "Sit down and tell me all about how you've been. I've been so busy with Remus that we've barely had a chance to talk!"

Olivia looked at her for a moment. "Dana, I need to talk to someone or I'm going to burst. Can I . . . Will you listen to me?"

"I always have," Dana smiled. "I'll even give advice if you'd like."

"I would like," Olivia smiled. "Okay, here goes – I think I'm falling in love with Sirius all over again."

Dana could not have looked more surprised if Olivia had confessed that she was considering hexing Moody when he had his back turned just to see his reaction. "What?" she asked. "What happened?"

"Well, the day that Laura died, he was really there for me," Olivia said. "He held me while I cried, and he didn't leave me all day. I asked him to stay with me and he did. I asked him to come home with me, and he ended up staying all night, sleeping on the couch."

"Liv, you have three bedrooms, two of which are empty. If you wanted him to stay somewhere other than your bed, why didn't you give him mine or Lily's?"

Olivia smiled at the memory. "It wasn't like that. It was weird . . . I mean, we had been together all day, but when we got back here, everything got all awkward. I didn't know what to say or how to act. He offered to leave if it was too weird, but I really didn't want to be alone, so he took my hand and brought me to the couch. He said that we could just sit together and not talk. So, we sat down, and . . . I don't know how it happened, exactly, but we ended up holding one another like we used to, all curled up together. I didn't want to move – it felt so . . . I don't know, so right to be with him like that. We ended up just falling asleep together on the couch."

"So, after sleeping on a couch with him, you're ready to take him back?"

"No, that's not it, exactly. I don't know, Dana. It's hard to explain. I've been watching him for months . . . I've seen such a change in him. Maybe it's because I wasn't with him, so I could see it more clearly. Maybe it's because of Harry – goodness knows he's made a difference in everyone's lives. But I've seen a different side of Sirius. He's become . . . gentler, more caring. He's not the same person that he used to be, yet he is . . . I just know that I want to be with him again."

Dana's eyebrows shot up. "Liv, think about this before you make any decisions. I mean, you're the one who left him, remember? You're the one who wanted desperately to get married. I know that Sirius has changed, but I don't think he's changed that much."

Olivia shook her head. "I don't care about that anymore."

"What do you mean?"

"I know that I did want to get married, like you said. But I don't think that it was so much marrying Sirius as it was just getting married. Lily and James, Remus and Laura, you and Aidan . . . everyone was getting married. It just seemed like the thing to do, and I was heartbroken that Sirius didn't want to. I loved him and he loved me . . . I couldn't understand why he wanted to wait. But I can see his point now. He wasn't ready, and, when it comes right down to it, neither was I. If the biggest reason that I wanted to get married was just because it was the thing to do, then he was right. We should have just stayed as we were."

"Do you want to marry him now?" Dana asked quietly.

"Yes," Olivia said without hesitation. "After all that's happened, after all I've seen and done, I am even more convinced that he's the one I should marry."

"But you're willing to wait?"

"Yes," she said again with just as much conviction. "If Sirius and I really are meant to be together, if we really are meant to get married someday, then I have to wait until we're both ready. There's no sense in entering into a marriage that's going to be a mess because we're not ready for it."

"Liv, I can't believe it," Dana smiled. "You sound so mature."

Olivia grinned. "Well, I guess it had to happen sometime."

"But what are you going to do now?"

Olivia's grin faded. "I guess I should talk to Sirius."

"Yeah, that makes the most sense," Dana agreed, her eyes twinkling. "When are you going to talk to him?"

"As soon as I get up the nerve."

Both girls laughed.

"Where's that Gryffindor courage?" Dana teased.

"I think it checked out when Sirius kissed me," Olivia confessed.

"Whoa!" Dana exclaimed, jumping in her seat. "You never said anything about kissing! What happened?"

"Oh," Olivia said, flushing slightly. "Well, right after Laura died, I went to the chapel at the hospital to light a candle for her, and Sirius was there . . ."

"You kissed him in a chapel?" Dana exclaimed, her face showing her shock. "Liv, I can't believe you!"

"Oh, come on, Dana," Olivia laughed. "It's not like I shagged him in the chapel!" Her face turned even redder as she remembered what she had said to him after they stopped kissing.

"What aren't you telling me?" Dana asked instantly, recognizing the look on her friend's face. "I can always tell when you're holding back."

"Well . . . I might have told him that I'd be willing to shag if he wanted to."

"In the chapel?" Dana yelled. "Liv, are you serious?"

"NO!" Olivia exclaimed. "I was never contemplating shagging Sirius in the chapel! I just said that if he wanted to . . . you know, sometime . . . Dana, don't make me rehash every last word!"

Dana held up her hands. "I don't think I want to know."

Olivia grinned. "It's not as bad as it sounds."

Dana looked at her closely. "Do you know how it sounds? It sounds like you've already admitted that you still have feelings for him. I mean, you did invite him back here . . . you spent all night curled up with him on the couch . . . and you said you wanted to shag . . . Liv, I don't think you have as much to worry about as you think."

"You don't?"

"If he was still with you after all that, chances are that he already knows how you feel, and he probably feels something along the same lines. You just need to spell everything out for him."

"Oh, Dana, do you really think so?" Olivia asked, hope breaking out on her face like the sun.

"Yes," Dana smiled, reaching across to hug her. "I wouldn't have said it if I didn't believe it."

"No," Olivia replied, pulling back. "I know that you wouldn't." She sighed. "God, Dana I miss you so much."

"I miss this," Dana replied. "I miss sharing everything. I miss going to one another for advice. I miss hanging out with you girls."

"You can still stay."

Dana shook her head. "No. I know you're here, and you know that I'll always love you and the rest of our friends, but after what happened to Kathleen, my dad, Aidan, and everyone else we've loved and lost . . . I have to build a new life with my baby somewhere else."

Olivia hugged her. "I miss you so much."

"I know," Dana sighed. "I miss you, too. But we're not really that far apart, are we? I mean, look at this week. As long as we can arrange it, we can see each other as often as we like."

"In that case, prepare for plenty of visits!" Olivia grinned, hugging her again. "Thank you for listening to me and letting me talk through everything, Dana. You're the best."

Dana grinned, and kissed her cheek. "Good luck with all this – you're going to need it!"

They both laughed again.

The end of Dana's time with them finally came. They all gathered in Olivia's flat to bid her farewell. It was easier this time, now that they knew how quickly they could travel from one country to the other. This visit, even though it had been for the most tragic of reasons, made Dana seem closer. It made it less painful to let her go.

"I expect all of you to come and visit me," she said. She tickled Harry, who she had insisted upon holding until the last moment. "Especially you, my little sweetheart. You have to come and visit your new best friend."

Lily grinned. "We'll be there as soon as the baby's born. I know that Harry will love playing with his new friend."

Dana smiled, and kissed the baby's cheeks. "I'm going to miss you so much." She looked up from Harry to let her eyes sweep across her friends. "All of you."

She gave the baby back to James, and began hugging all her friends goodbye. They all managed to remain tearless this time as they said goodbye. Maybe they had all cried themselves out over the past week.

Dana reached Lily, and pulled her close. "You take care of Remus," she whispered. "Of everyone, you're the one he trusts right now. Don't you dare let him swallow himself in this grief, Lils. Keep him with us."

"I will," Lily promised. "I'll do everything I can for him."

"Good." Dana pulled back to look into her eyes. "That's all I can ask of you."

The hardest goodbye was Remus. She clung to him, trying to transfer some of her emotional strength to him by contact. He held her close, burying his face in her hair.

"Dana, this visit has meant so much to me," he said at last. "Thank you a million times for coming, and for all you've done for me."

She smiled, and reached up to touch his cheek. "We're friends, Remus. I'll always be there for you, no matter where I am."

"I'm lucky to have you."

"And I'm lucky to have you," she replied. "You take care of yourself, all right? I don't want to get an owl from these guys telling me you've turned into a hermit who only bathes twice a year and refuses to cut his hair."

Remus smiled in spite of himself. "I promise I won't become a scary recluse."

"Good." She hugged him again. "And if you need anything – anything at all – just send me an owl."

"I will," he promised.

"And if you just want to get away, I do have an extra bedroom," she added. "You have an open invitation to come and visit me."

"Thanks, Dana," Remus smiled.

She kissed his cheek. "Take care of yourself."

"You, too," he said, touching her stomach. "And take care of little Liam."

She made a face. "I really hope I can get used to that name."

"Or have a girl," Remus grinned.

"Or that," she agreed. She hugged him one last time. "Goodbye, Remus."

"Goodbye, sweetheart."

She finally released him, and looked around at all her friends. "You had better all come to visit me," she smiled. "I love you all."

With that, she Disapparated. This time they knew that she wasn't leaving their lives – she was merely a little bit farther away from them physically.