A/N: Just so everyone knows where we are now, the date is now January 1979. I was having a hard time getting it straight so I figured you might be too. Anyway, enjoy the chapter.
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
The weeks and months following the Potter's death were hard on everyone. The Potter's had been a very popular wizarding family and their deaths took a toll on the wizarding community as a whole. The Minister of Magic, Millicent Bagnold, attended and even spoke at their funerals.
No one, of course, was more affected than James. He took his parents death very hard. None of them had seen it coming, especially him. He spent the week after their deaths planning for the funeral and once that was over he shut himself up at Godric's Hollow and only left when he had to go to Auror Training.
Lily was beside herself. She didn't know how to help her husband. James seemed out of reach. Sirius moved back into Godric's Hollow for the first couple of weeks and Remus was there often. The only person who stayed away was Hermione.
Lily had come to see her the week after the funeral with a note from James sincerely apologizing. Lily said that he felt a lot of guilt over that day. Hermione knew James didn't really believe she was guilty, but part of her felt that his accusations had been warranted. The guilt she felt over their deaths often threatened to overwhelm her, though she was careful to hide her feelings.
Lily, Sirius, and Remus all urged her to see James, but she felt it was best to give him space, though it hurt her being apart from him more than anyone knew. James was the link to her past. It wasn't until she no longer had that contact that she truly realized what it meant to see him everyday.
The holidays and the New Year came and went. She and Remus spent a quiet Christmas at Hogwarts. After the passing of Decree 47, Remus was unable to find any work and Hermione's small salary wasn't enough to maintain their flat, so it had to be given up. In truth, Hermione felt better at Hogwarts. At least at the school she never had to worry that they would be visited in the night and Remus would be taken away.
Reports of this exact thing happening to wizarding families with half-breeds appeared in non main stream newspapers. The Daily Prophet never printed anything about Decree 47, except when they were praising it.
Despite not having a job, Remus rarely had a free moment. He had become an extremely useful member of the Order. Dumbledore often sent him on semi-long term missions with older more experienced Order members. Sometimes he and Hermione would be apart for six to nine days, often without her even knowing where he was.
Hermione kept as busy as possible with both her jobs. She loved helping the Professors and she loved her work with the Order. The students had returned and much to Hermione's delight a Weasley now attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Bill Weasley quickly became a favorite with both the students and professors. Hermione watched from afar, delighted by him, but careful not to get too close.
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Hermione was sitting quietly in the suite of rooms she shared with Remus at Hogwarts. She was reading a book, enjoying some rare free time when Remus came home.
As soon as she saw him, she jumped up and ran to him. "You're home," she said, squeezing him tightly. He held her back just as tightly.
Remus had been gone for three days on a mission for the Order. He hadn't been due back for two more days.
"What happened?" she asked. "Why are you back early?" She led Remus to the couch and made him sit. "Are you hungry? Can I get you something to drink?"
"No, I'm fine," said Remus. "Just come sit with me. I've missed you." She sat next to him and they snuggled close together.
"So why are you back so early? Did the mission go well?"
Remus sighed. "No, the information we had was bad."
"Damn it," murmured Hermione.
"I know," agreed Remus. "There was nothing, no Death Eaters, no hide-out, nothing."
"We were so sure the information was accurate," said Hermione in disappointment.
"We need better intelligence. We need someone on the inside," said Remus. "The information we had came from a person who overheard something. That's hardly reliable. We should have known better."
"We had to take the chance," returned Hermione. "At least you all were safe." Remus had been on the mission with James and Sirius.
"Seeing as the mission was a complete bust," said Remus, "James invited us over to Godric's Hollow for an anti-celebration dinner."
"I don't know," Hermione hesitated.
"Hermione," began Remus. "It's been four months since you've been there. James specifically mentioned you coming."
"He's just being nice," she said. "There's a reason we haven't seen each other since the funeral."
"He's already apologized..."
"I know," interrupted Hermione. "And I accepted. But I...," she trailed off, not knowing how to complete the sentence."I don't understand why you've built this wall between you and James. He made a mistake. He was grieving. He had just lost his parents."
"I know," she said quietly.
"Are you going to punish him forever for that mistake?" he asked.
"I'm not punishing him," she insisted.
"He feels like you are. He hates that you two aren't talking."
"He does?"
"Of course," said Remus. "He feels terribly about what happened."
"I didn't realize."
"I know," sympathized Remus. "But you can make things better. Come to dinner tonight."
"Okay," she agreed. "I'll come."
An hour and a half later, both Remus and Hermione were waiting at the front door of Godric's Hollow. Lily threw open the front door and eagerly ushered her friends inside.
"I'm so glad you came," gushed Lily. "Listen you guys, we have to be on our best muggle behavior tonight."
"What?" laughed Remus.
"No magic," she said. "Sirius is bringing Laura with him to dinner tonight."
"Laura," said Hermione in surprise. "Why?"
"Apparently," said Lily with a smile. "The two of them have become quite an item."
"You mean they're together?" asked Hermione incredulously.
Lily nodded. "He's been very secretive. Not even James knew. Sirius only just confessed it to him."
"Why was it a secret?" asked Remus.
Lily shrugged. "Who knows with Sirius? You know how mysterious he likes to be, all brooding and dangerous." She laughed.
James entered the room. "Hey," he greeted them happily. "I'm glad you came," he said addressing them both, but looking at Hermione.
"Thanks for inviting us," responded Hermione. They shared a private smile. She had missed James a lot.
"Did Lily tell you about Sirius' date?"
"Just now," said Remus. "I can't believe he kept this a secret for so long. I thought they were just friends. I didn't realize they even saw much of each other."
"He didn't tell me much," said James. "All he would say is that he wanted to bring her to dinner so we could get to know her better. When I pressed him about it, he admitted that things were starting to get serious between the two of them."
"That's good, isn't it," said Hermione quietly.
"Of course it is," said Lily. "Sirius needs a little fun. All he does is train and work and go on missions for the Order. He's in desperate need of some down time."
"But he hasn't told her what he is?" questioned Hermione.
"Nope," said Lily. "I think it might be a little early to drop the whole magic thing on her."
"Really?" questioned Hermione. "How can they hope to have a good relationship if he's hiding who he is from her?"
"That's our cue to go," said Remus. "Once girls start dissecting our behavior, it's best to be in another room."
James laughed and he and Remus exited the room quickly.
Lily asked Hermione to help her with some last minute things in the kitchen. They moved dishes from the kitchen to the dining room. "So how's married life?" asked Hermione.
"Good," said Lily. "Different than I thought."
"How so?" asked Hermione.
"I don't know," said Lily thoughtfully. "It's a lot harder than I thought, but also a lot more special. I guess you find out stuff about each other that you never expected."
"Like," prompted Hermione.
"I don't know, just stuff," said Lily, side stepping the question. "What about you and Remus?" she asked. "Have you two talked much about the future?"
Hermione shrugged.
Lily opened her mouth to ask another question when there was a knock at the door. "James," she called. "Can you get that?"
"Got it," he called back.
"Ready to get to know this Laura person?" asked Lily.
"I suppose," said Hermione with a sigh. "Although I don't know how much she'll get to know us seeing as we can't be honest about who we are."
"Behave, Hermione," said Lily, "for Sirius."
"Of course I will," said Hermione.
They greeted Sirius and Laura and everyone went immediately to the dining room. They all enjoyed a pleasant dinner and good conversation. Laura was doing her best to be friendly. Hermione thought she was trying too hard, but she couldn't deny that Sirius seemed happy.
At the end of dinner Lily and Hermione got up to clear the dishes and Laura got up also to help.
"That's okay," said Lily to Laura immediately. "You're a guest."
"No, I don't mind," said Laura quickly, gathering a few dishes.
Lily led them all into the kitchen. "I don't have any dish soap," she whispered to Hermione. "I only ever use my wand."
Hermione laughed.
"What?" asked Laura.
"Nothing," said Hermione quickly. "It's just that Lily's run out of dish soap. She's not very good at the whole domestic thing," she teased.
"That's okay," said Laura sympathetically. "I'm not sure I'd be either. You can always throw them in the dish washer."
"Don't have one," said Lily. "Don't worry, we can just leave them in the sink."
"Okay," said Laura, putting the dishes down and going back to the dining room for more.
As soon as she was gone Hermione started laughing and Lily smacked her on the shoulder, "not good at the domestic thing, huh?"
"I'm sorry," laughed Hermione. "It's just that we both grew up muggle and now we can't even do dishes without our wands."
Lily laughed too. "I know. Oh well, it'll just have to wait until later. Do me a favor. Keep Laura out of the kitchen while I make some tea."
"Okay," agreed Hermione. She went back to the dining room and intercepted Laura. "You really don't have to help clear. Lily's got it."
"Are you sure?" asked Laura reluctantly.
"Yes," responded Hermione. "Why don't we join the guys and act like slugs."
Laura laughed. "Okay."
Hermione and Laura entered the living room where James, Remus, and Sirius were in the middle of a lively conversation. They stopped talking as soon as they entered the room.
Laura sat next to Sirius and Hermione next to Remus. "What were you three talking about?" asked Hermione.
"Just work," said Sirius dismissively.
Laura rolled her eyes. "Forget asking for details, Hermione," said Laura. "I've never known anyone so tight lipped about his work in my life. Are you all like this?" Laura asked James and Remus.
"Like what?" asked Lily, emerging from the kitchen with the coffee.
"So secretive about work," supplied Laura.
"Well," said Lily carefully. "We don't talk about it much."
Hermione coughed to cover her snicker. They all sat across from each other in silence. There wasn't much left for them all to talk about. Both Hermione and Lily were dying to know more about the guy's mission, but they couldn't discuss it in front of Laura. They were all relieved when the doorbell rang.
"I'll get it," said Lily.
She was gone for only a minute when she called frantically for James. Her voice was so urgent that they all jumped up and rushed to the front door. She was halfway to them with her head tucked under the arm of a disheveled looking man who was bent double.
"It's Dung," she said breathlessly.
James rushed forward to relieve Lily of the weight of Mundungus Fletcher.
"They're coming," he wheezed. "It was all a trap. They'll be here any minute."
"What? Whose coming?" questioned James.
"You Know Who," said Dung. "They don't know you're back. They think she'll be home alone."
"Slow down, Dung," said Sirius coming forward. "What's going on?"
"I overheard some old associates of mine talking," he said. "I was fed bad information before. It was to get you out of the house."
"Dung was your source," exclaimed Hermione. "He's not even a member of the Order."
"Don't start, Hermione," said Sirius. "Dung has useful connections. He knows people."
"Right," scoffed Hermione.
"How much time do we have, Dung?" asked Remus.
"I'm not sure."
"They're coming after Lily, you said?" asked James.
Dung nodded.
"Why?" he asked.
"Don't know," replied Dung, "didn't stick around to find out. I thought I should get over here as quickly as possible."
"We have to get out of here," said Hermione. "We're no match for them alone. We have to alert the Order."
"What is going on?" asked Laura. "What are you all talking about? Who's coming? Should we call the police?"
Everyone turned to stare at Laura. None of them had remembered she was there. And now they all realized they had an even bigger problem. There would be no way to get Laura out of Godric's Hollow by apparating. They all turned to Sirius simultaneously, who was looking grim. "I think you all should apparate out of here. I'll get Laura to safety."
"We can't leave you alone," said Hermione. "They'll kill you."
Laura gasped. "Sirius, what is going on?" she said almost frantically. "Who'll kill you?"
Hermione pulled out her wand and pointed it at Laura. "Stupefy."
Sirius caught her before she hit the ground. "What are you doing?" he yelled at Hermione.
"She's panicking and we don't have time to explain things to her. Maybe if you'd been honest with her from the beginning..."
"We don't have time for this," said James, cutting their argument short. "Lily, Hermione, you two get out of here. Alert the Order. Remus, Sirius, Dung, and I will stay here and hold them off."
"No," said Lily immediately.
"Please do what I say," begged James. "They're after you. I don't know why and I don't care. I just want you safe."
"I won't leave you," argued Lily.
"You have to get help," countered James.
"He's right," said Hermione. "If Voldemort is coming we have to get help." She took Lily's arm and cast a look at Remus. "We'll be right back," she promised.
"Hurry," mouthed Remus.
Hermione nodded and tried to apparate, but nothing happened. She stared in horror at Lily. "I can't apparate," she said.
"Neither can I," said Hermione. She turned to the boys. "They're here."
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
A/N: I really wish I could play music against this fanfic. I have a wonderful score running through my head for the fic. If only I was a composer. Hope you liked the chapter. Big chapter to come.
By the way, I may have been reading a little too much Jane Austen (Pride & Pred, entailments, etc.), but I still think my theory about who gets the Black house is valid. I was never one to think of these weird theories until I read The Ultimate Unofficial Guide to the Mysteries of Harry Potter. It is a fun book with loads of different theories, most of them are about the fifth book. Giving the house to the Malfoy's just seems like something JKR would do to add tension to the series. I guess we'll all just have to wait and see.
