"They didn't publish it," James said; crestfallen as he scanned the editorial pages of the Sunday edition of The Daily Prophet.
Lily took a large, exasperated gulp of her tea. "Do they publish any?"
James exhaled and threw the paper down on the breakfast table; turning to his toast. He shrugged as he took a huge bite of butter and marmalade. They were both in their pajamas at Lily's flat. James had spent the night. It was now more usual than not that he did. They were used to living together. It felt much more comfortable than living apart. Still, Abigail Potter had a rather keen sense of propriety and the idea of her only son officially living with a woman who was not his wife was unacceptable to her, no matter how many nights James spent in her flat. It was strictly a don't ask, don't tell policy.
"Do you think Sherman would reconsider?" Lily asked; holding her tea cup in both hands near her chest.
James shook his head; his mouth still full of toast. "He's a coward. Always has been."
"Well, fire him then," she said flatly.
"I'm not going to fire him, Lily," James sighed. "He's the only one there who actually knows how to run the station. I just sign off everything he suggests."
"Have you talked to Sirius about this?" she asked; a little skeptically.
"Sirius," James smirked sadly. "Sirius does even less than I do. He shows up at the office occasionally, flirts with the secretaries and a few of the stars. You should have seen what happened when he told Medea Williams that she had a nice arse. I was so sure she was going to hex him…Half the time he's completely tossed-off."
Lily put her tea cup down and her hand slipped up to her chin. She thought for a second. "Maybe you should fire him."
James shook his head furiously. "I can't. He owns half of the company. Besides, Lily, he's my best friend."
She nodded, sighing a little. "He's still a mess then?"
James nodded gravely; putting his tea cup down.
"Even after what happened that night with Julia Connors?"
He nodded again. "Remus told me he's just been more reckless. Can you imagine a MORE reckless Sirius? More drinking, more birds. He bought some bloody motorbike the other day." James held his forehead in his hand and closed his eyes. "And when he doesn't have a bottle or a girl, he's sulking around as a dog."
"You should talk to him, James," she rested her cheek on her fist; pursing her lips as she looked at her fiancee.
He looked up at her. "I know," he smiled sadly. "But, Lily, the woman I love is sitting right across the table from me. He has no idea where in Merlin's name the woman he loves is. For all he knows, she might be dead." James' head dropped and he ran a hand over his hair. "Hearing me talk about it is like salt in the wound, don't you think?"
"Maybe," she shrugged; unable to completely stop the blush that invaded her face when he had called her the woman he loved. "But James, you can't let him keep doing these things. He'll end up killing himself."
"You're right," he breathed loudly and looked up at her. Then, a smile grew on his face. "You're always right."
He leaned across the table and kissed her softly. She smiled.
"Listen Potter," she said; shooting James a faux angry face. "You've been spending an awfully large amount of time at my flat lately."
James smirked. "I assumed, Evans, that you liked that."
"Well, of course I do, Potter," she rolled her eyes and shook her head. "But I'm beginning to think that you would stay engaged forever; constantly living in sin. That would be so typical of you."
"What are you suggesting, Evans?" he raised his eyebrows ever so slightly.
"Can we just get married already, James?" she sighed loudly. "We're living like a married couple. Can't we just make it official?"
James eyes grew a little; but he grinned and nodded. "When did you want to do it?"
"Soon," she smiled at him hugely. "Next month."
"Alright Evans," he nodded again. "Awfully quick planning though, don't you think?"
Lily's face suddenly grew wistful and she looked down at her tea cup for a second. "I don't really care about a huge ceremony, James, I just want to be your wife."
She looked back up at him and his face was so full of love that Lily's heart almost broke.
"I just want to be your husband," he said with a lop-sided grin. He reached across the table and grabbed her hand. She held it tightly and looked into her future husband's face. He grinned back at her. They were really getting married. James rubbed the emerald on Lily's finger ever so slightly. She laughed. He pulled her hand to his lips and kissed it. His hazel eyes gleamed and Lily felt herself growing inside.
"Come on," she whispered as she stood. He smirked ever so slightly. Lily laughed. "Oh come off it Potter, don't tell me you aren't used to this yet."
He stood; smiling directly into her eyes. "I will never get used to this. Even when you are Lily Potter, I will never get used to this."
Lily's face broke out into an unbreakable grin. "James," she whispered; looking down a little.
He leaned forward and whispered in her ear. "Never."
Rising back up, he kissed her on the forehead. She smiled hugely and led him slowly to the bedroom. The sheets and coverlet were thrown carelessly when they had finally risen an hour before and lay half folded over one side of the bed.
James took Lily in his arms and kissed her gently on the lips. Cradling her head in his hands, he deepened the kiss and she welcomed him by pressing her body against his. He ran his hands through the length of her fiery hair and placed a hand on the back of her neck; feeling the familiar curve. She held fast to his shoulder blades; pulling him down and melting into his mouth.
They discarded clothing as they kissed their way to the bed. A top flew one way, bottoms another, knickers towards the door. When they reached the bed, Lily rolled on top of James and slid her body over his. Rocking her hips with her hands on his chest, his clenched tightly around her waist and their eyes closed in ecstasy, they both cried each other's names over and over. When it was over, they did it again.
Remus' transformations since school had ended had been more awful than ever. He had to transform in Sirius' tiny flat and was always terrified of what he might do to the place. Sirius, of course, wasn't exactly a stickler for neatness, but Remus still wanted to be as good a guest as possible. As if a werewolf could be a good guest.
He was alone most of the time now. Occasionally Sirius would stay home or James would drop by for an hour or two, but Sirius was too wrapped up in his stupidity to care or even remember that Remus was transforming and James was wedding planning with Lily. Peter never did anything without James.
Tonight was one of those lonely nights. He had barricaded himself in the living room; moving all the furniture into Sirius' bedroom. He now lay in the middle of the room on the hardwood floor; staring nervously out the window as dusk settled into night. The moon wasn't out yet; but it wouldn't be long now. Memories of the tiny twinges of excitement he had felt during this time just six months ago flooded him and he sighed loudly. All he felt now was fear.
Remus heard the sound of someone coming up the stairs. It must be Lucas Friedly upstairs.
The footsteps came closer. Friedly must be on the third floor now. But suddenly, the footsteps stopped. Remus shot up when he heard a loud knocking on the door. His heart beat faster. If he just ignored it, whoever it was would go away. Then, Remus heard the most terrifying sound possible.
"REMUS," Gwen's voice rang out with its usual laughter. "Let's go out tonight. I've got my Rosalind Finlick down."
Remus' heart stopped. Then it started again at an alarming rate. What was he going to do? He would be transforming any minute now. She would find out if she didn't leave now.
"Gwen," he yelled nervously; running to the door and cracking it ever so slightly. "Look…you've got to go. I can't go out tonight."
She laughed. "Come on, please."
"No," he knew that the shaking of his voice was obvious; but right now he didn't care.
She was silent for a second and Remus held his breath.
"How about I just hang out with you here? I saw Sirius at the Leaky Cauldron on my way in. It didn't look like he would be leaving any time soon." The mirth in Gwen's voice warmed Remus, but scared him equally.
"Gwen," he said firmly. "You have to leave now. Now."
"Remus, what's going on?" Her voice had grown concerned. "Why won't you let me in?"
"Gwen," he tried to gather his emotions by swallowing hard. "You have to go. Go home."
"Rem.."
"Just go," he screamed; his voice cracking.
He heard her gasp slightly, followed by the quick run down the stairs. Depserate to prevent any more incidents, Remus put the silencing spell on the flat and stashed his wand under the kitchen door. The moon wasn't out yet, so he ran to the window to get a glance of Gwen. He saw her run from the building, her ponytail bouncing. She slowed as she exited the building; as if she was processing what had just happened. She tipped her head up to look into the third story window and Remus inhaled sharply when he saw her tormented face half hidden in shadow. He knew she had seen him because a few seconds later, Remus saw her tiny frame hunch over and he knew that she was crying. He felt the tears prickling his own eyes. Why couldn't he have just told her?
She stopped; leaning against the florist's window for support as she cried. Remus could barely see her, but the florist's shop had been expanded forward and the flat sat a few feet back from the front. He wanted nothing more than to run down to her and throw his arms around her; stopping all the tears. Remus had no idea how many times he had wished he wasn't a werewolf, but tonight he wished the hardest. He watched her for as long as she stood there, which wasn't very long. Soon, Gwen had wiped her face and stood up. She was still in that position for a second, her shoulders shaking slightly. When she started walking away, Remus felt a tear roll down his face.
He was just about to turn from the window when something caught his eye. A thin figure wearing a black cloak stepped out of the shadows.
"GWEN," Remus screamed at the top of his lungs as he saw a wand drawn. The silencing charm kept anyone from hearing his cry. He fumbled to find his wand, but he realized it was in the locked kitchen. Desperately, he pulled at the window. He pulled and pulled; tearing his fingers until they bled profusely. He had locked it too. Remus felt as if he was being strangled. He continued to scream and kick at the window, knowing that no one would notice him.
Suddenly, there was a flash of green light. Remus' heart collapsed with Gwen's stiff body. He stood there in a complete state of shock; completely unable to move. Before he could, the moon rose and he felt his bones begin to stretch. A loud, mournful howl escaped from him as the transformation began and he sunk painfully to the floor.