Author's Note:

First of all, thank you! Over 600 reviews on fanfiction site and over a hundred on Ao3. Thank you very much for your kind support!

Reviews and Comments: To Sets: Thank you! And yes, I did pull bits of hit from Crazy Little Thing Called Love. Some head canons I just can't and won't change. Thank you! To ThomasJAvery: Thank you! Yes, I love the marauders being a little family and being there for each other, thank you! To A Huge Fan: We will see a bit of the wedding, yes. The story ends about a week later. Thank you. To scrappy8: Sirius is a very nice guy. Thank you! To alix33: Sirius is sweet and so honoured. Thank you! To Bellmel: Lily and Sirius are so fucking adorable, I agree! Sirius is very excited to walk her down the aisle. The image of Sirius walking in with the cup of tea is a vision. He's hot and sexy and he knows it. Aww, but right now he's still alive lol. Thank you!

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Thanks to Dusk for her amazing editing skills.

As always, thank you very much for reading and please, please review!

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CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO:

The One With the Glory of Old

July 1978…

Lily still couldn't quite believe that she was actually on this trip. When they took a portkey to Paris, she was internally squealing. Being here with her friends and with James was everything she'd ever imagined, and getting a break from the darkness that was descending upon England was a break she hadn't truly realized she needed.

James held her hand in his as they walked through the city going through museums and tourist attractions. They took photos in front of Versailles, walked through the Louvre, and climbed up to the top of the Eiffel Tower.

When they returned to their hotel later on that evening, she wrapped her arms around James, snuggling into his embrace.

"Thank you. I love you so much."

James pressed his lips to her forehead. "Not as much as I love you."

Lily smiled as he walked her back towards the bed and when he crawled on top of her, his lips covering hers, she yearned for him. His lips moved lower, covering her breast through her shirt just as a loud knocking sounded on the door.

"Stop shagging and come out to drink with us!" Sirius bellowed. "McKinnon wants to go to a club!"

James lifted an eyebrow at Lily. "Yes or no?"

His hand moved down her hip and between her legs, slipping under the sundress she wore to brush his knuckles over her knickers and she trembled.

"Want to go dancing, love?" he asked, his finger slipping under the cotton. "Or do you want to come for me instead?"

Lily bit her lip, desire soaring through her. Merlin, this man didn't play fair. Her voice was hoarse as she called out to Sirius.

"We need to change. We'll meet you downstairs."

James grinned as Sirius disappeared from the door. "Good girl," he teased and slipped his finger into her. "You're going to come for me and then we'll worry about finding something to dance in."

Lily made a mewling sound in the back of her throat and it only spurred James on. By the time she finished coming, she used her hands on James and they changed their clothes in record time. Marlene gave them a knowing look when they were the last to arrive and Lily shushed her, taking her friend's arm as they headed out.

They spent the evening dancing in a club and drinking late into the night. Sirius was the most entertaining. The man danced with anyone who would have him, twirling them around and laughing, grinding up against everyone in sight. When the BeeGees came on, he whined about the poor taste in music and then proceeded to dance his heart out making all of them laugh at his antics. Sirius and Marlene danced together, laughing as they attempted to out dance everyone. It ended with Marlene slapping Sirius' arse and then the two of them were snogging by the end of the night, both drunk on laughter and fun as much as alcohol.

But they were still up early the next day to explore the city. Lily took photos of everything as James and Sirius posed stupidly in front of landmarks. She and Remus spent three hours in a tiny hole in the wall bookstore in Nice and then Peter dragged them into a joke shop in Nîmes.

When they moved on to Italy, she and the girls spent a day shopping. The Marauders all took turns posing near the leaning tower of Pisa and Sirius and James got into a duel using gladiator swords in the colosseum. But it was the second week of their trip that she noticed Peter moving to stand between James and Sirius more frequently.

"What's up, Wormy? Miss us?" Sirius asked, tossing his arm over his friend's shoulders.

"Yes," Peter said, leaning into Sirius.

The boys laughed, but Lily mentioned to James later that evening that she was worried about him.

"Doesn't he seem off to you? He looks a bit peaky."

James shrugged. "A little. But to be fair, he said he thought someone was following him."

Lily frowned. "Following him? Who? Why?"

"I don't know," James admitted. "Siri and I didn't see anyone, but he said he felt weird. Rem promised to keep an eye on him. I don't get why anyone would follow him, Lily."

"Do you think Death Eaters are here? In Italy?"

James pulled her into his arms. "I'll keep you safe, Evans. I promise."

She nestled into his shoulder, soothed by his words, but she couldn't help but wonder why someone would be following Peter to begin with.

~ TFTA ~

Peter was pretty sure someone was following him. The problem was, he had no idea who or why.

He never saw anyone suspicious. He never caught someone staring or saw anyone who looked familiar, but the more places they went to, the more certain he was that someone was watching them.

Or him.

The back of his neck kept tingling and he couldn't count the number of times he felt uneasy, his palms getting clammy as he looked behind him. Italy was the first time he'd felt the presence, but when he also felt it in Spain and again in Portugal, he began to get worried.

Germany was the first time he was sure it was real.

He went to the bathroom in a pub in Berlin and ran into Evan Rosier.

"Rosier!" Peter squeaked, stopping himself at the last minute from plowing straight into the man's back.

"Pettigrew," Rosier said, licking his bottom lip and grabbing Peter's arms to steady him. "Fancy meeting you here."

"What are you doing in Berlin?"

"Visiting friends," Rosier said. "You should come meet them."

Peter swallowed, appalled to feel his hands tremble. "We already told you that we have no interest in meeting your friends, Rosier."

"I didn't say that I wanted Potter, Black, or Lupin to come, Pettigrew. Don't you ever think for yourself or are you just used to following around Dumb, Dumber, and Dumbest?"

When Peter didn't answer, he sneered.

"If you ever want to see real power, send me an owl. I'll show you what real friends are like."

Peter was surprised to feel himself still trembling when he watched him walk away. He wasn't afraid of Evan Rosier. The Slytherin was a cunning selfish arse, but he would be lying to himself if he said he wasn't afraid of some of Rosier's friends.

He remembered how in the last week of school, they had tried to recruit James, Sirius, and Remus along with him, using Regulus Black to do it. Not only had Sirius shouted at his brother, but James had actually bloodied Rosier's nose in the process.

"I'm not interested in your friends, Rosier," Peter told him.

Rosier sneered, stopping to give Peter a long look. "One day soon, you're going to realize you chose the wrong side, Pettigrew. The Dark Lord has power you can't even imagine. He can give you everything you'd ever want with the snap of a finger. He's going to help bring the world to its knees and bring us back to the glory of old."

"I'm not interested," Peter repeated.

Rosier's eyes darkened. "You will be when you see what's coming."

Peter didn't know what to say to that as he watched the former Slytherin disappear. He didn't say anything to his friends when he returned to the table, not wanting them to have their holiday ruined. But for the rest of the trip, he felt guarded and did his best to stay closer to James and Sirius.

For the first time in years, he really wanted to feel the protection of his friends and he was afraid to find out what that meant.

~ TFTA ~

They travelled to France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Russia, and ended the trip in Greece. James loved seeing Lily's eyes light up as he took her places he'd travelled as a kid with his parents and to new places as well. Marlene, Mary, and Lily dragged them shopping and dancing. Remus and Lily found bookstores in every city. Sirius insisted they test drive cars in Monte Carlo (somehow he'd even gotten into a race car and James had been convinced they were going to die with his brother behind the wheel). Peter wanted to go on all of the cheesy tourist sites and try out all of the local food. Mary and Marlene wanted to see art galleries.

They did it all.

They made time to make sure all of them were seeing what they wanted.

They took photos and went dancing, they saw museums and art galleries, they went shopping and on tours, and James made love to Lily in every city.

James couldn't keep his hands off of her and Lily certainly didn't mind. He wasn't sure what it was but ever since he'd proposed to her, it was like they needed each other much more than before. He took her against walls, in the shower, in the bed, and in one hotel room in Spain there was a particularly memorable moment half on the balcony of their hotel room.

The way she purred his name, the way her nails raked over his skin, and the way her body molded with his made him yearn for her more and more. He couldn't wait to marry this woman. He couldn't wait to spend the rest of his life with her by his side.

Now, they were in Greece, and after enjoying a day on the beach, they both had a nice tan.

"I thought redheads didn't tan," James teased, tracing his fingers over the soft golden tan of Lily's skin.

"Some do," Lily said. "If we're lucky. I think I have more of my mum's skin tone than my dad's and I do burn, but often it turns into a tan. Tuney is more like dad. She turns lobster red with too much sunlight."

"Maybe she's a vampire," James teased, making her laugh.

"No, vampires are nicer," Lily said.

James kissed her cheek. "When we get back to England, we should try to have dinner with her and Vernon."

Lily's eyes softened. "Thank you for trying. I know she's not the nicest person in the world and ever since my parents… but she's my big sister and I just… I wish it could go back to how it was, you know?"

"It will never go back to how it was, Evans. But I love your optimism."

Lily snuggled into his arms. "I love you, Jamie."

James captured her lips in his and thought he would give this woman anything she asked for and more.

He couldn't wait to marry her.