Disclaimer: I own what you do not recognize.

A/N: hey, you liked it! I hope this chapter answers some questions – oh who am I kidding – this'll probably confuse you even further! Just a heads up; in this chapter I skip through time and space quite a bit, and will do so throughout the rest of the story. I hope you like it, though.

Of Cowards and Heroes

Chapter 2

"…I should go back…" the man thought, and just like always, did nothing about it.

"Just leave me alone, alright?" the boy demanded imperiously, but the effect was ruined by the crack in his voice halfway through. The group surrounding him burst into wild laughter, prolonged by one of their members mimicking the boy in the middle. Harry, who had been strolling by with Remus Lupin, stood frozen in his tracks, unable to tear his eyes away as the laughter finally died down, only to be replaced by taunts and barbs. Normally he would have just walked away very quickly, such a scene reminding him forcibly of being teased by Dudley's gang, but now, now as he watched the lanky teen bullied by a group of four teenagers, he simply felt sick. Nausea threatened to overwhelm him, and he would have stumbled was it not for the strong, steadying hand on his shoulder.

"Harry?" came the kind voice of his former professor, and slowly, Harry tore his eyes from the scene before him and turned to look at Remus, who was staring at him with a pained look on his tired face. "Harry, why don't we head back to the Dursleys?"

Harry nodded dumbly, and allowed himself to be led back towards Privet Drive, staring at the road beneath his feet as he walked. Later, at the door as they said goodbye, Harry apologized for cutting their walk short. "I'm really sorry, Professor," he began. "I just saw those boys…and…"

Remus, however, shook his head at him. "We make a lot of mistakes when we're young, Harry. Often we have no idea of the kind of impact our actions can have on someone else's life."

For a second, Harry recalled the scene from Snape's Pensieve, and felt slightly queasy as he recalled his father's actions towards Snape. Steeling himself, he forced the memory down, and looked up at the older man. "Yeah, I know. And…" his voice brightened. "You and…you and Sir…you said he changed, right? That he…grew up, after a while."

Remus looked relieved, and smiled at Harry. "Yes, he did. Your dad was a great man, Harry. Yes, he made mistakes; he was, of course, human like the rest of us, but still, one of the greatest friends I ever had. He and Lily, Harry…they always believed in me."

Harry grinned stupidly up at him. Later on that night, when he was alone, the doubts would creep back into his mind as the dark settled, but for now, he could forget what he'd seen and momentarily enjoy his childhood fantasy of his father, the hero. "Yeah." He told Remus, who smiled and said that he'd better be on his way. Harry walked him to the door, watching him as he left.

"You know, Harry," Remus turned around, suddenly, halfway down the drive, and called back to him. "Harry, your parents loved you. And there are many who love you now." He smiled, and continued on down the walk, finally disappearing round a corner.

Harry shut the door and went upstairs to his room; thankful that Remus' visit had at least inclined the Dursleys to leave him alone. Feeling quite exhausted he collapsed onto his bed, falling asleep soon after his head hit the pillow. For the first time in weeks he slept dreamlessly, waking up to a new, bright day full of sunshine. But as he lay in bed, the sunlight streaming in through the threadbare curtains, he found he couldn't quite rid himself of the pained expression on Remus' face as Harry watched the bullying. And he knew that no matter how hard he tried, no matter what else he knew about his parents, his cherished heroic ideal of his father had left him forever, and with that so many other things that he had once taken as indefeasible fact were suddenly crumbling away. Frowning, he swung himself out of bed, grabbed a quill and parchment and began to write to Remus. He needed answers.

"Remus! Hi, come on in! Oh, you've come to help us pack, thanks so much."

Remus grinned at the very pregnant young woman in front of him. "No problem, Lily." He told her, stepping inside the small flat that she and James lived in. Bending down, he placed a feather-light kiss on her round stomach, eliciting a giggle from the redhead. "Hullo, baby." He said softly, and chuckled when he was rewarded with a small kick.

"Hey, no getting him excited…" Lily trailed off, slapping herself for her slip up.

"So it's a Prongs Junior!" Remus straightened up, looking delighted.

"Yes, it's a boy." James answered him, coming out of the kitchen to join them in the hall. "Nice going, Lils."

Lily flushed slightly before tossing her head and playfully punching James in the arm. "I'll be in the bedroom, boys. Remus, please make sure that they actually get some work done."

"Will do, Lily," he responded, earning himself a scowl and a mouthed "traitor!" from James. Remus rolled his eyes; he was well used to having to keep his more exuberant friends in check. Shaking his head, he followed James into the kitchen, who was promising Lily that they were already hard at work. Lily, however, was having none of it, and ushered them none to gently inside the small, brightly lit room before turning to go down the hall.

"Hard at work, eh, Prongs?" Upon entering the haphazard room Remus found he couldn't help the small jibe and so had to duck a flying dishcloth.

"Well, of course he's been a fat load of nothing," a voice from inside the fridge declared. "When I got here all he'd done was dump all the dishes on the table."

"And then you…" Remus prompted, rolling up his sleeves and discerning which dish he should pack first.

"I," Sirius began, finally emerging from the depths of the refrigerator Lily had insisted on buying. "Have been busy at work clearing out this here…here…appliance."

"He means he's been stuffing his face," James supplied helpfully. "Anyway, Moony, we're really glad you could make it. You've been away so much lately that we didn't think you'd be able to help us with the move to the new house."

"Just listen to him," Sirius cut in, smirking. " 'the move to the new house'. He's right proud, he is."

Remus laughed as he carefully placed a bowl inside. "He should be," he said. "Yes, sorry about that…I've just been really busy lately."

"Yeah, you have," James said, looking at him strangely before shaking his head and turning back to work.

Remus, feeling uncomfortable with the attention on him, stopped and looked at the two men. "Speaking of being away, where's Peter? I haven't seen him much lately either."

"He's working late at Zonko's again." Sirius piped up. "Me an' Prongs went by earlier on when Lily kicked us out."

"Kicked you out?" Remus, asked, bewildered. "What did you do?"

"Thanks, Moony," James muttered dryly. "Such a pal – did you hear the man, Padfoot – 'What did we do?' As if we would ever do anything that necessitated removal!"

Remus stared unconvinced at the two, both of which wore highly offended expressions on their faces before breaking into wide grins.

"Yes, yes we would," James admitted. "But not today, though…Lily had a baby shower today."

"A what?" Remus questioned.

"That's what I said, mate." Sirius said, pulling out one of the few unoccupied chairs at the table before lazily seating himself.

"Er…it's complicated. Some Muggle custom." James explained, and Remus let it go. "It was her friends, really, all of em, squealing their heads off."

"Hang on," Remus ventured cautiously. "Is a baby shower in any way similar to a wedding shower?"

James looked thoughtful; Sirius was preoccupied with a rather sharp looking cleaver. "I dunno, you know. I wasn't allowed to that one, either. Who knows?"

"Ah," Remus said, feeling a flood of relief wash over him; it might have been something he was supposed to have brought a gift for, and as tight as funds were, James and Lily were some of his closest friends. He'd have been more than happy to get a gift for Prongs Jr.

A grin breaking out across his face, he looked across the room at James. "So, Prongs Jr, eh?"

Sirius's head snapped up, the knife falling to the floor. "It's a boy?" he demanded. "Since when did this happen?"

"Well, lets see," James mused thoughtfully. "Lily's due in a month, so that would be…eight months ago."

"Prat." Sirius scowled. "You know what I meant."

James, however, had ceased to pay much attention to his surroundings. "I'm going to have a son," he said, a small half-smile on his face as he mused. "I'm going to be a father."

"I was going to be a father."

Adéla sighed in frustration. "James, I cancelled the appointment, alright? I'm still pregnant. We're still having a baby. I'm sorry about this whole thing…I know…I was wrong not to talk to you about it. I was just so…scared."

James shook his head and smiled gently at her. "Yeah, I know the feeling. But, Déla, you don't have to be scared. I'm here; I do want this baby – and even if we decide…if we decide…well, lets just say that... Look. We're getting married. We need to be able to talk about this."

Adéla bowed her head slightly before sitting down heavily on the living room sofa, burying her head in her hands. "I just wanted to make this all easier. I know…I chickened out, was going to take the easy way out…and now, I screwed this all up, didn't I?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

Adéla's head snapped up; James was staring at her, challenging her. "So?" he asked her. "What about it? You messed up, Déla, yes, you did. All you had to do was tell me…do you really want to marry me, Déla? Don't you think that we should tell each other these kind of things?"

"Yes!" she was crying now, but James had stepped closer to her and tilted her head up so that her gaze met his. "James, why are you doing this? We talked about this, didn't we? You know that I'm sorry! I do want to marry you, James – but if you don't, why don't you just say it, then. Stop doing this to me!"

Suddenly his gaze softened, and he bent his head to hers, kissing her tears away. "Déla, Déla, I'm sorry; yes, I very much still want to marry you. I just want you to be able to tell me why you're so scared."

Her tears subsided, and she leaned into him, letting him wrap his arms around her body. "James," she haltingly began after a few seconds had passed. "James, you're a wizard. A good one, too. Me, though…I'm a squib. You know this."

James pulled away, realization dawning in his eyes as he looked at her. "Oh Merlin," he whispered. "If the baby's magical…your family…oh no, no."

"Yes," Adéla told him, her voice shaking slightly. "James, you know what will happen."

James did know, all too well. Heart pounding, he pulled Adéla close to him again, holding her as a fresh batch of tears erupted. What would they do now? He'd already ran once, ran to where he thought he'd be safe from it all, and yet, here he was again. At least that settles it, he thought to himself. I now have a certified reason to stay away.

'Yeah,' his mind responded. 'And a sixteen-year old reason to go back.'

And just like always, he did nothing about it.

A/N: To my lovely reviewers…thank you so much, you absolutely made my day. To tweeny-weeny, Lovin'Moony, Lenise, Draco vs. Romance, xDragonxTearsx; thanks for reviewing! I hope this update came soon enough (but I might not always be so prompt!). Cherrysinger, Lily..well, Lily is not alive, I'll say that much. As for Harry, I'll do my best. StonySilence; I agree entirely. I hate the fact that they always bond so very well – you can rest assured that nothing of the sort will be happening here – at least, not unrealistically.

Once more, any thoughts, ideas, comments greatly appreciated – Laren.