As James waited at the gate of the Malfoy manor, tired and travel worn, he had little idea of what to expect. What he knew about the Malfoy family made him wary. In the 1970s, he knew that the Malfoys were a family of blood purists in Voldemort's inner circle, and so he didn't expect much better in the 1740s.

"I didn't know the Malfoys had family in France," James had ventured to ask Cait, between her bouts of illness on the ship.

"There's a branch of the family in England and in France. They're one of the oldest wizarding families in France… the closest thing France has to wizarding royalty. They have this sprawling manor in the middle of Paris, and that's where we're going."

Sprawling manors, French wizarding royalty… everything James heard made him extremely nervous. Pascale Malfoy had been very tight-lipped in her letters, and James was afraid they would find a woman with no information to give, especially if she learned that Lily was muggleborn.

"So, do we just knock?" Sirius asked, squinting up at the wrought iron gate.

From the way people walked by the manor, their gazes drifting right over the building, James had a sense that muggles couldn't see it, but the muggles could certainly see them talking to a wall, and they were getting some strange looks.

"Um…"

James looked helplessly at the gate as well. Cait sighed and knocked smartly on it. A servant answered after only a moment.

"Good evening," Cait said. "We've come to see Madame Malfoy. She should be expecting us. My name is Catherine McKenna, and this is Sirius Black, James Potter, and Lily Potter."

Fortunately, the servant seemed to recognize their names, and he led them into an elegant parlour, where James felt very out of place in his dirty clothes. Then, after inviting them to sit down, the servant left to tell Pascale Malfoy of their arrival.

Sirius sat heavily on a chair, but the other three remained standing. James wondered if Lily and Cait, like him, felt like they might get in trouble for dirtying the furniture.

A shriek sounded from inside the house, and a well-dressed woman who James guessed had to be at least in her late eighties appeared at the door a minute later. She looked frail, but there was a light in her eyes as she looked at the four of them. The sight of her did much to calm James's nerves, because there was a warm friendliness to her demeanour that suggested that she was quite different from what he had feared.

Her servant appeared behind her.

"Bring us some tea, please," she told the servant in heavily accented English.

The servant bowed his head before retreating, leaving the old woman to beam before them.

"Catherine, what a pleasure it is to meet at last. But you never told me the names of your friends in our letters. I was unprepared-"

Cait seemed taken aback by the greeting, and James felt off balance himself.

"You've heard of us?" Lily asked.

Pascale nodded eagerly. "We have much to discuss. I know you're tired, but perhaps rest can wait an hour?"

"I'm sure it can," James agreed.

His own eagerness to find out how to get home far outweighed his desire to rest, and he hoped the others felt the same way.

"Please, have a seat," Pascale said.

James sat beside Lily without thinking, and then immediately second guessed himself. Did keeping his distance mean that he should sit further away? But Lily barely seemed to register his presence, her eyes focused solely on Pascale Malfoy.

As they sat, tea appeared on a table, and with a flick of her wand, Pascale poured it. James felt a twinge of longing for his own wand. While on the road and blending in with muggles, it had seemed less urgent to have one, but in a magical household, he felt very out of place without a wand.

"You look as though you have had a long journey," Pascale said cheerfully, which James thought was probably the kindest way of telling them they all looked like shit. "When did you go through the stones?"

"In the summer," James said.

"Ah, but that is not what I mean."

Once again, Pascale's eyes were alight.

"1978," Lily said quietly.

Pascale took a delicate sip of tea. "For me, it was 2020."

Sirius, who had been drinking tea far less delicately, choked. "You went through the stones?"

"Where do you think I got my interest in them? Not to mention my belief. I researched extensively after I came through the stones to find how to get home, but of course, I met Georges Malfoy, and I decided I would rather stay here after all."

"When did you come from?" James asked.

"2020."

Pascale made a face of disgust, and James and Lily exchanged a look of dismay.

"Is there still a war?" Lily asked.

Pascale's expression softened. "No."

She didn't elaborate.

"No?" Sirius pressed. "Then what's 2020 like?"

"It is not wise to know too much of your future, Mr. Black," Pascale said.

James didn't like the hint of sadness in her tone. Before any of them could question her further, Pascale had changed the subject.

"So you would like to go home. I would very much like to help you."

"But…?" Lily asked.

"Oh, there is no 'but,'" Pascale assured her. "I've charted when to go through the stones to get to a particular time. I will simply check my notes and send you on your way. There are gaps in my knowledge, of course, but I believe I can send you where you need to go."

"If it's that easy, why didn't you just send the information in a letter?" Sirius demanded.

There was a twinkle in Pascale's eye. "It's not every day you meet fellow time travellers. I wanted to speak to you, of course. And now, you will be my guests. You look dead on your feet. We have plenty of rooms in the manor, and I'll have a servant show you there at once. I suppose you'll need three?"

At first, her words didn't register, not until Lily spoke up.

"Four, please."

James's heart twisted. He looked at the ground, feeling strangely embarrassed.

With an odd expression on her face, Pascale considered them.

"Oh, dear," she said. "I've just remembered. There are only three rooms ready for guests… what a shame. I hope you two won't mind sharing? You're married, yes?"

Lily looked ready to protest, but Pascale called for a servant before she could.

Silently, the four travellers followed the servant up a staircase. At the top of the stairs, Cait almost crashed into a well-dressed blond man with Pascale's pointed features.

"Pardon me," he said, eyeing them with obvious curiosity. "I don't believe we've met. I'm Gustave Malfoy."

They tiredly ran through introductions.

"You are guests of my grandmother's? I hope I will see more of you."

His gaze lingered for a moment on Cait before he nodded to their group and continued on his way.

Sirius was deposited at his room first, then Cait. When Lily and James entered their own large room, and the door had been closed behind them, they were left in a silence that seemed to have gathered more weight over their journey to the room. Lily avoided his gaze, her eyes focused on the single bed in the room.

"I'll take the… um… window seat," James offered.

"Don't be stupid," Lily said. "We can share."

Without another word, she moved to her usual side of the bed and, without bothering to change out of her dusty dress, lay down on the very edge of it. James followed suit, almost falling off of the bed in an effort to keep his distance from Lily. Really, he thought sadly, it might have been better for him to take the window seat, just to avoid the awkwardness.

Lily lay so still that he knew she wasn't sleeping either, because she tended to move a lot in her sleep. As the minutes passed, all he could think about was Lily lying next to him. How was it that she was so close to him, and yet she still felt so out of reach? His mind couldn't help but stray to the many evenings they had spent sharing a bed, evenings that had been very different.

He had to try to fix this.

"Lily?" he whispered.

She didn't answer, no doubt trying to feign sleep. He wanted to call her out on it, but he suspected that she wouldn't be happy about it.

He closed his eyes again, and hoped for rest.