Legal Disclaimer: I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

Warning: This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if that's you.

Author's Note: The saddest part of any Lily Lives AU is how the Marauders deal with the grief of losing two of their members (one to death; another to betrayal). Here's a little look into how that might be. Also, yes, that is a hint of Sirius being a platonic soulmate to both Lily and James. You can pry my QPR headcanon out of my cold, dead hands.

Submitting Info:
Stacked with: Hogwarts (Term 11); MC4A
Individual Challenges: Gryffindor MC (x2); Sett to Destroy; Minerva's Migraine; Interesting Times; Old Shoes; Yellow Ribbon; Yellow Ribbon Redux; Two Cakes!
House: Hufflepuff
Assignment No.: Term 11 – Assignment 03
Subject (Task No.): Travel & Tourism (Task#2: Write about a group of people.)
Other Hogwarts Challenges: Romance Awareness [D25] (Take Away Soulmate's Pain)(Angst);Insane House Challenge [999] (She remembered easier days...); 365 [141] (Knowledge); Galleon (tea)
Space Address (Prompt): n/a
Representation(s): James Potter/Lily Evans; Marauders
Bonus Challenges: Grease Monkey; Second Verse (Not a Lamp; Found Family; Nontraditional; Sneeze Weasel; Zucchini Bread; Spinning Plates; Unwanted Advice; Three's Company; Lovely Coconuts); Chorus (Wabi Sabi; Machismo; Peddling Pots; Mouth of Babes; Tomorrow's Shade; Unicorn; Creature Feature)
Tertiary Bonus Challenges: HoSE (Keen); FR (Liberation)
Word Count: 789

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Darling, Only You
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She remembered easier days, when her life didn't seem ready to just fall to pieces around her. Lily honestly didn't know how she was coping, only that it was necessary. She didn't have the option of just giving up, of drowning in the pit that where James used to be. She had Harry to think about, after all. She had a terrible feeling, given how things had spiraled after the Dark Lord had attacked the cottage at Godric's Hollow, that if she were to do so, that Harry would not end up with Sirius and Remus as she and James had wanted, or even with Alice and Frank as had been their second choice. He might end up with someone like her sister Petunia. Hel's Bells, with how Dumbledore was insistent that Severus Snape not face any consequences for his involvement with the Death Eaters, Harry might have even been placed there!

Lily let the shudder wrack her body at the very thought. It was a struggle not to let it turn into a sob. The empty spot where James used to be ached like she had lost an actual limb. And this time, James wasn't there to take some of the pain away, to share the burden of it as soulmates were meant to do. She would have given anything, short of Harry, to have her fluff-headed toe-rag back. His death was stupid and wasteful and so bloody heroic that she just didn't know how to feel about it.

She wanted to go back to the days before Peter betrayed them, the days before she had learn how to live without her soulmate. She wanted the days when looking at Harry, who was practically his father in miniature, didn't feel like a stab to the heart. She didn't want her son to grow up without his father. She didn't want to watch as Sirius turned to say something to James, the half-cocky smirk he always wore when they exchanged their jokes on his lips, only to realize a second too late that the space was empty and then his face crumpled under the knowledge that James was gone. Remus seemed to be holding it all together better, but then he was used to covering up how he was feeling lest someone discover his lycanthropy.

Her family was in pain, and she didn't know what to do.

"It's like that sometimes," Remus was saying as she approached their kitchen. As a means of comfort, the last remnants of the Marauders had all moved into the cottage James had built at the edge of the Potter family seat Ashnook. Life was easier when they were together, and none of them relished the thought of being alone with their grief. Lily peeked around the edge of the door frame. Remus was feeding Harry his breakfast and talking like Harry could understand it all just like he always did. "People are funny when it comes to hurting, probably would be even without being able to share it with soulmates. Your Mum and Paddy is just being hit more by it right now, because they're so used to having your Daddy around to balance everything. They're strong, though, and they're going to get better. It's just going to take time, cub."

"MOON," Harry yelled as he grabbed at the spoon that Remus had been using to feed him. He shoved it into his mouth, immediately moving it to the side where he actually had a pair of teeth. Remus chuckled a bit.

"Yes," Remus agreed as if Harry had said something profound. He let the toddler take the spoon while he reached for his own cup of tea that had been waiting well out of reach of small hands. "We just got to love them through it and ease what patches we can."

"You do," Lily announced, her voice thick with tears. Both of the room's occupants looked up at her. Her heart swelled with emotions at the sight of those bright eyes focusing on her. "You both do, so very much."

"MUM," Harry yelled, reaching for her and dropping the spoon in the process. "Mum, mum, mum!"

Lily swept the squirming child into her arms, heedless of the mess. This wasn't the life she had planned to have when she had finally accepted that James was her soulmate, but she wouldn't give up her spot in the Marauders for anything. She would get through this. They all would. Losing two of their group would always hurt, but maybe together, they could share the ache. As if hearing the thought, Remus took them both in his own arms and pressed a kiss to both of their foreheads.

It was already a bit easier.