Friday, July 31st 1998

The weeks passed by pretty quickly at Hogwarts. Lucy played with Tonks, Charlie and Bill more, she explored the castle more, and she talked with Dorcas almost every single day. They talked about everything. Lucy loved talking to her. Dorcas told her all about things that Minerva, Uncle Albus, and Aunty Amelia wouldn't. Dorcas told her about the war, leaving out a lot because even though her line was a lot further back than Minerva's, she still drew a line somewhere. She told Lucy about her most recent missions for the Aurors and about the Death Eaters that she had caught or fought hard but still managed to get away. Talking with Dorcas quickly became Lucy's favourite part of her day.

Lucy also talked with James and Lily. They were staying at Hogwarts while Lily was pregnant. They had plans to go back to their flat in London after the baby was born. James loved playing cards and other board games with Lucy, Tonks, Charlie and Bill. He told them funny stories of things he and his friends did when they were in school, all the trouble they got into, and how much he was sure Minerva absolutely hated them. Lily wasn't always up for games and things. She was very tired and uncomfortable, being very pregnant now, but she also got in on the story telling action as much as she could. She had her own stories of things she, Marlene, Docas, and a girl named Mary MacDonald got into while at school.

Sirius and Marlene weren't staying at Hogwarts but they came by every so often. Marlene was staying in a safe house with the rest of her family and Sirius had a flat in London that he usually stayed at when he wasn't with Marlene. Sirius ran around outside with the kids and he taught Lucy, Tonks, and Charlie how to fly a broomstick on children brooms that didn't go very high. Bill already knew how to fly because his dad had taught him and he flew circles around the others just to annoy them. Sirius taught Lucy how to play quidditch and some spells that Minerva probably would have prefered Lucy not learned. Marlene did Lucy and Tonks's hair and read them stories from The Tales of Beedle the Bard. She played games with them that the boys never wanted to play and helped the girls pull pranks on the boys. Sirius was not very happy when he walked through a door with Bill and Charlie after taking them out fishing in the Black Lake and was covered in a bucket of green slime. Soon they were in an all out prank war, girls versus boys, that had yet to be resolved. So far though, the girls were winning. A fact that Marlene loved to lord over Sirius.

Remus Lupin was also staying at Hogwarts. He was a lot less energetic than James and Sirius were but Lucy loved him just as much. There was a span of days where he disappeared and when he returned he had large scars over his face and arms. He had not talked much with anyone but Dorcas right after but he smiled when Lucy asked to make sure he was okay. Before and after that he talked with Lucy about Batman and Wonder Woman. He loved all those comics too, along with Superman and X Men. She was so excited to learn this. She, and Daniel too sometimes, nerded out over comic books with him. Remus said that his mother had gotten him into them. She was a Muggle and her favourite superhero had been Wonder Woman too. Remus told Lucy all about her. Her name was Hope Lupin. She had fallen for her husband Lyall after he had saved her from a Boggart. He had become like the superheros she had read about so fondly, Remus had said. She had always been a funny, whimsical person. She had topped her wedding cake with a Boggart shaped cake topper to commemorate the day she had met Lyall Lupin. Remus also told Lucy that when he was eleven there was a little bit of a worry that he may not be able to go to Hogwarts so Hope, even though she had been a Muggle, had written to Dumbledore to beg him to let Remus attend. He hadn't told her why he may not have gotten into Hogwarts though. Remus credited his mother with being the reason he had gotten the chance to come to Hogwarts, had been able to meet his amazing friends, and had gotten to a place in his life were, even though he the war was going on, he was happy.

"She was probably the strongest, funniest, and most loving woman I've ever known," Remus had said. "Dad always said that he had never really had fun until he had met her."

Lucy had smiled. "Where do they live? Will they come to Hogwarts too?" she asked. "I would like to meet them both."

Remus sighed and shook his head. A few years ago Hope had gotten very sick and had not made it. Remus said that she had smiled and laughed all through her illness but in the end it had been too much for her to take. She died in her sleep one night. Lyall still lived in Scotland and Remus went to see him every so often. He had tried to get Remus to stay with him but Remus thought it was too dangerous for him to stay.

"My daddy always smiled and laughed when he was sick too," Lucy told Remus quietly, looking down at her hands. "He never wanted us to worry about him and was always happy no matter what."

Remus gave her a small smile and a hug. He told Lucy more about his mother when she asked and she told him everything she remembered about her father. It felt good to talk about him to someone who seemed to understand exactly how she felt. She knew that had Hope and Jay met each other they would have been great friends.

Raj and Amelia came over for a visit a few times. Lucy loved when they came over. Raj played with her, Tonks, Bill, and Charlie, and Amelia took Lucy around to explore the castle. Their visits gave Minerva a nice break so that she could actually get some work done. Raj had met everyone else now and he got along great with them all. Lucy thought that Sirius was a lot like Raj, just maybe a little meaner. Raj got involved in the prank war from time to time but he always helped out on the girl's side, a fact that did not make Sirius very happy. He met Dumbledore who was surprised to see him but happy to finally meet him. He also learned more about the war and had very hushed conversations with Minerva and Amelia about it while Lucy, Daniel and Nina were playing inside the private rooms.

With July coming to an end, Lucy, Daniel and Nina only had a month left before the school started again. Daniel and Nina were starting to get worried about what they were going to do when the year started. Lucy on the other hand was having fun at Hogwarts and wasn't too worried about missing some school, though she did miss Anne a lot.

"Well, you still have your flat on campus don't you, love?" Minerva asked Nina. She was sitting on her office floor in front of Lucy, helping her build something out of Legos.

"Yes," Nina replied. She was sitting at Minerva's desk, leaning back with her feet up on the desk and a copy of this morning's Daily Prophet open in her hands. Daniel was sitting at the desk across from her doing the crossword from an old Muggle newspaper from London.

"Well, we could set up some protections on the flat and you and Daniel can stay there during the year," Minerva said, handing over the red block that Lucy needed. Lucy took it and put it on top of another block. "I think it's far enough away that you will be safe."

"Didn't the house in Rochester have the same protections though?" Nina asked. "And they still found it anyway."

"Well, we won't tell anyone about this flat," Minerva said.

Lucy looked up from her the Lego plane she was building and frowned. "What do you mean?" she asked. "Someone told the Death Eaters about our house?"

"Maybe," she said with a sigh. "That's the only way we can think of that they would have found out about you all."

"Like a spy in the Order?" Daniel asked with a frown, looking up from his crossword.

Minerva nodded as she tried to hand Lucy another block. Lucy was distracted now though. She looked at Minerva and asked, "Who?"

"We don't know," Minerva said. She looked over at Daniel. "You two go back to Canterbury. I will have Albus put protections around it. We can call make it unplottable so no one will know the flat even exists. I can be your Secret-Keeper. Of course, if we do that you will not be able to bring friends back to the flat unless I tell them the address."

"That's alright," Daniel said. "We haven't used that flat in months. All of our friends think that we're staying in Rochester so we can make excuses for not having people over. What do you think, Nina?"

Nina sighed and nodded. "Alright, then what about Lucy?"

"Well, I can have someone Apparate back and forth to drop Lucy off and pick her up from school," Minerva said, giving Lucy a smile.

Lucy frowned. She looked over at Daniel. "But then I won't see you guys all the time."

Daniel gave her a smile. "Maybe you and Min can Apparate down to Canterbury to see us on the weekend."

"Yes," Minerva said with a smile. "We can do that. Don't worry, sweetheart. It'll be just until the war ends. Then we'll go back to Collins Mansion."

Lucy sighed but nodded. She looked back down at her plane. Daniel looked back down at his crossword. "Hey, Lucy. What was Kanga in Winnie the Pooh's kid's name again?"

Lucy looked up and smiled. "Roo!"

"Roo! Right!" Daniel said, scribbling it down quickly.

Nina looked at him and shook her head though she smile. Minerva smiled too and reached over to tousle Lucy's hair. She put the last block on her plane and stood up to walk closer to Minerva. Lucy sat down on Minerva's lap, lifting her plane into the air. Minerva wrapped her arms around her and kissed her forehead. Lucy leaned back into Minerva, looked up and smiled at her.

"You like it?" she asked, holding up her plane.

"Yes, it's very nice," Minerva replied with a smile. "You did a good job, love."

"To bad it doesn't fly for real," Lucy said with a sigh.

"You could throw it and see if it does," Daniel said, looking up from his crossword again. Lucy gave him a look but he just smiled.

Minerva smiled and pulled out her wand. She reached out and tapped the plane. It rose into the air out of Lucy's hand and flew around the room. Lucy smiled.

"It can fly!"

"That's cheating, I think," Daniel said.

"You always say that when they use magic," Nina said with a smile.

"Because it is."

"No, it's not," Lucy said, furrowing her brow. Minerva smiled and with a wave of her wand the plane came back and landed in front of Lucy. She picked it back up and spun one of the propellers a little. She smiled and turned back to look at Minerva. "It's a pretty good plane, I think. Even if it needs a little help to fly."

"Yes, I think so," Minerva said with a smile.

Just then there was a knock on the office door. Lucy jumped up quickly and ran to the door. She opened it up and found a very sweaty and out of breath Sirius standing there.

"Hey, Sirius!" Lucy said.

"H-hi, Lucy," he said, still out of breath. He walked passed her into the office. "M-Minerva! Lily - she just... Oh my god, I'm so out of shape. Lily just had her baby!"

"Really?" Minerva asked, standing up immediately. Nina and Daniel looked up quickly as well. "Well, let's go then!"

She walked passed Sirius and out the door. Lucy smiled and ran after her. "I want to meet the baby too!"

Nina, Daniel and Sirius followed as well. Lucy ran up to her mother and took her hand. Minerva looked down at her and smiled. She led them all down to the Hospital Wing. Inside there were a few beds with the curtains drawn. Minerva turned to look at Sirius who walked passed her and motioned for them to follow. He took them to a bed near the other end of the Hospital Wing. He pulled the curtains back a bit for them to walk in.

Lily was laying on the bed with a bundle of blankets in her arms. James was sitting on the edge of the bed with tears in his eyes. Marlene, Dorcas, Peter, and Remus were all sitting and standing around the bed as well. Minerva walked over with a smile.

Lily smiled at her. "Minerva, meet little Harry James Potter."

Minerva took the baby from Lily and looked down at him. "Hello, Harry," she whispered to the small baby. "Welcome to Hogwarts."

Nina and Daniel walked over too to coo over the baby. Sirius brought over some chairs and Lucy sat down on the bed and looked at Lily. "Are you okay?"

"I'm okay, Lucy. Thank you for asking," she said with a smile. "Just a little tired. Having a baby is hard work."

They passed the baby around until Lucy was the only one who had yet to hold him. Minerva walked closer to her and Lucy already knew what she was going to ask. Suddenly she felt really anxious. This was a new baby. A small, fragile, newborn baby. What if she dropped him? Or hurt him? Or did something stupid to him?

"Would you like to hold Harry, love?" Minerva asked.

"I... um..." Lucy mumbled, trying to think up an excuse.

Minerva smiled. "It'll be okay. Here, I'll show you how to hold the baby," she said. She guided Lucy's arms the way that Molly Weasley had when Lucy had held Ron. Minerva set the baby down in her arms and moved her hands around him. Eventually she let go and smiled. "See that's not too bad, is it?"

Lucy shook her head and looked down at Harry who had woken up now. She saw his bright green eyes and smiled a little. She looked over at Lily and said, "he has eyes like yours."

"Yeah, he definitely has his mother's eyes," James said with a smile, putting a hand on Lily's shoulder. Lily smiled.

"Hi, Harry," Lucy whispered. "I'm Lucy. It's nice to meet you." She wasn't really sure why she was talking but everyone else who had held the baby did. She knew that he wouldn't understand anything or remember any of it but it didn't seem like everyone else knew that and she didn't want to be the one to tell them. "It's been a while. We were all waiting for you for a long time. I met another baby that's your age. Maybe you and he can be friends. His name is Ron."

Minerva smiled. She watched Lucy talk to Harry and then looked over at James. She gave him a smile and he smiled back. "Thanks for coming."

"Of course," she said. "Congratulations James. I know that you and Lily will be wonderful parents. Harry is a very lucky young man."

Tuesday, August 25th 1998

"Did you hear about Caradoc's disappearance?" Dorcas asked Minerva quietly. They were sitting in a classroom and were supposed to be watching the Weasleys, Tonks, Lucy, and some other children while their parents took a little bit of a break.

Minerva closed her eyes and nodded solemnly. "I did," she whispered back. "Albus has been doing everything to try and find him but no one has seen him in a really long time. His sister is very worried."

"Do you think we'll find him?"

Minerva sighed. "I... I don't think so," she replied, looking away. "I don't think he's... I don't know."

Dorcas sighed. "First Benjy, now Caradoc. They don't even give us the courtesy of leaving a body for us to bury!" she exclaimed in a hushed angry voice. "And Moody loves to remind everyone how much of the body he was able to find."

Minerva rolled her eyes. "Alastor has begun to become more and more... desensitized."

"I didn't even think that was possible until now," Dorcas mumbled. She sighed and shook her head. "What are we doing? It's gotten so much worse. It feels like they're systematically killing us off now! I haven't been able to talk to anyone without thinking, 'what if this person is the spy that is getting us all killed?'"

Minerva sighed. "I know. I wouldn't be surprised if that is his plan," she muttered. "Destroy us from the inside by making us distrust each other."

"I'm glad you trust me," Dorcas said, looking over at Lucy who was playing with cards with Tonks, Charlie and Bill. "I'm excited for my new task."

Minerva smiled. "I'm glad you're excited," she said. "I thought you might be a little upset by this assignment. It's no chasing after Death Eaters and catching bad guys."

"No, it's not but I'm ready to take a less intense assignment after that last one," she mumbled with a shake of her head.

Minerva's smile faded away. She reached over and took Dorcas's hand. "I'm glad you're okay, Dorcas," she whispered. "When Albus told me what happened... I just... I'm just glad you're alright."

Dorcas gave a small smile. "Thank you for your concern. I'll be okay though," she said. "It was my fault really. I got overconfident. I should have paid more attention and then they would never have been able to get my wand away from me."

"It's not your fault, Dorcas," Minerva said with a shake of her head. "You can't blame yourself for what they did. It's not your fault."

She didn't respond for a long time. Finally when she did, she changed the subject. "Well, I'm really happy that you trust me enough to protect Lucy."

"Of course," Minerva said with a smile. "Honestly, of all the members you were my first choice. You are probably the strongest member we have and I know that you would do everything in your power to protect her."

Dorcas smiled. "I will," she said. "So, I'll probably Apparate to an alley a couple streets away and walk her to the school then hang out under James's Invisibility Cloak until the school day get out and then Apparate us back from the same Alley."

Minerva nodded approvingly. "That sounds perfect," she said. "Also... Remus will also be joining you."

Dorcas gave her a look. "Did you do that?"

"I merely mentioned to Albus that - oh no, Fred, George! No!" Minerva called, standing up from the desk she was sitting at quickly and running towards the door of the classroom where the twins were trying to get out. Dorcas smiled as she watched Minerva wrangle the two year olds away from the door and back into the playpen that they had managed to escape from. Minerva waved her wand and the fence around the playpen grew in height. Fred and George whined but Percy walked over and showed them some toys to help them calm down. Minerva smiled and thanked Percy, making the boy swell up with pride, before walking back to Dorcas.

"As I was saying," Minerva said, sitting back down. "I may have mentioned to Albus that you would be very bored at the school all alone and that he should assign someone to work with you. Assigning Remus was all his idea."

"I don't believe you," she replied with a roll of her eyes. "You can't expect me to believe that you had no hand in who he assigned."

Minerva smiled. "I'm hurt, Dorcas. What do you think of me?"

"It was quite a shock to learn that my strict, no fun teacher was actually like this," Dorcas said with a sigh, leaning back in her chair. Minerva gave her a look. She smiled. "You are very different outside the classroom."

"I don't think so," Minerva replied with a frown.

"Of course, you don't."

...

"Alright, everything is set," Dumbledore said. "You are now their Secret-Keeper, Minerva. This flat is the safest it can possibly be."

"Thank you, Albus," Minerva said.

They were standing in the sitting room of Nina's small Canterbury flat. Nina had told Lucy that it was small but she had never expected it to be this small. The door led through a narrow hallway with one door to a small bathroom, where the tub took up most of the space, to the kitchen, which had a fridge, microwave, stove and small two seat table pushed up against the back of the couch in the sitting room. The sitting room had one white couch, a black coffee table and a television stand. The stand had a shelf where it looked like Nina had stuffed all her books. There was large windows on one side of the sitting room which let in some natural lighting and a door that led to the bedroom on the other side. The bedroom only had room for Nina's queen bed and a small closet. There was a shelf above the head of the bed that Nina had put more books and a couple succulents on.

Dumbledore smiled. "Of course," he said. "Well, I should be off. I'll see you back at Hogwarts. Have a good year, Daniel, Nina."

"Thank you," Daniel said with a smile, walking towards the door of the flat with Dumbledore. "Thank you for everything."

"Yes," Nina said. "We are very grateful for everything you've done for us, sir."

Dumbledore smiled as he shook Daniel's hand. "Of course," he said again. "It was not a problem at all. I will see you all soon. Stay safe."

With that he said one last goodbye and left. Minerva sighed and sat down on the couch next to Lucy. She put an arm around Lucy and gave her a little squeeze. She knew that Lucy was feeling down because Daniel and Nina were leaving Hogwarts.

"I hope this is okay," Nina said, looking at Daniel a little embarrassed. "I know this is probably a lot smaller than anywhere you've ever stayed. I'll bet you've never even stayed in a hotel room this small."

Daniel walked over and smiled at her. He pulled her close to him and gave her a squeeze. "It's perfect, don't worry," he said, though he did already feel a little stuffy and hot. He didn't want Nina to worry however. "I don't need to stay somewhere huge with a bunch of empty rooms to be happy as long as I'm with you."

Lucy made a face. "You two are so sappy."

Minerva smiled. "Don't be mean," she told her daughter.

"I'm not being mean," Lucy replied. "I'm just telling the truth."

Daniel let go of Nina and walked over to the couch. He grabbed Lucy out of Minerva's arm and pulled her up before slamming her back down on the couch. Lucy laughed as he tickled her. "Stop! Daniel! Haha... no! Please!"

Nina laughed as she walked over too. She sat down on the floor in front of Minerva's legs and watched the siblings play fight. Minerva shook her head but smiled. She reached out and ran her fingers through Nina's hair. "Are you going to be alright, love?"

Nina smiled and leaned back on Minerva's legs. "Yes, I'll be fine," she said. "I'm glad we've found a way to come back to school. I really didn't want to take a year off."

"Yes, we have to keep life going as normal. It's why Hogwarts remains open as a school. We can't let them ruin our world like that," Minerva said quietly.

Nina nodded and sighed. She looked over at Daniel and Lucy, still making so much noise on the couch beside Minerva, and smiled. "I'm going to miss you guys though."

Minerva smiled. "We'll come visit as much as we can."

"Stooooppp!" Lucy screamed. "Please! Muuuuum!"

"Daniel, please stop," Minerva said with a frown. Shoving him off her a little bit. "Lucy stop yelling."

Daniel stopped tickling her. He pulled her off the couch and sat down. She glared at him before walking to sit down beside Nina. Nina smiled and pulled her into a hug. Lucy leaned her head on Nina's chest. She was really going to miss them. Both of them. Even if sometimes Daniel was annoying and even if sometimes Nina forced her into dresses. She wanted them to stay at Hogwarts with her but she knew that they needed to stay here so they could focus on their school.

Tuesday, September 1st 1998

"Alright, darling," Minerva said, kneeling down in front of Lucy. She realized that this was the first time she was sending her daughter off to her first day of school. She had missed her very first first day of school so she may have been making up for it now. She put her hands on Lucy's shoulders. They were in her office. Lucy was already wearing her coat and backpack, ready to go. Remus and Dorcas were standing by the door waiting for them. "Have a good first day of school. Behave for your teachers and tell Anne I said hi."

"I will," Lucy said with a small smile.

"Dorcas and Remus will drop you off and pick you up," she said. "Do everything they say. I don't want any complaints from them, okay?"

"Okay."

Minerva gave Lucy a hug and kissed her cheek. "Goodbye, darling. Stay safe."

"Bye bye," Lucy said. Minerva stood up and Lucy turned to smile at Remus and Dorcas. Dorcas smiled and held out her hand for Lucy to take. Lucy did and they walked out of the office.

"We'll be okay, don't worry," Remus told Minerva with a smile.

"I know," she replied with a sigh though she still felt a little worried. She wished that she didn't have to send Lucy back to Rochester but she knew that Lucy wouldn't want to take a year off school. She had to let her go. Lucy would be fine. Dorcas and Remus would protect her.

Remus said a quick goodbye before running after Lucy and Dorcas. The three of them walked out of the castle and across the Hogwarts grounds until finally they made it out of the gate. Dorcas held Lucy's hand tightly and took Remus's as well. He Apparated the three of them to an alleyway in Rochester, a few blocks away from the school.

As they walked, Dorcas looked down at Lucy and said, "So, are you excited for your first day of school?"

Lucy shrugged. "I'm excited to see my friend Anne again," she said. "It's been so long! I missed her so much!"

Remus smiled. "How long have you known Anne?"

"Two years!" Lucy said. "We've known each other since I was five." She held up five fingers. "She's my best friend!"

"Ah, I thought I was your best friend," Dorcas said in a fake hurt voice, putting her hand on her heart. Lucy looked up at her with a worried look on her face and Dorcas laughed. "Don't worry, I'm only joking."

Lucy smiled. "You guys are my friends too."

"I'm glad to hear it," Remus said with a smile as Lucy took his hand too.

They made it to the school and saw a lot of children running around, saying hello to their friends that they hadn't seen in a long time, and goodbye to their parents for the day. Lucy saw Anne standing by the door waiting for her and waved. She turned to Dorcas and Remus to say goodbye.

"Wait," Dorcas said, opening her bag. She pulled out a camera. "Before you go, I want to take a quick picture of the three of us. It being the first time we drop you off and all."

Lucy laughed. "Okay."

Remus gave Dorcas a look but she ignored him. She asked a man walking by to take their picture and kneeled down next to Lucy, putting her arms around her and smiling a big smile. Remus stood behind them and smiled for the picture as well.

After they took their picture, they told Lucy to have a good day and waved goodbye as she ran towards her friend. Dorcas sighed as she watched her go.

"I hope that one day I get to do this for my own kid," she said with a smile as they started walking away to find a place they could hide and pull on the Invisibility Cloak.

"You'll send your kid to a Muggle school?" Remus asked.

"Of course," she said with a small smile. "Why would I deny them all the knowledge they could possibly learn?"

Remus smiled. "Of course."

They found a place to hide and Dorcas pulled out the Invisibility Cloak. She threw it over the both of them and they walked back to the school. They found a bench to sit down on and sat back to back so they could keep an eye out in every direction.

"Do you think we'll actually have to jump into action?" Remus asked.

Dorcas shrugged. "Don't know."

"Hopefully not."

"Hmm..." she said with a nod. "I took this assignment because I needed something where I would still be doing something meaningful while still taking a break from Death Eaters for a while."

Remus nodded. "I understand," he said. "I'm glad you're taking things easy for a little while."

She smiled. She and Remus talked for a while. Dorcas had been worried about this assignment, not because she thought she and Remus would have to protect Lucy from Death Eaters every few minutes but because she was worried how bored she would be in the seven hours she would have to sit in front of the school doing nothing. Sitting and talking with Remus though, made time pass so fast. She didn't feel bored at all. They talked about everything. Life, the war, plans for the future, funny stories from the passed.

Soon the school bell rang and the kids ran out to play during recess. Dorcas and Remus had to move off the bench in case one of the children tried to sit down on them. They moved further away so that they would still be able to talk without having to worry about someone overhearing them.

Dorcas watched Lucy run around with children almost double her age and height and smiled to herself. "Do you want kids, Remus?"

He watched the children run around for a second before sighing. "I would love to have children," he said. "But I don't think I'm going to."

"Why not?" Dorcas asked with a frown, looking over at her.

"Well, it would be much too dangerous for kids to be near me," he said.

"That's ridiculous," she said. "You are wonderful with children. I see the way you are with Lucy and the other children. You've been around them and they're perfectly safe."

He gave her a look. "If I had a son or daughter they would have to spend a lot more time with me than Lucy and the others at Hogwarts. I am much too dangerous, Dorcas."

"But... the person you had kids with would help you protect them, Remus," she said with a small smile. "You don't have to do everything alone, you know. You don't always have to do everything alone."

"You're one to talk," Remus said with a smirk. "The one who runs around trying to catch bad guys all on your own. Not slowing down for anyone. Refusing a partner. Last time we worked together you made me stay up for days on end! I'm surprised I'm even here at all. Did you not beg Dumbledore to let you do this alone too?"

She gave him a look. "You're an idiot," she said with a shake of her head. "I did not but now I think I should have."

He smiled. "So, you want kids. I know that."

She smiled a little bit. "I would love a little girl," she said. "I mean a boy would be fine too but I would love a baby girl I could dress up and teach everything I know. I would love her to be even a little bit like Lucy."

"Lucy is pretty special," he said with a smile. "A lot like McGonagall, I think."

"Definitely," Dorcas said with a laugh. "I would love a mini Dorcas."

"Oh no," Remus said with a laugh. "Like we need another Dorcas."

She gave him a little shove though she was smiling. She sighed and shook her head. "My daughter will be the most kickass little girl you will ever meet, Remus," she said. "She will be so smart and so kind and so brave."

"Just like her mother," he said quietly.

She looked at him and smiled. "Okay, I forgive you for your earlier comment now."

He smiled. Remus watched Dorcas turn back to look at the children and felt something in his chest. It felt like his heart was doing backflips. He looked at her beautiful caramel brown eyes, her big red lips, the tattoo behind her ear. He loved the way she pulled her hair over her left shoulder. The way it flowed from black to bright red. Minerva's words from a year ago ran around in his head. She deserves someone who loves her and that's what you can give her, Remus. Could he? Could he give her the love she deserved? Should he say something right now? No. He shouldn't. They were going to have to be together every day, standing this close together under the Invisibility Cloak. He shouldn't do something that would ruin their time together. She loves you too. I know she does. How could Minerva know? She might not. How could she love someone like him? She wanted children and he wouldn't be able to be the partner she needed in that. She loves you despite what might happen every full moon. She can see past it and so should you. Alright, Minerva really needed to get out of his head.

"Ah, Dorcas -"

"Oh no, look!"

Remus looked over to where Lucy and Anne were playing and saw another little girl with blonde hair push Lucy down to the ground. Anne had jumped up to help Lucy to her feet and was glaring at the blonde girl. "Maybe we should -"

"We can't," Dorcas said, glaring at the girl as she walked away with two of her friends leaving Anne and Lucy alone. Lucy looked fine. She wasn't crying. "Maybe I can talk to her about it after school."

"No, she doesn't know that we're watching her," Remus said. "Minerva thought it might scare her if she thought that she needed people watching to make sure Death Eaters don't show up. If you want to talk about it, you're going to need her to bring it up."

Dorcas sighed. "I hate bullies. Maybe we should talk to one of Lucy's teachers."

"It'll be okay," Remus said with a small smile. He liked the way she got overprotective of this little girl. He knew that she would make a good mom one day and that only made him love her even more. "Lucy will be fine."

"I know," Dorcas said with a sigh. She looked back at him. "Anyways, you were about to say something?"

"Oh, yeah... I don't remember what I was going to say..."

She smiled. "Alright then."

Soon recess was over and the kids went back inside. Dorcas and Remus walked back to their bench and sat down again. Remus had completely given up on saying anything about his feelings. Right now wasn't the time. He needed to wait for a better time. They started talking again and soon the conversation turned to Sirius and Marlene's relationship.

"So, what are they doing?" Dorcas asked.

"To be completely honest, I don't know," Remus replied with a sigh. "He really likes her. I know that he does."

"And I know that she really likes him too," she replied.

"So I don't know what they're doing," he said. "They're together and then they're not and then they are again and then they're not again. I can't keep up."

"Are they together now? I haven't seen them in a while."

"They are," Remus said. "They broke up awhile ago and then used that prank war with the kids to get back at each other but then after Benjy died they got back together again."

Dorcas shook her head. "I don't understand that. I don't think I'd want to be with someone if we were always going back and forth like that."

"I think that it's the pressure of the war," Remus said. "I'm sure when the war is over they'll be in a better place to figure out what they want."

Dorcas nodded. "Yes, I think so. Now's not really the best time to figure stuff like that out. We can't all be as sure about life as James and Lily are," she mumbled. "But then again, what can I say. I've never had any serious relationships. Maybe I just can't appreciate how they must feel when they're actually together. It must be great to have someone to talk to, to lean on, to... I don't know, do relationship-y stuff with. I just have never experienced it so I wouldn't know."

"Yeah, I get it," Remus said. "I haven't either."

Dorcas smiled. She looked over at Remus and said, "My mother used to say, 'Bandar kya jaane adarak ka swaad'. It's an Indian proverb that means 'what does a monkey know of the taste of ginger?'"

Remus looked at her and smiled.

"Meaning," she said, "someone who can't understand can't appreciate. Which I guess is us, not understanding Sirius and Marlene's relationship."

Remus smiled. "We're just a pair of monkeys."

She smiled. The rest of the day went by and eventually it was almost time for Lucy to get off of school. Remus and Dorcas decided to take off the Invisibility Cloak and walk around to the front of the school before Lucy came out. The bell rang and slowly children started running out towards their parents. Dorcas saw the little girl who had pushed Lucy and her mother a little ways away.

"Maybe I should go talk to that girl's mother," she said, looking over at Remus. "About what she did to Lucy."

Remus looked over and shook his head. "I don't think that's a good idea, Dorcas."

"I don't -"

"Hey!"

Dorcas looked over to see Lucy running towards them. Anne was running behind her. Dorcas smiled at the girl. "Hey, Lucy! How was your day at school?"

"Eh," she said, stopping in front of Dorcas and Remus. "This is my friend, Anne. Anne, these are my friends, Dorcas and Remus."

"Hello, Anne," Remus said with a smile.

"Hello," Dorcas said.

"Hi! It's nice to meet you. Lucy says you guys are staying over with her and her family," Anne said.

"Yes," Dorcas said with a nod. "How was your first day of school, Anne? Anything... interesting happen?"

"It was pretty good," Anne said. "We're in the same homeroom class so that's awesome. Hopefully this year will be fun."

"Yeah," Lucy said. "Better than last year."

Anne nodded. She looked over at the parking lot and saw her mother's car pull in. "Oh, there's my mum. I'll see you tomorrow, Lucy! It was nice to meet you Dorcas, Remus."

They said goodbye and Anne ran off. Lucy took Dorcas's hand and they started walking back towards the alleyway that they had Apparated to this morning.

"So nothing interesting happened today?" Dorcas asked, looking down at Lucy.

Lucy shrugged. "Not really," she said. "Oh, during recess Anne and I played on the monkey bars. That was fun."

"That sounds nice," Remus said, giving Dorcas a look.

"Did anything else happen during recess?" Dorcas asked frowning a little and ignoring Remus.

"No, not really," Lucy said. "Oh, I also got a book new book from the library. It's about a witch! I think Mum will find it funny."

Remus laughed but Dorcas was still frowning. They made it to the alleyway and Remus Apparated them back to Hogwarts. They walked through the gates, after quite a bit of scrutiny from Alastor Moody who was guarding the entrance, and up to the castle. Dorcas and Remus walked Lucy up to Minerva's office and knocked on the door. Minerva's voice came through the door, inviting them in. Lucy opened the door and ran to her mother.

"Hey!"

Minerva smiled. "Hello, darling," she said as Lucy walked around the desk and hugged her. Minerva wrapped her arms around her and pulled her into her lap. "How was your day?"

"It was okay," she said.

Minerva looked up at Remus and Dorcas. "Thank you both for everything."

"Of course," Dorcas said, debating on whether or not she should tell Minerva about what they saw. She decided against it to Remus's relief.

"Yeah, we'll get out of your hair," Remus said with a smile. "We'll see you both at dinner. Bye Lucy."

"Bye Remus! Bye Dorcas!" Lucy said.

Remus and Dorcas walked out of the office and closed the door behind them. They walked in silence for a little while before Dorcas finally burst.

"No, this is not okay. I'm going back to tell Minerva what happened," Dorcas said, turning on her heel.

Remus grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her back. "Nope, nope," he said as she struggled against his grasp. "How do you think Lucy would like that? If that was you would you be very happy with someone telling your mother about it? Wouldn't you rather deal with it on your own?"

"Yes but -"

"Lucy may be like Minerva but she's also like you," Remus said, still gripping her shoulders and guiding her down the stairs. "She will want to try to deal with this on her own first."

"She's already had problems, Remus," Dorcas said. "When she first came here and I talked to her, she told me that someone told her that she had dirty skin! She wouldn't tell me where she heard that but... I... I just want to help her."

"I know," Remus said with a sigh. "I know but you have to let her come to us. We're still going to be watching. If it continues and she still doesn't say anything, then we'll say something to her or to Minerva or to one of her teachers."

Dorcs thought about this for a second before nodding. "Alright," she said finally. "That's a good idea."

Remus smiled and let go of her shoulders. "You sound like you're her mother."

"You sound like you're her father," she retorted with a smile.

...

Later that night the rest of the Hogwarts students arrived for the Start-of-Term Feast. Minerva had to sit at the teacher's table so Lucy sat with Tonks and her family. Remus wasn't at dinner as he was having dinner with his father, Lily and James were back in London with their baby, Sirius was having dinner with Marlene at the McKinnon safe house, and who knew where Peter was, so Dorcas was sitting alone. She looked over at Lucy every so often, still a little worried about her, but she was completely fine. She was laughing and having fun with Tonks. Eventually Dorcas let it go. Lucy seemed happy and fine so who was she to ruin that.

Lucy was very excited to see the Sorting Ceremony. She watched as her mother led a group of students towards the front of the hall, carrying a stool, a hat, and a scroll. Minerva set the stool on the stage and the hat on top of the stool. Lucy watched in amazement as the hat came to life and started to sing! It described the four Hogwarts houses. There was Gryffindor that valued bravery and courage, Slytherin that valued ambition and resourcefulness, Ravenclaw that valued knowledge and wisdom, and Hufflepuff that valued loyalty and kindness. One by one, Minerva read the names off the scroll and children walked to the front, sat down and put on the hat. After a varied amount of time the hat would shout out his house decision. After the Sorting Ceremony Minerva sat down, Dumbledore gave a speech and food appeared.

She ate and talked with Tonks, Mrs. and Mr. Tonks for a while before seeing Dorcas sitting on her own at the other end of the table. She excused herself and walked over to her. Dorcas smiled at her as she sat down. She talked to Dorcas and told her all about her day, leaving out her little playground scrap. Dorcas noticed this but didn't say anything. She and Lucy talked for a while before students started getting up to go to bed. Minerva came over to take Lucy to bed as well. Lucy said a quick goodnight before being dragged from the Great Hall by her mother. Dorcas smiled as she watched them go.