Friday 31st August 1979

Evans Home, 19:00

James and Lily looked on in disbelief. They couldn't help it because what was happening right in front of them was a sight that they never thought they would see. Well, not exactly. Of course, they had hoped that their parents would get along, and they did - they had all gone out for dinners which had gone splendidly. But getting to know each other as future in-laws was different, wasn't it? Especially when it came down to discussing a wedding.

But that was just it. They had already discussed the wedding over in Potter Manor and then the Evans' had invited them all over to their house to see pictures of their wedding all those years ago - Fleamont and Euphemia had sparked this off by showing photos of their own.

So now they were here and no one looked like they were going to be leaving anytime soon. Which was great, don't get Lily wrong or anything. But they weren't even discussing the wedding anymore, or anyone's wedding. Those pictures had all been put away. No, now their dads were very eagerly discussing sports - wizard and magical, and their mums were good-naturedly arguing about what jam you should serve with scones.

"Lily, I don't think this is going to work out," Rosemary said mock-seriously. "Euphemia here thinks that marmalade is appropriate to put on scones."

"It's just an orange jam."

"Marmalade is not an orange jam. It's marmalade."

"Agree to disagree."

"I am not agreeing to anything about marmalade being jam."

"But it is."

Rosemary threw her hands up in the air. "See, Lily? This is madness. I can't condone it."

"It's a good thing James and I don't have any issues surrounding marmalade," Lily said drily.

James put his finger to his chin thoughtfully. "I don't know, Lils. I think -"

She put a hand over his mouth. "No. We do not have any issues around marmalade. Got it?"

That got her an extremely vigorous nod. "Yes, ma'am," he replied when she removed her hand.

"See?" Euphemia said proudly. "He already comes well trained."

This made everyone laugh heartily at poor James, who blushed heavily.

"Well, I learn from the best," he bragged, giving his father a pointed look.

"Yep," Fleamont said cheerfully.

This whole conversation was ridiculous and she loved it. She loved it so much it was also ridiculous. This was just normal teasing family stuff except that it was between two families! Definitely far better than what happened with Vernon's family. That was all stiff smiles and strained silences. It was horrible. And Lily really didn't want to think about that right now because this was a happy scene and she didn't want to spoil it.

"Come on into the living room," Gavin was now saying, ushering Fleamont to do just that. "There's a game on in a few minutes and we can listen to it."

"You still haven't explained how you can catch the ball when it's even thrown," Fleamont was saying. "Surely a person can't move that fast."

The women shook their head at their antics. Even James did, not really seeing the attraction of listening to a game of any sport. He needed to see it to really enjoy it. It was boring otherwise. He had informed her of this. Multiple times. It was a pity he couldn't see many games anymore because of work and because of the current security situation. Smaller games tended to get cancelled or indefinitely postponed due to heightened risk these days.

Which meant he got to stay with her and all the other women. Something she knew James didn't really mind because he was currently smiling that real smile of his as he chatted with his mother and Chryssie.

"I still don't understand why you have to have the wedding so soon," said Rosemary and then she narrowed her eyes. "You aren't pregnant, are you?"

That made Chryssie literally spit out her tea while Lily and James made spluttering noises.

"No!" Lily said far too loudly and then continued quieter so as not to attract anyone else's (mainly her dad's) attention. "I'm not pregnant."

"Are you sure?"

Lily felt her face heat up and she knew without looking that James' face had gone bright red.

"Yes!" Lily said just a bit too loudly as that made her dad pop his head in.

"Everything alright in here?" He asked.

"Yes, Gareth, were all fine," Euphemia said calmly. "Just chatting about some wedding details."

"Oh, good. Nothing wrong then?"

"No," Rosemary confirmed.

"Gareth, the presenter is getting excited," Fleamont called in, his voice rising with his own excitement.

Gareth looked around at everyone again and, seemingly satisfied that he wasn't missing anything important, gave them all and nod and all but ran back into the living room.

"Did I miss anything?"

Lily breathed a sigh of relief as he got absorbed into the game again. This was something she did not want her dad to hear even a hint about. No way. It was embarrassing and inappropriate.

"So, definitely not pregnant?" Chryssie asked slyly.

Lily sent her a glare, not appreciating her input at all. Why would she even do that? She was meant to be on her side.

"No!"

"W-we haven't done stuff talked that," James managed to stutter out.

Which just made her blush all over that because she did not need anyone to know about that aspect of their relationship.

Sunday 2nd September 1979

Cokeworth, 11:00

"What's going on?" James asked as they walked through the park near the Evans'.

The two of them had been sent to go fetch a few things for dinner by Mrs Evans and Lily. Apparently, they had been "underfoot" and "nuisances". All they had wanted to do was help! But apparently this wasn't needed so they were all but pushed out of the house in order to get rid of them. Severus very much doubted that the Evans needed any of these things. He was sure he had seen butter in the fridge earlier but allegedly they desperately needed a new tub for dinner. They weren't even having potatoes! Rosemary had made a salad because it was too warm. But whatever, he knew better than to argue with her. They both did. They weren't wanted in the house? Then they wouldn't be in the house. There would be no arguments from him.

So, yeah, no he and James were walking through the park. Just wondering around. It was the lack that Lily often played in as a child and where he would meet her when he got away from his house. It was a nice park.

"Why don't we go grab an ice-cream?" James asked. "There's a place down the road we can sit in, isn't there?"

"It's a cafe," said Severus. "But yes. They serve ice cream."

"Let's go there, then."

So that's what they did. James managed to jump up to the counter faster so apparently it was his treat. He even had muggle money to do so. Whatever, Severus would try and sneak the money back to him somehow.

Severus absentmindedly drummed his fingers on the table, trying hard not think too much. Thinking too much meant that he would think about things that he needed to do. And one of those things that he needed to do was give Dumbledore a decision. An important decision. He probably should have made the decision sooner but he couldn't. He just couldn't. This was a serious thing. A really serious thing. That would put his life in danger. Dramatically so. More than he already was in because, let's be honest, he wasn't exactly some Death Eaters' biggest fan. Did he want more of that?

He wasn't like James. Or Sirius. Or even Marlene. He was Severus. And he was really different. He didn't have that urge to rush out there and fight, fight, fight. He did have the urge to help. To want to protect. But what did that translate to when doing things for the Order?

A thump interrupted him from his thoughts. Oh, it was James returning with the ice cream. Chocolate and vanilla scoops for him and he wasn't entirely sure what James got.

"Is that all the sauces on your ice cream?" He asked incredulously.

The red, blue and brown sauces. And a lot of them.

"They all taste amazing," James said defensively. "I couldn't just decide like that. So, I said, why not? I got them all."

Severus rolled his eyes. That was such a James thing to do.

"So, what's up?" James asked him, taking a kick of his ice cream and pulling a face. "Okay, the blue and brown sauce don't mix."

"I could have told you that and nothing's up."

Nothing that James needed to concern himself with anyway.

"Uh huh."

And he didn't have to look at him like that either. At least he didn't say anything else. He just stared at him and ate his ice cream.

"Your ice cream is melting," James pointed out."

"I'm just stressed, okay?" Severus said quickly before he even realised, he was saying it. "I mean, I-"

"You're stressed," James finished for him.

Severus sighed and gave in. "Yeah."

"Want to talk about it?"

"Not really."

But of course, he ended up taking about it because it was James and James was easy to talk to even if he did ask all the annoying questions like how he was feeling or ask for more details. But he listened and that's kind of what Severus needed at the moment. And maybe some help. A little bit of help. A tiny but of it.

"Look, do you think you're capable of it?" James asked once Severus finished explaining what Dumbledore had asked of him. "Like, really capable of it?"

"I, I don't know," Severus answered honestly. "I know I should be-"

He was interrupted by James holding up his hand.

"It's not about what you think you should do but what you can actually do."

Severus stared at him. That, that actually made a lot of sense. Who was this in front of him and what had he done with James? James Potter was supposed to be goofy, a bit weird (make that a lot weird), protective, a bit overbearing at times. Not this weird, serious person handing out advice that was not only good but also made sense.

"What?" James asked self-consciously.

Severus shook his head. "Nothing. That was just actually helpful advice."

That made James colour up.

"Well, I get it right sometimes, you know."

"Yes," Severus murmured, taking a kick of his rapidly melting ice cream. "Yes, you do."

Malfoy Manor, 21:00

Regulus' hands were shaking so hard that he could barely get his mask on, which was incredibly embarrassing. There was absolutely no need for him to be showing this much emotion even if he was excited. It just wouldn't do. He was supposed to be calm and collected. Aloof. In control. How was he supposed to be any of those things when his hands were shaking? He couldn't.

He was supposed to be leading this raid. It was his very first raid. A rite of passage when you became a Death Eater. He'd been planning it ever since he was sixteen. That was nearly two years! Before he even received the Dark Mark!

"Are you ready?" Lucius asked, despite not being ready himself as he had no mask on.

"I'll be ready when I'm ready."

Regulus would not have anyone questioning or pushing at him. No. This was his raid and he was in charge. No one was to question him despite being inexperienced.

"Right," Lucius drawled but he thankfully didn't say anything else and just disappeared again.

Regulus didn't care where he went as long as he wasn't bothering him. The older man could be extremely smarmy and Regulus couldn't bear it.

This was it. He was going to do it.

"Does everyone know what they are doing?" He asked, striding confidently out in front of them.

"Causing as much chaos as possible," Avery replied promptly.

Regulus tried not to sigh too loudly at the typical response and he sent Avery a glare. He was not helping. But thankfully everyone else was as they nodded and a few even repeated the tasks he had given them. Right. This was going to go well. He was going to make sure of it.

Thankfully, Bellatrix had been left out of this particular raid. Lucius was the one keeping an eye on it, reporting back to the Dark Lord on how je performed. And Regulus was glad. He could do without Bellatrix's brand of crazy. There was no way that she would take orders from him anyway. And nor did he want to give her orders. Nope. No thank you.

"Right, let's go." He said.

And they went. And it did not go well. Or rather, it did. It did go well. Objectively. They had done the task the Dark Lord set the out to do. He had done the task the Dark Lord had set him out to do. Torture and murder the family of some mudblood scum. A mother, a father and two children. Easy.

He had personally murdered the father.

And that was the problem.

Regulus stumbled away from the cheering crowd - everyone in good spirits after their success - not knowing or caring where his feet were taking him as long as it was far away from everyone else. Out of sight and out of hearing. He didn't want any witnesses to what was about to happen.

Regulus fell to his knees and immediately started to vomit. More and more came until he was just gagging and nothing more came out. Why had he eaten so much today?

It was just first raid jitters. Yeah, that's all it was. Nothing more than that. There was nothing wrong with that. It was all just so exciting and there were so many people and, well. Yeah.

The image of the lifeless eyes floated up in his mind again.

Another shudder and he retched again. This time just bringing up bile.

Wednesday 5th September 1979

Marlene and Tonks' Flat, 07:00

Tonks stumbled into the kitchen to put the kettle on for both of them that morning and then swore.

Without evening turning it on, Tonks stomped back out of the kitchen and called across the flat.

"You left your dishes in the sink last night!"

And they were all gooey and sticky and yuck. At least it was only one night and it didn't have that much of a smell.

"What?"

"Your tray and plate are still in the sink!"

Yeah, it was just two things and they didn't take up a lot of room. It wasn't like the sink was overflowing with dirty dishes or anything but still. There was always something in the sink. Glasses. Plates. Chopping boards. Whatever. They were always there and they were never clean. It was kind of gross. She didn't know how Marlene could stand letting them get like that. Didn't that encourage mould or something? And anyway, they kind of smelled and the look of cold, congealed grease was gag-worthy. Yuck. Yuck. Yuck.

"I'll get to them eventually," Marlene said, poking her head around her bedroom door. "Just leave them there, I'll sort them."

Tonks bit her tongue. She had wanted to tell Marlene to do them now but she couldn't do that. She was a flatmate, not a parent. It really wasn't any of her business when Marlene did her dishes. It wasn't like it was affecting her dishes, right?

Friday 7th September 1979

Marauder Flat, 02:00

Remus all but fell back into the flat feeling absolutely awful and just wanting his bed. He could deal with all his aches and pains in the morning which, to be honest, wasn't that far away. But he couldn't just do that because he had to be quiet and careful as he made his way across the flat. He didn't want to wake anyone up.

First, maybe a cup of hot chocolate. No, make that a definite. Chocolate would be perfect for now. Though, it was really perfect for any occasion. Thank Merlin for heating charms. It was never the same as heating the milk in a pot of a stove but he wasn't going to do that at two o'clock in the morning.

He turned into the kitchen and almost immediately stumbled back as the light from several candles all but blinded him.

"Moony?"

"Padfoot?"

"What are you doing up so late?" They both asked at the same time.

"Since I'm the person who has actually been in the flat all night, I think you should be the one answering," Sirius told him.

Remus sighed and rubbed at his eyes. "Can't this wait, Padfoot? I'm extremely tired."

"Because you've been out all night!"

"Yes," he couldn't exactly deny it. "And now I'm very tired so can I please go to bed?"

"Not until you tell me where you've been!"

"Can you two please be quiet?" James called put from his room in an incredibly sleepy voice.

"Sorry!" They both replied.

"Just shut up."

They stayed quiet as they heard James's creak and finally, he settled down.

"Well?" Sirius demanded in a quieter voice.

"It's just something for the Order," Remus tried to palmate him except that it did the complete opposite.

"What? What are you doing?"

"You'll find out at Order meetings just like anyone else.

He didn't want to tell the rest of the Marauders about what he was doing. It was slow going, not exciting at all. Until it was. If you count narrowly avoiding getting beaten to a pulp in Knockturn Alley as exciting. Which he didn't. And he doubted his friends would either. And they'd just be all worried for him if he did tell them everything. No, it was much better for them to hear the cold, dry facts from a neatly packaged report. Less stressful for everyone.

Sirius didn't look to happy about that.

"Just go to bed!" James shouted in an exasperated voice.

Sunday 9th September 1979

Hogwarts, 21:30

Tonks bounced up and down excitedly as she left Dumbledore's office. It gave her a really strange looking gait to her walk but she really didn't care.

She had just been sworn into the Order of the Phoenix! It was really cool! This organisation all about helping the Light side, figuring out what Death Eaters were up to. Just like she'd be doing with the Aurors. Or something like that anyway. So that was two good things she'd be doing!

She couldn't wait to tell Chryssie. Wait, she couldn't tell Chryssie. Or Remus or Sirius or anyone. This was a secret organisation. Stress on the secret. They couldn't know.

This sucked. She wanted someone to share it with. It wasn't fun doing anything unless you could share it.

Could she maybe suggest that Chryssie could be recruited? Would Chryssie want to be recruited? Maybe? Tonks didn't know.

Oh, this was so exciting!

Monday 10th September 1979

Marlene and Tonks' Flat, 17:30

Tonks wasn't sure how it all started but all she knew now was that she and Marlene were shouting at each other. Angrily and extremely loudly.

Actually, that was a lie. She did know how all the shouting started. Because technically she had started it. Though, in her opinion of you looked at the actual reason for the shouting then you would find that it was very much Marlene's fault.

See, she had managed to touch one of Marlene's dirty plates that was, yes, in the sink. And it had been in the sink for at least two days. Tonks was convinced it was more but she had been running around between sorting out her own bank account and starting Auror training she hadn't exactly been in the kitchen much. Evidently, Marlene had.

So, when she had blindly filled the kettle this fine morning she had been exhausted and still half-asleep. Which meant that she had forgotten that there were things in the sink and the back of her hand brushed the whole length down the plate. She got gravy and grease and Merlin knows what else all up her hand. It was cold and stick and disgusting. Downright nasty.

"It's disgusting! No one wants to see or smell that!" Tonks was saying.

"You aren't exactly Miss Perfect Roommate either, you know!" Marlene shot back.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Tonks demanded.

"If you try to walk from the front door to the bathroom, you'll trip over ten pieces of clothing that belong to you, that's what I mean."

Tonks into timely looked over to their loving room are and, granted, she saw a set of her robes over the back of a chair but one of Marlene's was also over the back of a chair! And sure, there were one, two, okay three random socks of her on the floor. All in varying states of crumpledness (was that even a word?). But they were only socks! And they didn't smell. Much. Anyway, they weren't nearly as disgusting as Marlene's plates!

"Yeah, well, at least mine aren't blocking anything! And they aren't gross!"

"Yes, they are!"

"Oh, just shut up," Tonks snapped, crossing her arms.

"Gladly," Marlene said with a sniff. "I don't want to talk to you."

"Neither do I."