AN: Hey there all! This chapter is a little bit longer than normal because I was supposed to update last Friday but I forgot... Anyway, this chapter isn't nearly as intense as the last one, so you know, you get a bit of reprieve in most aspects (except Jily. That part is really tense.)

"Don't walk in front of me… I may not follow
Don't walk behind me… I may not lead
Walk beside me… just be my friend"
― Albert Camus

or

"I thought about how there are two types of secrets: the kind you want to keep in, and the kind you don't dare to let out."
― Ally Carter

Chapter Seventeen: The Endless Day

James didn't end up meeting Sirius, Remus and Lily in Dumbledore's quarters an hour after they split up as they had agreed to do. And Lily had already said, 'I told you so' about six times.

"So how many people in total, know that you have magic?" Dumbledore asked after patiently listening to Remus and Sirius tell him everything that had happened this last week. Well, almost everything. Remus had to leave out the part about Lance, because he couldn't say anything in front of Sirius and Lily. But he was definitely going to tell Dumbledore as soon as he got him alone.

Remus quickly counted up the people in his head and ticked them off on his fingers. "Six for sure, maybe eight. I'm sure Dory and Lance have told Mary, and maybe Marlene."

"Nine." Sirius said. "You forgot that bloke from Godric's Hollow.

"Right, Snape. He might know too." Remus chewed on the inside of his cheek for a moment and then shook his head. "I don't know if he knows. Wouldn't he have said something if he had?"

"Not necessarily." Dumbledore said. "This is a dangerous secret for him to have, he may be biding his time.

"That's comforting." Remus sighed, his head falling into his hands. He took a seat at the table and rested his elbows along the edge.

"Who the hell is Emrus?" Sirius asked.

"What?" Lily asked.

"Emrus. Dory used that name and it rattled everyone. Who is he?" Remus shrugged. "Come on, I've been meaning to ask you since we left that bloody town."

"I don't know who he is." Remus huffed. "Dory thought it was me when she found out I had magic, but I've never heard of him before."

"What about you?" Sirius asked Dumbledore. "Do you know who Emrus is?"

"Yes and no." Dumbledore walked over to the fire and withdrew his kettle of boiling water. "Emrus is a man who, until recently, I have always thought to be fictional. He was the star of many tales in the wizarding community, especially more recently."

"So he's made up?"

"Yes and no." Dumbledore repeated, now pouring out four cups of tea. "The stories are all made up, but the man himself, he's real. It was prophesized many, many years ago that there would come a day when magic would no longer be considered a crime. That there would be a man who could unite both muggle and magical alike."

"Why would Dory think that it's me?" Remus asked. "Because that's a pretty tall order."

"She believes it to be you, because you fit the description." Dumbledore smiled at him. "A young man who has magic unlike any the world has ever seen. A man who befriends both royals and peasants alike, and brings them together."

"I didn't bring anyone together." Remus scoffed. "I didn't even like James for the longest time."

"No, but then you did. And you became friends with Sirius and, I don't know if he'll admit it freely, but Sirius and James are now friends as well. That wouldn't have happened if it were not for you."

"So you think that Remus is… Emrus?" Sirius asked.

"I believe it is possible."

"That's vague."

"Prophecies are vague."

"I don't believe in prophecies."

"Disregarding something because you don't understand it, is not wise, Sirius."

"Well, I do lots of things that aren't wise."

"How much weight should we put into prophecies?" Lily asked.

"Prophecies are what you make of them." Dumbledore said simply, picking up his teacup and taking a sip. "Though it should be said that one cannot run from their destiny. Things that are meant to happen will happen no matter what you believe."

"So it doesn't matter if Remus is Emrus or he isn't." Lily said, also picking up her teacup. "Because as long as Dory and you believe that he is… " She trailed off.

"As long as people believe that he is Emrus, than he fulfills the role and the prophecy is put in motion."

"But if he's not Emrus-"

"It doesn't matter if he's not Emrus as we thought Emrus would be. If he's meant to be Emrus, than he will become him." Dumbledore shrugged. "That's how prophecies work."

And that was as much sense as they were going to get out of the older man, so they all picked up their teacups and turned to look at the door, hoping that James would walk through.

oOoOo

Mary was glad to be reunited with Dory. After having heard what had happened in Godric's Hollow, Mary had not been able to sit still long enough to relax, and she knew that she wouldn't have been able to find Dory on the trail before she had returned to Camelot and that it would be better to just wait it out. Having never been very good at waiting however, Mary was relieved when it the wait was finally over.

"What the hell happened out there?" Mary asked once she and Dory had managed to get a moment to themselves. They were hiding out in Hagrid's old garden shed. Most of the things that one would usually find in a garden shed, Hagrid kept in his house, so the shed hadn't been used in almost a decade. The only things inside were a mouse nest and a broken rake.

Dory took a deep breath, puffing out her chest. "Remus has magic." She said, a huge smile spreading across her face.

"What? Sirius's Remus? James's man servant?"

Dory nodded enthusiastically. "Yes! He's the one that everyone was talking about Mary! He's Emrus!" Mary raised a brow and sighed.

"Now I know that it's been extremely cold these last few days, so maybe your hands went numb at some point during the ride back home and you slipped off your saddle and hit your head, but let's not be-"

"Can you stop insulting me long enough for me to explain myself?" She was so excited to share whatever it was she thought would convince Mary, that she didn't even look upset. "I saw him do magic." She shook her head, looking down at the floor as she talked, her eyes glazed over as though she were looking at something that Mary couldn't see. "It was like nothing I've ever seen. He doesn't use spells, or a wand, or his hands, he just- he just does things. Before those men started killing all those people, he made this storm appear out of the clear sky, and he didn't mutter one incantation."

"How do you know it was him then?" Mary crossed her arms over her chest and stuck a hip out. "Godric's Hollow is full of people who actually practice magic. What makes you think that it was Remus who was making the storm?"

"It was his eyes." Dory said, still smiling. Mary was starting to think that maybe she really had fallen off her horse recently. "They glowed when he was using his magic. There was actual, golden light coming out of his eyes, just like in the stories Mary!"

"Don't be ridiculous, Dory. You know as well as I do that most of those stories were made up. The only one that holds any element of truth is the actual prophecy, which states nothing of glowing eyes." She jutted her jaw out. She had waited for Dory to return home for a week, wanting to talk to her, seriously, about what was going on in The Hollows. She had family there and she hadn't seen or heard from them in months, and Dory was making up stories about a man that may or may not exist yet.

"I'm not being ridiculous." Dory said, articulating her words carefully, but not losing her smile completely. "Remus is Emrus."

"He doesn't even fit the prophecy!" Mary started pacing back and forth

"He does though! Think about it!" Dory pulled her hair back and then stood up straight. "A young man will appear before the kingdom-"

"I know the prophecy!" Mary interrupted.

"Then think about everything you know about Remus! He fits the prophecy!"

Mary chewed her lip and shook her head. This wasn't possible. She had met Remus numerous times. He couldn't be the man that they were all waiting for. Hell, she was pretty sure that there was no possible way that the boy had any magic at all, no matter what Dory said. He was a servant after all. He worked directly under the king, and the king was the main problem for people with magic. Why would someone with magic be working for someone who goes around and chops off the heads of anyone who might have magic?

Aside from that, Remus was afraid of horses, he was clumsy, couldn't use a sword to save his life (or anyone else's for that matter.) How could Dory be so certain that he was the one who was meant to save all of wizarding kind?

"Think about it, Mary." Dory reiterated. "He showed up in Camelot from who knows where, and got a job working for the prince. Then he rode out with the prince, befriended Sirius and us. Now Sirius and the prince are friends as well-"

"Sirius is not a peasant." Mary interrupted. "You've told me where he came from."

"I don't think you have to be born a peasant, to be one." Dory said. "And fine, if you don't want to count him, what about your new friends Lily? Or Lance? They count! And you haven't seen him do his magic yet, but I swear to you it's unlike anything I've ever seen."

"Just because you use phrases of the prophecy-"

"Mary, listen to me!" Dory grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her. "He is Emrus."

"I doubt it, Dory." Mary shrugged. "But I guess we can talk to him. If nothing else, I can prove to you that it's not him."

"I'll take it." Dory sighed. "But try not to be too sore about all of this when I'm right."

"I'll do my best."

oOoOo

"Emrus?" Voldemort said softly, sitting at the head of the long dining table. They were gathered in the Dolohov's manor, and for the first time since he had moved to Godric's Hollow, Severus found himself sitting at the table with Antonin, instead of running about and fetching him things. He was sitting three people from Voldemort, watching the man clench his jaw. "They know who Emrus is?"

"The odds that Emrus is a real person is very slim, my lord." Nott sat on Voldemort's right, his long grey beard reaching the top of the table and his long, spindly fingers raking through it. "I believe that they were using whatever means they could to frighten us. It didn't work."

"It didn't?" Voldemort asked, tilting his head ever so slightly. "And yet someone found it necessary to tell me about it. Antonin?"

"Yes, my lord?"

"Why did your son think he should tell me that the witch said Emrus was on their side if he believed it to be a bluff?"

"I didn't think it was a bluff!" Augustin stood up from his chair, causing the back legs to scrape against the floor. Severus clenched his teeth at the sound, but it wasn't nearly as bad as watching the young Dolohov try and string words together. "You all saw the clouds! You saw how they came out of nowhere!"

"Yes," Nott smiled at him. "Storm clouds in the winter, who has ever heard of that?" A few of the men around the table laughed, but none of the men who had actually been there. They all knew that it was magic that had put those clouds there. And powerful magic at that.

Rosier stood up from his chair as well and leant across the table. "Look, my lord, I'm not sure if Emrus was there or if he wasn't, but I am quite sure that the Meadows girl thought that Emrus was there. And I'm also quite sure that all of the people who watched what happened though that Emrus was there."

"It was a very powerful display of magic." Antonin agreed.

Voldemort pressed his hands together and leant back in his chair. "And who could this man be then? The powerful sorcerer that believes himself to be Emrus?"

Severus sat up straight and rested his arms on the table. He had been waiting for this. The perfect opportunity to prove his usefulness, to prove to everyone in the room that he was more than a servant boy.

"I'm not sure if Emrus was there or not, but I do have an interesting piece of information." He said, watching Antonin out of the corner or his eye. The older man got stiff, rightly believing that if Severus were to say something incredibly stupid, he would be blamed for it. "I overheard the prince and his men talking in the tavern." He waited until everyone was looking at him before he spoke again. "The prince's servant boy has magic."

The room was silent, and Severus revealed in it.

"Are you certain?" Voldemort asked quietly, leaning forward.

"I heard him confess it to the prince." Severus nodded. "And he was present when we were in town." He wasn't sure if he should tell them all that he had seen the boy's eyes glowing, not when they were talking about the possibility of Emrus being around.

"You saw him use magic?" Antonin asked. Severus could hear the real question underneath though. Why didn't you tell me about this earlier?

"Yes." Severus nodded. "I saw him use magic."

"And the prince knows about this?" Voldemort narrowed his eyes.

"Yes." The Dark Lord stood up and started pacing the length of the room.

"I had assumed that he was just using the Meadows girl for appearances. To make people- but if his servant boy…" He trailed off and started massaging his temples.

"If the prince's servant has magic," Nott twirled the ends of his beard. "Then perhaps he is different than his father."

"It doesn't matter." Voldemort said, ceasing his pacing to look back at his men. "It doesn't matter if the boy is different or not. For all we know, his servant has him under some sort of enchantment. Or he's using his magic for his own benefit, keeping him around under the threat of death."

"That seems more likely than the king raising an open-minded son." Nott chuckled, and a few of the other men laughed as well. Voldemort allowed himself a smile, Severus did as well, even though he was quite sure that either option Voldemort presented were most likely false. He had nothing good to say about the prince, but he knew that until Remus told him that he had magic, he hadn't known.

"What's important here, is that the prince's servant has magic." He said, his smile widening slightly. "And I'm sure we can find a way to use that to our advantage."

oOoOo

James had been sneaking out of his room since he was eleven, so he was only upset that his father had demanded that he be kept in his room, because his father thought that he could demand that he be kept in his room. He was eighteen years old, and the next king of Camelot. And aside from that, he was also right in this whole argument. His father was being thick about everything that had to do with Bella.

He still couldn't believe that he knew that Bella had tried to kill him and hadn't done anything about it. He had known that she had magic as well! He had known, and still condemned the men and women she accused of using magic to death. He had overlooked all of her wrongdoings and done everything that he could to save her, and she repaid him by trying to end his life. Twice. And he was still protecting her.

After climbing out his window and down the castle wall, James headed towards Dumbledore's quarters. Even though he'd much rather be left alone at the moment, he had promised to meet Remus and Sirius there, and he didn't think that anyone would think to check for him there once they discovered that he'd escaped.

In his haste to escape from his room, he had forgotten to take his winter cloak with him, and as soon as his feet sunk down in the snow, and he stopped exerting effort to keep himself from falling off the wall, he remembered how cold it was. He quickly ran through the deep snow, cursing it for being there. He was now going to have to walk passed Dumbledore's tower just so that when they did discover that he was gone, he wouldn't lead them right to where he was hiding out with his footprints.

He walked down to the creek, hopped over it and then walked up to the street, where all the snow had been brushed from the path. He wrapped his arms around himself and rubbed them against his arms.

"James?" He looked up and saw Lily walking towards him. "What are you doing out here?" She rushed forward and looked him over. "You were supposed to meet the lads back in the tower, I was waiting with them but it was getting late and I didn't want my father to worry."

James couldn't help but smile at her, even in his current mental state. Her cheeks were tinted red from the cold, and her hair was down, falling in waves to her chest with little snowflakes catching in it. He hadn't even noticed that it had started to snow.

"I had to speak with my father." James said, resisting the urge to reach out to her. "It didn't go exactly as planned."

"He believed you though, yes?" Lily said. "He has to believe you."

"Honestly, he wouldn't have cared one way or the other what really happened, but yes. He believed me." James nodded, rubbing his arms again.

"Let's get you out of the cold." She said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Were you headed back to Dumbledore's?"

"Yes." He nodded. They started walking towards the castle again.

"What happened then?" Lily asked. "Unless you don't want to talk about it, then I completely understand, and I'll mind my own business."

"He knew that Bella tried to kill him." James said, trying to keep his voice even. "And that she had magic. And he's still protecting her."

"What do you mean he knew?" Lily asked, not bothering to stem her anger. "He knew what she was doing, the entire time, and he- How can he justify that? How can he- He's killed so many people because he- and he's-"

"I know." James interrupted her, fighting the urge to reach out to her again. "When I tried to point out his hypocrisy, he sent me to my room."

"What?"

"Yes. He sent me to my room, and put guards by the door. That's why I was coming from town. I had to sneak out my window." He ran a hand through his hair. "Well, I guess I didn't have to. I could have stayed in my room."

Lily let her head fall into one of her hands. "I just want today to be over. It's been a really long day."

"You're telling me." James agreed. "Did Sirius and Remus already tell you-"

"That Remus has-" She looked around her and then whispered, "Magic? Yes, they told me. Even though I told them not to."

"Oh yes. I had almost forgotten about that." He sighed.

"You're upset that he didn't tell you sooner?" Lily guessed.

"Aren't you?"

"I was a bit hurt when I found out that he had told so many other people before telling me, but it's his secret and I didn't really want to know it anyway."

"He didn't trust me." James said quietly, not wanting Lily to see just how much this had hurt him. "We've been friends for almost a year now, and he didn't trust me enough to tell me."

"Can you blame him?" Lily asked gently. "I mean look at everything that your father has done. How could he possibly think that you'd be okay with him… being what he is?"

"Because we're friends!" James threw his hand up. "How am I supposed to trust him when he kept this massive secret from me? How am I supposed to know if he's telling me the truth, or just what he thinks I want to hear?"

"Him not telling you this had nothing to do with you. It was about surviving. So if you want to play the wounded friend card, go ahead and do that, but Remus would never do anything to hurt you, or to make you think less of him."

"How can you know that?"

"How can you not?" Lily asked, pushing her hair behind her ears and shaking her head. "I don't understand you sometimes. Remus is always doing everything he can to make sure that you're taken care of and-"

"That's his job." James interrupted.

"His job is to bring you your food and do your laundry." Lily said sharply, raising a brow at him. "However, it is not his job to go out to the tavern with you, or play cards with you, or- or-" She stomped her foot and started walking faster. "I know that you're frustrated with him, but if you just thought about it for a minute… if you put yourself in his position, would you have told yourself? Or would you have thought that it would be better off if no one knew?"

"But it's not like he just knew about it and didn't use it. He did use it, all the time. To do his chores and to-"

"To save your life." Lily snapped. "How dare he."

"He told Sirius." James tried again.

"No he didn't. Sirius followed him and found out accidentally."

"He told Dory! And he's not even friends with Dory!"

"Dory has magic too."

"What about Lance? Is that Lance's big secret? Does he have magic as well?"

"No. And he didn't tell Lance. He used his magic to stop a brick chimney from falling on Lance when they were putting out the fires in Leefside. He also made the rain come to put out the fires."

"Fine!" James clenched his jaw and looked forward. Luckily, because of the cold and the snow that was starting to fall in thicker clumps now, the streets were bare. "You go ahead and sing his praise, keep telling me how wonderful he is and-"

"Oh get off your high horse!" Lily shouted. "Remus is a great man, and if it weren't for you than maybe-" She broke off midsentence and her eyes widened. She stopped talking and took a step back.

"What?" He asked, turning around to see if there was something behind him.

"Nothing." She said quietly. "I forgot who I was speaking with for a moment is all. Forgive me, sir." James felt like rolling his eyes but settled for grinding his teeth.

"Maybe what?" He asked. That was too strange of a reaction for him not to press forward.

"Maybe nothing." Lily said. "I shouldn't have-"

"But you did. If it weren't for me, than maybe what?"

Lily sighed and kicked at the ground. "Let's just get you inside before you freeze. And I do have to get home soon."

"Maybe what, Lily?"

She huffed and started walking towards the tower again. They were almost there now, James could see the entrance. "Please stop asking me."

"Lily-"

"Drop it."

"Did you forget who you were talking to again?" James barely got the sentence out before the look on Lily's face darkened.

"I only said that because- Urgh! I just need you to forgive Remus!"

"Why? Why can't I be upset with him?"

"Because it's your fault that he said no to me!"

There was silence. Both of them had stopped walking. James was staring at Lily as though she had just punched him in the gut and Lily was standing with her hands on her hips looking up at the sky.

"What do you mean by that?" James asked quietly.

"He won't admit it, but I know that it's true. He spouted off some such nonsense about getting breathless or something, but- Well," She shrugged her shoulders. "I don't want to sound arrogant, but I know that he would like me."

"You fancy, Remus?"

"You already knew that."

"You told me that you didn't fancy him-"

"Well you were telling me that you were in love with me and I didn't want to hurt your feelings!"

"And now?"

"What do you mean, 'and now?' And now you found out that I'm really bad at keeping secrets. And that Remus really is a good mate."

James ran a hand through his hair and took a deep breath. "I'm in love with you, and you think a good way to get me to not be upset with Remus right now is to tell me that you fancy him?"

Lily threw her head back again and started tapping her foot. "I have nothing nice to say to you right now." She tilted her head back down and took a step closer to him. "Except that a whole lot of people are upset with you and your father and you can't afford to lose any of your friends, especially not friends that have special means of protecting you. He hurt your feelings, he wounded your pride, that's all well and good. If you need to be upset for a few days, than be upset, but just remember that Remus is your best mate, he cares about you, and you need him. Now, you're going to go up to Dumbledore's quarters, and I'm going to go home. I'll see you tomorrow."

James watched her walk halfway across the courtyard before he was able to find his voice again. "Why do you always leave whenever I tell you that I love you?" He watched her throw her hands in the air out of frustration. Finding himself frustrated as well, he walked into the tower with his hands clenched at his sides and stormed up the steps.

oOoOo

Remus and Sirius were sitting around the small table in the main room of Dumbledore's quarters. The older man had gone off to deliver medicines around the castle, but they stayed where they were, waiting for James. They were playing a card game that Sirius was exceptionally good at, and Remus was losing worse than usual because he wasn't able to concentrate on the cards in front of him. He had two horses and a pitch fork and he had forgotten what the pitch fork meant, but he didn't care enough to ask.

"You're not even trying." Sirius muttered, laying down a dog card and picking up another stack.

"How can you even tell? I've never even come close to beating you at this game." Sirius shrugged. Remus tapped his cards on the edge of the table. "I'm starting to get worried about him."

"Why? You think his dad is going to hurt him or something?"

"No. But Bella is in there too."

"I thought you said that Bella likes James."

"I doubt she'll like him all that much if she thinks he's killed people with magic."

"He's fine, Remus. You're starting to sound like Lily."

"Well, if you hang out with someone long enough they start to influence your way of thinking." Remus set his cards down and sighed. "You're really not worried?"

"I'm really not. It's only been-" He turned his head to look at the clock on the wall. "Almost four hours."

"Yes. Almost four hours. That's almost three hours longer than he said he would be."

Sirius shifted in his seat and set down his cards as well. "Remus, there's always the possibility that he just doesn't want to see you."

Remus narrowed his eyes and then pushed himself away from the table. "Right." He muttered. James had still been upset with him before, but he had needed Remus. Now that they were back in the castle, there was no reason for James to push back his feelings of betrayal. Maybe he had remembered the Remus had lied to him and decided not to come and meet with him. Remus shook his head and smiled ruefully at Sirius. "I almost forgot he was angry with me."

Someone knocked on the door and Remus and Sirius exchanged looks. "Come in." Remus called. The door swung open and James stood in the doorway. His face was blank, and his hands hung limply at his sides. "Are you alright?" Remus asked, stepping forward hesitantly.

"I would just like to have one day, where not everything goes to shite." He said quietly, stepping into the room and closing the door behind him. He walked slowly across the room and took a seat next to the fireplace. "I would like to have one day, where I can just go down and train my knights, eat dinner with my father and my sister, go out to the tavern with you lot and then just go to sleep. I miss being able to just go to sleep."

"What happened, mate?" Sirius asked, getting up from the table and going to take a seat next to James in front of the fireplace.

James took a deep breath and then laughed humorlessly. "I'm an idiot." He said solemnly. He looked up at Remus and shook his head. "You're not a bad bloke."

"Thanks." Remus muttered. "You're not a bad bloke either."

"I was. Then you showed up and flipped everything upside down."

"What?"

"Everything started to change when you came here." James reiterated. "Everything was just fine, and then you showed up and Bella tried to kill my dad, and Lily fell in love with you, and Leefside was attacked…"

"Lily's not in love with me-"

"Are you blaming Remus for-"

"No." James shook his head, ignoring Remus's half comment. "I'm not completely thick. I know that Bella would still be psychotic and my dad would still be ignorant. I just think that you coming here kicked everything into gear. It made things start happening. Does that even make sense?"

"Yes." Sirius nodded. "We were talking to Dumbledore about that Emrus character that Dory was going on about earlier, do you remember?" James nodded. "Dumbledore and Dory both think that Remus is Emrus. Emrus is this prophet that the magical community believes will reunite the divisions in our world." James looked over at Remus and Remus didn't know what to do. He wasn't convinced that he was this Emrus bloke, and he wasn't sure that he wanted James to think that he was. And there was the fact that James thought Lily was in love with Remus for some reason. He needed to fix that.

"I know that I shouldn't be upset with you about keeping your secret from me." He said, turning away to look in the fire. "I know that I should understand that the only reason you did it was to protect yourself. And I'll admit that I didn't really think of it like that until about fifteen minutes ago when Lily shouted at me, but still, it should make sense to me. Why would you tell me that you have magic when my dad has raised me to fear everything about magic? When he told me that magic is the reason that I don't have a mother. You didn't want to put me in a position where I would have to lie to my dad, or lose a friend. And while that does make sense to me, I'm still upset.

"Because you're my best mate, Remus. You've been with me for almost a year now, every single day. You've spent more time with me than anyone else this last year and you know that I'm not my father, you know that I'm different, that I've been trying really hard to prove to other people that I'm not going to turn around and start chopping people's heads off as soon as I'm king. You've been with me when I promoted Lance and Sirius to knights even though one of them won't show me his face and the other…" He trailed off and motioned at Sirius. "I'm not angry with you I suppose. I'm upset that even though you've been with me, and you've watched me trying to be a good person, forcefully encouraged me to be a good person at times, even though you were there for all of that, you of all people, didn't trust that I was different. You didn't trust me."

Remus took a deep breath and tried to digest everything that James had just said. He walked back over and sat down at the table again and then rested his head in his hand. "I was told my entire life that I wasn't allowed to tell anyone, James. I was always treated as though my magic, something that is a part of me, it's bad and dangerous and will probably get me killed. I never even made plans to tell you, or anyone, because I had always been told that it wasn't an option." He looked over at James who was still looking into the flames. "I didn't keep it from you because I didn't trust you, I kept it from you because that's what I was supposed to do. When Sirius found out and he didn't care, I couldn't believe it. I didn't understand why he could look at what I was doing and think it was amazing, when my own mother would get spooked and run out of the room every time I accidentally did something.

"And I liked you not knowing." He said, standing up. "I liked that you were my friend, and that you didn't know that there was anything wrong with me. I liked that I could just be… just be a person around you-"

"There's nothing wrong with you." Sirius interrupted. "You don't really think that do you?"

"Not really the point right now, but thanks, mate." Remus tapped his hand on the side of his leg glancing over at Sirius and smiling.

James stood up and ran a hand through his hair. "I know. Everything you said makes sense, but I'm just going to be upset for a while. And it's probably not your fault; it's just with everything else going on right now and then all of this extra shite." His hand rested at the base of his neck and he closed his eyes. "I didn't come here to yell at you or anything. We've got some more important problems to deal with than injured pride right now."

Sirius stood up as well, letting out a deep breath. "Well I'm glad that's over because I was starting to feel uncomfortable. Are you sure you don't want to hit anything though?" He looked at James. "Not that I'm suggesting you hit Remus, I don't think that you should do that, but maybe something?"

"I'm good." James said, almost smiling. "Although I do sort of feel like punching Remus."

"Because of the magic thing?"

"No, the Lily thing."

"Right. When did you find out about that?"

"She just yelled it at me in the courtyard." James said. "I'm trying not to think about it."

"Yelled what at you?" Remus asked, despite himself, knowing that for James' sake he should let it alone. "I already talked to her. Weeks ago."

"Yes, she mentioned that too." James sighed and leaned up against the wall. "She fancies you." He shook his head. "But like I said before, we have more important things to worry about right now."

"She said she was over me." Remus looked down at the ground. She had said that, hadn't she? Now he wasn't sure.

"Remus," James snapped his fingers to get his attention. "More important things."

"Lily's pretty important." Remus said. "And you have feelings for her-"

"Remus," James pushed himself off the wall. "It's fine for now. My father knew that the reason he got sick before was because Bella was trying to kill him. Apparently she tried to do it again while we were gone, but he talked her out of it or changed her mind somehow."

"What?" Sirius narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean he knew? He knows now because you told him, or-"

"Or he's known the entire time and for some reason hasn't done anything about it." James said. "And he knows she has magic too. He's always known and he got mad at me for disagreeing with how he's chosen to handle the situation. He sent both me and Bella to our rooms because we wouldn't stop yelling at him. I had to sneak out my window and then double back through town so no one would know where I was."

"He sent you to your room?" Sirius asked, quirking an eyebrow. "Are you a child?"

James sighed. "Apparently. What are we going to do though? How are we going to convince him that we need to take at least some measures to ensure that Bella doesn't try to kill anyone anymore?"

"Do you really think that we can talk sense into your father?" Remus asked, sounding only slightly hesitant. "You've tried to do that how many times over the last year alone? We've been kicked out of the throne room for suggesting far simpler things than imprisoning his ward."

"His daughter." James corrected. "He made that very clear."

"She tried to kill him and he's still calling her his daughter?" Sirius laughed. "Your dad is just as insane as she is."

James looked ready to argue for a moment but then shrugged. "I don't understand why he's acting like this. It doesn't make any sense. She tried to kill him. Twice."

"So what are we going to do? If we're not going to be able to talk some sense into her."

"We need to get her out of Camelot." James said. "I was hoping you two could help me think of a plan."

"Do we think that Bella is working alone?" Sirius asked. "Because I've known my cousin my entire life, and she's only ever been good at holding opinions that other people hand her."

"You think someone is trying to get her to kill my father?"

"Using her pre-existing hatred of him to further their own agenda? Why not?"

"Well it can't be her sister." Remus said. "When Lily and I followed her into the woods, we heard Narcissa tell Bella that she needed to stop trying to kill the king."

"Do you think there's a chance that those men in Godric's Hollow got word to her somehow?" Sirius asked.

"How would they have…" James broke off. "I guess if they were responsible for the fire in Leefside, they could have talked to her then."

"But it still would have been hard for a group of men to enter the castle without anyone noticing."

"Guards were rushing about all over the place." James shrugged. "All they would have had to do were find a few uniforms and sneak in quietly. No one would have paid them any attention."

Sirius furrowed his brow. "I hope that's not true."

"It's not true." Remus sighed. "James hates the castle guards."

"They want to be knights, but they're not good enough." James shrugged.

"They would still notice if a group of unfamiliar men entered the castle and started walking around." Remus countered. "But if it were just one man… Do you remember the way that they were talking? They said that they weren't allowed to kill any of us. It sounded like they had orders."

"Who would have given them orders?" Sirius asked.

"Who would have told Bella to kill the king?" Remus countered. "I think they have a leader."

"We'll need to talk to Bella then." James sighed. "See what we can get out of her."

"Maybe we should send Remus to talk to her." Sirius suggested. "Him being Emrus and all, it's supposed to mean that he's got really powerful magic."

"I'm not going to send Remus in by himself." James sighed. "Let's go down to the Knight's quarters and see if Lance is around. There's a good chance Dory's with him and I'm willing to bet that she'll want to help us out." He looked over at Remus. "You should go and talk to Lily."

Remus was surprised that James' tone wasn't more biting. "Are you sure? There will be time for that later."

"Yes, I'm sure." He nodded, walking towards the door. He pulled it open and let Sirius walk out ahead of him before he turned back and looked at Remus. "If you like her, then there's no reason the two of you shouldn't be together-"

"Shut up, James." Remus interrupted.

"I mean it, Remus." He said, looking Remus in the eye. "She fancies you and if you fancy her… I just want her to be happy."