So I know it's been a while but I was hoping for more reviews which didn't happen. Oh well. Thanks to and the rest of you for reading even though I wish more of you would review and tell me what you're thinking.

Betas for this chapter are: LittleDrummerGirl2010 and Prongs Smitch. You guys are great.

Chapter 20: Fights Lead to Making Up

Mandy stood on a step about halfway down the staircase over-looking a wide and expensive looking foyer. At the bottom of the stairs and to her right, a set of French doors opened into a large ballroom while to the left was an archway that led into a room that held only a large fireplace. Mandy knew it was the only fireplace in the large manor connected to the floo network. She swept down the stairs and turned to her right rounding the end of the staircase to look at the door opposite the front door. The doors that lead to the ballroom were now on her left with the stairs on the right. Instead of entering the ballroom, Mandy headed for the other door. Beyond that door was the kitchen, dining room and sitting room. The kitchen led through to the dining room and then into the room with the fireplace. Opposite of the kitchen was the sitting room and a couple meters in front of her was the door that lead out to the expansive back yard.

Mandy walked past the small powder room on her left, just before the entrance to the sitting room, and entered the kitchen. She grabbed a snack from the cupboard and turned to head up the spiral staircase in the corner of the kitchen when a flash of light caught her eye. Why would a red flash of light be coming through the sitting room door? She wasn't sure but it was worth finding out.

Her curiosity got the better of her and she headed back through the kitchen door. The moment she stepped through the door out of the kitchen and into the hallway, green light lit up the sitting room for a split second. A second flash seconds later piqued her curiosity even more and Mandy reached for the sitting room door. She heard several loud pops that sounded like apparition. Mandy held her breath for six long seconds then when she didn't hear anything else she stepped towards the door slowly pulling it open. The moment the door opened, a cat bolted through. Mandy watched the black cat enter the kitchen then Mandy entered the sitting room. The first thing she saw was her mum lying not far from the couch on the floor. Lynn Hunter looked almost angry as she stared at the ceiling. Mandy's eyes traveled further to find Scott lying on his stomach not far from his wife but Mandy couldn't see his face. Mandy reached for her dad to roll him over but arms wrapped around her middle and pulled her back. Mandy screamed trying to pull away from whoever was behind her.

Suddenly she was no longer screaming or staring at her dead parents. The sitting room had disappeared and transformed into the seventh year girls' dormitory. Mandy was now staring across the room at Shelly's sleeping form. Mandy took a couple deep breaths trying to calm down but the dream had been so vivid she was afraid she wouldn't be able to. When nothing she was trying was working (deep breathing, reminding herself it was just a dream, repeating the 12 uses of dragon's blood, and the most popular types of creatures in the Forbidden Forest) she got out of bed, threw on her dressing gown and went downstairs to the Common Room. Looking around the very tidy room also did nothing for her so she resorted to the one thing she knew that would help.

It never mattered how she had been feeling recently, when it came right down to it there was only one person who could talk her down after a nightmare like that. As much as her stubbornness and head were screaming not to do it, her heart and her feet knew she had no other choice. That's why her feet had lead her across the Common Room, up the stairs, and over to his bed. Once more her head told her to run to the other side of the room but her feet wouldn't let her. Involuntarily she knelt on the edge of the bed and began bouncing up and down and words fell from her mouth without her consent.

"Wake up, come on, please get up. Come on get up." When that didn't work, "James, wake up," Mandy growled harshly.

James's eyes flew open and his hand shot out from under his pillow aiming his wand at her throat. Mandy instantly stopped bouncing and swallowed hard. James dropped his wand and rolled on to his back reaching for the bedside table. When he found what he was looking for he pulled it to him and held it close to his face for a moment then set it back down. "It's 3 a.m. What's going on?" James asked. He must have picked up his watch.

"James," Mandy breathed.

"Mandy? What's wrong?" James sat up and looked at the younger girl. "You must be freezing, come here." James held up his blankets the best he could since Mandy was still kneeling on them. Mandy trembled but she wasn't sure if it was from the cold or the fear of him being mad at her.

"You're not mad at me, are you?" Mandy asked.

"No, now get under here before you freeze to death." Mandy sighed but climbed under the covers and allowed James to tuck her close to his side. Though James was a little upset over the whole secret, even if it was his fault, he was still worried about his friend. He also couldn't see anything farther than 12 inches clearly without his glasses but he could see Mandy. He hadn't seen Mandy this upset since Christmas and that worried him.

"I had a nightmare."

James nearly sighed with relief. He could handle nightmares. At least most of the time. "What happened? Were you being attacked?" he asked gently.

"No. I was in the house when my parents died."

James's brow creased with confusion. "No, you weren't, you were here. It was a Sunday and Lily had convinced you to study with her."

Sure, that was technically true. April 10th, 1977 had been a Sunday and Mandy had spent most of the day studying with Lily and the girls but that wasn't what she meant. In fact Mandy hadn't found out until the following day just before dinner what had happened.

"That's not what I meant."

"Talk to me, Stripes."

"In the dream, I was in the kitchen getting a snack when I saw a flash out of the corner of my eye." Mandy told him what else had happened and how she had woken up. James instantly wrapped both arms around her, holding her as she cried.

"You don't know that's how they died. Even if it is, it was quick and painless. The—"

"James, Jason told me he was forced to watch as—" Mandy swallowed thickly, "as he tortured them. There was nothing painless about their deaths."

"I know, Stripes, and I'm sorry for suggesting that it was." James stopped not sure what else to say. Even though he had known Mandy for close to 13 years sometimes he still felt completely out of his element with her. So he stroked her head and hoped something would come to him.

Thankfully she spoke first. "Do you think it's my—"

"It is not your fault. Their death had nothing to do with you. They were extremely good at what they did and they got too close. Voldemort saw them as a threat and took them out."

"If they were that good and he was still able to take them out then where is the hope for any of us?"

"Training and the drive to get him back. You want revenge, bad, but at the same time you want a better world for our children, I mean—"

"I know what you meant."

"And that will drive you to be just as good as or even better than your parents."

"You really think I can be better than them?"

"With training and the proper motivation." James and Mandy continued to lay in silence for a while before James spoke again. "I'm sorry." James said.

"Don't be." Mandy said roughly. She didn't want him to feel like he had to apologize.

"I have to Mandy. I was wrong and it wasn't my secret to share. You're my best friend and I shouldn't have taken that for granted. I did that by telling Remus and Sirius our secret. I didn't even begin to think that it would make you feel terrible or betrayed. Even if I had every right," Mandy was shocked that he knew exactly what she had been about to protest, "I still should have talked to you to make sure it was okay. I didn't tell you that Sirius, Peter, and I were Animagi without getting their opinion first so I shouldn't have done it to you."

"Thank you," Mandy answered. "James, you were right to tell them, it was your secret and I shouldn't have gotten mad."

"Neither of us should have been talking about that secret without the other one there. We're okay now, right?" Though he didn't look worried Mandy could tell by his voice that James thought he'd never get his best friend back. Mandy looked at him carefully then snuggled in resting her head against his chest. She knew he'd realize that it meant they were okay even if she didn't say it. James smiled and held her close.

"James, what happened in Hogsmeade—"

"I was surprised you left," James said.

"You asked me too. Do you know who you were fighting against?"

"Voldemort. He's slowly amassing an army to bring down the ministry and create a new Wizarding World. He wants wizards to rule over every one. Says we're better than everyone. Those who fight against them will go down. At least in his mind they will. His followers call themselves Death Eaters."

"Clever name."

"Yeah," James snorted softly, "I don't know who they are by name but word has it that most of them are Slytherins. Mostly past Slytherins but one or two of them are current. People who seem to think he has the right idea."

"I know about Voldemort and about his Death Eaters; I just wanted to know if you knew any names."

"Sirius says a lot of his family is involved."

"Do you think it's anyone we know? Not automatically including Snape or anything but—"

"I don't know. Maybe. The thing about Death Eaters is that they could be anyone."

"I'm kinda scared," Mandy said, snuggling close to James.

"Me too." James whispered, hugging her tightly.

Slowly they both fell back asleep.

"And I'm just saying I think we should wake them. You know James gets cranky when he doesn't have breakfast." That was the first thing Mandy heard when she woke up Tuesday morning. It sounded a lot like Sirius but Mandy's still half asleep brain couldn't distinguish whose voice it was.

"And I'm telling you that waking Mandy isn't a smart idea." That was Remus's voice.

"Can't we just wake him but not her?" Peter said. His voice was instantly recognizable.

"I don't know Pete, I'm not sure that's possible." The first voice said. The voice was starting to sink through the fog around her brain.

"I think you're just jealous that she ran to James for comfort instead of you," Remus said. So that meant the third voice was definitely Sirius's.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Sirius snapped. "She's my girlfriend and yet every time something bad happens she runs straight to him. Do you know what that does to a man?"

"Shh, or you'll wake them. James, we can handle but you do not want to wake her." Remus hissed.

"Green is not your color, Pads," a new voice said.

"I think it's too late for that, Rem," Peter said. Mandy peeked out from under her lashes to see James still had his eyes closed but he was grinning.

"I'm not green because I don't envy you, I just—"

"Maybe not, but your eyes have turned an interesting shade of green."

"I don't care—" Sirius started loudly.

"Hush!" James hissed at his friend. "You wake her and I will kill you. She's only had a couple hours of undisturbed sleep." He didn't realize it was an empty threat since Mandy was already awake.

"What happened?" Sirius asked, lowering his voice.

"A nightmare," James answered. All three other boys looked at him but James refused to say anymore.

"Why does she always run to you?" Sirius asked. "Does she not—"

"We've been friends for years, Sirius. She trusts me. That's not to say she doesn't trust you," James rolled on his back and looked up at his friends. "It's just that her instincts are to run to me and not you. Would you like me to push her away?"

"The last time you did that Sirius intervened to get the two of you back together," Peter reminded them.

"No, I don't want you to push her away," Sirius sighed.

"Good, she'll come to you one day," James answered. "For now, watch and learn." James rolled back on his side, ran a hand through Mandy's hair, then kissed her forehead. "Mandy-bear, time to wake up."

Mandy waited a few seconds, yawned, then answered. "I don't want to, Papa Bear." Though Mandy had never called him that before, James knew she didn't really mean anything by it.

"I know." James laughed. "Don't you want breakfast?"

"You can bring me some."

"Not in my bed."

Mandy rolled her eyes under her closed lids but finally got up. Sirius questioned her about the nightmare that had driven her back to James but Mandy claimed not to remember it.

"Wait, if you didn't remember the dream how did you tell us what it was about?" Devin asked curiously. Mandy smirked.

"She said she claimed not to remember it, not that she didn't remember it. I actually found out maybe a month later," Sirius answered, smiling at his son.

"So what was it about?" Devin asked.

"You'll find out, just not yet," Mandy answered.

That afternoon Remus hauled Mandy back in to the boys' dorm and performed his strongest repellant ward on the door so if anyone approached they would remember something they had to do in another room. "What's wrong, Rem?" Mandy asked, looking at him concerned. Usually he wasn't the forceful type.

"I appreciate the boys being there, I really do, but when you're there I worry less," Remus answered sitting down on his trunk.

"Where?" Mandy asked confused as she sat down next to him.

"In the shack on full moons."

"Why do you worry less? I'm just me."

"You're a full grown brown bear. Why wouldn't I feel safer? Padfoot and Moony are about evenly matched, Moony could take down Prongs if he really wanted to but one on one the only one Moony isn't a match for is your bear, you need a name for your bear, but it's true. Moony could probably out run her but he couldn't win in a fight."

"We could call her Fuzzy Wuzzy."

"The bear with no hair?"

"Bears have fur, not hair."

"That's debatable. Anyway, what I actually brought you up here for, why haven't you been there, Mandy?"

"I can't," Mandy answered simply.

"I know Moony can be scary, and I could never force you to help me if you felt uncomfortable, but—"

"No Rem, I mean I really can't. The last time I was able to transform was in December and, even then, I had to concentrate harder than I ever had to before. Watch." Mandy stood up and knelt on the floor, concentrating her hardest on trying to transform but nothing happened. Then she stood, looking at Remus. "Nothing. I have tried everything I can think of and I cannot transform."

"That's not exactly true. Your eyes changed colors. From blue to amber. Do you think that it has anything to do with the baby?" Remus asked.

"McGonagall said it was possible in the early stages but I've been pregnant since October and it's the end of March. That's nearly six months. I should be over that by now." Mandy snapped frustrated. "I'm sorry, Remy."

"I'm sure it's only temporary," Remus answered, brushing off her apology.

"What if it's not?" Mandy asked.

"You'll figure something out, you always do."

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