"What happened to you?"

Lupin looked at Lily, his brown eyes filled with sadness. "I ran."

"From who?"

Sirius sat down on the couch opposite them, and Aden walked into the kitchen, coming out with a large glass of some steaming substance."Drink." Aden said soothingly, and he gulped it down quickly.

"What was that?" He asked, the drink warming every inch of his body.

Aden raised her eyebrows suggestively, and said, "Secret family recipe."

Lily groaned and threw a pillow at her. "Seriously, Moony. What happened?"

Remus sighed, leaning back against the couch. "Let's start from the beginning I guess…when James died." Lily winced, feeling horrible for not going to him. But he continued:

"I had just gotten a job at Diagon Alley. I was working at Madam Malkin's, just a bit of a help around the store. There wasn't much to help with, let me tell you, death eaters everywhere. Then, on Halloween, they all just…disappeared."

"Where'd they go?" Sirius asked.

"Well, I found out later on that Voldemort had told them all to go into hiding, to prepare for a big celebration that night."

"How?"

"I have my sources." Remus said, his brown eyes sparkling with mischief for a moment. "But back to the story. I didn't get news of anything for a few months, but…I knew something was up. Death eaters haven't been around that much anymore. I mean, there's the occasional riot or something but…" He sighed. "It's like Voldemort's taking a break."

"A…break?" Aden asked incredulously. She leaned over, resting her head in Sirius's lap. "Right. Like the most powerful dark wizard in the world will take a break."

"I never said I was right, but it's weird." Remus said. "But when I found out about James, like I said, I had known something was up for a while. I hadn't gotten any letters from anyone for a long time, which was weird."

"I'm sorry!" Lily blurted out suddenly, cutting him off. "I-I was so upset! And then there was so much to do, and so much going on, and-and-I just, I-" Her eyes filled with tears, and Remus turned towards her, grasping her hands.

"Its fine, Lily." He said calmingly. "I understand completely. Reality, it can…take control."

Lily nodded her head, looking down so he couldn't see the few tears falling down her cheeks.

"Anyways. I was terrified, to be blunt. I didn't go to work for almost a month. James was dead, and Lily and Harry had disappeared off the face of the Earth. I didn't know what to do. So I continued with everyday life. Worked. Went home. Drank. Got drunk. Slept. Woke up. Drank a special potion, making sure I wouldn't act hungover. Repeat." He sighed. "It was a pretty sorry existence."

Lily groaned, putting her head in her hands. "I made your existence horrible!"

Remus looked up at Sirius. "Is she always this emotional?"

"Only when she's pregnant." Sirius responded. Aden smacked his chest, making him shut up.

"Lily, do you want to hear the rest of the story?" Remus sounded like he was coaxing a five year old, but it worked. Lily lifted up her head, still silent. "Anyways, I lost my job about a month or two ago. That old toad, Umbridge, she's been trying to pass legislations against half-breeds for years. Well, she finally got one through, and it put me in a very bad situation. Madam Malkin knew about my situation, but now…she was forced to care."

Sirius's fists were clenched, and Lily looked horrified. Aden, who had worked with Umbridge in the past, looked annoyed.

"It wasn't very big though, not now. It just said that 'potentially dangerous' half breeds like me shouldn't be working in close contact with humans. I was forced out of work." Remus looked saddened by this thought, his eyes lifeless and empty. "I had enough money to get by…for about a week and a half. That was when Sirius contacted me. Then I got my house taken away, and…I ran. I knew if I didn't leave soon, Umbridge would somehow get me killed. So I came where Sirius had told me about."

Lily was silent. She couldn't believe that one of her best friends had gone through so much hell in the past eight months and survived.

Just barely survived. She thought, looking at him.

He was skinny, way skinnier than usual. His clothes looked way too big for him, and his face was hollow. All Lily wanted to do was stuff food into him and fatten him up.

"Moony that's just…horrible." Lily said, looking unnerved. Remus just shrugged and rubbed his head in his hands. Sirius looked disturbed, as though he wanted to kill someone. Aden still looked annoyed, and she sat up quickly.

"That old bat, Dolores!" She said. "I wish I had gotten her out of the ministry when I had the chance…"

Aden had always been friendly with the Marauders, but she was getting a feeling of protectiveness over Lupin now. Maybe it was the fact that he just looked like a lost puppy at the moment, but she was angry.

Upstairs, a baby started crying suddenly. Lily got up, stretching.

"I'll go." She said, straightening her shirt. "She's probably hungry."

Remus stretched out a little, putting his feet on the coffee table between the couches. Then-

"Wait, she? Who's she?"

"Oh, it's Lily's new kid." Sirius said, grinning at Lupin. Lupin jumped up and chased after Lily, running two stairs at a time. He entered the little pink room, and saw Lily rocking the baby, feeding her a bottle. He stopped, and Lily raised a finger to her lips. The little baby sucked the bottle eagerly, and Lily was murmuring a lullaby under her breath.

Lupin stepped forward slowly, his breath taken away. Lily bounced her up and down a bit, and then turned to him.

"Want to hold her?" She whispered, holding Jaime out. Lupin nodded slowly and reached his arms out. Lily slid her in, careful not to jostle the baby.

Lupin rocked her back and forth a little, marveling at her red hair. Her eyes opened, and Lupin gasped at how shockingly green they were. She looks just like Lily. He thought.

"What's her name?" He whispered.

"Jaime." Lily said, smiling and sitting down in the huge chair in the corner. Lupin smiled, looking down at the baby.

"Jaime…" He said, stroking her hair. She wrapped her hand around his finger, and he smiled. "Sounds like James."

AN: Double chapter update day! Weekends without homework are just great, aren't they? Probably more for you guys, I've been writing all day.
I loooooove Lupin. He's adorable. So wonder what's going to happen next? Probably a super boring chapter :P Anyways, what do you want to happen with Lupin? And what should the gender of the twins be? I have a bit of a plan…
Please review! I love you all! Xoxo.