AN: Three amazing things: 1) I am updating ONE DAY after my last update!!! incredible no? 2) this chapter is long! well, by my standards. 3) I really like this chapter!!! which doesn't usually happen. Now, I did insinuate something in this chapter which, to be honest, you're all gonna go, 'oh no!' at next chapter. very sorry, but it has been coming from the beginning. hehehe. sigh. umm, what else. Umm, if you haven't read Earthworms (the prequel to this), well, it doesn't really matter, but I have mentioned Sarah's name change which happened in chapter 10 of that fic, i think. Not really important, but just in case you were wondering where that came from. Again, thanks for all my amazing reviews...

Ocean of Dreams: Thanks so much! good to be back:o) Princess Eclpise: Thanks! This quick enough? hehe. I'm so impressed with myself...lol Raquelita: Glad you like it! Funny thing about the M-rated bit - that one chapter story has got more hits than all of the chaps of this one put together!! piggy396: haha, no not sick, just that sort of described my bla feelings towards last chapter. 'eep' describes this one :o) oh, and Lily doesn't get on with her family...i go into that quite a bit in the prequel to this story called earthworms..., chapter 12 especially i think. you should read it! thanks again! stardust718: first happy chapter in quite a while, i know! I'm not sure if I'm going to get to their wedding in this story. wasn't really planning on it. u think i should? james-s2-lily: better? haha, next update prob won't be quite so quick, but i promise it wont be as slow as the last one! thanks for sticking with me!! sarena678 & An Aspiring Author: hehe, you'll have to wait and see! But don't worry, James is a good guy! and don't be so quick to trust Sally...;o) And to everyone else, thanks so much for the reviews!

Righto, enjoy!

"Hey, why do I know the name Nathaniel Taylor?"

Remus looked up from his book as Sirius strode into the room, a newspaper open in front of his nose. He was sprawled on a sofa, attempting to read in the half light filtering through the grimy windows of Sirius' flat.

"Taylor? Wasn't that Sarah's last name before she changed it?"

Sirius looked at him blankly.

"Sarah?" Remus tried again. "The girl currently asleep in your bedroom…ring any bells?"

Sirius shot him a withering look and sunk into an armchair. "I know who Sarah is. But her last name's Zabini."

"Which is why I said, 'before she changed it.' Listen Sirius."

He continued to stare blankly at the now exasperated boy across from him. "She changed her last name? When? More importantly, why?"

Remus gave him an incredulous look, and tossed put his book down. "Honestly, Padfoot, the girl you've been shagging since third year has only been Zabini since last year. Taylor's her father's last name. Apparently he ran out on them not long after she was born, so she took her mother's last name instead."

"How do you know all this?"

"How do you not know all of this?" Remus picked up his book and hid behind it once more.

"So, Nathaniel Taylor is…"

"Nate, I assume. Her brother. He was in the year above us. Honestly, did you even go to Hogwarts?" A long silence followed, and Remus finally peered around his book to see Sirius, half-shocked, half-wary, staring at the Daily Prophet. "What's happened to him?"

Sirius pursed his lips, then looked up at his friend through his dark fringe. "He's dead."

---

"Shouldn't you be downstairs with the other giggling bride's maids?" James asked, lazily kissing the top of Lily's head.

"No," she replied, her fingers tickling his chest and the sparse hairs that grew there. They'd pushed all the flowers onto the floor, and were now curled up underneath her blankets, listening to the soft thumping of music drifting up from downstairs. "I'm happy right here. And besides," she shifted so she could reach his lips. "I'm not a bride's maid. More like an unwelcome guest."

"Lily -" James began, attempting to sit up.

"James, it's ok. My family's shit, I know that. My sister hasn't spoken to me since I was eleven. My mother's a flake who worries more about my weight than my wellbeing. My father…well, you shouldn't speak ill of the dead."

James looked at her, his eyes worried. He wished he could take it all away from her – all the pain she'd ever felt.

"And I don't really remember my brother much. I was so young, and he was five years older than me. He always looked after me and Tuney, though. God, I loved him. I just couldn't understand where he'd gone after he died."

"How did he die?"

"He fell out of a tree and broke his neck. Petunia found him."

Wrapping his arms even tighter around her, James closed his eyes and breathed in her scent. Maybe if he loved her enough, it would all be okay.

"My mother," James began, his voice very soft. "She was never really that interested in my father or me. I mean, I loved her with all my heart, but she was always distant. It was my father who really raised me. He was my hero as a little kid – so big and strong." James closed his eyes and sighed. "But then I grew up and saw how weak he really was. My mother was having numerous affairs behind his back and he knew about it, but did nothing. He was such a coward. He loved her so much, he refused to see that she didn't love him."

Lily watched him, not saying a word. He'd never spoken about his family before. As a child, he'd seemed to so pampered and loved. She'd always pictured two adoring parents who gave their son everything he'd ever wanted. He was a child at the centre of his parents' universe.

"They got married because Mother was pregnant with me. I was born in March, they got married the previous September. I'm not stupid, I could work it out." He paused. "Having me ruined her entire life." He seemed to have finally said what he'd been thinking for years.

"James, please don't say that. If she hadn't had you…what would I do?"

He squeezed his eyes tighter, and pressed his forehead against hers. "We'll have a normal family ok?"

"Yes," Lily whispered. "A little boy and a little girl. And…and Sally's child too, of course."

"I am so sorry, Lily. I never wanted to hurt you."

She felt something wet fall onto her face and realised he was crying. "Accidents happen," she murmured. "I'm not angry. We'll make this work, I promise." She kissed him softly. "Come on, let's get dressed. It's time I introduced the unwelcome guest's unwelcome guest to my mum and Petunia, I suppose."

---

"Sarah, say something."

She looked so small sitting on his bed, her long dark hair still mussed from sleep, her thin frame shrouded in an overlarge shirt of Sirius'.

"Sarah, please."

"I'm out," she said finally, her voice as dead as her face.

Sirius frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I'm not doing it anymore. I'm out." She glared at him. "You can all carry on risking your necks, but I won't do it anymore. Everyone's going to die; that's how this ends, Sirius. We all die."

"He wasn't even in the Order," he began gently, only to be cut off.

"Exactly." She jumped out of bed and pulled on her discarded jeans. "So what chance do the rest of us stand?" She moved over to him, took him by the neck, and kissed him desperately, before pulling away and running through the open doorway. He heard Remus say something in the next room, then the front door slammed shut, and he was left standing completely alone, gazing out of the window at the dark grey sky.

"What happened?" It was Remus, standing in the doorway, his arms folded. "What did you say to her?"

Spinning around to face him, Sirius glared at his friend. "I just told her the truth," he spat. "And she ran. She said we were all going to die, and she ran."

"Shit," whispered Remus. Then he frowned. "What exactly did you say to her?"

"I told her her brother was dead!" Sirius yelled. "Exactly how many ways are there to do that? Sorry if I'm not the king of sensitivity but I did my best!" His chest heaved in anger as he glared furiously at Remus.

"Sorry," Remus muttered. "I didn't mean -"

"Yeah, well you never do, Remus. You never mean to make me feel like shit, but you're always doing it. Even now, when the only girl I've ever actually cared about has gone, and I know I'm never going to see her again, you still treat me like it's all my fault."

Remus took a step forward, his arm outstretched, his eyes wide. "Sirius, please, I never meant…"

"Yeah, well –" Sirius began but froze when he heard the front door creak open. Pushing past Remus, he ran out into the living room, only to droop in disappointment as Peter slunk into the flat.

"Hi," he said nervously, closing the door behind him, and wringing his hands. "What's going on?"

"Sarah's gone," Sirius spat, turning away from him to stand by the window and gaze down at the deserted muggle street below.

"Gone?" Peter asked tentatively.

"Her brother died," Remus said gently, crossing the room to Sirius and resting a hand on his shoulder. "She'll come back, Padfoot."

"No," he said simply. "No, she won't. She's gone."

"Maybe we should go after her?" Peter suggested, glancing around the room, as if he half expected someone to jump out at him.

"Oh great idea," Sirius said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Only one little problem. We have no idea where the fuck she's gone."

Remus squeezed his friend's shoulder in condolence, wishing he could do more to help. But there was nothing any of them could do. They all knew Sarah, and they all knew she wouldn't come back. Sirius sighed and covered Remus' hand with his own, before turning around and facing Peter. "Been a while, Wormtail. Mother still sick?"

"Getting better," Peter muttered, his face turning pink. Sirius snorted. "We should go to James."

"Why?" asked Remus.

Peter blushed harder. "Well, he might know what to do. And anyway, he's with Lily, isn't he? She'll want to know her best friend's brother just died."

Remus nodded, "Yeah, she'll need to be told."

"I'll go," Sirius said, striding across the room and yanking open the front door. He stepped outside and disappeared with a crack.

Remus rolled his eyes. "I better go too, Pete. You know what Sirius is like." Following his friend, he disapparated also, leaving Peter standing alone.

With another tentative look around, Peter smiled to himself, and drew back his sleeve, pressing a stubby finger to a faint mark on his forearm. He then drew Nathan Taylor's wand out of his robes and studied it. He muttered a few words and, with a crack, it disappeared. Then, without a backward glance, Peter scurried from the apartment, slamming the door behind him.

---

"This is a bit boring," James muttered, attempting to cover a yawn with the back of his hand.

"Shh," Lily muttered, trying not to let her mind wander as the priest droned on and on, and her sister gazed dreamily at the large man in front of her. "I'm amazed at how much Vernon looks like his sister."

"Yeah," James whispered back, grinning. "If you look closely though, you can tell them apart: he's got bigger breasts, and her moustache is bushier."

Lily snorted and elbowed him, as other wedding guests turned to glare at them, and press their fingers to their lips. Two loud cracks sounded suddenly from outside the church walls. The priest faltered and looked around the large chapel before carrying on. James and Lily, however, were not so quick to brush the noise off. They looked nervously at each other, the smiles wiped from their faces. Movement out of the corner of her eye made Lily turn her head. Her mouth fell open as she saw Sirius, followed closely by Remus, slip through a side door, and gaze warily around the full room. "Oh, I'm going to kill them," she muttered, but her words were drowned out by the cheering of the crowd as Petunia and Vernon shared their first kiss as a married couple.

In the commotion that followed, Lily and James pushed their way through the crowd until they found Sirius and Remus.

"That was a…um…lovely service," Remus said, scratching his nose. "Sorry, we didn't realise the ceremony was still going on."

"What are you doing here?" James asked, his eyes on Sirius. Something was wrong.

"Sarah's brother was killed this morning," he replied. "When we told her, she ran."

"You don't know where she went?" James asked, finding Lily's hand and squeezing it.

"No," Remus said, glancing at Lily sympathetically.

All four spun around suddenly as more loud cracks sounded from outside, and someone screamed. Looking panic-stricken, Lily ran from the church out into the drizzling, cold September day. Robed figures were dotted amongst the party guests, their wands held high, sparks shooting into the air. People ran in all directions, screaming and yelling in fear. Someone collided into Lily's back and she tripped down a few steps, before running into the crowd, searching frantically for her mother and sister.

"What have you done?" Petunia's scream came from her left and she turned, grabbing her bony wrist.

"Where's Mum?" Lily yelled.

"You've ruined my wedding, you bitch! You've ruined everything!"

"Remus!" Lily grabbed wildly for her friend, still not letting go of her struggling sister. "Remus, get her to safety, please!" He nodded, taking Petunia's shoulder as her hands were occupied with Lily and Vernon. With a crack, he disappeared, pulling the newly married couple with him.

Dodging a jet of light, Lily spun around frantically, trying to catch sight of her mother's platinum bob. Muggles ran everywhere as masked wizards wandered through the panicking people, apparently searching for someone. Then she saw it, her mother's bright blonde hair bobbing in the distance. But at that exact same moment, Lily watched as a flash of red light hit James squarely in the chest, and he fell to the ground, his head hitting the pavement with a sickening crack.

"No!" Lily screamed, running towards him and crashing accidentally into Sirius as she went. "Sirius, please, my mother. Get her to safety!" She pointed to the hyperventilating woman as she continued to run to James.

"Got ya, girlie," someone muttered in her ear as strong arms clasped around her middle and lifted her off her feet. "Won't be gettin' away this time." And everything went black.

Cliffhanger. Ooh. Please leave a review! Really, truly love every single one of 'em. Oh, and if you've got time, I uploaded a new story. It's called "Lily's Story", so go check it out. Oh, and (random) but does anyone know what colour Ron's eyes are? (Or if that's even mentioned?) Writing a little ficlet and got quite severley told off once for getting the character's eye colour wrong...thanks so much for reading! xx annie