"You can't be in here, Sirius," James stated the obvious for them both. "Can you please come back later? I don't really feel too marvelous right now."
"You don't really look too marvelous right now. This Lily thing is really messing with you, isn't it? Are you not sleeping again? I thought that eased up awhile back."
"I'm just restless is all. Seriously, though, can you get out of here? I'd prefer to be alone."
"Nope. Sorry, but I'm not going to let you wallow in misery." Sirius searched for a chair to sit on, but couldn't find one. "Wow, you really are solitary in here. Amazing." He ended up blocking the door so James couldn't escape. "You will be interested to know that I talked to Lily today. I asked her to dinner…not like that," he said in a hurry at the shocked look on James's face. "It was the weirdest thing because now that I think about it, she talked the entire time without saying anything, and I didn't even realize it. All I really know now that I didn't know for sure before is that she's planning on divorcing you."
"That's nice to know. Do you want a drink?" James asked, pulling a decanter filled with Scotch out.
"No. I don't really think so," Sirius stated, knowing exactly where that landed them before. "She wants to get the kid in a nursery school, take some cooking classes, and get a job."
"Why does she want a job?"
"Probably because the money the department is giving her won't last forever. But that's only my guess."
"She looks good, doesn't she?"
"Are you missing the issue here?" Sirius asked loudly. "SHE WANTS A DIVORCE! Are you going to stand for that?"
"I think you're the one missing the point. She is alive, Sirius. I can handle that now, I can get things in my control. I cannot bring people back from the dead, though, she was lost to me. But now she isn't, I have a chance. First, though, I have to figure some stuff out."
"I think she wants the divorce now, not next year."
"I realize that; it takes two signatures for that to be legal, and mine's one of them." James smiled, feeling so much calmer than he had in an endless period of time. He had control of the situation.
*~*~*
Lily had fallen asleep the same time as Celeste during her afternoon naptime; the feeling of being overwhelmed had taken over. Even with the deluge of conflicts in her life right now, she slept peacefully, not feeling the physical and mental turmoil she had nearly adapted to over the past years. The pain and embarrassment that she had been subject to would be something she would never have to go through again in her life. She was safe in her little flat, as was Celeste. They had the things they needed. They even had a basic form of companionship, each other.
When Lily awoke, she felt a small pang of loneliness, even with the fellowship of Celeste. Lily had never lived alone her entire life; she had lived first with her parents, then Petunia, then James and his family, and finally with Voldemort and his league. Now it was just a two year-old whose main concern was the menu for the next meal.
Intellectual conversation was certainly lacking.
Then again, she wasn't talking to people.
And Harold's visit wasn't until 4:30, which left her with another long hour of nothingness. In reality, there were thousands of things for Lily to do, but none were exceptionally interest-grabbing. Her financial outlook had to be evaluated, the employment section of The Daily Prophet needed to be examined, Celeste's room needed to be tidied, grocery shopping really needed to be done, without interference.
None of these things were what she had planned to do with her freedom.
Nothing was going as planned.
But then again, life was never simple, was it?
*~*~*
"Come on, open up! Immediately! It's an emergency!" Remus Lupin shouted, knocking loudly on James's door.
"Not another one," Penelope groaned as she answered it. "They're in his study."
"Thanks," Remus said shortly, walking past her. He too strode straight into James's abode, privacy not an issue with him.
It was with James. "What is it with you people? You have never been allowed in here before, but today everybody and their familiar are just barging in on my territory! I won't-"
"Is it true?" Remus interrupted, his amber eyes incredibly serious.
"Yes," James confirmed, resting his face in his hands. "She's alive."
"Oh…" he was at a loss for words. Remus fell to the carpeting in shock, clutching a newspaper written in German, the headline Erfolg Hexelily-Töpfer Gerettet aus Lord Voldemort...Hit Witch Lily Evans Rescued from Lord Voldemort.
"And she lives next door," Sirius supplied, trying to be helpful.
"You're joking. You have got to be joking. People don't just…come back from the fucking dead!"
"I said the same thing," James said, looking at something in his desk drawer. "Now would you people mind clearing out?"
"I would mind."
"She lives next door?" Remus asked, running his hands over his face.
"Sure does."
"Would Mopy Molly and Chatty Cathy both get the hell out?"
"I…I'll go see her."
"That would be just beautiful if you would leave me alone."
"You're not shirking me, buddy boy." Sirius stood and started examining the titles on a bookshelf. "Any particular reason these are behind lock and key? Perhaps they're priceless antiques? First-editions? Gifts from a formerly thought dead wife?"
"OUT!" James yelled, finding a paper weight to hurl at Sirius, getting a good throw landed on the shoulder.
"OWW! Bloody hell! That hurt! Are you trying to kill me or something?"
"I would have hit your head if I was trying to kill you. Now leave me alone."
"Are you going to plot?" Sirius questioned, eyebrows raised. "I can help, you know. I always offered the creative twists to our Hogwarts days. Remus can lend a hand, and we'll call in Peter, too. There's no way you can lose her with The Marauders reunited. You'll come up with the basic idea and I'll embellish it. Remus will do a little research, and Peter will be the subtle go-between."
"I got her to marry me the first time without your help, and I can do it again, should that be what I choose to do."
"Oh, really? It seems you really have that planned. You need us."
"I need no one at the moment. I need to be alone. I need to do a little research. I-"
"Remus does research."
James sucked in his breath and gritted his teeth. "I swear I'll ask you for help later, but not right now."
"Deal," Sirius said happily, grinning like the maniac he was. James found the bottle of the little Muggle miracle known as aspirin in hopes he could relieve the incredible headache that was forming. "I'm pretty sure the bottle says not to mix with liquor."
"I'm not."
"Yes, you are."
"No, I'm not."
"Yes-"
"SIRIUS!" Remus interrupted, possibly the only sane one of the group.
"Right. I'll stop."
"Back to the present matter at hand, where does she live? Which flat?"
"The one to my left. Keep your hands off her."
Remus stared, rather offended. "Since when have I put my hands on her?"
"Never, but that's beyond the point. I don't want anything thinking she's free territory."
Now he paused halfway out the door and turned back around and shut it. "Let me get this straight. It's your intentions to scare any possible suitors Lily may have?"
"Yes."
"But you're going to live here with Penelope? Sirius, do you see the hypocrisy here? By no means do I want a romantic relationship with Lily, but I imagine some brave soul might."
"Remus, I do see the hypocrisy," Sirius added, standing beside his werewolf friend. "James, she is twenty-two for crying out loud. I want to see how you're going to keep her from dating? But before that, do you actually want her or Penelope, because I frankly don't think you can handle both."
"Maybe if the two of you could leave me alone I could figure out what I want."
Sirius and Remus turned in unison and walked out, Sirius calling out over his shoulder, "We're going to go manhandle Lily!"
*~*~*
Lily grinned at the knocking on her door. Either Harold had paid his visit early, Professor Figg was giving call, or...Lily lost her smile. There was a chance James had come to harass her again, or Penelope had come to give her a rather nasty talking too. But then again, nothing could top the perverse sense of pleasure Lily had felt when the blond woman had developed a rather nauseas expression and dropped her hand abruptly at the introduction.
She looked through the small peek hole to see the familiar brown-haired man standing outside, one hand stuffed his pocket, the other holding a rolled up newspaper. Lily smiled as she opened the door, delighted to see her friend again. "Hello."
"Lily!" Remus rushed at her, then paused just before he hugged her. "It's okay to hug you, right?"
"Perfectly fine as long as an abduction isn't planned," she said. Lily could only be described as ecstatic at seeing Remus again. He had been the first Marauder that she had known anything of, the one who introduced her to James, and generally a wonderfully and entirely platonic friend.
While they were still hugging, Celeste wandered out of her room, looking tousled from her nap. "Mummy? Is this my daddy?"
Remus froze as he saw her. "Oh my dear God."
*~*~*
"James, we need to talk. I need to know what you're planning to do," Penelope said, walking into his study.
"Okay, we can talk, but I would prefer we do it somewhere else. This is a rather private place for me. Do you want to go get dinner? The Hogs Head?"
"You know I hate that place, it's so crude."
"Sorry, sorry, I forgot. You choose the place."
"Why don't we just go get ice cream at Florean's? Let's just act like a normal married couple. Please?" Penelope turned to get a last look of the room she was being propelled out of.
"Sure," James answered with a nervous smile.
When they had a table at the ice cream parlor, one of the limited indoor seats, Penelope turned on him intensely. She had her hair tugged back in a bun, and the set of her face made her look like a stern Heavenly being…providing you believed in such things.
"James, I need to know what your plans are. I can't live in uncertainty. It would just be the kindest thing for all three of us if you would just let us know."
"I understand," James said slowly. "The thing is, I don't really know what I'm going to do."
"Ever since I've known you, you have had the ability to make split-second decisions, and you have usually made the right choice. So that leads me to have the belief that you really do know what you want to do…it's just a matter of doing it."
"You're right, but I don't really think this is an appropriate time for split-second decisions. I think this is a little more on the serious side."
"You're right. I wish you the strength and the mind to make the right decision for you. I know you will." Penelope place her hand over his, and there they sat for awhile, each thinking their own thoughts.
*~*~*
Remus stared at Celeste for a long minute, his eyes darting from Celeste, to Lily, to the direction of James's flat, and back to Celeste again. "Oh…oh…LILY?"
"Problems, Remus?"
"Oh my…oh…can I make some tea? Please? I need some tea."
"Be my guest. Celeste, do you want some milk?"
"Yes. Who is that man? You're not hugging him anymore, so he's not my daddy, is he?"
"No, sweetheart, he isn't. He's one of my friends, his name is Remus Lupin."
"He sort of looks like a wolf. That other man looked like a puppy, but this one looks like a wolf. Why are there so many men visiting us today?"
"They just want to see us since they haven't seen me in a long time, or you at all."
"Sirius was here earlier?" Remus asked, shakily preparing instant tea.
"Yes. How are you, Remus?"
"I suspect better than you. However, you look wonderful. And, you, uh, have a child. How coincidental."
"It is, isn't it?" Lily beamed.
"When are you going to tell him?"
"Tell him what?" she asked innocently.
"Don't play stupid and don't make me spell it out. What the crap are you doing? Are you insane? You have got to tell James she's his child."
"No, I don't. It's my secret and mine alone. Besides, I doubt he cares, he doesn't need either of us."
"He would kill to have a daughter. Or a son. Or any legitimate offspring."
"I know."
*~*~*
*~*~*
Hello again! Is everyone looking forward to June 21? Who do you guys think'll die? Now to my reviewers:
The Elfin Child: Sirius obsession?
Angelisa Snape: Thanks for not giving up.
Bon: Not necessarily.
Torifire126: He is nice, isn't he?
Mistocean: He was shocked because it wasn't locked. Admittance had always been denied, so it was assumed that it was locked.
Melissa: Congratulations
Celine: I do love it when James is nasty, mainly because it's opposite of The Prequel James. Lily is scared because she knows that Sirius's loyalty is with James, and to him, she isn't anything more than James's wife.
RBFfreak22: Thanks for reading my other fanfics.
Kelly: Glad you like him
Luv-jinxy: Why don't you like her?
Rainfire: I don't exceptionally like it when she's putty in his hands either. She's getting the money as back pay. I can't really delve too deep into James's character without losing the element of surprise for later. Thanks for your great reviews, I loved them.
Golden Slumber: Yes, I do know what you're talking about.
Laughoutloud: He is more going behind the back, isn't he?
JazzyNStu: I think slow and steady will have to catch it.
Punchiclosr6078: I think Lily will stay this way for the time being.
Sea: Aww, lurking is no fun!
Ladyofthelake: I'm glad you think that too. I can see a huge difference, especially when I read the beginning of The Prequel. Let's all shudder.
Trish: It's probably not what you expected.
It appears that most of you are concerned with Celeste's parentage and finding out about it. Rather than saying that in every reply, here's my answer: It'll be at least three chapters before you find out who her parents are, more than likely more.
Thanks to those who said they loved/liked/tolerated it: Bambie, Ashley, hpandkiki, sabner, ljpottafreak, Kristen, flaming-phyinix