Disclaimer: I own next to nothing.

Author's Note: I guess I meant what I said about updating a lot more now because I'm grounded. I pretty much have nothing else to do but write, so, here's chapter four already. That's not a bad thing, is it? Ha-ha. I hope not.

Chapter 4:

An odd feeling had descended over the group. James, Remus and Peter had all gotten to their feet at some point after the three had arrived, ready to defend their friend if necessary, or to hold him back if that were the case. Lily still held tightly to James' hand, unwilling to let him go, though she sensed he wanted to join his best friend. Her fingers twitched with the desire to keep him here, and to let him do what he thought was right. In the end she let him go, but stood up after him. Victoria was half raised from her seat, leaning forward onto the table with one hand, the other hovering over her back pocket where she kept her wand. Anna and Louise exchanged looks before standing with the rest of them.

The fact that they were outnumbered didn't seem to bother them, or they simply hadn't noticed.

"That's not a very nice thing to say to your brother, Sirius." Regulus Black sneered, fingering his wand.

"You don't deserve anything nice." Sirius shot back. "Get out of here. No one here wants you around."

"I don't really think we want to leave." Regulus said, and the other two men behind him snickered and took a step forward.

"You'd better leave if you know what's good for you." James said, taking a step forward as well so he was in line with Sirius.

Remus followed his lead, then Peter, though he looked somewhat reluctant. "You're outnumbered, if you hadn't noticed. Eight to three; the odds aren't good that you're going to walk away if you stick around." James pointed out. He nodded his head toward the gate. "Leave. Now."

Regulus laughed, a colder version of the barking laugh that the brothers shared. Where Sirius' was warm and friendly, his was icy and the effect chilling. "But we came to celebrate." He said, grinning. "We like checking out who the new aurors are, to see who we're dealing with. The Dark Lord likes knowing what we're up against. Though I expect he'll be disappointed when he finds out they let another good for nothing mudblood join their group." He laughed. "He'll be disappointed, but the rest of us will be pleased. It just makes it easier for us to pick them off, when they come looking for us, right Evans?"

Before anyone else knew what was happening, Sirius had pulled his arm back, forgetting his wand, and punched his brother in the face. Blood gushed from a nose that was surely broken, and Regulus lifted a pale hand to try and stop it. The two nameless men that had stood behind him took a step forward and both James and Remus moved up to met them, firmly shoving them backward. The goons pulled out their wands, but they were too slow. Remus and James already had theirs out and pointed right at their chests.
Behind them, Regulus was still laughing. "You're still exactly the same, my brother," he said, spitting a mouthful of blood out at his feet. "Still sticking up for the scum the rest of us are trying to wipe out."

Sirius shoved him again, as hard as he could, so he went flying backwards before he had even straightened completely. "You know," he said, spitting at his brother's face. "You haven't changed much either. In fact, you're still exactly the same worthless piece of shit that you've always been, and you've still got your priorities way wrong. You're exactly the kind of scum we should be eliminating. Lily's a hundred times a better witch than you are a wizard, if you can call yourself that, and so are the rest of the muggleborns that you're calling scum. Now get the hell off my lawn."

Regulus staggered to his feet as his companions turned quickly for the gate, backing away from James and Remus and their ready wands. He took a moment to glare at his brother, before Regulus turned and followed them out.
"You'll regret that. Every single one of you," he called over his shoulder "You're going to regret this."

They could hear them disapparate with three loud cracks.

Nobody wanted to be the first one to speak. All eyes were on Sirius, who seemed to be taking deep breaths, trying to calm himself. His shoulders shook, and he hadn't taken his eyes off the gate, where his brother had just disappeared.

Victoria was the first to move. She stepped around the table, making, it seemed, as little noise as possible. She walked over to Sirius and laid her hand on his shoulder. It seemed to calm him down a bit; his breathing became less laboured.

"Sorry." He said, so quietly that they could barely hear him, could barely be sure that that was even what he had said.

James was at his side in a minute. "There's nothing to be sorry about," he said. "None of us knew they were going to show up."

Sirius just nodded.

"It was far from your fault." Lily added vehemently.

"It's no one's fault but their own that they're disgusting excuses for human beings. They deserved what they got." Victoria said, then added, "And more."

Sirius' lips twitched, and then, with a deep breath, he seemed to go back to normal. He gave a nervous laugh. "Guess this party is pretty much over, huh?"

Remus smiled back. "Guess so. But it was pretty good while it lasted." He clapped his friend on the back. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Sirius nodded.

"Thanks for everything, Sirius." Anna said, while Louise nodded in agreement. They followed Remus to the gate. Lily watched them leave, but James seemed to be watching Sirius intently.

"You going to be alright, mate?" he asked, eyeing Sirius' expression.

He smiled. "Of course I am."
James nodded. "I'll talk to you later, then." They bumped fists and James turned to leave, one hand held out as he waited for Lily.

She hesitated for a moment, but finally reached out and squeezed Sirius' hand and kissed his cheek. "Thank you, Sirius." She told him with a small smile, and she twisted to take James' hand and let him lead her out of the yard, leaving Sirius with Victoria.

"Are you sure he's okay alone?" Lily asked, glancing over her shoulder and they closed the gate behind them.

"He's fine." James said. "And he's not alone. Victoria can cheer him up in no time."
Lily smiled. "If anyone can, she can."

James' brow furrowed for a moment before he spoke again. "You're parents busy tomorrow?" he asked.

Lily looked confused. "I don't think so." She shrugged. "Probably not, it's Sunday."

James nodded. "Do you think we could all get together? You, me and all our parents?"

She nodded too, but slowly. "I'm sure we can, but…why?"

He was smiling now. "To tell them that we're moving in with each other, of course." He told her, and squeezed her fingers. "We've got to do it soon, or the house will be gone."

"Right." Lily made a face, then sighed. "I guess you're right. At my house or at your house?"
"Mine." He laughed. "My dad misses you."

Lily smiled. "We'll be over tomorrow morning." She said, and she kissed him once before disapparating.

--

The Evans' looked wary as they piled into their family car the next morning. Lily could feel it as her father shot her a curious look in the rear view mirror every two seconds, though she couldn't blame him. She hadn't told them why they were all driving to James' house, just that there was something they wanted to talk about with everyone present. She couldn't blame them for being anxious.

The drive to the Potters' wasn't very long, but with the tension that filled the front and back seats, it felt longer. Finally, they pulled to a stop outside the cozy looking home, and they got of the car. Lily led the way up to the front door, and when her parents caught up, she raised her fist to rap against the door.

It took a moment for some one to answer, but eventually, Mrs. Potter pulled it open. She smiled at her visitors, but Lily could sense the same feeling of foreboding that she had felt the whole way here. Obviously James hadn't told them what this discussion was going to be about either.

Priscilla Potter invited them in, all smiles as she kissed Mrs. Evans' cheeks and had hers kissed by Lily's father. When Lily entered, she could see James and his father coming down the stairs one after the other.

After all the greetings were over and done with, the group eventually made their way into the Potters' sitting room. The parents found themselves sitting on the sofa, while Lily and James squeezed into the loveseat by the window.

Lily's father was the first to speak.
"So, you kids called this meeting," he said, clapping his aged hands together. "What's this about?"
James and Lily exchanged looks and he – James – cleared his throat.

"Lily and I, uh, wanted to discuss something with you. We thought it would be easiest if we were all together to do it."

Lily nodded in agreement, and the parents waited.

"And what is it that you wanted to discuss?" Mrs. Potter asked politely.

Taking a deep breath, Lily was the one to answer. "James and I are going to move in together." She said quickly, staring at her feet, too afraid to look the adults in the eye.

She heard some one clear their throat, and looked up. It was her mother. "Don't you think that you're… a bit young to be living together?" she asked.

James shrugged. "Lily's eighteen in January, and then I am in March." He said. "We might be a bit young, yeah, but I can't see myself with anyone but Lily. Why wait?"

They watched as all the parents on the sofa exchanged looks, waiting quietly.
"Have you thought this through?" James' mother asked.

Lily nodded. "We've been talking about it for a while now."
"There's a nice little flat not too far from here that would be perfect. We can pay for it easily, and it's near everything important." James added.

"We were waiting to sign for it, until we talked about it with you."

For a few moments, no one spoke; no one seemed to know what to say. But then, shuffling his feet, Lily's father broke the quiet.

"If this is what you want, and if you've really thought it though," And here, he glanced down at the row of parents who nodded in agreement. "Then I think you should sign the papers for the house."

Lily breathed a sigh of relief that she hoped wasn't too loud. "Thank you." She said, unable to stop the smile from spreading across her face as she turned to look at James. She found that he was grinning too.

Mr. Potter leaned back in his seat and laughed. "Well," he said, eyes twinkling. "What are you waiting for?"

They stood up and Lily walked over to her parents. She kissed them each, and muttered a thank you before she and James left the house.

"Are we sure about this?" Mrs. Potter asked, eyeing them as they walked back out to the hall, hand in hand.

Mr. Evans laughed. "No. Not at all." He said. "But look at them. Look at how happy they are."
"They'll be fine." Mr. Potter assured his wife. "They're in love."

--

"Sign here, and here." The realtor said, thrusting a clipboard at them. He was tall and thin, skin and bones. His blond hair was thinning and receding, making his shiny forehead more prominent. He puffed on a cigarette while he waited. Lily waved the smoke away with her hand. He didn't seem to notice.

James passed her the paper, and she signed her name where he had indicated before handing it back to him.

"Alright," he said, feeling around inside the pocket of his coat. "It seems like everything's in order. Here are the keys," he finally found them and let them fall into James' palm. "Enjoy your new home."

He turned on his heel and walked back to his car without as much as another word. Lily watched him pull out of their driveway, and take off down the street before she looked up at James. She started slightly, seeing him grinning down at her.

"What are you smiling about?" she asked, but she couldn't resist smiling back up at him.

"This is our house." He said, and he wrapped his arms tightly around her waist, pulling him so close against his chest that there was no space between them, so close that their heartbeats merged.

"That sounds nice." She said, brushing hair back off his forehead with the tips of her fingers, watching it as it just fell right back into place, completely untameable.

"Yeah, it does." He let go of all of her but her hand, and dragged off towards the door. Using his free hand, he opened the door with the keys he had been given and together, they stepped into their hallway.
"Welcome home." James said, still smiling as he bent his head and completely engulfed Lily's lips with his own, feeling his head spin. Welcome home.

Author's Note: So, this chapter was probably pretty boring. At least, the end of it was. The first part was pretty exciting. But the end was mainly just to show that Lily and James are now moving in with each other, and blah, blah, blah. Hope you liked it anyway.

Thanks for the reviews and faves I've gotten, and for the ones I'm going to keep getting. Riiiiight?

-Cait.