It had been a big change for James, moving from national league quidditch with Puddlemere to playing for England. It happened quickly too; McIntyre recruited James from a Puddlemere training session, and a month later James was wearing the red and white robes and standing with 6 other of England's finest. James had stood beside Ludovic Bagman, a man he'd admired since he was old enough to fly; he was his teammate, his equal. It was everything he'd dreamed of, everything he'd worked for; though he had to admit – it had been rough to leave everything behind. James was revelling in being home; being able to pop by and see Remus while he was at work, to sit in his best mates office and just talk without having to rush off to training or a team meeting… it was nice, it was normal.

James succeeded in finding Remus' office without the help of the mysterious 'department manager'. He sat lazily in the chair opposite Remus' desk, his feet up on the polished wood as he tossed a round item he'd found on the shelf up and down in the air.

There was a comfortable silence between the two. James had always found he and Remus could sit quietly without having to talk. Whereas Sirius never shut up long enough for he and James to find out. James had grown tired of throwing the glass orb in the air, and instead he set it down on Remus' desk and leaned back casually in his chair, smiling comfortably.

"I heard about the game against Portugal-" Remus said carefully, but James groaned loudly and the smile disappeared quickly from his face before he buried his face in his hands,

"Don't remind me." He groaned into his hands, "Abomination, it was an absolute abomination."

England's last game against Portugal. It was a decider. If they'd won, England would have gone on to play Belgium in the finals; but they had the cup ripped from them when Nick Draper slipped off the end of his broom just as he was about to catch the snitch. Draper plummeted over 100 meters and broke 6 ribs and his left arm, but Nick had admitted that those injuries didn't hurt nearly as bad as losing the team the cup had. The team tried to feel sorry for him, they tried to hide their disappointment; but they did a horrid job of it.

"It wasn't so bad, we were listening to it on the wireless… real shame about Draper though." Remus said, leaning his elbows on his desk as he tapped the end of his quill on the wood. There was a small beep from James' wrist, and he sat up straighter and moved his hands from his face, checking his watch before his face broke into a grin,

"5 o'clock, Moony."

"Congratulations, Prongs. Finally figured out how to tell the time while you were away?"

"Shut it, you git. 5 o'clock means you're done for the day. I told Pad we'd meet him and Pete at the Leaky Cauldron for a reunion drink." He said excitedly; bouncing on the balls of his feet like a child on Christmas Eve, moving quickly to the door, "Come on! Move any slower and anyone would think you were drippy pensioner!"

Remus rolled his eyes, "When are you going away again?" he muttered, though his couldn't help but smile as he stood up and grabbed his coat off the back of his chair. The pair moved from Remus' office and down towards the elevators. They climbed into the first one that arrived, and just as the doors where about to shut, a small hand pulled them apart.

It was the redhead. She pulled the doors apart and stood aside, a small smile on her face – until her eyes landed on James that is.

"You." She said, narrowing her eyes.

"You." James mimicked, smirking back at her.

"James!" Another voice interrupted, one he knew all too well. James' grin grew as he spotted the Minister of Magic. The elderly man stepped inside the elevator and clasped James' shoulders, "James, my boy! When did you get back?" The Minister asked with a wide grin,

"Just this morning, sir." James replied with a grin, and dodged a swing of the elderly man's arm,

"You should have let us know you were coming back into town! We could have had a dinner ready!" The Minister scolded, adding cheerfully to the other man, "Remus, wonderful to see you as always!"

"I wanted it to be a surprise." James said defensively, though his grin was still firmly in place as Remus grinned back at the elderly man. His eyes shot to the redhead for a moment, who looked speechless at the interaction. "Besides," he continued casually, "You know I can't stand those formal dinners you two throw." He said with a smug smirk.

All colour seemed to drain from the redheads face, she'd never heard someone talk to the Minister like that before and get away with it - in fact, she looked a little ill.

"Y-you two know each other, then?" She stuttered, blinking a few times as she tried to comprehend the scene before her. The Minister laughed, and with a grin he opened his mouth to speak, but James covered his mouth with his hand and said,

"You could say that."

The Minister looked confused, and tried to mumble something beneath the young mans hand. The redhead looked as though she was about to pass out, clutching her files to her chest once more,

"What are you doing?" She hissed, staring at James' grip on the elderly mans face. The Minister looked bemused as he pushed James' had from his face with a laugh.

"Not to worry, Lily. James here likes to have a bit of fun, don't you son?" He chuckled, straightening his robes before the elevator doors opened again. Lily stepped out quickly; seemingly desperate to escape the situation she had found herself in, "Our floor. Got a meeting to get to. Come round for lunch tomorrow, will you? Your mother would love to see you." The Minister said, clapping James on the shoulder, "Actually, Remus... You and the boys should come too, you know how that woman loves you lot." He added with a fond smile, before he too stepped out of the elevator.

"See you tomorrow, Dad." James called to the elderly man, before adding casually to the redhead, "Nice to see you again, Lily.""

If any colour had remained in her face, it drained at that comment. She stared back at James with wide eyes, and mouthed, "Dad?"

James smirked as the doors closed, and he lost sight of the redhead's bewildered expression.

A/N: It's longer than the others but I'm still not exactly sure where I'm going with this story. Hope you guys liked it xo