She thought her life was over – but fate gave her another chance, in a world of magic. Now, running around Hogwarts with James Potter and his friends, she's about to make choices that will change the future in ways she never thought possible…

Marauder's Phase

CHAPTER SEVENTY-EIGHT

Sweet Home Tucson

"Who wrote this list anyway?" I asked, brandishing the crumpled, somewhat ripped piece of pink parchment at Remus. It had been a week since I'd been given it, and I hadn't treated it very nicely. It reminded me of Umbridge.

Remus shrugged. "Who knows?" He was changing into a pair of jeans and, as I watched, he pulled cowboy boots out of his closet. I stared at them as he packed them into his small suitcase, which he magicked smaller.

At last, I asked: "Umm, Moony…where did those come from?" The boots were dark brown, with cactus-print on them, and were nice and shiny.

Remus looked embarrassed. "Uh…Maggie decided to outfit us all for our trip to Tucson. I didn't really want to tell her that they might get ruined during the full moon, unless we're in Forks, but…"

"Where are mine?" I demanded.

Remus raised an eyebrow, and then raised his wand. "Accio boots!" He said, and a pair of pink cowgirl boots zoomed into the room.

"Cool," I said appraisingly, admiring them. "But I still wish we were going to California…stupid Umbridge…it's bad enough that Peter can't come…" Peter's parents had not wanted him to come with us and, because Peter was underaged, he'd had no choice but to stay. He actually seemed kind of relieved. The wuss. "Well, at least Sirius gets to come. I can't wait to see him in a cowboy hat!"

Sirius suddenly walked past the door, wearing nothing but a cowboy hat. "Prongs, have you seen my pants?" He called down the hallway.

My eyes were probably the size of dinner plates, and my face was bright red. "Oh…never mind. I mean at least they're letting us off all our homework…lucky us…"

***

We were standing on the driveway. 'We' meaning me, Sirius, Remus, Lily, James, Maggie, Reginald, Mr. and Mrs. Evans, Petunia and her boyfriend Vernon, and Nymphadora Tonks and her parents.

As soon as we'd Apparated to our chosen destination, then we'd be met by Ministry representatives – and hopefully not Death Eaters. Hopefully they'd come much later.

My first impression of Vernon Dursley? I hated him on sight, and he me, so that was okay. I decided to ignore him.

Lily's parents hadn't wanted to let her go but, as she'd pointed out, she was of age, and also that she was helping me. Lily's parents liked me, and so Lily got to come too.

Lily was standing there, running through everything again, and we listened attentively. James stayed by her side the whole time.

"We're to meet up with the Ministry representative, Calliope Marrons," Lily reminded us all. "And try to act as normally as possible."

"Yeah, right," Sirius muttered under his breath.

Lily shot him a Look. "And then we wait…for the Death Eaters to arrive." She finished.

Mrs. Evans gasped, and hugged her daughter tight.

Petunia just rolled her eyes.

"They'll be fine, Rosalie," Ted Tonks told Lily's Mum gently. "These kids have already proven that they can take care of themselves. They'll be alright."

"Dad…" Nymphadora began, but her Dad cut her off.

"We've been through this, Nymphie," He said tiredly. "You're too young."

She pouted. "But Da-ad…"

I went over to her. "You'll be much safer here," I told her gently. "And I'll tell you what happens, okay?"

She nodded. Today her bright blue eyes matched her hair. "Okay."

I gave her a hug, and then returned her to her mother.

Turning around, I saw that Mrs. Evans still hadn't let go of Lily, and Maggie was hugging James.

Seeing my two best friends with their mothers made me feel sad and, glancing at the two men I loved, they were looking at me.

The looks on their faces told me that they knew what I was thinking.

Just as they were about to come over to me, there was a loud crack, and a voice shrieked: "SIRIUS ORION BLACK!!"

Sirius and I both tensed, and turned to look at the spot where Walburga Black had just Apparated, along with her youngest son Regulus.

Walburga marched across the grass toward us, followed by Regulus.

"I don't know what crazy stunt you think you're trying to pull," Walburga shouted. "Running away from home, going off to some foreign country, when you're still underage! No son of mine is going to…"

"What happened to disowning me and taking me off the family tree!?" Sirius yelled back.

Walburga's face blanched, and then she positively started screaming, words I couldn't actually make out. But I heard the words 'filthy muggles' and 'mudbloods' thrown in there occasionally.

Remus, Lily, James, Maggie, Reginald, Mr. and Mrs. Evans, Petunia, Vernon, Nymphadora, Dromeda and Ted were all staring at old Mrs. Black in shock. Sirius' face showed the anger and hatred he felt toward his mother, and Regulus was looking slightly embarrassed about the way his mother was behaving.

"Can we just go now?" James asked me, over Mrs. Black's screams.

"In just a sec," I replied loudly. "She actually can stop him from going…" I stepped up to Sirius. "Let me handle this, Siri…" I stepped forward. "Mrs. Black!" I shouted.

She stopped screaming, and looked at me for the first time that morning. I shot her a dazzling smile, my most sparkling one. "Hi! Long time no see! How have you been?" I asked politely, a quizzical tilt to my head.

She blinked, and then smiled at me, and the smile made me almost roll my eyes – Walburga is the ugliest woman I have ever seen, but not by Dolores Umbridge standards. Umbridge is a whole new branch of ugly. Maybe it's Walburga's soul. "I am fine, Miss. Pax. Regulus speaks of you often."

I was fairly certain Sirius glared at his brother, whose eyes looked guarded. I smiled at Regulus, and then said: "All good things I hope?" He nodded. "I'm glad. Anyway, Mrs. Black, it almost sounded like you were stopping us from going on holiday."

"Eh? Holiday?" She asked me.

I nodded. "Yes, that's all it is, a little R and R, a bit of a break – everyone needs a break every now and then, right?" I shrugged a little. "I mean, what with my final year at school approaching, I'm exhausted. I need a little vacation, you know? I thought I'd go somewhere nice and peaceful, like California," I said, purposely naming where we weren't going – not anymore. "Yeah?" Then I glanced at Regulus.

He said: "That's actually a really good idea Mum, school's been really stressful lately – Emma is absolutely right."

Walburga nodded. "I see that she is. Alright then, I won't stop you from going." She smiled at me. "You're such a lovely young lady, Miss. Pax."

'Yeah, I'll bet'. I thought. Regulus and I looked at each other.

"You owe me." He said quietly.

I didn't like the way he said that.

But I just nodded. "See ya, Reggie."

He nodded to me, then took his mother's arm and she Disapperated with him.

I breathed a sigh of relief – Sirius' family made me nervous. I hoped she wouldn't find a way to tell the Death Eaters any of this. That's why I hadn't told her where we were really going.

I turned to find everyone staring at me, their eyes like saucers.

"What!?" I exclaimed. "Look, I had to say something otherwise she wouldn't have let Sirius go!" 'And Sirius' coming is de rigueur'. "I just distracted her from the fact that he was going, and made it sound like it wasn't a 'save the world' type mission."

"Yeah," Sirius looked like he was trying to find a way to word what he wanted to say. "But how did you…you know..?"
"Talk to her without screaming at her?" James finished.

"It wouldn't have done any good," I shrugged. "And she seems to want me as a daughter-in-law, so I need to stay in her good books so that she doesn't not want me and tell the Death Eaters where I am…" I suddenly found myself being hugged by Maggie, who must've decided that she couldn't stand the thought of me leaving without her saying goodbye to me. And, I allowed myself to be hugged, because I remembered her hugging her son, Mrs. Evans and Mrs. Tonks hugging their respective daughters, Peter's mother keeping him at home for his own safety, and Mrs. Lupin's dying wish, and I realised that this was how a mother should act – not like mine or Sirius'.

Maggie's hug was soft but firm, she smelled of spices and flowers, and she whispered in my ear: "Stay safe."

Tears stung the backs of my eyes, and I nodded. "I will…Mum." I said, before drawing back from her, grabbing a still-stunned Sirius by the arm, and turning on the spot, disappearing into space.

***

The hot weather of Tucson came as a shock to my English friends, but I was used to such heat. I looked around at the Tucson landscape instead, admiring it. It was beautiful, in a desert-y sort of way, with cacti and everything. The Catalina Mountains stood tall in the background.

"Where is this guide supposed to meet us?" James asked, at the same time Lily muttered: "No Death Eaters…"

"Here comes someone now…" I murmured and, in unison, we all drew our wands.

A person was riding toward us on horseback. She was a tall, deeply tanned woman with tawny-coloured hair. She was wearing jeans, a shirt, boots and a cowboy hat, and leading five other horses from her own tall, brown mare.

"Howdy," She called to us. "I'm Calliope Marrons!" She pulled up her horse before us, and dismounted. Automatically, we trained our wands on her. She smiled apologetically. "I don't blame you for being wary. I've been informed of what's been happening to you in England. Here," She said, stepping away from the horses, and slowly drawing her own wand. We watched her. "Expecto Patronum!" A silvery horse galloped into existence, and then vanished.

Lily nodded. "It's her." We finally lowered our wands.

After we introduced ourselves, Calliope told us what was going to happen. She was a trained member of the American Ministry of Magic, and an Auror. She would be with us at all times, and would lead the attack as soon as the Death Eaters showed themselves. Meanwhile, we would be staying with her and her family.

"We'd better get started," She added, looking up at the sky. She had a nice American drawl that I liked. "And out of this weather…"

"Tell me about it," Sirius rolled his eyes. "It's boiling…"

"Actually," Remus said quietly. "What she means is that there's a storm coming."

Sirius looked at him in disbelief. "What? But it's, like, a hundred degrees out here."

Remus nodded. "Yeah, but it's also July…"

I snapped my fingers. "Ah, monsoon season in Tucson. Right…"

Calliope nodded. "That's right. So, let's get headed back." She walked back over to her horse.

Lily was gazing at the tall, four-legged creatures uncertainly. "Umm, I've never ridden before…" She admitted.

The rest of us said that we hadn't had much experience on horseback either.

Calliope laughed a relaxed, Tucson-y laugh. "Don't worry about it! These are what we call 'beginners horses'. They're literally bomb-proof."

"You've tested it?" I blinked.

She smiled. "Emma, my young kids are all magic and learning to control their powers – our horses have to be bomb-proof."

I nodded, and walked over to the shortest of the five horses Calliope had brought with her. This one was a gelding (castrated male) with blue eyes and a brown and white coat – a skewbald. Embroidery on his saddle read Patch. Apt.

Calliope helped us all to mount, showed us how to hold the reins, and we were off at a steady, comfortable walk. Lily rode a red chestnut mare named Crimson, Sirius was on a black gelding called Wanderer, James' mare was a light grey called Whistle, and Remus road a golden palomino called Luna. For the most part, we did alright. There was one moment when my horse trotted to catch up with Sirius' horse, and I clung to the saddle horn to stay on. It was exciting.

Calliope led the way on her horse Woody, and told us about Tucson, her family, the American branch of the Ministry, and the horses. By the time we reached her house, which was a farm on the outskirts of town, the sky was blackening with storm clouds.

Remus gave Sirius a look that plainly said see?, as we rode up the driveway toward the farmhouse.

***

When we reached the barn, we all dismounted. My legs felt like jelly – I'd never ridden for so long before – and I knew I was going to be sore tomorrow. Nonetheless, we helped take off the horses' saddles and bridles (it's called untacking) and gave them a good brush, keeping an eye out for the weather and for Death Eaters. Only the former came, as we rushed into the house and the rain started.

"Made it!" Sirius said, grinning.

Remus rolled his eyes.

***

Inside the house, we were greeted by Calliope's five children, all of whom had her tawny-coloured hair and Tuscan accents. Thanks to Calliope's introduction to her life-story on the ride to her house, we knew what to expect, but it was still somewhat of a shock.

Joshua was eight years old, and had his nose buried in a book about a werewolf named Warick. He wore glasses, and seemed very animated about the book he was reading. I thought he'd get along with Remus.

Brian was next, at seven (and a half) and seemed to be very animated about Quidditch. We let James deal with that one.

Robert was five years old, and blind. He had a familiar though, a big black Labrador guide-dog named Sooty. Apparently Sooty went everywhere with Robert. Sirius seemed impressed with this arrangement.

That left Calliope's last two children, two year old twin girls named Melissa and Amy. They immediately latched themselves onto me and Lily. Lily knelt down to Melissa's eye-level, and Melissa smiled a big, slightly toothy smile. I looked at Amy, who immediately held her arms up to me, and I automatically picked her up just as Calliope came back into the front hall with a tall, tawny-haired man who could only be her husband Sam, and an older woman who must've been her mother.

"Oh, doesn't she just look precious with a child in her arms!" The old woman said, and my face went scarlet.

James nudged me in the ribs teasingly, and Lily smiled. Sirius and Remus exchanged a glance.

Calliope laughed. "Come on everyone, grub's up!"

***

Dinner with the Marrons was one of the most fun experiences of my life, and everyone had a great time, talking and laughing over the chicken and prime ribs, even though the storm raged outside. But, Calliope had assured us, the house could withstand it.

A monsoon is a summer lightning storm. It's very dangerous, but we were safe inside.

After dinner we played charades by Lumos light because the power went out, and Joshua and Brian told a scary story about a vampire. We roasted marshmallows over the fireplace (with Bluebell Flames in it) and everyone went to bed at different times.

At last, only Calliope and Sam remained awake, along with me and my English friends.

"Sam and I will stay awake to keep watch," Calliope said to us, as we sat in the living room. "Although I doubt any Death Eaters will come by in this storm, unless they're insane."

We smiled. We were also certain that the Death Eaters, though they were insane, wouldn't try and come along during a summer lightning storm.

Lily, James, Sirius, Remus and I went into the guest room where we were staying, and tried to find our things in the dark.

Once we had our wands and used Lumos, Lily and I changed into our nighties in the bathroom, and the boys changed in the room.

The Marrons had arranged for us to sleep on big, comfy purple sleeping bags, and Lily and James pulled their sleeping bags close together. We teased them about it but, then again, I slept rather close to Sirius and Remus, so I couldn't talk.

We fell asleep listening to the rain and lightning outside.

When we woke up the next morning, the storm was over.

***

For two days, we stayed on high alert, looking for any signs of Death Eaters but, for two days, they didn't come.

I relaxed. I stopped jumping at every little thing. I used magic a bit more. I played Quidditch with James and Brian. Sirius and I went for a run at night. We spent more time around the horses. I learned how to canter. I loved taking care of Melissa and Amy. I sang the kids to sleep. I read books that I'd never heard of before.

I was having a great time. Calliope was a friendly, warm, wonderful woman, and the rest of her family were easy to get along with.

Remus got stung by a scorpion. We English wizards all learned how to treat a sting so that it didn't hurt a smidgen (poor muggles have no clue).

All of us forgot why we were here, until the third day that is, when we decided to go for a trail ride up into the Coronado National Forest. We'd be gone for the whole day, and Calliope's mother – Janni – was going to stay behind a mind the farm. For an old woman, she didn't act it. You should have seen her chopping wood the muggle way.

The twelve of us going put on our helmets, mounted our horses (I was on Patch again) and headed off. We rode single file – Calliope in the lead riding bareback with Melissa on Woody's back with her, followed by Joshua, Brian, Lily, James, Robert (with Sooty trotting along beside him), Sirius, me, Remus and then Sam, with Amy on his horse's back with him. This was a good arrangement, we could all see that, and all of us were getting used to riding – my legs had stopped hurting.

The trail we took climbed uphill, and into the mountains. It was covered in pine forests, and was so green whereas the rest of the land was…well, not.

We saw a squirrel, and two geckoes. Eventually, we reached a small stream and took a rest stop. Lily nearly fell getting out of the saddle, and would have had James not caught her.

"Thanks," She said, blushing slightly. She glanced at the Marron children. "The kids are better riders then I am."

"Considering they've been riding since before they were born," I said, remembering Calliope's story about how she'd ridden for the entire nine months she'd been pregnant with each of her children.

"Yeah," Lily said. She was watching Robert attend to his horse, expertly loosening the girth on the saddle, and leading his horse to water. "Still…you gotta wonder how he does that…"

***

Sometime in the early afternoon, we reached the Marshall Springs Campgrounds, and enjoyed an hour or so there, dangling our feet in the water and talking practically non-stop.

Only Remus was quiet and, as we were heading back to our horses, he suddenly grabbed my hand.

"Emma!" He said, alarmed.

I came to a stop too, because I'd also felt it. A change.

Everything had changed.

"Padfoot, Prongs!" Remus and I called in unison. "Lily!!"

A silvery shape suddenly galloped through the trees, and stopped directly in front of us. It was a horse, exactly like Calliope's, and it spoke in Janni's voice.

"They are coming."

Remus suddenly dragged me down to the ground.

"Stupefy!" A red beam of light zoomed over our heads.

"Rosier!" I heard Sirius yell, as Remus dragged me up again, and dragged me toward the trees, forcing me to run with him into the forest.

"We can't just leave them!" I exclaimed, dread filling me, and I was relieved that my important items – my wand, my pocket watch, my enchanted charms and the rings from Remus' Mum – were in my backpack.

Remus didn't stop running. "Ems, they're after you! The Ministry will protect them, we have to get out of here! We agreed to it!"

"But the Marrons..!" I gasped. The happy family…what would happen to them? The kids…and what had happened to Janni? Was she alright?

"Trust them!" Remus cried, as we ran through the trees. "Right now, we need to stick to our plan!" He suddenly stopped, and took me by the arms, looking intently into my eyes. "Lily, Prongs and Padfoot will be sticking to the plan too. Prongs and Lily will help Padfoot Apparate, and we need to get to Forks too, remember?"

I wet my lips, which had gone dry from shock. Remus' eyes burned into mine. I couldn't hear the signs from the inevitable battle behind me. Of Calliope and Sam, protecting their children from the Death Eaters until help arrived. How could they survive? I sighed. Then I nodded. "Right. Forks."

"Here," Remus said, and held out his hand, which I took. His eyes smouldered, and mine welled up.

Then we turned on the spot and Disapperated.