A/N: La! This has taken forever. Apologies. I would now like to take the time to gloat about how popular Sand to Snow has become - 10,000 hits! Are you F**king with me? Apparently not. I would also like to mention that my friends have only just got this chapter at the SAME TIME as you, no waiting! You'll become spoilt brats if I keep this up. I took so long because I started ANOTHER fanfiction. Loser am I. But this one will probably come out to you people soon which they normally don't so perhaps its more a success. I'm rambling. Go! Read!

Someone To Fall Back On

Chase sat on the edge of his bed, anxiously waiting for the others to arrive. Freddy hadn't been himself since Charlotte had broken up with him, Chase could count the times his brother had smiled on one hand. Freddy was always smiling! And laughing! Had he even laughed once since he had received that letter?

Chase couldn't remember but it didn't seem likely. So he did the only thing a brother could do, he invited a few of their close friends to cheer him up.

It was the least he could do, after all Freddy was his partenaire dans le crime, as Louis would say.

"Chase!" James' voice called him.

"Up here Potter!" Chase yelled footfalls on the stairs were his reply followed by his door being thrown open to reveal James and Ruby standing in the doorway.

"How do you do?" Chase asked as the pair made themselves comfortable.

"That's neither here nor there is it? How's Freddy?" James asked leaping straight to the point.

"He's – not himself. That's why I invited you two over along with all the others that could come; Marie' and Wendy had to bail because they're out country at the moment but Nate's reason is a little pathetic." Chase answered frowning a little in remembrance of Nate's strange reply.

"Nate has been acting odd lately, I haven't seen him since Ruby came back and that was two weeks ago! It's the longest time I've gone without seeing him in – well ever!" James agreed and Chase frowned, Nate avoiding James? When had the two of them ever been apart for more than a day?

"When did he start avoiding you?" Chase asked concernedly.

"Well it would have to be about the time – about the time he told me that he was going out with Erin."

"What?" Ruby asked suddenly looking at James in shock.

"He has a girlfriend."

"Oh god." Ruby said looking at the floor.

"What?" James and Chase asked together.

"Nothing. Nothing at all, now what was Nate's reason?"

Still bemused at Ruby's strange behaviour Chase related Nate's explanation of how his girlfriend of two weeks had told him that coming over was unacceptable.

They all fell silent, each lost in thought. Chase was still trying to decipher the meaning behind Ruby's shock when Abbey and Reid appeared hand in hand.

"Lilah's sick and can't come now." Abbey said quietly.

"Sick?" Chase asked.

"Some fever she caught in Spain, apparently she's delirious." Abbey said biting her lip worriedly.

"Is she okay?" Ruby asked looking as anxious as Abbey.

"The doctors aren't sure hat it is but its just delirium and fever. She should be fine in a week or two." Reid said in the deep, reassuring voice of his.

"Who else is coming?" James asked after a moment.

"Lou –" Chase began but his words were bitten off by a loud crack.

"Heyla!" Louis said loudly. "Up the stairs we go!" He said leading the way to Freddy's room. The other's followed him, less confident of a good welcome.

"How are you mate?" Chase heard Louis ask and hurried over to stop Louis saying anything completely mental. After all Louis didn't know how to appreciate an actual relationship.

"I'm fine. Thanks for coming though." Freddy replied in that hollow voice he had been using for the last few days. Chase frowned at hearing the lifelessness in his brother's tone but there wasn't much to be done.

Pushing the door open Chase led the rest of them into Freddy's room, which in the last few days had become a cave.

Freddy sat on the edge of his bed, Louis beside him, in his hands he held the ball he had repetitively been throwing against the wall for the last few days. He didn't seem to do anything else.

"Don't fret too much Freddy – "

"Where's Nate?" Freddy asked after a moment having taken in everyone who had arrived. "And Marie –?"

"Marie and Wendy are out of England right now and Delilah's sick. Nate –" Chase began.

"Is an asshole." James said unexpectedly.

"What?" Freddy asked seeming to wake up from his stupor at that simple sentence.

"His girlfriend of two weeks told him that coming here with so many girls was unacceptable and so, he didn't come." James explained.

"That's weird." Freddy granted seeming more like himself in days.

"It's daft." Louis agreed.

"Let's ignore drop this topic." James suggested looking pained.

"Good idea." Chase agreed seeing how unhappy James looked.

"You know what would be fun?" Ruby asked the group in general.

"Go on."

"Going to stay at the manor for a while." Ruby enthused.

Chase glanced at his brother who seemed far more like himself with the others around him.

"I like that idea." Freddy said before Chase could reply.

"Then it's a go." Ruby said happily.

"Shall we start planning?" James asked rubbing his hands together, no doubt in anticipation of Elizabeth's double chocolate fudge biscuits.

Harry sat in his office reading and rereading the Azkaban reports. Two years ago there had been an attempted breakout, it had been repressed but…this latest report matched the one given to him just before the breakout.

Things were tense. The prisoners were in their right minds. They were refusing meals or demanding more. They were cursing their captors. Not all the prisoners of course, just the worst kind.

Death Eaters.

"Boo." Said a voice behind James making him jump.

"Holy crap Matt! You scared me!" James swore when he turned to see Ruby's brother grinning at him.

"That was my intention." Matt agreed smiling pleasantly. "So you're my little sister's boyfriend." Matt added in a musing tone of voice.

"I am." James agreed.

"What would it take for me to get you to break up with her?" Matt asked him eyes unreadable. "I have a brand new Flicker 200. Not even out on the market yet. You savvy?"

James stared at Matt in disbelief. He was bribing him to break up with Ruby!

"I'm fine thanks." James assured him.

"Things will get ugly if you stay with Ruby." Added another voice, Will's.

"I can deal with that." James repeated firmly. He had no idea what had gotten into the pair. They were always fine with him and Ruby, apparently not so much.

"Alright then." Matt said drawing his wand.

James stared. What the hell were they doing?

"Second thoughts?" Will asked his eyes unreadable as he watched James back away from Matt.

"I'm not going to break-up with Ruby. The only way we end is if she decides." James said still unable to believe that Will and Matt would want to break him and Ruby up.

"You pass." Matt said with a nod to Will.

"What?"

"You pass. You can date Rubes." Matt repeated lowering his wand before turning away as if nothing at all had happened.

"Break her heart and you die."

"You'd have to dig me up my family would have already disposed of me." James assured Will who nodded and then turned away.

Well. That was friendly. James thought to himself as he continued walking downstairs to find Ruby.

"Told you he'd pass." Ruby said as he found her seated in the kitchen with John and Nadia.

"Good job." John congratulated James with a nod.

"Thanks." James said shaking his head to clear the confusion. They knew that Will and Matt intended to threaten him.

"I still don't understand." Nadia complained taking off her engagement ring and placing it on the table as she turned back to the stovetop.

"Will you put that back on?" John demanded irritably. "How else are people to know you are my property?"

Nadia rolled her eyes at John's antics.

"I don't want to tarnish it." She said fondly patting him on the head in a rather patronising way.

"It's called magic." John said looking amused.

"Oh, right." Nadia agreed.

"Put it back on." John told her in a mock threatening voice pointing his wand at her and standing up.

"This could be dangerous –" Nadia began her voice a purr walking towards him.

"FOREPLAY ALERT!" Matt yelled as he came into the kitchen making Nadia and John spring apart.

Ruby shuddered.

"Ew. Ew. Ew. I am leaving and never coming back." She said looking thoroughly creeped out. "You!" James blinked at being addressed as "you" but replied to his girlfriend anyway.

"Yes Rubes?"

"Take me away my knight save me from the –"

"Cannodling dragons!" Saia said laughing as she followed Matt.

"Don't be gross." Matt said shuddering like Ruby had. "He's our Dad."

"And she's my Mum." Ruby added pointing at Nadia who smiled radiantly like she always did when Ruby unthinkingly referred to her as "Mum" or "my mother".

"Save me oh Sir Knight!" She then said turning to James.

"Alright my fair maiden!" James repeated bowing to Ruby in a fair approximation of Freddy in what he called "high style" and everyone else called weird. With that James swept, which is to say awkwardly picked up, Ruby spun on the spot and disapparated.

The pair of them rather ungracefully fell onto James' bed as they apparated into the Potter's home and ended up making quite a lot of noise.

Not that James thought anything of that until there was a banging on his wall and Al's muffled voice saying:

"You forgot the silencing charms!"

"Is it really that expected of us?" Ruby asked smirking.

"Hey I have trouble keeping my hands to myself even in front of Grandma and Professor McGonagall. It's not going to happen in my bedroom."

"Then I'd say maybe you should put up those silencing charms." Ruby said smiling as she stepped towards him. Things would have gone further if an owl didn't decide to interrupt.

Smack! Joey flew straight into James' head.

"Ow! Joey must you do that? I know Al taught you but it is still bloody annoying –"

"Aren't you going to read the letter?" Ruby demanded. "Who's it from anyway?"

"Morgana! I nearly forgot!" James swore. "It's from Marie and you my friend will be tired." James finished speaking to Joey again as he carried his exhausted owl to his perch. "All the way from California – you've done well – "

"FUCK!" Ruby swore staring down at Marie's letter.

"What?" James demanded turning around.

Ruby sighed. "Just read it."

James,

I honestly hate to ask but, but can you talk to Elizabeth and Sirius for me? I need a place to stay, I'm bringing my brother and sister – Aimee' and Christian – with me. I'm coming home, that is to say Britain. Will explain all when I get back but Emile won't put us up anymore and I am NEVER returning to my parents.

Marie'