The spring began to fade into summer and the Order was thrust into chaos as Voldemort seemed to be gaining power. Lily, though, found herself being scheduled to work at the clinic more and more. Her hours were no longer the standard first shift, but she found herself being scheduled for the swing shift or graveyard shift.

It was July when she found herself being pulled out of bed by a knocking at the door. The numbers on her muggle clock read 4:45, she had to be at work in four hours, it was the first day in ages that she had the regular shift. She pulled on a pair of James' pyjama pants over her long t-shirt and walked to the door. "Who is it?" she muttered as she stood on her tip toes to look through peep hole. Out in the hallway she saw a trio of men outside her door: Sirius, Luke and Peter. "Come on in," she said as swung the door open.

"Remus is coming too," Sirus mumbled as he practically fell on her.

"Sorry for disturbing you," Peter said with waning smile.

"Morning, Mrs. Potter," Luke greeted.

She quickly assessed there injuries and sighed after ushering them in. "Peter, can you put the kettle on? Sirius grab my first aid kit and Luke please sit on the couch." She touched the last man's shoulder before she stuck her head out in the hall. Remus limped toward's her, eyes barely opened. "Are you alright?" she asked, rushing to his side.

"Fine, Sirius insisted that you check me out." He tossed an arm around her shoulder and distributed the weight. "Full moon was brutal."

"Peter's putting the kettle on, you can have the guest bed after I check your injuries."

"That's not necessary."

"Yes, it is." She bit her lip as they walked through the door and towards the living room. "Why was Luke with you?"

"He wasn't supposed to be."

"What about James? I haven't seen him in ages." That part was true, it had almost been two days, the only sign of him was a patronus Sirius retrieved saying that he was alive, but could not communicate safely.

"Dumbledore is the only one that knows where he is."

Lily tried to hide her worry he sat down on the couch. She sat across from on the low coffee table and tended to his injuries. Peter brought in the tea along with vials of potions. She gave him one for pain, and one for sleep. Once he was taken care of she tended to the other two men. Remus had not bit Luke, which was fortunate. If that had happened Remus would have never forgave himself. Luckily their injuries were bruises, sprains and the occasional scrape.

"We better head back to our flats," Luke said. "Thanks for everything."

"Nonsense." She glanced up at the clock, it was nearing six. "Stay here, please. I'll feel more comfortable with James away. You can transfigure the furniture," she suggested, pulling out her wand. Sirius didn't need to be told twice, he simply got comfortable in one of the easy chairs, a blanket thrown acrossed him. Peter insisted that he simply must leave and Luke took the couch.

By the time Lily crawled into bed she does not let her mind wander to work the next day, but the men in her flat. The clock in the living room chimed seven before her eyes fall shut. By that time she did not hear her alarm at seven thirty.

Adrian looked up at the clock and then at the front desk. The second seat next to Edith was empty, he craned his neck down the hall and into the staff room, the blue mug was still on his hook. Lily and him had reached on understanding, they orbited around each other, paths only crossing when absolutely necessary. Still, she had never missed a shift or even been late. The hour was nearing ten o'clock.

"Are you still here?" Steve, the director asked.

"Yeah, I was waiting for Ms. Evans," he explained. "Did she call in?"

"No, she isn't here?" His face knitted together in confusion. "How peculiar…"

"My shift is over, would it be odd to drop by her flat?" He remembered where she lived from that night he took her home. She said everything was fine, but something tugged at the back of his mind, made him wonder if she was really alright.

The director barely had time to shrug his shoulders before he was flagged down. Adrian shrugged off his white lab coat and got changed in one of the bathrooms, before he grabbed his keys. The drive was not long to Lily's building. He took a deep breath as he crossed the street, entered and made his way up the lift. When he got off on the second floor he wandered down the hallway to where he assumed her door was.

He knocked on the door and waited, when he heard nothing, he knocked again and hoped it was the right door. Before long the door swung open and a man stood in front of him. He looked rather disheveled, eyes framed by dark circles, light hair stuck up and his clothes well-worn and wrinkled. "Hello," he began.

"Good morning," he said cautiously while his hand hovered above his hip. "Can I ask you to state your business?"

"I'm looking for Lily Evans, she works with me and didn't show up today, I wanted to make sure everything is alright." The words came out slowly as he took in the weary man and attempted to place him.

"My name is Remus." He reached forward and grabbed the man's shoulder after he looked around. "Come in, I can explain everything." No sooner was that said, he was gently pushed past the threshold, the door closed behind them. "We didn't want to wake her."

"We?" Adrian questioned as he followed the man inside. When the living room came fully into view he saw two men stretched out on the couch. One of them, the one with longer dark hair, seemed vaguely familiar. He wondered if the one with blonde hair that appeared a bit younger was James.

"I was just about to the put the kettle on, would you like to come with me?"

"I don't feel quite right, honestly I was just checking up on-"

Remus gave him a look which halted the speech and he gestured towards the kitchen. He manually began the process of making a pot of tea before rummaging around in the cupboards to extract a box of biscuits. In fact, that's all there was in the cupboards besides a container of sugar, a can of soup and some crackers. Take out menus littered the counter as did a collection of maps, small pots of what seemed to be ink and feathers. "You don't know much about her do you?"

"Excuse me?"

"Lily," he said slowly as he pulled out cups and saucers along with the tin of tea. "But I suppose she would want to keep it that way."

He was about to open his mouth when heard someone clearing their throat. As he turned around he saw Lily, standing in the doorway with wide eyes and hair threatening to escape the confines of a solitary band. "Dr. Graham, what on earth are you doing here?"

"You didn't come to work, I was-"

"You can't be here." She shook her head and then snapped it up to look at Remus. "Why did you let him in? Why are you awake?"

"Lily-"

"Remus Lupin," she snapped and then took a step forward, grabbing his arm and quickly examining him. "You need your sleep, you know that."

"I am fine," he said. "But you need to calm down."

"Could you have at least woke me up?" Her voice was softer now as she released his arm and looked over Adrian. "I really did mean to come to work today." She shook her head.

"Today is going to be slow, Edith can handle it," Adrian offered as he took in the exhausted young woman in front of him. "I can see you had your hands full. Now, I would really love to stay, but I just got off work."

"Let me walk you out," Lily said, as she stepped forward and grabbed his arm. She tugged him towards the living room, down the small hallway and out the door. Not a word was said for a few moments, then she took a deep breath. "Thank you, but please don't worry about me."

"Why? I would have done the same thing for any of the nurses, and they would do the same for me."

"It's different. I should have been responsible, not let my home life interfere with my work life, but you don't understand how difficult it is." She crossed her arms over her chest and looked up at the ceiling. "I have people who depend on me, they will always take precedence over the clinic. That might sound selfish and you might tell the director of the clinic, but I really do not care."

Adrian looked her over, his eyes going to the pyjama pants covered in snitch's and then wandered up to her t-shirt. He sees the words, Quidditch World Cup emblazoned across her chest. Then he thought back to her school, I meant Holmstrom, Hogwarts is a name we gave it.

"Are you going to say anything?"

"It can't be." Adrian shook his head as took Lily in yet again. "My sister, she...she was…."

"What are you saying?"

"You went to Hogwarts."

"No, Holmstrom Academy," she corrected, but her eyes betrayed her as she took a step forward.

"My sister was a Ravenclaw, the jacket you were wearing the other day. The crest was unfamiliar, but…"

"Adrian, no." She reached for his arm, clutching like he was a life preserver in rough waters. "Forget everything you saw, alright? Don't mention it to anyone and never come back here."

"Why?"

"I can't be responsible for another person, please…" She doesn't let go, but her eyes sparkle with unshed tears.

"My sister traveled abroad to America, we haven't seen her in a year and she told us not to contact her. It's like she wants us to forget she existed."

"It's better that way."

"Why?" He looked her over, trying to read her face. He quickly realized, though, that she was not longer paying attention. "Lily?"

She pushed past him and Adrian saw her run towards a man. He looked impossibly young with messy hair and stubble, but immediately he knew who it was when he heard Lily's excited sounds as she threw herself around him.

"James…" She squeezed him tightly, burying her head in his chest. "You worried me."

"I'm home now, I'm not going anywhere," he murmured, resting a hand on her head. He looked up, taking in Adrian. "Who are you?"
"One of my coworkers, I was supposed to come to work today, but the guys showed up and they needed help."

"Full moon?"

"It's not your fault," she assured him. "I can head there after I get ready."

"No, stay here. I'll call the clinic when I get back to my flat and tell them that you were sick."

Lily pulled away from James and gave Adrian a smile. "Thanks, I promise I'll make the hours."

Nothing more was said, but Adrian walked away silently and his presence wasn't even missed.