On the horizon, the sky was purple and pink. The clouds cut through the delicate hues with streaks of inferno orange and red from the breaking sun. James and Sirius lent against tree trunks, basking in the colours. The rest of the landscape was black with shadow. The sky was a masterpiece.

James was reminded of the time he and his mother were happiest. He had been seven or eight years old. He had never been much of a mother's boy but in his father's prolonged absence on an expedition for work, James and his mother had become an inseparable pair. James could remember her mirth after a day of spring cleaning. She always helped the house elves clean. James could remember rolling around on his mother's bed as soon as her freshly-laundered sheets were on. They'd smelt like roses and lavender and strawberries, and James had buried his face in the wonderful-smelling sheets and splayed his long limbs across the warm duvet. It must have been around November, but it felt like Summer.

His mother had sashayed around the bedroom for her audience, James and the house elves, in an expensive dress that her husband had sent her from California. It had been blood-red with white polka dots, and it seemed to James to be the dress that his mother was born to wear, all the time. It was as though the dress had magic powers that evoked euphoria in the wearer. She'd dug out a white silk scarf from her cupboard that had once belonged to her own mother, James' beloved Grandmother. She'd wafted it around the room as she danced and pirouetted, her bright ginger hair bouncing around her shoulders. Neither she nor James knew that her hair would never look as healthy or shiny again, or that it was the last time that she would wear that dress with a smile on her face. James' father had returned four days late from California, and began his slow suffocation of his wife that would take nine years to kill her. James did not remember the bitterness that followed that afternoon, but he remembered the colours.

"Smoke?"

James peeled his eyes away from the sunrise. Sirius was holding out his box of cigarettes to him, one already lit in his own mouth.

"I don't smoke anymore," James replied.

Sirius' chest was bare. He was using his shirt to wipe off the blood from the large gash on his upper arm.

"He should take two vials every time, now," Sirius told James, in reference to the naked Remus sleeping at the base of a tree several feet away. "I don't know how to break it to him."

"Be casual about it. If he sees we're not alarmed, he won't be... as alarmed."

"Poor bastard..."

James watched Sirius take a long drag on his cigarette and slowly blow the ghostly smoke out into the fresh moor air. It curled and danced in front of his face.

"You're watching me smoke," said Sirius with a smirk. "Why did you quit if you're gagging for one so badly?"

James lent back against the tree and looked out at the sunrise. "I wouldn't want Harry to smoke."

"I don't want Harry to smoke either, it doesn't stop me."

James rolled his eyes. "You're not his father. Wait 'til you have kids, then you won't be so cool about things."

In his peripheral vision, he saw Sirius turn to look at him. For a long time, he seemed to be constructing the right question to ask.

"What's it like, being a Dad?" he asked. "What does it... feel like?"

The colours in the sky seemed to brighten. It's a lot harder when you're no longer a son.

"Scary and confusing, to be honest."

"In what way?"

James looked at him curiously. "We've had this conversation before."

"When Harry was new, sure, but you're a seasoned parent now."

"I see what you mean. The novelty of fatherhood has completely worn off. My son is just a piece of furniture to me now."

"Of course."

Sirius waited for him to answer. James sighed. "I'm more scared of death now, because I don't want to miss anything and I don't want to leave him. But I know I'd happily die a hundred times to save him. And I guess that won't ever wear off, so... I guess fatherhood is always scary. Forever. Shit."

"Wow... and two kids? That's double the fear."

James shrugged. "I'm hoping I'll end up like Arthur Weasley and just lose track of them. It's less hassle to just let them roam."

As they lapsed into silence, the sun came up. The purples and pinks in the sky were drowned out by gold, and the silhouettes of the trees and hills were washed out with yellow light.

"I want kids," declared Sirius. "Boys. Brothers, like us."

"Not getting broody, are you, Padfoot?"

Sirius looked away as he took a drag from his cigarette. "Dunno."

James studied him. "Sirius, is Isabelle pregnant?"

"No, Merlin! We're just... thinking about things. The future is coming, etcetera..."

This stunted James. The marauders had always been impulsive. James himself had only thought of his own future in abstract terms. Never plan what you cannot control. James was intuitive. He had known that something big would knock him sideways and disorientate his bearings of life. He and his family were so deeply immersed in the wizarding world that he could feel the crackles of discontent in the air, and that was his excuse. His plans were always vague. Have cool adventures, then become boring. As his plans evolved into more concrete desires, he'd assumed that it was out of his love for Lily that a house and kids became more appealing to him. It had not occurred to him that it may have been a natural consequence of ageing. Then again, he was only twenty two. Perhaps it was both.

"I told Lily something a few days ago," said Sirius. "I told her I was in love with Isabelle."

"And are you?"

"Absolutely."

James raised his eyebrows. "Wow. Congratulations."

"You don't seem elated."

James was caught out. "I... don't know her very well."

Sirius didn't know her very well either, James thought. But Sirius' courtship of Isabelle happened away from the marauders. Sirius had his own separate world, now. So did James. Why did that make him so sad?

"Lily didn't seem elated either," Sirius commented. "And don't get me wrong, I don't blame her. It just... I just wish... I don't know..." Sirius flicked his cigarette stub onto the grass. "Do you like her?"

James looked at him. Sirius had never been a 'sad' person. He'd always been an 'angry' person. As a teenager, he'd believed that emotions and heartbreak were for the weak, and this was the one mental factor that tied him to his real family. It was the one way the Blacks still had a hold over him. That was, until the war. Looking at Sirius now, James saw all sorts of emotions that neither of them would have acknowledged if they hadn't been faced with the possibility of losing everything. James still thought war was shit, but it had freed his best friend.

"I like Isabelle," James told him. "But like I said, I don't know her too well."

This didn't seem to assure Sirius. "Do we not hang out enough anymore?"

"We do! But... Isabelle seems to work a lot. It's not her fault."

"She'll be at the party tonight," Sirius told him, sitting up, suddenly excited. "You could get to know her a bit more then."

"Sure."

James looked away, back at the sunrise which was all-but gone. Replaced by spring-time pale yellow.

"James?" Sirius tapped James' leg with his foot. "I need you to like her. She'll be around for a long time."

James couldn't help himself. "What about Marlene?"

Sirius was silent for a long time.

For years, Sirius had his friends believe that he had a penchant for blondes. But James eventually realised that he'd had a penchant for Marlene. And James knew why. There were life-giving qualities in her voice, in the way she rose above challenges and spoke as though she were born with a protective charm around her. She was a rarity: a good person strong and tough enough to drag Sirius through the thick of it.

"You think I'm replacing her."

"No," James said. "You just..." You don't talk about her anymore. You don't cry. You've just grabbed the next girl who looked your way, because loneliness hurts and you can't bear any more of it.

"Do you miss her?" James asked, deciding that was the most tactful way to approach.

Sirius, again, did not reply for a while. He merely took out another cigarette and a box of matches from his pocket and inhaled the stuff that would choose his words for him.

"She's been dead for a lot longer than you realise, Prongs. She's a part of history now. I won't lie to you, I'm envious that you had a life outside the war that meant moving forward was easier. That's what I want. I'm sick of thinking life is shit."

Behind them, Remus stirred. They turned to watch him, thinking that he'd wake. But the shade of the trees kept the bright sunlight out, and he rolled over and continued sleeping.

"He thinks he's hopeless," said Sirius. "He thinks no-one will want to be with him because he's a wolf."

"He told you that?"

"No. But I know that's what he thinks. Remember third year?"

James did remember. It took months to convince Remus that his friendship wasn't dangerous.

Sirius continued. "All it's got to take is someone who isn't an arsehole to see him for who he is."

"Right."

"The same goes for everyone. And for me. I don't wish to be a pansy about it, but Isabelle loves me even though there are parts of my life that would make anyone else run a mile."

What Sirius was preaching, James could relate to. He could hear Lily's voice in his head, telling him that there were many good people in the world, and many people are capable of looking past the ugly parts of a person's life to see how special they are. But this was something that James disagreed with. He loved his wife for believing in the good of humanity after fighting a war, but he had seen every hideous deed that humans were capable of, from the evil to the cowardly, and he knew that life was cruel and happiness was something you had to make for yourself. You had to take the ingredients wherever you could find them.

"Padfoot," James began. "If she's what you say she is, be with her. If she's not, ditch her and see if the next girl is worth your time. Just do whatever you can to be happy. Be greedy about it. Just find stuff that makes you happy and fuck everything else."

"... are you alright, James?"

"I need to go home."

Sirius seemed to understand this. James stood up and brushed the grass off his bum.

"You'll be alright on your own?" asked James, gesturing to Remus.

"Yeah."

"Great."

He had to go. Speaking before thinking was underrated. He could not count the number of times he'd surprised himself with what he'd said, and what advice he'd given. If he ever saw Bellatrix Lestrange again, he'd smash her face in. People that thrived on depriving other people of precious happiness did not deserve any happiness at all. He would not kill her. He would not send himself to Azkaban for her. But he would hurt her, and although it wouldn't bring back any of the people she'd taken from the world, he would enjoy watching her howl in pain.

But that was revenge. Revenge wasn't happiness. Happiness was pride and enjoyment and comfort and love. Revenge was not only unfulfilling, it was also redundant. James needed to cancel out evil with good. So, instead of breaking anyone's bones (though he wouldn't punish himself for it on the job), he would populate the world with good people. He had two children to raise now. He and Lily could do it: release two more good, kind people in the world. That would restore balance.

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

There were many reasons for Lily and James to be nervous as they departed for Sirius' party. Firstly, it was the closest thing to a date they'd had in ages, even though they were accompanied by Remus and Harry, and they were both determined to enjoy themselves. Second, it was a party. There would be people there who would recognise them. They had avoided the wizarding world as much as possible since last Halloween, and according to their friends they were as talked-about as ever. Thirdly... Sirius' big secret was going to be revealed. His 'business plan' would be a mystery no more. They were nervous because this implied he had everything established and ready to go, so no matter how awful his idea was, there could be no talking him out of it.

Lily did not look in the mirror before they flooed to Diagon Alley. She knew she looked like shit. Her second pregnancy had not given her the glowing skin and shiny hair that her first one did. Instead, her hair was dead and brittle and her skin was sickly and dry. None of her clothes fit her anymore. She'd had to borrow a shirt from James. She tied her hair up to hide its damage. It didn't help that James looked incredible, and had barely made an effort. Shit, waistcoat, sleeves rolled up, perfectly disheveled hair... it was unfair. Not only would she look ill compared to him, she'd be oggling him all night. She'd look like a sex-starved groupie.

The Diagon Alley address of Sirius' party stumped them. When they arrived in the public floo of a side-passage, the place was unnaturally quiet. No busy shoppers, no kids, no chatting... but as they continued down the alley, it became clear why.

Hoards of people were gathered around one particular shop, the front of which was concealed by a giant floating crimson sheet. People were trying to peer through it, muttering to each other as to what the big secret was.

"That's... where the party is," said Remus with a hint of dread. "two hundred and twenty six, Diagon Alley. That's that building."

For the first time they'd ventured out into wizarding public without disguises, they were receiving no attention. They joined the congregation outside, standing at the back of the crowd. Were all these people invited? Surely Sirius did not know all of these people...

"Prongs..." Remus turned to James. "Has Padfoot bought a shop?"

"Jesus... 'business endeavour'. This is what he meant..."

"Shit..."

Lily lifted Harry out of Remus' arms at the cue of his swear word, and cuddled him to her. If Sirius did anything embarrassing, she could take him and run.

Suddenly, the crowd began to cheer. James, Lily and Remus strained to see over the heads of the gathered witches and wizards to see what the commotion was about. The focus was on whoever or whatever had appeared at the front.

"Thank you for coming, Everyone!" shouted Sirius' voice.

Lily cringed.

"I am honoured to be able to present something very special to you today!"

Lily stood on her tiptoes and said to James over the noise of the cheering crowd "I don't know what this is, but I already want the ground to swallow me up."

James stopped craning his neck for a look and replied "I want the ground to swallow Sirius up, to be quite honest."

They still couldn't see him, but whatever he was doing made the crowd laugh.

He must have hushed the crowd, because they abruptly fell silent.

"I have acquired this property behind me, shaken things up, given it a new lick of paint and turned it into something we have never seen in Diagon Alley. Does that sound good?!"

The crowd whooped and cheered.

"In light of recent events, I think we all need a little pick-me-up. Am I right?!"

The crowd cheered again.

"I'm a shop-owner now! And my business will bring you new experiences, new tastes and new fun!"

Lily, James and Remus looked at each other ominously.

"We've been stuck in the past too long, ladies and gentlemen! It's time to say goodbye to old prejudices and be proud of who our friends are and who we share our world with!"

"Oh... shit..." said Remus.

"Stop swearing in front of Harry!"

"Moony?" James looked from the building to Remus. "What's wrong?"

Remus was staring at the red floating sheet in mortification.

Sirius must have waved his wand. No words were spoken, but as the curtain fell down, there was a split second of silence as the crowd read the shop's new name, and they then went wild with applause.

In the shop window, bicycles were hung up on wires. Clothes on bewitched mannequins that flaunted their clothes and paraded themselves up and down the shop window wore leather jackets, denim jackets, jeans, band t-shirts, trainers, fur coats. A record player was displayed on a red cloth-covered table surrounded by records in their sleeves. Pink Floyd. Blue Oyster Cult. The Beatles. Blondie.

The name of the shop was painted shimmering gold onto a black slate board. The letters were capitalised, and large and loud.

BLACK'S MUGGLE EMPORIUM

"That is..." began James in disbelief. "Amazing."

Lily beamed. She looked around at the crowd, who had grown in number and were gathered around them, who were excitedly pointing at products in the shop windows, and staring in awe at the foreign objects.

"Guys..." Remus, however, did not sound as delighted. "Look around."

They did, and quickly learnt what had unnerved Remus. While most members of the crowd were excited and happy, some were not. A few figures stood still. Their expressions were hardened. One or two people were hastily walking away. Lurking further away, in the entrance to Knockturn Alley, a group of several wizards were watching. Glaring.

"They don't like having their name splashed all over something like this," Remus guessed.

"That's why he did it," said James, grinning. "I think it's great."

"Yeah," Lily agreed. "Diagon Alley needs this. It'll be... progressive."

Remus was still looking around at the ominous faces. "Will it?"

Sirius soon called up all those gathered who had tickets to his 'exclusive' party. Many ticketless bystanders attempted to join the queue of attendees, but were quickly sent away by two of the largest men Lily had ever seen. They were enormous, rhinoceros-type men who could have been brothers, in matching black and crimson robes.

"Does Sirius know those two?" Remus muttered to James and Lily.

"FRIENDS!" exclaimed Sirius from the front of the queue. He quickly dashed down the line towards them, arms held out. He was smiling from ear to ear, and was dressed in the finest robes Lily had ever seen. Deep burgundy with black leather and gold fastenings. Bespoke. Tailored. Expensive.

"You have no idea how happy I am that you came. First impressions?"

The three of them looked around, though Lily was looking more at the enchanted crowd than the shop.

"Brave, Padfoot," James commented. "It's genius, of course... and very brave."

"You certainly seem to have divided opinions..." Remus nodded in the direction of the Knockturn Alley crowd, who were still standing around.

Sirius waved his hand in theatrical dismissal. "It was bound to happen. And sort of aids the whole purpose of the shop. Come, my friends don't queue at my establishment."

He lead them past the long queue of guests into the shop. Once inside, Lily's jaw dropped.

It was ten times as shocking as the front.

The place was brimming with muggle items Lily had never given a second glance until Sirius' shop. Shelves contained rows upon rows of records of muggle music and classic muggle novels. Long clothing racks were crammed with jackets, t-shirts and coats that were never seen in the wizarding world. Stationed in the middle of the shop floor was a huge long counter containing all sorts of knick-knacks: inanimate chess pieces, ball-point pens, tennis balls, rubber ducks, marbles, wind-up toys, bubble wands, snow globes and slinkies, bells and race cars... all sorts of things Lily had never realised didn't exist in the wizarding world.

They continued through the shop, admiring the Confectionary Corner, complete with jars of pear drops, mint humbugs, sugar mice and vampire teeth, boxes of kola kubes and bags of flying saucers and cinder toffee... there were rings of candy necklaces and garlands of chewy snakes. It dwarfed any muggle sweet shop Lily had ever seen.

"Let me take Harry to the toys department," said Sirius, holding his arms out for the toddler. "You three get some drinks and have a look around."

Lily looked around quickly. Clothes, music, books, sweets, appliances, bicycles...

"I don't see a toy section," she said to Sirius.

"It's upstairs."

"There's an upstairs?" When she looked at her friends, Sirius and Harry were already walking away and James and Remus were staring up at the ceiling, mouths agape.

She followed their gaze. Above them was a mezzanine level, looking down upon them. Above it, another floor. Up, and up, and up... Lily could count seven floors in total.

"Hello, everyone."

Lily turned. Isabelle was approaching them, smiling, looking uncharacteristically casual. Her hair was down, for the first time Lily had seen it, and she wore a pretty white and blue dress that made Lily feel extremely frumpy.

"We're so glad you could make it," she smiled. "What do you think?"

"It's madness," James was looking up at the floors above again. "How did he manage it all in secret?"

"It was tricky. Took a lot of glamour charms to keep this place inconspicuous, but we hired a lot of help. It got done quick enough."

"There were only two floors in this building from the outside," Remus pointed at the floors above. "Is that an illusion?"

"Undetectable extension charm," Isabelle shrugged, as though the answer were obvious. "The licence cost a bomb..."

"How could he afford all this?" asked Lily disbelievingly.

"I bought the building for him as a gift. The rest is his money... and some of my father's money..."

Music began to play. Muggle Rock 'n' Roll music. At the same time, more people in crimson and black uniforms emerged from a back room carrying drinks on trays. Only, they weren't glasses of champagne. Bottles of brightly coloured alcopops and half-pint glasses of brown liquid (which Lily guessed to be muggle beer) were passed around to the guests, who were slowly starting to fill up the shop floor.

"I recognise some of these people..." James said to Lily, observing the guests. "That's Antoinette Rudge, from Hufflepuff. Remember her? And... isn't that Randolf Flint? He was the shittest Head Boy we ever had..."

"You'd know all about shit Head Boys, James."

"Screw you."

"Mister Potter?" called a voice.

From outside came a tall, lanky, green-haired man in a bright blue metallic cloak. He sauntered towards James and Lily holding a notepad and quill. He was accompanied by a short, spiky purple-haired girl with a camera round her neck.

Lily internally braced herself.

The two guards outside did not stop them entering. They came to a halt opposite James and Lily, both looking bored and extremely punk rock: a movement that had yet to sweep the wizarding world.

"Hiya. Rocky Riggle, reporter for Tiger Eye. This is my assistant, Jewel. Ignore her. Care to give us a few words?"

"On... what?" James asked tentatively.

Lily had never heard of 'Tiger Eye'. She was sure James hadn't either.

"Black's Muggle Emporium. What do you think it says about the post-war wizarding community?"

"Um... well, like Sirius, um, Mister Black, said earlier... the wizarding world is ready to move forward and what better way to do it with this amazing place?"

As he spoke, party guests were slowly starting to gravitate towards them, listening to him speak.

"True, true... So, we learnt from the war reports that Sirius Black and yourself have been friends for many years. Happy to see your pal making a name for himself outside the elitist, self-entitled, blood prejudiced Black family?"

The whole room leaned in.

"Sure. Sirius has always been a big supporter of equality, and this new business reflects that. I'm very proud of my friend for this endeavour."

Lily was pleasantly surprised at James' articulation with the press.

"Has anything on the shelves caught your eye yet?" Rocky Riggle asked James.

"The records. I'm a big fan of muggle music."

"And Missus Potter..."

Lily steeled herself to be as fluent as James.

"That shirt you're wearing. Where did you get it?"

Shit.

Trust her first question to be the one to warrant a mortifying answer. He wouldn't ask her another thing.

"Actually, um... I borrowed it from James, from my husband, um... pregnancy, you know... difficult time for clothes-buying." She wondered when the ceiling would hurry up and fall on her.

But, Rocky Riggle nodded seriously. "Androgyny is so fashion-forward. It's taking the muggle punk-rock scene by storm. Who inspires you?"

Did he mean fashion-wise? Or in general?

"I guess... I like Patti Smith?"

She did like Patti Smith. But the reason for her mentioning was more to do with her inability to think of any other female icons who wore clothes like she did.

"Patti Smith..." Rocky Riggle said slowly, mulling over the name. "I'm not familiar."

"She's great," Lily replied, feeling foolish. "But I also love Bowie!"

"Bowie! We adore him at Tiger Eye. You must be a huge fan of Fritz Ivory. Similar style. Will you be seeing him at the Spark?"

"Who? At the what?"

Before she could embarrass herself further, a loud voice mercifully interrupted the interview, but it was the voice of someone Lily was not entirely happy to see.

"Rocky, darling!" the young woman gushed. "It's been weeks! I did not know you'd be here!"

Emmeline Vance sauntered into view.

Lily kept her expression neutral as Emmeline came towards them, while Rocky's assistant Jewel took pictures. Emmeline linked her arm with Lily's, which was a bewildering move.

"I see you've met my fellow Order members!"

Emmeline was practically hugging Lily's arm. Lily stared at her, part-confused and part-shocked at how much Emmeline had changed since she last saw her, at the war graves. Her dark purple lipstick remained, but it was nicer. Less garish as she smiled a dazzling white smile. Her dark hair was shiny and heavy and intricately weaved with gold thread. She looked like a Greek goddess, especially in a revealing white dress.

"Emmeline, darling, will you please give me an Order interview? You must've known all about Peter Pettigrew..."

Lily felt James flinch.

"Oh, don't be so intrusive, Rocky! Now, hurry up with your business here. My friend here is pregnant. She needs a chair and a snack, not a freaky journalist asking her personal questions."

Jewel suddenly aimed her camera at something behind them. The rest of the party guests began to applaud and hold drinks aloft. Lily looked behind them. Sirius was descending the staircase with Harry in his arms. Camera bulbs outside the shop began to flash.

"You must be from Tiger Eye," Sirius said to the reporter.

"Honoured to meet you, Mister Black. Rocky Riggle. Any chance we could get a picture with you and your VIP guests?"

"Certainly."

Sirius came to stand in between James and Lily, and passed Harry to Lily. He put his arms around the pair of them.

"Um, Sirius, I'm not sure I want Harry to be in-"

Before she could finish, Remus came to stand in front of her. "I'll take him," he scooped Harry out of her arms.

"Aren't you going to be in the picture, Remus?" Lily asked.

"No way. This whole press thing seems a bit..." he glanced at the madly-dressed reporters. "Well... enjoy yourselves." He quickly departed with Harry.

Jewel took pictures. Lily smiled, squeezed Sirius' middle and even dared an affectionate touch to her bump. All the while, her arm was linked with Emmeline's.

"Come, now," Emmeline whispered to her after several photos. "Let's find you a drink that isn't full of sugar," she looked at the alcopops disapprovingly as the waiter passed them with the tray.

Lily found herself being dragged away from the press and pictures towards the back of the shop, where a teenage waiter was standing with a tray of white plastic cups.

"You there," said Emmeline as they approached. "What are you serving?"

The young waiter peered into the cups. "I believe it's cherryade, Miss."

"Is it alcoholic?"

"I believe it's a popular drink with muggle children, Miss."

"That doesn't answer my question."

"Emmeline," Lily interjected. "It's non-alcoholic. I used to drink it all the time."

"Oh. Okay, then."

Emmeline finally let go of Lily's arm and took two cups from the tray.

"Are you not drinking alcohol?" Lily asked her.

"I'm on a cleanse."

Lily decided not to tell her that cherryade was full of sugar.

She remembered full well the letter Emmeline had sent to James some months ago. It had been suggestive and dismissive of all the tragedy of the war. Lily had disliked Emmeline since her campaign to ensnare James into a relationship at school. But since the letter, Lily had prayed never to see her again.

"So, rumours abound..." Emmeline took Lily's arm again. She had to stop herself from rolling her eyes. "...that you haven't been doing too well since last October. Is everything... alright?"

Lily wrinkled her nose. "What do you mean? What rumours?"

"Just rumours. People gossip."

"Why would I be not doing well? I'm fine."

"Well, no-one's really seen you since the war. And you never came to my Christmas party."

"I never got an invitation to any party..." Lily looked to the front of the shop, where James and Sirius were still talking to the press. The guests were less interested in them now, and were amusing themselves with the stock of the stop.

"But... I sent an invitation."

Lily pulled her arm out of Emmeline's and stepped in front of her, facing her squarely. "And who did you address this invitation to? James?"

Emmeline looked affronted. "Well, yes. And you. Not your son, though. It was a real party. Not for kids."

"We never received it."

"I definitely sent it, because my owl came back from your house all covered in soot."

Lily raised an eyebrow at her.

"Oh. You wouldn't have been there. Why didn't I think of that..?"

"Well, you managed to send a letter to my husband, asking to meet him..."

"Oh, that was through the Ministry's post. I was registering for the Auror programme. I heard he was going to join up too, and I don't know anyone who's an Auror. Has he applied? Had to keep the communication on the down-low, of course. All sorts of blood-purist freaks are trying to tackle the Auror programme."

"Oh, um..." The cogs started turning in Lily's head, trying to remember what was written in Emmeline's letter and decipher whether her words could be applied to what he was saying. "He, um... he got in. He's been training for a few months."

"He has?! Oh, they must have fast-tracked him! Oh, that makes sense. My grades weren't as parfait as his. Ooh, do you think he could put in a good word for me? I'm not in a rush to qualify but really, it'll shut my father up if I have a paying job."

"He's only, er... I'm not sure he can do that yet."

"Mmm. Gotcha. Well, it'll do me good to go 'cattle class', as it were."

Lily looked at her. She really was striking now. Her transformation in the past few months was not extreme, but it made a big difference. She looked more like an angel than anyone Lily had seen.

"You don't seem like... I mean, I never took you as the Auror type."

Emmeline took a sip of cherryade. "I suppose I'm not as stocky as most of the girls who apply. But after the whole blood war thing, I've become a bit allergic to neutrality, so to speak. I'm not a 'sidelines' kind of person, and Aurors are always the good guys, no matter what anyone says. So, I figured I'd join up. Earn a bit of credit for myself."

Lily could scarcely believe that she was finding Emmeline Vance to be speaking admirably. But still, she had once fancied her husband. She should tread with caution.

"So, Emmeline..." Lily began, taking a quick gulp of cherryade. "Have you been seeing anyone lately?"

Emmeline's eyes darkened. "It's funny you should ask..."

Lily tensed.

Emmeline took her arm and swerved Lily around to face the rest of the shop.

"See that blonde man over there, by the books?"

Lily searched. Emmeline was pointing to a tall blonde man in his late thirties. He was not talking to the group of people around him, and was rather awkward-looking, but he was dressed in fine robes and his hair was styled meticulously.

"The rich man?" Lily asked.

Emmeline giggled. "Yes. That is Cornelius Peck the Seventh. Don't tell anyone, but I've been seeing him since the war ended."

"Why is it a secret?"

Emmeline bit her lip. "Technically, he's still married."

"Jesus, Emmeline!"

"It's fine! He's going to get an annulment. It's dreadfully awkward. His wife left him before the war started, and they were going to tell their families and they were going to get a divorce, but she got tortured into the loony ward at St Mungos and he felt too awkward to leave her after that. But she can't remember him at all now, so it wouldn't be fair to him to stay married to her. Especially since they separated already! So, we're not really doing anything wrong.

Lily watched this man, trying to interpret his movements. Did he seem like a man whose estranged wife was mad? He did now Emmeline had told her. Otherwise, Lily wouldn't have guessed.

"That's where we met actually," Emmeline continued. "Spell Damage ward."

Lily turned her attention back to her. "You were in Spell Damage?"

"Of course. Haven't you been to see them?"

Lily felt misery wash through her like a flood. "Alice and Frank... I saw them at Christmas. I... haven't really had the chance to..."

"Oh, it's awful. I tell you, if I ever see Bellatrix Lestrange again, I'll scalp her. One of the Healers said there's hope for Alice, but the therapy costs an absolute bomb and Frank's mum is as poor as a church mouse."

Lily looked around at the shop. Frank and Alice would have loved it.

"I should visit them..." she mumbled to herself.

"Definitely. Let's make a day of it. Visit the Longbottoms and do a bit of shopping. It'll be nice to catch up properly."

Before Lily could respond, the party guests erupted into applause once again. Lily followed their gazes to the counter top at the back of the shop, atop which Sirius was now standing and bowing dramatically.

"Thank you, Thank you everyone for coming!"

Some guests, whom Lily suspected were James and Sirius, whooped.

"This shop is a passion project of mine, and... I'm very happy to have my nearest and dearest here today to see it."

As Sirius spoke, James came to stand at Lily's side, holding Harry. Lily was cheered at the fact that James and Emmeline were stood so near, yet she felt to threat from her. It was a much-needed step forward.

"Since the war, I've been looking to move forward, and my shop is going to help me do just that..." Sirius continued.

Lily smiled up at him. She was happy for him. She was happy that, finally, things were coming together for him.

"Of course, none of this would have been possible without the help and support of my beautiful girlfriend, Isabelle!"

The guests clapped as Sirius helped Isabelle up onto the counter-top. She waved shyly at the audience.

Isabelle seemed calm for once. No longer stretched to the limit by work, which shook her so much.

"In the spirit of moving forward, I have a question for you, Isabelle..."

Sirius Black got down on one knee.

The guests gasped.

"Isabelle Sommier... light of my life... will you marry me?"

Isabelle stared at him, mouth agape, not moving. After several seconds, she looked out at the guests, stunned, then back at Sirius. She cleared her throat. "Yes?"

"SHE SAID YES!"

The guests cheered and applauded again.

Lily and James turned to stare at each other in silent shock.

"Well!" Emmeline gasped. "He's setting himself up, for sure!"

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

A/N: I got some really nice reviews since the last chapter, so thank you for that. I hope this one was OK. 20th Chapter!

Fun Fact: I wrote this chapter in a Burns Unit. Completely fucked my hand up. It's going to be red and gross for the rest of my life now, but I don't care because A) I can still type, B) Bowie's dead.

Had to put him in here. He was a hero of mine.

Thank you heaps for reading this. I love writing it. I've got it all planned. It's going to be dramatic.

N x