"Okay, she's gone inside."

James nudged his partner, his voice coming out in a hushed whisper. The two men had dashed just far enough away to be hidden from view. Neither had spoken a word, yet they both paused to watch what Cynthia would do after they left. She watched their retreating figures, a some what melancholy look on her face as she did. Once they were 'gone' she just sat there drinking in the cold spring air.

No Death Eaters came out to talk to her, so that was a good sign. After staring up at the cloudy sky for a moment, the young woman pulled herself back inside and was gone behind her curtains.

Sirius nodded once towards his friend, then picking a random direction the two men took off. They moved in practiced silence, going somewhere further away. The last thing they needed was the woman to hear the sound of them apparating away.

Knowing this woman as little as he did, Sirius guessed Cynthia would not respond well if she caught the echo of another 'firecracker'. Regardless of his friend's last warning to her, she might just jump right out that window and come after them. Not that she'd find them, but she didn't need to be running about at night looking for two people she would never find. Someone actually dangerous might find her if she did.

The young Auror supposed if she'd been born with magic, she would have had a good shot being in Gryffindor, not that his guess was anything compared to the sorting hat. The girl could have been a 'puff for all he knew. She did seem quite concerned about them as they left. It was rather nice to be worried about, even by a muggle.

It didn't take long for James and Sirius to get far enough away. The rain had just begun to fall, covering the paved ground with little gray dots. The two took cover in the shadow of a large tree that skirted the edge of some random muggle garden. The pitter patter of water falling grew louder with every moment. It was going to be a big storm, no doubt.

Sirius smiled at James, who returned his expression. Reaching out slinging an arm around his best friend he apparated them away.

James still didn't like the sensation of apparition. It hadn't bugged him so much as a child while being held by his parents, but in recent years it was a most uncomfortable experience. It reminded him vaguely of his animagus transformation, only much less 'natural'. It almost hurt being compressed like this, were as when he transformed into his deer self it was almost freeing.

It was Remus' working theory that their animagus selves were the reason why he and his friends didn't like the sensation more than most. All except Remus himself, who much preferred it to his 'transformation' for obvious reasons. As sound as the idea was, it wasn't like they could go up to another animagus like their old transfiguration professor, McGonagall, and ask how aparation affected her.

With a small lurch the two Auror's reached their destination. Moskin Lodge, the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix.

Moskin Lodge was not a small building. It could easily room 50 or so people within itself, not that the order had that many people to work with at the moment. They had maybe half that, if James had to guess. It stayed hidden with the aid of magic and physical location, being tucked away somewhere practically nameless and out of the way.

The walls were hung with old coats of arms from families no one recognized anymore, as well as an odd assortment of weapons. Axes, Swords, Crossbow, and the like littered the building's walls, their purpose obsolete to the current people occupying the lodge.

The air in the building was stiff and musky, almost thick sometimes depending on where you stood, probably from not being used for many years or something. Many had tried an assortment of things to make the place more tolerable. Nothing worked for very long, unfortunately. No matter how many times one used a spell to freshen the air, it seemed to last only half as long as it should. It would last a little longer if cast by a house elf, but not much.

Alice Longbottom had brought in some magical plants to help, but they only lasted a few days before they died. The woman was quite upset about her 'little babies'. According to her, those plants were considered some of the most magic tolerant plants in the world and very rare. After that incident people just carried on, ignoring the weight of the air here. Godric knows they had more important things to worry about during Order meetings anyways.

Sirius stepped away from his friend and shook his head much like a dog would, sending a spray of water droplets from his damp hair. James' scowled in disgust, but before he could say anything a desperate voice echoed through the old building.

"I'm telling you, he's in trouble!"

Sirius and James paused and shared a look, quickly placing that voice.

"Lily, please, just wait a moment." Another familiar voice came, trying to calm the woman.

"I will not!" Lily yelled, her frustration boiling over.

Sirius and James quietly made they're way forward, listening to the argument as they did.

"He's with Sirius, surely you think Pad's will look after him." Ever patient Remus Lupin continued trying to reason with the red-headed woman in front of him.

"And who's going to look after him? You know those two Remus! They always seem to jump head first into trouble with no regard for what any of us will feel!"

Those words struck James. He cared! He cared alot actually! He wasn't so clueless about the state of the wizarding world. He knew very well what was happening out there. People, just gone in the flash of a spell. A dark mark looming over head signaling their horrid death to the world. He knew better than most blind bats working in the ministry at the moment. Remus' words came next pulling James back to the conversation he was eavesdropping on.

"I know you're worried, Lily, but you can't just go out there blind. They'll be back."

"Yeah! They'll be fine," The slightly squeaky voice of Peter Pettigrew joined the conversation. " they always are." The short dusty blonde-haired boy sounded absolutely sure of his friends. Like nothing could touch them, lest it die trying.

"He left his wand…" With Lil's statement the feeling of the room shifted. James felt guilt well up inside his chest. Sirius closed his eyes and cursed silently.

"What?" Instant worry filled Remus' voice.

"James, he left his wand at my place…." Lily's voice grew quieter seeing the man in front of her starting to see reason. "He came over earlier and forgot it. I've been all over trying to give it to him since before the sun went down."

"You checked Sirius's flat already?" Peter saw fit to ask about the most obvious place.

"Yes! And the Potter Mansion! And Diagon Alley, Hogsmeade, Knockturn alley! I've looked everywhere!"

"You went to Knockturn alley?!" It was James standing in the doorway who exclaimed this. His ex-class mates turned abruptly at his entrance.

"JAMES!" They cried in unison, but he ignored them, stepping forward to stand in front of his girlfriend.

"Why the devil would you go there?! Do you have a death wish!" The young Auror continued, trying to keep his rage veiled as much as he could. He failed spectacularly.

Lily took a step forward, the toes of her shoes brushing against James' wet ones. She would not be the one to back down today, especially after she'd been looking for him for hours. She'd been worried sick!

"Me? Do you have one! Where the hell have you been!" Lily threw her hands in the air, her frustration building as she took in the state of her boyfriend. "Look at you!" Where are your glasses! What happened to your arm?" Lily felt her heart sink as she took note of these things.

James' hair was messier than normal, like he'd taken a tumble. His jacket was damp, just like his unruly brown hair. The dirt dusting his muggle clothes seemed to further prove that he'd fallen, not to mention the way he was holding himself. It was easy to see the pain he was in as he held her gaze.

She was right, something had happened.

"Now, let's just hold off…" It was Remus who stepped in quickly. "I'm sure we're going to get an explanation." The werewolf turned to Sirius, noting he also looked a bit rougher than normal, but not as bad off as James.

Sirius saw his friends appraising eyes. Between that look and Lily bearing down on James there was no way out. With a sigh the black-haired man spoke.

"Look… alot happened tonight. We'll explain but first…" He gestured to the door leaning to the kitchen. "Let's sit down, I need a drink…"

Remus nodded and looked back to the couple currently glaring daggers at each other.

"Fine." Lily spat the word out. She turned on her heel and waltzed right through to the kitchen without another word, her red hair flowing behind her almost like a dancing fire.

James huffed and tightened the grip he had on his shoulder. Seeing the motion Remus turned to the shortest marauder.

Peter was staring at his friends, the untouchable James and Sirius. This wasn't the worst he'd seen them physically hurt, but something about them made the fourth marauder nervous. A blanket of fear draped itself across his shoulders as the unshakeable thought settled on him that things were not going to be the same after this.

"Pete, would you go get a few pain potions?" Remus's polite steady voice pulled the boy from his thoughts.

"Uh, oh yeah." The boy pushed away his uneasy feelings. He needed to help his friends right now. Peter nodded several times before quickly skirting away on his mission.

James slowly worked his way towards the kitchen, followed by Sirius and Remus.

Remus shifted his eyes from the injured brooding figure in front of him to look at Sirius. The man was mulling over his own thoughts, being uncharacteristically quiet. Having felt the eyes on him, the black-haired Auror raised an eyebrow. Remus just mouthed a simple question.

'Are you okay?'

Sirius gave his friend a small half smile. Remus really was the mum of the group, always taking care of them. Not that he'd ever truly compare his friend to his mother, even on a bad day Remus was a thousand times better.

The only thing the werewolf might consider, would be to let his friends help him more. Remus never let them do much for him, as if being there on the night of the full moon was too much for him to accept anything more. It was something Sirius had been meaning to bring up, but between Auror business and the war… Well, it got away from him. He supposed he'd need to do better, for Remus sake.

Sirius gave a simple nod of his head to ease his friend's worries. He doubted it did much, but it was better than nothing. The furry little werewolf always was a worrywart. The young Auror smiled at the thought of Remus covered in little warts, each spouting off one of his worries or silly thoughts.

Perhaps he did have some time on his hands later…

Warm light welcomed the late night visitors, almost reminiscent of the Hogwarts Kitchens. It was much smaller and didn't have an army of house elves, but it held the same atmosphere. Warm, Welcoming, and Fully Stocked. The rainstorm outside only added to the cozy feeling of the room.

The Kitchen was, in Remus' opinion, the best room in Moskin Lodge. Well, best if you discounted the Library, which of course nobody really bothered with except him. The dusty old building surprisingly had an incredibly extensive book collection. Every so often one of the Order members would come seeking a map or a book to aid them in their next assignment. It was usually Remus who helped them find what they were looking for in the unorganized shelves of books.

James and Sirius took to one side of the table, sitting opposite to Lily as she ignored them and bit her tongue. The red-head was silently fuming, as if one word would cause her to actually burst into flames like a phoenix or something.

Remus set about putting the kettle on for tea, knowing Sirius probably wanted something much stronger. Tea was a much better option at the moment. Salasar knows they'll probably need it, for the sake of having something to do with one's hands if nothing else.

He worked easily in the heavy silence, grown used to it in a way. He didn't really get to see his friends nearly as much as he'd like since graduation. James and Sirius off on their Auror missions. Lily plowing her way through her ministry work. Even Peter was always working on something. He felt proud of his friends. He really did.

The werewolf internally sighed. It was an inevitable part of growing up he supposed, but it didn't make it easier. He almost felt like he no longer had a place. They were all moving forward and he was stuck watching them from behind. What could he possibly do with his condition…

Shaking away the unfruitful line of thought, he reached out picking one of his favorite tea blends. Not that anyone would really notice, nor did he mind if they did or not. It was just something he did to make himself happy. It was the little things like this that gave him strength. Besides, they had much more important things to be thinking about than tea at the moment.

It didn't take long for Peter to come gasping into the room, three potions in his hands. Hopefully he didn't completely ransack the cupboards during his search. The marauders didn't need another lecture about that. The young man quickly brought the potions to the table, setting them down eager to help his friends.

"Here… We… Are…" He huffed.

"Thanks Wormtail." Sirius reached out to take one of the vials.

"Oh," Peter interrupted with another huff, still trying to catch his breath. "Not that one."

Sirius raised an eyebrow, and reached for another. Peter didn't interrupt again, so he took it and tipped the contents down his throat with a hiss. Did all potions have to taste so bad? His disgust didn't last long as the potion took effect. He let out a sigh as his muscles relaxed and his aches seemed to vanish.

James gave the two potions left sitting on the table a quizzical look.

"Thought you might need something more…" Peter spoke quickly, trying to get the words out before he had to take his next breath. "one's a pain potion and the other is for your shoulder."

James smiled at the thoughtfulness of his friend. Peter really was so considerate sometimes. He quickly downed both potions much in the same way Sirius had.

"Thanks Pete, that helps." James' and Sirius' words seemed to have made Peter's night judging off the look on his face. The dusky blonde nodded his head eagerly sporting a pleased grin.

It was just then that Remus came over, several tea cups followed behind him, being drawn over by the man's raised wand. Each person settled, a cup of tea in front of them. Remus held his cup, but didn't drink. Peter alternated looking into his cup and up at his friends nervously. The others didn't move at all.

The silence sat thickly over the otherwise obnoxious group.

"Well?" Lily broke the silence, not bothering to take the tea cup Remus had set out for her. The woman held an expectant gaze on the two men sitting across from her. She had waited long enough.

"Just, let us catch our breath, Love." Sirius's voice was light and playful as he spoke. He reached out and took the tea cup. Throwing a small pout at Remus for the lack of alcohol, he took a sip of his tea. His pout quickly faded as the warm liquid soothed him.

The young man didn't mind that he was one step away from uncuring the famous wrath of one Lily Evans. He liked to live on the edge. The woman in question glowered at him in response, but held her tongue. She knew speaking would only make the actual explanation take longer. Sirius was trying to stall, but why…

"We were just going out for some shopping." James' voice suddenly rang through the room. He wore a frustrated frown as he spoke, one his friends had been seeing more and more often as of late.

"Shopping?" Remus questioned, raising an eyebrow. "How did you get into this state by simply going shopping?"

"We'll get there, Moony." Sirius cut in. Remus nodded his understanding and they all looked back to James, prompting him to continue.

"Yeah, just out looking for… something particular." James shared a look with the three other members of the Marauders. They all knew what he meant.

The Ring.

Before Lily could ask, Sirius continued on.

"That's all it should have been. But we found this cute little muggle park." Sirius chimed in, waving his hands around dramatically, his cup of tea nearly splashing over as he did.

"Muggle? You went to the muggle world to go shopping?" Lily's shocked face might have made James chuckle otherwise, but he just kept going.

"Yeah, just wanted to get away from everything for a bit." James shrugged. Each of the members at the table understood.

The war was becoming stifling to say the least. Lily found herself constantly worrying about her family. Petunia was refusing to see reason, and her parents just couldn't understand why they would need to be careful when they weren't magic folk. Lily never thought she would use a phrase like 'Stupid Clueless Muggles' in her life, yet it fit her family like a glove. Add danger addict James Potter and the rest of the Marauders, and it was no wonder Lily felt on edge all the time.

Remus found it extremely difficult to go out very much as of late. If he went out, it was often to somewhere very quiet with as few people as possible. With his incredible hearing it was too much to handle all the quiet whispers being spoken, especially around the full moon. People were scared, and worse, they were choosing sides.

Peter held his hands together under the table, he didn't want his friends to see them tremble. This stupid war was too much for him. He hated it! He hated that he wasn't brave like James was about all this. He wasn't as clever as Sirius or smart as Remus. Yet, he'd been approached once already... and he didn't know what to do. Couldn't this war just end already?

Sirius' voice pulled everyone from their own thoughts and back to the story.

"Everything was fine at first. We were just having a good laugh, walking along the pathway…" Sirius held his cup a little tighter. "But then all of a sudden we heard the sound of apparation…. I don't know how many, maybe fifteen or so at first. Before we could place where they were coming from, this muggle girl ran up to us and pulled us out of the park."

The statement caused all his friends to stiffen. They were attacked…. And a Muggle had saved them?

James continued on, not waiting for his friends to process the story.

"We were followed, but Sirius took them out. I fell," He gestured to his arm, "pulling the muggle girl out of the way of a spell."

"She took us to her flat and after the coast was clear, she let us out her bedroom window." Sirius took another sip of tea, tea that none of his friends had tasted yet.

James stayed silent, watching the shift of expressions the story had brought to the faces of his friends. Remus suddenly looked ten years older. He was obviously running through what this meant for the war effort. For two Aurors, let alone Order members, to be attacked meant things were changing again.

Peter's face was full of fear. The color had drained from his face, his eyes wide in an almost haunted way, his mouth hung open in pure shock as he tried to fathom what he had heard.

It was Lily's face that shook James. The fire that had been raging in her green eyes had been doused with water. She just stared at him, eyes filled with tears ready to fall. Her lower lip wobbled as she clutched his wand close to her chest, as if it were her lifeline. He wanted to hold her. To let her know he was okay. He wanted to apologize for worrying her, but the words wouldn't come out.

A new voice cut into the room, holding no reverence for what the people at the table were dealing with.

"Seems to me you left out alot of details there, lads."

Boom! Chapter 5, Done and Dusted!

So nice to meet some other familiar faces!

I wonder who that person at the end was? *smirk*

Please feel free to review and comment!

I'll see ya in the next chapter!

((All rights to Harry Potter Belong to J.K. Rowling))