Chapter Eight

The Last Night

"I'm a lucky fella

And I've just got to tell her

That I love her endlessly"

-Edison Lighthouse

October 10th, 1981

"ARE you sure it fits?"

"Like a glove! Oh, Nora, it's lovely. Thank you. James, look at your son!"

Lily bounced baby Harry on her hip, she and Lenora rounding into the living room of the Potter home from the kitchen. James looked up from where he sat with Remus, letting out a delighted laugh at the sight of his child. Harry raised a chubby fist to his wild hair, ripping off the hat of his Halloween costume. James stood, gathering his child from Lily and holding him above his head, inspecting the handmade costume with a wide smile.

"My son is a pumpkin!" he chirped happily, "Lenora, you have outdone yourself! I thought last year's costume couldn't be beat, but I stand corrected."

Lenora laughed, picking an errant piece of fluff from the back of Harry's costume, "I must digress, he was an adorable little owl last year."

Remus grinned at the sight; little Harry beaming and giggling as James tossed him into the air, both Lenora and Lily's smiles falling flat as they chastised the happy father. Remus looked over at the toddler, dressed in the costume Lenora had spent the better part of the week stitching; a rather adorable ensemble resembling a plump pumpkin, complete with a hat with a stem and several large green leaves. Felt and fluff had covered the rickety kitchen table of his flat for days, her happy humming over the whirring of the sewing machine a peaceful sound.

She had insisted upon making it, arguing with Lily that it was her duty as an aunt when the redhead told her that she had enough on her plate with the Order. Besides, Lily had told her, it wasn't as if they would be able to do much this Halloween, given the current circumstances. Remus assumed that in a way, the task soothed her. She had returned home from a mission days prior, the Order having used her as a spy for the past two years. A raven didn't quite attract the attention of Death Eaters and Voldemort sympathizers in the same way other members would as she lingered in the trees or on window sills, reporting back to the Order.

She had been gone for the better part of a week and a half, returning home to the flat James leased for him in Norbury, exhausted and filthy and bruised from flight. Remus had found her hunched over his mother's sewing machine the next morning, hair gathered up and exposing the bruises that marred her porcelain skin, occupying her hands and mind with orange felt and pipe cleaners. He had tried to convince her to return to bed but she remained at the machine, muttering that she had made his first costume the year prior, and that this year would be no different.

"Are you sure you don't want me to take it out a bit, Lil?" Lenora asked, turning back to her friend, "It is a bit tight, and he is growing so quickly! I swear, it seems like he's doubled in size since the last time Remus and I were over. I would hate for Halloween to come and for it to no longer fit."

Lily took her son back from her husband, giving the costume a tug, "Stop worrying! Besides, Halloween is three weeks away. I doubt he will grow that much between now and then. He has plenty of space, Nora. Here, see for yourself."

The boy exchanged arms yet again, Harry squealing happily when he was passed to his Auntie Nora. Lenora smiled widely, tickling his belly as Lily passed him to her. Remus watched her take the boy, balancing him on a hip as she chatted with Lily and bouncing him gently. He sipped from his beer, Remus and James turning to one another to discuss Order business in hushed tones. The women hated it when they talked about the Order during their dinners, but there was little left to discuss these days. Remus knew that James was going batty cooped up in the house since August with only limited guests allowed to visit. He divulged his friend with the information he could, James piecing together what he could from Remus, along with Peter and Sirius's visits. It had been some time since the four men had gathered together; Pete was either too busy or too ill to join them. And Sirius… he and Sirius could hardly be in the same room these days without a fight.

Remus leaned in, half listening to James as he watched Lenora sway Harry, making the motion a little wider and more exaggerated each time. Harry squealed when she dropped her hip, bouncing him back up with a dramatic gasp, Lenora smiling down at him lovingly. She had loved that little boy since the moment she laid eyes on him. Lenora doted on him endlessly, spending every moment she had outside of the Order in the Potter's home with Harry on her hip.

"So," James murmured, setting his own bottle down on the coffee table, "This mission of yours for the Order; how long will you be gone?"

Remus pulled his eyes away from Lenora, heart sinking. The reminder of his looming departure weighed heavy on him, knowing that in a few days time he would leave for the north of the country, and leave Lenora alone. He shrugged, "I am not sure. I have been given orders by Dumbledore. He's made me swear confidentiality on the matter. I haven't even been able to tell Len how long I will be gone; she can't know where I am, nor can I write," he swallowed, the thought leaving a lump in his throat.

"Will she be with her mother then?"

The very mention of Walburga Black enraged him, Remus swallowing down the lump. Why she even continued to stay in that home baffled him; infuriated him even. Lenora had spent the years since graduation between his flat and her mother's home, the old bitch either too ill or of too little care to pay any mind to where her daughter went off to for days on end. Lenora had insisted upon it, much to his demise. With her mother's deteriorating health, and connections to many known supporters of the Dark Lord, Lenora had decided to play into her mother's good graces for the time being. She had told Remus more than once that it was the best choice, not only for the Order, but for them; knowing the old witch would die soon, leaving Lenora with the full wealth of the Black Estate to her and Remus's discretion. They would be able to do whatever they pleased; travel wherever they wanted, purchase a home near the coast like they had always discussed, and like a quiet, happy life together after the war concluded. For her sake, he had learned to bite his tongue when the issue arose. She knew his stance; he didn't need her family's wealth. He would marry her with tinfoil rings if it came down to it. He just wanted her- his Lenora.

"Yes," he said tightly, taking a long sip from his beer.

James rolled his eyes, having heard Lenora's reasoning of gaining her inheritance before they married many times before. Remus watched Lenora dance with Harry in the kitchen, singing and tickling, the boy squealing with laughter. Lenora caught his gaze from across the room, giving him a soft smile before turning her attention back to Harry. They had mere days before he was sent away. They had faced similar missions, yet they had always known when the other would return; a simple reassurance in unsure times. He watched her every movement, every smile and laugh as she chatted with Lily, the way her hair fell over her shoulder, the way she played with Harry; drinking in as much of her as he could as if he could bottle it up and take it with him.

"So," James cleared his throat, Remus's attention returning to his friend, "Are you going to make an honest woman of her already? Or do we all have to wait another nine years?"

Remus chuckled, having heard the question from James so many times before. He offered him the same answer he always did. "Soon," Remus replied. James' eyes lit up at the answer, and Remus rolled his eyes, shaking his head. "She's the one holding out," he reminded him, grinning.

Lenora and Lily's chatter carried from the kitchen, exchanging their disappointments that Peter couldn't join them for dinner. He had canceled at the last minute, blaming a stomach bug. Neither mentioned Sirius. They all had agreed it best to keep Remus and Sirius separated for some time after their last altercation, both accusing one another of spying. The evening had ended in shouts, broken wine glasses, and exchanged blows. Lenora had followed Sirius out into the street, begging him to come back inside while James stood with Remus in the kitchen as he iced his cheek.

His attention was quickly drawn away from Sirius, his eyes falling upon Lenora once more. He watched her gently lower Harry into his highchair, her face completely focused on the baby as she buckled him in. Remus's eyes never left her, his lips curling into a smile. She glanced over her shoulder, catching Remus's eye. She blew him a kiss, smiling and returning her focus to the boy.

"When I return, I'm going to ask Lenora to marry me," he told his friend.

James let out an excited whoop, clapping Remus on the shoulder, "Brilliant!"

Lenora was feeding Harry, her face completely focused on her nephew. She was spooning food into his mouth, making exaggerated chomping noises each time his little lips closed around the utensil, much to the boy's entertainment. She giggled when he reached for the spoon, wiping his chin with a rag. Remus couldn't take his eyes off her. He hoped for a quick mission; to return home. To finally make her his wife. To someday watch as she fed their own baby. Perhaps they would settle by the coast; they could walk with their child along the beach, watch their own little one chase the waves. Maybe they would run off to America like she had talked about; she could find herself the stage she always wanted, far away from the burdens of her name. Or perhaps they would find their home in Godric's Hollow as well. He wouldn't mind raising his children alongside his friends, watching his children play with their older cousin. They could decide upon it when he came home, he thought.

Lenora smiled, straightening up as Lily whisked Harry away for a diaper change. She crossed the room, Remus shifting in his seat as she slid into his lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed a kiss to his whiskery cheek. "What are you boys talking about?" She asked, Remus's hand resting on her thigh.

His fingers brushed across her bare leg, his fingertips grazing her skin. He looked at her smiling face, his other arm wrapping around her waist, their bodies pressed tightly together. He looked at his hand on her thigh, and the small smile on her lips. He wanted tonight to drag on; to just sit with her in his lap, to hold her in his arms, to drink and laugh with their friends and enjoy this moment for hours on end despite the war beyond the walls of the home in Godric's Hollow.

"Nothing," he replied, his voice soft and low. He pressed a kiss to her dark curls. "Just talking."