A/N: Hello, guys! Hope you've enjoyed Jilytober as much as I did. A whole month of stories for our favourite couple is dreamy.

Tomorrow I'll post a translation from an old story, canon-ish - our dear old James as Lily's DADA substitute professor.

Our chapter today has a bit more of Sirius and Lily interaction, for those who love that friendship just like I do...

Without further ado... here we go!

If anyone thought it strange to see Lily calling James by his given name on the next day, they said nothing; except for a glance shared between Marlene and Remus, the "novelty" went by unnoticed.

They had a quick breakfast and ran to the training field, where they met Benjy on the stands.

"Benjy!" Lily called out, with her usual animation whenever she met her colleague, who smiled back and hugged her.

"Hey, partner! Alright?"

"Yeah, nothing like vacations…" she replied and winked. The others greeted Benjy and sat next to the field. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, we'll have the Minister on today's training."

"What?" Lily cried in surprise.

"It seems the talk back in England is that she's not giving enough support to our squad," Benjy explained while they stared ahead to the still empty field.

"Well, of course not! She's the Minister for Magic! She can't spare the time to watch people flying around on brooms!" Lily argued, then whispered, "and her son was just murdered in here, what do people expect?"

Benjy shrugged, watching attentively as said people started to fly around on brooms.

"Fact remains that she's coming," he said, "we're taking an official picture of her with the squad."

"Does she know James is the only suspect?" Lily asked with a frown. Benjy raised an eyebrow at her.

"No, she doesn't know James is the suspect," he replied, with a big emphasis on the name. Lily blushed lightly.

"Benjy, it…"

"It means nothing, nothing happened, I'm sure, partner," he smirked, "just the two of you in that wonderful hotel room…"

Lily rolled her eyes and slapped Benjy across the head, but he only chuckled.

"Hey, wasn't he the bloke who fancied you at Hogwarts?!" Benjy asked, clearly having way too much fun. "With a passion so fierce and arden- ouch, ouch, I'll stop!" Lily had hit Benjy anywhere she could reach until he relented with a laugh.

"It's nothing like this, Benjy. He used to fancy me, but it's been more than four years and-"

"Used to fancy? Try used to worship," Marlene cut in, joining them. Lily rolled her eyes and Benjy laughed again.

"It wasn't like that, Marls," Lily disagreed with a disapproving look.

"It was precisely like that, Lils, and you know it. You are talking about James, aren't you?"

"Whatever. The point is that he's a suspect in my investigation," Lily dismissed her argument.

"Who you're on a first name basis with, and who's staying in the same hotel room as you," Benjy added. Marlene grinned.

"With other four people, and even if it wasn't the case, it would mean absolutely nothing, since he still is my suspect, and also because nothing is happening," Lily emphasised.

"For now," Benjy said, and he and Marlene laughed again. Lily rolled her eyes.

"C'mon, Lily, we're just messing with you. Besides, it's not like you think the bloke's unattractive."

Lily turned, open-mouthed, to argue back, but was interrupted by a third person.

"Evans, Fenwick, enough chit-chat. Come over here."

They were so engrossed in their talk that the arrival went by unnoticed. Moody's firm voice made them both turn immediately, and they quickly reached their boss, who walked with the Minister for Magic. Lily assumed her protection stance at once, almost ignoring the surprised looks Sirius and Peter threw at her.

"Minister, good morning," she greeted, "I'm truly sorry for your loss."

"Minister, this is Auror Evans. She's in charge of the secret investigation regarding your son, with help from Auror Fenwick," Moody introduced her.

The Minister eyed them both and forced out a smile.

"Yes, yes. I'm familiar with Evans. Is it prudent for her to be on my protection when she should be on vacation?"

"Minister, if I were on vacation and you were to show up, I would be on your protection regardless," Lily told her. Moody nodded in agreement while Benjy and the Minister smiled weakly. The group made their way to the middle of the stands, waiting for a break while Benjy did a quick recap from the team's campaign so far.

"So we're doing well?" the Minister asked in the end.

"Yes, ma'am, we can even lose the next match by a small margin, if Germany beats Mexico."

"Then why all of that commotion with my absence?" she grumbled. "When are they having a break? I'm not comfortable with leaving the Ministry for so long."

"Something's happened, Minister?" Lily asked.

"Attack on Muggles. I didn't think this would take so long."

Lily's face fell. It really made no sense at all (at least to her) for the Minister to be here, waiting for a break to take a picture. She signalled to Sirius, who smiled and waved. Lily then pointed to the field and made a break gesture. Sirius raised his thumbs and ran to the field, where James had his back to the stands and watched the others flying.

Sirius spoked something to his mate, who turned, alarmed, and blew his whistle to stop the practice. The rest of the squad gathered around James and Lily smiled.

"Then please, let's go, Minister."

The Minister smiled and nodded, rising from her seat, and made her way to the field. Her "guard" followed her, with Lily leading and Benjy and Moody on the back. James was the player who received her with a grin.

"Minister Bagnold, what an honour to have you here with us," James said, bowing a little, "even more considering…well, everything. I'm terribly sorry, ma'am. Jack was a special lad. I had a rather strong link to him."

"Thank you, Potter. He's talked quite a bit about you."

The rest of the squad offered their condolences and grouped for the picture. Lily held the camera, while Moody and Benjy positioned themselves near the photo without actually being on it. The Minister asked to see how it had turned out, and headed to Lily to see it.

"Evans," the Minister whispered, "I know you're the best. Please, please find who did that to my boy. I just want…justice."

Lily gulped and stared into the Minister's eyes.

"I'm doing everything that I can, Minister. I shan't rest until I find the culprit," Lily replied, receiving a painful smile in answer.

Lily didn't join Benjy and Moody when they took the Minister to the apparition point, all in order to maintain the concealment.

If she had to be honest, she was getting tired of all that. She wanted more freedom, less secrecy, less secrets. She wanted to do her investigation without fearing that Rita Skeeter would show up unexpectedly and ruin everything.

Not that she would mention it to anyone. She wasn't the type of person who complained of a case or a mission before it was finished. It was poor luck, she considered.

The practice that day only finished when it was already dark. Tired, they all agreed to order room service, considering it was the more practical option. Although he had spent the whole day flying, James didn't show signs of exhaustion – in all honesty, the only person who appeared to be less tired than him was Lily.

They sat at the table to eat and Lily didn't hide her surprise.

"Who ordered pizza?" she asked, already serving herself cheekily.

"I did," Sirius replied, "haven't had any in a very long time."

"I'm completely on board," Lily grinned. With a flick of her wand, she got Butterbeer on everyone's glasses. It was a calmer meal than usual, even if Lily had no clue into why Sirius was so beat.

"Emotional support is very demanding, Evans," he explained when Lily asked. She rolled her eyes, but he seemed to have been honest, as he went to bed shortly after dinner.

Despite the long practice, James still wasn't satisfied, and decided he had to evaluate how to improve some plays, so when the others went to sleep, he got his clipboard and made his way to the living room, where Lily already occupied the sofa – legs on the back and body on the seats, almost upside down. When he got closer, he noticed she was reading a paper with unmoving pictures.

"You've found your Muggle paper?" James asked, taking a seat (as a normal person usually does, not on her backwards way) at Lily's side, who turned and smiled at him, still, however, maintaining her position.

"Moody brought it to me, may God bless his soul. Benjy just left it at the reception," she explained.

"And how's that World Cup of yours going?" he asked, setting his clipboard aside. Lily chuckled.

"It's not mine. It's the Football World Cup."

"Erm…"

"Sorry," she raised the paper, showing him the sports page, "it's great, anyhow. England managed to qualify for the next stage."

"Oh, that's good," James cried out, even if he had virtually no idea what he was talking about, "are we the favourites then?" Lily laughed.

"Not at all! We're waaaay behind a lot of squads, like Germany, Italy, Brazil, and, to my father's greatest displeasure, Argentina."

"Why does your Dad hate Argentina?" James asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, this year there was a territorial dispute between the United Kingdom and Argentina for some islands down in South America, so all of the Muggle Brits swore Argentina to death."

"Something tells me you're not one of those Muggle Brits…"

"Well…" Lily hesitated and grinned. James couldn't believe they were talking like that, as if they were really mates. "I really shouldn't root for them, but…they play so well…! They've got this player, right, that's simply brilliant, Diego Maradona. Bloke's spectacular!"

James nodded and grinned, listening as Lily ranted about Diego Maradona, a couple of lads named 'Pelé' and 'Zico' (he wasn't sure if he'd gotten those right, still…), and many, many names. She seemed to be lost in that world, and he fully understood that Lily really liked that weird sport (one that he still didn't know how it was played).

She was so lost on the football world that she had been talking for 20 minutes since James had last spoken. Lily smiled sheepishly and James thought she might have blushed had her head not been hanging out of the sofa, and therefore, already flushed.

"Uh, I'm sorry, I got carried away," she apologised with the same smile.

"It's alright. So Italy's raising the trophy?"

"It's my bet," she confirmed, shrugging.

"I truly hope you're wrong, you know. I'm a patriot," James said. Lily rolled her eyes.

"Of course you are, O, captain, my captain! If you weren't a patriot, who else would be?"

James grinned and winked.

"Now, Evans, please do explain why you're like that on the couch?"

Lily smiled and sat on the sofa more conventionally.

"I've always liked to sit like this, since I was a kid. I couldn't do it with a full Common Room, of course, but every time I went down to read in the very late hours, I'd sit just like this, on the chair in front of the fireplace. It's one of the things I miss the most about Hogwarts. The empty Common Room in the late hours, during winter, with my blanket and the fireplace, a book waiting to be read."

Although he had never seen it, it wasn't a hard scene for James to picture: a 12-year-old Lily Evans, swallowed by a blanket.

"That's how I always got to know about Gryffindor's couples, by the way," Lily continued, laying the paper on the space between her and James, a smirk colouring her face, "they always arrived on the late hours during weekends, and I was there, reading."

James chuckled, shaking his head in disapproval.

"Doing some digging at such a young age, Evans?"

Lily shrugged and smiled.

"The information volunteered itself to me, I just couldn't deny it. If anyone did some digging it was you, who knew all of the gossip on that castle."

James couldn't argue with that; his Cloak and his Map jumped to his mind. He simply raised his eyebrows and grinned back.

"It was my duty as a Marauder, dear Evans. How else could I obtain the much needed information for blackmail?"

Lily laughed and stood up, picking the paper.

"Not very smart to admit this sort of thing to an Auror, Potter."

"You're not working, you're here as my guest. There're laws that protect me," he replied. Lily shook her head, still laughing.

"I'm always working, James."

And saying that, she retreated to the room she shared with Marlene, leaving a still grinning James on the sofa.

Although she had talked for a long time with James before going to bed, Lily didn't feel tired. In all honesty, she felt more invigorated than most days since they had arrived in France.

Being the first to rise, she reckoned she could do something nice to the others, and quickly arranged for a full breakfast with room service. She selected the tea flavours she knew were preferred, casting a spell to maintain the warmth of the food.

The joy caused by the full meal contrasted hugely with the previous night's pizza dinner; Sirius and Peter were so excited when they saw the table that they didn't stop talking and joking around for hours. James and Marlene chated more quietly, apparently discussing the World Cup.

Remus, Lily noticed, was silent at her side. Looking closer, it was possible to notice his skin paler and the bags under his eyes bigger – a common look of his once a month. With everything that was going on, Lily had forgotten to look at the lunar calendar to get ready.

"Everything alright, Rem?"

He smiled lightly, but didn't eat the croissant that was on his plate. Lily squeezed his hand.

"Want me to get something else for you to eat?" She asked again.

"No, no. I'm a bit nauseated. I'll eat later, if I get hungry," he replied in a weak voice.

"Want me to do something?"

"No need, Lil, thanks," Remus said, showing her the same gentle smile he always did.

"I've got that nausea potion here, I brought it because I reckoned it might happen," she offered. Remus chuckled.

"This I can't refuse."

The redhead smiled and winked, rising at once to get the vial that would benefit her friend greatly; Lily knew one of the worst parts of the transformation was how rotten he felt on the days right before the Full Moon – he could scarcely eat, he felt weak and vomited quite a lot.

Lily had charged herself as his nausea potioneer ever since she had found out about his condition. Over the years she had studied, experimented and modified, until she reached a perfect formula for Remus – some of the ingredients she added were specific for the sort of nausea that was caused by lycanthropy.

Remus drank the vial and went back to bed. Biting her lower lip, Lily took a plate and filled it with some food, in case her friend managed to eat something later.

"Evans, you've won me over completely today," Sirius said, still at the table, one hand patting his stomach and the other holding a piece of bacon, "you've done all of this for us, and are helping Remus at his dire times…

"Don't be silly, Sirius," Lily replied, "I just ordered it. I definitely can't cook all of this."

"Oh. Pity, really. Here I was thinking I'd found someone who I could absolutely marry in 20 years," Sirius bemoaned with a low voice. Peter, Marlene and Lily laughed, while James simply rolled his eyes.

"What makes you think I'd be available in 20 years?" Lily questioned him, crossing her arms. Sirius smirked.

"Touché, Evans. Now let's talk about that hangover potion you mentioned the other day, eh?"

Lily rolled her eyes, grinning at his crazier and crazier offers (five silver cups with the crest of the Black family, nicked with no chance of tracking, or a piece of curtain from each Hogwarts house), while they finished eating.

James and Peter offered to clean the table, since Lily had set it up. Marlene and Sirius teamed up in the search for a restaurant for lunch.

"What's today's schedule?" Peter asked, when they finished returning the hotel dishes.

"There's practice in the afternoon, and after that an event with the interns," James told him with a yawn, "Pete, could you stay behind with Moony? He's not feeling very well, and Sirius must come along…"

The boy agreed quickly, and Marlene offered to stay too, so James, Lily and Sirius decided to have lunch at the hotel to simplify matters.

Lily carried her recorder in her purse, ready to be used as soon as she arrived at the event with the interns. She was a bit hesitant about leaving Remus behind, and she would have considered getting Benjy for backup, if not for the opportunity to talk with all of the interns. Even so, she had given Remus potions that might help him, labelled.

"If you're being this overbearing with Moony, just imagine when you've got kids," Sirius said with a hollow laugh that was cut short by a cry of surprise when his foot got caught in a hole on the floor.

Lily and James, amidst guffaws, held Sirius to stop him from falling down. He steered himself and took his foot out of the hole on the floor near the exit.

"Why's there a bloody hole in here?!" Sirius cried. Lily and James were still laughing, but she got enough control to observe the opening attentively.

"Looks like it's a mole hole. Or a niffler," she pondered, lowering herself to examine it better. It was Lily's turn to jump back, startled, when an animal suddenly exited the hole. "Look, it's a baby mole!"

"What is that?" James asked, getting closer to the animal that was shrunken, watching Lily in return; the girl had a grin on her face.

"It's a Muggle animal. Don't you have moles?"

"Not really," Sirius said, "we don't have them, Miss Muggle."

Lily shrugged and kept watching the little mole. Looking a bit closer, it was possible to notice that there were many holes just like that one scattered around the grass – most of them close to the fence, both inside and outside.

"These mean people invaded your land, didn't, they?" Lily mumbled to the mole, conjuring some water and offering it to the small animal.

James and Sirius watched for a while longer while Lily hydrated the mole; when it was satisfied, it ran deep into its hole once again.

They continued their way and presented the credentials on the checkpoint, picking up the pace to the training centre. James went straight to the field, while Sirius and Lily sat on the stands. Sirius revealed a pack of Every Flavour Beans, and offered Lily, who smiled and accepted.

"So, Evans. I haven't failed to notice you're much friendlier with my pronged mate."

"Who?" Lily asked in confusion.

"James."

"Oh," was all she replied, feeling her face heat up.

"I think it's great, brilliant. Does this mean you don't think James is guilty anymore?"

Lily bit her lower lip and sighed.

"Sirius, you know I can't discuss this."

"I know. I'm just pondering out loud and noticing your every reaction."

"Sirius…"

"Alright, alright. I just think that better late than never. Even four years later."

"You better than nobody know just how much the situations differ, Sirius," Lily sighed.

Sirius shrugged.

"I maintain my point. You're a nice girl, Lily, and I feel that this experience will give us an opportunity to relate in the future."

"And not your mate arrested?" She raised an eyebrow.

"He's innocent."

"And if I must arrest him?" Lily asked.

"You won't. I trust your work, Evans."

Lily turned to the field and tried to hide the slight blush with Sirius's compliment. She had supposed he trusted her, but actually hearing him say it was completely different. She knew Sirius was the silent admiring sort.

They didn't talk much after that, both focused on the practice in front of them. Lily tried to understand the movements James tried to improve, while Sirius looked critically at how his friend flew.

As they usually did, Lily and Sirius waited for James to exit the dressing room after the practice. They were slightly late for the event with the interns, and James was highly expected there.

Again Lily caught herself watching how people treated James. It was pretty much the same as in their Hogwarts years: the team star in front of the fans. The biggest difference in the two scenarios was his reaction with that much attention. Four years ago he would have bragged, saying he really was the best, and his team would never lose.

Now James took the compliments, but changed the subject; he didn't put himself under the spotlight at all times. He gave credit to his teammates, and respected his adversaries.

And he mixed pretty well around all those interns. Had she not known him, Lily might think he was one of them. When she neared James, she could hear him giving tips for the kids. There were people from a lot of countries, and all of them wanted to talk to him.

James wasn't the only player on the event; two French were there too, along with a German and a Brazilian. However, none of them were nowhere nearly so harassed as James.

"Impressed?" Sirius asked with a small grin.

"I'd had no idea how…big he was on Quidditch," Lily replied, crossing her arms.

"Oh, Evans…he's the best player in the world, and I'm not exaggerating," Sirius informed her as they watched James talking to a small boy.

"I don't follow Quidditch," she said, justifying herself.

"I know that. You've never been a fan, even back at Hogwarts," Sirius said, sipping his drink. "I'd reckoned it was because of James, but now I think it's a bit deeper."

"I just don't really like the sport," Lily affirmed, making a face, "but yes, your mate helped quite a bit on this dislike," she admitted. Sirius chuckled.

"I won't judge you," he replied, "not a lot, at least." Sirius sighed. "James's changed, Evans. Of course, he's still too arrogant for his own good, doesn't pass up an opportunity to joke and prank, and he still loves the attention. But his feet are on the ground now. And his heart remains in the right place."

Lily nodded distractedly. She had already noticed everything Sirius was telling her. She didn't understand why he was talking about it now.

"Is it always like this?" she asked, nodding at the flock of interns surrounding James, ignoring Sirius's comments.

"Almost always. But he doesn't mind much. Actually, he actually enjoys it," Sirius shrugged.

Lily made a face, stating clearly her distaste for the feeling and making Sirius chuckled once again.

"Come along," she said, "I need to ask around about Jack to those interns and make it not like I'm questioning them…"

It wasn't the easiest of tasks. Almost all of the interns surrounded the players, and a moment to talk quietly was hard to find.

Bit by bit, however, they managed to talk to a few. They all said the same: Jack was a kid who liked everybody, who made everyone like him too. Hadn't made a single enemy. Only the British interns knew about his mother.

They also heard that he liked to stay on the Quidditch field until very late, training with his own broom, until someone called him off. They also found out that he was an excellent player, and that he defended muggleborns rather fiercely.

Sirius claimed the night as a complete waste of Lily's time ("so what he liked to feed the nifflers?"), even if it didn't matter to him the result of that field day.

For Lily, it reassured her belief that the murderer wasn't from the concentration. But why would anyone want to assassinate an 18-year-old boy? Even more Jack, who seemed to be so well liked!

Lily didn't share her musings with Sirius; the only person who would learn her conclusions was Benjy, through the owl she would send him that night.

"Do you mind if we stop to eat?" James asked as the three of them left the building. "Couldn't eat anything back there."

"Lots of fans, Prongs?" Sirius asked after agreeing. James smiled.

"Well, yes. They were very nice. Most want to play in the future, and asked for training tips to go pro."

James kept talking about the interns, until Sirius told him to shut up and eat faster so they could return soon because they were tired.

"Lily's not tired. Are you?" James asked, raising his eyebrows (Sirius had to stop his eye roll. Honestly. The prat was really in love. All over again).

"Actually, no, but I need to send some files to Benjy," she replied, "but please, finish eating at your own time, James," Lily added, when James started to rise.

"I'll ask them to wrap it as takeout. Sure you both don't want anything?" He offered. Lily and Sirius refused; her with a smile while Sirius crossed his arms.

The way back was filled by James whistling an unknown song to Lily; she assumed it was from some not-so-famous wizard band.

As they arrived in the room, Lily went to check on Remus immediately, followed by Sirius and James. He felt better thanks to the potions, but still indisposed. After sending the aforementioned file, Lily went to her bedroom, leaving Sirius and James on the living room,

"Mate, I can't believe it," Sirius said. James, who was watching Lily leaving, changed his focus to his friend.

"What?" He asked.

"Four years. I took a Time-Turner and went back four years on time."

James flushed and rolled his eyes.

"It's not like it's my fault."

"No, I don't believe so," Sirius agreed, "there must be a gene on you that's programmed to fancy that girl."

"How do you even know what a gene is?" James asked, raising an eyebrow. Sirius smirked and winked.

"Your red talks a lot."

Benjy Fenwick wasn't a guy who usually complained about his job. He loved being an Auror; the rush from missions, the rewarding feeling of succeeding, the pleasure in helping other people…and, of course, his fellow Aurors.

Lily, his partner and great friend, for instance, never left him hanging. She helped him with the reports, gave him tips, and always had his back. She never hesitated on helping him, whatever it was he needed her for.

In a similar way, Benjy always was available to lend her a hand, no questions asked.

And it was exactly for that mutual trust that he followed the well-known doe, not even blinking, when it awoke him in the early hours, bringing the panting (and slightly despaired) voice of his partner:

"Benjy, I know it's a lousy hour, and that this is insane, but I need your help. Please, please come."

A/N: Don't kill me, remember reviews make the writer's day, and see you next Sunday!