After having bought more sweets than they could eat in a lifetime (as it seemed), the Marauders exited Honeydukes Sweet Shop, bringing Ivory along with them.

Ivory walked around as if in a daze. She was there, but she wasn't really there, as if wandering around through fog; she was unable to see too far ahead. Every step forward that she took was filled with uncertainty and while she tried not to dwell on her pain, it kept overwhelming her. When she stopped thinking about her parents for even a moment, she would feel guilty that they weren't on her mind constantly...

James stood at the front of the group, cracking jokes that caused them to laugh no matter how much any of them tried not to; Sirius darted around, jumping into piles of yellow and orange and red leaves with a childlike fascination that was there only to amuse the others; Peter bounced around happily on his feet, whistling and humming simultaneously, the liveliness in his spirit showing through his eyes; Remus hopped onto James's back, causing the bespectacled boy to yell out in surprise and temporarily lose his glasses in the fallen leaves. They were all so full of life and they all so clearly loved each other that Ivory felt like she was intruding on something beautiful; but they weren't doing it on purpose, because never did they make her feel as though she belonged anywhere else than with them. In itself, the feeling of simply being in their presence made her feel better.

When Remus grabbed her by the sleeve of his own jumper once again, bringing her attention back to the four boys, she felt her heart lift.

"Where would you like to go: the Hog's Head or the Three Broomsticks?" Peter asked her.

Ivory mulled this over. She knew that, under normal circumstances, the answer would've been obvious since hardly anyone chose the Hog's Head over the Three Broomsticks, but she knew why Peter was asking. They probably thought she'd have wanted a quieter place like the Hog's Head as opposed to a rowdy, stuffy place like the Three Broomsticks.

Truth be told, Ivory didn't know what she would prefer.

"Well, I don't think the Three Broomsticks will be as loud as usual, right? I mean, since the rest of Hogwarts isn't here like they are during our trips to Hogsmeade..." said Ivory.

"All right, let's go," said Remus.

Sirius walked over to Ivory, taking a leaf out of his hair, and draped his arm across her shoulders. Remus released his hold on her sleeve and stuffed his hands into his pockets awkwardly as Sirius guided Ivory into the Three Broomsticks.

Ivory had been wrong in thinking that the Three Broomsticks Inn wouldn't be packed with people. It was not, of course, as full as normal, but it was crowded enough that the place was buzzing with noise and conversation. Sirius's arm dropped from across Ivory's shoulders to his side and the other three all turned to look at her.

"Do you... want to leave?" James asked carefully, his eyebrows knitting together.

"No, it's fine. Let's just get a drink, yeah?" she said, gulping nervously as her eyes swept across the room.

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

"Firewhisky?" James asked each of them.

They all nodded in response. Peter dug for money in his pocket, but James stopped him.

"It's okay, it's on me," he added.

"But mate, you already payed at Honeydukes..." Peter protested.

"It's fine," he reassured him.

Grinning widely, he went over to order their drinks, where Madam Rosmerta was taking orders.

"Let's take a seat, shall we?" said Sirius, making his way over to the nearest table with five chairs.

Ivory sat between Remus and Peter. Sirius went over to help James carry the drinks. The two boys set a bottle of Firewhisky in front of each of them. Ivory quickly snatched hers up.

She took a sip of the Firewhisky. It burned her tongue and seared her throat in the most delicious way possible. She took another sip, then another, then another, indulging in the feeling that it brought her. She looked up to see the boys watching her carefully.

Of all the conversation going on throughout the inn, the five did not contribute to the noise. The Marauders didn't speak and contemplated the girl, their own bottles of Firewhisky in their hands.

She continued to drink, attempting to drown out her sorrows. As she drank the heavenly liquid, her tongue began loosening because of it.

"If I ever have children," Ivory began bitterly, "I would never have only one. I would have at least three, or four, or even five, so that at least they'd have each other if anything ever happened to me, because this isn't fair and no one should be alone like this."

She shivered, taking a large mouthful of Firewhisky, hoping it might warm her on the inside.

"I know you guys brought me here because you wanted to make me feel better, but right now I am certain that nothing will ever, ever make me feel better again. When I do finally feel better, it'll be when I've lost my mind and I can't remember my parents' faces or the sounds of their voices. It'll be when this planet has collapsed in on itself, and when I've been crushed by the weight of the world, and I can't do this anymore..."

She took another swig of Firewhisky, then downed the rest of her drink in one shot.

She sighed and hunched forward in her seat, her forearms resting on the table.

"I want another one," she said flatly, idly twirling her Firewhisky bottle. She pushed her seat back, stood up and stated, "I'm getting another bottle."

"Ivory..." Remus started softly. He was afraid of her current attitude of wanting to drown her sadness in alcohol. "Don't..."

"I want more," she repeated.

James shook his head vigorously. "One is enough. You shouldn't be drinking to make yourself feel better. It won't work. And it's not... it isn't good for you."

"You can't tell me what to do," she snapped, voice cracking slightly. "You can't..." She trailed off and her voice was an octave higher than usual as she let out the last word.

She lowered the empty bottle to the table, setting it down just as she sunk back into her chair. A sob racked through her body once again. Luckily, Remus was there to catch her. She buried her face into his shoulder and his arms hesitantly wound around her for the second time in the past twenty-four hours.

One was wearing a jumper too big, the other wore one nearly too small, and both sat wrapped up in each other's arms.

James, Sirius and Peter watched solemnly. Their hearts were heavy after hearing Ivory's pained words and the emotion in her voice as she spoke them. At the moment, all four of the boys thought about how they would feel if they were in Ivory's place. They thought of their own parents, and their hearts only expanded for the girl as they felt so extremely sorry for her.

Sirius shot dirty looks at anyone who sent judgmental stares Ivory's way as she continued to sob on Remus's shoulder.

Remus let her cry on his shoulder until she couldn't cry anymore. She sniffled and lifted her head from his shoulder, letting out a sad little laugh when she saw his tearstained jumper.

"Sorry," she said sheepishly.

"Nonsense," he responded, his hand lightly grazing her arm as he pulled away gently.

She looked at James, Sirius and Peter as well, all of whom stared at her sympathetically. It was silent for a moment; Remus propped his chin up on his fist.

"Ivory," Sirius began slowly, "we were just thinking that since your parents are... well... we just—"

"Padfoot, don't," Remus said firmly, shaking his head.

But Sirius didn't listen to him.

"We want to adopt you," he said bluntly.

Peter's eyes widened and Remus shook his head at his friend, who he had often thought had a strange sense of humour. Sometimes, he knew what to say, but there were those times that he said the most idiotic things without thinking them over first.

Everyone was on edge after Sirius had blurted it out, but what none of them expected was for Ivory to start laughing warmly, her eyes shining.

"I must be honest: I never thought the most popular pranksters in the school could be this sweet..."

Remus visibly relaxed and the creases between his eyebrows disappeared upon hearing that she wasn't upset at Sirius's statement, which he had only been joking about partially.

"We have our moments," said James, smiling slightly.

"Are you all making it your mission to fix every broken thing that crosses your path?" she asked them, wiping her eyes with the backs of her hands.

They looked at each other.

"Yes," said Remus.

"Absolutely," James agreed.

"Not everything that's broken can be fixed," Ivory stated quietly, looking down. She clenched her hands together in her lap.

"Maybe not," said Peter, shrugging, "but we're all a little broken here."