"AND WE'RE HERE FOR THE DECIDING GAME OF THE HOGWARTS QUIDDITCH SEASOOOONNNNN!" Dexter shouted, squirming with excitement in the commentator's seat in the stands of the quidditch pitch. The stands were filling up, students from all four houses crowding the stands, and the teams were warming up, swooping over the pitch and back in laps, doing loops through the hoops, and stretching as they donned their protective equipment on the grass below. 

Lily settled down on a bench on the Gryffindor side. She had her old house scarf wrapped about her neck and had painted a small crimson and gold heart on her cheek bone to match it. Beside her, James was standing up and waving wildly to Oliver Kent, who was sweeping the length of the pitch, clutching onto his broomstick, a look of excited determination on his face. "Look at him go,  Evans," James said, pointing.

Lily smiled, "He's quite the star already - just imagine how much more so when you've helped him along even further."

"Blimey the rate he's at, I'll just be observing anyway," James said proudly, "I could probably learn a thing or two from him over the summer." He smiled, but his smile faded off suddenly as his eyes caught something in the next box.

Lily turned and followed his gaze to find Albus Dumbledore was stepping down into the faculty box seating, followed by Minerva McGonagall. Lily looked back up at James. "Alright, honey?"

James felt like his heart was going faster than it ought to do, and he sat down rather quickly, the strength draining from his knees. McGonagall looked over and saw him, waved, and he waved stiffly back, then turned away quickly, looking out at the pitch before Dumbledore could do the same. James stared, eyes wide. "Do you reckon he's begun already?"

"Begun?"

"With Regulus?" 

"Oh."

James had told her about what he'd seen - she was the only one he had, the only one he trusted with it. Lily had been able to tell something more had happened anyway, there was no use trying at hiding it from her. They'd agreed that there was nothing to be done, no interference they could properly run on this side of it, or else Mopsus would've told James what to do and how to accomplish it, would've instructed him how to fix it. But he hadn't and so James was powerless. That didn't stop him wanting to hex the old man.

He knew that he'd never look at Dumbledore again without thinking of Regulus Black.

Lily put her hand on James's back.

"HEY JAMES!" Wally's voice cut through the tension as he threw himself into the seat next to him.

Lily saw James swallow back his emotions and turn to Wally with a smile on his face.

"Hey buddy," James said, and she couldn't help but think exactly how much like Charlus Potter he looked and sounded at that moment.

Wally grinned. "HEY! Hi Lily!"

"Hi Wally," she said, waving. 

They settled in to watch the game, and James forgot about Dumbledore after a time, engrossed in the exciting action on the pitch. Both teams were in excellent form and James found himself jumping up more than once to watch the chasers approach the net, shouting praises for Gryffindor or booing when Ravenclaw scored against the lions. Wally watched James with fascination and Lily couldn't help but laugh when James shouted something about a foul on the pitch, Wally stood up and mimicked him to a T.

Halfway through the match, Lily reached into her bag and held up a bag of cranberry nut biscuits she'd made and James enthusiastically shared with Wally. "Thanks Mrs. P!" Wally called enthusiastically and James thought her heart would melt at being called Mrs. P for the first time ever.

The biscuits were scarfed down quickly and the crumbs were still falling from the boys chests and mouth when Zimmerman scored for Gryffindor, sending them into a strong lead over Ravenclaw.

James was keeping his eyes up on the air space over the pitch now, watching Oliver Kent as he again demonstrated his excellent natural ability as a Seeker. There was a fair good amount of wind and Oliver's hair was caught up in it so he kept slipping his hand through it the way he, James, had always done and Lily elbowed him and said, "Bloody hell, you've already taught him some of your signature moves, have you?"

James grinned.

Wally looked over, and, thinking they were talking about the quidditch plays, asked, "What move is that?"

James laughed as Lily said, "The Arrogant Toerag Hair Sweep."

"Oh that one," Wally said, nodding knowingly. "Gets me every time..." and he turned back to the game without another word as Lily and James exchanged glances and James laughed again, then reached down and ruffled Wally's hair and Wally squawked and jumped to the side out of James's reach.

Suddenly, there was a commotion on the pitch and they all looked to see Oliver Kent and the Ravenclaw Seeker, Jeremy Vane, taking hard dives across the pitch from opposite ends. James's eyes darted about and it took him a second - even with both Seekers eyes setting the trajectory - to spot the snitch. The little gold ball was hovering about three feet off the ground, wings flapping manically, and both Jeremy Vane and Oliver Kent were bent low on their broomsticks, gaining speed at an alarming rate.

They shot through the center of the game, Oliver dodging around Macy Struthers as he passed throgh, nearly knocking her off her broom from the sheer velocity with which he was moving. The elevation of the pair of them had dropped severely and Lily said, "Gosh, I'd be so dizzy if I did a dive like that."

No sooner had the words left her mouth than Oliver suddenly turned in his trajectory, losing control and hitting the far grandstand frame with a terrific crash that sent him flying off the broom and onto the ground, rolling to a stop several feet away as Jeremy Vane caught the snitch from the air and pulled up gracefully.

"OLLY!" Wally cried out and he was up and running from the spectator box.

"He had to be going about fifty knots at least," James said, shaking his head, and taking a second helping of roast from the serving platter. "It was incredible. I've never seen a dive like that. Really. I'm shocked the kid didn't completely pass out. I would've done for sure... It was bleedin' spectacular, mum."

"Oh my stars, I've never been more frightened," Lily said, shaking her head.

Dora shook her head, "But he's alright?"

"Yeah he's alright. He was feeling pretty lousy about it, though, event hough he got up and walked from the crash like it was nothing. Kid is made of iron, I swear. I told him he's a dragon at heart." James grinned. "I think I gave him his new nickname; everyone was calling him Ollie the Dragonheart before we left."

Dora shook her head, "Boys and their quidditch!" She got up and went to the fridge to get a pitcher of pumpkin juice, seeing James's cup running low.

"No mum, I swear, it was an incredible dive... if he'd caught the snitch it would've been something else."

Lily said, "It was something else without the snitch."

"Yes but imagine if they'd WON THE CUP as a result of THAT catch, though? Bloody brilliant." James shook his head, still regretting Ravenclaw's season clenching win. He sighed. "Mum, Dad would've loved this kid, alright? He would've been asking to trade me in for him, I reckon."

He waited, expecting Dora to say Charlus wouldn't trade him in for anything, but it didn't come. 

"Mum?"

She was bent forward into the fridge still, her hand clutching the door, and he stood up, seeing her knuckles tighten on the handle. He walked over quickly, putting his hands on her sides, "Mum?"

She was clutching her chest and she had tears on her face.

"Mum?" James's voice rose with concern as he pulled her upright gently and looked her in the eyes and with the saddest expression on her face, she let out the cough she'd been holding in - a terrible hacking thing that shook her entire body and she covered her mouth with her palms as a stream of pitch-black smoke escaped her. When she lowered her hands, there was blood in them. Quite a lot of it. James stared at the blood and then his eyes moved to meet hers.

Remus sat on the couch in the howling house, his drawing pad balanced on the arm of it, his arm curved around the pad as he drew, biting his lips.

"You have to hold still."

"I am holding still."

"You're not though, you're fidgeting."

"That's not moving."

"It literally is."

"Alright. How's this?"

"Good. Now stay." 

"Just because I'm a dog doesn't mean --"

"Sirius."

"Alright! I'm just saying, you drew Regulus without --" Sirius stopped mid-sentence, and he held still after that, the thought he'd been about to say spinning in his mind over and over again.

Remus's hand was shaking, which was not helping at all with getting the shading right. Honestly, all he had done on the sheet was Sirius's eyes, just a catch of the sprawl of his nose and the long eyelashes, the curve of his tear ducts and it was the lines and shading in the irises that he was working on now, wanting to capture the life in them.

"I love your eyes so much," Remus murmured. "I want to make sure I get your eyes just right."

Sirius stared right into Remus's eyes. "Moony?"

"Hmm?" Remus looked up over the edge of the pad as he worked, glancing through the strands of lightly curled hair that hung over his forehead.

"You should take an art class."

"An art class?" Remus asked.

Sirius nodded.

"Hold still."

"Sorry."

"'s all right. What do you mean an art class?"

"For your elective," Sirius replied.

Remus paused in drawing. 

"I think you'd be bang-on at it and I should like very much to have an opportunity to watch you do this more often. I enjoy watching you draw."

"You do?" Remus asked.

"I do. I think it's very sexy that you know how to draw."

Remus flushed. "Thanks, I guess." 

"No just... It's so interesting to see how you see things, you know? I can't draw for the life of me, you've seen the scribbles Prongs and I have done before in class, that's my GOOD drawings."

"I know, I've also seen your abysmal notes when you try to draw the Goblin Wars for Binns' classes, that was always interesting."

"I liked the goblins smashing into the city walls after being catapulted," Sirius said, "Those were always fun to drawer."

"Yeah, you were good at drawing smashed up goblin bits everywhere."

"And making Xes for eyes." Sirius grinned.

Remus laughed and turned back to drawing.

"So.. will you think about it?"

"Maybe."

"I think it would be good for you. And I think you'd enjoy it and I'd like to have a happy Remus over the summer."

"I'm always a happy Remus, Padfoot," Remus answered, "How could I be anything but joy and sunshine when you're about?"

"I know you're being facetious, but I'm going to let it slide this one time."

"Thank goodness, I don't think I could've handled the punishment if you hadn't."

Sirius peered at Remus for a long moment. "Punishment, you say?"

"You already let me off, no takesies backsies. Now HOLD STILL, you idiot... I haven't got much longer before moonrise and I want to get this right."

"I wonder where Prongs and Wormtail are? They're late," Sirius complained.

"Dunno, but I swear to Merlin if you move again, I will use the petrificus totalus to get you done up here."

Sirius grinned. "That's extremely kinky but I think I might be alright with it." 

"I really hate you sometimes," Remus said, shaking his head.

"Nah, you don't," Sirius answered, and his eyes twinkled just the way Remus was trying to capture and Remus quickly bent back over his parchment pad with vigor.

James stood up. They were in the waiting room at St. Mungo's hospital and the mediwizard who had taken Dora walked into the room with an air of purpose. "Mr. Potter?" he called.

James nodded as he loped over. Lily followed, grabbing for his hand and lacing her fingers through his. James squared off his shoulders. "How is she?"

The mediwizard sighed. "Let's go have a talk for a few minutes, shall we?" he asked, and James felt sick and they both followed the mediwizard out of the waiting room area.

He brought them to a smaller, more private room.

"Mr. Potter, your mother's dragon pox have been suppressed and overlooked far too long, she ought not to have waited so long after showing her first symptoms to come in..."

James stammered, "She's been fine hasn't she been fine, Lily?" he glanced at her.

"I...um." Lily's entire face turned pink. 

James stared at her a long moment, then turned back to the mediwizard. "She must've been hiding it."

"She's previously come in for descaling once every... two weeks..." he flipped through a chart before him, "And has been repeatedly told to come more often. She's missed several of the appointments as it is... And she's not done a dousing or a flint removal for... four months. She has a recommended standard appointment here of weekly dousing and bi-weekly flint removal... Now, having examined her, she likely will need to sift to daily dousing and a weekly flint removal... We can get that set up. Honestly, though, she's hid it for longer than she ought to have done... I can't promise that flint removal will help much considering the methane build up at this point..." He paused. "Her methane level is astronomical... We may be talking valve release, but it also may be too advanced for that... We'll have to run some tests and see what the integrity level of the lungs are before we discuss valves..."

James hated the familiarity he was hearing all of these terms with. 

These were things he was mostly sheltered from when Charlus had gone through this. The procedures and decisions had been things he overheard mostly, things that he knew of but was told by his mother in chipper tones that didn't make them sound as serious as he'd known they really must be. These were end of life care words, he recognized them for what they were now more than he did then.

"How long are we talking?" he asked, his voice solemn. Lily could see the pain of the words lingering in his eyes.

"Perhaps two to three months... maybe up to a year, if everything is properly cared for."

James nodded. 

"We can show you how to do the descaling and how to properly extinguish the fire at home, we have trained --"

"I've already done it; my father passed from it just last year, thank you."

The mediwizard paused as that sank in and he frowned. "Okay."

He started to turn to leave.

"Wait. I don't know how. Will you show me how to do it?"

The mediwizard nodded, "I'll go get a training set up."

He left the room and James stood there staring at the spot on the carpet where he'd been standing for several long seconds. Lily reached up and put her hand on James's shoulder.

"Guess I'll be going to Hogsmeade everyday to check on her," he murmured.

She took a deep breath. "We have the spare rooms."

James turned and looked at her. 

"The one that looks over the garden, I should think..."

His eyes filled with tears. 

"She'll live with us, James."

"Yeah?"

"Yes. She belongs at home."

James stepped up to Lily and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in tight to his chest and buried his face into her hair. "I have the most amazing wife that any man on this earth has the right to dream of." His mouth kissed the spot on her jaw that he lined up with and she hugged him back.