𝐓𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐯𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞 - 𝐉𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐏𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫

70 - 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙚, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙗𝙞𝙜𝙜𝙚𝙧

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Tensions were running high.

The Order members weren't told why everyone was so tense, but they were. Even though there had been no Order meetings except the one in which a few more tasks were handed out, and even that was headed by McGonagall, it was enough for everyone to know that a task that required the attention of Dumbledore, Moody and both the Prewetts was definitely a dire one.

There was a little light when Molly and Arthur Weasley invited the whole Order for a baby shower for their third child, and when asked why they got so big of a crowd in the middle of a war, they gave big laughs and said, "What better security?"

Lily Evans and Marlene McKinnon were notoriously absent from any and all official or unofficial gatherings of the Order, although Alice, newly married to Frank, usually gave a hardly believable excuse of Lily visiting someone or the other. Marlene and Sirius were in regular contact, neither knowing if they were ready to explicitly date yet, but wanting to stay close to each other.

Frank had become great friends with Regulus ever since Remus and Regulus spent a night at Frank's house, and although Aquila really had a good feeling about Remus and Regulus, she chose to keep her mouth shut in fear of scaring either away. She had only spoken about this to James once, when Sirius had eavesdropped and was absolutely giddy about his best friend and brother having the potential of becoming something. And even giddier about the fact that Regulus refused to hide his attraction for men out of shame or fear.

Peter was becoming a regular guest of the Black apartment, helping Aquila out with potions and cooking. He was a rather sweet lad, who blushed profusely when teased with the name of Lily Evans. Regulus liked his company a lot as well, even though he refused to admit that he actually liked hanging out with the Marauders, claiming that 'their juvenile acts' made him sick. It was no difficult feat to see how the Marauders' company was a welcome distraction after the shock of seeing both Rowan and Adrian on the other side.

James and Aquila spent every possible minute together, leaving no opportunity to make Sirius or Regulus cringe with their 'lovey-doveyness', as they both liked to say. Regulus had very boldly also said that he had seen a ring box in James' nightstand after Aquila met James' parents, who were amazingly delighted at the thought of getting to pamper not only Aquila, but also Regulus, and hence unofficially adopted all the young Black siblings.

Regulus and Sirius had also gotten impossibly closer, open wounds of Sirius leaving closed. They spent whole nights out on Sirius' bike, to be greeted by tired but awake James and Aquila who gave them tea and scoldings respectively. No surprise that Regulus had also started smoking cigarettes, something that peeved Aquila to no end and was often found biting Sirius' ear off for starting the habit himself and introducing it to Regulus.

But outside of their merry little bubble, there was no sugar coating on the fact that they were all in grave danger. The Marauders were known for being the team, with Sirius and James' duelling skills unmatched when they fought back to back, and add Remus and Peter to the mix, and bring ten or twenty, everyone were goners. This made them a highly desirable target, and each time, tougher and tougher teams confronted them, and every time the Death Eaters went back insulted with their taunts, it seemed it only fuelled their ambition to bring down the quartet.

Now there were rumours of a prophecy and a baby, and Regulus had made Aquila take a pregnancy test after her, ah, tryst with James, and to the profound relief of everyone, it had come out negative. Dumbledore still remained tight-lipped about the meaning of the prophecy, and even though Aquila and Regulus had told the Marauders all they knew about it.

So everyone sat, waiting for when the storm would finally come, and when it did, it came in the way none of them expected.

It was an odd night when only James and Sirius were at home, Aquila having been called urgently into the Academy, and Remus, Regulus, Peter and Frank out somewhere. Sirius and James had chosen to stay home, just wanting a lazy night after all the crazy nights they'd had in the week.

And what a night to stay home.

There was an urgent knock on the door which made both the boys sit up in alarm. Everyone who was known and safe to visit them had keys and access to the protection charms.

They immediately reached for their wands, and Sirius got up from the sofa and approached the front door. James got up as well, going near the kitchen which had a clear view of the hallway that led to the front door. Sirius looked through the peephole, frowning in confusion before looking back at James.

"It's Evans," he said softly. James' face mirrored his confusion as Sirius carefully opened the door, well aware of how it wasn't difficult to don someone else's face.

And true to his word, Lily Evans stood in front of their door, a faint blue border on the door stopping her from entering, a protection spell put by master of the Dark Arts, Regulus Black himself. Her hair seemed to have lost all its shine, going from a glowing red to a dull orange, making her look like one of the Weasleys. Her face was blotchy, marked with tear tracks and bloodshot eyes.

"Hi," she whispered, cowering in herself, making James wonder what had happened to reduce the fireball to ashes.

Sirius looked guiltily at her, but safety had to be above all. "Hey, I'm sorry, but I gotta ask you a security question, okay?" he said gently. Lily nodded, looking him straight in the eye.

"What was the first prank we played on Snape?" Sirius asked.

Lily laughed slightly. "It was a classic. You switched his shampoo with bleach to see if he even washes his hair and after two weeks, you were convinced he didn't, but he had and he and I had secretly dyed his hair black again," she said, sniffling.

James grinned at that, Sirius waving his wand to lower the spell, welcoming Lily into their apartment with a grand gesture.

Lily refused to sit, but accepted the tea James offered, taking small sips, standing by the big armchair.

"I'm sorry, I know we aren't that close, but Marlene has gone off to America and Alice is settling in her new apartment with Frank. I just. . .I had to come to you," she whimpered, making James and Sirius look at her in concern at the tone they had never heard before from Lily.

"What is it? You can tell us, we promise," Sirius said softly.

Lily glanced at James guiltily. "I'm pregnant." 

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u didnt see that coming?

im so ready for all the angry comments coming my way

poor tequila black

anyway, HAPPY NEW YEAR! im so happy u decided to stick with my story in the new year, and thank you for  the 100k. im so blessed to have you all!