So Far Away

"Pay up," said the gray man from across the table.

The four of them gulped. It was possible that Peter was sweating enough to fill a small swimming pool. They all knew they didn't have the money. And despite spending most of their seven years at Hogwarts learning ways to get out of almost any situation, they had absolutely no idea how to get out of this particular dilemma. The man they were playing with didn't look like he would let them off the hook.

"We...er..." Peter said, shifting nervously.

"We need a moment alone," said Remus, much more calmly than he had any right to be in a situation like this. "We're going to..." he trailed off.

"Split the money we're going to...erm...pay you," James finished.

"Exactly," Sirius added.

The man furrowed his brow. He looked about to say no.

"Just a moment," Peter said.

He relented. "Alright. But stay where I can see yeh."

Peter nodded fervently and the four made a huddle just out of the man's earshot.

"What the hell are we supposed to do?" James whispered urgently.

"How should I know?" Sirius asked, shrugging.

"How should you know? You're the one who bloody got us into this mess!" James said this a bit louder than he had intended, causing the man to stare at them, curiously.

"Calm down," Remus said. "We need to think."

They nodded at Remus.

"Think," Remus continued. "What are alternatives to paying?"

"We could be his slaves for a while," Peter suggested.

Sirius shook his head. "No. He could force us to anything. But some kind of labor might work..."

"Maybe he has a job or something," James said. "Something specific we could do for him."

Remus nodded. "That might work. But it would have to be a pretty big something. That's a lot of money we owe him."

"Well with all four of us..." Peter started.

"It would mean less work for each of us, and the same job done for him, which is good," James said. "But we should do something that would make him think he has the better deal."

"He does have the better deal already," Sirius said. "Let's just offer to do a job for him."

"Yes," Remus agreed. "The other options don't seem any better."

"Well, what are the other options?" Peter asked.

"I have no idea. I was attempting to sound more clever by seemingly having supplementary alternatives."

"Oh."

~~~~~

Lily was done packing. Her flat was so empty; it made her want to scream. She hated emptiness. She always wanted a full house, full of children and little trinkets and furniture and drawings. She hoped her husband would let her have that.

Lily wished her father had told her what her husband-to-be's name, at least. Not that it would make it any easier. Nothing really could.

Lily sat on the cold, kitchen tile and leaned against a wall. She brought her knees up to her chest and leaned her head on her legs. She blinked rapidly, willing herself not to cry. Even though no one was there to see her, she didn't want to show weaknesses. She wanted to be strong. Knowing her father, her husband would be domineering, and she could not let him break her.

Lily didn't know what to do with herself on her last night. Going out and getting drunk somewhere sounded nice, but Lily didn't really like what the outcome of that would be. Lily groaned.

In the end, Lily decided to go for a walk. She could see rain on the windows, but she didn't care. A walk in the rain would be good for her.

She pulled on her shoes, which were left unpacked so she could use them tomorrow. Not bothering with her coat, she stepped outside.

Lily shut the door softly behind her, and walked out onto the sidewalk. The lights in most of the other nearby flats were out, and streetlights lit up the road. Lily took deep breaths. Feeling the damp air in her throat felt wonderful. She walked very slowly along the sidewalk. No one to rush her here. No one to order her about or push her around. No one to make her marry complete strangers just so they could reap the benefits.

Lily stopped and opened her mouth wide and put her palms towards the sky, drinking in the rain. She was sure she looked like a five-year-old child, but that didn't matter. All that mattered was that she was at peace with herself and everything.

At least for the moment.

~~~~~

The gray man was smirking at them. James was instantly reminded of Snape.

"You don't have the money, do you?" he asked, still smirking.

"Erm..." Peter gulped.

"No problem, as long as I get something from you," he said, giving them the feeling that he had heard their previous conversation.

"Erm..." Peter said again.

"That's what I thought," he said.

"What is it you want us to do?" Remus asked.

"Not 'us.'" He said. "Just one of you."

"Which one, then?" Remus asked.

"Depends," he said. "Which one of you is willing?"

The Marauders looked at each other, unsure. "Can't you tell us what we'll be doing first?" James asked.

"I think not," the man said. "I'm in control here, gents. Chose one of you do this job, or I'll choose."

Without another glance at his friends, James took a half step forward. "I'll do it," he said, quietly.

"Good," the gray man said, smirking again. "Very good."

~~~~~

Mr. Richard Evans was extremely pleased with himself. Everything was going his way. He had one daughter marrying rich and another trapped in a dungeon and who would cater to his every whim. Oh yes, life was good.

Of course, he had to lie and cheat a bit to get his life the way it was. He'd fed his oldest daughter a cock-and-bull tale about some magic spell, and he was using blackmail to force his younger daughter to marry a complete stranger. At least, a complete stranger to her. Richard Evans knew her fiancé a bit.

Her fiancé a friend of Richard Evans' from High School and in possession of a few million dollars. His wife had passed away a year ago and he had dire need of a new wife, for reasons he would not disclose to Richard Evans. But it didn't matter. As long as he got money from his daughter, Lily could be in any circumstances. She was strong enough. It would be perfectly all right with him.

But was it all right? For a moment, Richard Evans almost wanted to close off the deal. Lily was his daughter after all, and so was Petunia. He shouldn't make them go through all this torture just for his own personal benefit. He should let the girls live their own lives and be a gd father to them. Support and compliment them. He shook his head rather roughly. He must be going soft.

After all, since when did Richard Evans, soon-to-be millionaire, care about what happened to his daughters? He was getting money out of it, and that was all that mattered. Nothing else mattered.

Nothing.

~~~~~

"Alright, now, come with me," the gray man said, nodding out the door, indicating James follow him. James took a step in the direction, but was pulled back.

"James, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Sirius said. "You can't go with him. He'll-"

"I have to go, Sirius," James said, firmly. "How else will we pay the debt?"

"I should go," Sirius said. "I was the one who made us come here."

James shook his head. "I'm going."

Sirius looked at his friend, hard. He knew him well enough to know that James was adamant in his decision by the determined look on his face. Sirius loosened his grip on James' arm. "You sure, Prongs? I'll go."

"I'm sure," James said. Then, a bit brighter, "Don't worry, Padfoot. I'll be fine. I'll owl you as soon as I can."

Sirius looked unsure, but let go of his arm completely. "Alright," he said softly. "But if you get killed of something, I'll kill you."

"But I'll already be dead."

"Well," Sirius said, seeming to not have realized that until now. "Then I'll use necromancy do bring you back, then I'll kill you again."

"Oh," said James. "Well that'll make it all better, then."

~~~~~

Lily reentered her flat, soaking wet and feeling considerably better. In a strange way, she felt as though she had washed away her problems. Well, part of them, anyways. At least now she wasn't so depressed.

She looked into her pantry for any food she had left. She found a box of some kind of cereal and began to eat. She was extremely hungry, having skipped dinner in favor of going on for a walk.

While she was stuffing her face, she walked over to the television, spilling food all over the floor as she progressed there. Not that it mattered; she was leaving in a few hours.

Not much was on at this hour of the night. Even the late night talk shows were over. Lily decided she'd have to settle for watching a repeat tape of some football game. Lily used to be a big fan of football, before getting her Hogwarts letter. Then she got into Quidditch. It had been a while since she had seen a game of either sport.

Lily relaxed herself completely; laying her head back and feeling her eyes close little by little. It felt good to be so relaxed. Normally she would have been panicking, but she just didn't feel like it. What good would it do anyway?

Maybe she was growing up and learning to face facts. She hoped so, because it would take all the strength she had to go to who-knows-where tomorrow and marry who-knows-who.

Bu he couldn't be that bad could, he? He father wouldn't make her marry someone cruel just for his benefit, would he? The father she used to know wouldn't do that, but with the father she had now, she just didn't know.

Lily sure hoped not.

~~~~~

James didn't think he had ever been so nervous in his life. He normally didn't get nervous, actually. He'd always thought himself brave. But when he watched his friends as he followed the gray man out the pub door, he found himself swallowing a lot and fidgeting with his hands. He'd never really felt that before, but he was almost positive it was nervousness.

The man jerked his head to the right, which led to a dark alley beside the pub. James didn't feel too confident following him; he'd always heard that dark alleys were the worst place to be with suspicious looking strangers. Still, James summoned up his bravery, and followed.

"So," the man said, and James was sure he was smirking, even though he couldn't tell in the dark.

"Er...so," James said, aware that his voice was wavering.

"You prepared?" he said, taking a step closer to James.

"Erm...I guess so," James said.

"You guess so?" the man said menacingly, taking yet another step towards James. Even though James was about six inches taller that he, James still have the feeling he was being towered over.

"Er...yes?" James said.

"Yes? You're ready?" The man didn't pause for another answer. "I suppose you're wanting me to tell you what you're going to be doing."

"I am, yes," James said, proud that he was gaining a little courage. He thought he was, at least. His voice had stopped wavering.

"All right, then," the gray man said, taking a step back. "I'll tell you."