Nothing On Earth

Chapter 5

April 11^th, 1912

5:35 AM

RMS Titanic

"Remind me why we're getting up this bloody early just t - to - " a sleepy yawn interrupted Remus as he slowly trailed after a surprisingly energetic James, " - have a friendly chat with Padfoot?"

James glanced back at him, annoyed. "I told you last night, Moony. We have to talk to Sirius now, because with him playing the role as spy instead of nosy cousin, he won't be able to disappear for hours at an end without causing suspicion."

"Why didn't you have this chat last night? You know I like to have a - " Remus barely stifled his next yawn, " - a bit of a lie in."

"And you say I don't listen!" James exclaimed, pounding up the metal stairs leading up to the upper decks. "Honestly, you were too busy chatting up that blonde last night to even listen to what I had to say...I do hope you at least learned her name during the time you were ignoring me, otherwise I'll hit you."

"Her name's Sigrid."

"What, no last name to her?"

"She's got one, but I can't pronounce it. She's Scandinavian - Swedish by the sounds of her accent - and she doesn't speak very much English, so I had a hard enough time understanding her without you yelling in my ear."

"I wasn't yelling. I was just talking louder than normal because the general area was so damn noisy - "

"Not any louder than the Gryffindor common room when you and Sirius always started something up."

"Yeah, well..." James mumbled, as they arrived on the D-Deck landing, and started up the last set of stairs. He shrugged distractedly, and then proceeded to chance the subject. "Did you happen to catch anything I said last night or were you too busy trying to understand Sigrid's mangled English?"

"I caught most of it," Remus replied, annoyed with James's accusatory tone. "You were blabbing about Lucius Malfoy and his fiancée, and then something about...er...propellers?" He glanced, baffled, at James, as if finally realizing something important. "...That makes no sense whatsoever. Were you drunk last night, Prongs?"

"No! Why do you always assume that when I say something stupid?"

"Oh, so you're admitting that what you said was stupid?"

"No!"

They had reached the C-Deck landing, and James angrily shoved the metal door leading out to the forward poop deck open. They waltzed outside, the cool morning air making them shiver. Night was beginning to fade away, but the moon and stars were still visible even though bits of pink were starting to show behind Titanic's large funnels. The deck was empty, and no passenger in his right mind (which explained a bit about James and Sirius) would even think to be out and about this early in the morning.

"Where is he?" Remus asked, brushing his hair out of his eyes. He glanced around the deserted deck, and then at James.

"Dunno," James replied causally, knowing perfectly well that his lax attitude would get Remus riled up even more.

"This is where he said that we should meet, right?"

"Not sure, really. I just presumed he meant here; I only caught the word 'deck' when we were talking because he sneezed mid-syllable - I was just joking, Moony! Jesus!" James exclaimed, catching the murderous glare on the other's face. He had forgotten just how cranky Remus could be in the mornings. "I'm certain that this is the spot...Padfoot's probably just late...as usual."

"Too bad you're wrong...as usual," Sirius's voice - seemingly coming out of nowhere - replied. James and Remus glanced up and down the deck for their missing companion, but didn't spot him anywhere.

"Where are you, you prat?"

"Oy! Above you, Prongs!" another familiar voice called.

James turned around, and looked up. Sirius and Peter, grinning and waving down at them from just a few decks above. They were both leaning over the gunwale, looking too awake for this early in the morning. Peter was already dressed in his crisp steward's uniform, but Sirius, it seemed, was still in his bedclothes, and was wearing a large, comfy looking robe over them.

"Well, it seems that miracles can happen after all," Remus muttered dryly.

"Talking about us behind our backs again, eh Moony?" Sirius had to shout to be heard over the distance and wind. "You know that that's not a very nice thing to do!"

"It also isn't very nice to have a shouting match this early in the morning! So get your arses down here, before I come up and throw you down!"

Sirius rolled his eyes and muttered something to Peter that James couldn't catch, but he assumed it was about Remus's grouchy mood, for both of them had knowing grins on their faces when they finally started walking down to the poop deck. Remus glared at them both - obviously knowing too what they had been talking about.

They walked over to the starboard side of the ship to meet the other two, and paused at the end of the stairs. Peter and Sirius took their time descending, obviously enjoying irritating Remus even more.

"Terribly sorry to cause you such an inconvenience, Master Moony, " Sirius said once they were at the bottom of the stairs. He gave a short bow, and then promptly plopped himself down on the bottom step, Peter sitting beside him. He lazily ran a hand through his unkempt hair, trying to make it look nice and neat. "It'll never happen again."

"I'm sure it won't," Remus muttered, sitting down on the deck in front of the stairs. James remained standing, and leaned against the rail, observing his friends happily.

He hadn't been able to spend time with everyone like this since their last days at Hogwarts. He and Remus, of course, had shared the same flat in London, and always got to see each other until they were sick of one another, while Sirius and Peter lived by themselves or with their family members. Three years of just seeing the others at Order meetings or working on a mission would be enough to tear any other friendship apart...except theirs.

They a special bond; they were like brothers, and as long as they saw each other on a regular basis like they had been, their friendship would always remain that way. Somehow, they'd always figure out a way to get together and have a normal chat, but - even though it pained him to admit it - they would never be as close as they had been. The security of Hogwarts had disappeared; they had all changed, and so had the world... They were no longer schoolboys causing mayhem for the fun of; they were young men, fighting with their lives to prevent an all-out war from starting on the streets of London, and all across England -

James shook himself away from those thoughts. This was not a time to be thinking about that; this was a time to enjoy the precious time alone he had with all four of his friends.

"Uh-oh...Prongs has that look on his face again," Sirius commented, abruptly returning James's thoughts back to the present. "What have you been thinking about? Hopefully some way to get back at ol' Snivellus?"

"I'm sure we could just leap at Snivellus from behind, and beat him over the head with your slippers if you're so eager to get back at him," James replied wryly, ignoring Remus and Peter's vehement exclamations to grin knowingly at Sirius's slipper clad feet. "But I was thinking about how it looks as though you've just rolled out of bed instead."

"Well, as I'm sleeping in the same room as my git of a brother - who happens to be the lightest sleeper in all of England - I couldn't possibly get dressed without him hearing me, waking up, and then inquiring to know where I was going to this early in the morning," Sirius explained, absentmindedly scuffing his slippers on the deck. "And I rather like my slippers, so I wouldn't want to ruin them by getting Snivelly's grease all over them."

"That's typical of you," Remus replied, rolling his eyes in return, before glancing at Peter. "And what's Wormtail doing with you? I didn't know that you knew that he was a steward."

"He didn't," Peter answered, with a small smile. "I ran into him just as he was coming out of his stateroom. I've got the early morning shift, you see."

"But..." James said, peering at Peter questioningly. "I thought you were a third class steward?"

"Oh, I am...They just - just needed a few more people up in first class this morning. You know...with us stopping at Queenstown and everything. More passengers, means more work," Peter explained quickly. There was a peculiar look on his face, and - although it might've just been his over-active imagination on the go again - James could've sworn that he saw something like guilt flash across Peter's face -

"Er...so Sirius told me that you've got some important Order business to take care of this morning," Peter continued, fidgeting under James's unrelenting stare. "Pity that Bellatrix disembarked at Cherbourg, isn't it?"

"Yeah..." Remus sighed, a disappointed tone to his voice. He glanced at the sky, but a moment later he was looking back at Peter, a frown in place on his face. "Wait a minute...How'd you know that we were supposed to have been spying on Bellatrix? That was classified information between the three of us."

Sirius and Peter exchanged a familiar look that James had seen one too many times. It was the same short little glance that had always gotten all of them in trouble in school when one of the professors interrogated them about a certain bit of mischief they had done. While James had long since learned when a poker face came in handy, it seemed that the other two hadn't.

"You told him, didn't you?" Remus accused, obviously noticing the look as well. The other pair once again exchanged looks, confirming both of their suspicions. "Sirius! I can't believe you! You know Dumbledore told us - "

"Oh, put a sock in it, Moony." Sirius yawned, interrupting Remus before he could begin on one of his infamous lectures. The other man snapped his jaw shut, and glared. "In case you're once again having a bout of forgetfulness, Pete's an Order member too. He deserves to know what we're going to be up to, and he's got just as much right to that information as any of us do."

"I know that, but that's not the point."

"What is the point then, Moony? That you've got too big of a stick up your arse to have a little fun?"

Peter glanced at James, eyebrows raised, and looking sheepish. James shrugged at him in return - conveying the fact that he should just leave them be - and returned to watch the increasingly louder row with rapt attention.

Sirius and Remus hadn't had a spat like this in a very long time, which was yet another sign that they had been apart for too long. At Hogwarts, the two of them had always argued with one another during the first week back (it proved to be great entertainment when they argued in the common room in front of the whole House), and if they were to be spending a whole week or so around one another again, they were bound to argue at least once. James was just glad they were getting most of it out now - he certainly didn't want to be around two sulking men for the rest of the voyage.

" - Well, at least I'm not the one who's always blabbing away about our Order mission right under the enemy's noses! You could've been heard by one of them - "

"No one's up at this hour, Remus!"

"We're up at this hour, you prat! What makes you think that Tom Riddle won't be?"

"You're making a big deal out of nothing! I was just telling Peter - like any good friend would do - the basic information of what we were doing! If anyone was up (which I highly doubt they were) they'd think I was talking about Bellatrix because she's my bloody cousin!"

"You never take anything seriously, do you? And you never listen either! This is exactly why we're having information leaks!"

Silence reigned between the two for a moment, and James moved forward to break the two of them up. Remus had gone a bit too far this time, and he really didn't want a brawl to break out on deck any time soon.

"All right, you two. Now that you've had your, 'Hello-It's-Great-To-See-You-Too' argument - "

"Shut it, James!" both yelled at once, and James backed off instantly.

"Are you...calling me a spy?" Sirius asked slowly, leaning forward and narrowing his gaze.

"No."

Remus replied all to quickly for that to be convincing, and his hardened features added to that. Peter glanced between the two, suddenly looking very nervous.

"I wasn't calling you a spy. I was just...commenting on how your lack of knowledge considering the word 'secrecy' is probably why we've been having problems keeping any information safe anymore."

"I can keep my mouth shut when I know it's important!"

"Well, you sure did a hell of a job in sixth year - "

"I told you I was sorry about that! Are you ever going to let me live that down?"

"No."

"Fine then! At least I'm not the one shouting so loudly that the whole bleeding ship has probably learned about the Order!"

"I am not shouting!"

James sighed, exasperated. As much as he enjoyed watching Sirius and Remus get at each other's throats now and then, nothing was more annoying than getting up early to waste time arguing. Weren't they supposed to have been talking about their plan for the day by now? But he didn't dare interrupt them again; the last time he had done that, he had gotten something thrown at him, and he really didn't want a slipper-shaped imprint on his forehead.

He glanced once more at his friends. Both of them were looking quite murderous, while Peter, on the other hand, was trying to inch away from them without causing a violent reaction from either. As this was probably going to go on for quite a while longer, James decided to distract himself with some pleasanter thoughts...

...Like what that enchanting Lily Evans could be doing at the moment.

***

Thirty minutes later, Sirius and Remus were still arguing, but the subject had changed to something else, and they were currently debating in whispers as First Officer Murdoch had yelled at them to keep it down all the way up from the bridge. James and Peter were sitting off to the side - only bothering to listen in case the other two got into a physical fight - and were playing a game of hearts. It was a rather a rather pointless game as James wasn't concentrating at all, and Peter was half-heartedly slapping random cards down on the deck floor.

"Wish there was something more interesting to do," Peter sighed after James had placed a card down. He reached for a card from the pile on the deck, picked it up, and studied it for a moment before placing into his hand.

"Well if you want to get thrown overboard, then by all means interrupt the two of them," James replied, shrugging his shoulders. "Knew we weren't going to get anything done this early in the morning - Moony's always most ready to argue when he's half asleep."

"Mm-hmm," Peter agreed, shifting through his cards before placing an Ace of Spades down on the deck. "You know what would liven this game up? If these cards would explode. Now that would be interesting."

"The closest thing to an explosion you're going to get with these cards is if I light them on fire."

"...No - No need to take me so seriously, Prongs. It was just a suggestion...Besides, this is the only deck I have left."

James sighed, and put away his tin of matches that he had taken out from his pocket. He then quickly slapped down a random card - ignoring Peter's squeak of protest about how it wasn't in the right order - and glanced around the deck, hoping something more entertaining than what they were doing had appeared in the last few minutes. The deck was still deserted, but something that James hadn't noticed before caught his eye.

Straight across from them was another set of stairs. They seemed to lead up to what was left of the front of the ship - the forecastle, if James remembered his ship terminology correctly. On top of the stairs, like every other set on board, there was a small metal gate separating the forecastle and the poop deck. But unlike all the other gates - which were quite plain - this one had a large, red sign posted on it. James had to squint to read what the white lettering said, "NO PASSENGERS ALLOWED PAST THIS POINT."

Naturally, James's rule-breaking and trouble-making nature kicked in when he noticed that sign, and his curiosity was sparked instantly. Whatever people didn't want him sticking his nose in, he usually got into, and this case was no exception. He wanted to know why passengers weren't allowed up on the forecastle...

While Peter was busy trying to cheat his way to winning (just because James hadn't been looking at him, didn't mean he couldn't see how he was trying to pick out all the good cards from the deck) James set his hand down, and got up. He brushed himself off, and then headed off toward that staircase.

"Your turn, Prongs," Peter said from behind him, obviously not noticing that he had gotten up and was at least ten paces away from their spot by now. James gave him five seconds, and then, "Prongs? What are you doing?"

"What's it look like I'm doing, Wormtail?" James replied, raising his voice a bit so he could be heard as he was now only a few steps away from the stairwell and Peter was pretty far behind him.

"Well, it looks like you're going to go up onto the forecastle - "

"Righto."

"What? James, you can't - No, James! Get back here!"

James had never been one to listen, especially when something was denied of him. So, without paying any heed to the other man, he bounded up the stairwell two steps at a time, and before Peter could protest any more, he had hopped the gate and was on the forbidden forecastle.

"Sirius! Remus! You can't let him do this - "

Peter's squeaky voice could travel very far, James realized, as he passed by the base of the crow's nest, and got farther and farther away from his friends. He could just barely catch a growl of a response from Remus, but the wind was blowing more fiercely up on the forecastle than it had been on the poop deck, and the words were lost. But he could hardly care what his friends were doing about his general lawlessness again, for his curiosity had yet to be satisfied.

He could see why this part of the ship was off-limits to people other than the crew. The deck was littered was anchor chains and cables, and if you didn't watch your step, you'd trip and hurt yourself. But the chains and cables were organized enough to the point that there was a path straight to...the point of the bow.

His steps grew more hurried as he neared the very last few metres of the deck. His hands were trembling with excitement as he reached out, and held onto the crow nest's stay cord. Slowly - and with the same cat-like grace that had gotten him in and out of trouble in the past - he hoisted himself up onto the prow.

Being this high up, and at the very front of the ship, allowed James to have a view of the ocean that many never got to see. It was sprawled out all around him, and he could see for miles on end. There was nothing but ocean to see, yet it was beautiful in all its unending blue glory. He supposed it was even better when the sun set; perhaps he'd have to sneak back up here sometime during the rest of the voyage and find out.

He closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling of the cool, salty breeze whip past his face and through his already messy hair. Picturing the ocean in his mind, and feeling the sensation of the wind combined with momentum from the gigantic ship behind him, it was like he was one step closer to his dream of flying...

It was at that moment James realized why the forecastle was off-limits. Never mind the potential safety hazards and dangerous machinery, the crew just wanted to keep the breath-taking view and this wonderful sensation to themselves.

"Do you think he'd notice if we pushed him off of there?"

James opened his eyes, and glanced over his shoulder. His three friends were standing just a few feet behind him, watching him curiously. Sirius and Remus seemed to be back on good terms, and they were standing beside each other. Peter was on Sirius's left side - he, however, was peering over the rail, and looking suddenly queasy about the long way down. They could've just gotten there, or they could've arrived a few minutes ago, but James could honestly care less on how they came to be there, just that they were there with him.

"So, are you lot just going to stand there or are you going to join me up here?"

Remus looked ready to protest, but Sirius quickly grabbed him by the scruff of his jacket and dragged him up toward the bow rail, and Peter followed behind. None of them spoke after that moment, understanding that this was just one of those rare moments.

It was a strange sight to behold: a first class man in his bedclothes, two third class men, and a steward, all at the bow railing and staring out at the ocean. But - as any of the four would tell you - that's simply how things were with them.

***

"Miss Lily, if you don't mind me saying so, it's much harder to lace your corset up if you're slumping like that."

Lily glanced over her shoulder before sighing, exasperated, and straightening up. She wasn't all the way awake yet so she had been leaning against the bedpost, trying to get in a bit more rest. Her maid had awakened her about an hour earlier than normal because this morning, she and Lucius would be having breakfast with some of the American passengers, and he had stressed the importance of her looking more elegant than usual.

She gasped mid-yawn as the maid pulled the corset tighter. She detested wearing one; she personally thought that she was thin enough without the undergarment, and that she looked very sickly if it was pulled too tight by a maid or Petunia. But, as she was constantly reminded, appearance meant everything. Lucius would rather have her looking too thin than what he thought was too fat.

Just thinking of Lucius made her cringe; he seemed to be behind all the causes of her drowsiness this morning. First, it had taken her ages to usher him out of her stateroom. She had seen the familiar look in his eyes; the one that meant he wanted something more than a goodnight kiss. She had finally slammed her stateroom door shut in his face at around midnight after she had constantly reminded him that they weren't yet married and that she was very tired.

Then, he had decided to spite her by having an early morning Death Eater meeting (at fifty thirty, no less!) in the conjoined sitting room. She had been awakened by the constant 'thump' of Lucius's cane hitting the floor as he paced around the room, and by the murmurings of three or four other voices. Her insatiable curiosity had been aroused at once, and she got out of bed to listen to them with her ear pressed against the door. She didn't hear much, as the doors and walls were surprisingly thick and the meeting was only about fifteen minutes long to begin with. After that, she went back to sleep, only to be awakened an hour later by her maid.

But what had caused her to lose the most sleep wasn't Lucius's fault - well, it wasn't all his fault for once. When Lily had gone to bed, she had awakened many times in the night from terrible nightmares. She had many before, especially after her parents had died, yet none were as vivid as these. She supposed it was because she had actually had experienced what her nightmares were about...She didn't want to remember how it had felt to lose her grip, or how cold the wind had been wind she was thrashing far above the churning water below or -

"There!" the maid exclaimed as she tied the strings of the corset in a bow. "All done! Now let's find you something warm to wear - "

Obviously, as the maid bustled off into the wardrobe, she had mistaken Lily's shiver as a sign of being cold.

***

Lily swore that if she had to smile one more time, her face was going to freeze permanently like that. She had decided to try to be a bit nicer this morning just to make her life a bit easier.

But if being nice meant smiling and laughing at every available moment, she was going to stop quite soon.

Breakfast this morning had been her first pleasant meal while she had been on board Titanic. She and Lucius had once again separated from Petunia and Vernon (who were making their social rounds one last time as a couple; Vernon was disembarking at Queenstown because he had some business to clear up about the property Lily and Petunia's father had owned in Ireland.) and they had gone to sit with - as promised - some prominent Americans.

Seated at their table had been a loud, boisterous woman named Margaret Brown (she insisted that they all call her Molly), John Jacob Astor, and his young wife, Madeline (the Astor family had been friends with the Malfoy family for years), another woman named Ruth Dewitt-Bukater, her daughter, Rose, and her daughter's fiancée, Caledon Hockley. Molly made their breakfast lively by telling all sorts of stories from her childhood and from her days when her husband hadn't struck it rich yet. Lily took a liking too her right away (she didn't have to fake her smiles or laughs then), although Lucius was clearly annoyed by her behaviour, as were a few others.

After breakfast, J.J. (as John Jacob Astor was often called) had excused himself, for he had promised one of his other American associates a game of bridge in the smoking room, and had left Madeline at the table so she could chat with the other women. Cal followed the suit, claiming to have scheduled a squash game (he didn't look like the squash type to Lily), and he and Rose had had a quick spat about staying at the table. Eventually, he left - looking angry and annoyed - and Rose glared menacingly at her plate without saying goodbye. Ruth and Molly took leave a few minutes later to go to the library, leaving only Madeline, Rose, Lucius, and herself left at the table.

"Ladies, it has been a pleasure, but I'm afraid that I have some business to attend to this morning," Lucius said, his tone silky, as he got up from his seat and smoothed his suit down. "I really must be going."

"We don't mind, Lucius. Besides, I don't think that you'd want to listen to us women anyway." Madeline replied, a warm smile gracing her lips.

"Too right," Lucius mumbled, although only Lily could hear him. He then turned to her, his eyes warning her not to act up like she had before. "Do you need me to escort you back to the staterooms so you'll be ready for Vernon's departure?"

"I'd actually like to stay here for a while, and chat. That is all right with you, isn't it?" Lily asked, a smile on her face and a sweet tone to her voice. She actually had no intention of staying at the table for too long, and she wasn't planning on going to see Vernon off; Petunia could go do that by herself. Lily had better plans for the day...Once she got up to courage to go find that James Potter, that is.

Lucius looked surprised at her lack of hostility for once, figuring that he had finally made a breakthrough with the necklace last night. "I suppose that's all right. I'll see you soon."

He gave one last goodbye to the other women at the table before pushing his chair in, and walking away. She watched him go, but didn't watch any more once Sirius appeared and followed after him like a lost puppy. For all she cared, he could rot for betraying her trust like that.

"Lucius is such a gentleman, Lily!" Madeline asked suddenly, drawing her attention back to the table. "How did you ever manage to snag him?"

"Oh...erm...I guess I was just lucky. He is...wonderful..." The word had quite a lot of trouble coming out of her mouth.

"When is your wedding? I don't think we've gotten an invitation yet."

"Ah...It's August 24^th, about three months after my birthday."

"Aren't you getting married in June, Rose?"

"Yes."

Rose's reply was curt. She obviously wanted to be anywhere but at this table, and Lily could only agree.

When she had first seen this American, she had been shocked by the similarities - and subtle differences - between the two of them. Both of them were redheaded; Rose had beautiful curls, while Lily's was usually a mess of waves. They both had green eyes, although Lily's was a much more unusual colour of green. They were nearly the same age (Lily was a just a few months older), and were both named after flowers. The only real big difference between them (besides different nationalities) was that Rose was taller than her.

But the most unusual similarity between them was the look Lily could see in the other's eye. It was the same look she had seen when she looked in the mirror days before, and it scared that someone so similar to her already could feel the same way she could.

Lily, sensing the uneasy silence that had fallen between them after Rose's response, decided to bring up a topic that all of them would like.

"Madeline, do tell me how your pregnancy is going. You were barely showing when you came to visit Malfoy Manor in February! Have you and J.J. decided on any names yet?"

***

"Can you see it yet?"

"No."

"You're not even looking any more!"

"Prongs, I have a headache the way it is. You don't need to shout any more."

"Well, if you don't like my shouting than you can go find Sigrid, and miss all the fun I'm having."

Remus looked up from the game of solitaire he was playing with Peter's deck.

"If your idea of fun is leaning over a rail, looking for the outline of Ireland on the horizon, then you can count me out of it."

James took his eyes off the ocean for the briefest of moments to frown at Remus. He had been even more disagreeable after he and Sirius had finally told him what they had accomplished last night (which resulting in another Remus lecture about wasting time) and what they had planned for the next few days. Remus had been particularly interested when the subject of Lily Evans had been brought up...

"So you saved her life, and to reward you, Malfoy invited you for dinner tomorrow night?"

"Yes. Come to think of it, do you know why he didn't invite for dinner tonight instead, Padfoot? Wouldn't that be a bit more practical?"

"I can't read his mind, Prongs, but I think it might be because Friday's one of the more important occasions - you know, where everyone dresses up in their best - and he wants to embarrass you or something."

"Bastard. You'll lend me a suit, right?"

"'Course."

"Do you think this Evans girl is going to come and find you later on?"

"I don't know...What are you thinking about, Moony? Do you want me to spy on her too?"

"Actually, I was thinking that you could...you, know...ask her what she knows. Subtly, of course. Get her to warm up to you first, and then - "

"No. James is not doing that."

"Why not?"

"It's bad enough that I have to pretend that I'm a Death Eater around her too, but if James were to pretend to like her - "

"I like her the way it is already."

"...The point that I'm trying to make is that if Lily ended up looking for you, and you were to...well, use her for Order purposes, and she found out, she'd be crushed. I made her pretty upset all by myself last night, and I'd rather not repeat another 'propeller' incident."

"Why do you want to see Ireland so badly right now anyway? You can always come back when we're done in America and see it if you want to," Remus asked, pulling James back to the present. He blinked owlishly at his friend before turning back to look at the ocean where a misty shadow had formed while he had been remembering.

"It...It was something me and my Dad were going to do...My Mum was Irish, and the two of them met in Ireland...We were both going to get on a steamer one day, and visit, in her memory," he explained softly, watching as the shadows began to shape into rolling hills and coasts. "...Since I don't think I'll ever visit with him gone, I figured I'd make it up to both of them by watching for it...and taking it in from here."

"Ah," Remus murmured, dropping the subject like they usually did when their parents were brought up. He glanced back down at his cards, and then, after a moment, he asked, "How long are you going to stay here?"

"Until I can clearly see the famed Irish landscape."

"I suppose that means we'll be here all day then."