James found Peter in Diagon Alley, sitting rather dejectedly on a bench outside of Honeydukes, ruck sack in his lap. "Pete!" he cried, relieved when he saw him. "We've been looking everywhere for you," he said, though this was an exaggeration, as Honeydukes had been perhaps the third place he'd looked, if you included the Leaky Cauldron, which he'd walked through to get into Diagon Alley, and the alley directly behind the Cauldron, where rows of illegal street vendors quietly sold wares that the Ministry would eventually shut them down for. "I'm so bloody glad you're here. We went to your house."

Peter looked up. "You - you did?" His eyes were wide and red and deeply sad, so sad that James felt his heart break with guilt.

"Yeah, me and Sirius both did, we saw your mum... I'm sorry we didn't find you for the full moon, we --"

"But you tried!" Peter cried out, misunderstanding James's meaning, and he leaped up, his rucksack falling to the ground, and wrapped his arms about James emphatically, his face pressing into James's torso. "That's all that really matters in the end is that you did, that you wanted me there!" He held on tight.

"Of course we wanted you there, Pete," James lied, feeling guiltier for lying, but also not wanting to hurt Peter's feelings with the truth. There was no need for that. He patted Peter's back. "If it's any help there wasn't much excitement this month. We went to the old camp behind the Dumbledore house, out in Godric's Hollow."

"Godric's Hollow!" Peter cried, slapping his forehead with his palm, "I should've guessed it! I should've known! Oh I don't know why I didn't think of that! I tried to find your flat, and I didn't know where to even look, I wandered about St. James park and I slept under a bench. It wasn't very pleasant, what with the rain and everything, and I figured at worst I would see you lot at the wedding but --"

James felt his stomach flip a little bit. He'd forgotten to send Peter an owl about the wedding, too? What kind of rotter friend was he? He said, "Well, Pete, about the wedding, there's been a sort of change of plans anyhow. Here, c'mon with me, I'll tell you all about it. I've just got another quick errand to run while we're here, then I'll bring you to the flat, yeah?"

"Okay." Peter nodded eagerly, snatched up his rucksack, and hurried after James.

"Are you hungry?"

"Bloody starving," Peter nodded.

James chuckled. "Well, we'll make a dinner back at the flat."

"Alright."

"Why didn't you go home?" James asked, "When you couldn't find the flat?"

Peter shrugged.

James was walking towards Madam Malkin's shop. "Do you want to spend a couple nights with us, Pete?" he asked.

"Very much," Peter replied.

James nodded, "Settled, then, you can kip on the pullout couch. It's splended, unfolds right into a bed, mate, you'll love it. And I'll tell you about the new wedding plans - but you've got to keep it a secret, alright? Sirius doesn't know."

"Sirius doesn't know?" Peter looked confused, "About his own wedding?"

James grinned. "No. And that's the brilliance of it. Come on, then, mate." They ducked into the store.

If you'd asked Peter Pettigrew about it, that night was one of the best ever. They sat about in the cheap flat in East London, laughing and talking like they'd done all those years in the Shrieking Shack, except there was real heat and an actual kitchen so they could make real food and they watched the telly that James and Sirius had taken from the Shack and drank firewhiskey that made Sirius sing loudly and everyone was just happy. Plus, Lily came to visit and anytime that Lily was around, Peter felt more included because she took it upon herself to make sure that he was by asking him questions so that he always was taking part in the conversation. He even felt extra special because James had told him about the secret plans that they had, and it made Peter feel secure in a way that he'd not felt for awhile, even before the Marauders had graduated. That night, when he curled up in the blankets on the pull out couch that James had promised him, he tucked his twitchy nose beneath his tail and he felt nothing but comfortable and happy.

James was walking down the Embankment, on his way to the Auror Training Center, when there was a loud POP followed by a flash and a second loud POP. He jumped back, drawing his wand, only to find a bit of paper fluttering in the air before him. He hesitated, watching as it dropped slowly to the stones at his feet and stuck to the wet pavement. He looked around, a bit confused, but alone on the walkway. Slowly, he bent down and picked up the paper, unfolding it, and looked at the messy scrawl on the parchment.

Tower Bridge. Look up. Meet me there. Quickly. R.A.B.

James hesitated, he had training and it was to be his first afternoon with Underhill, and then he would be off the rest of the week, due to their top secret plans, so it wouldn't be very wise of him to skive off... but Regulus never contacted him without a purpose... He squinted in the direction of Tower Bridge, but saw nothing from the vantage he was at. He looked back at the entrance for the Auror Training Center, and made up his mind. He quickly rushed down some stairs to a boat dock, ducked beneath a covering, made sure none were there to witness, and he turned on the spot.

Next he knew, he was standing on the bridge, his stomach still queasy from the apparation, and he steadied himself with a splayed palm against the stone, looking up as instructed. Regulus Black was staring down at him from inside the foggy windows of the bascule chamber. James ducked 'round the side of the tower and spun again on the spot, disappearing and reappearing inside the tower, mere feet away from Regulus.

"So this is what's in here - huh?" James asked, looking around. They were on a landing about a quarter way up a tight spiraling staircase. It was dank and sort of smelled in there a little bit.

Regulus didn't react to the question, instead he said, "Fenrir Greyback didn't kill Alabastar."

"What?"

"Alabastar Jackson and Jackson Maw? He didn't kill them. Well, I don't know about Maw, but Alabastar he didn't. Voldemort did. Just now. Well last night. And it was horrible, it was so -- I couldn't even look -- half the Death Eaters couldn't. We were so shocked. Even Greyback turned away. What Voldemort did - what he did was so - it was - there was smoke and - Alabastar's eyes - his soul - it was like a dementor that Voldemort controlled or like - like a part of him WAS a dementor - it was like a part of Voldemort's - his soul - or - or something - and -"

"Whoa, slow down Reg," James said. Regulus was losing breath, stammering, his eyes bright with panic, his face flush as the words gushed out of him. "Deep breaths..." James put his palms on Regulus's shoulders. "Hey c'mon, mate. Tell me slow. What happened, exactly?"

Regulus launched into his story - how he'd been sitting about at Number 12 when he and his mother had been summonsed to an important meeting at the Malfoy Manor, how Voldemort had talked for some time about infallibility and unending life, how he'd mocked Dumbledore and others of the so called Order and how he had then brought forth Greyback with Alabastar. How Voldemort had ennumerated the things Alabastar had done against the Dark Lord's work, as his snake coiled and slithered and constricted. Finally, he told James the most horrific part.

James stood, staring at Regulus, barely able to breathe. "He - he ate his heart?"

"Yes," whispered Regulus, "And - and I didn't see how but somehow Alabastar's soul - or whatever it was that went into him - dementor Voldemort, sort of - it - it became... I don't know, I didn't see what or how, only that Voldemort held something when it was over and the Body was back to being Alabaster."

James felt sick. He turned and looked out the window, trying to mask his queasy response to the words Regulus had said. He stared at a boat chugging its way down the Thames. As if Voldemort needed anything else to be checked off on the list of horrid things that he had done, James thought. As if cannibalism was really necessary to paint a picture of just how incredibly evil Voldemort was... James closed his eyes, thinking of Alabastar, of the boy's eagerness to help the cause, of the rows of defense he'd had against Sirius, who had doubted the boy's intentions... Well, Sirius could not doubt Alabastar's loyalty now, could he? The lad had been killed in the name of fighting against Voldemort. He was a martyr. A hero. A victim of the war raging around them.

His hands shook. "The body? What did they do with Alabastar's body?"

Regulus's voice was quiet. "I - I mean... Greyback was there."

James nodded curtly. He didn't need the details, and Regulus didn't want to speak them.

A long silence fell over them.

"What did he do with the... whatever he was holding?"

Regulus said quietly, "I do not know, he left soon after that, he said he had important business. He took no one with him."

James nodded, accepting the information. "Thank you for telling me about this, Regulus."

"Yeah," Regulus said hesitantly. Then, "I've been trying to get alone with Snape to ask about the venom but he's been really evasive since our row. The one you over heard. He won't even talk to me. I reckon he's got it in his bloody potions kit, that would be the perfect place to hide it though, wouldn't it?"

"Yeah," James agreed. He turned around then, and saw Regulus had sat down on the sill of the foggy window opposite from the one he stood looking out of. "Reg?"

"Yeah?" Regulus looked up.

"Are you free this week?"

Regulus hesitated, "Dunno. I can try at it. Mother's very nervous with Voldemort so angry, she's been trying at keeping me 'round the house and only sending Kreacher out unless we can't avoid it."

James said, "It's for your brother's wedding."

Regulus's eyes widened a little with obvious excitement. "He wants me to come?" he asked in disbelief. "He really wants me there?"

"He doesn't know exactly the details --" James started, and when Regulus started to deflate, he quickly added, "--but I'm sure he would want you there, once he does know the details! It's just that we're surprising him." He paused. "You'll be safe if you come, I promise you that. You could tell your mum you had to go do some secret mission or some rubbish, whatever it takes so you can come. Please? It's very important that you're there, I know it is, whether Sirius would admit it or not."

Regulus nodded, "Good idea, James. I'll talk to Mother tonight."

"Good." James reached into his bookbag and pulled out a bit of parchment and a quill and quickly wrote down an address. "Meet me at that address tomorrow morning at half eight."

"Alright," Regulus nodded. "I will."

James started to leave, and then he paused. "Regulus?"

"Yeah?"

"You couldn't have done anything different. Don't blame yourself for what happened today, alright?"

Regulus nodded. "Alright. Thanks James."

"See you tomorrow morning."

"See you."