Minerva McGonagall hadn't felt nervous about entering a classroom in some time - but today, she took pause outside of the door of the Transfiguration class room and took a deep breath. She smoothed her skirts with both palms and pushed open the door.

It was the first time in her teaching career that she hadn't started off her first years with the trick of being a cat. But it was not possible to be a cat this morning, unfortunately, for cats do not have fingers and Minerva McGonagall needed her fingers very much today.

She walked briskly up the center of the aisle of the Transfiguration room to the front of the class, where she stood before them all, her eyes roaming over the cluster of Gryffindor first years before her.

With a shaking hand, she brought her right palm up to her forehead, thumb extended carefully out so that it lined up with her temple, and waved her palm. "Good morning class," she said as her hands moved. She formed two facing C's with her hands, holding them up before her and bringing them together to meet at the pinky finger.

In the front row, Sarah Struthers was staring up at her in awe.

"My name," she said tapping her chest and then making an X with her index and middle fingers from both hands. She tapped the fingers together - once - twice, "is Professor -" she tapped her temples and brought her hands down, "McGonagall." She only signed the letters M-C-G, deciding that was plenty enough. She drew a deep breath, then signed carefully the words I am sorry I do not know more to Sarah, and continued, "You may notice your teachers introducing themselves with hand signs this year, and, hopefully, as the year progresses, speaking with sign language more and more as we learn. Unfortunately, knowledge is not something we can magically take posession of. If it were, there would be so such place as Hogwarts School. But as such..."

Professor McGonagall's eyes met the small girl's eyes - and her sister's - as she spoke, welcoming Sarah to the class and asking the other students to try at being as accomodating as they could be. Macy's fingers flew through the signs as Professor McGonagall spoke. "Remember," McGonagall said, "We learn and thrive together, by strengthening and building one another up. This is what true strength and courage look like. What a true Gryffindor looks like. I expect nothing less than accomodation, support, and an effort to be made by all of the students of this school, but most especially by the members of our House."

Her heart skipped a beat when Sarah Struthers touched her palm to her chin and lowered her hand before raising her hands to her temples, lowering them, and spelling out M-C-G.

Thank you, Professor McGonagall.

Already, Minerva knew she would be adding to her teacup collection when the time came and this dear, sweet girl had produced her first one.

Lily was tying rich purple ribbons 'round cream coloured napkins that had been folded over gold flatware, carefully making pretty bows with her fingers. Her wand lay beside her elbow on the table, but she was doing the work with her hands - putting love into each loop and tug of the ribbon as she worked, humming quietly and putting the finished ones into a box on the chair beside her.

She looked up when the fireplace flashed and James came in, a bit of soot on his nose. She stood up and went over, laughing quietly and using her fingers to wipe the soot from James's nose. "Welcome home, Professor," she said, wrapping her arms around him. "How was your first class?"

James nodded, "Good. Great. I do have to go to Diagon Alley later, though, I've gotten permission to replace the school brooms." He shrugged off the teaching robes and tossed them onto the arm of the chair, returning to the hug with Lily in just the jeans and t-shirt he'd worn under the robes. He slipped his hand up onto her jaw and stared into her eyes and smiled, kissed her softly, and hugged her into his chest. "You remember the terrible old brooms they had when we were there? Same ones, still there, worse than ever. Seems they frosted over rather heavily and the handles are cracked. A couple students got splinters in their little fingers."

"Oh no," Lily said. "I'm glad they're going to be replaced." She hesitated, "Is that coming out of your pocket or --?"

"Dumbledore gave me funding to get some Shooting Star 79s, but I might make up the difference and go ahead and get the newer model." He paused. "If that's alright?"

"Of course it's alright." She kissed his chin, "Always so thoughtful, you are."

"I am, aren't I?" James grinned and his lip caught up on his tooth.

Lily laughed, "I love that you've only grown more and more modest with age."

"Did you know to become an animagus I had to make a list of qualities about myself and I put humble on the list?"

Lily burst in a laugh. "James Charlus Potter."

"Minnie disagreed with it heartily for some reason." James's eyes sparkled with mischief. "I don't understand."

"Humble!" she snorted and slipped back out of his embrace, headed back for the table and her little project.

"There's also a girl who speaks sign language that's going to be in my lessons," James said. He walked 'round Lily into the kitchen, opened the fridge and started mulling about in there, studying the contents, choosing a bottle of juice and waving his wand for a glass.

Lily looked up. "Sign language?"

"Yeah. Remember Macy Struthers? It's her sister. Sarah."

"Is she Deaf?"

"Yeah," James replied as the juice poured by magic into his cup.

"How are you teaching her to fly?"

"I was hoping you'd help me out with figuring out how to do it."

"You'll have to learn to sign."

"For starters, yeah, but I can't sign and fly at the same time." James proceeded to tell Lily about his talk with Dumbledore - detailing how they'd discussed Macy's interpreting for Sarah and how James had stuck up for the girl's right to experience Hogwarts like any other. Including his determination to figure out how to help her to fly.

Lily huffed, "I can't believe that Dumbledore didn't figure out how to let her come in on the boat or let her do the Sorting with the others!"

"I know."

Lily shook her head, "Infuriating."

"Yeah." James sipped his juice. "Any ideas how I could teach a girl to fly without words?"

Lily thought, then asked, "Could you do a ride along?"

"How do you mean?"

"Could the broomstick hold you both?"

James thought for a moment.

"It would be like sitting on a motorcyle. You'd be able to direct her hands. She could see how you do it first, then you could direct her hands, then she could do it while you watch, then she could do it on her own."

"Hmm. That could do. If the broom can take us both." He thought for a moment. She was a fairly small girl, but he wasn't sure how comfortable it would be for either of them. It seemed a rather tight squeeze and she might not be comfortable with James being so close. But Lily had a great point. The process of showing her close up and having her replicate his motions would certainyl work. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. He'd need to work and think on it further, James thought as he took a sip of his juice.

Lily finished up the ribbon tying and put the last of the little bundles into the box beside her.

James put down the cup on the counter. He watched Lily as she closed up the box carefully. "What's that?"

"Flatware for the Odairs wedding next week. I offered to help Meg with some of the last minute things."

James nodded, "I forgot. Which day is it again? I'll have to bring Jaz out - bachelor party and the like."

"Wednesday. Get Sirius to help you plan it. He'll make sure to make it fun and you can keep him in check."

James laughed, "As if I can't make it fun."

Lily came over, put the box on the counter, and kissed James's cheek. She paused, feeling tension in his jaw under her lip. "Honey - what's wrong?"

James swallowed his apprehension. "Well. Nothing wrong per say..."

"James?"

"Dumbledore's asked us for a favor and I told him I had to talk with you about it."

"Oh?"

"Yeah."

"What does Dumbledore need?"

James paused.

"James?"

He looked at her. "Spies."

Lily blinked in surprise. "Spies?"

James nodded, "For the Order."

"Spies on what, exactly?"

James hesitated, then, "Severus Snape."

Lily raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"One of the Aurors at the Ministry tipped Moody off they got one of the muggle witnesses from the orphanage to talk... There was a man who lived in the house behind the orphanage, he saw someone leave after the explosion. The description... fits Severus Snape. And Dumbledore needs someone to find out if it was him."

Lily stared at James.

"He was removing a Death Eater's mask."

Lily said, "He helped us try to find Regulus."

James nodded, "I know." He paused. "I felt as though Dumbledore might have known something of that, though, it was the oddest thing."

"How? I haven't told anyone Snape was there."

"Me either, besides the lads of course," James said, "And none of them would have told Dumbledore anything." He paused, then added, "Well, I reckon Remus might if Dumbledore asked him directly. But only because we hadn't told him not to tell anyone about Snape, it wasn't a secret." James shrugged. "But I don't think he has told him."

Lily frowned. "You don't think - Regulus - ?"

"No, Regulus wouldn't have known we were looking for him," James said.

"Odd."

"Yeah."

"And now he wants us to spy on Severus?"

James nodded.

"Oh I don't like that."

"James - if Severus did kill that woman... You Know Who wouldn't have ordered that. Severus would have been working alone. And - I mean, she was abusing those children. She was evil. Isn't it true then that what Sev did would have been... for good?"

James stared at the counter. He flinched slightly when she called him Sev, but he'd been wondering the same thing, come to the same conclusion about Severus. There was no reason for You Know Who to have been after the woman at the orphanage, other than the fact that she was a muggle abusing a wizard boy - at least two wizard boys, though Michael's identity had then been yet to be known. Voldemort was far too busy with other attacks and maneuvers to be concerned with so little a thing - right? So what had brought Snape to the orphanage? An ulterior motive? Was he tracing Oliver Kent for some reason? Was there something dark lurking or had it been a good deed? What if it was a combination?

James felt himself tense at this thought. What if the Dark Lord's twisted obsession with making James Potter's life hell had led him to tracing Oliver?

He had to know.

And it seemed getting the information about Severus Snape would indeed answer that question. And if he happened to help the Order on the way to getting the information he wanted, well - that was a plus, wasn't it?

Lily's eyebrows raised. She could see the decision on his face. She took a deep breath. She wasn't about to let him do whatever it was he would be doing on his own.

"What does Dumbledore have in mind?"