"James!" Sirius shouted as he entered the small house, not bothering with something as mundane as knocking, in his rush to see his best friend. "Where are you?" he called, as he ventured further inside.

It wasn't James that he first ran into though, but Lily, who stepped out of one of the small bedrooms, glaring at her uninvited visitor. "Harry's asleep, Sirius," she snapped. "And if you wake him up…" She didn't finish her threat, but from the guilty look that crossed Sirius' face, she didn't need to.

"Sorry, Lily," Sirius apologized, doing his best to look reproachful. "I didn't know."

"Of course, you didn't," Lily responded with a snort. "Although, if you're going to keep barging in here at all hours of the day, maybe I should make you memorize his sleeping schedule."

"That, or you shouldn't let him sleep during the middle of the day. If he sleeps now, he'll be up all night," Sirius teased.

"He'll be up anyway. He refuses to do anything that might make my life simple, he gets that from his father. And of course, James doesn't even notice half the time when he wakes up in the middle of the night. That man could sleep through the house collapsing."

Chuckling, Sirius nodded his agreement. "Did you ever hear about the time with the screaming yo-yo?"

"I don't think so," Lily answered. "You might've though, I'm sure I've forgotten more than a few of the stories you guys have told me."

"Well, this was back in third year, I think. We all stayed at Hogwarts for Christmas that year, I can't remember why." Well, he knew why he had stayed. He hadn't gone home to spend a Christmas with his family since his first year, but he couldn't remember why his friends stayed. "And anyway, Remus hadn't finished wrapping his presents before we had all gone to bed, so he got up in the middle of the night to finish, figured he could finish wrapping quickly then go back to sleep. Which, probably would've worked out fine, except he had gotten Peter a screaming yo-yo, and somehow managed to set it off. Woke me up and I think it scared Peter half to death, but James kept sleeping right through it. We spent the rest of the break trying different things to get him up, most didn't work."

"Sounds like James," Lily said, grinning. "Only surefire way I've found to wake him up is to start cooking."

"Setting off a box of fireworks under his bed works well, too," Sirius suggested cheerfully. Then, glancing down the hallway, he asked, "Speaking of James, though, where's he at?"

"He had to speak with Dumbledore, but he should be back soon. If you want to wait in the living room, you can probably catch him when he floos back."

"Thanks, Lily. Is there anything I can do for you?"

"I'm fine, but thanks, Sirius," Lily answered. Her earlier annoyance at his loud entrance seemingly forgiven. "And try to be quiet, or maybe better still, cast a silencing charm on the room." Forgiven, but not forgotten.

After giving Lily a quick hug and promising to cast the spell, Sirius headed down to the Potter's living room, much more quietly than he had originally been moving. Reaching the room, Sirius, cast a summoning spell, and waited until a bottle of firewhisky flew into his hand from the kitchen, before shutting the door and casting the silencing spell, as he promised. Popping the lid off the bottle, Sirius took a drink straight from the bottle, as he walked around the room. He was familiar with the room, like he was with the entire house, but that didn't stop him from poking around at some of the things that he didn't immediately recognize. A new family picture hung on the wall, and a few other pictures lay on the coffee table.

Settling down on the couch, Sirius grabbed the pictures and started flipping through them. Harry taking a few tottering steps across the room to Lily, Harry on his little toy broom soaring around the room, Harry and Lily, Harry and James, Harry and Peter. Sirius grinned as he looked at each picture, growing more convinced as he looked at each photo that he had the cutest godson in the world. After going through each of them, he stacked them up – leaving a picture of himself and Harry at the top – before grabbing the Daily Prophet that had also been left on the coffee table, and flipped to the crossword puzzle. Lily, the handwriting was too neat to be James', had started it, but hadn't gotten too far along, so he started jotting down answers.

Sirius wasn't certain how long he worked on the crossword, but it couldn't have been too long because the bottle of firewhiskey was still mostly full and the puzzle was far from finished, by the time the fireplace flared and out stepped James Potter.

"Si-" the man started to call out, but before he could finish, he could suddenly no longer speak, despite his mouth continuing to open and close. It didn't take James long to realize what the problem was, and he glared at his best friend, whose wand was still pointing at James.

Not the least bit concerned about the glaring, Sirius just grinned at his friend. "You've got to be quiet. Harry's asleep and Lily won't be happy if you wake him up," he said, as though he had not been guilty of almost doing that only a short while ago. When James continued to glare, and began gesturing at Sirius' wand and then to himself, Sirius reluctantly reversed the spell. "I'm just looking out for your own good. Besides, I think Lily would like you even more if you couldn't talk."

"She likes me just fine, thank you," James grumbled, tossing a pillow at his friend. "It's you that annoys her."

Catching the pillow, Sirius shook his head. "Nah, Lily loves me. After the war is over, me and her are going to run off together," he teased. "Harry's coming too."

Rather than laughing or arguing, like Sirius expected, James just frowned, and pushing a few of Harry's toys of the couch, sat down beside Sirius, and made a grab for the bottle of firewhiskey.

"Get your own," Sirius joked, pulling the bottle out of James' reach. "You know I was joking, right? I tried to convince her to run off with me and she said I'd have to start picking up my socks first, so the whole idea is a bust."

"Yeah, I know," James agreed, but he didn't look particularly cheered by the reassurance. "Now, give me the whiskey."

"Damn, James," Sirius swore, as he handed the bottle over. "I haven't seen you in two days and you've lost all your sense of humor. What's wrong with you?"

"Everything," James answered bitterly, as he raised the bottle to his mouth. Only after a very long swallow, did he lower it again, and continue, "I just spoke to Dumbledore."

"Yeah, Lily mentioned that. What did he want?" Then, considering James' mood, he quickly asked, "No one died, right? Peter was supposed to be getting back from his mission with Sturgis, wasn't he? They're fine, right?"

"They're fine," James answered quickly. "Apparently the mission was a bust. Must've been a false lead, or the Death Eaters got word and they cleared out. There wasn't anything there, by the time Peter and Sturgis arrived."

"That's a relief," Sirius said, relaxing a bit. Ever since Benjy Fenwick's death a few weeks ago, every time one of his friends was sent on a mission, Sirius could not help but worry. Although, the fact that there weren't any Death Eaters there made him worry for another reason, the reason he had stopped by to talk to James in the first place, but for now he pushed that aside. "So, if Peter's fine, what's wrong with you?"

"Dumbledore apparently thinks that Voldemort is planning on coming after Harry."

"Shit," Sirius swore loudly. "You're joking." Dumbledore had told James and Lily, who had in turned told Sirius, about a prophecy about the person who would defeat Voldemort a while ago, but no one, other than Dumbledore took it too seriously. Sure, Harry fit the proper time frame for when the supposed "Chosen One" would be born, but the idea that Harry would ever face that monster was a joke. Voldemort would be dead and gone, long before Harry would be old enough to even buy a wand; Sirius planned on making sure of that.

"I wish I was," James muttered. "Why can't that bastard just leave my family alone? Harry's just a baby." Not that that had ever stopped Voldemort or his Death Eaters in the past, they killed anyone they could, regardless of their age. If people were lucky, the deaths were quick. "I don't know how I'm going to tell Lily," he added softly.

"Well, what did Dumbledore suggest? There's no way he told you that and just sent you home without offering at least a few suggestions. I can stay here, all the time, if any Death Eaters came by I could hold them off while you, Lily, and Harry get somewhere safe."

Sirius had barely finished speaking when James had pulled him into a hug. "Thanks, Padfoot," he whispered fiercely. "I'd never ask you to do that. To sacrifice your life for us, but it means the world to me that you'd be willing to."

"You wouldn't have to ask, Prongs," Sirius said, "you, Lily, and Harry are my family. I'd die before I let anything happen to you guys."

"I'm not letting you die though," James said, a bit of his normal humor returning. "In fact, if I remember, you swore to me in sixth year that you wouldn't die until I told you that you could. And I'm telling you now, you don't get to die until you're good and old, married, and have at least six kids."

"Ugh, marriage?" Sirius said making a face. "No, thank you. I'll leave that sort of thing to you."

"Getting married to Lily was the best thing that I ever did. So don't knock marriage until you've tried it."

"Not a chance. But back to the matter at hand, what are we going to do about Voldemort?"

The humor seemed to flee the room when Sirius brought up the Dark Wizard again, and James gave a halfhearted shrug. "I don't know," he admitted, as he stood and began to pace across the room. He had never been able to remain still for long, especially when he was stressed and worried about something. "Dumbledore suggested the Fidelius charm. He even offered to be the secret keeper, himself."

"And, did you accept?" Sirius asked.

Shaking his head, James answered, "No. It seems too much like giving up. I don't want to spend the rest of the war hiding from the bastard. Besides, even if I agreed to the Fidelius charm, if Dumbledore was secret keeper, he'd never tell anyone where we were. Not even you, Remus, and Peter."

"Maybe that'd be a good thing," Sirius said slowly, rising to his feet as well. "There's something else we need to talk about."

"What?" James asked with a scowl. "Like how you think it'd be a good idea if I spent the rest of the war, that could go on for years still, locked up in a little house without even the company of my three best friends?"

"No, but it is about Remus."

"What about him?" James asked, pausing in his pacing to face Sirius, a look of confusion on his face. "Is he fine?"

"I think so, yeah," Sirius answered with a wave of his hand. "It's just… well, I don't know if you've noticed, but this last while Remus has been acting… different."

"So?"

"So, you know someone in the Order is a traitor. Someone is selling our secrets to the Death Eaters. And I think-" Sirius never got the chance to finish his sentence, before James' moved, his fist connecting with Sirius' jaw with a loud crack

"Bloody hell, Potter!" Sirius cursed, his eyes watering, as he gingerly touched his jaw. That was going to bruise.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" James demanded, not the slightest bit guilty. His hands were still clenched, looking like he was considering punching Sirius again. "I can't believe you! Remus. Is. Our. Friend."

"I know that."

"Well, you certainly don't act like it. After everything we've gone through, after fifth year, I can't believe that you'd accuse him of being a traitor!"

At the mention of fifth year, Sirius' face flushed red, but he didn't back down. Staring James in the eye, he said, "You don't get it, do you? There is a traitor in the Order; the Death Eaters have gotten the drop on us too many times to be a coincident. That information we got on the Death Eaters hideout was spot on, Emmeline has never been wrong before, but this time she was? If they were there, Peter and Sturgis would've been in a perfect place to spy on their new plans, and probably could've caught the bloody spy too."

"It's not Remus," James snapped, but even he couldn't deny the truth of Sirius' words about the existence of a traitor. Everyone suspected it and had for weeks now. Hushed conversations and whispered accusations had become a permanent part of any Order of the Phoenix meeting; James hated it.

"We don't know that!" Sirius snapped right back. "He's never around anymore. I haven't seen him in weeks! Not since right around the time our plans started falling apart."

"He's on a mission; Dumbledore told us so."

Ignoring James, Sirius continued, "And if you want to take stupid risks trusting people, fine. You go ahead and do that. But here's a newsflash for you, James. Voldemort doesn't give a rat's ass about you. He doesn't care that you were Headboy or the best at Transfiguration in our year. He wants to kill your son and I'll be damned if I let that happen because you're too proud to admit that someone in the Order is a bloody traitor."

As Sirius finished his rant, James looked away. Just as he knew he would, Sirius had trapped him. He would die before he accused one of his friends of being a traitor, but he would never gamble Harry's life on something like that. "It's not Remus," he repeated, though there was doubt in his voice now.

"And maybe it's not, maybe I'm wrong. And if I am, I'll spend the rest of my life apologizing to him for ever suspecting that he was," Sirius said, "but I'd rather do that than risk you, Harry, and Lily. And so would Remus."

"So, you'll be the secret keeper?" James asked abruptly, unwilling to continue down the line of thought that one of his best friends might be betraying them to Voldemort.

"No." It pained him to refuse. The offer to be secret keeper meant more to him than almost anything, other than when he was asked to be Harry's godfather, but it was for the best, Sirius could already see that.

"Awesome, we can get- wait, what?!" Clearly James hadn't been expecting that answer.

"I'd love to be the secret keeper, James, but I'm the obvious choice. Get someone else and you'll be even safer."

"Who? You don't even trust Remus!"

"Peter."

"Peter? Are you serious? Did you not hear him at the last meeting? His sister was killed, he needs time to grieve. I don't know how Dumbledore managed to convince him to go this last mission."

"Don't you see James? That's what makes it brilliant. Peter can be your secret keeper and then go into hiding himself. We'll tell everyone I'm the secret keeper and no one will go looking for him. It's perfect."

"Perfect, except for the fact that it means the Death Eaters will come after you."

"Let them come, I'm not worried," Sirius said, waving off James' concern. "Think of how much easier fighting them would be if they came to us, rather than us needing to track them down all the time."

"They'd kill you."

"Nah, they'd probably just torture me," Sirius said nonchalantly. "If they killed me, they'd have no idea who to go for next."

"That doesn't make me feel any better about your idea, Sirius."

"Why not?" Sirius asked. "The only difference is that this way I wouldn't be able to tell them anything. Which means, you'd be safe and they probably won't kill me."

"Instead, you'd be tortured!"

"Why is Sirius being tortured?" Lily asked as she stepped into the room. "If it's for being annoying, I can definitely understand."

"Lily!" James exclaimed in delight as he saw his wife. Striding to her side, he gave her a kiss on her cheek. "I've missed you."

"Don't think that's going to get you out of trouble for being loud," Lily scolded, though her words were soften by the fact that she returned his kiss with one of her own. "If your son wakes up at any time tonight, you will be the one looking after him."

"Why is he only my son when he's being bad?"

"Because he clearly gets that from you," Lily retorted, as Sirius laughed. "Now, tell me what is going on."

Sirius was silent for a moment, giving James a chance to respond, but when it was clear his friend was unable to break the awful news to his wife, he jumped in. "It's Voldemort. Apparently, he wants Harry."

"No!" Lily's voice was soft, but defiant. "He cannot have my son."

"And he won't," James agreed, wrapping his arms around his wife. "We won't let him touch Harry."

"What is the plan?" Lily asked, glancing between the two men.

"Fidelius charm," James answered. "I want Sirius to be the secret keeper."

"But, I thought it would be better is Peter was the secret keeper, and I played decoy," Sirius added quickly. "It'll give Peter the break he needs, and be another layer of protection for the three of you."

"It sounds reasonable when you put it like that," James grumbled, "but I don't like it."

"You don't have to like it," Sirius retorted. "It's not like you'll be the one casting the Fidelius charm anyway. Lily's way better at charms than you."

"Flattery isn't going to get you anywhere," Lily said, though she smiled as she spoke. "Why don't you like it?"

"Because Sirius is putting himself in needless risk! If he does this, he's going to get himself tortured or killed."

"You do realize that all of us are facing that risk, right? You know, for resisting Voldemort in the first place. His Death Eaters already want to kill all of us, and Bellatrix would love a chance to torture me, whether I was your secret keeper or not."

"He has a point," Lily pointed out. "Voldemort wants us all dead."

"Doesn't mean that we need to give him more reasons to come after us."

"It does if it means keeping Harry safe," Sirius pointed out. He hated using Harry this way but pointing out the danger that Harry was in was the easiest way to make James see sense. "If it makes you feel better, I'll lie low for a bit as well. Maybe accept Dumbledore's request to go to Spain and try to get their government on our side." Not that he thought it would be of much use, Spanish wizards were notorious for keeping out of the affairs of other countries, which was part of the reason Sirius hadn't agreed to go when Dumbledore had asked in the past. Well, that and because Sirius preferred fighting to diplomacy, especially diplomacy that required him to mention his lineage as part of the Ancient and Noble House of Black.

James considered the proposition for a long time, before nodding. "Fine. If you promise to lay low for a while and not do anything stupid, we'll go with your plan. Peter as our secret keeper, and you as our decoy. If that's alright with you, Lily?" he added, glancing at his wife.

"Sounds good to me," Lily said. Then, after giving her husband's hand a gentle squeeze, she released it so she could give Sirius a hug, that he returned. "Thank you, Sirius."

"Anytime."

"Well, if that's settled, I'm going to go find a book about the Fidelius charm, I know I read about it a few months ago," Lily said, a slight frown on her face as she tried to remember what book it had been in. "And I'll make up the guest room for you, Sirius, in case you end up spending the night."

"Thanks, Lily," Sirius called, watching as the redheaded which gave James another kiss before leaving the room. "It'll be alright, Prongs, you'll see," Sirius promised, turning his attention back to his friend. "You can count on Peter and me. And," he hesitated for a moment, before continuing, "just after you get the spell performed, send a letter to Remus telling him I'm the secret keeper. Don't tell anyone else, if anyone comes after me in those first few days, we'll know. One way or the other."

James' lips tightened at Sirius' words, but he didn't argue. "Okay, Padfoot."