Safe

Disclaimer: I'm not J.K Rowling and own none of these people, more's the pity.

You sit in the ancient old armchair, curled up around your tiny baby, trying to pretend that James and Sirius are just out at the pub, getting drunk, winding you up, going to come back, not out saving the world, as Dumbledore would put it. They're not saving the world, you're all fighting a losing battle and you know that. You've always known that and you'll still fight. You know why you'll fight as well. For this little baby, snuffling in his sleep. Because he has to have a better world, he has to grow up safe. He and James are your world now, you told your family to keep well away. You hated doing it but you had to, you couldn't have them hurt and no follower of him would leave them alone now.

If you'd wanted safe, if you'd wanted to be left alone, you'd have told the Order no and that would have been that. But you didn't. Stupid Gryffindor pride, you thought to begin with, then you realised that all your friends, whatever house, were involved. Severus doesn't count any more. Never again. Except, he did ask, once. Just once.

Harry cries out and you start, you'd lost your train of thought there, got sucked back into memories. Constant vigilance. You can't risk not seeing something. Not even with the house so heavily protected, who knows what could be lurking outside, who might have turned, no one is safe now.