Sirius landed his bike right outside the gate to the Potters' house, his heartbeat echoing in his ears. The house was mostly standing, but the right side of the top floor - oh god that was Harry's bedroom - looked like it had been hit by a bomb. The door was hanging off its hinges. There was powerful magic in the air, suffocating Sirius as he rushed inside the ruined house.

James's body was lying on the ground, his eyes open and empty, his glasses askew. Sirius dropped to his knees, unable to speak, reaching to feel for a pulse he knew wouldn't be there. James wasn't even holding his wand, the idiot-

Tears fell on James's shirt. He couldn't be dead, James couldn't be dead, this had to be some sort of prank he thought was funny, because there was no way that James could be gone when Sirius remained.

Sirius looked up after a long minute, spotting James's wand in the living room out of the corner of his eye. He went over to it, intent on picking it up, and his blood ran cold. Next to it was Lily's wand. Sirius had been entertaining the hope - the ridiculous, unlikely hope - that Lily had somehow managed to Apparate out with Harry, but if her wand were here…

Sirius scooped up both wands and sprinted to the stairs, taking them two at a time. Harry's room had been blown apart, but the doorway was still intact, and the damage seemed to have pushed the debris out, so the room was mostly untouched.

There were three bodies.

Lily lay in front of Harry's crib, as if she'd been trying to protect him, even without her wand. Harry was in the crib, blood all over his face and not making a noise.

And, on the floor, was the limp husk of Voldemort's body.

He was dead. Sirius felt a hysterical laugh bubble up inside him. The bastard was dead, the war was over, but it hadn't been soon enough to save James and Lily and Harry. Of course, Sirius thought as he kicked the empty shell as hard as he could, of course Voldemort would be defeated just after he destroyed the Potters, of course he would be defeated in the process of taking down some of Sirius's best friends…

Fumbling with his wand, Sirius levitated Voldemort's broken body and sent it flying out of the hole in the destroyed roof. His body shouldn't be in the same room as Lily's and Harry's, in the same house as James's.

A loud, trembling cry filled the room as Voldemort's body crashed to the ground. Sirius almost dropped his wand in shock.

It was Harry.

He was alive.

Sirius ran over to the crib, stepping over Lily's body - forgive me, Lily - and reaching for Harry. A wave of his wand cleaned up the blood, revealing a cut on Harry's forehead in the shape of a lightning bolt. Sirius held his trembling wand over it, murmuring a healing spell to close the wound, but it remained there, no longer bleeding but still red and angry. Harry let out another little cry and Sirius scooped him up, cradling him against his body.

"I've got you, Harry," he whispered, holding Harry's head against his chest so he wouldn't see Lily's body. How Harry was alive was a mystery, but Sirius wasn't about to question a miracle like that.

It had been Peter who betrayed James and Lily. The thought filtered through the fog in Sirius's mind and soon engulfed his entire being. He still had Harry in his arms, so he couldn't go find Peter quite yet, but as soon as he could, Sirius would go after that traitor and make sure he paid for what he did.

The best option, Sirius supposed, was to go to Remus. It wouldn't be easy, considering he'd thought Remus was the traitor and hadn't exactly been subtle about that suspicion, but Remus was the only one left. He needed to know what had happened, and he deserved to hear it from a friend and not from the obituaries in the Daily Prophet.

Someone else was outside the house when Sirius finally made his way downstairs. Still holding Harry and turning his face away from James's body, Sirius pulled out his wand, stepping up to the doorway and preparing to guard the house and its inhabitants, both dead and alive, from whomever was there.

Then Sirius deflated and lowered his wand, because he would recognize that huge figure anywhere.

"Hagrid," he gasped, staggering out of the house. "Hagrid, they're dead, but Voldemort is dead too, and Harry is alive-"

"I know," Hagrid told Sirius with a deep sigh. "Dumbledore sent me ter get Harry."

"I've got him," Sirius replied, a touch of defensiveness in his voice as he curled his hand protectively around Harry's head. He could feel Harry squirm slightly and shifted his position, but he didn't loosen his grip.

"Sorry, Sirius, but Dumbledore told me specifically ter get Harry," Hagrid apologized. "He's goin' ter send him ter live with his aunt and uncle, in Surrey."

"Lily's sister?" Sirius asked, remembering talking to Lily about Regulus and hearing about Petunia in return. "You can't send Harry to live with them!"

"Dumbledore says-"

"I don't give a damn what Dumbledore says!" Sirius shouted. His mind was whirring frantically; Hagrid was undoubtedly stronger than he was, but Sirius had a wand, and if he could get to his bike, Hagrid wouldn't be able to catch up with him. He didn't want this to come to a fight, but if it had to-

"Sirius-"

Hagrid reached for Harry and Sirius acted, holding Harry tightly to his chest as he sprinted over to the bike, casting "Impedimenta!" indiscriminately over his shoulder as he went. He wasn't sure if the jinx would work on Hagrid, but it was worth a try.

Thankfully, the jinx worked for the few seconds it took for Sirius to reach his bike, swing his leg over it, and start the engine. "Sirius!" Hagrid called, but Sirius had already taken off, cradling Harry tightly to his chest with one hand.

"We're going to visit Uncle Remus, alright?" Sirius told Harry over the roar of the bike. Too late, Sirius remembered that Remus had gone up north on a mission for Dumbledore and may not have returned yet. He hoped that Remus was back and he wouldn't end up landing in front of an empty house. He needed someone to watch Harry while he went after Peter.

Nestled against Sirius's chest, Harry fell asleep.

Despite his exhaustion, Remus heaved himself to his feet when he heard the sound of Sirius's motorbike touching down on his front lawn. Even still, the hammering at his door began before he reached it.

"I'm coming!" Remus called, grabbing his wand as he opened the door to see Sirius, trembling and wild-eyed, on the other side.

"They're dead," Sirius gasped out instead of a greeting. "James and Lily, they're dead."

Remus staggered back half a step, grabbing the doorframe to keep himself upright. "You were supposed to be their Secret Keeper," he accused, his voice even more hoarse than usual.

"I know." Sirius sounded close to tears. "I told them to switch it to Peter at the last second. I thought no one would suspect him. I thought it would keep them safer."

"Peter was the traitor? He told me thought it was you."

"The bastard told me he thought it was you," Sirius replied. "I should have known it was him, I should have bloody known-"

"He played all of us," Remus replied dully, too exhausted to hold onto his anger. "It wasn't your fault, Sirius. We all thought he was on our side."

Before Sirius could respond, there was a little sigh from his chest. "What was that?" Remus asked, only then realizing that Sirius was holding his arm awkwardly across a bulge on his torso.

"It's Harry," Sirius replied, showing the sleeping baby to Remus. "He survived. I don't know how, but he did."

"He's alive?" Remus whispered. "But how-" He took a step back from the doorway. "I think you'd better come in."

Sirius stepped into the house, going to the living room as Remus closed the door and cast as many protection spells as he could think of. When he was moderately more satisfied with the safety of the house, he returned to the living room as well, where Sirius was sitting on the couch and cradling Harry in his arms.

"He fell asleep on the way here," Sirius told Remus as they both looked down at baby Harry. "I thought he was dead at first, but he's alive."

"Tell me everything," Remus demanded.

Sirius nodded. "I… I went to their house, for Halloween. And when I got there the upper floor was destroyed and J-James was dead on the floor and L-Lily was dead upstairs and Voldemort's goddamn body was there too and there was blood all over Harry's face but he was alive and-"

"Breathe, Sirius," Remus urged, reaching over and gripping Sirius's shoulders. Harry made a muffled noise against Sirius's jacket. "Let's put Harry to bed," Remus suggested gently. "Then I can make a cup of tea and you call tell me everything, alright?"

"They're dead, Remus," Sirius whispered, sounding as broken as Remus felt.

"I know," Remus whispered back, gently taking Harry out of Sirius's hands. "I'll put him to bed and come right back, alright?"

Sirius nodded silently as Remus stood with Harry and went upstairs. He used the few blankets and pillows he had to make a little nest for Harry in the middle of his bed and laid him down. There was a strange, jagged cut on his forehead, but a murmured healing spell had no effect on it. Remus frowned, pressed a kiss to Harry's forehead next to the cut, and left the room.

Sirius hadn't moved from the couch, his head in his hands and his shoulders shaking. Remus paused in the doorway, then slipped into the kitchen to make the tea he'd promised. His hands were shaking so badly he almost spilled the tea leaves. Taking a deep breath, he braced himself on the counter with both hands, biting his lip to keep from crying. Once he started, he knew he wouldn't be able to stop, and Sirius needed him to be strong. Harry needed him to be strong. Remus couldn't lose himself in grief yet; he would wait until he was sure everyone else was alright first.

He managed to make two cups of tea and carried them into the living room. Sirius still hadn't moved. Tentatively, Remus put a hand on his shoulder, yanking it back when Sirius flinched at the contact.

"This is my fault," Sirius whispered.

Remus shook his head. "No, Sirius, it's not."

"I told them to use Peter as their Secret Keeper!" Sirius snapped, looking up at Remus with red-rimmed eyes. "I told them to entrust their safety to a traitor!"

"You didn't know," Remus replied, trying to sound soothing. "You couldn't have known. This isn't your fault. This is Peter's fault and his alone."

"I'm going to kill him," Sirius growled, something in his face turning sharp. For an instant, Remus was almost scared of him. "I'm going to go after him and make him wish he'd never even thought of betraying them."

"Sirius-" Remus jumped as Sirius suddenly jerked upright, pulling his wand out of his pocket. "Sirius, no," Remus urged, standing in front of him and blocking the door.

"Move, Remus." Sirius's voice was so cold. "Get out of my way."

"I can't let you do this."

Sirius glared. "Why not? Are you a traitor too, then? Can't let me go after your Death Eater pal?"

The words cut, just as they were meant to, but Remus was practiced at schooling his emotions. "We need to go about this the right way," he told Sirius in a voice that was a thousand times calmer than he felt. "We should go to Dumbledore, tell him that you and Peter switched places for the charm. Then he can go after Peter legally and sentence him to Azkaban. Sirius, listen-"

"Azkaban is better than he deserves," Sirius spat. "I'm going to kill him-"

"Sirius, please," Remus begged, blocking the doorway with his body. "Think of Harry! Who'll raise him if you go off and get yourself arrested for killing Peter?"

Sirius tried to shoulder his way past the doorway, but Remus shoved him back. "Think of Ja-" Remus's voice broke. He took a shuddering breath and tried again. "Think of James, Sirius. Would he want you to kill someone in cold blood like this? Kill Peter?"

Please, please, please, Remus didn't let himself say, please, I can't lose you too.

"We can't let him get away with this," Sirius snarled, but his voice was trembling.

"We won't," Remus promised, "we won't let him get away with what he's done, but please, Sirius, we need to do this the right way."

The fire seemed to abruptly go out of Sirius as he slumped. "Okay."

"Thank you," Remus gasped.

"I need to go see Dumbledore," Sirius said, his voice quiet. "I need to tell him what happened."

"Swear to me you won't go after Peter on your own," Remus countered.

There was a long pause, then Sirius nodded. Remus stepped aside, letting Sirius walk past. He didn't move until the sound of the bike's engine had faded away.

Remus returned to the couch, sinking down and running his hands through his hair. He ignored the tea, which had gone cold, and let the first tears fall.

James and Lily were dead. After all the fighting, despite everything they'd done to protect them, they were dead. They were gone, and Remus gasped for air as he tried to stop crying but he couldn't, there was something in his chest that ached like he'd been punched because oh god, James and Lily were gone.

A thin wail came from the other room. Remus bit his lip harshly until the tears stopped. Harry needed him. James and Lily were gone, but their son was still here, and Harry needed him.

Remus wiped his eyes, took a deep breath, and stood.

Sirius sighed as he landed his bike on Remus's lawn. It was past midnight, he was sure. His quick trip had ended up being a lot longer than he'd expected. He'd arrived at headquarters only to have half a dozen wands immediately trained on him, and it had taken a while to convince everyone that no, he hadn't been the Potters' Secret Keeper, and no, just because he jinxed Hagrid to keep him from stealing his godson didn't mean he was a Death Eater. Finally, Dumbledore had sent off Order members to arrest Peter and decided that, for the moment, at least, Sirius could claim custody of Harry.

Remus was waiting at the door when Sirius knocked. "You were gone for a while," he remarked mildly. Sirius knew him well enough to sense the undercurrent of mixed worry and relief. "I was worried you'd gone after Peter."

"Dealing with things at Headquarters took a while," Sirius replied, heading to the living room and sinking into one of the chairs. Remus picked up the two cups of tea, both untouched, and brought them into the kitchen. "I had to convince them I wasn't the traitor, and then I had to fight for custody of Harry. And, of course, everyone wanted to know if I knew anything about how Voldemort died."

There was a crash of shattering glass. Sirius jumped to his feet and raced into the kitchen, where Remus was standing, hands shaking, broken mugs forgotten at his feet.

"Did you say Voldemort is dead?"

Sirius nodded.

Remus let out a mildly hysterical laugh. "And you didn't think to mention that before?"

"Sorry," Sirius offered weakly.

Remus sank to the floor, looking overwhelmed. Sirius pulled his wand out of his pocket and waved it at the mess on the floor, which immediately began to clean itself up, and then he sat down next to Remus.

"Of course he couldn't die before James and Lily," Remus muttered.

Sirius tentatively wrapped an arm around Remus's shoulders, relaxing a bit when Remus leaned into the touch. "I thought the same thing," he admitted. "Dumbledore said something about Lily's sacrifice protecting Harry, so the curse rebounded on Voldemort and killed him instead."

Remus looked at Sirius with wide eyes. "If he died there, then was his body…"

"I threw it out the hole in the roof," Sirius told him, utterly unrepentant. "He didn't deserve to be in the same house as Lily and James."

"Good," Remus replied with unexpected savagery in his voice. "And if he's dead, that means the war is over. At least, mostly."

"I'll be glad to say goodbye to those missions we've had to do," Sirius groaned.

Remus nodded emphatically. "I'll be glad to get a full night's sleep."

Sirius frowned, looking at the bags under Remus's eyes and realizing just how dark they really were. "When did you get in from your mission up north?"

Remus avoided Sirius's eyes. "Er, about fifteen minutes before you landed in my yard."

Sirius's eyes narrowed. "And when was the last time you slept?"

Remus bit his lip, which was answer enough.

"Remus," Sirius scolded. Remus pulled his shoulders in slightly in that way he did when he wanted to be invisible. "What was your mission, anyway?"

Remus's breath caught audibly. "Order business," he replied dismissively. His hands began to tremble.

Panic slid down Sirius's spine. Peter was a traitor, but there was nothing saying that there couldn't be two Death Eaters who had infiltrated the Order, and why else wouldn't Remus say what he'd been doing?

Before Sirius could say another word, Harry began crying in the bedroom. Remus groaned and pushed himself to his feet. "He started doing this a while after you left. I can go-"

"I've got it," Sirius interrupted.

Remus blinked. "I can do it, Sirius. I got him back to sleep at least half a dozen times while you were gone."

"I've got it, Remus," Sirius repeated firmly. Maybe there was a good reason for Remus's secrecy, but until Sirius knew what it was, he would be damned if he let Remus near Harry alone.

There was a flicker of hurt on Remus's face, gone too quickly for anyone who wasn't practiced at reading him to notice, but the expression quickly melted into pained acceptance as he turned and shuffled back into the living room. Sirius hurried up to the bedroom to find Harry lying in Remus's bed and wailing.

"Hey, Harry," Sirius cooed, picking Harry up and holding him against his chest. "I've got you, little guy."

Harry's crying slowly stopped, but when Sirius tried to put him back down, it started up again. "Alright, if you insist," Sirius muttered, shifting Harry into a more comfortable position and returning to the living room with him still in his arms.

"Dumbledore sent me as a spy into some of the werewolf packs," Remus blurted out the second Sirius reentered the room. His face was pale but determined. "We needed a spy to see if they were going to fight for Voldemort, and I was the only possible option."

"I've heard Greyback's pack is up north," Sirius remarked with a frown. "Did you run into him at all?"

Remus avoided eye contact. "That was the pack I infiltrated," he admitted.

Sirius stared at him. "What? You infiltrated Greyback's pack? Who the hell does Dumbledore think he is, sending you off to do that?"

"It was necessary," Remus replied miserably, sitting down on the couch and staring at his hands.

Sirius sat next to him. "He shouldn't have made you do that."

Remus shrugged weakly. "It had to be done."

Harry squirmed in Sirius's arms until Sirius settled him in his lap. Remus stared at Harry, worrying at his bottom lip with his teeth. "There were children there," he said suddenly. "Greyback specializes in children, did you know? There was one little girl who was four and a half years old. It was her first transformation. I couldn't just leave them there. I had to do what I could to help."

Sirius could picture it only too well - Remus, wounded and exhausted in his usual post-moon state, bending over small children and murmuring healing spells to close their wounds. "You're good with kids," he remarked.

Remus shrugged one shoulder.

An idea occurred to Sirius, and honestly, he was shocked he hadn't thought of it before. "You know, my flat isn't baby proofed at all."

Something in Remus's face seemed to tighten for a moment. "Harry can stay here while you get it ready."

Sirius frowned. "I was actually thinking maybe I would get rid of the flat and move somewhere more rural," he admitted. "And Merlin knows I'll need help with Harry. I'm not that good with kids."

Something flickered across Remus's face. "Yes," he said simply.

Sirius frowned, thrown. "Huh?"

"I assume you were planning on asking if you could stay here with me, and if I'd help with Harry," Remus said. There was the barest hint of amusement in his tone. "The answer is yes. Of course you're welcome here, and of course I'll help."

"You've always been able to read me too well," Sirius complained. Remus ducked his head in embarrassment. "Thanks, Moony."

Remus looked up, a tiny smile on his lips. It was gone so quickly Sirius almost thought he imagined it. He couldn't remember the last time he saw Remus smile.

"No problem, Padfoot."