Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter, I would not watch my vegetarian mother eat spaghetti with vegetables while reading a book for entertainment. I would also be a helluva lot richer. I don't own this, thanks, as much as I am flattered that you think so.

A/N: Plot bunny, bothered me for a month before I started writing it. It sucks, but it's as good as it gets.

Prologue: The Pair of Prophecy

Sirius Orion Black looked proudly down at his wife and his newborn son, both of whom lay on a white-sheeted, sterile Muggle hospital bed. Meghan Aletha Potter-Black smiled up at him wearily before looking over at the bed next to hers.

Katherine Ashley Granger-Lupin held up and introduced her tiny daughter, young Anne Rose Lupin. Anne, wide-awake to young Matthew John Black's asleep, blinked owlishly at her mother's best friend.

Katherine Lupin—known to her friends simply as Kate—looked up at her husband, Remus John Lupin. "What do you think, love?" she asked him, her low voice slightly huskier than usual with fatigue and emotion.

"Kate," he told her, "she's the only girl I love even near as much as I love you." He kissed Anne's and then Kate's foreheads, drawing a smile from his exhausted wife as he patted her long curly hair.

Meghan quietly stroked little Matt's hair before voicing the thought they were all thinking. "Too bad they can't stay."

Kate's smiling face fell as she cuddled Anne. "Remus, are you sure they have to go?" she asked her husband, who currently worked as an Unspeakable in the Ministry of Magic's Department of Mysteries.

"I wish I was wrong, love," he replied sadly. "But the prophecy clearly states that Matt and Anne have to grow up with foster-families."

"At least David and Jane can take my little girl in," Kate said, rather despondently, as she kissed the top of baby Anne's head.

"And, no one will ever know she's not really Muggle, since you schooled with your brother back at your home in Canada instead of with all of us at Hogwarts," Sirius hurried to assure Kate. "Plus, the Jane McKinnon-Granger I know was always good at glamour charms. So, you may not even recognize Anne when you next see her. Which probably won't be for a while, considering. So you won't recognize her anyway."

"And," James Andrew Potter, Meghan's older brother, said laughingly as he entered the room, "Lily bribed our dearest old friend, the fraud Sybill Trelawney, to manufacture a false prophecy to keep the great Albus Dumbledore off our trail."

"Although I must wonder why you and the others asked me to do such a crazy thing, James," Lily Anne Evans-Potter retorted as she entered behind him. "You said you wanted a little prophecy about our new nephew Matt, but you know Sybill will throw whatever I suggested out the window and blow it all out of proportion. That woman always had decidedly Slytherin qualities for a Hufflepuff."

"Lily," Meghan laughed at her sister-in-law, "what kind of poison exactly has Sybill been pouring down our venerable old professor's ear?"

"Oh, just some very obvious junk about Matt being the 'chosen one' to defeat Lord Voldemort. Well, not necessarily Matt, but all evidence pointed to him," Lily conceded at James's reproving frown.

The four true parents went white as the sheets the new mothers lay on.

"No," Sirius abruptly denied, shaking his head vehemently. "No, she didn't say anything of the sort."

"Well, umm, yeah, she kinda did. Is that bad?" Lily asked tentatively, now feeling more than a little apprehensive.

"That's almost exactly what the real prophecy says, except that little Anne's included in the mix," Remus told the redhead. His brunette wife shivered, her long loose roan-colored curls trembling with her.

Meghan pulled her raven-haired head off the pillow. "What exactly did Sybill Trelawney say, Lily? What exactly is Dumbledore thinking about my son?" Her sapphire-blue eyes glinted dangerously.

"Come on, now, calm down, sis," James said a little nervously to Meghan. "If anything happens to us, he'll go to Sirius anyway. Sirius and you, really, since we're spreading it around that we made you the godparents."

"And what if something really does happen to you? What then, hmm, James?" Meghan demanded. "Will you just hope that no one figures out that Matt actually is our son when he's living with us?"

"Umm, let's see, is 'yes' the right answer?" James guessed, a little haphazardly. Meghan's face darkened. "Well, guess not then. I'll take 'no' for a hundred pounds." He had about five seconds before Meghan exploded.

"James Andrew Potter! You know that all of our public lives are a complete and total ruse! You know that no one outside our circle even knows Sirius and I and Kate and Remus are bloody married! You know what's at stake, James, darn you! You've heard the entire contents of the prophecy. If anyone finds out because of you that they're our children before it's all supposed to be revealed, Voldemort will kill all of us while we're busy solving our own problems or unprepared for his stupid, vicious acts, and he'll completely ruin the wizarding world's chances of survival!"

Remus faced an uncomfortable James as he shifted from foot to foot. He opened his mouth and recited part of the true prophecy. "You remember, James. 'The time quickly approaches, as the seventh month slowly draws to a close. A young boy for the pearl and a young girl for the pure one, the two will be separated from birth till fate bids them meet. Sent to the pearl's and the pure one's brothers, they will grow up in different worlds, not knowing their true parentage. Only these two, marked from birth, will have the power to defeat the Dark Lord. No one else will be able to, try as they may. But only time will tell, as they cannot survive if he does.' And marked they are, Prongs," the male lycanthrope told his friend. He took Anne's tiny right hand and turned it palm-up. There, in a darker hue than the rest of the girl's skin, was an unmistakable eight-pointed star. Meghan gently uncurled sleeping Matt's fist, displaying his identical mark. "If they die, the rest of us should just chuck ourselves off the nearest bridge before Voldemort kills us too."

"Remus, you do realize you're in a Muggle hospital, right?" James Marie McKinnon-Granger asked as she entered the room purposefully, followed by her husband and Kate's older brother, David Thomas Granger. "And you could try to be a bit more cheerful," she added. "It is your beautiful daughter's birthday." Kate smiled at them both and showed them Anne. Jane cooed over the baby as Kate introduced her.

"This is Anne Rose Lupin, your newborn niece and foster-daughter. You're going to raise her like a Muggle there in London, right?" When David looked pleadingly at his younger sister, she frowned at him. "You promised me, David Thomas Granger. You said that since you and Jane were already playing Muggle at home, you'd go the extra mile just for your baby sister and raise her little daughter that way. Don't you remember? That's the reason I agreed to let Jane change Anne's middle name as well as her first."

"Change her middle name? To what, exactly?" Remus demanded. "What's wrong with Rose, might I ask, Jane, David?"

"We just thought that the whole relation thing would be a bit more plausible if her middle name was my first name—you know, Hermione Jane Granger. Besides, it has a certain ring to it," Jane explained. "Plus, the whole neighborhood already thinks that 'Little Miss Hermione Jane' is coming home soon—September. Although we're going to keep her hidden until then. And yes, we're paranoid. Don't worry, she'll be safe."

"So your false pregnancy charms worked?" Meghan inquired interestedly. It had taken the women weeks to find the correct charms for Lily, Jane, Kate, and Meghan, seeing as Lily and Jane had to play pregnant while Meghan and Kate had to play not pregnant. The charms ended up being right under their nose the whole time, Kate remembered wryly.

"As well as your own charms to hide your pregnancies worked," Lily replied with a grin. "Even Dumbledore was fooled."

"So were the women on our block," David laughed. Jane shoved him. Obviously, the couple had very different opinions of the incident in question.

"No, you're not going to tell them about that!"

"Why not? The look on your face was completely priceless!" Jane stuck out her tongue at him. Meghan hid a laugh behind her hand, remembering how the woman had once been reserved around David. "The women on our block threw Jane here a baby shower."

"A baby shower is a hideous, barbaric Muggle custom—its only goal is to utterly humiliate mothers-to-be," Jane inserted. "If you ever want to see it, David caught the whole bleeding thing on video. Make sure I'm out of the house."

"Come on, now, Jane, grin and bear it," her brother-in-law teased. "You were the one that said you were tired of wizarding life and would like to live as a Muggle. You didn't think about baby showers at the time, I presume."

"Of course not! I was only eighteen! I hadn't even met David yet."

"That's because he wasn't out of Canada," Meghan pointed out. "Neither was Kate. You were just this madwoman asking me what I thought you should do with your life."

"And Dumbledore couldn't think of anything either," Sirius remembered. "So you left the bustle of wizarding society when he wasn't looking."

"I don't like keeping Dumbledore out of this. Not at all," Kate fretted. "He could provide Anne with some extra protection; your Matt too."

"You do remember the other part of the prophecy though, don't you, Kate dear?" Remus queried, running a hand through his dark brown hair.

"Yeah," Kate sighed defeatedly. " 'None but the related shall know of the two's true heritage until it is deemed time.' And that last part makes me want to scream. 'Despite the pure one's maternal instinct, she won't see the rose for fifteen years.' Fifteen bloody years before I get to see Anne again!"

"Hmm, that must be when it is 'deemed time', since you won't be able to keep your mouth shut when you see her," Remus observed to his wife's protests. "Also, it's the only indication of extended time in the entire prophecy."

"I suppose so," Sirius agreed. "Ah, Moony, does Unspeakable training have a special, separate session just to learn how to decipher prophecies?"

"No."

"Sirius is just trying—and failing miserably—to say that you seem to have a lot of expertise in that particular field," Meghan tried to joke, but her own smile was strained. She handed Matt to Sirius just as he woke up. "You are going to show Mum and Dad their grandson as Matt Black, James," she ordered her brother with a flippant toss of her long, jet-black hair, rumpled and tangled as it lay on the pillow, a sharp contrast to her normal well-kept appearance. "But you'd better let Lily do the glamour charm before you go to see Dumbledore. I really don't want Matt's head flying off on his very first birthday."

"Lily, you did get the book in Dumbledore's office last week, right?" James asked his wife, who nodded. They were speaking, of course, of the book in which all magical children's names were written.

"Yes. It'll read Harry James Potter and Hermione Jane Granger when their names come up, and Hermione Granger won't appear until you wanted her to, which was 28 August, correct?" Kate nodded. "Funny thing about that book. It's easier to get to keep your secrets than any other magical object I've encountered. In truth, I think it's a bit risky. But in this case, it's a good thing it's so suggestible."

"Good. And you know, it's really quite interesting. Not only did Meghan and Kate have their first children on the exact same day, but those children were also born at the exact same minute of the exact same hour of that day. These two little ones could very well be twins if they didn't have different parents." Remus ruffled Anne's fuzzy short hair playfully. The baby snuffled agreeably at her father.

"Acute observation, Captain Obvious," Kate told her husband dryly. "Although Anne is the best-behaved newborn infant I've seen. She hasn't cried since we started talking." She handed Remus the baby and pushed herself up on her elbows.

"Fine, it was a stupid thing to say. Hey, 'Mione. How's my little girl?" Remus smiled at the baby, although he was a little scared of dropping his daughter. "'Mione" blinked long-lashed, deep brown eyes at her father. "Umm, Kate? Do babies' eyes usually change color quite this fast?"

"Her eyes have changed already?" Kate asked, sitting upright to look at her daughter's eyes. "Usually only Metamorphmagi change so early in their life." Suddenly, she looked up into Remus's gold-flecked azure eyes. "No…" She hurriedly looked down at Anne again. "What color were her eyes, love?" the Healer asked absently.

"Brown," Remus replied, nonplussed. Kate lay back on her pile of pillows and threw up expressive, long-fingered hands. "Well, that's torn it," she said tiredly. "They're bloody green now."

"Why do I get the feeling that I'm not going to like this particular discovery?" Remus asked the ceiling, which remained as mute as ever.

"Congratulations, Remus John Lupin. Your daughter's a Metamorphmagus," Kate said with a wry smile.

"Well," Jane sighed heavily. "What should we do about this—development? Fortunate as it is, we don't have the time to deal with it now. I'm surprised Dumbledore isn't bursting in here all ready."

"I'm pretty sure Lily knows some kind of binding charms that'll keep Anne's gift quiet. That kind of gift is suppressed in Muggles, I think, so it'll save her a lot of extra trouble," Meghan told the mother and aunt of the little girl. Meghan was the Auror of the group of women and the main magical expert, Jane not particularly caring, and Kate and Lily too into their Healing to really worry about it.

"Sure I know them. It's basic Healing for any sort of Incorrectly Applied Charms that interfere with the person's magic. But are you sure you want to do that to any child?" Lily asked Kate and Meghan apprehensively. "I'm not sure that's really good for the kid."

"If you're careful, it won't really matter. I've heard of more than some wizarding parents doing things like that, if they don't think their kid's magical abilities will let them lead a good life," Kate explained, taking Anne in her own arms.

Lily and Meghan exchanged glances. "Which is what you're doing now," Meghan commented with a wry laugh.

"Muggleborns aren't usually Metamorphmagi. You just said it yourself," Kate retorted, childishly sticking out her long tongue in the other woman's direction. "Take that, Mrs. Black!" She pulled her tongue back into her mouth. "I'd like to see you beat that."

"I can't," Meghan said simply, with the air of one long used to the argument. "You and Remus have the longest tongues I've ever seen. I think Lily and James ought to take Matt to Mum and Dad now," she said, looking up at her husband as she tactfully changed the subject.

Sirius looked at his son sadly as he handed him to James. "James, take good care of him, or else. And you had better believe I'll be visiting a lot."

"About that," James began. "Actually, Sirius, Meghan, Dumbledore wants us to go under Fidelius to protect little 'Harry'. Someone who's right up there with Lord Moldyshorts heard Sybill's stirring performance—which, by the way, got her a job—and apparently, the big V thinks it's for true, just like old Uncle Albus. So, how about you as the Secret Keeper, Pads? He is your son, after all."

The Grangers and the Lupins left the room quietly, Remus supporting Kate while she carried little Anne.

"What if I get captured, and tortured as a member of the Order and then he kills Matt?" Sirius asked, a little panicked. "It's not safe. I'm the obvious choice—I'm your best friend, and I've known you for who knows how long. Voldemort, seeing me as the logical choice, will come after me, and you know I can't even keep my mouth shut when someone tickles me. Who's to say any of us will be safe after that?"

"If Voldemort comes, we really don't stand a chance, any of us," Meghan agreed. "Not you, not me, not Lily, not Matt."

"Give it to Peter!" Sirius exclaimed immediately. "No one would ever suspect him as your Secret-Keeper. He's such a bloody stupid duffer that no one even remembers we played at school together, usually. They 'know' you wouldn't trust Peter with something this important. I don't think Lord Ugly-Mug will suspect it's him either." He turned to his wife. "What do you think, Pearl?" he asked, using his pet name for her.

"Meghan," she corrected sternly, shoving him away with a barely suppressed grin. "And yes, I think it's a good idea. But, remember, Dumbledore said someone was a spy for Voldemort. If it's Remus, David, Jane, or Kate, we're all done for, but, in any case, not a word of this to anyone but Peter."

"Dumbledore did say it was someone close. I trust Remus, David, Jane, and Kate. Peter, I'm not so sure," objected Lily. "This is my only nephew we're talking about. And, it's your son, Meghan. Are you sure you trust Peter?"

"Why on earth would Peter go Dark?" Meghan said quizzically. "He's got friends, Mrs. Pettigrew to take care of—she seems to be really sick…Why would he go Dark if he's got so much to protect?" she asked rhetorically. Sirius nodded in agreement. The explanation was logical. Lily sighed but relented nonetheless.

"Fine then, Peter can do it. I hope to Merlin that you two know what you're doing. With Matt's life, no less." She looked sternly at her sister-in-law and Sirius. "So how long do you think we'll be raising him?"

"Until he really needs us," Meghan replied sadly, looking at the baby in her brother's arms. "Meaning until Remus says it's all good and okay for us to tell him. So you better not spoil the boy. We'll have to deal mainly with his teenage years, most likely, and those are hard anyway, from what I've heard and what I remember of my own childhood. You're not the doting aunt and uncle, you're his occasionally stern but always loving parents."

"Aye, aye, little sister," James joked, saluting his sister.

"So ask Peter today, do the Fidelius Charm tomorrow," Lily confirmed as Sirius and Meghan kissed their baby boy one last time before he became, to all appearances, Harry James Potter. Meghan nodded, trying to smile at her sister-in-law through her tears.

"I'll bet you two Galleons he and Anne end up getting married," James told Sirius as he handed the baby to Lily. Sirius likewise had tears in his eyes.

"If I know Jane, she'll end up some sort of bookworm. Not Matt, he'll be a junior Marauder. So I'll take that bet."

"I wish you wouldn't bet on such things, love," Meghan chided sternly, levering herself off the bed slowly, walking to her husband to give him a hug. She herself knew that the extended prophecy indicated the love that would eventually pass between the two. "You'd better take care of him, Lily Anne Potter. I'm going to be coming by at least twice a week, mind you, James. This is my son, and I want to know what you're teaching to my baby." James promised, hugged his sister tightly, and shook hands with his best friend before leaving the brilliantly white hospital room.

"Do you think we did the right thing?" Sirius asked forlornly as Matt left the room, sleeping now in his loving aunt's arms.

"I feel like I've shirked my duty too," Meghan admitted. "But you know Remus wouldn't have had it any other way. Plus, we want to keep Matt and Anne safe. This is the best way to do that.

"I just wish it didn't feel like the worst," she sighed profoundly. She fell uncharacteristically into her husband's warm and comforting embrace, her head resting on his shoulder. He kissed her hair gently, feeling rather than seeing her tears flowing down her cheeks and onto his shoulder and trying to hold his own back.

"You'll see, dear heart. Everything will be just fine," he whispered in her ear, hoping that it would be true.

A/N: IS SIRIUS OOC? Cuz I think he probably is. Oh well, I like my OOC Sirius.

Yours,

LysPotter