Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling. I make no claims to ownership.

Prologue

Make no noise.

Pretend you don't exist.

Lily Snape repeated it like a mantra in her head, huddled as she was in the closet in their bedroom. She didn't think the Death Eaters were likely to enter the bedroom, but Severus said he didn't want to take any chances.

Sometimes she daydreamed what her life would be like if she hadn't accepted Severus' apology. She hoped she would have more freedom. Severus was always monitoring her, and she hadn't seen anyone but him in years, except for glimpses of Voldemort and, strangely, Peter Pettigrew. The latter one made her stomach almost heave. Lily remembered the day she heard that James Potter had been killed in battle. Severus had been gleeful as he described how he made James scream.

"I doubt he begged for mercy," Lily had said quietly, interrupting the retelling.

Severus made her pay for that by ignoring her for days. He was always so irrationally jealous any time she even mentioned James Potter. The one time she accused him of it, though, he completely denied it. He did that with every argument: denying or diverting the conversation away from the truth. She should have expected it; he did it often enough in their youth, whether they were discussing the Dark Arts, Petunia, or James.

She lowered her head onto her arms where they rested on her knees. There was no way to measure time while she was in here. Severus had taken away her wand several years ago, and her skill in wandless magic had never been spectacular. All she could do was wait for the Death Eaters gathered below to leave and for Severus to release her from this prison.

Remus Lupin sighed as the clock ticked closer to closing time. The full moon had passed recently, and his body still ached with pain from it.

He stifled a groan as the bell over the door rang, announcing the arrival of a last-minute customer.

"And if you look here, you'll see Remy Wolfe, a tired, despondent man with no hope in life," an amused voice said.

Grinning now, Remus walked toward the entrance to greet his wife. Laura had already wandered over to the mystery section and was browsing the newest books.

"Another one?" he teased, wrapping his arms around her from behind and resting one hand on her belly. The bump had just begun to show at four months. His child was inside there, and that simultaneously terrified and excited him.

Laura leaned back into his embrace. "You know me," she replied. "I have to correct all of them."

He pressed a smile into her brown hair. The only reason that Laura read mystery novels was for the investigative side of them. As a forensic anthropologist, she knew what was actually possible.

"If I wore stilettos, I think I'd die," said Laura, examining the cover of one book. "And that's without this little guy inside me."

Remus huffed out a laugh before her words registered. They had been very careful not to call the baby anything gender specific so they wouldn't get their hopes up. She had mentioned that she'd have an ultrasound today, but Remus wasn't able to get off work for it after skipping for the full moon.

"Guy?" he questioned.

Laura tilted her head back and smiled up at him, her hazel eyes dancing with happiness.

"A boy," she confirmed. "We'll be having a son, Remy."

Even though his heart pounded in his chest, Remus' hands didn't shake as he placed them over her own on her belly. He had become very good at hiding his emotions while on the run from Black and the Death Eaters.

"You win, then," he said quietly. "Conor Wolfe will soon be joining our little family."

Then another voice broke into their quiet moment.

"A kid, Moony? Congratulations."

Remus snapped around, his hand reflexively reaching for a wand that wasn't there. He knew that voice, the drawling arrogance of it.

Sirius Black, leader of the renegade group that fought against both Dumbledore and Voldemort, stood there, his eyes cold and his accustomed smirk fixed to his face.