"I think he's on to me, Prongs."
Sirius didn't need to say the name for James to understand. The messy-haired wizard bit his lip in response and lifted his head, staring at the ceiling so he could gather his thoughts against the blank, off-white colour.
"We need to switch." Sirius said quickly, not understanding why his voice was suddenly a croak. "Prongs - if they get me… I'd never be able to forgive myself if I - if they…"
He couldn't finish his sentence. His mind began to replay the chilling nightmares he endured every night - Death Eaters capturing him, forcing Veritaserum down his throat, him telling Voldemort the whereabouts of the Potters, his face blank and hollow, perhaps even cheery…
No. He couldn't let that happen.
"You're right." James agreed quietly, his voice low. Hazel locked onto the grey, and in the span of a few milliseconds, thousands of emotions and thoughts were exchanged in a language only they understood. "You're right. You're too predictable. Too much of a target."
"You know I'd die before betraying you." said Sirius, surprised at how calm they sounded. Of course, it was just a pathetic front - both wizards, barely out of their teenage years, could feel the other burning into pieces within the strong exteriors.
James stepped forward and slammed into his fellow Marauder, wrapping strong arms around his back. The other responded in kind, the two sharing a rare pocket of brotherly love in the midst of a raging war. Sirius took in James' every feature - the smell of his hair, the feel of his glasses sticking uncomfortably into his flesh, the grey shirt he always liked to slum around in. Who knew when Sirius would see him again?
The hug was broken as James pulled away, his expression fierce.
"Use Peter." It was hard for Sirius to say it, the words feeling bitter in his mouth. He felt like a coward, a let down. "Nobody would ever suspect him. We can protect him. He's… safe."
James nodded in agreement, eyes unfocused.
"Safe." He repeated in a murmur, lost in thought. "I need to ask Lily. She'll know what's best. I wouldn't want anything to happen to you, Padfoot. I… I don't know what I'd do."
Sirius smiled a fake smile, finding it odd how the expression felt on his face. He couldn't remember the last time his lips had twisted into anything remotely positive.
"We should go." He said abruptly, blinking back tears as he imagined James' dead body, lying in his small home in Godric's Hollow… Lily's corpse, sprawled across the floor, forever frozen in a scream… Harry, little baby Harry, so vulnerable, so undeserving of all the murderous hate directed towards him by the most vicious wizard to ever have existed. "It's too dangerous to stay here for too long."
James responded with a low rumble of agreement. Protection charms could only last so long if the Death Eaters really wanted you. He picked up his Invisibility Cloak from the table, beckoning for Sirius to step closer so that he could throw the material around them both.
Five minutes later, the two men were creeping out of the safe house, ready to Apparate to their separate locations. Two boys who had had the title of "man" forced upon them, far too young to be battling in a bitter war. Two boys who had had no choice but to grow up too fast, donning battle gear barely after shedding their last Hogwarts robes.
Those few scared, edgy moments were the last that ever existed between James Potter and Sirius Black.