Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Not yet anyway... Muahahahahahah!
Summary: Harry Potter, Polaris Black, and Romulus Lupin have been sheltered their whole lives, hidden away from the world by their parents' fears of the dangers that await them. With the war still raging and hope lost in the world, three best friends are about to learn about the evils and not-so-evils of life.
Author's Note: Last chapter was a bit lighthearted overall, I know, and though the story will have many lighthearted moments - they are the Marauders (originals and next generation) after all - this is meant to be a relatively serious story. I think this chapter helps to set the tone!
The Sun, the Moon, and the Truth
"Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth."
- Buddha
Chapter Two – A Family in Crisis
"We just want to work and make our family happy."
- David Mendez
"I thought you and Remus moved past this," James said with a sigh.
Exactly one week ago, Sirius and Remus came tumbling out of the Potter Manor living room fireplace with their sons having just gained custody. Romulus and Polaris had been accepted into their little family without a second thought, and James was happy to offer any fathering advice that he could muster. That day, it had been hard to even spot any sort of problems between the two canine Marauders.
Unfortunately, that did not last.
Despite how happy Harry had seemed to have two new playmates and how pleased Romulus and Polaris were to provide him and each other with said company, Remus and Sirius had not been by at the same time since. At first, James thought maybe it was just coincidence. Remus would show up for tips here or there at times when Sirius just so happened to be busy and vice versa, but now he realized that they were doing it on purpose. More than on purpose, actually, considering that Sirius had not actually left their house in four days, meaning that Remus had not been by at all.
The only signs that he still was around were letters that he was sending James and Lily asking for advice on this or that. He had been sorely tempted to send a letter back telling him to get his arse over here or else he wasn't going to tell him a damn thing, but then he remembered how stubborn the werewolf could be. With a response like that, James might be lucky to see him again in five weeks, if that.
"What made you think that?" Sirius asked, deadpanned.
He saw no reason to even pretend that there was nothing going on anymore. Every day, the Potters seemed to be in more danger than they were the day before. The time for pussyfooting around the issue of the spy was behind them. Now, he had to convince them that he was right before somebody got hurt. If that meant shoving it down their throat that Remus had betrayed all of them, he would. He just wished he had more evidence than he did, but to him, what he knew was plenty.
At the moment, he and James were sitting in the living room. A playpen was set up in the middle of the room for Harry and Polaris, who were in the process of gabbing in their own made up language. It made both of the older men smile to realize that their sons got along so well, despite only being in each other's company for seven days now. If they had not known better, it could have easily been mistaken that Harry and Polaris had known each other since they were born.
This was close enough.
"When you two came back here last week, it just... I don't know. Seemed like old times," James admitted, watching his friendly with a sad expression.
Sirius tried not to feel guilty about that sadness. He knew he was doing the right thing. Maybe a part of it was coming from the fact that now he had Polaris to watch after as well. He had to keep him safe, no matter what anybody else said. He had to keep both Polaris and Harry safe, even if Harry was only his godson. He had the responsibility of both of them on his shoulders. So, even if he was being a little harsh to a friend (former friend, he told himself strongly), it had to be done.
Instead, he threw a careless grin on and looked over at his best friend. "Really? Having three toddlers in the house reminded you old times? I think I'm glad I missed those times."
"Sirius, every time you're over it's like having an extra toddler in the house," James deadpanned. Then, he sighed. "And you know that's not what I meant."
The dog animagus just gave an uncomfortable shrug as his response.
James looked off for a moment. "Friday... things felt like the way they were supposed to be. You know? Like... things were finally back to normal, and it was just great. You, me, Remus... all with our sons playing together... Peter wasn't there, of course, but he'll eventually get married and have kids too, and then it will be perfect."
Sirius blinked at him. "James... you've turned into a girl," he laughed, smirking.
The other man just shrugged. "So? What's wrong about wanting all four of us to stay friends and letting our kids grow up together?"
When put like that, Sirius found he didn't have an answer. "Nothing, I guess."
"And technically, Romulus and Polaris are cousins, aren't they? Their mothers were sisters, right?"
"Yeah..."
"It's even more reason why they should all be together, playing together," James said, sighing.
Feeling uncomfortable, Sirius swallowed. "Yeah..." he said noncommittally. How could he agree to something like that when he felt like having Remus around them all the time would put everybody in danger? Deciding that he didn't want to stay on this topic anymore, Sirius smiled over at his friend. "Listen, James, I wanted to ask you something."
James looked over at him. "What is it?"
Sirius rubbed his neck and swallowed. "Well, I was thinking, and I want to make you and Lily Polaris's godparents."
"No," was the immediate answer.
Sirius's eyebrows disappeared into his hairline. "What?"
"No," James repeated evenly.
"You're... you're joking, right?"
"Not even a little bit."
Sirius rubbed at his face. "But why!" he spluttered.
James sighed and looked at him. His expression was serious but not mean in anyway, giving Sirius the distinct impression that his friend was not just being a jerk because he could. "Because," he said, heavily, "I don't want you making a decision like this when everything is so messed up."
Rubbing at his face, Sirius shook his head. "I don't understand."
"Right now, there's so much suspicion. You're not even considering Remus or Peter for godfather! You just went straight to me, because you know you can trust me," said James, sounding actually sad as he said that.
"Isn't that the point?" Sirius sighed, frustrated. "I trust you more than anyone else, Prongs, meaning that I'd trust you with my son in a heartbeat. Isn't that who a godfather is supposed to be!"
"Of course," he began hesitantly.
"Then what's the problem!" Sirius burst out, confused.
"Sirius, I just..." James sighed. He seemed to be struggling with his words as much as Sirius was struggling to understand where he was coming from. "Did you even think to ask Peter or Remus?"
The gray-eyed man blinked. "Peter? The same guy who nearly dropped your week old son when you first brought Harry home? Or the guy who squeaks in fright every time he begins to cry? The same guy who nearly fainted the first time Harry spat up in front of him?"
He almost smiled. "Okay. But what about Remus? He's been amazing with Romulus."
Sirius's gaze hardened. "You know my theory on him."
"Padfoot..."
"No, listen. There is a war going on," said Sirius, his voice leaving no room for laughter. It was quite uncharacteristic for the usually easygoing young adult to get so sober, even during war talk. "Any one of us could die at any moment. I want to make sure that Polaris has a good home to go to if I'm next."
"Then put me and Lily in your Will," James said immediately. Every member of the Order had one. "But don't name us officially as Polaris's godparents. Not yet."
Still not getting it, Sirius growled, frustrated. "Fine. When can I finally officially name you his godparents?"
Feeling a little defeated, the stag animagus gave a small sigh. "...Six months."
"Six months?" he repeated, dumbfounded. "Why?"
"Just six months. And if you haven't changed your mind, I'll accept it then. Alright?" James implored him, holding out his hand to shake on it.
Sirius sighed. "Alright. In six months, assuming neither of us is dead in that time." He paused, seeing James's look. Rolling his eyes, he added on, "And assuming that I haven't changed my mind – which I won't."
"That's all I ask," James said gently.
He knew his best friend didn't understand his reasoning, and he really didn't expect him to. Somewhere, in the back of his head, he had always imagined the four of them growing up together, getting married together, having kids together, and then their friends being best friends. He had mentally decided that Sirius would be his children's godfather, and he would be the godfather of either Remus or Peter's children. When Sirius had children, he had decided, whoever he wasn't the godfather of would end up being the godfather of Sirius's kid, and then the other two would be the last link.
He knew he was kind of being naive to think this way, but he couldn't just let Sirius make such a hasty decision during a time like this, when James knew he wasn't even considering his other two friends. Peter was skittish around Harry at the moment, and they had not even seen him interact with Romulus or Polaris yet, but James knew that he would get better with children with time. And Remus... The more Sirius brought it up, the more James was starting to believe him if he was being honest with himself, but parenthood could change people. Maybe he could be saved...
"Look," Sirius said suddenly, leaning forward with a grin.
James turned to look at what his friend was staring at and grinned as well. Harry and Polaris had situated themselves in opposite corners and had figured out how to start rolling Harry's teething quaffle back and forth between them, playing their own version of catch.
Polaris rolled the quaffle a little off course, sending it into one of the empty quaffles. "Uh-oh!" he chimed but was still grinning happily.
Harry simply leaned forward and pushed himself up, getting himself up on unsteady legs and wobbled over to the corner to pick up the quaffle. Then, as if deciding that getting back to his other corner was too much work, he just plopped down right there before rolling it back to Polaris.
"He's getting better at walking," Sirius said with a grin.
James nodded. "Every day, he gets stronger." He looked over at Sirius. "Does Polaris walk yet?"
The gray-eyed man shook his head. "Not from what I've seen. He just pulls himself up and crawls."
He nodded. "If he's pulling himself up, walking's not too far off. Harry ended up walking not three days later."
"I think he wants to walk... he might just not trust me fully yet. When he does, he'll come to me," Sirius said, though he was smiling.
James just grinned at him. "You're really turning out to be a great dad, you know that?"
The other man genuinely seemed surprised by that. "Really?"
"Really," he said. "I can already tell that you love him and would do anything for him. That's always the first step."
Sirius swallowed thickly. "Anything," he repeated, nodding, agreeing with him. "I'd do... anything."
Knocking sounded from the front door, cutting off James's response. Both men looked up confused. They had not been expecting anyone, and Lily would not return home by knocking on the door. They both sat there, tense, not knowing what to do or expect. Logically, James knew it wasn't Death Eaters. When was the last time a Death Eater actually knocked at the door, after all? Not to mention that he was pretty sure that the wards around the home would stop that sort of thing.
But either way, he still found himself reaching for his wand as he stood from the sofa. Beside him, Sirius was doing the same and taking on the same uncertain yet defensive stance. Perhaps it was their Auror training or maybe they were just being paranoid parents, but they could not take any chances.
James led the way to the door where he stopped to look through the peephole. Immediately, he sighed in relief.
"It's Remus," he said, lowering his wand. Sirius did not do the same. James glared at him. "He has Romulus with him." They stared off for a moment before Sirius finally backed down. Once the other wizard's wand was put away, James opened the door and smiled at the werewolf. "Hey, Remus. Come on in!"
The sandy-haired wizard shifted nervously. "Uh... no thanks. I'm not staying." He licked his lips. "I was just... I was hoping that you would watch Romulus tonight. Possibly for most if not all of tomorrow too."
"Of course—" James started to say but was cut off.
"Why? Where are you going, Remus?" Sirius asked sharply.
Remus stared at the dark-haired man with a hard almost hurt look. "Seriously?" he said quietly.
Sirius didn't back down. "Yes. Seriously. Where are you going?"
Now the werewolf's amber eyes were starting to shine a little uncomfortably. In a slightly strangled voice, Remus answered, "Tonight's the full moon. Romulus can't be there." Sirius physically took a step back in shock at hearing that as he realized what he had just said. Remus looked at James, a pleading look on his face. "Please."
James felt sick to his stomach. He didn't even know how many full moons they had missed now. It was at the point where they had lost track of the moon cycle, something that Remus would never be able to forget. And now he had a son... "Of course, Moony. Don't worry about it." He reached out and gently pulled Romulus out of Remus's arms. The little one-year-old seemed to not even notice as he simply moved his head a bit before supposedly drifting off once again.
Gesturing toward the toddler tiredly, Remus said, "He's been sleeping all day. He shouldn't be any trouble, but just in case..." He then removed a bag from his shoulder that neither man had realized was there before. It was a tattered leather bag that looked just as worn as the exhausted looking werewolf appeared to be. He held the bag out to James who took it with his free hand. "He's really easy to take care of. You read to him, and he's happy. He also likes the Muggle telly if he gets a little cranky. He doesn't seem to like telling me when he's hungry, so I usually have to wake him up for meal times." He swallowed nervously. "Um..."
"It's okay, Remus," James said softly, offering a smile. "I'll take good care of him."
Remus gave a tired smile. "I know." He hesitated. "I'm sorry about this—"
"Don't you even start," James said sharply. "I'm just sorry that I forgot." He glanced back at Sirius for a moment before continuing. "Listen, it's still a few hours until sunset... Why don't you come in?"
"I can't," he said quietly. "I've been so focused on Romulus that I haven't had time to make preparations for tonight. I still need to get more healing salve, bandages, clean up in the basement..." He shook his head. "Thanks, though. I'll be by as soon as I'm able to pick him up."
"Take your time," James said, smiling a bit. "After all, I want some time with the third little Marauder here. I have to get my dose of corruption in at some point."
Remus chuckled tiredly.
"Take care of yourself," Sirius said quietly.
The werewolf turned his gaze on him silently. For a moment he said nothing before giving a small nod. "I'll try," he responded. Then with that, he gave an uncertain smile at the two men, ran his hand over Romulus's sleeping head, and turned away as he walked down the lane before he could finally Apparate away.
James watched the empty spot at the end of the sidewalk for a moment longer before he turns to look at Padfoot. "I can't believe we forgot," he said painfully.
Even Sirius looked guilty. "I feel like shite," he admitted.
James looked down at Romulus at hearing the curse word and smiled slightly. "I sure hope Rom isn't as smart as Remus claims or else you might have a very angry werewolf after you later when his son starts spouting that off every few minutes."
That managed to get a grin out of Sirius. "Merlin, I dunno how I've managed to hold my tongue around Polaris for so long. I just know I'm going to slip up."
The messy-haired wizard walked back into the living room where he found his wife kneeling by the playpin watching the boys play. She looked up at hearing their footsteps. "Who was that—?" She stopped herself as she caught sight of the toddler in James's arms. "Oh." And then realization crossed her face. "Oh, god. It's the full moon!"
James nodded guiltily. "Do you mind grabbing the bassinet, Lil'? Remus said Rom had been sleeping all day, and, well..." He gestured to the sleeping soundly infant in his arms.
Sirius smiled slightly. "Just like Remus. Out like a light."
"Lucky him," James half-joked as Lily came back with the bassinet that he requested. He gently laid the toddler in the bassinet before sighing. He looked back at Sirius. "Why don't you go with him? At least try to help make the full moon a little bearable?"
Sirius licked his lips, an aggravated look on his face. "And leave you and Lily to deal with three toddlers?"
"We can handle it," Lily piped in, though she kept her voice soft. She knew this was really not her argument.
"Why can't Peter go?" Sirius asked instead.
James blinked at that question. "I don't know... You think he forgot too?"
"If the rest of us forgot, then probably," the shaggy-haired wizard answered.
After a moment of hesitation, James nodded and moved to stand. "I'll go call him, then. See if he can at least pop by."
Sirius gave a relieved sigh. He could feel Lily's deep green piercing gaze following him as he crossed the room to the playpen, but he couldn't bring himself to care. While he genuinely did not want to be around the werewolf at the moment, a lot of it had to do with the fact that he wasn't sure if he was ready to be away from Polaris now. The little toddler was just starting to get to know him. What if in his absence he forgot who he was?
Those thoughts made him wince, though, as he glanced toward the bassinet. He doubted Remus had wanted to part with Romulus. In fact, the look on the tawny-haired wizard's face had said the complete opposite. It had been obvious that giving over Romulus had been more painful than the thought of what was coming at sundown. Remus didn't have the luxury of deciding not to leave his son's side. He would have to leave his son's side every month for the rest of his life.
Maybe Remus could be saved. Maybe apart of James was right, and maybe Remus wasn't completely lost to them. Maybe he could come back to them and everything would be great. But would Sirius ever be able to forgive him for turning to Voldemort at all? Sirius wasn't exactly known for being the most forgiving of people. In fact, he was known for the complete opposite. He could hold a grudge like nothing else, and he knew that even if Remus was "saved," there would be no returning from where they have gone.
No, things could never be the same.
"He's not there."
Sirius looked up as James came back into the room. He was dusting soot off of his shoulders from where he had attempted to fire-call their fourth friend. A slightly disturbed look graced his face making Sirius cock his head to one side.
"Something wrong with that?"
"It's just..." James hesitated. "He told me he would be home today. I wanted him to come see Polaris and Harry, and he said that today would be completely free..."
Sirius shrugged. "Maybe he changed his mind."
"Maybe," the stag animagus murmured.
But then Harry was suddenly calling out for him, obviously hungry, and whatever road that his mind was going down was lost.
For the next few hours, James would every so often attempt to convince Sirius to at least pop in to check on Remus, but it finally took Sirius turning it around James for him to go instead to get him to stop. Sirius knew that James was every bit as reluctant to leave Harry as Sirius was to leave Polaris. Of course, their selfish desires to stay put were for different reasons, but it led to the same action. They both just wanted to spend as much time with their sons as possible.
No matter how much they wanted to stay with their sons, though, every so often they would both find themselves drifting off into their own thoughts, their gaze toward the window where the full moon could seen in more and more detail as the sun started to set. Finally, Lily had enough.
"Oh, for heaven's sake! I can tell you both want to go, so just go!"
James and Sirius looked at each other, and though Sirius tried to protest, he couldn't deny what his heart was trying to tell him. After a short staring contest, they both sighed and nodded. They started to get up to leave when a beautiful silvery phoenix that came souring into the living room.
"Emergency Order Meeting in 5 minutes," was the quick message it delivered before dissipating.
James sighed, wishing neither of them had hesitated. "I'll grab Romulus." He walked up to the Lupin child who, though he had been sleepy since arriving at the Potter residence, was now perfectly awake. Much like the older men in the room, his gaze had been stuck on the window for a good part of the evening, though nobody really noticed.
A few minutes later, the trio of adults and the trio of toddlers found themselves tumbling out of the fireplace in the foyer of Alastor Mad-Eye Moody's family home. They quickly made their way into the basement, the designated meeting place for the Order. Moody's family home had so many wards on it that most of the Order had trouble even getting to the place at all let alone anyone not invited. It was, in other words, the perfect place for their secret meetings.
As they walked down the steps, they could see that they were not the only ones who were forced to bring little kids to the meeting because of the short notice. Dumbledore was at the back of the room, sitting at the head of the round table specifically setup for these meetings as he watched each person come in. As he saw them enter, though, a somewhat rare smile in these times graced his face and he stood.
"Are these the newest addition to the Marauder family that I've yet to meet?" he asked with a twinkle in his eye.
James grinned proudly, as if he was the father of the two boys. "Yup. This is Romulus, Remus's boy, and that's Polaris, the Sirius wannabe."
Sirius let out a bark like laugh at that description. "I can't help it that he has a great role model."
"Indeed he does. They all do, and though Minerva may shudder to think of them all entering the school together in ten years, I personally cannot wait," Dumbledore said with a smile. "May I?" he asked, gesturing to Romulus.
"Of course," James said, handing him over gently. "Remus would have wanted to be here, but..."
Albus Dumbledore tenderly cradled the infant to his chest, his eyes twinkling quite merrily down at the child. "No need to explain. I understand perfectly." Then, without missing a beat, he continued, "Hello, Romulus. You are going to be a very smart wizard when you grow up, aren't you?" In response, Romulus simply stared up at him with large, curious blue eyes. A moment later, he was grabbing a fistful of Dumbledore's beard and giving it a nice tug.
James snorted while Sirius laughed out right. "Sorry about that, sir," the stag animagus said with laughter in his voice. "I guess even being Remus's son doesn't automatically make him an angel. He is a Marauder after all, just like you said."
Dumbledore simply chuckled as he handed Romulus back over. "No worries, my boy. I would expect nothing less from either of these three." He smiled fondly at Polaris and Harry who had managed to drift off during the journey. "Well, I believe I have a meeting to start. We set up a room to the side for the children to stay while we talked. Don't worry, Pomfrey has assured me that she will be quite diligent in watching them."
Lily smiled at him. "Thank you, sir. That's very kind of you."
She led the way to the door that Dumbledore had gestured to before stepping inside. There was an assortment of toys, cribs, and beds setup with Madam Pomfrey sitting in a rocking chair at the moment with a redheaded baby in her arms. Pomfrey looked up as they entered and gave a smile. "Ah, bringing more to the pack, eh? Just set them down anywhere; I'll take good care of them. No worries."
They each said thank you as they settled the three toddlers into separate cribs. Neither Polaris or Harry stirred, and Romulus continued to simply stare out as if fascinated by the sights in front of him.
By the time they returned to the other room, the atmosphere had changed. No longer were jovial introductions and heartfelt greetings being exchanged. Everybody had taken a seat and waited, on edge, to hear why they were being called in on such short notice. James, Lily, and Sirius quickly followed suit, taking a seat in the three available seats. Lily looked at all of the sombre faces around them, feeling dread forming in the pit of her stomach.
"Where's Peter?" she whispered to James.
He looked at her and then around the table, also noticing his absence. "I don't know..."
"Thank you all for coming," Dumbledore suddenly began, looking around at all of them. "I unfortunately did not summon you for good news tonight, but instead to deliver distressing news that will most likely be gracing the papers in the morning. However, I wanted all of you to hear it from me first."
Around them, the other Order members were sitting tersely. Whenever Dumbledore called them in only to give them information, it never was good. Next to her, Lily had unconsciously latched onto her husband's hand, needing the little bit of comfort, and he was more than glad to give it to her, squeezing her hand back comfortingly. Sirius was leaning forward in his seat, looking around those in front of him so that he could see Dumbledore straight on.
"There was an attack in York tonight. Forty muggles were killed and thirteen witches and wizards." There were gasps all around the room. "One of our own was there." This was the part they were all dreading. The room was dead silent. "Dorcas Meadows was murdered earlier this evening."
"No!" Lily whimpered before dropping her head into her hands as she began to cry.
James immediately wrapped his arms around her and held her. They had all gone to school with Dorcas, and Lily had been particularly close to the older girl due to their similar interests. James had actually thought of trying to push Remus to ask her out before he realized that Dorcas's fiery spirit and stubborn nature was something better suited for Sirius. Speaking of his best mate, the gray-eyed wizard was simply staring straight ahead, his jaw clenched and his eyes shining. As far as James knew, nothing actually ever came of the banter between Sirius and Dorcas, but maybe that was the problem. Tons of regret and not enough time.
Selfishly, James found himself grateful that he had not wasted time with Lily.
He immediately felt disgusting afterward. How could he think that now?
"Dorcas was in the process of gathering research for me in a very sensitive subject," Dumbledore continued once the majority of the shock seemed to have passed. "My sources tell me that Voldemort," a shiver ran throughout the room, "himself sought her out and killed her. Her death will not be in vain. This leads me to believe that Dorcas's research was viable, and that what she was finding out may have been information that he did not want us to know."
Minerva McGonagall gave a great sniff. "D-do you have any information on what she was researching tonight?"
"No," Dumbledore said heavily. "However, I am of the belief that she would not have left the information unprotected. I would like to send some people up to York to search the area, look for any clues or even the research itself that Dorcas may have left behind. She was a brilliant witch, and I am certain that she could have figured out a way to mask the information so that we may be able to find it later."
Fabian Prewett stood up. "I'll go, sir."
"Thank you, Fabian," Dumbledore nodded.
"I'll go, too," Gideon Prewett said, also standing. "I won't be able to head out until morning, though... Babysitting my sister's little tyke."
Dumbledore nodded once more. "That's fine. Thank you two for volunteering."
"S-sir," Lily said, finally managing to find her voice through her tears, "h-how do you know that it was Voldemort?"
"Like I said, I have my sources, many of which I cannot divulge. A lot of my information, however, came from the Muggles who witnessed the event. Their descriptions matches Voldemort perfectly, and Lord Voldemort is not one who feels the need to hide whether or not he is doing something so there is no reason to assume it was not actually him." A silence fell over the gathered wizards and witches. "If there are no more questions..." He left that statement to hang in the air for a moment. "You all may go."
Later that night, after Romulus had finally drifted off again and Harry and Polaris had been put to bed, the three adults found themselves sitting around the kitchen table silently. Lily's eyes were red and puffy from the amount of crying she had been doing, and Sirius's eyes had been suspiciously watery all night. James had not gotten the courage to ask why.
"I can't believe she's dead," Lily said in a choked voice.
"I know," James whispered, squeezing her hand across the table.
Sirius looked up at them. "Have you two thought more about going into hiding?"
Looking over at him, his best mate answered honestly, "No." He paused. "But maybe we should."
Lily gave a small sob, but she didn't speak up against it. Not after the news they received tonight. Going into hiding would mean leaving everything behind, something that both she and James had been resisting for over a year. But could they afford to avoid it anymore?
Maybe not.