Today the world outside was sunny and lovely. It might have been cloudy and rainy; it didn't really matter. They were prisoners in this house. It was a comfortable enough cottage, and the garden was lovely, but when you aren't able to leave your own garden, even the sweetest of homes becomes cramped and uncomfortable.

Lily ducked as the cat meowed and jumped to a shelf. James quickly swished and flicked a lamp back into place. Harry shrieked with delight and turned his toy broom down the hall, where there was nothing dangerous. The cat, satisfied that she was in a safe place, started a bath. Living in a house with one of those creatures was dirty, dangerous work.

Lily looked up at her husband balefully. "Are you absolutely sure?"

James smiled and walked down the hall. "Woah, there, little wizard!" After a few minutes, he walked back in. "I turned him down the other hall. He'll be back through in a minute. Sure about what?"

"Us, the prophecy, the house, Harry... Are you sure we're safe?"

"Of course I'm sure. We're as safe as can be here."

"I just feel so exposed. The house is perfectly visible. Bathilda had no problem whatsoever finding us."

"Pete told her how to get here. She said she never would have known it was here if it wasn't for him."

"I'm not sure I believe you or anyone else about this. I can see every person who passes our window. They must be able to see us too."

James laughed. "Sometimes you can still be such a Muggle. No, it only seems that way. The Fidelious Charm is protecting us. A person could be looking in the window and still have no idea that we're here."

"It's really and truly safe?"

"Perfectly. The Fidelius Charm is one of the most powerful bits of magic there is."

"But why Wormy? Why not Sirius? Or even Remus? Remus would make me feel much more comfortable."

"You know about Remus. It's not that we can't trust him, but his condition makes him vulnerable. We're concerned that being a werewolf will be his downfall."

"Just because of his transformations? That's not like you, James."

"It's a legitimate concern."

"That somehow someone will get him to talk? When he's not even in a human form? I still don't get that."

"No, it's that while he's transforming, or after he's changed back... You've never seen him then, Lily. He's in a weakened state. It's just barely possible that someone could get to him."

Harry zoomed past again on his broom. "Whee!" The cat hissed from her perch. When the baby was back in the hallway, she resumed licking her back.

"I'm not convinced that Remus would ever betray us, James."

"Is this Lily speaking, or the crush you used to have on him?"

"James! We just studied Ancient Runes together. The rest of you couldn't be arsed, after all."

"It's not as though you're using dead languages here in this cottage."

That was part of the problem. They weren't doing much of anything in the cottage. Fifth year and the conversations they'd had with Professor McGonagall seemed centuries in the past instead of just a few years. Lily had explored several possible professions; none was an option at this time.

"We've decided that it's just better with Peter."

Lily sighed. Perhaps they were right about Remus. He would never knowingly, willingly betray them, but perhaps some pressure could be applied. She'd heard about his transformations, but she'd never witnessed one. She only knew that Remus was a weary shell of himself when it was all over.

"Why not Sirius, then? He just seems stronger, and a safer option, than Peter."

"And everyone will assume it's him, because he's the obvious choice. This way, if they torture him, he won't be able to say anything."

Lily shuddered. She didn't want to think of any of their friends being tortured, especially not for their sake. Harry toddled in and climbed into her lap. She cuddled him close and kissed his forehead. Actually, she could think of every one of their friends being tortured, for Harry's sake. Anything would be bearable, as long as he was protected.

There was one person who didn't seem vulnerable or likely to be captured or tortured. "Why not Dumbledore, then? Didn't he offer?"

"Dumbledore? I don't quite trust him. He always seems to have some ulterior motive. Why didn't he tell us what the prophecy actually said?"

"He said something about prophecies being tricky, that we might inadvertently cause something if we know too much."

"… or know too little. We've been all over this, Lils, and I don't quite trust him. We've got all our information and planning centered in one person. We don't want to add our own safety and security to that."

"But still, why don't we have someone else as our Secret Keeper? Alice told me that Severus told the Order that one of our friends isn't trustworthy."

"Pffh... Snape."

"He told the Order things about us that we've never mentioned. They had to come from someone who knew us."

"And when asked, he couldn't tell us who it was. He's such a sneak he probably found it out those things by spying on us."

"Why would you think that?"

"Because he's always been lurking around."

It had been a bone of contention since their first ride on the Hogwarts Express. Lily decided to let it go. "Well... Dumbledore trusts Sev. He says that he's really trying to help us, and the order."

"That's another reason I don't quite trust Dumbledore. It's obvious that Snivellus is a Death Eater. When I think about it, I worry that Dumbledore is turning a bit dotty."

James came close to put his hand on the baby's head and kiss it. Lily took his hand and looked at him seriously. "Peter Pettigrew is really and truly the best choice, James? I fear what they'll do to him. He's never seemed quite... brave enough."

He smiled and leaned down to kiss her reassuringly. "There's no one better. He actually suggested it himself. He admitted that he worried that he might be attacked, but knew that since they were likely to go after Sirius first, at least he might have some forewarning if something was up. There were tears in his eyes as he swore to me that our safety was the most important thing in the world to him. He promised that he'd take our secret to the grave. He's absolutely true to us, Lily."

"That doesn't sound like the Wormy I know, who's scared of everything, sometimes even his own wand."

"Yes, he's scared of his other wand, too. You should have seen the first time he-"

"James, be serious. I'm still very worried about this."

He helped her stand up, and they walked up the stairs together. James nodded toward Harry with his head. "Is he asleep for the night, then?"

"I think so."

James moved right behind Lily and put an arm around her waist.

"Stop, James. I need to put him down and set his room to rights."

Harry needed a new diaper, but was so tired that he didn't wake as Lily changed him and put him in his sleeper. She wasn't quite ready to let the topic of conversation go.

"Frank, Kingsley, Mad-Eye?"

"We didn't want to involve anyone who works at the Ministry. They have some odd rules about mandated reporting and that sort of thing. We didn't think it would apply to us, but we didn't want to chance it."

He slipped his arm around her again and started kissing the back of her neck.

"James, quit it!"

"Come on, Lils, the little guy is asleep, and we're all alone."

She patted Harry's behind and relaxed a little. It was true. They were alone. They were very much alone. It was just them and the house. Them, the house, and the prophecy, that is. Actually, it was them, the house, the prophecy, and nothing but Wormtail to protect them.

Suddenly, she whirled around and faced James. Working the fingers of both her hands between the fingers of his, she pushed him to arms' length and caught his eye. "Are you really willing to stake our son's life on this decision? Because that mad man wants to kill him. Tokill him, James; do you really know what that means?"

"Of course I know what that means, Lily. How many of our friends have we already lost?" James clasped her hands that were now entwined with his and kissed each of them. With tears in his eyes, he said, "I swear to you on my parents' graves, on the graves of all our friends, on the lives of all whom I hold dear, on my life, your life, even Harry's life. I promise you that I will protect you to my last breath. Our friends will protect us to the last breath. Nothing and no one will be able to penetrate the protective charms we've laid. Nothing and no one will harm our baby. He's perfectly safe, and you're perfectly safe too, Lily."