Chapter three

Remus was waiting outside the Potter's cottage for Lily as she finished packing away her family's things.

Lily had left Harry to play in his cot as she busied herself. It seemed a shame to leave the place she had called home for the past year. Waving her wand to shrink the bags, she pocketed them and made her way back to Harry and picked him up, walking out of the cottage to Remus.

"Ready?" Remus asked.

Lily nodded as he held her arm, side-along Apparating with her.

Once back on the ground, Harry started to cry, startled by the sensation of being squeezed through a tube.

Lily, who was feeling quite ill herself, gently bounced Harry in her arms as Number Twelve appeared in between Eleven and Thirteen. She followed Remus inside the building.

"FILTHY HALFBREED! AND A MUDBLOOD IN TOW! HOW DARE YOU DISGRACE MY HOME!"

"Oh shut up you old bat!" Remus growled, pulling the curtains across, hiding the portrait of Mrs Black behind them, and turned to Lily. "Why don't you put Harry to bed upstairs?"

Lily shook her head. "No... I want to keep him here with me..."

"Lily he's safe here."

"He was safe in his own bed too, Remus." Lily looked at him and walked into the living room. "Incendio." She spoke, pointing her wand at the fireplace before sitting down in the chair next to the fire, keeping Harry close to her.

"I think I'll go to my mother's in the morning."

"What will you tell her?"

"The truth?" Lily sighed softly. "When Harry was born she made me swear no more secrets... that was why we argued last month... secrets... and my sister..."

"Could she handle the truth?"

"Probably not... but she won't see James, Harry and I on the streets..."

Remus looked at his friend, wishing he could do something to help. He'd offer to take them in, but he wasn't safe around a baby full time...

Lily looked up at him. "Remus?"

"If I was... safer... I'd offer my place... I feel like I should do something Lily."

"You're doing enough right now." She gave him a kind smile.

Remus was about to answer her when the fire turned green, and Albus Dumbledore spun out of the fireplace.

"Dumbledore!" Remus gasped.

Lily shot up and backed toward Remus, holding Harry tightly. "What are you doing here?"

"Lily, my dear! Thank Merlin you're alright. What of James?" Dumbledore asked, covering up his shock at seeing the woman who should have been dead very much alive.

"He's busy sorting things out for us to stay somewhere as of tomorrow." Lily answered before Remus could answer.

"My dear Lily Harry must be moved right away."

"Where will you take us?"

Dumbledore looked at her. He couldn't very well send Harry to the Dursley's with Lily. He had already put up the wards of protection around the house. "I've just arranged for Harry to go to your sister's, Lily."

Lily glared and pulled her wand that had been hidden in her pocket. "Harry is not going near that foul house! Not without me or James! No we will find somewhere tonight and then we will leave the wizarding world. I suggest you leave Dumbledore."

"Lily please I implore you to see reason-" He was cut off by the flick of Lily's wand as she smashed something quite close to him.

"Leave Dumbledore. I won't miss next time."

Albus Dumbledore knew when he had lost an argument. It didn't happen often, he was always able to talk people around. "Lily..."

"Last chance."

Dumbledore sighed. "I bid you goodnight Lily Potter." He turned and threw more Floo Powder into the fireplace and disappeared.

"Remus I have a sneaking feeling that he will try again."

"He has tracking charms on you Lily." Remus cut her off.

"What?" Lily gasped. She shook her head. "Why... how...?"

"I don't know why. But he must have done it when he helped set up the wards in Godric's Hollow." Remus said. "How do I know? How did he know to look for you here? He looked directly at Harry but was shocked to see you standing there. Stand still Lily." He raised his wand and started to perform a counter spell, ridding both Lily and Harry of the tracking charms. "Where are your bags?"

Lily took the bags out of her pocket, put them on the chair and waved her wand to return the bags to their original size.

"Right go and put Harry to bed and get some sleep yourself. I will take off any charms there may be on them." Remus told her.

Lily sighed softly and nodded, knowing there was no way to argue. "Alright." She looked down at Harry who was already falling to sleep, safe in his mother's arms where he belonged. She turned on her heel and walked past Kreacher, and walked up the stairs to a spare room. She shivered in the cold of the room, flicking her wand at the bed to cast a warming charm on it, and at the fireplace in the room to light the fire. She lay Harry gently on the bed, causing the child to whimper a little at the loss of contact. "Harry, momma's still here... she's still here baby she just needs to take her shoes and cloak off." She said gently, and he relaxed, his eyes still closed.

She whispered a few more words of comfort until he fell asleep, then kicked off her shoes, threw off her cloak and got into the bed, cuddling Harry close to her. "Come on James... where are you...?"

James banged on a door to an unlit house. The house of a man he once called a friend. "PETTIGREW GET OUT HERE! GET OUT HERE AND FACE ME LIKE A MAN YOU COWARDLY BA-"

"James he's not here!" Sirius cut him off, looking through a window, his wand tip illuminating the room inside. From what he could see the house was deserted and had been for some time.

"I'm not leaving until I find that rat responsible for sending the Dark Lord after my family."

Sirius looked at his brother, and he nodded. "Well he's nowhere around here. We'll search Hogsmeade and then we'll venture into the Muggle world. We have to go there anyway to get to my family's home."

James sighed heavily and nodded, amd the pair Disapparated, reappearing in the busy town, unusually alive with excitement.

"Sirius! James! Oh my good Lord you boys are alright!"

Both men were tackled by Andromeda, followed closely by Madame Rosmerta who all but dragged them into the Three Broomsticks.

"What's going on?" Sirius asked.

"Haven't you 'eard? The rumour is the Dark Lord is gone! Gone for good!" Madame Rosmerta told them, offering them both a Firewhiskey.

James and Sirius exchanged looks, before looking back to Madame Rosmerta, pushing the bottles away. "Yeah well I'd like to make sure before we start celebrating our freedom." James told her and spoke louder for people within earshot; "Has anybody seen Peter Pettigrew?!"

Several people shook their heads, one piping up "Where's Remus? What about him not being trusted?"

"Never fully trust a Marauder. All that distrust and blaming each other? Was an act. Sure there was moments where I did blame him... but only briefly. We did it to see who our friends were." Sirius smirked, standing up.

"Remus is with Lily and Harry. They are both safe. You will understand if right now I won't say where they are." James added, leaving the pub with Sirius.

"Muggle London it is then." Sirius told James as they walked. "We'll just get to Diagon Alley and go through that way."