A/N: Oh dear, it's been quite a while since I last updated, hasn't it? So sorry! Things became pretty hectic this past year but I promise we're almost done.

Disclaimer: As always, the world of Harry Potter belongs to the one and only JK Rowling.

"Here we are," James sang as he opened the door and held it so Lily could pass through the threshold. "Here we are!" He took the baby from her arms, so ecstatic he was practically dancing on the spot. "Welcome home, Harry!" He turned to look at her, his hazel eyes twinkling. She smiled softly at him and he laughed for no reason other than he was so happy he couldn't hold it inside of him. Harry, for his part, watched his father with politely curious eyes but he was tired and his eyelids began to droop. He yawned and, seeing this, Lily hurriedly scooped him into her arms and brought him, much to James' dismay, into the room she and James had decorated for their beautiful baby boy.

"But, Lil!" James protested, hot on her heels. "He has to see his new home."

"He'll have plenty of time to do that. For now, he has to sleep." She laid the baby in his crib and placed a blanket over him.

"Hmph," James pouted, "all he does is eat, sleep, and poop. And you pay more attention to him."

"Why, James, are you—dare I say it—jealous?" Lily shook her head and fondly ruffled the thatch of messy black hair on top of her baby's head. "I don't see why you should be." She pressed her lips to his and his arms wound around her shoulders, held her tightly to his body as he was suddenly overcome with emotion.

"I love you, Lily Potter," he hissed with a fierce intensity that caused her beautiful green eyes to widen. "I. Love. You." He punctuated each word with a kiss, savoring the feel of her ivory skin. He hadn't thought he could love her more. He had thought that his entire heart was already full to bursting with love for the woman who was his wife.

James Potter wasn't often wrong but he had been wrong, he realized. His heart had grown to welcome a baby into their lives, a son. His son. And he was surprised that the presence of another person whom he could love so unrestrainedly did nothing to diminish his adoration, his all-encompassing love for Lily. Rather, his feelings for her seemed to have risen to an entirely new level, someplace that was beyond words. Because, not only was she his wife, not only was she his best friend, his lover, his confidante, not only was Lily the only woman he could ever love, she was also the mother of his child. And, as such, he was never going to let anyone hurt her, hurt Harry. He would die before that happened.

"James!" The man in question turned on the spot, surprised to see Dumbledore striding hurriedly toward him through the throng of people in the long corridor that led to the Ministry of Magic. "James, Lily, I need to speak with both of you."

"Can it wait, Professor?" James asked. "We've got a meeting in five minutes."

"No, it cannot. It's a matter that concerns your child and your safety. Please." There was no need for Dumbledore to repeat himself; once the two of them heard that it concerned their child, they were already following their former Headmaster to a quiet room. Dumbledore murmured a spell and turned to them when he was satisfied that nobody would be able to listen to their conversation.

"What's going on, Professor?" Lily asked, fear growing on her face.

"A prophecy's been made."

"About our child? Is he in danger?" James asked, alarmed, and he wrapped a comforting arm around his wife.

"Not quite," Dumbledore replied as he held out a small pewter bowl and extracted what looked like a silver thread from his forehead, placing it into the bowl. At once, a figure rose from it and began to speak in harsh tones, her eyes oddly blank.

The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches…Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies…And the Dark Lord will Mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not…And either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives…The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies…

"And this—this pertains to us?" It was an obvious question, one to which James already knew the answer. "Our child is the one who will defeat Voldemort?"

"Not exactly. It seems that there is another couple that matches the description of this prophecy. It is quite possible that it is their child who will defeat him."

"Who?"

"Frank and Alice Longbottom. I have warned them already and they are taking the necessary precautions. As you should do straight away."

"Necessary—precautions?"

"Yes. Voldemort knows. He doesn't know the whole prophecy, simply that there is a little baby who will grow up to be a threat to his reign of power. He is doing his best to locate—and kill—that child."

"So—what do you suggest we do?" James demanded, faintly.

"The Fidelius Charm. Choose a Secret Keeper and perform the charm immediately."

"Sirius." James spoke at once, without hesitation. "Sirius will be our Secret Keeper." Beside him, Lily nodded fervently. Dumbledore surveyed them, a serious expression in his light blue eyes.

"You—you do realize that there is a spy. I would rather…"

"No. Sirius isn't the spy and he will be our Secret Keeper."

"James, I would rather be your Secret Keeper. Not knowing who the spy is…"

"With all due respect, Professor," James interrupted as politely as he could, "I trust him with my life and I know that he would rather die than betray me or Lily. Or our child." Dumbledore nodded his head, seeing there was no way to sway James' mind once it was made, and smiled sadly at the two of them.

"Well, I'll leave you to it, then. Good day." His expression was composed but both had caught a glimpse of worry, anxiety, and fear in his eyes as he turned away.

There was stunned silence after his departure as the couple stood, watching him leave. Lily began to tremble and James looked down at her quickly; her head was bowed and her glorious red hair was hiding her face from his gaze. He swallowed the lump in his throat and found her hand, entwining his fingers with hers. He brought it to his lips and kissed it softly as he spoke her name.

"Lily?" She didn't answer him but her shoulders began to shake more violently and he distinctly heard a loud sniff. "Talk to me, love."

"I—I don't understand," she gasped, sobbing openly now. "I don't understand. Why is this happening?" His heart ached because he had no answer to give her—he was just as lost and confused. And angry.

"I don't know, Lil," he said fiercely and the tone of his voice caused her to look at him. "I don't know but I swear to you, I swear that I will never let him hurt you. Not you. Not Harry." She hiccupped and gazed at him, her mouth set as though she was still trying hard not to cry. He bent down and kissed her on the forehead and brushed away her tears with the pad of his thumb.

"We're going to have to talk with Remus, Sirius, and Peter about this. Explain why they can't come over any longer."

"Mm," he murmured and hugged her tightly. She melted into his embrace and they stayed that way for awhile, both forgetting about the meeting completely.

The next night, the Marauders met again but with much difficulty; both Remus and Sirius had been given duties to perform which they were loath to neglect but both managed, at the last minute, to ask other members of the Order to fill their spaces. It was difficult to contact Peter as nobody seemed to know of his whereabouts; James had been about to give up and accept that this very important and very secret meeting would have to happen without him when Peter had showed up outside his office. It was almost suspicious but James shrugged off his worries and Peter was informed.

This meeting would not be like their announcement months earlier. Sirius was the first to arrive, as always, but he detected the mood of his friends and made no jokes, no attempts to steal tastes of the sumptuous food Lily had prepared. She didn't smile as she cooked and, though he didn't know what was happening, Sirius understood that this was a matter of grave importance. Remus arrived only a few minutes after Sirius and he too understood that something grim was occurring, or going to occur in the near future. He clapped James on the back and touched Lily's shoulder in a reassuring way as he greeted them, offering to help with the meal preparation. She declined and gestured that he take a seat at the small table. Peter was late and they all wondered whether he had forgotten when they heard his clumsy footsteps at the door. He arrived in the room, breathless and in seemingly high spirits.

"Good evening!" he gasped jovially, beaming at the lot of them. Sirius threw him a disgusted look and Remus coughed lightly, raising his eyebrows and shaking his head almost imperceptibly. "Is—is something the matter?" Peter faltered, finally grasping the mood of the room.

"You're late," James scolded good-naturedly when nobody else offered an answer. "Have a seat. Sit. The food's getting cold." Peter obeyed and perched gingerly on the chair, looking quite ill at ease. They were silent as they ate, only speaking to ask the others to pass the salt or pepper; James and Lily were both tense and neither ate very much. The quiet was only disturbed once by the piercing cries of the baby in the next room. Lily excused herself each time to comfort her child and coax him back to a sleep that would hopefully last until the end of the evening. All in all, it wasn't a very pleasant gathering and the tension only grew as time passed. Finally, the couple beckoned their guests into their living room and cast spells all around, with the effect that the six of them were contained in an impenetrable bubble.

"What's going on, Padfoot?" Sirius asked, arching an eyebrow at his best mate. "You said it was urgent so—er—get on with it." James took a deep breath, steeling himself for what he was about to tell his friends.

"You lot can't come round here anymore."

"WHAT?!" Sirius roared as he jumped to his feet with such fury that he knocked his chair halfway across the room. "What the hell d'you mean we can't come round anymore?"

"It's for your own good. For your safety," James said in anguish.

"What James means to say," Lily spoke up, throwing her husband a reproachful look, "is that we've been informed of a—a threat, if you will, on our child and we've got to take every precaution to make sure he—or she—doesn't come to any harm. We don't want to shut you out but the both of us feel that if you come round a lot, you'll be," she gulped, "used to get in here."

"Who's behind this?" Sirius hissed, his eyes narrowing.

"V-Voldemort," she answered, her voice shaking just slightly. "It seems—that there's been," she gasped and tears filled her eyes. She brought a hand to her mouth but a sob escaped and Sirius reached toward her and grasped her hand, the anger replaced with reassurance.

"A prophecy," James completed her sentence. "There's been a prophecy."

"About Harry?" Remus asked, concern etching worry lines into his forehead.

"Not—not exactly," James shrugged, rubbing the back of his head so that his hair was even messier than before. "According to Dumbledore, this prophecy applies to two babies: Harry and—and Neville Longbottom."

"Longbottom?" Sirius tilted his head in confusion. "So—what? Is Voldemort going to attack both?"

"We—we don't exactly know."

"And how are you planning to hide from Voldemort?" Sirius demanded faintly.

"Dumbledore had a few suggestions," Lily whispered. "We just wanted to let you lot know so that you don't think we're trying to get rid of you."

"Well, mate, we understand," Remus sighed grimly, "You've got to protect that little one with everything you've got. All of us—me, Peter, and," he hesitated for a split second, "and Sirius—will do everything in our power to help you. If that means staying away, then so be it."

"Hear, hear!" Peter squeaked, breaking the silence he'd held since James' announcement.

"Yeah," Sirius agreed, shooting a quick glance at Remus, who swiftly avoided his gaze. "Yeah, mate. Whatever it takes." There was a tense quiet and then everyone began speaking at once, telling each other that everything would be okay and taking their leave. Remus and James exchanged a quick embrace before he left. Sirius, clapping James on the back, whispered that he needed to have a private word with him. Peter wrung James' hand and followed Remus out the door.

"Alright, you two, don't stay up too late," Lily admonished as she yawned heavily. "I'm going to bed."

"Good night, love."

"Good night." Once she was gone, James turned to his best friend with a quizzical look.

"What's going on, mate?"

"I think I have a good idea how Dumbledore intends to keep you safe from Voldemort," Sirius began, a grim expression tightening his mouth and making him seem a lot older than he really was.

"The Fidelius Charm," James confirmed, pinching the bridge of his nose between his fingers. "I was going to ask you to be Secret Keeper…"

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about." The tone in his voice caused James to look at him. "Look, it'll be the first thing Voldemort suspects. He knows I'm your best mate, he knows that we'd die for each other. Hell, he probably knows how many detentions we got in our years at Hogwarts. I—I would be honored to be your Secret Keeper and you know how seriously I would take that but—but I honestly think that you'd be better off choosing a Secret Keeper that Voldemort least suspects."

"Why?"

"Think about it. Voldemort understands power so he's obviously going to think you'll choose the most powerful of your friends to be Secret Keeper—like myself, Remus, or Dumbledore. But what if you chose somebody who isn't powerful? Like Wormtail. If Voldemort doesn't suspect him, it'll be all that much easier to hide him and Voldemort won't go after him."

"I—I don't know, mate," James frowned, shaking his head. "I'd feel a lot more comfortable if you were my Secret Keeper. But," he added before his friend could argue with him, "I see where you're getting." He sighed. "You really think Wormtail will be up for it?"

"Yes. Besides, with me and Moony protecting him, Voldemort's not getting anywhere near him." Sirius smirked confidently and James allowed the corners of his lips to lift in a smile.

"Well, I'll have to talk with Lily about this but if she agrees, we'll go with Wormtail. If not then it's you, mate. Agreed?"

"Agreed."

"What?!" Lily gasped. "Absolutely not!" She was furious—no, livid—at the request her husband had just made.

"Lil, listen to me," James pleaded, looking entirely woebegone.

"Sirius will be our Secret Keeper," she hissed, eyes flashing with the same temper she'd shown him in their school days. How could he ask her if she was willing to bind her secret into the soul of a man she trusted least of James' best friends. It wasn't as though the man had ever done anything to her to make her distrust him but he was so weak. There was no bloody way she was going to trust the lives of her husband and her son to a man who looked as though he was once scared of his own shadow.

But she knew, in the end, that she would trust James because he had such faith in his friends that she couldn't help but have faith in them as well. If he believed Peter could protect their secret, that Sirius and Remus could keep him from the clutches of Voldemort, she would believe it too. She would believe it with her whole heart because that was the only thing you could do in a war that turned friend against friend. It was the only thing to do.

So it was with a heavy heart that she and James performed the ritual that bound their whereabouts into Peter's own soul. She smiled, thanked him for the great personal risk he was taking on their behalf. He nodded and left, left with Sirius and Remus to the safehouse where he was to stay. Lily watched the three friends leave under the cover of dark and she heaved a great sigh, suddenly terribly cold. Her fingers trembled as she hugged her body, as James wrapped his strong arms around her in his loving embrace.

She hadn't seen the glow on Peter's face as he hid under the hood of his black cloak. Because if she had, she would have known the reason for the sudden and inexplicable terror that had engulfed her as soon as Peter Pettigrew became her Secret Keeper.