Remus walked wearily up the stairs at Hogwarts toward Dumbledore's office. He ought to hurry, he thought miserably, but he was utterly exhausted. He had just emerged from three weeks with a werewolf colony in Ireland, and it was his fourth multi-week journey in as many full moons. This mission had not exactly been a resounding success—the colony remained hopelessly aligned with Greyback—but he'd learned some unsettling information which he wanted to tell Dumbledore as soon as possible. It was already growing late and Remus picked up his pace, hoping he'd be able to find the Headmaster in his office.

Though he was anxious to see Dumbledore, his hurry had more to do with Sirius than anything else. Sirius was upset enough that Remus was gone on such a long mission, and Remus was supposed to have returned two days ago. He'd been unable to send an owl to Sirius, and he knew that there'd be a row when he returned.

But then again, there was always a row these days, Remus thought with a sigh. Ten months had passed since Harry's birth, months full of frustration and anger and restlessness, with the Order scarcely having made any progress at all. In fact, lately it seemed as if they were moving backward more than anything else.

Remus paused at the top of the staircase near Dumbledore's office to catch his breath, realizing that he had not yet fully recovered from the full moon. Suddenly, something large and black slammed into him, and he flailed, nearly falling down the stairs. He reached out to grab something, anything to keep himself upright, and realized he had grabbed hold of the arm of a tall man wearing all black, who had been running down the hall toward Dumbledore's office.

"Watch it," the man muttered, wrenching his arm free of Remus's grasp.

"Sorry," said Remus, looking up. He was surprised to see Severus Snape's face glaring down at him. He hadn't seen Snape since graduation. His sallow face was even more pinched and unpleasant-looking than usual, and he was breathing heavily as though he'd run all the way to Hogwarts. He seemed as surprised to seem Remus as Remus was to see him.

"What are you doing here?" Remus said in surprise. He expected Snape to tell him to mind his own business, but Snape said nothing, his eyes darting about nervously. They began walking together in the direction of Dumbledore's office. Snape walked quickly, and Remus struggled to keep up.

"I'm going to see Dumbledore," Snape said after a moment, wetting his thin lips nervously. "It's urgent, so if that's where you're going, you'll need to wait till I'm done."

Remus sighed. "You can go in first." A few extra minutes wouldn't make a difference in whether or not Sirius bit his head off when he got home, and he wasn't about to fight with Snape now.

"Listen, Lupin," Snape said after a moment. "Have you—" He paused uncomfortably, as though he wasn't sure exactly what he wanted to ask. "I mean—do you—"

"What?" Remus said curiously.

"I was wondering if you'd seen—" Snape shook his head. "Look, never mind. It's not important."

They reached the stone gargoyle outside Dumbledore's office. It creaked open as though Dumbledore were expecting them, and Remus followed Snape up the circular staircase the top of the stairs, Snape turned to Remus with a pained expression on his face, one that Remus had seen before, back at Hogwarts. He suddenly understood what Snape had wanted to ask.

"She's all right," he said quietly. "Lily's all right. She's happy and safe. At least as much as any of us can be."

Snape nodded, his hand on Dumbledore's office door. "Thanks," he said, and disappeared inside.

It was nearly a half hour later when Remus was finally admitted into Dumbledore's office. Snape pushed passed him and disappeared down the hallway without saying a word, his eyes red and swollen. Remus stared after him curiously until Dumbledore appeared in the doorway.

"Remus, please do come in," Dumbledore said. He glanced after Snape, his brow creased with concern.

"Sir, what—"

Dumbledore shook his head. "Severus's confidences are as confidential as your own," he said firmly.

Remus nodded, embarrassed. "Of course, sir."

Dumbledore sat down at his desk and gestured for Remus to sit across from him. "Now, I understand you have a report for me?"

Remus nodded. "Yes, sir. The colony I met with this month is loyal to Greyback, but they were willing to speak with me so long as I was with Banden."

"And what they had to tell you was of interest?"

Remus nodded. "You-Know-Who has promised Greyback that the Ministry will fall before the year is out." He paused, but Dumbledore did not comment. "That's not all, though. Greyback says that when that happens, he'll have a position at the Ministry and werewolves will be integrated into wizarding society. He says that they—that we—will be elevated above Muggleborns and half-breeds." He said all of this very quickly, only looking up at the very end.

Dumbledore did not look surprised at any of this.

"Before the year's end," he repeated thoughtfully. "No more specific information that that?"

"No," Remus said. "Do you think it's likely, sir?" It was May. There'd been unrest in the Ministry all year, so much so that the Minister of Magic had been replaced with Millicent Bagnold, a candidate many hoped would take a harder line against Death Eater activity. So far, there was little indication that this would happen.

"I believe that Voldemort thinks—or hopes—it likely," said Dumbledore. "And it is an interesting proposition for many of your contacts, I'm sure, that of werewolves being integrated into wizarding society."

Remus's stomach flipped, and he wondered if Dumbledore were really asking what he, Remus, thought of the proposition. He had had a similar conversation with Banden that morning.

"What if this Dark Lord really does give the werewolves everything Greyback says he will?" Banden had asked after they left the colony.

"He won't," Remus had said confidently. He'd told the other werewolves as much that morning. "Either Greyback's lying or You-Know-Who's lying. Werewolves will never be the equals of wizards, at least not if You-Know-Who's in power." Or ever, Remus thought grimly. "Death Eaters hate half-breeds as much as they hate Muggleborns."

"But what if they weren't lying?" Banden pressed. "What if your You-Know-Who really did give werewolves what they want?" He paused, and looked at Remus in much the same way that Dumbledore was looking at him now. "Would you take the offer?"

A shiver had gone down Remus's spine. Would he trade the rights of Muggleborns for the rights of werewolves? That was the real question, wasn't it? Banden raised his eyebrows at Remus's pause. "No," he said quickly. "I wouldn't."

But Remus didn't tell Dumbledore any of this. "Yes," he said instead. "But a lot of werewolves don't trust You-Know-Who any more than they trust any other wizard."

"Indeed." Dumbledore stood, and Remus knew he was being dismissed. "It has been an illuminating evening, and the Order has much to discuss in addition to what you've told me tonight," he said as Remus scrambled into his coat. "I'll be calling a meeting tomorrow. Could you spread the word to Sirius, Peter, and the Potters?"

Remus nodded. A thought suddenly occurred to him. "Sir, the other information—does it have to do with Snape's meeting with you tonight?" The question came out before he could stop himself.

Dumbledore shook his head and showed Remus to the door. "As I told you earlier, that conversation is between Severus and myself."

It was after dark when Remus finally returned home. Sirius was already asleep, splayed out across the mattress, and Remus was somewhat relieved to find him in bed. He was much less likely to pick a fight when Remus returned at night than he was during the day.

"Sirius," Remus whispered, gently shifting him to the other side of the bed. Sirius opened his eyes sleepily and pulled Remus against him.

"You're home," he murmured, kissing Remus's neck. His breath smelled like firewhiskey, and Remus wondered if he'd been visiting James or drinking alone. Both were likely, but the latter had become more and more common in recent months. At least Sirius was an affectionate drunk, Remus thought miserably. In the morning, Remus knew they'd have a big fight about his absence, but tonight, they held each other until they both fell asleep.

Remus was putting on a pot of tea when Sirius finally emerged the next morning, looking groggy and a little hungover. He padded into the kitchen in his bare feet and pajama bottoms, and took in the sight of Remus making breakfast with narrowed eyes.

"Good morning," Remus said tentatively. Sirius glared at him, and Remus braced himself for the worst.

"You were gone for three weeks," Sirius said loudly. "You were supposed to be home days ago." Remus didn't say anything. Their fights always followed the same script. This was the part where Sirius vented and Remus waited patiently for him to finish. "What are you doing with those fucking werewolves, Remus?"

"You know what I'm doing," Remus said tonelessly. "We—"

"We," Sirius snarled. "You mean you and Banden." Remus rolled his eyes. Sirius's dislike for the werewolf he'd never met had escalated to hatred in the past few months.

"Yes, me and Banden—had to stay longer than I expected. I had no way to send an owl. You know that, Sirius. I'm sorry, but that's just the way this is." He handed Sirius a cup of tea, and Sirius grudgingly accepted it, as Remus knew he would.

"It's not right," Sirius insisted. "You know, while you're out there with werewolves, Gideon and Frank and Marlene and I are tailing Death Eaters? James and Lily are confined to their house? And Elphias Doge and old McGonagall stopped a nasty bit of Muggle-baiting in Diagon Alley just last week."

Remus stared at him in surprise, a surge of anger forming in his chest. This bit of the fight was new, and its implications made his blood boil. "Are you kidding me?" he said incredulously. "What are you saying, Sirius? That my work's not good enough? Or is it that you think I'm out there having fun while everyone else is working?" Sirius didn't say anything. "Last I heard, it's been weeks since anyone's had a truly successful mission. Anyone but me. So you can take your fucking judgment and shove it."

"Yeah, well, it's not right," Sirius snapped. "Everything's gone to shit here, and you're out there for weeks on end and I don't know if you've run into Fenrir Greyback or what. You could die out there and I wouldn't even know what happened. All to do what? Talk with some werewolves?"

They glared at one another, breathing heavily. "You want to know what I talk about with werewolves?" Remus said at last. "You want to know what I did on my good-for-nothing mission? I found out that You-Know-Who's going to overthrow the Ministry by the end of the year, and Greyback's telling werewolves they'll be able to integrate into society."

Sirius barked out a harsh laugh. "So you're out there with werewolves plotting to take down the Ministry? You really think that's going to happen, Moony?"

Remus stared at him, blood pounding in his ears. He slammed his tea cup down so hard that Sirius took a step back in surprise. "What the hell, Sirius? You really think I'm falling for Greyback's bullshit? Of course not. But I think—and Dumbledore does too—that You-Know-Who really believes the Ministry will fall." He paused, remembering. "We, er, have an Order meeting this afternoon, by the way." He took a deep breath to steady himself. Sirius was usually the one who lost his temper, not Remus

Sirius ran a hand through his hair, watching Remus nervously. "Fine, then. I'm sorry. I—I don't really think you'd fall for Greyback's shit. I just hate thinking of you out there with them. We'll just have to see what the Order thinks." Remus didn't respond, and Sirius bit his lip and looked him up and down. "You look all right, at least," he said awkwardly. "The full moon went all right? You're not hurt?"

"No," Remus said. A wave of relief washed over him. If Sirius was asking about Remus's well-being it meant they'd reached the end of the fight. Sirius would let it go, at least for a while. Until next time. He shook off his anger and stepped back into the script. He took Sirius's tea cup out of his hands and pressed a kiss to his mouth even though he wasn't sure he wanted to. "No," he said again. "I'm not hurt." He wasn't sure if it was good or bad that they were able to move in and out of anger so easily, but he'd take it while he could.

"We have a few free hours until the meeting," Remus said quietly, and Sirius rested his head on his shoulder. "Let's try to forget all this and spend it doing something nice."

Remus and Sirius Apparated to Godric's Hollow for the meeting later that afternoon. Most meetings were held there lately; the Potters were in confinement thanks to the prophecy, and Dumbledore had the house under round-the-clock protection. Sirius spent the majority of his free time at the house when Remus was away, playing with baby Harry and trying to cheer up a restless, irritated James.

"Maybe I'll come back later with the bike," Sirius said as they walked up the sidewalk toward the house. He had finally purchased his flying motorbike shortly after Harry's birth. "Take James for a spin and get him out of the house."

"Good idea," Remus nodded. "I can stay with Lily and Harry. Maybe Peter will come too." He realized with a pang that he hadn't seen Peter in well over a month.

Sirius suddenly reached for Remus's hand and gave it a squeeze. "I'm sorry about what I said before," he said fervently. "If Harry's going to develop some sort of superpower to defeat You-Know-Who, I hope it happens soon. I don't know how much more of this any of us can take." Remus didn't say anything, but he gripped Sirius's fingers tightly in return as they went inside.

The rest of the Order was seated around the table in the kitchen. They looked as tired and frustrated as Remus felt, with the exception of Harry, who was seated on Lily's lap. He gurgled happily at Sirius from across the table. The Longbottom's baby, Neville, was sleeping peacefully in Frank's arms. Remus envied him; he felt as though he could sleep for several weeks if given the chance.

Remus gave an abbreviated version of his report first, leaving out the specifics about werewolves. Most of the Order did not know the true nature of his work. The news about the Ministry's potential fall was not surprising to Frank and Marlene, both of whom still held Ministry positions.

"I wish I could say I was surprised," Marlene said with a shrug. "Morale's been at an all-time low ever since we replaced the old Minister of Magic. They hoped Bagnold would be more effective at stopping the Death Eaters, but she hasn't made much more progress than the last one."

"How do we know she's not a Death Eater herself?" Sirius demanded. He pulled a face at Harry, who giggled and clapped his pudgy hands, oblivious to the grim faces around him.

"We don't," said Marlene grimly. "But how do we know anyone's not a Death Eater? We've made absolutely no progress on that lately. In the Order either, for that matter."

"Paranoia's skyrocketing at the Ministry," said Frank, shifting Neville carefully in his arms. "No way to know who might be under the Imperius Curse or who might be hiding the Dark Mark under their sleeves." A shiver went around the table, and Peter shrank back in his seat, glancing around nervously. Remus tried to give him a reassuring smile.

Gideon Prewett furrowed his brow. "You know, if that's the case at the Ministry, it could be the case in the Order, too."

"What do you mean?" asked Dorcas Meadows with a laugh. "Are you saying someone here could be a Death Eater? That's ridiculous. We've been together for years now. Everyone here's contributed. Everyone."

There was a murmur of agreement, and even Peter nodded. "Nobody here would be a spy," he said in a quavering voice.

"I don't know," James said slowly, looking at Gideon. "Our last three missions were absolute duds, weren't they? Like the Death Eaters knew were coming. We were sure Avery and Mulciber would be at Gringotts two weeks ago and when we got there, nothing. Then the break-in happened the following week."

"A spy in the Order?" Remus said incredulously. "I can't believe it." He glanced around the table and was surprised to see Sirius looking at him with a strange expression on his face. "What?"

Sirius looked away from him. "I dunno. We need more information," he said firmly. "We're operating on rumors. Like this thing about the Ministry falling. All we know about that is what we've heard from were—from Remus's contacts." His ears turned red at the near slip. "We need some real information from people we can trust."

Remus felt a surge of irritation. "How? We're all operating on rumors," he said. "Not just me."

"Indeed," said Dumbledore. "A few missteps does not mean that there is a spy in our midst, but we need to use discretion. Keep your eyes and ears open and be cautious."

They all nodded, and Dumbledore turned his attention to Lily and James. "And that brings me to our next order of business. I've had a report—which I believe to be more than just a rumor—that Voldemort intends to act upon his fears about the prophecy."

A collective gasp went around the table, and Lily clutched Harry tightly. Peter looked up at Dumbledore in surprise, his face white.

Remus thought instantly of Snape. Is this what he had told Dumbledore last night? Remus looked at Lily, and a cold feeling swept over him. Snape was a Death Eater—there was no doubt in his mind about that—but if he knew Voldemort was going to harm Lily's child, he might very well go running to Dumbledore with the news.

James moved his coffee mug out of reach of Harry's flailing arms and looked nervously at Dumbledore. "What do you mean, You-Know-Who's going to act?"

"Voldemort believes Harry to be a threat—perhaps the only real threat—to his progress. He intends to eliminate that threat. My source believes he will act within the next few months."

"Fuck!" Sirius swore loudly, staring across the table at the Potters. Harry stopped babbling and looked at his godfather in surprise, his chubby face wrinkling up as though he might cry.

"Sorry, sorry," Sirius said quickly, giving the baby a half-hearted smile. "It's okay, Harry. Uncle Padfoot's just a bit...unsettled." He took out his wand and transfigured his biscuit into a bright red ball. Remus rolled it across the table to Harry, who giggled and grabbed it in delight.

Dumbledore nodded. "It is indeed unsettling," he said. "Which is why I would like to increase the protections on this house," he said, looking at the Potters.

"Increase the protections!" James said incredulously. "We're already under constant protection here. Harry almost never leaves the house. It's not good for him. It's not good for any of us."

"He is alive," Dumbledore said firmly. "And I will do everything in my power to keep him alive." James looked away, and Dumbledore continued. "Now, I suggest that we place this house under the Fidelius charm, which will ensure that nobody can share the location of this house except for one person, who will be the designated Secret-Keeper."

"Who will that be?" Lily asked. "One of us?"

"I suggest a third party. Someone you trust implicitly."

"It should be Sirius," James said at once. "I don't trust anyone more than Sirius."

Sirius's ears reddened, but he nodded. "I'll do it. I'll do whatever I can."

"Very well," said Dumbledore. "There's no need to decide today, of course. It will take me some time to prepare the necessary supplies for the Fidelius charm, and my source does not believe that Voldemort will act for a few months yet. Harry is still a baby, after all, and Voldemort is preoccupied with what's been going on at the Ministry. We have a bit of time."

"And you trust this source?" Remus asked suddenly, looking at Dumbledore. Dumbledore looked back at him carefully; he knew they were both thinking of what Remus had asked last night. Does this have to do with Snape's meeting with you?

"I do," Dumbledore said simply. "I have every reason to trust that this person is telling the truth."

The meeting ended soon afterward. Nobody was in the mood for idle chatter, and they all had work to do before the next meeting.

"I'm going to come back tonight with the motorbike," Sirius told James. "You want to go for a ride?"

"God, yes," James said at once. "Get me out of here."

"I'll come along and visit with you and Harry, if that's all right," Remus told Lily.

"Please do," she said, beaming at him. "Harry misses his Uncle Moony."

"Wormtail, you want to come too?" Remus said. He glanced around for the fourth Marauder, but didn't see him anywhere. Peter had already left.