Hello all! In honor of Harry's birthday, and the fact that I have 503 reviews for fifty chapters (You all are great!) which averages out to ten reviews a chapter, I have another chapter that is finally finished. It's the longest one in a while so I hope you like it!
Part II: Plan Initiated
Lily lifted Jamie out of his crib with care, reminding herself that Voldemort couldn't get him now, not when he was going to be surrounded by Order members at The Orchard. He giggled as she dressed him, tickling him as she pulled his shirt over his head. She held him in her arms and brought him down the stairs to where James was waiting in the living room with Logan.
They were going to The Orchard to celebrate Kaida's first birthday, but James and Lily had an ulterior motive as well. Sure, the first birthday of their goddaughter was important, but today was also the day they would be able to talk to the Marauders and set their plan into action.
Everything had been perfectly planned out and Lily just hoped it would work. She knew first hand that plans didn't work out the way they were supposed to. But, nonetheless, they knew what they would do. James would take Peter aside first, quickly mention that they were going into hiding from Voldemort and that Remus was the Secret Keeper. Waiting a bit, James would then take Remus and tell him the same except instead of Remus, Sirius was now their Secret Keeper.
And, because they both knew Sirius would protest that he wasn't Secret Keeper, they would tell Sirius and Michelle after everyone else had left.
They weren't surprised to find that they were the last to arrive. Logan had thrown a temper tantrum believing he was old enough to floo by himself, which the two year old obviously wasn't. When they arrived, they found Michelle, Sirius, Remus, and Peter sitting in the living room. Kaida sat on her father's lap, pulling at the pink dress she had been put in with a crumpled look on her face which made Lily laugh.
"Thought you got lost," Sirius bellowed as James stepped out of the fireplace, Logan in hand.
James raised an eyebrow. "You haven't hit the terrible twos yet," he said with a bit of an evil smirk and a chuckle. "I can't wait to see that."
Remus laughed as well. "I'm not sure Sirius is even out of that stage yet." He turned to Michelle. "You'll have two toddlers on your hands."
"Very funny!" Sirius said, rolling his eyes.
"But, I'm telling you," James interjected, placing Logan on the ground where he sat down and crossed his arms over his chest. "It's no fun at all."
"I floo myself!" Logan whined.
Sirius barked with laughter and motioned for Logan to approach him. Once the boy sat on the couch beside him, Sirius ruffled his hair affectionately. "Look, Log, you can't floo by yourself quite yet, or you'll end up somewhere you're not supposed to go." His eyes glistened over with memory. "I remember the first time I wanted to try flooing by myself. I was five, a few years older than you."
"Yeah, but you probably did it," Remus said, knowing Sirius's troublemaker nature must have started at a young age.
James groaned and Lily's eyes widened. "Don't give him any ideas!" she told him.
Sirius smirked at Lily before turning back to Logan. "Yes, I did do it, but luckily I only ended up at my Uncle Alphard's. He thought it was brilliant, my mother...she wasn't as impressed that I was trying to escape."
"Why am I not surprised?" Remus muttered as Peter looked up and asked, "Where were you going?"
Sirius shrugged. "Anywhere but home," he muttered darkly to Peter, and then he laughed and began to tickle his daughter. "But, enough about me. Although it is a wonderful bonus, as I am rather handsome, you didn't come over to see me."
Lily shot James a look and, out of the corner of her eye, she saw him nod only enough for her to notice. Lily set Jamie on the ground and he began to play with a stuffed dragon Remus had given him for his birthday a few months prior. It roared and spit fake fire as he made it fly through the air. Sirius, in turn, placed Kaida on the ground by his feet. The little girl eyed Jamie for a moment before picking up one of her toys and making hers fly through the air as well.
The adults continued to watch the children play until Sirius announced that he'd go get the presents from the kitchen. James stood and shook him off. "Nah, Pete and I will get them," he said. "Right, Peter?"
Lily watched Sirius raise an eyebrow and look at James with a confused expression. "I'm capable of going to my own kitchen, James," he stated slowly.
James shook his head again. "This is a big day. You never get it back, one year old. Enjoy it, it only gets worse! Come along, Peter!"
Sirius, Remus, and Michelle watched James leave the room, Peter following on his heels as if he'd done something wrong and was going to be reprimanded for it. Sirius turned to Lily after they'd exited the room and stared at her for a moment. She didn't know what to do. Eying her suspiciously, he said, "That was odd."
She shrugged and smiled, although she thought it must have looked a bit forced. "What can I say? This is James we're talking about," she replied, chuckling nervously afterward.
"Good point," Sirius said, although, she could tell he wasn't ready to drop the subject.
They watched the children while they waited for James and Peter to return. It was taking longer than it should have and Lily could see that Sirius was curious as to what was going on. Remus, too, was watching the door out of the corner of his eye, and Michelle was attempting not to look like she was wondering as well.
Just as Sirius was about to stand, James barged into the room, his arms full of presents with Peter walking behind him empty handed, a dazed but excited expression on his face. Lily, for the first time, noticed that he was wearing long sleeves, which was a bit odd since it was the middle of August. He looked at Remus and smiled an almost cunning smile before sitting down in his seat and tapping his fingers on the arm of the chair.
"Here we are, birthday girl!" James said in a booming voice. Kaida looked up at her godfather with a curious expression, her eyes focused on the brightly colored boxes he was holding. "All for you!"
Sirius lifted Kaida into his lap as Michelle helped their daughter tear off the wrapping paper, revealing boxes filled with toys and clothes and everything in between. Lily always loved watching the children open the gifts, mostly because they seemed to have more fun opening the boxes and ripping wrapping paper than they did with the actual gift.
"Oh, James, this was your idea, wasn't it?" Michelle asked as she pulled out a toy broomstick. Sirius laughed and pumped his fist in the air as Kaida reached out to touch it.
James raised his eyebrows. "Now, what kind of godfather would I be if I didn't give her a toy broomstick for her first birthday?" he asked. "Both of my boys received them for their first birthdays from their godfather, it's only fair."
Lily rolled her eyes. "I tried to stop him," she said to her best friend, who was watching her daughter's fascination with the new broomstick in horror. "He wouldn't budge."
"She's going to hurt herself," Michelle muttered under her breath.
Sirius shook his head, hearing Michelle's fear. "Of course she won't!" he exclaimed. "She's going to be a natural. She'll be a beater, just like her dear ol' dad!"
"Unless she hates Quidditch –"
"Shut up, Remus!"
James threw his head back in laughter as Sirius threw a crumpled ball of wrapping paper at Remus. "She won't hate Quidditch!" he told his friend. "She's my kid, not yours!"
Remus rolled his eyes. "Did I ever say that I hated Quidditch?" James and Sirius turned to each other and began to talk, but Remus cut them off. "Don't answer that!"
The two laughed at their friend and Peter chuckled a bit. Lily looked to Michelle and the two rolled their eyes. "Who wants cake?" Michelle asked, knowing Sirius and James would jump at the opportunity.
As expected, they both did and rushed out like children. Peter muttered something about the Order and departed, gently patting Kaida's head and smiling nervously at Jamie and Logan before he apparated away, leaving Lily, Michelle, and Remus. Sirius walked in with James, plates of cake floating behind them. The one intended for Peter before he left landed on Remus's head, causing the group, especially the children, to laugh.
Sirius began to occupy himself with helping Kaida eat the cake without making a mess and James quickly jumped on the chance to get Remus. He stood and smiled. "Hey, Remus, I'll help you get that cleaned up."
Lily watched as Sirius's head lifted up, now aware that he was truly being left out of something. As James led Remus, who was arguing that he could just use magic, from the room, Sirius began to follow. Lily quickly grabbed his arm and looked up at him pleadingly.
"We'll tell you later," she whispered. "I promise."
Sirius looked down at her, hurt shining in his eyes, but it immediately subsided when he felt a tug at his pant leg. He smiled down at Jamie, who was grinning at his godfather, his arms outstretched. "Hey, kiddo!" he said, lifting Jamie into his arms.
The atmosphere of the room grew tense as James and Remus reentered. Sirius kept his eye on James while Remus looked to Sirius for a brief moment as if mulling over everything in his head. Before long, he left as well, although not as abruptly as Peter.
"So," Sirius drawled, leaning back into the couch and staring at James. "What is this big secret that you just can't seem to tell me?"
James turned to Lily and she took his hand. "It has to be done," she whispered, only so he could hear.
He took a deep breath and looked at his best friend. "We're going to go into hiding." He paused for a moment. "Soon."
Michelle and Sirius both looked at James with eyes the size of saucers. "What?" Sirius yelped. "Why?"
"We can't say much," Lily said, looking from Michelle to Sirius. "Unfortunately, we found out that Voldemort is after us and we need to protect ourselves."
Sirius shook his head, running his hand over his face. He looked up with a frown on his attractive features. "How are you hiding?" he asked, quieter than Lily had ever heard him speak. "Can you tell us that? Will we be able to see you?"
"We're going under the Fidelius Charm," James said, taking Jamie in his lap and holding the boy close to him. Logan continued to play with his toys on the floor as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening.
"Fidelius Charm?" Sirius clarified, standing up. "Then, you'll need a Secret Keeper! I'll do it!"
As Sirius approached, James held out his hand, palm up, signaling him to stop. "No," he said softly.
Confusion spread over Sirius's face, as well as a mix of shock and betrayal. He stepped back and sat down. "But, I'd protect you," Sirius whispered, more to himself than to James. Lily felt her heart break at the look on Sirius's face. "You know that, James, Lily. I'd do anything for you."
"As would I," Michelle added, speaking for the first time, although the shock of the situation was still apparent on her face.
"Which is why we can't choose you," James said, his eyes focused on Jamie who was staring up at his father, wondering why he wasn't laughing as he had been mere moments before when all the Marauders had been together. "Sirius, you're the obvious choice. You're my best mate and everyone knows it! Voldemort would go after you to get our location. I can't put you in that kind of danger, not when you have a family of your own."
Sirius opened his mouth to object, but James cut him off, continuing what he was going to say. "That's why we've chosen Peter."
"Peter!" Michelle shrieked, her eyes going wide. "Our Peter? Little Peter Pettigrew?"
Sirius's eyes went wide for a moment, clearly angry that they'd chosen Peter over himself, before he smiled. "It's brilliant!" he exclaimed.
"Sirius!" Michelle said, looking at her husband with shock. "Peter can't protect them from Voldemort! He can barely protect himself!"
"No, no, no," Sirius said, turning to James with light in his eyes. "It's the perfect ploy. No one would ever expect Peter to be the Secret Keeper over me."
James smiled at Lily before turning back to his friends. "Exactly, not that we don't trust either of you, but we thought this would be the best way."
"I agree that this is best," Sirius replied, nodding his head. "People would realize the Secret Keeper would be me and that would leave Peter or Remus, and personally, I don't believe Remus is the best choice."
"Sirius," Michelle warned, tugging at his arm. "Don't tell them this! You don't know if it's true!"
Sirius frowned and shook his head. "No, but if Voldemort is after them, they need to know my suspicions!" he yelled, causing Kaida to look up at her father in fear. Sirius didn't notice and turned back to James. "I think the spy is Remus."
"Remus?" Lily asked, shaking her head. "Why?"
"Voldemort has all the dark creatures at his command," Sirius explained, looking from Lily to James. "Remus is a werewolf and all of them are going over to that side. I mean, it's only a matter of time before he got Remus, too."
Michelle shook her head. "But, Remus wouldn't hurt a fly!"
"Who else could it be? Peter? He wouldn't last as a Death Eater!" Sirius exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air. "Order members are being picked off one by one. Marlene McKinnon? She's gone; her whole family was killed by Death Eaters! Benjy Fenwick? He was blasted to pieces! And Edgar Bones - they got his wife and kids too. And that was only yesterday!" He shook his head. "What if he turns over James and Lily next?"
The room fell silent at the conviction of Sirius's opinion. Each of the adults was thinking the same thing. Was Sirius right? Was the spy really Remus? It all seemed too much to take in and the four began to talk about lighter subjects, but the question still loomed in the back of their minds.
So, a bit of canon there, with Sirius thinking the spy is Remus, but I hope you all liked this chapter!
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