A/N: Sorry about the cliff-hanger ending. I couldn't help myself. :-)
August 1981
"Oh God, James," Lily sobbed, holding him close.
"Lily, tell me what happened!" he demanded fiercely.
Her voice shook as she spoke, "I popped back over to give Sirius the list. And . . . There were Death Eaters there! James! If we had stayed only a little while longer. . . Harry," she couldn't bring herself to finish the thought.
Death Eaters right behind us! "What about Peter?" he asked.
Lily shrugged. "I don't know. Sirius was bleeding in the middle of the room. I ran for him. But, when I reached him," she shook her head, "I didn't know what to do! And the Death Eaters were all there laughing. I grabbed Sirius and used my emergency portkey."
"You're bleeding, Lil," James said, showing her his hand. Lily nodded.
"It was really hard to reach Sirius," she said, pulling away. "They closed the wound at St. Mungos. I--I told them to hurry. That I'd get cleaned up later. I. . . I didn't want you to worry about me."
James pulled her close. My sweet Lily. She let him hold her, let him be her strength as she cried. "It's okay. We're okay," he soothed.
"Do--do you think we'll be safe here?" she asked.
"Did they issue another portkey?" he asked. She nodded. "Then at least you and Harry can get away if you need to."
Lily chuckled bitterly," You know, the Ministry official actually chided me for using the portkey with Sirius." She pitched her voice higher, "These Portkeys are for emergency transport of mother and child only." Her laughter turned to tears. James held her again. "No," she pulled away, her tears stopping. "I know you want to see Sirius. Go on. I'll be fine. I'll get cleaned up and follow, with Harry, on the Knight Bus."
"No I don't want you traveling alone. I'll wait while you get cleaned up. We'll all go together on the Knight Bus."
-----
An hour later, they were walking along the deserted corridor of St. Mungos. James left Lily and Harry in a waiting area and proceeded to Sirius' room. He opened the door slowly, a knot of trepidation clawing at his stomach.
Candlelight set Sirius' face aglow. He smiled at James. "Alright, Prongs?" he asked, his voice little more than a whisper. James hurried across to him.
"Sirius, are you okay?" he took a quick inventory of his friend as he asked. No cuts, no bruises. But a haunted look in his eyes. That wasn't there before. Ignoring the chair beside the bed, James sat down next to Sirius, the matress creaking under him.
"I'm better than you were," Sirius said with a forced smile. "They've cleaned me up nicely." He bit his lip and looked up at the ceiling. "How's Lily?" he asked.
"She's fine. She's just outside with Harry. I'll get her."
"No, wait," he reached for James. "What did she tell you?"
Frowning, James tried to remember, "She said that when she popped back to give you the shopping list, you were surrounded by Death Eaters. She ran to you and used her portkey to bring you here."
"She fought like a lion, like a tiger," Sirius smiled, "I don't blame her for leaving out details. She knows how much you worry about her."
"What has she left out?" Or maybe I don't want to know.
"Voldemort was there."
Panic flowed through him at Sirius' words, followed by a red-hot anger.
"James," Sirius said, "I didn't tell you that to piss you off." James glared at him. "I just think you need to know the whole story. Don't be angry with her."
Unclenching his fists, James put his head in his hands. "I'm not angry with her. I'm angry with him. That's twice now that he's hurt my Lily! What gives him the right?!"
"Shh, James! You'll be thrown out!"
"Let them try!" he raged at Sirius. Sirius shrugged. "I thought I was the angry, unreasonable one," he said. James blinked at him a few times then laughed.
"You're right," he said with a sigh. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be. I'd be yelling too if I were you."
"So, what happened?" James asked, regaining control.
"Peter and I were finishing the kitchen. There was a crash in the front room. I went to see what it was. There were Death Eaters everywhere. They swarmed over me, took my wand. Peter ran in and the Death Eaters grabbed him. They knocked him out." Sirius stopped, closing his eyes. With a sigh he continued. "Then one of them removed his hood," he continued, his voice shaking, "Voldemort. He demanded to know your whereabouts. I spit in his face," Sirius smirked then sighed. "I don't remember much after that. Pain, my bones breaking, and then. . . Then Lily was there, fighting them, and then we were in the Lobby. I. . . I don't think she even noticed Peter." He laughed. "But I think he's probably okay, right? He doesn't know where you live. The Death Eaters, probably left him lying in the corner, He'll--"
There was a knock at the door and Peter came in. His arm was done up in a sling and he was panting and wheezing, as if he'd just run a marathon. "Sirius," he cried.
"Well, hey Peter," James chuckled.
"Walk through my door any moment," Sirius finished.
"Oh, Sirius," Peter wailed, crossing to him, opposite James. "I tried! I tried so hard!"
"Shh!" Sirius held a finger to his lips, "It's not your fault."
"It's okay, Peter," James continued.
"I--I tried to help, James. There were Death Eaters everywhere. They surrounded me; I . . . I don't remember anything but rushing in and seeing Sirius on his knees, surrounded by them. I--I tried." He broke into a sob. "I woke up on the floor. The house was dark and empty. I reported the attack to Dumbledore and now I'm here." He wiped tears from his face, "I was walking down the hall and heard Harry laugh. Lily told me what she did. Oh, James," he shook his head, "she feels so bad for leaving me behind. I told her not to worry about it. They were after Sirius, not me."
James nodded. "It's okay Peter. The important thing is that we're all safe now. Is Dumbledore here?" He studied his friend as he nodded. Bruises blossomed across his face, his robes were torn but he'd pulled them as straight as possible. James sighed and looked back at Sirius. "No one blames you, Peter," he finished.
"Well," he squeezed Sirius' shoulder gently, "I'm sure Dumbledore will want to talk to you. The Healers said two visitors at a time," Peter said as he turned around. "I'm glad you're alright, Sirius," he added.
"Hey, wait with Lily, will you, Peter? She shouldn't be alone. She's still shaken up." James called after him.
"Sure thing, James," he said with a smile. The door closed.
"How did the Death Eaters find us?" James mused aloud. "It couldn't have been Remus."
"His owl knew where to find us," Sirius whispered.
"Owls know everything, Sirius. Remus wouldn't necessarily have to know." James shook his head. "And Peter was attacked with you. Maybe. . ." James sighed, shaking his head.
"Maybe Dumbledore was wrong," a cautious voice said from the door. James looked up. Remus' blue eyes glinted in the half-light. He smiled slightly, sadly. "Dumbledore sent me an owl. He told me to come, that you and Peter had been attacked." His voice broke. "I--I just wanted to see you." He walked slowly into the room, a cautious air about him. "I do realize that this makes me the only one who hasn't been attacked."
"Remus," James breathed.
"What do you want?" Sirius snapped.
"I just wanted to see you, Sirius," Remus answered. "I--I was worried about you." He turned away from Sirius' glare; away from James' stare.
"What do you care?" Sirius continued.
"Because you're my friend, Sirius. My best friend." He sighed and turned his back to them. But he didn't leave.
Remus, I've treated you so badly. It couldn't have been you! Not this time. And . . . And my heart's been trying to tell me it wasn't you last time either. But then who? Maybe Dumbledore was wrong. . . Maybe. . .
"I miss you, Sirius," Remus continued, talking to the wall, unable to face the poison in Sirius' glare. "I miss afternoon teas. For four years we've sat together sipping tea on Sunday. Why would I trade that for anything Voldemort could offer me? Don't you think I'd rather have your friendship?" He turned back around. His voice shook as he met Sirius' eyes. "I'd rather die than lose your friendship, Sirius." He looked at James.
James held out a hand to him. Remus reached for it, took hold of him with his own trembling hand, and squeezed. Strong, human warmth, my best friend. James stood and pulled him into a hug. "God, Remus, I've been so stupid," he whispered into his ear.
"Dumbledore was wrong?" Sirius asked from the bed. "Do you realize how strange that is? Dumbledore?" James pulled away from Remus and turned to Sirius. "He's only human," he said. "Everyone makes mistakes. He and Snivelly were wrong."
"Snivelly?" Remus asked. "What--"
"He's Dumbledore's agent." James began, "Ah. . . We weren't supposed to tell you that. Or anyone." Sirius sighed exasperatedly behind him. James shrugged.
Remus smiled, "My lips are sealed," he said.
James turned back to Sirius, "But doesn't that make more sense than one of us being a spy? I've been trying so hard to believe it was Remus, no matter how wrong it felt. You and Peter have been attacked; I've been attacked. Dumbledore seems certain it wasn't Remus."
"What about the owl?" Sirius asked.
"My owl?" Remus asked. Sirius nodded. "I didn't think you'd have a party for Harry so I sent an owl to Dumbledore and asked him to forward the present to you. He knew where to find you."
"It was Dumbledore's owl that delivered the present?" James asked.
Remus shrugged. "I don't know. I suppose he could have told my owl where you were, but I didn't know. Still don't know," Remus added.
James studied Sirius, watched him struggle with the plots in his head. "Then how are they doing it?" he asked. "If none of us are the spy, how did they know James would be at his parents' graves? How did they know where Harry's party would be?" he asked, still glaring at Remus.
"Maybe one of us talks in our sleep?" he suggested.
"Not likely," Sirius growled.
Remus shrugged, "It was only a possibility," he conceded.
"Legilimency?" James whispered. "It could be anyone that walked past me. I've never been good at Occlumency."
"But you'd have to be dwelling on our plans for a Legilimens to see them. And how would they know what we were planning on doing and what you were only thinking about doing?" Sirius asked.
"It's not likely, I know," James said, shaking his head.
"But when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth," Remus said. They stood in silence for a moment.
Sirius sighed, "I don't want to think about this anymore, James," he said. James chuckled, smiling down at him.
"I should go out now," Remus said. "Dumbledore wanted to talk to the pair of you."
"Will you wait for me?" James asked.
Remus nodded. "Of course," he said. Then he turned and left. James watched thoughts chase through Sirius' eyes.
A soft knock on the door announced Dumbledore. "Sirius, James," he greeted as he crossed the room.
"Dumbledore," James returned. Sirius nodded slightly.
"So," he began, "What's your verdict on Remus?"
James sighed, "He didn't even know about Harry's party. He couldn't have told the Death Eaters our location. And if it was your owl that brought his present. . ." James shrugged. "I feel so bad about driving him away," he said.
"You'll make it up to him, I'm sure. I too owe him an apology," he said. "But, first things first." He sat down on the stiff-backed chair between the two of them. "I've come up with a way to keep Harry safe indefinitely. It's a very powerful spell indeed. It's called the Fidelius Charm. It will keep you and your family hidden, James, for as long as needed. Death Eaters could walk through Harry's bedroom and never see him; even if he was screaming at the top of his lungs, so long as your secret keeper didn't divulge his information." He looked at Sirius. "I'm going to go out on a limb here, and say that you'll be choosing Sirius as your secret keeper."
"How will it work?" James asked.
"We'll move you and your family one last time. To a location of your choosing," he added. "Then we'll place the Fidelius Charm on Sirius. His secret will be the location of your new home. So long as you remain in the house or garden, you won't be seen. Even if Voldemort himself walked down the street."
"Unless Sirius tells him?" James clarified. Sirius snorted. Dumbledore nodded.
"So I'll have to give up working? Because if I leave the house, the Death Eaters will follow me and find us?"
"Well, I'll provide you with a stipend. But even if the Death Eaters followed you home, once you crossed the threshold, you'd disappear from the face of the planet. Now, I want this to be as fool-proof as possible. It's going to have to last for years." He sighed. "I will teach Lily the charm. Then only you three will know where you are."
"What about owls?" James asked.
Dumbledore shook his head. "Sirius would have to tell them where to find you." James looked at Sirius, who nodded. Where can we live quietly for years? A house surrounded by a picket fence. A vegetable patch in the front corner of the yard. James nodded.
"How long do we have?" he asked.
"Oh, Lily is so gifted with charms. It wouldn't be much longer than a few weeks.
"I'll do it, James," Sirius declared. "It's the best shot we have."
James nodded. What other choice do we have? There will only be one way for us to be discovered. And Sirius would never. . . . "Alright, let's do it."
Once Dumbledore had left and Sirius had fallen asleep, James went out into the hall. Remus lay slumped against Lily. He dozed, Harry asleep on his lap. Lily's hand traced through his hair, gently combing it out of his face. It feathered back into his eyes once she'd moved her hand.
She smiled up at him. "Told you so," she mouthed, smiling.
James gave her a half-cocked smile and sauntered across to her. "I still love you," he said.
"I know," she giggled.
Remus stirred, lifting his head from her shoulder. He smiled up at James. "Let's walk," James invited.
"Oh, that's not fair," Lily pouted. "I want to see this. A humbled James Potter. Such a rarity." Remus straightened up and tried on a look of wide-eyed innocence.
"Fine," James said, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "Can you forgive me, Remus? I. . . Well, we really couldn't believe it was you." Lily snorted. James glared at her for a moment before continuing. "I thought that if we started with you, it would be an easy one. There was no reason to suspect you. You were supposed to be the one we eliminated."
"And for some reason, they found out anyway that you were going to see your parents' graves." Remus finished. James nodded. Remus smiled. "I forgive you, James. All I've wanted these last couple months was to be beside you again," he whispered. "But what about Sirius? He didn't seem convinced."
"No, he's fine. It's all mixed up in his head right now. Give him a few days. By the time he's out of here, he'll realize why the mistakes we made seemed right at the time."
Remus nodded, "If you say so, James."
A/N: Remus quotes a line from Sherlock Holmes, The Sign of Four by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle