A/N: Thanks for reading and reviewing, everyone! And a very happy birthday to obsessedwithharrypotter!

I don't own Harry Potter.

Fighting Fear

Vincent, will you teach me how to paint?
Teresa, will I ever be a saint?
John, I really think your songs are great
I was born too late

William, will you teach me how to write?
Cassius, will you show me how to fight?
Thomas A, I think I see the light
I was born tonight

I've hard time leaving this town
I've been losing everything that I've found
I'm gonna search the sky and kiss the ground,
Build it up and tear it back down

I've had a hard time leaving this place
I've been counting all the lines on my face
I'm gonna curse the sky and hit the ground
And what goes up comes tumbling down

Martin Luther King, show me the way
Jesus, Buddha, teach me how to pray
Christopher, I think I see the bay
I was born today
- Born Too Late, The Clarks

"My Lord, we have done as you requested."

Voldemort nodded slowly. "And? Have you discovered which child was born at the end of July to parents who have defied me three times?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes."

"Lucius, you know that I do not like games," Voldemort hissed. "What do you mean, 'in a manner of speaking?'"

"There are two possibilities, my Lord."

"Two?" Voldemort frowned. "But how is that possible? The prophecy only spoke of one child who would have the power to challenge me."

"I know that, my Lord. I don't know how this is possible."

"Very well," Voldemort sighed. "Who are these children? Who are their parents?"

"One is Neville Longbottom," Lucius said. "His parents are Frank and Alice Longbottom."

"Longbottom . . . I believe they are Aurors?"

"Correct, my Lord."

Voldemort nodded slowly. "They could indeed prove to be quite a problem. Place them under surveillance."

"Yes, my Lord."

"And the other child?"

"Harry Potter, sir. His parents are –"

"James and Lily Potter," Voldemort interrupted. "Yes, those two have been Dumbledore's puppets from the time they were able to make their own decisions."

"Yes, sir, we have intelligence that they are working with Dumbledore."

"Of course they are!" Voldemort hissed. "James works in his school! And Lily has done more work to undermine me since she started writing for the Daily Prophet than the entire staff of the paper did before she joined them." He looked thoughtful. "They are both very powerful," he admitted. "Very powerful, indeed."

"You think the Potter child has this power that could defeat you, my Lord?"

"I think if his parents have their way, he certainly will have the means," he replied. "I must learn more about them – about this child and his parents."

"Would you like us to place them under surveillance, my Lord?"

Voldemort looked thoughtful for a moment. "That won't be necessary."

"My Lord?" Lucius questioned with raised eyebrows.

Voldemort smiled a horrible, cold smile. "We already have the resources to learn all we need regarding their lives right here among us."

Lucius frowned slightly. "I don't understand, my Lord."

Voldemort smiled again. "Bring me Peter Pettigrew."

"Lily, he is absolutely too cute for words," Dana said as she cuddled the baby close. "I can't believe he's almost a month old already."

"Neither can I," Lily admitted. "But it's only a few more days till his birthday."

"You're getting to be such a big boy, Harry," Dana grinned. She looked up at Lily. "I can't wait to have my own."

"I can't wait for you to have your own, either," Lily grinned. "Harry needs a little friend to play with."

"He has Neville," Peter pointed out as he looked over Dana's shoulder at the baby.

"That's true," James said. "And I'm sure that Frank and Alice will be excited to set up play dates for them."

"They'll be able to go to Hogwarts together, too," Peter said, still looking at the baby. He smiled as Harry stretched in Dana's arms.

"Do you want to hold him, Peter?" Dana asked.

"Oh, I – I probably shouldn't," Peter stammered, turning red. "I'd probably drop him."

"Have you been around babies much before, Peter?" Lily asked, cocking her head to the side.

"Never," Peter admitted. "I'm the only child, and all my cousins are older than me.

"Well, it's time you got used to them, then," Lily said. She took Harry from Dana, and put him in Peter's arms.

"Oh, boy," Peter said, trying to adjust the baby in his arms. "Am I doing this right?"

"You're doing fine," Lily grinned. "Just make sure you support his head. The muscles in his neck can't do that yet."

"All right," Peter said, still fumbling with the baby. "Hey, Harry," he smiled. "What do you think? Am I a complete amateur who has no idea what he's doing or what?"

James laughed. "Way to make him feel secure, Wormtail."

"How did you know what to do?" Peter asked. "You've never been around kids before, either."

James shrugged. "Instinct, I guess. Don't you think you'll get better with time?"

Peter shrugged. He still looked terribly uncomfortable. "I just hope I figure out what I'm doing before he gets too big for me to hold him."

Lily giggled. "That's quite a ways off."

"And my skills need some serious honing," Peter grinned.

"You're doing fine," Lily smiled. "You'll get it in no time."

Peter smiled his thanks. A second later, he was stunned as a sudden burning pain shot up his arm. As his destination filled his mind, panic seized him. How could he get out of this position gracefully? Trying to keep his face neutral, he gave the baby back to Dana.

"Had enough?" she grinned as she took Harry back into her arms.

"I just realized how late it is," he lied. "I have to be at work."

James shook his head. "You really need to get a job with normal hours, Peter."

"I know," Peter smiled. "I'll see you all later, okay?"

"Okay," James replied. "Have fun at work."

"Believe me, I won't," Peter said. "See you all soon."

He closed his eyes, and Disapparated.

"Mr. Pettigrew. Just the man I have been waiting to see."

Peter frowned slightly as he opened his eyes in the Dark Lord's office. "My Lord?" he questioned.

"It has come to my attention that you have been withholding information from me."

Peter's frown deepened as he thought of the last report he had given to his master. Was there some detail he had overlooked? "My Lord?" he asked again.

"Information about your friends?" he prompted.

Peter's eyes widened slightly as he realized what the Dark Lord was asking him. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said quickly.

"Peter, I would have thought that by now you would have learned not to lie to me," Voldemort said softly. "Obviously, I was wrong. Crucio."

Peter shrieked in pain. As the seconds stretched into minutes, he was sure he could feel his skin splitting open. Would it never end? He would do anything – anything to make this pain stop.

"I think you are ready to talk with me now," Voldemort said, lifting the curse.

Peter dropped to the floor, gasping for air. He ran his hands over his arms and legs, astounded to discover that he wasn't bleeding.

Voldemort put his wand on his desk, and folded his hands. "Now, Peter, tell me about your friends' new baby."

Peter hesitated, wishing there was a way he could get out of this. Yet, he knew that he could never lie to the Dark Lord. He always knew when his followers were being untruthful.

"Your hesitation suggests that you need another dose of pain," Voldemort said, his hand moving toward this wand again.

Peter shook at the very thought. "His name is Harry Potter," he gasped out.

"Yes, I am aware of that," Voldemort said, his tone slightly annoyed. "Was he born on the last day of July?"

"Yes," Peter rasped.

"Have you heard any more of the prophecy made regarding him?"

"No," Peter answered honestly.

"Have his parents?"

"I don't know, my Lord," he said, again giving an honest answer.

Voldemort nodded. "Do you know where I might find this young Potter?"

"Right now?" Peter asked.

"His place of residence will be sufficient."

Peter hesitated. How could he give James and Lily's address to the Dark Lord? Yet if he didn't . . .

"I know your thoughts, Peter," Voldemort said softly. "You know where they live. If you do not tell me, you will most grievously regret it."

Peter swallowed hard. He had no choice. He repeated Lily and James's address.

Voldemort smiled his cold smile. "Thank you, Peter. That will be all."

Peter walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him. He exhaled shakily. Realizing that his legs would no longer support him, he sank down onto the floor. He pulled his knees up to his chest, and reached up to grab his hair. How could he have done that? He had just placed two of his best friends – as well as their new baby – in grave danger.

"What have I done?" he whispered. "What have I done?"

James watched as Lily brushed out her hair before going downstairs for breakfast. Even though they had already greeted one another, he came up behind her and brushed her hair off her neck.

"Good morning, love."

Lily smiled as James kissed her cheek. "Good morning - again," she replied. "You seem awfully chipper this morning."

"It's a beautiful day," James said. "And it's Harry's one month birthday! What shall we do with him today?"

"Should we ask him what he wants to do?" Lily smiled.

"Yes, let's," James agreed with a grin. He took Lily's hand. "Come on, let's go talk to him right now."

"James, he's sleeping," Lily protested.

"He'll go right back to sleep if that's what he wants to do," James replied. "Come on."

Lily laughed, and let James pull her down the hall to the baby's nursery. He opened the door, and they walked quietly inside. Harry was curled up in his crib. One fist was closed on the corner of his blanket, and the other was open next to his face. James smiled as he watched the baby take deep, even breaths.

"Look at him sleeping," he said in a soft tone. "Can we wake him up?"

"You get to put him back to sleep," Lily warned.

"I can handle that," James said. He reached down to lift the sleeping baby into his arms.

Harry's eyes opened, and he looked up at his father in confusion. Obviously not thrilled with being dragged away from his dreams, he began to cry. James rocked him gently back and forth.

"Hey, now, none of that, little man," he said. "Daddy woke you up for a very good reason! Today is your one month birthday! Aren't you excited?"

Harry merely continued to cry. Lily laughed.

"I think we can safely take that as a no," she said.

James made a face at her. "You calm him down, then, if you're so good at this."

Lily took the baby from her husband. Despite her best efforts, he continued to cry.

"Not as good as you thought, are you, Mummy?" James teased.

"I blame you for this," Lily said crossly. "I'm going to feed him. Maybe that will help. You'd better have come up with a good birthday activity by the time I'm done."

"Yes, ma'am," James grinned.

Lily shook her head, and sat down in the nursery's rocking chair to feed her baby. James left the room, quietly closing the door behind him.

By the time Lily and the now-calm Harry made their way downstairs, James had made breakfast. He was just setting the finishing touches on the table when Lily stepped into the kitchen.

"Well, isn't this lovely?" she smiled. "You didn't have to do all this!"

"Consider it my peace offering," James grinned. "From now on, unless it is an emergency, I will never wake Harry from a deep sleep."

"Excellent plan," Lily smiled. She put Harry down in his cradle, and took a seat at the table. "Have you decided what we're going to do for Harry's birthday?"

"Well, I thought that perhaps we could make today his first trip to the park."

"James! That's a fantastic idea!" Lily exclaimed. "We'll get to use his new stroller! We can show him the lake with the ducks, and the playground, and . . . Oh, he's going to love it! This is just perfect."

James grinned. "When do you want to go?"

"Let's go right after breakfast," Lily replied. "I can't wait any longer than that."

James laughed. "And you call me impatient."

As soon as they had the dishes cleaned and stored in the appropriate cupboards, James and Lily prepared Harry for his first trip to the neighborhood park. They made sure to bundle him appropriately for the warm day, and packed a bag full of necessities for every situation they could imagine. Then, putting the baby in his stroller, they set off to walk to the park.

They had a wonderful time walking through the park together. Harry seemed to enjoy it, too; he was quite attentive to his surroundings.

"We need to bring him back here again," Lily said as they wandered along the path around the lake. "I think he really likes it."

"The fresh air and sunshine are good for him, too," James added. "And when he's a little older, we can bring him here to play with the other kids."

Lily nodded with a grin. "We'll have to see if Frank and Alice can bring Neville with us sometimes, too. That way these two little boys can get to know one another early on."

James nodded. "They should probably learn to rely on one another," he said tensely.

"James," Lily said warningly, "don't talk like that."

"Dumbledore's worried, Lil," he replied. "I don't know which one of them will be targeted, but I think that if they work together, they'll have a better chance at survival."

"Can we please not talk about this today?" Lily asked. "It's Harry's birthday, James. Let's just take today to celebrate. Concentrate on the positive things in our world, not the negative."

"All right," he agreed. He took her hand and kissed it. "I'll drop it for you."

"Drop it for all of us," she said firmly.

"All right," he said again. He looked around, his eyes lighting up as they fell on an ice cream cart. "Look, ice cream!"

Lily laughed, grateful for his change in mood and topic. "And here I was thinking that I only had one child."

"Nope," James said cheerfully, "not when there's ice cream to be had. Come on, let's go get some."

"All right," Lily agreed. "We can eat it to celebrate Harry's birthday."

"We'll get him some, too."

"Oh, no," Lily laughed. "He can't even sit up! No ice cream for the baby."

"He'll like it!"

"He's too little," Lily protested.

James sighed, knowing that she was right. "Sorry, Harry," he said as they walked to the man selling the frozen treats. "I'll get you some ice cream when you're older."

After purchasing their ice cream cones, James and Lily found a bench to sit on. They parked Harry's stroller so that he could look out over the park, and settled themselves to eat their snack as they watched the various people walking past.

"I'm worried about Peter," James said, breaking the companionable silence.

"Why?" Lily frowned, surprised by his sudden confession.

"He's just – I don't know – letting life pass him by."

"'Letting life pass him by?'" Lily repeated. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Think about it," James said. "He still lives with his mum, even though Sirius has offered to let him move in more than once, he's stuck in a job that he hates, and he has yet to go on so much as one date since – since Hogwarts."

"Since Kathleen died," Lily clarified in a soft voice. She sighed. "You know, James, I think that Kathleen might have been the love of his life. I don't think he's ever really gotten over her death. I think it's made him the person he is today, rather than the person he would have become had she lived. They probably would have gotten married and started a life together. Without her, he can't live that life."

"But he can live another," James insisted. "I just feel like he's not living at all. He's just going through the motions."

Lily shrugged. "If he's happy, why should we worry?"

"Do you truly think he's happy?"

"James, I've had this conversation with Olivia more times than I want think about," she replied. "She says she's happy with her life, and so she must be. If Peter's not telling us that he's unhappy, we'll just have to believe that he is happy."

James ran his hands over his face. "You know, Sirius just admitted to me that he's still in love with Olivia." He paused, and turned to face his wife. "How does she feel about him?"

"Haven't you been listening to me?" she asked with a smile. "She keeps telling me that she's happy with Greg. I have to believe that."

"As long as she's happy," James agreed. He chewed the last bit of his cone. "Should we go back home?"

"All right," Lily agreed, standing up. She released the brake on Harry's stroller. "Let's go."

Sirius looked at the clock on his desk. Ten thirty. Olivia had been at work for half an hour and he had yet to see her. When they had become partners, she would usually stop to say hello as soon as she arrived at work. But since that day – since that patrol when he had started quizzing her about her relationship with Greg – she had been avoiding him.

He sighed. It was stupid, really. And it was time to put an end to it. He stood to leave his office.

"Hey," Lucas, his officemate, said, looking up from his paperwork. "Where are you going?"

"Out for a walk around the department," Sirius said evasively.

Lucas grinned. "Just keep an eye out for anyone with things for you to file."

"I will," Sirius grinned. "See you later."

Once outside the small room, he walked purposefully down the hall to Olivia's office. He knocked on the door, and heard someone inside give permission to enter.

"Hi," he said, stepping inside. He was relieved to see that Olivia was alone. "Where are your officemates?"

"Out and about," she said with a smile. "What's up?"

Sirius closed the door behind him. "We need to talk," he said, stepping closer to her.

"All right," she agreed. "What do you want to talk about?"

"About what happened between us during our patrol of Diagon Alley."

"What are you talking about?" she asked with a slightly confused frown.

"Stupid doesn't suit you, Olivia," Sirius said, sitting down on an empty desk. "You know what I'm talking about."

She gave him a look of annoyance. "All right, I do know," she admitted. "I just don't see why we have to go back to it."

"Because it could change everything!" Sirius exclaimed.

"That's exactly why we shouldn't talk about it anymore," Olivia replied quickly. "Sirius, things are working between us right now. We're friends again, and we're partners. We work well together. Let's not rock the boat with a conversation about what might have been."

"I prefer to think of it as what could be," Sirius countered.

"Sirius," Olivia sighed. "You're being ridiculous."

"Liv, you admitted yourself that we were really good together. And we both know that we could be again, if you'll just give us a chance."

"We had our chance," she insisted. "I'm sorry that you and Rebecca broke up, but I'm happy with Greg. I'm not going to leave him because you've decided that we need to give our relationship – a relationship that already failed once - another try."

"It shouldn't have failed the first time," Sirius said. "Liv, do you know why Rebecca broke up with me?"

"Because you're an ass?" she asked with a teasing smile.

Sirius smiled. "No, she managed to overlook that," he replied. "She broke up with me because she could see that how much you mean to me. She didn't want to have to compete with you."

"Well, that's your misfortune," Olivia said harshly. "Sirius, I don't deny that we had fun together. I don't deny that I loved you more than I've ever loved anyone – maybe even more than I ever will love anyone. I don't deny that I still have feelings for you."

Sirius smiled hopefully. "Let's give it another try, then," he said, reaching for her hands.

"Alexander, you'd better be in here!"

Sirius and Olivia both jumped as Moody burst into the office. One look at his face told them that something was terribly wrong.

"Good, Black, you're here, too," he said as he limped in, closing the door behind him. "I need to talk to both of you."

"What's happened?" Olivia asked, unconsciously gripping Sirius's hands.

"There's been an attack in Diagon Alley," Moody said. "I'm going to have to ask both of you to brace yourselves for this news."

"What is it?" Sirius asked, holding Olivia's hands just as tightly as she held his.

"James and Lily Potter were attacked."

"What?" Olivia whispered. "Why?"

"I don't have many specifics yet," Moody admitted. "We just received word that their house has been destroyed. Five Auror teams are already on the scene –"

They never heard anything else that he would have told them. Without saying a word, both Sirius and Olivia Disapparated.

The crowds of people standing on their street where the first indication that something was wrong. James frowned at Lily as he pushed the stroller through the throngs of people.

"What do you think happened?" he asked.

"I don't know," she replied. She coughed in the smoke and dust that were getting thicker as they made their way closer to their house. "It doesn't look good, though, does it?"

"Not at all," James said grimly. "Do you think . . .?"

His question died in his throat as the scene unfolded before them. The crowds of people were trying to get close enough to see the devastation that had caused the smoke and dust that had made Lily cough. Those close enough to see were staring open-mouthed as the wreckage that had been James and Lily's house.

What had once been their home – the house they had found before they were married, where they had planned to live their life together – lay in a pile of ruins on the ground. Brick, wood, and glass were shattered and splintered everywhere. Their possessions were twisted and tangled amidst the rubble. As she looked at the destruction, Lily's eyes fell on the teddy bear that her mother-in-law had given Harry the day they left the hospital. It was lying in the middle of the pile that had been their house, its eyes blacked out by dust, its fur caked in dirt.

"Oh, my God," Lily said in a small voice as the enormity of what she was looking at struck her. She gave a cry, and put her hands over her face. "This isn't possible!"

James put his arm around her, pulling her close. "No," he said softly, staring in utter disbelief at his home. "How did they find us so quickly?"

Lily began to shake against him, feeling the tears welling up in her eyes. "My God, James," she whispered. "We could have been there!"

"But we weren't," James said quickly. "We weren't there, Lil. We were gone. We're safe. Harry's safe."

"Harry . . ." Lily pulled away from her husband, and looked down into the stroller, where the baby was sneezing in the flying dust. She picked him up, holding him close. "You're safe," she said softy, pressing a kiss against his head. "They haven't found you. They've haven't hurt you."

Unaware of the danger around them, Harry grabbed a handful of his mother's hair. Lily held him tightly, and looked at James with fear in her eyes.

"What if they're still here?" she asked fearfully.

"They're gone," James said confidently. "They wouldn't stay with all these people around. They would have been caught and arrested."

"Maybe it's worse that they're gone," Lily said quietly. "That means they're still out there somewhere."

"Don't think like that," James said firmly. "Don't. We can't think like that."

Lily looked up at him wordless. She didn't know what to say. How else could she think?

"James! Lily!"

They looked up, and saw Sirius and Olivia rushing toward them. As soon as they reached them, Olivia threw her arms around Lily and Harry.

"Thank God," she exclaimed. "We've been so worried! Moody told Sirius and I about the attack as soon as we got word, and we rushed over here – we've been looking for you since we got here."

"We weren't home," Lily said as though in a daze.

"Thank God you weren't," Sirius said as he pulled James into a brotherly hug. "We've been searching for you in the rubble."

Lily shuddered, and pulled Harry even closer. He squirmed, protesting against the tight embrace. She reluctantly loosened her grip on his small body. Watching her, Sirius realized that she did not need to be at the scene, staring at the remains of her home.

"Come on," he said. "There are enough Aurors here without me adding to the chaos. I'm taking you to my place."

"I'm coming with you," Olivia said instantly.

"No, you stay here," Sirius said. "We need to make sure that the bastards that did this are caught – and I know that the only person as dedicated to that as I am is you."

"What difference does it make?" James asked helplessly. For the first time since his father had died, he looked defeated. He was starting to think exactly the way he had cautioned Lily against only moments before. "Even if you do catch the people who are responsible and throw them into Azkaban, there are others to take their places."

"James, stop it," Lily said firmly, continuing their role-reversal. "We're going to pull through this. It's just a house. There are plenty of houses. We'll find another."

"But what will we do when they find that one?" James asked. "You know they won't rest until they find us again."

Olivia looked at him in confusion. Why would someone pursue Lily and James so diligently? Why did James think there was such a focus on attacking them?

"They won't find you again," Sirius said confidently. "We'll make sure of it."

"How can we be so sure?"

"We'll talk to Dumbledore and Flitwick," Sirius said. "They must know security charms we can put on your house. And no one could beat Lily in Charms at Hogwarts – she's the best of the best. She'll put the security charms on the house, and you'll be safe forever."

"We'll put your house under Auror guard if we need to," Olivia added, realizing how scared they were. "We're going to keep the three of you safe."

James looked at her sharply. Did she know about the prophecy? Had Sirius told her?

"Let's go," Sirius said, steering them away from the wreckage. "You don't need to see this anymore."

James waited until they were in Sirius's flat before rounding on his friend. "What exactly did Olivia mean about keeping us safe?" he snapped.

"What are you talking about?" Sirius asked.

Realizing that this conversation wouldn't be good, Lily took Harry through to James's old bedroom without saying a word to the two men. She doubted they would even notice that she was gone. She closed the door behind her, preparing to wait out the battle between the two friends.

"Olivia just said she'd do anything to keep us safe!" James spat. "She clearly knows that we're in danger! Why did you have to tell her?"

"James, honestly, sometimes you really just don't think," Sirius snapped. "She obviously knows that you're in danger – so does everyone else who lives anywhere remotely near you! Your house is currently lying in a pile of rubble all over the street! If that's not a clear sign that someone has it in for you and Lily, then I don't know what is!"

James ran his hand through his hair. "You didn't tell her about the prophecy?"

"No," Sirius said firmly. "It's not my place to tell anyone. Harry is your son – you get to decide who knows what about him."

James took a shaky breath, and ran his hand through his hair again. "I'm sorry, Padfoot," he said at last. "I didn't mean to blow up at you like that. I know you'd never tell Olivia, or anyone else for that matter."

"Don't worry about it," Sirius replied. "You've just gone through a pretty horrific ordeal."

"Yeah," James said softly. "Did you mean what you said earlier? About us being able to make our new house – whenever we find it – more secure?"

"Of course," Sirius grinned. "You know as well as I do that even Flitwick was amazed by Lily's ability with charms. I'm sure she can learn some new charms to protect the house." He paused. "And Olivia made a good point, too. I'm sure we can convince Moody to have some Aurors stand guard."

James shook his head. "Let's leave that as a last resort. I don't want to feel like my family lives under house arrest."

Sirius nodded. "All right, then."

"We need to start looking for a new house," James said.

"Where do you want to look?"

"Not in Diagon Alley."

They both looked up as Lily entered the room, holding Harry close. She looked at them almost defiantly.

"I'm not living in Diagon Alley anymore," she said firmly. "I can't. It's too dangerous. They know that we live here now – this is the first place they're going to look for us!"

"All right," James said soothingly. "We don't have to live in Diagon Alley." He thought for a moment. "What about Hogsmeade?"

"Hogsmeade?"

"Yeah. It's still a wizarding village, but it's bigger than Diagon Alley, so they'll have a harder time finding us. Plus, it's always crowded, so we'll be able to blend in pretty easily."

"It's a good idea, Little Flower," Sirius put in. "James is right."

She nodded. "All right. Let's start looking for houses there."

"And until you find a house, you're staying here," Sirius said.

"Sirius, we can't impose," Lily protested.

"Impose?" he repeated. "Are you kidding? It's not an imposition. You're family." He smiled, and crossed to take Harry from his mother's arms. "Besides, it'll give me more time to spend with my little godson."

James looked at Lily. "Speaking of, we'd better make that official."

Sirius took his eyes away from the baby to look at James. "Official?"

"Yes," Lily said. "We need to schedule Harry's baptism – and the sooner we can have it done, the better."

"We need to have you as his legal guardian as soon as possible," James said.

"Don't think like that," Sirius said sharply, realizing what they were trying to say. "Nothing is going to happen to you two. You're going to be fine. You're going to live for over a hundred years, happily raising Harry and playing with your grandchildren."

Lily smiled. "I hope you're right, Sirius."

"So do I," James said grimly. "But after today . . . I'm not taking any chances."