A/N: Well, reality has slapped me in the face, and it hurt! I'm going to have to revise my "deadline" for the end of the story. The chances of me being done before Book 6 comes out are slim. I still have six chapters and an epilogue to go, and they're all going to be quite long. I've been trying so hard to meet my schedule, but I'm currently three chapters behind where I wanted to be. I really just want to be happy with my chapters before I post them. So, this story will be done as soon as I can get it finished – but don't be surprised if that takes until after Book 6 is published. I'm so, so sorry!

RaysOfHope: No computer? That's horrible! Print away!

maraudergirl7: Sorry, it's going to end the way it does in canon. It's killing me, too!

I don't own Harry Potter.

The Decision

"What would you like to do today, Harry?" Lily asked as she cleaned up the kitchen after breakfast. "Would you like to go to the park?"

"Park!" Harry repeated enthusiastically. "Daddy, too?"

"No, Daddy can't come," Lily said, waving her wand to put away the last of the dishes. "He had to go to work today. He has to teach his students."

Harry's face fell. "No Daddy?"

"Daddy will be back in time for dinner," Lily assured him. "Don't you remember what it's like when Daddy goes to work?"

Harry looked at her blankly. "Daddy work?"

"Yes, Daddy works," Lily grinned. "That's how we get money to buy you new toys."

"Toy!"

"No, no new toys today, either," Lily laughed. She picked the baby up out of his highchair. "So, shall we to go the park, then?"

"Park!" Harry agreed.

"All right, let's go find your shoes."

Lily carried the baby upstairs to his bedroom, where she deposited him on the floor. He was busy pulling all the toys out of his toy box and she was searching for his shoes when she heard a pop downstairs.

"Daddy can't be home already," she said, fear already creeping into her heart. She took her wand from her pocket and picked up Harry again. "Let's go see who's downstairs, shall we?"

Harry seemed to recognize the importance of the situation; he did not respond to his mother's comment. He remained quiet as she moved silently down the stairs with him on one arm and her wand gripped in her other hand.

"There you are! I was beginning to think that you weren't home."

Lily jumped as Olivia turned to smile at her. "My God, Liv! You nearly scared me to death! I thought you were a Death Eater!"

"Nope," Olivia smiled. She reached out to take Harry from his mother. "How are you, Harry?"

"Livie!" he squealed, grabbing her hair.

"None of that," she said, pulling her hair out of his hands. She smiled at him, kissing his cheeks. "What are you going to do today?"

"Park," he replied.

Olivia raised her eyes to Lily, who nodded.

"Our big plan is to hit the park today."

"Well, would you mind if I tag along?"

"Not at all," Lily smiled. "Do you need to talk?"

"Wedding plans," Olivia replied. "Since I have today off, I thought you and I could start discussing what's going to happen at this event."

"Sounds like fun," Lily replied. "We can talk about it at the park, right? I did promise this little one that's where we'd go today."

"Sure," Olivia grinned. "I'm always up for a trip to the park!"

By the end of the morning, they had gone over all the plans that Olivia and Sirius had already made, including the date, the colors, and the church and reception hall. Lily grinned when she discovered that Sirius had indeed won the color debate; the wedding party would be wearing Gryffindor colors.

"Well, it makes sense," Olivia said when Lily commented on it. "We did meet there, and it is where we first started dating."

"Where you first fell in love?" Lily teased as she pushed Harry on a swing.

"Yes, that too," Olivia replied with a smile. Her eyes took on a far-away look. "Doesn't that seem like it was ages ago?"

Lily thought back to their seventh year, when both she and Olivia had started dating the men they were destined to marry. She smiled, remembering how nervous she had been the night before her first date with James.

"It was a long time ago," she said. "We were so little then – just babies, really."

"But you already knew that you would marry James, didn't you?"

Lily smiled again. "Yes. I knew." She paused. "I wasted so much time refusing to admit that I could ever even like him enough to have a conversation with him. I can't believe it took me so long to realize what a great person he is."

Olivia shook her head. "Don't think that way. You and James . . . I think that being apart all that time helped you. Yes, you were always meant to be together, but I think you both had to be ready for it. Seventh year, you were." She smiled. "Sirius and I are the same way. I think it was always meant to be, but we just had to get to the right place for it to happen."

"Very philosophical," Lily giggled.

"And probably true," Olivia replied. "Do you think Dana would be able to come out for a visit soon?"

"Why?" Lily asked, surprised at the abrupt subject change.

"I want us all to go get fitted for our robes for the wedding together."

"Oh! I'm sure she would make time for that."

"I hope so."

Olivia wrote to Dana, who was thrilled with the idea of a visit. Even more than wanting to get her robes with the other girls, she wanted to show off her new daughter, who was already three months old.

They spent two weeks working out the details of the visit. Finally, on the appointed Saturday that everyone had managed to get away from work and other obligations, Dana used a Ministry Portkey to arrive in Olivia's flat.

"Look at you!"

Both Lily and Olivia were there; they shot across the room to take the baby from Dana's arms. Dana giggled.

"This is my Laura," she smiled. "Laura, this is Aunt Lily and Aunt Olivia."

"Come here," Lily cooed, taking the little girl from her mother. "Oh, Dana, she is the sweetest thing!" She held the baby for a moment, then passed her to Olivia.

"She looks just like you, Dana," Olivia smiled as she cradled the baby.

"My mum says so, too," Dana smiled. "But I don't think she's my little double like Harry is for James." She looked around. "Where are Harry and James?"

"At home," Lily replied. "We actually thought that you could take Laura over there so that the guys can watch the kids while we go get our robes."

"Are they all there?"

"Yeah," Olivia replied. She giggled. "I think someone said something about not trusting James with more than one child at a time."

"Sirius?" Dana laughed.

"Who else?" Lily laughed. "But I know that Remus really wanted to spend time with little Laura, too."

"Right," Dana said softly. "How is he?"

"He seems better since he moved," Olivia said. "I think that getting out of that house has helped him a lot."

"Knowing about your Laura has helped him, too," Lily added. "He agrees with you – he said it helps to know that his Laura's spirit will live on through your daughter."

"I'm so glad," Dana said, exhaling. "I was so worried when I named her Laura. I truly did it to honor Laura's memory, but I was afraid that Remus wouldn't see it that way. I was afraid that it was too soon."

"No," Lily replied. "He understands, and I think that he really appreciates the gesture."

"Well," Dana said, reclaiming her baby, "let's go introduce them, then!"

The girls Flooed from Olivia's flat to the Potters' house. Dana, who was seeing it for the first time, looked around with wide eyes as she stepped out of the fireplace.

"Oh, Lily, this is gorgeous!"

Lily smiled. "Do you like it? I'll give you the complete tour, if you'd like."

"I'd like," Dana grinned.

"Dana!" James exclaimed as he walked into the living room. He pulled her into a hug. "Hey, guys, Dana's here!" he called.

"Hi, James," Dana smiled, returning the embrace. "How have you been?"

"Oh, you know," James grinned. "Just tormenting students and Snape. The usual."

Dana laughed, and took her baby from Olivia' arms. "Here, I want you to meet my daughter, Laura."

"Hi, sweetheart," James smiled, taking the baby from her. He looked down at her for a moment, then up at Dana. "She's a cutie," he grinned.

"I think so, too," Dana smiled.

"Dana!" Sirius yelled as he came into the room leading Harry by the hand. He pulled her into a bear hug that took her feet off the ground. "It's great to see you!"

"You, too, Sirius," she laughed.

Remus and Peter came in, both hugging her close. Then, while Dana turned her attention to Harry, who didn't remember her, James introduced Laura to the others. Sirius and Peter both held the little girl and proclaimed her adorable before passing her to Remus. He took her into his arms and looked down at her, his eyes very bright.

"Hey, sweetheart," he said softly. "You're a very pretty little girl." He looked up at Dana, blinking quickly. "She looks like you."

"Yeah, she does," Dana said softly. She put Harry, who she had been holding, back on the floor and stepped closer to Remus. "Are you all right?" she asked softly.

He looked back down at the baby and swallowed several times before answering. "She's perfect, Dana," he said finally, his voice quite raspy. He looked at her again, his eyes now red-rimmed. "Thank you."

Dana nodded, and put her hand on his arm. "You're welcome," she said softly.

The girls finally left, and the men were alone with the children. Harry seemed rather unimpressed by his new playmate, despite James's best efforts to get the two of them to play together.

"What were you expecting?" Peter laughed, looking at the baby that Remus was holding. "Laura can't even sit up yet!"

"Well, according to Lily and Dana, these two will be married one day," James grinned. "I just thought I should let them get an early start on their relationship."

"Prongs, that's just wrong," Sirius said, making a face. "You can't go arranging their marriages. What if they hate one another?"

"What if they never really get to know one another, since they live in different countries?" Remus pointed out. "I mean, they won't even go to the same school!"

"I'll have to talk to Dana about making sure Laura goes to Hogwarts," James grinned.

Remus shook his head. "She told me that she has her down for Beauxbatons."

"Why is she sending her there?" Peter asked.

"It's all part of the new life, I suppose," Remus shrugged.

Peter nodded. "I suppose you're right. It's sort of odd to think of one of our kids going anywhere but Hogwarts, though, isn't it?"

"Are you and Moony having children now, Wormtail?" Sirius laughed.

"Must you always take everything so literally?" Peter asked with a grin. "I meant 'our' in the collective sense – Harry, Laura, and any other kids that any of us have."

"Who said the rest of us are having kids?" Sirius asked.

"What, you and Olivia don't want kids?" James asked.

"Do I really seem like a father to any of you?" Sirius asked.

"Fair point," Peter laughed.

"You're a great godfather," James said. "And I think you'll have a tough time convincing Olivia that she doesn't want kids."

"We'll probably have them," Sirius conceded. "But we have plenty of time. We need to focus on our careers and getting married right now."

"In that order," Remus said with a grin.

"Bastard," Sirius grinned. "Who asked your opinion?"

Harry looked up from his puzzle. "Batard!" he yelled.

"Oh, nice, Sirius," James said sarcastically. He turned to give his son a stern look. "Harry, we don't say that word."

"Batard!"

"Harry, no," James said. He picked the baby up, and put him in his lap. "That's not a nice word, and only goofy people like Uncle Sirius use it. I don't want to hear you say it again. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Harry said seriously.

"Good." James kissed his forehead. "I love you, Harry."

"Love you!" Harry replied. He crawled down from James's lap, and made his way back over to his toys.

"Maybe you were right, Sirius," James sighed. "No kids for you!"

Sirius laughed. "I'll watch it in the future, I promise."

Peter shook his head. He was about to comment on Sirius's lack of parental skills when he felt a burning pain in his arm. Panic filled him. How could he leave now? He had already told his friends that he was free for the day – that was why they had picked this day for the reunion with Dana. What could he do?

"Are you all right, Wormtail?" James asked, seeing the look on his friend's face.

"I just realized what time it is," Peter replied. "I need to get going."

"What do you mean?" Sirius exclaimed. "We all said we were off today!"

"I know, but I promised my mum that I'd help her move some furniture," Peter lied. "She wanted me to be home about ten minutes ago."

"Oh," James said. "Well, I suppose that Remus and I can handle these kids without you."

"Hey!" Sirius exclaimed. "What about me?"

"You don't count," James grinned. "You're teaching my baby bad language."

"Eh, he was going to hear it sometime regardless," Sirius shrugged. "So you're leaving us, Peter?"

"Yeah," Peter said as the burning intensified. He winced slightly. "I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it," James said. "We'll see you later."

"Thanks," Peter smiled. "Bye, guys."

He Disapparated, and the others looked at one another.

"Okay, what do you think the real story is?" Sirius asked.

"Hot date," James said promptly.

"Hot date?" Remus laughed, adjusting Laura in his arms.

"Yup," James grinned. "Personally, I'm a little offended that he never told us about his new girlfriend."

"Maybe he wants to keep it under wraps for awhile," Sirius mused. "I hope you're right, James. Our Peter needs a new woman in his life."

Remus shook his head. "I think I know why he didn't tell any of us – the two of you would never leave him alone about it!"

"Maybe," Sirius laughed. "Come on, Harry, let's play some Quidditch!"

He tossed the red Quaffle to Harry, who watched as it fell next to him. James laughed.

"We're still working on that."

"Peter, would you like to tell me why it is that I can no longer find the Potters?"

Peter clasped his hands together in an effort not to shake as he looked into the Dark Lord's furious face. "They've moved, my Lord," he stammered.

"Moved," Voldemort repeated. "How lovely for them. I certainly hope they've had time to situate themselves in their new house, since I have not been able to find them for six months. Tell me, Peter, why it has taken you so long to come forward with this information."

"I – I didn't think . . ."

"You didn't think what? That it would be important to me? You know very well that I have been tracking them, that I have done my best to destroy their son . . . I think you need to remember where your loyalties lie." He picked up his wand, and looked at Peter with a horrible grin. "Crucio."

Peter's shrieks of pain reverberated throughout the room.

"James, I'm going to run out to the grocery store," Lily said as she walked into the study with her purse already in hand.

"What happened to staying in today?" James asked, looking up from the essays he was reading.

"I know," Lily smiled. "But we're out of milk and eggs, so I figured going to the grocery store is a must. Do you need anything?"

"Someone to grade my essays for me?"

"I'll see if they sell personal assistants," Lily grinned. "Do you want me to take Harry so that you can work without interruptions?"

James thought for a moment. "Yeah, if you don't mind. I'll probably get more done if he isn't in here trying to talk to me every ten minutes."

Lily grinned, and scooped the baby off the floor. "Are you distracting Daddy?" she asked, kissing his cheek. "We're going out, Harry."

"Park?" he asked hopefully.

"No, not to the park," Lily replied. "We're going to the grocery store. Doesn't that sound like fun?"

Harry looked at her in what she was certain was a disbelieving way. She laughed at the look on his face.

"I'll get you a cookie while we're there," she promised.

"Tookie?" he asked.

"Yes, a cookie," Lily grinned. "Tell Daddy bye-bye."

"Bye-bye, Daddy!"

"Bye, Harry. I'll see you when Mummy's done shopping." He looked at Lily. "Where are you going?"

"Just to that store down the street," she replied. "We should be back in less than an hour."

"Sounds good," James smiled.

Lily leaned down to kiss him. "See you soon. Have fun with the essays."

"Thanks," he smiled. "Bye, love."

"Bye!"

Lily walked out with Harry still in her arms. A moment later, James heard the sound of the car starting and rolling down the driveway. He picked up the essay he had been reading, and made a correction.

Lily and Harry had been gone for about half an hour when he heard the soft pop of someone Apparating into their house. He frowned, not sure who it could be. Lily had driven, and couldn't Apparate with Harry in her arms. Sirius, Olivia and Peter all had told him that they were working. There was no reason for Dumbledore to visit him on a Saturday. That left two people that knew their password, and he knew that Remus and his mother would have made their presence known as soon as they arrived.

He picked up his wand off the desk with a frown. He stood slowly, and stepped around the desk. He walked quietly to the open door, and looked around it into the deserted hall. He wanted to call out to see who had entered his house, but his Order training told him not to. He didn't want to make his location known.

"Crucio!"

James gave a scream of pain, and fell to the floor. The curse ended, and he rolled over, struggling to get up to his knees. A Death Eater stood over him, his wand pointed straight between James's eyes.

"Where is your son?"

"Not here," James replied.

"Of course he is."

"He's not," James said firmly. "He's out with his mother. If you want to torture me, go right ahead, but you're not going to get anywhere."

A second Death Eater came into the room and shook his head. "I've searched the entire house, but I can't find the kid."

"He says he's out with his mother," the first Death Eater said, jerking his head toward James.

"Where did they go?" the second Death Eater asked.

"I don't know," James said.

"Wrong answer," the first replied. "Crucio."

The Death Eaters watched as James screamed in pain, then finally removed the curse.

"Let's try again. Where is your son?"

James grabbed his own wand. "Reducto!" he shouted, aiming at the first Death Eater's wand arm.

The man gave a scream of pain as the bones in his arm shattered. His wand fell to the ground with a clatter. James rounded on the second Death Eater, but he wasn't fast enough. He didn't hear the curse that he muttered; he was only aware of the purple light that shot at him.

Pain filled his body as the curse hit him, followed by merciful blackness.

"We're home!" Lily said as she pulled the car into the driveway.

"Home!" Harry repeated. "Daddy?"

"Yes, we'll see Daddy in a minute," Lily replied. She turned the car off, and unbuckled her seatbelt. "Hang on a minute, sweetheart, so I can get you out of there."

She got out of the car, then leaned into the backseat to unbuckle Harry from his car seat. She lifted him out of the car, and set him on his feet on the driveway.

"Stay right there," she cautioned as she went around to get the groceries out of the trunk.

Harry, mindless of her orders, toddled over the grass, where he crouched down to examine a flower. Lily watched him, and shook her head. At least he wasn't in the street.

"Harry, will you help Mummy, please?"

Harry ran back over to his mother as best he could, and threw his arms around her legs. She smiled, and hugged him.

"Can you carry something into the house for me?"

"Yes!"

She searched through the bags, and finally settled on a box of cereal. She gave it to him, and lifted four other bags.

"Okay, let's take these inside."

"Inside," Harry repeated.

"Right. Come with me."

Harry followed Lily up the steps to the front door. She unlocked the door, and held it open for Harry.

"Go put that in the kitchen, sweetie," she said.

Harry toddled off down the hall, bouncing the cereal on the floor. Lily shook her head again and smiled.

"James?" she called as she walked into the kitchen. "We're home, love!"

Lily frowned when she didn't hear a response. With the amount of essays that James had to grade, she was sure that he hadn't gone out.

"James?" she called again. "Where are you?"

Panic filled her as he still didn't respond. What could have happened? Had the Death Eaters . . . ? Where they still in the house? She felt a cold sweat forming along her forehead. She bent down to pick up Harry, who struggled against her grasp.

"Stay with Mummy a minute, love," she murmured, pressing a kiss against his head. "We need to find Daddy."

"Daddy?" he asked.

"We're going to look for him," she said, taking her wand out of her pocket. "And you need to be very quiet, love. Can you do that for Mummy?"

"Shhh," Harry whispered, putting a small finger against his lips.

"That's right," Lily said absently. "James?" She left the kitchen and went into the dining room. "Are you home?"

Lily turned down the hall that led to the study, hoping that he might have fallen asleep grading his essays. As she turned the corner, she saw his body lying on the floor.

"James!" she shrieked.

She ran down the hall, and put Harry down on the floor next to James.

"Daddy?" Harry whispered, touching James's cheek.

"Don't touch Daddy, Harry," Lily said harshly. "Sit still."

Eyes widening at her tone, Harry sat down on the floor.

"James? James, can you hear me?" Lily grabbed James's wrist to feel for a pulse. Relief flooded through her when she found one.

"Okay," she said. "Okay." She took out her wand. "Ennervate."

James remained unresponsive.

"Not a Stunner . . ." Lily murmured. Tears filled her eyes. "What did they do to you, James? How do I fix it?"

She knew that her medical knowledge was extremely limited, and that she needed help. She reached into the pocket of James's robes for the mirror that she knew would be there.

"Sirius! Sirius, please, help me!"

Sirius's face appeared almost instantly, fear etched on his features. "Lily?" he asked. "What's going on? Where's James?"

"He's been attacked, Sirius," she said, feeling the panic spread through her. "I don't know how to help him –"

"Where are you?" Sirius interrupted.

"At home."

"I'm on my way."

Sirius was there within moments, his wand already out.

"Thank you," Lily whispered.

"What happened?" Sirius asked, kneeling down beside her.

"I don't know. I took Harry out to the store, and this is how I found him when I got home."

Sirius pointed his wand at his friend. "Ennervate."

"I already tried that," Lily said, closing in on hysteria. "What's wrong with him, Sirius?"

"I don't know," Sirius said honestly. "I'm going to get us some help."

He took a crystal cross from his pocket and tapped it with his wand. Lily watched as it glowed gold, then blue.

"What's that?"

"All the Aurors have them. We use them to summon Healers to battle scenes."

"This won't be considered abusing it, will it?"

"He was attacked by Death Eaters," Sirius replied. "I think I'm well within my rights." He looked around uneasily. "Are they gone?"

"I'm sure of it. They would have tried to kill Harry by now if they were still here." Lily looked back down at her husband. "He still has a pulse," she said. "So he's not . . . he's not . . ."

"He's going to be fine," Sirius said firmly. He bent down to pick up Harry. "How are you, little man?"

"Shhh," Harry said, putting a finger to his lips again. "Daddy sleeping."

"Yeah, Daddy's sleeping," Sirius repeated.

Lily looked at Harry with tear-filled eyes. "Let me hold my baby, Sirius."

Sirius passed the baby to her; she kissed his head just as two Healers Apparated into the house. They quickly took in the scene.

"One down?"

"Yes," Sirius said, indicating James's motionless form. "Death Eaters used an unknown curse."

The Healers nodded, and both knelt down to work on James. While one used his wand to administer healing charms, the other began pulling vials of potions from a bag. Lily watched from a slight distance, holding Harry tightly. Sirius stood next to her with his hand on the small of her back, ready to support her if she started to fall.

After what seemed like forever, James began to choke and cough. The Healers looked at one another with smiles.

"Welcome back," one said, helping James into a sitting position. "You had us all worried for a minute there."

James looked up and saw Lily, Harry and Sirius all looking at him. He smiled slightly.

"There's no need to look so grim," he said with a cough. "I'm fine."

"Of course you are," Lily said, her tears beginning again. Harry began to struggle against her hold on him, and she lowered him to the floor.

"Is he all right, then?" Sirius asked.

"Fine," one of the Healers replied. "You called us just in time. A few more minutes and he'd be spending a week in St. Mungo's."

"He doesn't need to go to the hospital?" Lily asked.

"No," the second Healer said. "Just monitor him at home. If you see any signs that he's not at 100 percent, bring him in."

"I will," Lily promised. "Thank you both so much."

"You're welcome."

After one last check to be sure that James really was fine, the two Healers Disapparated. James struggled to his feet; Sirius was there in an instant to help him up.

"Are you sure you're all right?" Lily asked.

"I'm okay," James replied. He stepped closer, and touched her face. "Thank God you're all right," he said, his hand moving to run through her hair.

"Oh, God, James, I was so scared," Lily said, her tears starting again. "When I came home and found you just lying there . . . I didn't know what had happened or what to do . . . I used your mirror to call Sirius, and he summoned the Healers."

"She was great," Sirius said. "She really knew what she was doing."

"I was just so scared," Lily said, her voice breaking as the tears came faster.

"It's all right, love," James said, pulling her close. He gently kissed her. "I'm fine."

"I know," she said, clinging to him and kissing him again. "I can see that."

He kissed her one last time. "Where's Harry?"

"He was here a minute ago . . ."

"Harry!" James yelled. "Harry, where are you?"

"Daddy," Harry giggled. He came toddling back down the hall, clutching the dog that Sirius had given him for his birthday. "Doggie Siri!"

Sirius laughed, and picked Harry up into his arms. "Now you can have Doggie Sirius with you all the time. You don't have to wait for me to transform for you!"

"Doggie Siri," Harry said.

"Not now, champ," James said. "Daddy and Mummy need to talk to Uncle Sirius."

Sirius's face turned very grave. "You were attacked by Death Eaters, weren't you?"

"Let's sit down," James said.

They made their way into the kitchen and took seats around the table. Harry followed them, and sat down on the floor, playing with his dog.

"Yeah," James said once they were seated, "there were two Death Eaters."

"Only two?" Sirius frowned. "I would expect more."

"I'm just glad there weren't more," Lily said, running her hand over James's arm. "Were they after . . .?"

James nodded. "They demanded to know where Harry was. Naturally, I wouldn't tell them . . ."

"And they attacked," Sirius finished.

"Well, they attacked before that – you know how they are."

"Yeah," Sirius said, running his hands over his face. Then he frowned. "But how did they get in?"

"They must have gotten our password somehow," Lily said. "That's the only way anyone can get into the house."

"Dumbledore was right," James said suddenly.

"About what?"

"Right after we moved, I gave him our new address and our password. He asked me who else knew where we were and how to reach us. When I told him, he looked . . . pensive. I asked what was bothering him, and he asked if I really trusted everyone that I had given the password to. I said of course, and he just nodded."

"He thinks that someone has been giving out our password?" Lily asked in shock.

James nodded. "I didn't think much of it at the time – I do trust everyone that has the password. But, obviously, that's misplaced trust."

"Do you really think that someone is giving away our passwords?" Lily asked. Then she continued, answering her own question, "I suppose someone has to be . . . how else could they be getting in?"

Sirius's eyes grew round as he remembered a past conversation with James. "Dumbledore's never figured out who the spy in the Order is, has he?"

"No," James said. "Why?"

"What if it's the same person who's been passing your whereabouts and passwords to the Death Eaters?"

"Are you saying . . .?"

Sirius nodded. "What if the spy is one of our friends?"

"No," Lily said at once. "Who would do something like that to us? It's impossible. Unthinkable."

"But it must be happening," James said. "Lily, you are one of the best witches in the world with charms. Even Flitwick has always been impressed with you. There is no way that someone could just get through all the protective charms on this house without outside help. And the only people who could provide that help are the ones who have the password. You just said yourself that someone must be giving our password away."

"Right," Lily said slowly, her face very pale. "So, that means we're looking at . . . Sirius, Olivia, your mum, Dumbledore, Remus, Dana and Peter."

"Right," James agreed.

"Well, I'll tell you right now that it isn't me," Sirius said.

"No, I know that," James said without hesitation. "I trust you with my life, Padfoot. I know you would never do anything to endanger my family."

Sirius smiled faintly. "You've got that right."

Lily put her hand over his. "We both trust you."

Sirius squeezed her hand before continuing. "It can't be Olivia. Moody would know in an instant if she was a Death Eater. That man has more connections than God."

"So that leaves Mum, Dumbledore, Dana, Remus and Peter," James said. "We can rule out my mum and Dumbledore right now."

"So Dana, Remus and Peter," Lily mused. "I doubt it's Dana – don't forget, her husband was killed by Death Eaters. I think that if she was one, she'd have considerably better protection on her family. Besides, she's not even in the country now – and we all know that Voldemort hasn't started his campaign in France yet."

"True," James said pensively. "They haven't had any Death Eater activity at all." A pained expression crossed his face. "So it must be either Remus or Peter?"

"My God," Sirius said, dropping his face into his hands. "You must be kidding."

Lily started shaking. "Which one do you think it is?"

Sirius raised his face from his hands. "The idea of Peter being a double agent is laughable. I mean, look at him! He can barely handle his job in that store." He sighed. "And, not to be mean, but what would Voldemort want with Peter? He doesn't have any extraordinary talents – it took the three of us guys to get him through school – and he's not in anyone's inner circle."

"So you're saying . . .?" Lily said, swallowing hard.

"Remus," James breathed.

"No," Lily said. "It can't be. Think of the number of times that Harry and I were alone with him recently. He had plenty of chances to kill Harry, and never once did he do it. He didn't even try!"

"Yeah, but Little Flower, think about it. He's been a wreck since Laura died. How do we know what he got himself into to get over that?"

"But we were attacked long before that . . ." James said.

Sirius waved his hand. "Then he's been in longer than we want to know!"

"My God." James's face turned a delicate shade of green. "I think I'm going to be sick."

Without another word, he ran from the kitchen. They heard the bathroom door slam behind him.

Lily and Sirius remained silent for several minutes, both staring down at the table. Tears filled Lily's eyes again.

"Sirius, do you really think . . .?"

"I hate this," Sirius said, slamming his fist down on the table. "Remus has been one of my best friends for years. Years! How could he do this to you now?"

"But we don't have any proof . . ."

"We don't have any proof either way," Sirius sighed. He ran his hands over his face. "He's the most logical choice, Lils."

"But he's Remus . . ."

"He's a werewolf," James said, coming back into the kitchen, his face far paler than it had been.

"James!" Lily exclaimed. "Since when has that mattered to you?"

"It's never mattered," James said without hesitation as he sat down. "But the fact remains that Voldemort has been recruiting werewolves to fight for his cause. How do we know that Remus isn't one of them?"

"But, guys, really . . . Remus working for Voldemort? The whole idea is just ridiculous!"

"I know," James said, reaching up to clutch his hair. "But what other choice is there than to believe it?"

"Look, the important thing right now is making sure that you three are safe," Sirius said. "We can discuss reasons why or why not Remus could be a double agent all day, but it's not going to help anything. So, we're going to get you guys out of here. You're coming home with me. You can't stay in this house anymore."

Lily sighed. "We have to move again."

James looked at her with a grim. "Lil . . . I think we may need to talk about doing something other than just moving."

"You're thinking that we should go into hiding." It wasn't a question. She already knew what James would say.

"Yeah, Lil, I am," he said softly. "We've lived in three different houses since Harry was born. They've found us every time. They even found us in Greece! Maybe . . . maybe it's time that we listened to Dumbledore."

Lily nodded slowly. "Maybe it is."

"How does that work?" Sirius asked. "What would you have to do?"

"I don't know," James said honestly. "But I think we should go talk to Dumbledore. I'm sure he'd be willing to help us." He looked at Lily, who had a thoughtful expression on her face. "Lil? What do you think?"

"We could use a Fidelius Charm," Lily said softly.

"A what?" Sirius asked.

Lily smiled. "Am I the only one who paid attention in N.E.W.T. Charms?"

"No, you're just the only one who memorized the book," Sirius replied. "Care to explain?"

"It's a really complex charm," Lily said. "We could conceal our location within a Secret Keeper. Unless that person told our whereabouts, we would remain completely hidden. For example, if James was my Secret Keeper, he would have to tell you where I was before you could find me. But then only the people James told would be able to find me. And those people wouldn't be able to tell anyone else where I was – only James could do that."

"Sounds like it could work," Sirius said. "What do you think, James?"

"I think it's the best plan we've got so far," he said. "So how would it work? Would I be your Secret Keeper?"

"No, we'd have to pick someone else to be the Secret Keeper for all three of us." She looked thoughtful. "I'm not sure how to work the charm, though. I'd have to look it up – and maybe Professor Flitwick would be willing to help me learn to do it." She looked at James apologetically. "No offense, but I'm better at Charms than you."

"No, you should do it," James said tensely. "We want to make sure that this works."

"Good plan," Sirius said. "Now, let's pack up everything you guys need and get you out of here. I need to get to back to work, but I don't want you staying here any longer than you have to. Now that they know where you are, there's no telling when they'll be back."

Sirius stayed long enough to help Lily and James settle in at his flat before returning to the Ministry. Lily put protective charms around the flat while James played with Harry.

"Lil, who do you think we should ask?" James asked, watching Harry chase the Quaffle he had tossed to him.

"Ask what?"

"To be our Secret Keeper."

Lily looked at him for a moment. "Who do you want to ask?"

"Sirius," he said without hesitation. "For the same reasons we chose him for Harry's godfather. I know that he'll defend us to the death, and I know that he's powerful enough to do that. Besides, he's fine with being in danger." He ran his hands over his face. "I can't ask my mum. I can't put her in that danger. And Dana has a baby now . . . we can't ask that of her, either. Olivia would do it, I know, but I'd feel better with Sirius." He smiled apologetically. "Macho guy thing, I suppose." He paused, then continued, "Peter isn't strong enough. And Remus . . ."

"Sirius is the best choice," Lily said. She sat down next to him on the floor, and he put his arms around her to pull her close. "I hate this, James. How could Remus do this to us? After all that we've done for him . . . You became an illegal Animagus for him! I spent hours and hour helping him get past Laura's death! We've been his best friends! How could he do this to us?"

"I don't know," James whispered against her hair. "I would never have believed that he could do it. He always seemed so strong, so able to withstand outside forces like this . . . Voldemort is strong, Lil. He can convince anyone that his cause is right and justified."

Lily shivered. "I hate this," she said again.

"I do too, love," James said. He kissed her head. "But we'll be fine. Sirius will never betray us. We'll be safe."

"We should ask him when he gets back. I want to know that he agrees with this plan."

"We'll ask him as soon as he walks through the door," James promised.

"Can we go talk to Dumbledore soon?" Lily asked. "I want to get this over with as soon as possible."

"Sure. We'll go tomorrow."

Sirius arrived home with a crack. James and Lily were still awake, sitting on the couch talking. Harry was nowhere to be seen; Sirius assumed that he was in bed.

"Hello, Potters," he said cheerfully. "Miss me?"

"Sirius," James said. "Can you sit down? We want to talk to you."

"Sure," Sirius said, sitting down in the chair across from them. "Is everything all right? You both look rather serious."

"Everything's fine," James assured him. "Lily and I were talking while you were gone, and we have a . . . request."

"Sure. I'll do anything for you guys. You know that."

"Well, we're about to test that," Lily said softly. She looked at her husband.

James drew a deep breath. "Sirius, Lily and I have talked about it, and we want to go ahead with this Fidelius Charm."

"Good," Sirius said with relief in his voice. "It sounds like the best way for you to stay safe."

James nodded. "Yeah, it does. But to do it, we need to have a Secret Keeper we really trust." He paused, and looked directly into his friend's eyes. "Sirius, will you be our Secret Keeper?"

"Yes," Sirius said without hesitation. "I was going to offer earlier, but I wanted you guys to think about it, to decide what you wanted to do first."

"We've decided," Lily said. "Sirius, you know that we trust you with Harry's life. We know that we can trust you with everything."

"Of course you can," Sirius replied.

"It's not going to be easy for you," James cautioned. "I know that you'll become a target. Voldemort will really be after you."

Sirius shrugged. "He already is, isn't he? Don't worry about it. I can stand up to the Death Eaters and to Voldemort himself."

"We know you can," James said. "That's why we want you to do this for us."

"When does this whole thing happen?" Sirius asked.

"We're going to talk to Dumbledore tomorrow," Lily said. "As soon as I can learn to do the charm, we're going to do it."

Sirius nodded. "I'll be ready."

The next morning, James and Lily Flooed to James's office in Hogwarts. They had brought Harry along for the trip; he looked around with wide eyes as they carried him from James's office to Dumbledore's.

"What do you think of the castle, Harry?" Lily asked as they walked. "You'll go to school here someday."

"Castle," Harry repeated with a smile. "Pretty."

"I think it's pretty, too," James smiled, adjusting the baby in his arms. "We're going to talk to Professor Dumbledore right now. Do you remember him?"

"No-o," Harry said, pronouncing a very long o at the end of the word.

"Yes, you do," Lily smiled. "He was at your birthday party. He has the long, white beard. He made the toast to you."

"Toat!" Harry laughed.

James shook his head. "This is going nowhere fast. Come on, let's go up." They had stopped in front of the gargoyle guarding Dumbledore's office. "Drooble's Best Blowing Gum."

"That's a mouthful," Lily giggled as the gargoyle sprang to life.

James shrugged. "Hey, I don't make them up."

They stepped onto the staircase, and within minutes were outside Dumbledore's open office door. James knocked lightly, and the headmaster looked up from the paperwork on his desk.

"James!" he said with a smile. "What brings you here on a Sunday?"

"We wanted to talk to you," James said as he entered with Lily and Harry.

"My, the entire family," Dumbledore smiled. He turned his twinkling eyes to the baby. "How are you today, Harry?"

Harry, generally shy around those he didn't know well, remained silent, but smiled at the headmaster. Dumbledore winked at him.

"Please, sit down. Is there some way that I can help you?"

"Actually, Professor, there is," James said as they sat down in the chairs in front of Dumbledore's desk. "I don't know if you've heard, but we were attacked by Death Eaters yesterday."

"Yes," Dumbledore said heavily. "Alastor told me. But he said that Lily and Harry were out at the time?"

"Yes," Lily said. She reached across to take James's hand. "It gave us a fright, but at least Harry wasn't there."

"Yes," Dumbledore mused, looking at the baby, "we do need to keep him safe."

"The thing is, Professor, we're getting very worried," James said. "Only a very small number of people have access to our house. Lily has put up very strong password protection around the house. The only way that anyone can get into the house is with the password."

"You think the Death Eaters are using one of your friends to gain access to your house," Dumbledore said softly.

"Yes," James said. "And we've decided to take the advice that you gave us when Harry was born – we want to go into hiding."

The headmaster nodded, sadness creeping into his eyes. "I had hoped it wouldn't come to that, but it is the safest course of action."

"Yes," James agreed. "We've lived with the risk for over a year, but it's getting to be too much. We need to completely conceal our location."

"Right," Dumbledore said. "I would suggest the Fidelius Charm to protect yourselves."

"That's what we were thinking of," Lily said. "I'm sure I can handle it, but I'd like to ask Professor Flitwick to help me master it before I attempt it."

"Of course," Dumbledore nodded. "I'm sure he'd be happy to help you."

"Good," Lily said, relief showing on her face.

"I would also suggest that you move again," Dumbledore said.

"We were thinking of that," James admitted.

"Have you considered where you might like to go?"

"Not yet."

Dumbledore looked thoughtful. "Godric's Hollow might be the perfect place for you."

"Godric's Hollow?" Lily repeated with a frown.

"It's a very small wizarding village," Dumbledore said. "It's close enough to Hogwarts that I will be able to give you any help that you might need very easily, and, because it is so small, the Death Eaters have not tried to attack it in the past. I see no reason why they might start now."

"Aside from us being there," Lily commented.

"Not if they don't know you are there," Dumbledore smiled. "Your Secret Keeper will make sure that they never learn where you live. Have you chosen someone for that job?"

"Yes," James said. "We've already asked Sirius, and he has agreed to be our Secret Keeper."

"Sirius Black?"

"Yes."

Dumbledore cleared his throat. "James, Lily . . . We can be sure that someone close to you is passing this information to the Death Eaters. All your friends must become suspects. If you'd like, I will be your Secret Keeper."

"Thank you for the offer, Professor, but I trust Sirius," James said. "He's been like a brother to me for years, and I know that he is the one friend who would never do anything to hurt me. I know that I can trust him with my safety as well as that of my family."

Dumbledore nodded, and looked at Lily. "Lily, do you share this trust in Sirius?"

"Yes, sir, I do," Lily said. "He has been a wonderful godfather to Harry, and I know that he would never do anything to hurt any of us."

"If you're sure . . . But, please remember that my offer still stands. I would be more than happy to be your Secret Keeper."

"Thank you, Professor," James smiled, "but I know that Sirius would never betray us."