A/N: Wow, guys, I'm really sorry! I've been gone for most of July on different trips, so that's why I haven't been able to update. I thought I'd have this chapter done before I left, but that obviously didn't happen – that's why you didn't get any warning. Unfortunately, these vacations weren't conducive to writing or even taking a laptop. But, I'm back in action now, and ready to finish out the story. Just to keep you updated, I'll have six chapters and an epilogue after this one. I had to break this one into two, or it would have been impossibly long.

Also, I've gotten this from a lot of people, so let me address it to everyone – I know that several of my theories were shot down by HBP. That's cool. The point is that what I write is all speculation and theory. I haven't lost interest as a result of reading the new book, and I haven't changed my outline. I'm sticking with what I've got to the bitter end. I'm going to leave this story and its predecessor as they are for now, but I might go back later and make them HBP-compatible. I did love HBP! Even with the ending (I couldn't stop crying!) it's probably my favorite in the series.

Thanks again for all your support and your patience! I love you all!

sweetness0984: I loved Harry's romance! I've been hoping for it all along, and am actually planning a sequel to this story that has those two characters together! I'm leaving my Snape as is for now . . . grrrr.

MPPSexxySiriusJamesRemus: Loved it, loved it! They were definitely meant for each other! I loved the way Harry realized he liked her, too. So cute!

Veshman: Sorry, but they have to suspect Remus. It's how it works. It's killing me, too – he's probably my favorite character in canon!

Mely: I'm planning a sequel about Harry post-Hogwarts, but I've recently been inspired to write one about Sirius, Remus, and Tonks during Books 5 and 6 before I get to that one. We'll see what comes of it.

Black Emerald Dawn: They didn't know about the Dark Mark on their arms. Remember what Sirius said to Harry in GoF when he told him about Snape and Karkaroff? Sirius had no idea what they would have on their arms. Sad, but true.

Leela74: We're going over Sirius's "stroke of brilliance" to use Peter as Secret Keeper in this chapter. Hopefully, you'll like the way I've written it!

Enjoy, everyone! Thanks for reading and reviewing!

I don't own Harry Potter.

Charmed Decisions

"I think I've got it."

Professor Flitwick looked up at Lily with concern. "Are you completely sure, Lily? It's a very complicated charm, and if it's performed incorrectly not only will you remain exposed for all to find, but your Secret Keeper could also suffer serious spell damage."

"I know," she said. "I would never tell you that I understood if I wasn't sure. This is my family and one of my best friends that we're talking about, Professor. I would never do anything to endanger any of them."

Flitwick nodded. "If you say you're sure, you're sure."

"Are you?" Lily asked bluntly. "Do you think that I can do it?"

Flitwick gave her a beaming smile. "Lily, I know you can do it. There is no doubt in my mind. You are one of the most talented witches I've ever seen work with charms, and you are also a very responsible woman. I know that you wouldn't tell me you were ready unless you were."

Lily smiled. "Thank you, Professor Flitwick. You've been so much of a help to me – not just with this charm, but with everything."

The small professor's eyes were suddenly over-bright. He hugged her tightly, and smiled at her when he released her. "You've always been one of my favorite students," he said softly. "It's been a pleasure teaching you. And, if Harry is anything like you, I can't wait to teach him!"

Lily grinned. "He'll be great with Charms, I'm sure."

Flitwick beamed, and hugged her again. "Good luck to you, Lily. Take good care of James and that baby."

"I will," she smiled. "Thank you again, Professor."

Lily gathered her things, and walked out of the Charms room with a smile on her face. She was ready. Now they just had to make a few last arrangements, and she, James and Harry could go into hiding. As much as she hated the idea, she could hardly wait for the sense of safety that would come with performing the Fidelius Charm. She knew that Sirius would make sure they were safe. Once the charm was performed, they would no longer have cause to worry about Voldemort finding them.

Lily Apparated into Sirius's flat with a pop. She looked around the empty living room, and put her wand on the coffee table.

"Hello?" she called. "James? Sirius? Is anyone home?"

"In here," James called from the kitchen.

Lily walked into the kitchen with a smile. Harry was in his highchair; James was sitting at the table attempting to feed him sliced carrots.

"No!" Harry yelled, trying to fight off James's hands.

"Come on, Harry, you like carrots," James said, offering him another.

"No!" Harry said again. His face screwed up, and the carrot shot out of James's hand and crossed the room, where it hit Lily's forehead with a loud smack. Her head snapped back, and for a moment, she was speechless with surprise.

"Harry!" James said angrily. "You do not shoot carrots across the room! Look what you did! You made that carrot hit Mummy! That was not a nice thing to do. You tell Mummy that you're sorry."

"Sorry, Mummy," Harry said, his lower lip quivering.

Lily bit her lips to keep from laughing. "It's all right, Harry. Just don't do that again, all right? You don't have to eat carrots if you don't want to, but you can't shoot them like that. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Harry said solemnly.

James shook his head and reached up to run his hands through his hair, clutching it for a moment before releasing it. "Sorry about that, Lil."

"That'll teach you," she said with a grin. "Harry doesn't like carrots."

"Since when?" James asked.

"About a week ago," Lily replied, getting a bowl of sliced grapes out of the fridge. "He suddenly decided that he doesn't like them."

James shook his head. "I can't keep up."

"Here," she said, offering him the fruit. "Give him these."

James looked at the bowl warily. "You're sure he likes them?"

"Last time I checked."

James offered Harry a grape. He took the fruit and jammed it into his mouth. James smiled, and offered him another. "How did the lesson with Flitwick go?"

Lily sat down with him at the table. "We're ready to go."

James looked at her in surprise. "You're ready to do the spell?"

"Yes," Lily said. "As soon as we can have everything ready, we can go into hiding."

James nodded. "Let's give it a week. We need to get everything ready to move, and we need to tell everyone what's going on. And we need to prep Sirius."

Lily nodded. "One week."

"One week till what?" Sirius asked, Apparating into the kitchen in time to hear Lily's last statement.

"One week till we perform the Charm," James replied. "Can you be ready?"

"You bet," Sirius said easily. "I have the easy job, I think. I just have to sit there while Lily does all the work. I'm just glad I can do something to help you guys."

Lily smiled at him. "Do you know how much I love you?"

He grinned, and kissed her cheek. "I thought we were going to make sure that James never found out about us, and here you are, spouting off that you love me for him to hear!"

Lily laughed, and hugged him. "Sirius, I don't know what we'd do without you. You're the most amazing friend we could ever ask for."

Sirius smiled, and kissed the top of her head. "You're some pretty amazing friends yourselves." He paused, turning serious. "There is something that I wanted to talk to you two about."

"What?" James asked.

"I've done some thinking about this whole Secret Keeper thing, and I've made a decision."

"You'll still do it, right?" James asked, his voice tight with sudden concern.

"Oh, yeah, of course!" Sirius said quickly. "No, it's just that I've been thinking about what you said about me being a target . . . I think I should try to minimize the risk."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm going to move."

"Move?" James asked blankly. "You're going to leave your flat?"

"It's killing me," Sirius acknowledged. "Not counting Hogwarts and your house, James, this is the first home I've ever had. But I can't stay here. You were right when you said that I'd be a target. I'm sure all the Death Eaters know that they can find me here. I need to get away from here. I'm sure that they'll still be out looking for me, but I want to make it harder for them to find me."

"Where will you go?" Lily asked softly.

"I don't know yet," he replied. He grinned. "But I guess I have a week to figure that out, right? That's when we're doing this?"

"Yes," James replied. He sighed. "We all have a week to completely rearrange our lives."

The next week was spent sorting and packing. By the end of the week, James and Lily were ready to go into hiding, and Sirius was ready to move into his new flat. He wouldn't tell them where it was, saying that it was safer if only he knew. He wouldn't even tell Olivia, concerned that she, too, would then be a target. They agreed to the plan, and made their final arrangements. When they were all finally ready, they invited their friends, James's mother, and Dumbledore to Sirius's house for dinner so that they could alert them to their plan.

Everyone arrived cheerfully, unaware of the announcement that James and Lily were planning to make. Sirius played the gracious host, welcoming them into his home. Harry was passed from one person to another; Dumbledore, who had not seen him since his birthday several months before, was captivated by the small boy. He held him for quite some time, chuckling as Harry buried his hands in the older man's long beard.

"Would everyone like to be seated?" Lily asked, waving her hand to invite them all to the chairs surrounding the table that had been magically expanded to accommodate so many guests.

Talking and laughing, everyone sat down. Dumbledore passed Harry to his mother, who situated him next to her in his highchair. She looked at the headmaster with a smile.

"Sit here, Professor," she said. "That way you can continue your conversation with Harry during dinner."

Dumbledore smiled, and sat down in the offered chair. "He is a charming young man, Lily."

"Thank you, sir," she smiled. "We think so, too."

The meal progressed without incident. No one noticed that Peter was sitting on the edge of his seat or the concerned look in his eyes. No one knew that he was willing the Dark Mark on his arm not to burn. He had left early from events such as this with flimsy excuses too many times in the past. How long could he expect his friends not to realize what was going on? They were all very intelligent – too intelligent for their own good. It was only a matter of time before they put it all together.

When the meal had ended, Lily looked at James. He nodded, and slowly stood to his feet.

"Could I have everyone's attention, please?"

All conversations stopped as everyone turned to face him. He looked at the curious faces before him and took a deep breath.

"There was a reason that Lily and I wanted to see you all tonight," he said. "There's something very important that we wanted to tell you."

Mrs. Potter gasped, her eyes flying to Lily's face as a smile lit her own. "You're pregnant, aren't you?"

"No," Lily said, smiling sadly. "It's still just Harry for us."

"Oh," Mrs. Potter said, her smile fading. "I had rather hoped . . . I just thought that if you were pregnant, that might explain the way you've been acting recently."

"How have I been acting?" Lily frowned.

"Not just you, dear," Mrs. Potter replied, "James has been the same way. You've been . . . distant, I suppose. Not yourselves."

"Well, maybe we have," Lily conceded. "That's what we're about to explain."

"This is actually about keeping Harry – and ourselves – safe," James said. "You all know how many times we've nearly lost our lives because of the Death Eaters. You all know that we've been forced to move more times than I want to remember. Well, we're concerned that we may be beyond moving again as a means of avoiding Voldemort."

"What are you saying?" Remus asked. "You're not planning to just hand yourselves over to the Death Eaters, are you?"

"No," James said evenly, looking at him intensely. "We're going to go into hiding." Take that back to your master, Remus.

"Hiding?" Peter asked with a frown.

"Yes," James said, finally looking away from Remus. "We're going to use a Fidelius Charm. Lily has learned how to do it, so she's going to perform the charm. We're doing it tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Olivia whispered, her eyes wide. "So soon?"

"We've been working all the details out for awhile," Lily said. "We want to do it as soon as possible. You understand, don't you, Liv? We need to keep Harry safe."

"Of course I understand," Olivia said softly, her eyes shining with tears. "I just wish – I can't believe it's come to this."

"Who will be your Secret Keeper?" Mrs. Potter asked, breaking the tense silence that followed Olivia's remark.

"Sirius has consented to help us," James said.

Mrs. Potter nodded her approval, and turned to give Sirius a glowing smile. "I know I can trust you to keep my family safe."

Sirius nodded. "I'll never let anything happen to them."

Remus frowned slightly. "I know I've heard of the Fidelius Charm, but I never understood it. How does it work, exactly?"

"Our location will be concealed inside Sirius," Lily said. "Only those that he chooses to tell where we are will be able to find us. And only he can divulge our location."

"So even if I knew, I wouldn't be able to tell anyone else?" Olivia asked.

"Yes, exactly. No one but Sirius can tell anyone where to find us."

Peter nearly laughed out loud with relief. Finally, finally, his friends had made the right choice. Finally, he could honestly tell the Dark Lord that he had no idea where to find the Potters. Finally, they would be safe.

"Sirius will make sure that you all know where to find us," James said. "We're going to move again, to make it even harder to track us down. Sirius is also going to go into hiding to make sure that Voldemort can't find him."

James let his eyes sweep the room, checking the reactions of his friends and family. His mother was nodding silently, her eyes bright with unshed tears. Dumbledore looked at him with a slight nod; none of this was news to him. Peter was inexplicably smiling with clear relief in his eyes. Olivia looked concerned at the news that her fiancé was about to go into hiding, and reached out to take Sirius's hand. He gave her a smile, and kissed her cheek, whispering something that none of the others could hear. James finally let his eyes rest on Remus. He was frowning slightly, as though confused or concerned. Does this mess up your plans, Remus? James wanted to ask. Have we found the only way to make sure that you can't hand us over to your master?

"Please don't be upset by this," Lily said softly. "We're doing this to save ourselves and Harry, not to cut you all out of our lives. Like James said, we'll make sure that you all know where to find us. We still want to see you."

Mrs. Potter rose from the table, and crossed to her son's side. She looked up at him – her little boy – for a moment, then pulled him into a crushing embrace. James could feel her tears falling against his shoulder. He held her as tightly as she held him. When everything was falling apart, it was so comforting to know that his mother was there to help make it right just by her very presence.

It was late when the party started to break up. After all they had heard from James and Lily, everyone seemed reluctant to leave. Finally, Peter took his leave, knowing that if he waited much longer, he would be too tired to Apparate home. Remus, who was looking particularly tired as he recovered from the recent full moon, left soon afterward. When Dumbledore rose to leave, James jumped to his feet.

"Professor, could I have a word with you before you go?"

"Yes, of course, James," Dumbledore consented.

"In here?" James asked, nodding toward the kitchen.

Dumbledore followed him into the kitchen. Lily, seeing where they had gone, excused herself from her conversation with Mrs. Potter to join them. As she entered the kitchen, James retrieved a small box from the cupboard under the sink. Dumbledore looked at him curiously as James held the box tightly in both hands.

"Professor, you know that I trust Sirius Black with my life," he said.

"Obviously," Dumbledore replied with a smile. "You have proven that by trusting him first as your son's godfather and now as the guardian for your entire family."

Lily crossed to stand next to James. "We both trust him, Professor."

Dumbledore smiled at her. "You've told me this before. I believe you. Your confidence in Mr. Black is enough to convince me of his trustworthiness."

James nodded. "The thing is, Professor, it's going to be rather obvious that we would choose Sirius as our Secret Keeper, so he's going to be in quite a bit of danger. If – if anything should happen to him, and then to Lily and me, we . . . we won't be able to be there for Harry. So, if you're willing, we'd like you to have these things to keep safe for Harry."

"What are they?" Dumbledore asked curiously.

James opened the box. "This is the key to our Gringotts vault," he said, picking the metal object up from its soft nest in the folds of a cloak. "Harry will need money to study at Hogwarts, and we want to make sure that he has access to everything that's his."

"Of course."

"And this," James said, reaching into the box and pulling out his Invisibility Cloak, "was my father's before he gave it to me. It was a Christmas gift during my first year at Hogwarts. I'd always intended to give it to Harry for Christmas during his first year."

Dumbledore nodded. "I'll make sure that he receives it."

"It won't be too much of a bother?"

"No, of course not," Dumbledore said, taking the box from James. He made sure that the key and the cloak were tucked securely inside before closing the lid. "Helping you is never a bother, James. I just hope that the only thing I will ever do with this box is to hand it back to you."

"I hope so, too," James replied. "Thank you, Professor, for all your help."

"James, it has been my pleasure, just as it will be my pleasure to teach and help Harry."

Lily smiled. "Professor, I hope it doesn't come to this. I hope that you don't have to keep an eye on Harry any more than you would your other students. But . . . if it does come to the point that we – we can't be there for Harry, we still want to know that he is well-cared for. If Sirius is gone, as I'm sure the case would be if something were to happen to James and me, we would like for Harry to go to James's mother. We know that she would love him and raise him as we would."

"Of course," Dumbledore replied. "I will be sure to see to it."

"And . . . and if something happens to her . . ." Lily said slowly. She swallowed. "I'm not sure that Olivia would be fit to raise him after losing Sirius," she said. "Dana's so far away, and Peter can't . . . and Remus . . . Professor, do you remember my sister, Petunia? I believe you met her at her wedding."

"Ah," Dumbledore said, remembering the deal he had made with Petunia on that horrible day. "Yes, I remember your sister."

"If – if there is no other way, and no one else to raise Harry, please send him to her. I know that she hates me, but I'd like to think that she would push that aside for her nephew. I would like to think that she would take good care of him for me – or, at the very least, for our parents. He is still their grandchild, and she knows that."

"That is our last resort," James added. "We want Harry to be raised among wizards, if it's possible. We want him to grow up knowing that his powers are totally normal."

Lily nodded, shuddering slightly. "I don't want him to have to go through what I did as a child. I want him to know that he's not some odd little boy. He needs to know that, like James said, he's totally normal."

Dumbledore nodded. "I will take care of everything for you. Rest assured, I will make sure that Harry is cared for."

"Thank you, Professor," Lily said, her eyes suddenly very bright. "You have always been so much help to us. I feel horrible leaving all this on you, but . . ."

Dumbledore waved his hand as if to wave off her concern. "It is my pleasure, Lily. As I said earlier, Harry is a charming young man. I am glad to be able to help him. I will do everything in my power to be sure that Harry stays safe."

Once everyone had gone, Lily began cleaning up, waving her wand to force everything into place. James took Harry, who had fallen asleep on the couch, to bed. Sirius went into the kitchen under the pretense of getting a drink; when James returned from putting Harry to bed, he still had not emerged.

"What happened to Sirius?"

Lily shrugged. "Violent encounter with the sink?"

James shook his head and laughed. "Yeah, Lil, I'm sure that's it. I'll go help him out of that tight plumbing spot."

James pushed open the kitchen door and walked into the small room. Sirius was sitting at the table with his head in his hands.

"Padfoot?" James asked softly. "Are you all right?"

Sirius looked up with a smile. "Yeah, James, I'm fine," he replied.

"Well, you don't look fine," James replied, sitting down across from him. "What's the problem?"

Sirius shook his head. "I'm just thinking about what I said the other day . . . about how I'm the obvious choice for your Secret Keeper."

"That's why you're going into hiding," James said.

"Yeah, but what if it isn't enough?" Sirius asked. "What if they still manage to find me? I'll never betray you, James – I'd die first. That's the easy part. But what if they do kill me? What happens then? Will the Charm just . . . expire?"

"I don't know," James said uneasily.

"I want to make sure that doesn't happen. I can't handle the idea that you, Lily and Harry would die because of me."

"I trust you, Sirius," James said. "So does Lily. We know you'd never to anything to put us in danger."

"But what if . . .?"

"Don't start that," James said harshly. "We trust you, Sirius. Isn't that enough?"

Sirius nodded slowly. "Go to bed, James. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."

"Are you sure you don't need to talk?"

"I'm sure. Go to sleep."

James nodded, rising from his seat. He put his hand on Sirius's shoulder, gripping it tightly. "I trust you, Sirius. You're my brother. You know that, right?"

"And you're mine," Sirius said, looking up at him with a smile. "Good night, James."

"Good night."

Lily awoke the next morning with butterflies in her stomach. She knew she could do the Charm. She had spent forever trying to perfect it. Both she and Professor Flitwick were certain that she wouldn't have any trouble. Why, then, was she so nervous?

We're taking a big step.

It was true. This was the most drastic thing they had ever considered to keep their son safe. She climbed out of bed as quietly as possible so as not to disturb James, and silently left the room. She crossed to the room that had been Remus's, now inhabited by Harry.

She pushed the door open, and entered the room. Harry was sleeping, his breathing deep and even. She smiled as she crossed to his crib to look down at her sleeping baby. His hair, as always, was sticking up in all directions. One small fist was closed around the corner of his yellow baby blanket; the other hand was splayed across the dog that Sirius had given him for his birthday. As she watched him sleep, a wave of love for her little boy washed over her, nearly bringing tears to her eyes.

"I love you so much, Harry," she whispered. "I'll keep you safe, no matter what it takes. Going into hiding isn't so bad if it means that you can grow up without fear. That's what I want for you, sweetheart. I want you to be able to live your life without being afraid of what's around the corner. I want you to be able to grow up without wondering if your best friend is really a Death Eater. I want you to survive this war, and to come out fighting. I want you to be able to live. And I want to make sure that you have everything that you deserve." She leaned down to brush a kiss against his forehead. "Mummy loves you, little one. Never forget that."

She stayed with Harry, watching him sleep, until she heard someone else moving around the house. Shaking herself from her musings about her son's future, she stepped silently from his bedroom, closing the door softly behind her.

The hall was empty, but she followed the sound of voices to the kitchen. She pushed open the door, and saw James and Sirius seated at the table. James was waving his wand to make coffee for them both.

"Good morning," she said, crossing to sit down with them.

"Good morning, love," James smiled.

"Hey, Little Flower," Sirius said with an attempt at a smile.

"What's wrong, Sirius?" she asked.

He drew a deep breath and ran his hands through his hair, clutching it as James did when he was upset about something. "We need to talk."

"Uh-oh," Lily said, sinking into a chair at the table. "I don't like the sound of this, Sirius. Are you going to tell us you're backing out?"

"No, not exactly," he said slowly. "Listen, I've been up all night thinking about this, and I think you'll be safer if I'm not your Secret Keeper."

"What do you mean?" Lily asked. "Who'd protect us better than you?"

"You know we trust you, Padfoot," James said.

"It's not that," Sirius said. "Don't you remember what I said yesterday, James? You know that I'd die to protect you. That's not even an issue. The question is, what will happen to the spell if I die? Will it end? Will you still be safe? Or, if it goes the other way, does that mean you'll be in hiding forever? That literally no one will ever be able to find you?"

Lily looked uncomfortable. "I don't know," she answered honestly. "I was so concerned with learning how to do it that I never considered what death would do to it."

Sirius nodded. "I'm not blaming you, Lils. I know that it took a lot just to learn how to do it. I wouldn't expect you to know every possible outcome." He ran his hands over his face. "The fact remains that I will likely be found by the Death Eaters and killed. I'm okay with that, as long as it keeps you safe. But the not knowing . . . James, Lils, I can't do this to you. We need another plan."

"We don't have time for another plan," Lily said nervously. "It took us a long time just to get this one ready to go, and every day that we're in the open puts Voldemort closer to finding and killing Harry."

"I know," Sirius said softly. "I've already come up with another plan, and this one plays off everything we've already done."

"What do you propose?" James asked.

"That you use Peter as your Secret Keeper instead of me."

"Peter?" Lily asked, her eyes open wide. "Why Peter?"

"It's the perfect bluff!" Sirius said, his eyes gleaming with excitement and pride at coming up with this genius plan. "No one would ever think that you'd use him. He's not . . . well, Peter's a good guy, but he's not as strong or as powerful as I am. Voldemort and the Death Eaters would never think that you'd use him. Besides, you told everyone yesterday that I was going to do it, so if anyone else suspects otherwise, our friends, your mum and Dumbledore will set them straight. Don't you see? He'll be completely safe, because no one will ever think that it's him!"

"So you want us to use Peter and to keep it quiet so that everyone still thinks we're using you?" James asked.

"Exactly," Sirius beamed. His smile faded. "We can't risk it getting back to Remus, at any rate. Who knows what he'd do with the information? The three of you and Peter are all far safer if everyone still thinks I'm your Secret Keeper."

"I don't want Peter in trouble over this," Lily said slowly. "He didn't ask for it."

"I'll give him my hiding place," Sirius said casually. "I'll just stay here. No one will ever know, because I wasn't going to let anyone visit me in my hiding place anyway."

"But, Sirius," James said slowly, "are you sure Peter is up to this? I mean, if something did happen . . .?"

"I'll keep an eye on him," Sirius said easily. "I'll go and check on him every day to make sure that he's all right."

"Have you talked to him?"

"No, of course not," Sirius replied. "I would never do that without talking to you first."

James looked at Lily. "What do you think?"

"Sirius makes a good case for Peter," she said slowly. "What do you think?"

"It makes a lot of sense," James replied.

Lily nodded. "You think we should do it, then? Switch to Peter?"

"If you're okay with it."

Lily nodded slowly. "Let's ask him if he'll do it."

Sirius grinned. "I'll go find him right now. We need to get this Charm in motion!"