A/N: As I said, here is one more chapter for you. I think the next couple
of chapters are a little more sadder and maybe darker than previous ones,
so prepare yourself, maybe some of you will not be too happy with the
outcome but you'll see what I mean when you read chapter 5, which I hope to
have ready soon. Hope you like this and thank you for reading.
Disclaimer: I don't own nor gain anything by writing this story.
Chapter 4 ~ Making Arrangements
Lily was very curious to know why James decided to leave for town so suddenly. James had told her that he wanted to see how things were going on politically, especially with all the dark magic going on and the Ministry not being able to come up with a way to stop it.
The Daily Prophet had reported that the giants had joined Voldemort and his group, everyday there were news of towns being flattened to the ground. The Ministry was having a hard job trying to keep the hysteria that was running through the magical world from spilling into the muggle world. It was hard enough to keep the sightings of giants secret.
The dementors were also being reported to have joined Voldemort. Not that Lily placed a lot of trust in those reports, Azkaban was their home after all, the Ministry would not be stupid enough to keep them as guardians to Azkaban if they had deserted to Voldemort. Only a fool would allow them to stay in such a position.
It took James and Lily a week to move the household to the Potter House in London. Mrs. Potter, Mrs. Evans and the twins would be joining them as well. Roberts and Mrs. Nichols left to the Potter House the day before Lily and James would leave the Manor with the rest of the family and the servants. James wanted to take everyone with him.
The day for the move had finally arrived. It was early in the morning. The sun was trying to shine through the dark clouds that lined the sky. One of the family cars had been brought round to the front door and was being loaded with some of the luggage, but the seats were kept empty for the family. Two moving trucks were behind it, both were loaded with boxes and furniture. A bus was waiting upon the curve, it would take the muggle servants to town. Just before noon, all the trucks had been loaded and the bus was filled with the chatting servants. Lily and the children were already in the car, while Mrs. Evans and Mrs. Potter checked their lists to make sure they were not leaving anything behind.
James walked through the house. Everything seemed so strange now that the house was silent. He hoped that it would not be long when they could return. He had owled to Dumbledore some weeks ago about his concerns and about taking his family to town. Dumbledore had agreed with his plan, he was reading the signs, he had said, something momentous was going to happen and he was sure it would take place before the year was out. James prayed that it would have nothing to do with him and his family.
He finally stepped outside. Everybody had piled into the vehicles and were waiting for him. He pulled his wand from his pocket and waved it before the front door. The house glowed for a second and James turned to enter the car.
Soon, the caravan started toward the lane and the Manor was left behind. Mr. Sanders, the estate manager, and some of the tenants waved goodbye from the end of the lane, everybody hoping to see them back soon.
James turned back to look behind him. The back of his neck prickled, he had a feeling that they were being monitored. He shook his head. Nonsense, he thought, there was no reason why they were being watched.
The trip was shorter than they expected. They only stopped once to have a picnic luncheon, even though it was not the season for picnics, the group was big enough that a picnic was the best choice.
Darkness was starting to fall when the caravan made its way into town toward Rowe Square. The streets were congested as people drove back home after a busy day at work. Lily had forgotten how busy life could be in the big city. It was easy to relax and live one day at a time in the country, but in the city, things were much different.
In the country, wizards and witches could wear their robes and nobody could say anything about it. They could go to solitary places to fly their brooms and have a good game of Quidditch. They were free to do as they wished, as long as they were careful. In the city, wizards and witches had to dress in muggle clothing, their houses had to contain muggle artifacts in order to fool their neighbors. They couldn't fly if they wished to do so, and most of them had to have a blocking charm around their homes to keep their magical pets from escaping and giving a scare to their muggle friends. It was a very confining way of living.
The vehicles finally made it to Rowe Square. The stately houses stood proudly next to each other. In one corner of the Square stood the Regency Hotel, and in another corner stood a large office building, to the muggle eye it was just like any other, to those with magical blood, it was the Ministry of Magic. Rowe Park stood in the middle of the square, blanketed with snow and the light posts shining brightly.
The trucks were quickly emptied, the servants ran up and down the stairs putting things in order, James and Lily stood by the trucks, directing the group of servants as Mrs. Potter and Mrs. Evans kept the twins and Harry entertained and out of the way. Sirius and Katie walked across the park to welcome them home. By the time the streets were silent and night had fallen, the family and the servants were settled in, taking dinner and looking forward to a good night's sleep.
They had been in town for two weeks now and the month of January was almost over. James had spent a lot of time in the Ministry in business that Lily knew nothing about.
James had been very secretive for the last couple of weeks. Lily knew that something was happening but didn't know what to do and how to get James to speak with her. She also knew that he had been owling Dumbledore constantly. She hoped that nothing dangerous was going on.
When Harry was born, they had both decided to stay away from dangerous activities, they wanted to help Dumbledore in his battle against Voldemort but at the same time, they didn't want to put Harry in any danger. They had agreed to perform the charm that Dumbledore had required, and in Lily's point of view, that was enough. But she knew that James didn't want to stay safely at home. He wanted to be out there, doing something to help. She knew that he was a good wizard and that he could take very good care of himself, but that didn't keep her from worrying.
On this cold January morning, Lily and James sat around the dining room table. Lily was busy feeding Harry while James sat behind the paper reading the latest news.
Lily turned to look at James when he snorted with disgust.
"What is wrong?" She asked.
"Nothing, just the Ministry making things worse than they should be. The Death Eaters are out there wrecking havoc on our world and they can't seem to find a way to stop them. There are more agents in the Ministry than there are Death Eaters for goodness sake." James growled with anger.
Lily frowned. "Maybe they think that it would be better if they can defeat Voldemort first. If they take his followers out from beneath him, he would still be strong and all he has to do is find others who can be as good as the ones he has with him now."
"Perhaps, but it would do no good for them to go after Voldemort. He is too clever to allow himself to fall into any of the Ministry's traps. He has kept himself out of their grasp for more than ten years, what do they think has changed?" James exclaimed.
"Don't worry James, the magical world has survived many things over the centuries, we will survive this." Lily said in a soothing voice.
"I'm sorry, it just that the Ministry cannot seem to be able to do a thing and it's worrying me." James said with a deprecating smile.
"I know. But things cannot be any worse than it is now, could it?" Lily looked at James with sympathetic eyes.
"I don't see how, but I don't want to know if it can." James said.
He stood from his chair and kissed his wife's brow before kissing his son's hair. He left he room, purposely walking toward the front hall.
Lily watched him go with worry.
Harry whimpered as he tried to grab the spoon in his mother's hand, but it was out of his reach.
"Something is going on Harry, I can feel it." Lily said before turning back to feed her son.
Everybody was scared. The magical world had become lost in a wave of hysteria and darkness. The Dark Mark was a common sight. It struck horror to the hearts of those who glimpsed it and to some it brought dark memories.
How could things get any worse? Lily had asked, but James now got the feeling that they could.
He was sitting in the library one evening. Lily and their mothers had gone out to the theater. The twins and Harry were under Minnie's care. He was sitting behind his desk with pages of the Daily Prophet were spread before him.
He shook with anger and the sense of helplessness. He wanted to be out there and get his hand on these monsters. But at the same time, he wanted to stay home and keep all this horror from his door and protect his family from any danger.
He was lost in thought when he suddenly heard voices in the front hall. Somebody had come to visit and Roberts was taking care of them. James didn't put much attention to the voices, he went back to his thoughts and was rather taken aback when the door to the library was opened abruptly and Sirius came running into the room.
"What happened, what is wrong?" James asked as he looked at his friend who seemed rather shaken.
"The Bones were killed James, their house totally destroyed and that evil mark floating above it." Sirius exclaimed.
"What about the children? They had children." James asked rather worried.
"They were fine, they were staying with one of the grandmothers." Sirius said. "James this is not a coincidence. The McKinnons were killed some days ago and the Prewetts some weeks ago." Sirius said.
"But that means."
"They know who we are, they know who is part of Dumbledore's team." Sirius finished for him.
The two young men looked at each other with worry.
"I'm sending Katie away. I don't want her where she could be hurt." Sirius said.
"It will be a waste of breath Sirius, she will not go. I would do the same with Lily but I know that I wouldn't be able to." James said running his hands through his hair. It was something that he did whenever he was worried.
"I know. But I have to try. I can live without her if I know she is safe, I couldn't if I knew that she died when I could've been able to do something." Sirius started to pace before the desk. "I know that she wants to have a child, but now I'm glad that we don't. I couldn't live with myself if I knew that my child could be hurt." Sirius whispered to himself.
Harry's face flashed through James' mind, as did the faces of his nieces. They had suffered through enough, but to have them in danger was not a thing that he could handle.
"What does Dumbledore has to say about these news?" James asked.
"He hasn't said a thing, he called for a meeting tonight." Sirius said. "We will meet in Hogwarts at midnight."
James turned to look at the clock and saw that it was only fifteen minutes to eight. There was still time, they could Floo to Hogsmeade, that would take less than five minutes, then it would only take them fifteen to walk to Hogwarts, less if they used one of the secret passages.
"Lily and our mothers will be back by then. I'm sure that they will be tired from their night out." James said.
"Does that mean that you're going?" Sirius said with a lifted brow.
"Of course I am." James snapped.
"No reason to snap at me, I just thought that you had given it up when Harry was born." Sirius replied.
"I did, but I can't stay here when I know that something is wrong." James sighed.
"I know the feeling." Sirius sat on one of the chairs set in front of the desk.
"Do you think that you will be able to get Katie to leave?" James suddenly asked.
"I don't know, but I'm hoping that I will."
"Will you tell her about everything?"
"Only if I don't have a choice."
"Good luck." James said.
"I will need it." Sirius sighed with desperation.
"She will be fine." James tried to soothe his friend.
"I hope so." Sirius whispered.
It was almost eleven when Lily, Mrs. Potter and Mrs. Evans returned from the theater. James was hoping that they would be ready for bed, but in case they weren't, he had a plan, he only had half an hour at the most before he had to leave.
"Hello dear, you didn't have to wait up for us." Lily exclaimed when she saw James standing by the stairs as they entered the house.
"I know, I just wanted to know about your evening. Did you have fun?" He asked with a charming smile.
"Oh, it was a great evening." Mrs. Evans said.
"Perhaps you are tired and I shouldn't keep you up." James said looking at the three vibrant women before him.
"Oh fiddlesticks! We are not sleepy at all. I think we should have some tea." Mrs. Potter said as they walked toward the family parlor.
James saw Lily nodding to Roberts and knew that a fresh pot of tea and some biscuits would be soon brought to the parlor.
He looked down at his watch. He had twenty-three minutes to get them all to bed.
"Did the children behave themselves?" Lily asked as she took a seat by the French doors looking out to the back yard.
"Yes." James replied leaning against the mantel. "They played the whole evening until they were too tired to stay up."
"Oh good. This change of scenery is good for them." Mrs. Potter said.
James nodded his agreement but said nothing more.
Roberts entered the room a loaded tray in his arms. Suddenly, he tripped, James was just in time to keep the tray from falling to the floor. Roberts looked down in consternation, in all his years as a butler he had never had such an embarrassing moment. He spied a turned corner in the rug, it had been the culprit of his downfall.
"Nothing to worry about Roberts, it could happen to anyone." James said.
"Yes Sir, I'm sorry Sir." Roberts said.
"Don't be sorry. Go to your bed Roberts. I'll make sure that everything is locked before I go to bed." James said.
"Thank you Sir. Good night." Roberts said before he retreated.
"Poor Roberts." Giggled Lily behind her hands.
"Indeed. I'm sure he is feeling horrible at the moment." Chuckled Mrs. Potter.
While the ladies were busy feeling sorry for Roberts, James slipped the clear potion he had hidden in a small vial into the pot. He quickly put the vial into his pocket as he placed the tray on the coffee table. He looked down at his watch, he only had fifteen minutes to get them to bed.
Lily poured the tea into the cups and passed them to the other ladies.
"Do you want some James?" She asked looking up at her husband.
"No, I think I had enough as I waited for you." He laughed.
Lily smiled and sipped her tea.
They had only drank half of their tea when Mrs. Evans began to yawn.
"Oh my! It seems that I'm more tired than I thought." She said sheepishly.
"Hmmm, I'm getting sleepy as well. Perhaps it would be better if I retire as well." Mrs. Potter said.
"You are right. We should get to bed." Lily said. Putting down her cup.
James watched his ladies retire to their rooms with a sense of satisfaction. He looked down at his watch, he made it with seven minutes to spare.
He followed Lily up to their room and saw her fall asleep in a matter of seconds. He grabbed his robes and slipped out of the room. He walked through the house quickly, making sure everything was locked and made his way to the library. Because Rowe Square was now protected by a special charm, no apparating could be done in any of the buildings, but Floo would work. He grabbed a pinch of the powder in the china bowl above the grate and threw it into the roaring fire. The flames shot up and shone brightly. He stepped into the flames and with a swirling sound disappeared from sight.
The Three Broomsticks was rather dark and quiet when James stepped out of the fireplace. A brooding young man was waiting nearby.
"I wasn't sure if you were going to make it." The young man said looking at the clock on the opposite wall.
James turned toward the young man and shrugged. "I had to wait until Lily and the others were asleep. I had to slip them a sleeping potion because they didn't seem to want to go to bed at all."
"Let's go, if we take the passage from the Shack we can make it on time." Sirius said and led the way out of the pub.
The night was bitterly cold. The cloaks of the two young men swirled around them as the breeze took hold of them. Every house they passed was dark and the curtains in the windows drawn. In fact, it seemed that the Three Broomsticks and the pub at the other end of town were the only buildings open at that time. The two shivering men sneaked into a dilapidated house. The lane on which it was located was completely silent and vacant.
"Gods, these place does look scary in the middle of the night. I never really noticed it before." Sirius exclaimed once they were both inside the house.
"I never noticed either, I'm just glad that everybody thinks as you do, we would have a hard time explaining why we were sneaking in here." James replied.
The two men made their way to the entrance of the secret passage. It was clear that both knew their way around the house very well.
"Listen!" James exclaimed stopping Sirius in mid-stride.
"What?" Whispered Sirius.
"I thought I heard footsteps." James whispered back.
"Who else could be in here?" Sirius looked around the darkened room.
The dim light penetrating through slits in the boarded windows cast sinister shadows across the room.
"Remus and Peter could." James also looked around.
"But Peter is not coming, Dumbledore couldn't get in contact with him in time." Sirius said.
"And Remus is supposed to be in Asia." James replied.
"He would've let us know, wouldn't he?" Sirius asked with a hopeful expression. James nodded with an abstracted air . They were silent for a few minutes. The house was silent.
"Maybe it was the wind." Sirius said.
"Could be." James frowned.
"Come, we are going to be late." Sirius pulled James toward the door that would allow them to enter the passage leading to Hogwarts.
The passage was dark and roots seemed to have grown through the cracks of the walls.
James took out his wand and whispered "lumos" the wand tip illuminated his way. Sirius followed suit.
"It feels different somehow." Sirius whispered.
"Just a little." Replied James.
They continued to walk in silence until the back of the Whipping Willow stood before them.
"How are we going to get out? We are too big to press the knot at the base of the tree." Said Sirius.
"Look around. There has to be a log or a root, or something to press it." James said looking around.
Both held their wands high and looked around the floor. Finally, Sirius saw something that could work.
"Here try this." Sirius shoved a crooked root to James. It looked like a misshaped hook.
James kneeled behind the tree and reached the knot in the base of the trunk with the root. The flailing arms of the Willow stood still.
"There, let's go." Said James leading the way out of the passage.
They had taken less time coming through the passage than they would've had if they had taken the longer route to the front of the castle. As it were, they were just in time as a group of cloaked wizards and witches passed through the open castle doors.
Professor McGonagall led them through the darkened corridors of the large structure. The subjects in the paintings were sleeping, and miraculously, Peeves was not in sight.
They were led through the corridors leading up to the closed Transfiguration classroom. As everybody present had attended Hogwarts at one time, they all knew where they were going.
Professor McGonagall stepped aside the moment she had opened the door to her classroom and let the others pass. She nodded in greeting to those present as they passed.
"Dumbledore will be here presently." She said as everybody had taken a seat and left them.
"I don't know why but I feel as if we had been caught for a prank and we are about to find out what our detention is." Sirius said turning to look at James through twinkling eyes.
"She does make you feel that way, doesn't she?" James chuckled.
The door opened again and Dumbledore came, closely followed by another cloaked person.
The cloaked person turned to take a seat behind James and Sirius. Not that they or anybody else took note of it as they had their eyes fixed in their former Headmaster.
Every time James and Sirius had spoken to the Headmaster, he looked serene and strong. Now, he looked worried and the twinkle in his eyes seemed to have disappeared.
"I have a bad feeling about this." Sirius whispered.
Those around him that heard him agreed in silence.
"Welcome, I'm saddened that we had to come together at such a time." Dumbledore said as he took a seat in front of the room. "As you know, two of our members have been killed. If it had been only them, I wouldn't be so worried, we all knew that we could be attacked. But they were the third to be killed in a matter of weeks."
"They know who we are, don't they?" Somebody asked.
"It looks that way." Dumbledore responded.
"But how?" Somebody else exclaimed.
"We have a spy. One of us has betrayed us." Sirius said.
The room fell totally silent. Everybody looked furtively at their neighbors. The same question was on everybody's mind, who could it be?
"I'm afraid that it is true. It's too much of a coincidence." Dumbledore nodded sadly.
"Do you know who it is?" James asked, a sense of anger welling inside him. Who would be so cowardly?
"I'm sorry to say that I don't. My own sources do not know, but whoever he is, he has Voldemort's ear." Dumbledore replied.
"I hate to think that one of our own is responsible for the death of some in our group." Someone sobbed.
"I too, hate the thought. But there doesn't seem to be another answer. Somebody has knowledge of who our members are." Dumbledore looked around the room.
Sirius seemed to be speechless with shock.
James sighed, trying to keep the anger that he felt at bay.
"Is everybody here?" Somebody said from behind James.
James turned around to see who the speaker was and his eyes opened with surprise at the sight of his friend.
"Sirius," he whispered, nudging him on the ribs, "Remus is here."
"Huh?" Sirius asked confused.
"Not everyone is here, there were some that I could not get in contact with, and there are some that have gone into hiding." Dumbledore responded.
"Should we all do that? Should we go into hiding?" A trembling voice said.
"That is your choice." Dumbledore said somewhat saddened.
"We can't go into hiding." James exclaimed. "If we go running to hide, then we have lost and Voldemort has won. He won't stop until he has total control of our world, I don't know about you, but I don't want my son to grow up fearing him."
"We could take precautions." A woman said from the front. James recognized her from that day when the Death Eaters had attacked Hogsmeade, he also remembered her name, Annabella Figgs. "We could only meet when necessary but there should be a core group, a sort of committee that will keep in touch with the rest. Each person in the committee will have the names of a group. Not two groups would be the same, therefore, the names in each list would be different. Nobody would know who belongs to which group and only the committee members would know the names and personal information of their respective groups."
"But we all know each other now, we know where we live, what good would that do?" Somebody asked.
"We can move. We are all thinking of hiding, we could all move, but the new information would only be known to Dumbledore and the committee member heading their group." Somebody else said.
"That could work. I want to keep my family safe, but I also don't like the thought of going into hiding, it's just too risky and it could take forever to take Voldemort down if we don't do anything." A man said from behind.
"That's Fletcher isn't it?" Sirius whispered looking around.
James nodded.
Dumbledore nodded, he was gladdened that almost all present wanted to continue with their work. He knew that they were all scared, but mostly for their families than for themselves. "There are some parchments at the end of the desks, write the name of five of our members you trust the most, the ones with the most votes, will be the committee."
There was a lot of rustling and scratching sounds of quills for a few moments. There was a small box on the desk from where Dumbledore spoke. The parchments were placed inside.
"I think it would be safer if I send the results by owl to those chosen, you will all receive notice to whose group you belong to, you won't know who else is in your group, only the committee member that will head it." Dumbledore said.
The others nodded their agreement.
"We have done a lot tonight, it is time for you to return home. Remember to let me know if you are changing, be careful." Dumbledore said as his listeners left their seats. "James." He called before everybody had left the room. "Could I speak with you privately please?"
James nodded to his friends and watched them leave as the room slowly emptied.
"Take a seat James." Dumbledore said as he sat at one of the desks.
James sat next to him.
"I'm afraid that all this recent activity means that Voldemort has found out about our little arrangement." Dumbledore said.
"Should we go into hiding then?" Frowned James.
"I'm not sure. If he does know, it would be for the best, but if he doesn't know, we would be tipping our hand and he would put two and two together. That would be disastrous." Dumbledore said.
"What should we do?" James was rather worried, should he had stayed in their estate instead of bringing his family to town?
"We wait. You have moved into town, it is the best place to be at the moment. They seem to be targeting those who are rather isolated. Takes less time for the Ministry to get there than to those places in large cities. Just be careful, and vigilant. Voldemort would be after Harry if he does find out."
James was rather worried at the thought that Voldemort, the most powerful Dark Wizard in ages, could be after his son. He knew what they could be getting into when he agreed to Dumbledore's plan, even though Lily was rather hesitant about it. But now, he didn't know if he had done the right thing. His first instinct was to keep his family safe, but his honor and his conscience said that he had done the right thing, that the magical world would be safe.
"Go home James, take care of your family. If anything out of the ordinary happens, let me know." Dumbledore looked sadly at the young man beside him.
James nodded and slowly left the room.
Dumbledore sighed. The door opened once more after James had left through it. Professor McGonagall walked quickly toward him.
"Did you tell them? What is going to happen?" She asked in a hurry.
"Calm down Minerva, sit and I will tell you everything." Dumbledore ordered. Professor McGonagall sat in the chair that James had vacated recently.
Sirius and Remus had stayed in the corridor waiting for James.
"Where did you come from? We thought you were in Asia somewhere." Sirius said the instant they had left the room.
"I was, but Dumbledore's owl seemed rather important, so I came." Remus said.
"Where you the one who was creeping about in the shack before the meeting?" Sirius frowned at his friend.
"I was in the shack earlier, I thought some of the ghosts had moved in there when I heard voices." Laughed Remus.
Sirius glowered at his friend.
"Do you think that Peter was one of those who went into hiding?" Remus suddenly asked.
Sirius snorted. "He seems most likely to do so."
Remus nodded. "Specially with his mother in tow, he would want to keep her safe."
"I don't think going into hiding would do much good. If Voldemort wants to find you, he will. The bugger, he is like a disease, spreading everywhere with no care of whom he hurts." Sirius spat out his indignation.
"Rather sad news, isn't it?" James said stepping out of the room.
"That was rather quick." Exclaimed Remus.
"There was no need for long explanations." Shrugged James.
"Why did he want to speak with you?" Asked Sirius as the trio started to make their way out of the castle. They passed a frantic Professor McGonagall as they turned from the corridor on which the room they had left behind was located.
"In a hurry isn't she?" Said James turning back to look at his former transfiguration teacher.
"Don't change the subject, why did Dumbledore asked you to stay?" Sirius urged.
James sighed. He knew that Sirius would not stop asking unless he got a good answer. But he really didn't feel like lying to his friend, at least he could say part of the true.
"He says that I might be next in Voldemort's list." He said.
His friends turned to look at him in horror.
"You need to hide."
"Leave the country."
They exclaimed at once.
James smiled. "There is no need yet. We don't know if the reports are true. He says that I'm safe in town for now, but as soon as more specifics are known we will take steps."
"Are you sure, you are safe?" Asked Remus with a frown.
"For now." James answered.
The trio walked in silence as they continued on their way.
James stole silently into his house. The large, stately building was dark and brooding. He crept up the stairs and undressed in silence. He could see Lily sleeping soundly on her side of the bed. The door leading to Harry's room was open and a dim light shone through.
When he finally finished dressing, he walked silently into Harry's room. One candle lit the room, the flame dancing as James passed by. James approached the crib and looked down at his sleeping son.
Harry was sleeping on his side, his small finger in his mouth. The small ginger kitten snuggled at the foot of the mattress.
James smiled.
"I'll protect you Harry, he won't get you. I'll die if I have to, but he won't get his hands on you." James promised.
Harry continued to sleep silently.
Lily awoke the next morning feeling a little groggy. She stretched and yawned and turned on her side to look at James. He was awake. He was lying on his back, his head resting on his arms. When he felt her movements, he turned to look at her and smiled.
"Good morning." He said leaning on his arm and kissing her.
"Hmm.good morning."
James smiled down at her. "Slept well?"
"Yes, but I feel strangely groggy." Lily yawned.
"It will pass." James said as he turned to leave the bed.
Harry's cries reached them.
"I'll go." Said James and started toward Harry's room.
"Bring him here, he must be hungry." Said Lily as she sat up on the bed.
A few minutes later, James stepped out of Harry's room with a whimpering infant in his arms.
"Here you go Harry, mum will give you something to eat." He said as he placed Harry in Lily's arms.
Lily laughed but took her son with care. "Morning Harry, hungry are you?"
James stood beside her as she fed Harry.
She looked up at him and smiled.
The days passed quick for the small family. Now that they lived in Rowe Square, Sirius and Katie could drop every day, they lived across the park from them. The ladies went visiting and shopping often, while the twins were taken sightseeing by Sirius and James on the afternoons, on some occasions, Harry would go along.
The mornings were rather busy for James, even though Lily hadn't been able to find out why. He crossed the park every morning to go to the Ministry, it seemed that he had taken over the work that his father had left behind on his death. The Minister was quite happy with this arrangement, he had missed his friend's Alliaster sense of humor and common sense, he had saved him from committing some horrible errors on his time. Now that James was there, he didn't miss his friend so much, his son had taken the place that the father had left vacant. James became a familiar face on the large building located in a corner of Rowe Square.
Lily had been rather angry at the beginning when James started to leave the house and spend a lot of time in the Ministry. She had a feeling that he was keeping something from her and it made her feel somewhat left out. But when reports of massacres done by the Death Eaters started to appear on the Daily Prophet, she understood the need that James felt of being in the Ministry, if it hadn't been for the twins and Harry she would've joined him.
She then started noticing a pattern emerging in the families being attacked, many of them she had met on the secret meeting at Hogwarts about a year ago, she had given it up after she became pregnant. The pattern worried her, and it scared her as the reports started to grow.
It was after reading one of these reports that she marched determinedly into James' bookroom one afternoon.
James was silently reading some reports that the Ministry had recently acquired when the door was open abruptly. He looked up with surprise as his wife banged the door closed and walked quickly toward him.
"They know about us don't they? Why didn't you tell me?" She exclaimed standing before him.
James blinked in confusion. "Who knows what?"
Lily sighed with exasperation and her anger seemed to grow. "Voldemort. He knows about us doesn't he? About Dumbledore's group." She said. When she noticed James hesitate she exclaimed, "don't lie to me James, I can see that he does know. Why didn't you tell me?"
James sighed in resignation, his wife was too smart for her own good, he thought.
"All right," he said, "come and sit here." He leaned back on his chair and patted his lap.
Lily walked around the desk and sat in his lap, his arms promptly went around her.
"Yes, it does seem that Voldemort has found out about our little group. But there is nothing that should worry you, we have taken steps to keeps us protected, these reports could be worse if we hadn't done a thing." He said motioning to the paper that was still clasped in Lily's hand.
"Why would it be worse?" Lily asked as she leaned to rest her head against his shoulder.
"Most moved or went into hiding, some decided to risk it and stayed. They were the ones who had been attacked." James was stroking Lily's hair, he always liked her hair, he thought.
"Should we move as well? Are we in danger?" She asked quietly.
"As long as we stay here we will be safe, magic does not work in the square unless you live here or work in the Ministry. We are relatively safe."
"Does he know about you know what?" Whispered Lily.
"Not that we know of, it is possible but as he has made no move toward us we must assume that he knows nothing." James replied.
"I'm worried James, and I'm scared for Harry, what if Voldemort finds out?" Lily turned to look into James' eyes.
"We'll go into hiding if needed, Dumbledore mentioned a spell in one of his owls, we might need it sometime. For now, we are safe, he seems to be targeting those less prominent in our society, but he will get bolder, we will take precautions when that happens." James said. Lily nodded and rested her head against his shoulder once more.
Darkness was starting to fall, in the distance, the lights in the park were seen lighting one by one. An owl flew by in direction to the Ministry. The young couple stayed as they were long into the night.
The talk with James helped Lily relax a little, but that didn't mean that she stopped worrying. James continued to spend his mornings in the Ministry, and Lily had decided that the family would stay within Rowe Square, the trips to the museums and the theaters stopped. If the twins, Mrs. Potter and Mrs. Evans thought this out of the ordinary, they didn't say a thing, but Lily liked to think that they were safer.
Katie came to visit often and it was during one of these visits that Lily noticed that her friend seemed rather sad.
"What is wrong Katie?" Asked Lily after the two had sat in the parlor in silence from the moment Katie had entered a few minutes ago. That was rather uncommon for Katie, she was known for her talkativeness.
Katie looked sadly at her friend. "Sirius wants to send me away." She said, two fat tears slid down her cheeks.
"What? Why?" Exclaimed Lily.
Katie dried her tears abruptly before answering. "He seems to have gotten into his head that I will be safer if I'm not anywhere near him."
Lily thought for a minute, she understood why Sirius would feel that way, she was sure that if he could James would send her and the others as far away as he could, but because of the spell that was performed on Harry, he would be safer if both she and James were with him.
"You don't want to go." Lily said.
"Of course I don't want to go. If he is in danger I want to be here, but he won't listen to reason, he says that he would only be easy if I'm gone into hiding." Katie sobbed.
Lily sat next to her friend and hugged her. She comforted her, as Katie let the tears that she had tried so hard to hold on to fall.
Sirius was at that moment venting his anger on James' willing ears.
".And she just won't go, I don't know what else to do, I'll divorce her if she doesn't go. I want her as far away from here." Sirius was running his fingers through his hair as James leaned back on his chair and watched Sirius pace back and forth before him.
"Have you told her why you want her to go?" James asked.
"You mean if I told her about our meeting with Dumbledore." Sirius asked miserably. James nodded.
"No." Sirius replied.
James sighed. "Perhaps you should, it would be easier for her to understand if she knew why you want her gone."
"Maybe." Shrugged Sirius as he continued his pacing.
James said no more, sometimes his friend needed to get things into perspective in order to do the one thing he should've done from the beginning.
Lily watched her friend leave an hour later. She was sad for her friend but at the same time understanding why Sirius would want to keep her away, she just thought he was doing it the wrong way.
She walked toward the bookroom, she knew that James had spent the hour with Sirius and wondered what had happened, what had been said.
The bookroom was silent when she opened the door. It now February and the weather was cold, a light flurry of snow was seen falling through the window and the fireplace was lit. She looked around until she heard a chuckle from behind one of the couches near the fireplace.
Lily frowned, what was James doing, she thought. She walked silently and looked around the couch. She found James in all fours having what seemed to be a crawling race with Harry. Harry was waddling beside his father and James laughed as he crawled along. Lily smiled.
James knew the moment that Lily came into the room. There was no need for him to look at her to know where she was. His instincts somehow knew where to find her. It was surprising for him that his body was so attuned to his wife's, how many people could say that about their spouses. He supposed it was another proof of how right they were for each other, she was meant to be with him and he was glad that he saw it before he could have lost her forever.
Harry and James crawled along until James came close to crashing against one of the couches. He tumbled as he tried to go around it. Harry was sitting beside him, filled with laughter. Lily was sitting in the couch that he almost crashed against, she was also laughing. James looked at her with a face full of disappointment. "You could have said something."
"That would be cheating! Besides, Harry was doing just fine." Lily laughed.
"Fine, side with your son." Laughed James.
Harry crawled up to the couch and raised his hands. "Up! Up!" He demanded.
"Oh fine, you say up but won't say dad!" Exclaimed James.
Lily laughed as she picked Harry and settled him in her lap. Harry put his finger on his mouth and leaned against his mother.
"How did it go with Sirius?" She asked looking back to James.
James stretched himself on the floor and looked up at her. "Well, considering we are speaking about Sirius."
Lily smiled sadly. "Do you think he will succeed? Will Katie leave?"
James sighed. "I don't know, but I do agree with him. Katie needs to leave, as long as she remains behind she will be his weakness. If the Death Eaters decide to come against us, they will try to get to Sirius through her."
Lily looked down at James with a sorrowful expression. James saw it and quickly stood from the floor to sit beside her. "Don't worry, Sirius will do whatever possible to keep her safe."
"I know, I'm going to miss her. It seems that I'm meant to lose all my friends because of Voldemort. First Emma and now Katie." She whispered with a voice full of tears.
James hugged her tight, but it wasn't for long as Harry wailed his discontent at being held to tight by his parents. James looked sheepishly down at his son. "I'm sorry Harry, I had forgotten you where there."
Harry looked up at his father frowning, and James found himself wondering if his son had understood what he had said.
Lily smiled down at Harry and kissed his dark hair. She laughed as the spot of hair she had kissed stood on end.
"Poor Harry, he inherited your hair." She said as she tried to pat the hair down to make it look tidier.
"It's not my fault, blame all of those people hanging in the family portraits. They gave it me." Laughed James.
Harry had settled himself back against his mother and his drooping eyes were slowly closing.
"I'll call Minnie to ready him for bed." Offered James.
"No, I want to do it." She said and gathering Harry into her arms she left he couch and made her way out of the room.
James saw her leave. He sat back on the couch and turned to look at the dancing flames in the fireplace, thinking about his friend's problem.
In another house of Rowe Squate, two loud voices could be heard coming from the modest library in the ground floor.
"Why won't you listen to me? I don't want to go!" Katie stamped her foot in exasperation.
Sirius sighed. "Katie, listen to me. If Voldemort comes after me, he will hurt you, I don't want you to get hurt, I couldn't live with myself if I lose you."
"Oh Sirius! I know you want to keep me safe, but don't you see? I prefer to spend my last days with you than without you." She sobbed.
Sirius gathered her into his arms and tried to comfort her. "I know you do sweetheart, but I would feel much stronger if I knew you were safe. You could go to America, or to Australia, anywhere you want, as long as you are far from here. I would even prefer it if you went to your cousin. That ugly git."
Katie chuckled against her husband's chest. "Poor Severus, he wouldn't know what to do with me. But you said that you thought he was a Death Eater, how would I be safe with him if he is one?"
"And he is one, I'm sure of it. But I'm also sure that he loves you and he wouldn't turn you in to Voldemort, if he didn't he wouldn't send you those divorce forms every week." Sirius growled.
Katie chuckled once more. It was true that every week he received a packet of divorce forms from Severus. She knew that there was bad blood between her cousin and husband, but so far she didn't have much trouble keeping them away from each other.
"Why don't you go see him, see what he says, I'm sure he could help to keep you hidden, it would be best that way. Perhaps if I don't know where you are, the safer you will be, there wouldn't be a way to intercept any communication that we might have and they wouldn't be able to find you." Said Sirius.
"Do you really want me to get his advice?" Katie asked with a voice full of surprise.
"I do. He will help you." Sirius said. He didn't like the idea of getting help from Snape, but this was about Katie, and Snape loved her, he would keep her safe, even from himself if necessary.
"If that is what you want me to do, then I'll go to see him." Whispered Katie.
The couple stayed embraced as the room got darker and the flames of the candles around the room extinguished.
Severus Snape was sitting in his dark library one afternoon. He had met with somebody earlier that morning and he was busy thinking about it that he didn't hear the doorbell ring. He didn't even hear his servant walking by the library door as he made his way to open the front door. He did hear, however, the scratching on the library door a few moments later.
"Yes!" He barked. He was frowning deeply, he had told his servant to leave him alone and not to bother him for anything. He was clearly displeased that his wishes were not met.
The servant opened the door. "I'm sorry Sir, but there's a lady here that says she is your cousin and will not leave even though I told her you were not to be bothered." Explained the servant.
"What name did she give you?" Growled Severus.
"Katie Black, Sir." Said the servant.
Severus' brows went up in surprise, his cousin hadn't visited his home since they were children, even though they had kept in contact. He wondered what had brought her to him and thought that if Black had done something to upset her he would be more than happy to make him pay for it.
"Tell her to come in." He commanded.
The servant nodded and returned some time later with Katie.
The library was lighted as she entered. There were lit candles around the room and the curtains had been drawn to allow the meager sunlight available to enter through the small windows.
"I'm happy to see you cousin, but I'm rather surprised, I haven't seen you since the day you got married to that prankster of yours." Severus said as he walked up to Katie and greeted her with a kiss.
Katie chuckled thinking of the things Sirius had said about Severus before she left home. "Good to see you cousin. Don't worry, Sirius knows I'm here, in fact he sent me to you." She said as she took a seat in one of the couches.
Severus was rather surprised to hear that, he had thought that Black didn't know about her coming to visit him.
"Indeed!" He exclaimed. "Will miracles never end? And why, may I ask, did he send you to me?"
"I need your opinion in an argument we are having." Katie said.
Severus looked at her as if she had grown an extra head. "You want my opinion. About an argument? Are you feeling all right?"
Katie chuckled, she supposed it looked rather surprising to him, considering how he and Sirius hated each other, not that she had ever found out why it was so.
"I do. He says that you would know what to do." Said Katie.
Severus shook his head, I must be hearing wrong, he thought.
"All right," he said cautiously, "what do you want my advice on?"
Katie bit her lips and looked down at her hands, clasped on her lap. "Well," she began. She waited for a moment before continuing. "He wants to send me away, he says that if things happen and Voldemort wants to go after him that I will be the one hurt." She blurted out.
Severus looked at her with surprise. Many of those who spoke about Voldemort didn't say his name, they called him "Him-who-must-not-be-named" or "You-Know-Who", he supposed that he should've known that Katie and her friends would not do so. Even though the Marauders had been such pranksters in school, they did have a streak of courage, they had to if they had to pull off all the tricks they did. Well, almost all of them, except for Petegrew. He always wondered why the others allowed him to tag along, it was true that by the end he had been as strong as the others, but he was still the weakest of them all. And he had proved it several times.
He knew about the orders he had carried out during the time of the Potter's marriage, the information he was meant to gather. But after that first meeting in the cottage after the attack on Hogsmeade, Severus had not seen Petegrew among the Death Eaters, he thought that he must have been frightened off and that would be his undoing, in fact, Severus had been rather surprised that the others had not killed him yet.
But Katie was watching him, he would leave his thoughts for later.
"Why does he think that he would become a target?" He asked. As far as he knew there was no reason for him to be one.
Katie shrugged.
Severus sighed. He supposed that Black would not want him to know what his actions were that would make him a target for Voldemort. But he was right, Severus thought, if he does become a target the others would go for Katie, not for Black.
And he said just that. "He is right Katie, I'm afraid that if he does become a target, the Death Eaters will not go to him, they would go for you. It's not a secret that he loves you, they will try to get to him by hurting you."
Katie looked down at her hands again, she was afraid that he would say that. "Do you think that I should leave then?"
Severus nodeed. "It would be for the best."
"But where would I go? Sirius says that it would be better if he doesn't know, that way any communication he tries would not be intercepted." Katie said
Severus was rather surprised that Black had thought of that. He hated to admit it, but it seemed that Sirius Black was not just a prankster and a ladies' man, he did have a brain after all.
"It is better if you leave the continent, his power is stretching into the depths of all Europe, go across the Atlantic, or to Australia, you could also think about the small islands, nobody would look for you there." Severus said.
Katie nodded, Sirius had said something similar to that.
"You could go to Aunt Mabel." Severus suddenly said.
Katie looked at him in surprised, she had forgotten about Aunt Mabel. "Do you think she will have me?"
"Of course she would, she had been alone in that island of hers for years, I'm sure she is ready for some company. And it is far enough for you to be quite safe. The fact that she has it covered with spells of all sorts would help as well. As you know, magic cannot be used and owls cannot enter." Severus said.
Katie was nodding as he said all this. Now that she knew that Sirius would keep better care of himself if he thought her safe, she was actually thinking about leaving and stay in hiding as long as she had to.
"Thank you Severus." She said. "I see that I'm going to have to do so. Keep an eye on Sirius for me. Please." She leaned and kissed his cheek before leaving the room.
Severus stayed in his chair watching her go. Keep an eye on Black? He thought. He shook his head in disbelief, why would he want to take care of him?
Sirius was sitting in his darkened library that same night, hoping to catch Katie as she returned from visiting Snape. He wasn't happy that he had sent her to him, for all he knew she could be in more danger than if she was him, but he also knew that Snape loved his cousin and if there was a place for her to be safe, he would know about it.
The bad blood that had emerged as they grew up at Hogwarts had remained as they became men, he knew that he should let sleeping dogs lay but he just couldn't help himself. He didn't know why the rivalry had emerged, it wasn't like he had decided to hate Snape when he first saw him, it just happened, and the pranks that they enjoyed pulling on the Slytherin just reciprocated the feeling.
But it didn't matter, he thought, Katie would be safe, that was all that he cared about. He turned to look out the window, night was falling and he was a little worried that Katie had not returned.
The reports of Voldemort activity were rather disturbing, he had a feeling that something momentous would happen soon and he wanted Katie out of the country before it did. Too bad that Lily and Harry would not go, he thought. He had tried to convince James to send them away with Katie, but he had not agreed to do so. James had said that because of special circumstances, Lily and Harry would be safe as long as they were all together, if they were separated that would bring serious problems. Sirius had not believed that explanation, he had a suspicion that his friend was hiding something. He didn't like to think that his best friend would hide something from him, the fact that Remus and Peter didn't seem to know either didn't soothe his wounded pride.
He heard the front door opened and voices approaching. The library door was opened and Katie walked in.
"Hello dear, shouldn't you light some candles?" She asked as she looked around the dark room.
Sirius snapped his fingers and the candles lit instantly. He had been working lately on simple wandless magic, he thought it would come in handy in case he was in trouble and his wand was not at his reach.
"Much better." Sighed Katie.
"How did it go?" Sirius asked.
"He agreed with you." Was all Katie replied.
Sirius made a face full of distaste, Katie laughed.
"I know, you don't like the idea that you two might think the same way. I got a feeling that the only reason you don't get along is because you two see some things in common." Katie chuckled as she put her arms around him.
Sirius shook his head energetically. "No, we never see things the same way."
"If you say so dear." Katie patted his cheek and left her seat to pour some tea which one of the servants had brought in while she greeted her husband.
"What did he say?" Asked Sirius once more.
"He said that you were right in wanting me to be away, he said he would help me if I decided to leave." Katie was standing by the windows that looked out to the narrow garden in the back of the house. She didn't say anything about her Aunt Mabel, if Sirius wanted to keep her hiding place a secret it was best if nobody but Severus and herself knew.
"Are you?" Sirius asked quietly. He was scared of her answer. He knew it was for the best, she would be safe if she did, but at the same time, he would miss her. They had been together for close to seven years, she had been there for more than half of his life, first as a friend and companion and later as his mate. He didn't know how he would be able to handle life without her. She was the last thing he saw before going to sleep and the first thing he saw each morning. She was his life and happiness and everything would seem bleak and lifeless if she was not there with him.
"What do you want me to do Sirius? Do you still want me to go?" She turned from the windows and looked back at Sirius. Her glance was full of questions.
"You will be safe Katie. I couldn't live with myself knowing that you could be hurt because of me." Sirius exclaimed. He walked rapidly toward her and put her arms around her, pressing her against him.
"How will I know if it's safe to return?" She asked as she leaned her head against his chest.
"Get in contact with Snape after five years, he will tell you if it's safe to return." He put his head on top of hers, wanting to keep the memory of her with him.
"Why not with you?" She stepped back and looked up at him.
"Because it would be too dangerous. It's safer if you contact Snape." He replied.
"What about James and Lily, or any of the others?"
Sirius shook his head. "We might be kept in surveillance, it would not be safe to contact any of us, Remus and Peter are in much trouble are we are."
"But what happens if Severus cannot be contacted?"
"Contact Dumbledore. He will know what to do." Sirius said.
Both remained in each other's arms late into the night, hoping to keep the memory of each other for the rest of their lives. They were scared for each other, but the secret that Katie carried kept her from staying, she was going to do as Sirius asked and at her return she would bring to him the most precious gift she could give him.
That night, James sat in his bookroom as darkness fell across the land. He was thinking about his friend and how hard it would be for all of them to see Katie go, but he was sure that Sirius would succeed in getting Katie to agree to leave town. He would do the same for Lily and Harry if he could, but they were safe if the three of them were together.
He sighed as he thought about his son. He didn't like the idea that Harry would be in danger if Voldemort found out about their work with Dumbledore. He didn't know what he would do if any danger came to his son.
He wanted to be able to be there when Harry got his letter from Hogwarts, that he would get one there was no question. He would teach his son how to ride a broom and would attend every game that his son played in Gryffindor House Team (James was absolutely sure that Harry would be in Gryffindor and that he would be chosen for the House Team), and even though he knew that Lily wouldn't like it, he would tell his son about the hidden passages in Hogwarts, it would be a shame if his son didn't take advantage of them. He smiled at the memory of all his adventures with his friends, and he was sure that Harry would enjoy some good memories of his own.
He abruptly left his chair and marched out of the room. He took the stairs two at a time but didn't walk up to his chambers where Lily was readying Harry for bed. Instead, he made his way up to the attics.
The attics covered the whole back half of the house, past the servant quarters. The attic was divided into small rooms, all connected by narrow doorways and on the outer walls small windows lit the small room. He walked down to a small room right at the back of the floor, the small window looked out to the back garden, but he didn't pay any attention to it.
He looked around the room. All his things from school was in this place. The walls were lined with bookcases where several books were kept. On top of the cases were scales, cauldrons, vials, and parchments and quills in all shapes. At one hidden corner of the room was a trunk.
He walked to the trunk and pulled it to the middle of the room. He opened it and smiled. Red Quidditch robes, his old broom, candy wrappers and used trick and joke cases and at one side, his old Invisibility Cloak.
"How could I have forgotten about you?" He said aloud as he pulled the cloak out of the trunk. He closed the trunk and with the cloak draped around him, he left the room.
Two weeks later, on a cloudy march morning, Lily and Katie said goodbye. Among hugs and tears they wished each other happy. By the end of the day, Katie was gone, her cousin had come for her and with help of darkness they disappeared from sight. Nobody knew where she was going, but they all knew that she would be safe.
A/N: That's the end of Chapter 4, as I said in the beginning, things are going to be a little more difficult for our favorite pair and I'm sure that many of you will not like what happens in the next chapter. I hope you liked this chapter and don't worry, Katie will be safe, for now. Don't forget to review!
Disclaimer: I don't own nor gain anything by writing this story.
Chapter 4 ~ Making Arrangements
Lily was very curious to know why James decided to leave for town so suddenly. James had told her that he wanted to see how things were going on politically, especially with all the dark magic going on and the Ministry not being able to come up with a way to stop it.
The Daily Prophet had reported that the giants had joined Voldemort and his group, everyday there were news of towns being flattened to the ground. The Ministry was having a hard job trying to keep the hysteria that was running through the magical world from spilling into the muggle world. It was hard enough to keep the sightings of giants secret.
The dementors were also being reported to have joined Voldemort. Not that Lily placed a lot of trust in those reports, Azkaban was their home after all, the Ministry would not be stupid enough to keep them as guardians to Azkaban if they had deserted to Voldemort. Only a fool would allow them to stay in such a position.
It took James and Lily a week to move the household to the Potter House in London. Mrs. Potter, Mrs. Evans and the twins would be joining them as well. Roberts and Mrs. Nichols left to the Potter House the day before Lily and James would leave the Manor with the rest of the family and the servants. James wanted to take everyone with him.
The day for the move had finally arrived. It was early in the morning. The sun was trying to shine through the dark clouds that lined the sky. One of the family cars had been brought round to the front door and was being loaded with some of the luggage, but the seats were kept empty for the family. Two moving trucks were behind it, both were loaded with boxes and furniture. A bus was waiting upon the curve, it would take the muggle servants to town. Just before noon, all the trucks had been loaded and the bus was filled with the chatting servants. Lily and the children were already in the car, while Mrs. Evans and Mrs. Potter checked their lists to make sure they were not leaving anything behind.
James walked through the house. Everything seemed so strange now that the house was silent. He hoped that it would not be long when they could return. He had owled to Dumbledore some weeks ago about his concerns and about taking his family to town. Dumbledore had agreed with his plan, he was reading the signs, he had said, something momentous was going to happen and he was sure it would take place before the year was out. James prayed that it would have nothing to do with him and his family.
He finally stepped outside. Everybody had piled into the vehicles and were waiting for him. He pulled his wand from his pocket and waved it before the front door. The house glowed for a second and James turned to enter the car.
Soon, the caravan started toward the lane and the Manor was left behind. Mr. Sanders, the estate manager, and some of the tenants waved goodbye from the end of the lane, everybody hoping to see them back soon.
James turned back to look behind him. The back of his neck prickled, he had a feeling that they were being monitored. He shook his head. Nonsense, he thought, there was no reason why they were being watched.
The trip was shorter than they expected. They only stopped once to have a picnic luncheon, even though it was not the season for picnics, the group was big enough that a picnic was the best choice.
Darkness was starting to fall when the caravan made its way into town toward Rowe Square. The streets were congested as people drove back home after a busy day at work. Lily had forgotten how busy life could be in the big city. It was easy to relax and live one day at a time in the country, but in the city, things were much different.
In the country, wizards and witches could wear their robes and nobody could say anything about it. They could go to solitary places to fly their brooms and have a good game of Quidditch. They were free to do as they wished, as long as they were careful. In the city, wizards and witches had to dress in muggle clothing, their houses had to contain muggle artifacts in order to fool their neighbors. They couldn't fly if they wished to do so, and most of them had to have a blocking charm around their homes to keep their magical pets from escaping and giving a scare to their muggle friends. It was a very confining way of living.
The vehicles finally made it to Rowe Square. The stately houses stood proudly next to each other. In one corner of the Square stood the Regency Hotel, and in another corner stood a large office building, to the muggle eye it was just like any other, to those with magical blood, it was the Ministry of Magic. Rowe Park stood in the middle of the square, blanketed with snow and the light posts shining brightly.
The trucks were quickly emptied, the servants ran up and down the stairs putting things in order, James and Lily stood by the trucks, directing the group of servants as Mrs. Potter and Mrs. Evans kept the twins and Harry entertained and out of the way. Sirius and Katie walked across the park to welcome them home. By the time the streets were silent and night had fallen, the family and the servants were settled in, taking dinner and looking forward to a good night's sleep.
They had been in town for two weeks now and the month of January was almost over. James had spent a lot of time in the Ministry in business that Lily knew nothing about.
James had been very secretive for the last couple of weeks. Lily knew that something was happening but didn't know what to do and how to get James to speak with her. She also knew that he had been owling Dumbledore constantly. She hoped that nothing dangerous was going on.
When Harry was born, they had both decided to stay away from dangerous activities, they wanted to help Dumbledore in his battle against Voldemort but at the same time, they didn't want to put Harry in any danger. They had agreed to perform the charm that Dumbledore had required, and in Lily's point of view, that was enough. But she knew that James didn't want to stay safely at home. He wanted to be out there, doing something to help. She knew that he was a good wizard and that he could take very good care of himself, but that didn't keep her from worrying.
On this cold January morning, Lily and James sat around the dining room table. Lily was busy feeding Harry while James sat behind the paper reading the latest news.
Lily turned to look at James when he snorted with disgust.
"What is wrong?" She asked.
"Nothing, just the Ministry making things worse than they should be. The Death Eaters are out there wrecking havoc on our world and they can't seem to find a way to stop them. There are more agents in the Ministry than there are Death Eaters for goodness sake." James growled with anger.
Lily frowned. "Maybe they think that it would be better if they can defeat Voldemort first. If they take his followers out from beneath him, he would still be strong and all he has to do is find others who can be as good as the ones he has with him now."
"Perhaps, but it would do no good for them to go after Voldemort. He is too clever to allow himself to fall into any of the Ministry's traps. He has kept himself out of their grasp for more than ten years, what do they think has changed?" James exclaimed.
"Don't worry James, the magical world has survived many things over the centuries, we will survive this." Lily said in a soothing voice.
"I'm sorry, it just that the Ministry cannot seem to be able to do a thing and it's worrying me." James said with a deprecating smile.
"I know. But things cannot be any worse than it is now, could it?" Lily looked at James with sympathetic eyes.
"I don't see how, but I don't want to know if it can." James said.
He stood from his chair and kissed his wife's brow before kissing his son's hair. He left he room, purposely walking toward the front hall.
Lily watched him go with worry.
Harry whimpered as he tried to grab the spoon in his mother's hand, but it was out of his reach.
"Something is going on Harry, I can feel it." Lily said before turning back to feed her son.
Everybody was scared. The magical world had become lost in a wave of hysteria and darkness. The Dark Mark was a common sight. It struck horror to the hearts of those who glimpsed it and to some it brought dark memories.
How could things get any worse? Lily had asked, but James now got the feeling that they could.
He was sitting in the library one evening. Lily and their mothers had gone out to the theater. The twins and Harry were under Minnie's care. He was sitting behind his desk with pages of the Daily Prophet were spread before him.
He shook with anger and the sense of helplessness. He wanted to be out there and get his hand on these monsters. But at the same time, he wanted to stay home and keep all this horror from his door and protect his family from any danger.
He was lost in thought when he suddenly heard voices in the front hall. Somebody had come to visit and Roberts was taking care of them. James didn't put much attention to the voices, he went back to his thoughts and was rather taken aback when the door to the library was opened abruptly and Sirius came running into the room.
"What happened, what is wrong?" James asked as he looked at his friend who seemed rather shaken.
"The Bones were killed James, their house totally destroyed and that evil mark floating above it." Sirius exclaimed.
"What about the children? They had children." James asked rather worried.
"They were fine, they were staying with one of the grandmothers." Sirius said. "James this is not a coincidence. The McKinnons were killed some days ago and the Prewetts some weeks ago." Sirius said.
"But that means."
"They know who we are, they know who is part of Dumbledore's team." Sirius finished for him.
The two young men looked at each other with worry.
"I'm sending Katie away. I don't want her where she could be hurt." Sirius said.
"It will be a waste of breath Sirius, she will not go. I would do the same with Lily but I know that I wouldn't be able to." James said running his hands through his hair. It was something that he did whenever he was worried.
"I know. But I have to try. I can live without her if I know she is safe, I couldn't if I knew that she died when I could've been able to do something." Sirius started to pace before the desk. "I know that she wants to have a child, but now I'm glad that we don't. I couldn't live with myself if I knew that my child could be hurt." Sirius whispered to himself.
Harry's face flashed through James' mind, as did the faces of his nieces. They had suffered through enough, but to have them in danger was not a thing that he could handle.
"What does Dumbledore has to say about these news?" James asked.
"He hasn't said a thing, he called for a meeting tonight." Sirius said. "We will meet in Hogwarts at midnight."
James turned to look at the clock and saw that it was only fifteen minutes to eight. There was still time, they could Floo to Hogsmeade, that would take less than five minutes, then it would only take them fifteen to walk to Hogwarts, less if they used one of the secret passages.
"Lily and our mothers will be back by then. I'm sure that they will be tired from their night out." James said.
"Does that mean that you're going?" Sirius said with a lifted brow.
"Of course I am." James snapped.
"No reason to snap at me, I just thought that you had given it up when Harry was born." Sirius replied.
"I did, but I can't stay here when I know that something is wrong." James sighed.
"I know the feeling." Sirius sat on one of the chairs set in front of the desk.
"Do you think that you will be able to get Katie to leave?" James suddenly asked.
"I don't know, but I'm hoping that I will."
"Will you tell her about everything?"
"Only if I don't have a choice."
"Good luck." James said.
"I will need it." Sirius sighed with desperation.
"She will be fine." James tried to soothe his friend.
"I hope so." Sirius whispered.
It was almost eleven when Lily, Mrs. Potter and Mrs. Evans returned from the theater. James was hoping that they would be ready for bed, but in case they weren't, he had a plan, he only had half an hour at the most before he had to leave.
"Hello dear, you didn't have to wait up for us." Lily exclaimed when she saw James standing by the stairs as they entered the house.
"I know, I just wanted to know about your evening. Did you have fun?" He asked with a charming smile.
"Oh, it was a great evening." Mrs. Evans said.
"Perhaps you are tired and I shouldn't keep you up." James said looking at the three vibrant women before him.
"Oh fiddlesticks! We are not sleepy at all. I think we should have some tea." Mrs. Potter said as they walked toward the family parlor.
James saw Lily nodding to Roberts and knew that a fresh pot of tea and some biscuits would be soon brought to the parlor.
He looked down at his watch. He had twenty-three minutes to get them all to bed.
"Did the children behave themselves?" Lily asked as she took a seat by the French doors looking out to the back yard.
"Yes." James replied leaning against the mantel. "They played the whole evening until they were too tired to stay up."
"Oh good. This change of scenery is good for them." Mrs. Potter said.
James nodded his agreement but said nothing more.
Roberts entered the room a loaded tray in his arms. Suddenly, he tripped, James was just in time to keep the tray from falling to the floor. Roberts looked down in consternation, in all his years as a butler he had never had such an embarrassing moment. He spied a turned corner in the rug, it had been the culprit of his downfall.
"Nothing to worry about Roberts, it could happen to anyone." James said.
"Yes Sir, I'm sorry Sir." Roberts said.
"Don't be sorry. Go to your bed Roberts. I'll make sure that everything is locked before I go to bed." James said.
"Thank you Sir. Good night." Roberts said before he retreated.
"Poor Roberts." Giggled Lily behind her hands.
"Indeed. I'm sure he is feeling horrible at the moment." Chuckled Mrs. Potter.
While the ladies were busy feeling sorry for Roberts, James slipped the clear potion he had hidden in a small vial into the pot. He quickly put the vial into his pocket as he placed the tray on the coffee table. He looked down at his watch, he only had fifteen minutes to get them to bed.
Lily poured the tea into the cups and passed them to the other ladies.
"Do you want some James?" She asked looking up at her husband.
"No, I think I had enough as I waited for you." He laughed.
Lily smiled and sipped her tea.
They had only drank half of their tea when Mrs. Evans began to yawn.
"Oh my! It seems that I'm more tired than I thought." She said sheepishly.
"Hmmm, I'm getting sleepy as well. Perhaps it would be better if I retire as well." Mrs. Potter said.
"You are right. We should get to bed." Lily said. Putting down her cup.
James watched his ladies retire to their rooms with a sense of satisfaction. He looked down at his watch, he made it with seven minutes to spare.
He followed Lily up to their room and saw her fall asleep in a matter of seconds. He grabbed his robes and slipped out of the room. He walked through the house quickly, making sure everything was locked and made his way to the library. Because Rowe Square was now protected by a special charm, no apparating could be done in any of the buildings, but Floo would work. He grabbed a pinch of the powder in the china bowl above the grate and threw it into the roaring fire. The flames shot up and shone brightly. He stepped into the flames and with a swirling sound disappeared from sight.
The Three Broomsticks was rather dark and quiet when James stepped out of the fireplace. A brooding young man was waiting nearby.
"I wasn't sure if you were going to make it." The young man said looking at the clock on the opposite wall.
James turned toward the young man and shrugged. "I had to wait until Lily and the others were asleep. I had to slip them a sleeping potion because they didn't seem to want to go to bed at all."
"Let's go, if we take the passage from the Shack we can make it on time." Sirius said and led the way out of the pub.
The night was bitterly cold. The cloaks of the two young men swirled around them as the breeze took hold of them. Every house they passed was dark and the curtains in the windows drawn. In fact, it seemed that the Three Broomsticks and the pub at the other end of town were the only buildings open at that time. The two shivering men sneaked into a dilapidated house. The lane on which it was located was completely silent and vacant.
"Gods, these place does look scary in the middle of the night. I never really noticed it before." Sirius exclaimed once they were both inside the house.
"I never noticed either, I'm just glad that everybody thinks as you do, we would have a hard time explaining why we were sneaking in here." James replied.
The two men made their way to the entrance of the secret passage. It was clear that both knew their way around the house very well.
"Listen!" James exclaimed stopping Sirius in mid-stride.
"What?" Whispered Sirius.
"I thought I heard footsteps." James whispered back.
"Who else could be in here?" Sirius looked around the darkened room.
The dim light penetrating through slits in the boarded windows cast sinister shadows across the room.
"Remus and Peter could." James also looked around.
"But Peter is not coming, Dumbledore couldn't get in contact with him in time." Sirius said.
"And Remus is supposed to be in Asia." James replied.
"He would've let us know, wouldn't he?" Sirius asked with a hopeful expression. James nodded with an abstracted air . They were silent for a few minutes. The house was silent.
"Maybe it was the wind." Sirius said.
"Could be." James frowned.
"Come, we are going to be late." Sirius pulled James toward the door that would allow them to enter the passage leading to Hogwarts.
The passage was dark and roots seemed to have grown through the cracks of the walls.
James took out his wand and whispered "lumos" the wand tip illuminated his way. Sirius followed suit.
"It feels different somehow." Sirius whispered.
"Just a little." Replied James.
They continued to walk in silence until the back of the Whipping Willow stood before them.
"How are we going to get out? We are too big to press the knot at the base of the tree." Said Sirius.
"Look around. There has to be a log or a root, or something to press it." James said looking around.
Both held their wands high and looked around the floor. Finally, Sirius saw something that could work.
"Here try this." Sirius shoved a crooked root to James. It looked like a misshaped hook.
James kneeled behind the tree and reached the knot in the base of the trunk with the root. The flailing arms of the Willow stood still.
"There, let's go." Said James leading the way out of the passage.
They had taken less time coming through the passage than they would've had if they had taken the longer route to the front of the castle. As it were, they were just in time as a group of cloaked wizards and witches passed through the open castle doors.
Professor McGonagall led them through the darkened corridors of the large structure. The subjects in the paintings were sleeping, and miraculously, Peeves was not in sight.
They were led through the corridors leading up to the closed Transfiguration classroom. As everybody present had attended Hogwarts at one time, they all knew where they were going.
Professor McGonagall stepped aside the moment she had opened the door to her classroom and let the others pass. She nodded in greeting to those present as they passed.
"Dumbledore will be here presently." She said as everybody had taken a seat and left them.
"I don't know why but I feel as if we had been caught for a prank and we are about to find out what our detention is." Sirius said turning to look at James through twinkling eyes.
"She does make you feel that way, doesn't she?" James chuckled.
The door opened again and Dumbledore came, closely followed by another cloaked person.
The cloaked person turned to take a seat behind James and Sirius. Not that they or anybody else took note of it as they had their eyes fixed in their former Headmaster.
Every time James and Sirius had spoken to the Headmaster, he looked serene and strong. Now, he looked worried and the twinkle in his eyes seemed to have disappeared.
"I have a bad feeling about this." Sirius whispered.
Those around him that heard him agreed in silence.
"Welcome, I'm saddened that we had to come together at such a time." Dumbledore said as he took a seat in front of the room. "As you know, two of our members have been killed. If it had been only them, I wouldn't be so worried, we all knew that we could be attacked. But they were the third to be killed in a matter of weeks."
"They know who we are, don't they?" Somebody asked.
"It looks that way." Dumbledore responded.
"But how?" Somebody else exclaimed.
"We have a spy. One of us has betrayed us." Sirius said.
The room fell totally silent. Everybody looked furtively at their neighbors. The same question was on everybody's mind, who could it be?
"I'm afraid that it is true. It's too much of a coincidence." Dumbledore nodded sadly.
"Do you know who it is?" James asked, a sense of anger welling inside him. Who would be so cowardly?
"I'm sorry to say that I don't. My own sources do not know, but whoever he is, he has Voldemort's ear." Dumbledore replied.
"I hate to think that one of our own is responsible for the death of some in our group." Someone sobbed.
"I too, hate the thought. But there doesn't seem to be another answer. Somebody has knowledge of who our members are." Dumbledore looked around the room.
Sirius seemed to be speechless with shock.
James sighed, trying to keep the anger that he felt at bay.
"Is everybody here?" Somebody said from behind James.
James turned around to see who the speaker was and his eyes opened with surprise at the sight of his friend.
"Sirius," he whispered, nudging him on the ribs, "Remus is here."
"Huh?" Sirius asked confused.
"Not everyone is here, there were some that I could not get in contact with, and there are some that have gone into hiding." Dumbledore responded.
"Should we all do that? Should we go into hiding?" A trembling voice said.
"That is your choice." Dumbledore said somewhat saddened.
"We can't go into hiding." James exclaimed. "If we go running to hide, then we have lost and Voldemort has won. He won't stop until he has total control of our world, I don't know about you, but I don't want my son to grow up fearing him."
"We could take precautions." A woman said from the front. James recognized her from that day when the Death Eaters had attacked Hogsmeade, he also remembered her name, Annabella Figgs. "We could only meet when necessary but there should be a core group, a sort of committee that will keep in touch with the rest. Each person in the committee will have the names of a group. Not two groups would be the same, therefore, the names in each list would be different. Nobody would know who belongs to which group and only the committee members would know the names and personal information of their respective groups."
"But we all know each other now, we know where we live, what good would that do?" Somebody asked.
"We can move. We are all thinking of hiding, we could all move, but the new information would only be known to Dumbledore and the committee member heading their group." Somebody else said.
"That could work. I want to keep my family safe, but I also don't like the thought of going into hiding, it's just too risky and it could take forever to take Voldemort down if we don't do anything." A man said from behind.
"That's Fletcher isn't it?" Sirius whispered looking around.
James nodded.
Dumbledore nodded, he was gladdened that almost all present wanted to continue with their work. He knew that they were all scared, but mostly for their families than for themselves. "There are some parchments at the end of the desks, write the name of five of our members you trust the most, the ones with the most votes, will be the committee."
There was a lot of rustling and scratching sounds of quills for a few moments. There was a small box on the desk from where Dumbledore spoke. The parchments were placed inside.
"I think it would be safer if I send the results by owl to those chosen, you will all receive notice to whose group you belong to, you won't know who else is in your group, only the committee member that will head it." Dumbledore said.
The others nodded their agreement.
"We have done a lot tonight, it is time for you to return home. Remember to let me know if you are changing, be careful." Dumbledore said as his listeners left their seats. "James." He called before everybody had left the room. "Could I speak with you privately please?"
James nodded to his friends and watched them leave as the room slowly emptied.
"Take a seat James." Dumbledore said as he sat at one of the desks.
James sat next to him.
"I'm afraid that all this recent activity means that Voldemort has found out about our little arrangement." Dumbledore said.
"Should we go into hiding then?" Frowned James.
"I'm not sure. If he does know, it would be for the best, but if he doesn't know, we would be tipping our hand and he would put two and two together. That would be disastrous." Dumbledore said.
"What should we do?" James was rather worried, should he had stayed in their estate instead of bringing his family to town?
"We wait. You have moved into town, it is the best place to be at the moment. They seem to be targeting those who are rather isolated. Takes less time for the Ministry to get there than to those places in large cities. Just be careful, and vigilant. Voldemort would be after Harry if he does find out."
James was rather worried at the thought that Voldemort, the most powerful Dark Wizard in ages, could be after his son. He knew what they could be getting into when he agreed to Dumbledore's plan, even though Lily was rather hesitant about it. But now, he didn't know if he had done the right thing. His first instinct was to keep his family safe, but his honor and his conscience said that he had done the right thing, that the magical world would be safe.
"Go home James, take care of your family. If anything out of the ordinary happens, let me know." Dumbledore looked sadly at the young man beside him.
James nodded and slowly left the room.
Dumbledore sighed. The door opened once more after James had left through it. Professor McGonagall walked quickly toward him.
"Did you tell them? What is going to happen?" She asked in a hurry.
"Calm down Minerva, sit and I will tell you everything." Dumbledore ordered. Professor McGonagall sat in the chair that James had vacated recently.
Sirius and Remus had stayed in the corridor waiting for James.
"Where did you come from? We thought you were in Asia somewhere." Sirius said the instant they had left the room.
"I was, but Dumbledore's owl seemed rather important, so I came." Remus said.
"Where you the one who was creeping about in the shack before the meeting?" Sirius frowned at his friend.
"I was in the shack earlier, I thought some of the ghosts had moved in there when I heard voices." Laughed Remus.
Sirius glowered at his friend.
"Do you think that Peter was one of those who went into hiding?" Remus suddenly asked.
Sirius snorted. "He seems most likely to do so."
Remus nodded. "Specially with his mother in tow, he would want to keep her safe."
"I don't think going into hiding would do much good. If Voldemort wants to find you, he will. The bugger, he is like a disease, spreading everywhere with no care of whom he hurts." Sirius spat out his indignation.
"Rather sad news, isn't it?" James said stepping out of the room.
"That was rather quick." Exclaimed Remus.
"There was no need for long explanations." Shrugged James.
"Why did he want to speak with you?" Asked Sirius as the trio started to make their way out of the castle. They passed a frantic Professor McGonagall as they turned from the corridor on which the room they had left behind was located.
"In a hurry isn't she?" Said James turning back to look at his former transfiguration teacher.
"Don't change the subject, why did Dumbledore asked you to stay?" Sirius urged.
James sighed. He knew that Sirius would not stop asking unless he got a good answer. But he really didn't feel like lying to his friend, at least he could say part of the true.
"He says that I might be next in Voldemort's list." He said.
His friends turned to look at him in horror.
"You need to hide."
"Leave the country."
They exclaimed at once.
James smiled. "There is no need yet. We don't know if the reports are true. He says that I'm safe in town for now, but as soon as more specifics are known we will take steps."
"Are you sure, you are safe?" Asked Remus with a frown.
"For now." James answered.
The trio walked in silence as they continued on their way.
James stole silently into his house. The large, stately building was dark and brooding. He crept up the stairs and undressed in silence. He could see Lily sleeping soundly on her side of the bed. The door leading to Harry's room was open and a dim light shone through.
When he finally finished dressing, he walked silently into Harry's room. One candle lit the room, the flame dancing as James passed by. James approached the crib and looked down at his sleeping son.
Harry was sleeping on his side, his small finger in his mouth. The small ginger kitten snuggled at the foot of the mattress.
James smiled.
"I'll protect you Harry, he won't get you. I'll die if I have to, but he won't get his hands on you." James promised.
Harry continued to sleep silently.
Lily awoke the next morning feeling a little groggy. She stretched and yawned and turned on her side to look at James. He was awake. He was lying on his back, his head resting on his arms. When he felt her movements, he turned to look at her and smiled.
"Good morning." He said leaning on his arm and kissing her.
"Hmm.good morning."
James smiled down at her. "Slept well?"
"Yes, but I feel strangely groggy." Lily yawned.
"It will pass." James said as he turned to leave the bed.
Harry's cries reached them.
"I'll go." Said James and started toward Harry's room.
"Bring him here, he must be hungry." Said Lily as she sat up on the bed.
A few minutes later, James stepped out of Harry's room with a whimpering infant in his arms.
"Here you go Harry, mum will give you something to eat." He said as he placed Harry in Lily's arms.
Lily laughed but took her son with care. "Morning Harry, hungry are you?"
James stood beside her as she fed Harry.
She looked up at him and smiled.
The days passed quick for the small family. Now that they lived in Rowe Square, Sirius and Katie could drop every day, they lived across the park from them. The ladies went visiting and shopping often, while the twins were taken sightseeing by Sirius and James on the afternoons, on some occasions, Harry would go along.
The mornings were rather busy for James, even though Lily hadn't been able to find out why. He crossed the park every morning to go to the Ministry, it seemed that he had taken over the work that his father had left behind on his death. The Minister was quite happy with this arrangement, he had missed his friend's Alliaster sense of humor and common sense, he had saved him from committing some horrible errors on his time. Now that James was there, he didn't miss his friend so much, his son had taken the place that the father had left vacant. James became a familiar face on the large building located in a corner of Rowe Square.
Lily had been rather angry at the beginning when James started to leave the house and spend a lot of time in the Ministry. She had a feeling that he was keeping something from her and it made her feel somewhat left out. But when reports of massacres done by the Death Eaters started to appear on the Daily Prophet, she understood the need that James felt of being in the Ministry, if it hadn't been for the twins and Harry she would've joined him.
She then started noticing a pattern emerging in the families being attacked, many of them she had met on the secret meeting at Hogwarts about a year ago, she had given it up after she became pregnant. The pattern worried her, and it scared her as the reports started to grow.
It was after reading one of these reports that she marched determinedly into James' bookroom one afternoon.
James was silently reading some reports that the Ministry had recently acquired when the door was open abruptly. He looked up with surprise as his wife banged the door closed and walked quickly toward him.
"They know about us don't they? Why didn't you tell me?" She exclaimed standing before him.
James blinked in confusion. "Who knows what?"
Lily sighed with exasperation and her anger seemed to grow. "Voldemort. He knows about us doesn't he? About Dumbledore's group." She said. When she noticed James hesitate she exclaimed, "don't lie to me James, I can see that he does know. Why didn't you tell me?"
James sighed in resignation, his wife was too smart for her own good, he thought.
"All right," he said, "come and sit here." He leaned back on his chair and patted his lap.
Lily walked around the desk and sat in his lap, his arms promptly went around her.
"Yes, it does seem that Voldemort has found out about our little group. But there is nothing that should worry you, we have taken steps to keeps us protected, these reports could be worse if we hadn't done a thing." He said motioning to the paper that was still clasped in Lily's hand.
"Why would it be worse?" Lily asked as she leaned to rest her head against his shoulder.
"Most moved or went into hiding, some decided to risk it and stayed. They were the ones who had been attacked." James was stroking Lily's hair, he always liked her hair, he thought.
"Should we move as well? Are we in danger?" She asked quietly.
"As long as we stay here we will be safe, magic does not work in the square unless you live here or work in the Ministry. We are relatively safe."
"Does he know about you know what?" Whispered Lily.
"Not that we know of, it is possible but as he has made no move toward us we must assume that he knows nothing." James replied.
"I'm worried James, and I'm scared for Harry, what if Voldemort finds out?" Lily turned to look into James' eyes.
"We'll go into hiding if needed, Dumbledore mentioned a spell in one of his owls, we might need it sometime. For now, we are safe, he seems to be targeting those less prominent in our society, but he will get bolder, we will take precautions when that happens." James said. Lily nodded and rested her head against his shoulder once more.
Darkness was starting to fall, in the distance, the lights in the park were seen lighting one by one. An owl flew by in direction to the Ministry. The young couple stayed as they were long into the night.
The talk with James helped Lily relax a little, but that didn't mean that she stopped worrying. James continued to spend his mornings in the Ministry, and Lily had decided that the family would stay within Rowe Square, the trips to the museums and the theaters stopped. If the twins, Mrs. Potter and Mrs. Evans thought this out of the ordinary, they didn't say a thing, but Lily liked to think that they were safer.
Katie came to visit often and it was during one of these visits that Lily noticed that her friend seemed rather sad.
"What is wrong Katie?" Asked Lily after the two had sat in the parlor in silence from the moment Katie had entered a few minutes ago. That was rather uncommon for Katie, she was known for her talkativeness.
Katie looked sadly at her friend. "Sirius wants to send me away." She said, two fat tears slid down her cheeks.
"What? Why?" Exclaimed Lily.
Katie dried her tears abruptly before answering. "He seems to have gotten into his head that I will be safer if I'm not anywhere near him."
Lily thought for a minute, she understood why Sirius would feel that way, she was sure that if he could James would send her and the others as far away as he could, but because of the spell that was performed on Harry, he would be safer if both she and James were with him.
"You don't want to go." Lily said.
"Of course I don't want to go. If he is in danger I want to be here, but he won't listen to reason, he says that he would only be easy if I'm gone into hiding." Katie sobbed.
Lily sat next to her friend and hugged her. She comforted her, as Katie let the tears that she had tried so hard to hold on to fall.
Sirius was at that moment venting his anger on James' willing ears.
".And she just won't go, I don't know what else to do, I'll divorce her if she doesn't go. I want her as far away from here." Sirius was running his fingers through his hair as James leaned back on his chair and watched Sirius pace back and forth before him.
"Have you told her why you want her to go?" James asked.
"You mean if I told her about our meeting with Dumbledore." Sirius asked miserably. James nodded.
"No." Sirius replied.
James sighed. "Perhaps you should, it would be easier for her to understand if she knew why you want her gone."
"Maybe." Shrugged Sirius as he continued his pacing.
James said no more, sometimes his friend needed to get things into perspective in order to do the one thing he should've done from the beginning.
Lily watched her friend leave an hour later. She was sad for her friend but at the same time understanding why Sirius would want to keep her away, she just thought he was doing it the wrong way.
She walked toward the bookroom, she knew that James had spent the hour with Sirius and wondered what had happened, what had been said.
The bookroom was silent when she opened the door. It now February and the weather was cold, a light flurry of snow was seen falling through the window and the fireplace was lit. She looked around until she heard a chuckle from behind one of the couches near the fireplace.
Lily frowned, what was James doing, she thought. She walked silently and looked around the couch. She found James in all fours having what seemed to be a crawling race with Harry. Harry was waddling beside his father and James laughed as he crawled along. Lily smiled.
James knew the moment that Lily came into the room. There was no need for him to look at her to know where she was. His instincts somehow knew where to find her. It was surprising for him that his body was so attuned to his wife's, how many people could say that about their spouses. He supposed it was another proof of how right they were for each other, she was meant to be with him and he was glad that he saw it before he could have lost her forever.
Harry and James crawled along until James came close to crashing against one of the couches. He tumbled as he tried to go around it. Harry was sitting beside him, filled with laughter. Lily was sitting in the couch that he almost crashed against, she was also laughing. James looked at her with a face full of disappointment. "You could have said something."
"That would be cheating! Besides, Harry was doing just fine." Lily laughed.
"Fine, side with your son." Laughed James.
Harry crawled up to the couch and raised his hands. "Up! Up!" He demanded.
"Oh fine, you say up but won't say dad!" Exclaimed James.
Lily laughed as she picked Harry and settled him in her lap. Harry put his finger on his mouth and leaned against his mother.
"How did it go with Sirius?" She asked looking back to James.
James stretched himself on the floor and looked up at her. "Well, considering we are speaking about Sirius."
Lily smiled sadly. "Do you think he will succeed? Will Katie leave?"
James sighed. "I don't know, but I do agree with him. Katie needs to leave, as long as she remains behind she will be his weakness. If the Death Eaters decide to come against us, they will try to get to Sirius through her."
Lily looked down at James with a sorrowful expression. James saw it and quickly stood from the floor to sit beside her. "Don't worry, Sirius will do whatever possible to keep her safe."
"I know, I'm going to miss her. It seems that I'm meant to lose all my friends because of Voldemort. First Emma and now Katie." She whispered with a voice full of tears.
James hugged her tight, but it wasn't for long as Harry wailed his discontent at being held to tight by his parents. James looked sheepishly down at his son. "I'm sorry Harry, I had forgotten you where there."
Harry looked up at his father frowning, and James found himself wondering if his son had understood what he had said.
Lily smiled down at Harry and kissed his dark hair. She laughed as the spot of hair she had kissed stood on end.
"Poor Harry, he inherited your hair." She said as she tried to pat the hair down to make it look tidier.
"It's not my fault, blame all of those people hanging in the family portraits. They gave it me." Laughed James.
Harry had settled himself back against his mother and his drooping eyes were slowly closing.
"I'll call Minnie to ready him for bed." Offered James.
"No, I want to do it." She said and gathering Harry into her arms she left he couch and made her way out of the room.
James saw her leave. He sat back on the couch and turned to look at the dancing flames in the fireplace, thinking about his friend's problem.
In another house of Rowe Squate, two loud voices could be heard coming from the modest library in the ground floor.
"Why won't you listen to me? I don't want to go!" Katie stamped her foot in exasperation.
Sirius sighed. "Katie, listen to me. If Voldemort comes after me, he will hurt you, I don't want you to get hurt, I couldn't live with myself if I lose you."
"Oh Sirius! I know you want to keep me safe, but don't you see? I prefer to spend my last days with you than without you." She sobbed.
Sirius gathered her into his arms and tried to comfort her. "I know you do sweetheart, but I would feel much stronger if I knew you were safe. You could go to America, or to Australia, anywhere you want, as long as you are far from here. I would even prefer it if you went to your cousin. That ugly git."
Katie chuckled against her husband's chest. "Poor Severus, he wouldn't know what to do with me. But you said that you thought he was a Death Eater, how would I be safe with him if he is one?"
"And he is one, I'm sure of it. But I'm also sure that he loves you and he wouldn't turn you in to Voldemort, if he didn't he wouldn't send you those divorce forms every week." Sirius growled.
Katie chuckled once more. It was true that every week he received a packet of divorce forms from Severus. She knew that there was bad blood between her cousin and husband, but so far she didn't have much trouble keeping them away from each other.
"Why don't you go see him, see what he says, I'm sure he could help to keep you hidden, it would be best that way. Perhaps if I don't know where you are, the safer you will be, there wouldn't be a way to intercept any communication that we might have and they wouldn't be able to find you." Said Sirius.
"Do you really want me to get his advice?" Katie asked with a voice full of surprise.
"I do. He will help you." Sirius said. He didn't like the idea of getting help from Snape, but this was about Katie, and Snape loved her, he would keep her safe, even from himself if necessary.
"If that is what you want me to do, then I'll go to see him." Whispered Katie.
The couple stayed embraced as the room got darker and the flames of the candles around the room extinguished.
Severus Snape was sitting in his dark library one afternoon. He had met with somebody earlier that morning and he was busy thinking about it that he didn't hear the doorbell ring. He didn't even hear his servant walking by the library door as he made his way to open the front door. He did hear, however, the scratching on the library door a few moments later.
"Yes!" He barked. He was frowning deeply, he had told his servant to leave him alone and not to bother him for anything. He was clearly displeased that his wishes were not met.
The servant opened the door. "I'm sorry Sir, but there's a lady here that says she is your cousin and will not leave even though I told her you were not to be bothered." Explained the servant.
"What name did she give you?" Growled Severus.
"Katie Black, Sir." Said the servant.
Severus' brows went up in surprise, his cousin hadn't visited his home since they were children, even though they had kept in contact. He wondered what had brought her to him and thought that if Black had done something to upset her he would be more than happy to make him pay for it.
"Tell her to come in." He commanded.
The servant nodded and returned some time later with Katie.
The library was lighted as she entered. There were lit candles around the room and the curtains had been drawn to allow the meager sunlight available to enter through the small windows.
"I'm happy to see you cousin, but I'm rather surprised, I haven't seen you since the day you got married to that prankster of yours." Severus said as he walked up to Katie and greeted her with a kiss.
Katie chuckled thinking of the things Sirius had said about Severus before she left home. "Good to see you cousin. Don't worry, Sirius knows I'm here, in fact he sent me to you." She said as she took a seat in one of the couches.
Severus was rather surprised to hear that, he had thought that Black didn't know about her coming to visit him.
"Indeed!" He exclaimed. "Will miracles never end? And why, may I ask, did he send you to me?"
"I need your opinion in an argument we are having." Katie said.
Severus looked at her as if she had grown an extra head. "You want my opinion. About an argument? Are you feeling all right?"
Katie chuckled, she supposed it looked rather surprising to him, considering how he and Sirius hated each other, not that she had ever found out why it was so.
"I do. He says that you would know what to do." Said Katie.
Severus shook his head, I must be hearing wrong, he thought.
"All right," he said cautiously, "what do you want my advice on?"
Katie bit her lips and looked down at her hands, clasped on her lap. "Well," she began. She waited for a moment before continuing. "He wants to send me away, he says that if things happen and Voldemort wants to go after him that I will be the one hurt." She blurted out.
Severus looked at her with surprise. Many of those who spoke about Voldemort didn't say his name, they called him "Him-who-must-not-be-named" or "You-Know-Who", he supposed that he should've known that Katie and her friends would not do so. Even though the Marauders had been such pranksters in school, they did have a streak of courage, they had to if they had to pull off all the tricks they did. Well, almost all of them, except for Petegrew. He always wondered why the others allowed him to tag along, it was true that by the end he had been as strong as the others, but he was still the weakest of them all. And he had proved it several times.
He knew about the orders he had carried out during the time of the Potter's marriage, the information he was meant to gather. But after that first meeting in the cottage after the attack on Hogsmeade, Severus had not seen Petegrew among the Death Eaters, he thought that he must have been frightened off and that would be his undoing, in fact, Severus had been rather surprised that the others had not killed him yet.
But Katie was watching him, he would leave his thoughts for later.
"Why does he think that he would become a target?" He asked. As far as he knew there was no reason for him to be one.
Katie shrugged.
Severus sighed. He supposed that Black would not want him to know what his actions were that would make him a target for Voldemort. But he was right, Severus thought, if he does become a target the others would go for Katie, not for Black.
And he said just that. "He is right Katie, I'm afraid that if he does become a target, the Death Eaters will not go to him, they would go for you. It's not a secret that he loves you, they will try to get to him by hurting you."
Katie looked down at her hands again, she was afraid that he would say that. "Do you think that I should leave then?"
Severus nodeed. "It would be for the best."
"But where would I go? Sirius says that it would be better if he doesn't know, that way any communication he tries would not be intercepted." Katie said
Severus was rather surprised that Black had thought of that. He hated to admit it, but it seemed that Sirius Black was not just a prankster and a ladies' man, he did have a brain after all.
"It is better if you leave the continent, his power is stretching into the depths of all Europe, go across the Atlantic, or to Australia, you could also think about the small islands, nobody would look for you there." Severus said.
Katie nodded, Sirius had said something similar to that.
"You could go to Aunt Mabel." Severus suddenly said.
Katie looked at him in surprised, she had forgotten about Aunt Mabel. "Do you think she will have me?"
"Of course she would, she had been alone in that island of hers for years, I'm sure she is ready for some company. And it is far enough for you to be quite safe. The fact that she has it covered with spells of all sorts would help as well. As you know, magic cannot be used and owls cannot enter." Severus said.
Katie was nodding as he said all this. Now that she knew that Sirius would keep better care of himself if he thought her safe, she was actually thinking about leaving and stay in hiding as long as she had to.
"Thank you Severus." She said. "I see that I'm going to have to do so. Keep an eye on Sirius for me. Please." She leaned and kissed his cheek before leaving the room.
Severus stayed in his chair watching her go. Keep an eye on Black? He thought. He shook his head in disbelief, why would he want to take care of him?
Sirius was sitting in his darkened library that same night, hoping to catch Katie as she returned from visiting Snape. He wasn't happy that he had sent her to him, for all he knew she could be in more danger than if she was him, but he also knew that Snape loved his cousin and if there was a place for her to be safe, he would know about it.
The bad blood that had emerged as they grew up at Hogwarts had remained as they became men, he knew that he should let sleeping dogs lay but he just couldn't help himself. He didn't know why the rivalry had emerged, it wasn't like he had decided to hate Snape when he first saw him, it just happened, and the pranks that they enjoyed pulling on the Slytherin just reciprocated the feeling.
But it didn't matter, he thought, Katie would be safe, that was all that he cared about. He turned to look out the window, night was falling and he was a little worried that Katie had not returned.
The reports of Voldemort activity were rather disturbing, he had a feeling that something momentous would happen soon and he wanted Katie out of the country before it did. Too bad that Lily and Harry would not go, he thought. He had tried to convince James to send them away with Katie, but he had not agreed to do so. James had said that because of special circumstances, Lily and Harry would be safe as long as they were all together, if they were separated that would bring serious problems. Sirius had not believed that explanation, he had a suspicion that his friend was hiding something. He didn't like to think that his best friend would hide something from him, the fact that Remus and Peter didn't seem to know either didn't soothe his wounded pride.
He heard the front door opened and voices approaching. The library door was opened and Katie walked in.
"Hello dear, shouldn't you light some candles?" She asked as she looked around the dark room.
Sirius snapped his fingers and the candles lit instantly. He had been working lately on simple wandless magic, he thought it would come in handy in case he was in trouble and his wand was not at his reach.
"Much better." Sighed Katie.
"How did it go?" Sirius asked.
"He agreed with you." Was all Katie replied.
Sirius made a face full of distaste, Katie laughed.
"I know, you don't like the idea that you two might think the same way. I got a feeling that the only reason you don't get along is because you two see some things in common." Katie chuckled as she put her arms around him.
Sirius shook his head energetically. "No, we never see things the same way."
"If you say so dear." Katie patted his cheek and left her seat to pour some tea which one of the servants had brought in while she greeted her husband.
"What did he say?" Asked Sirius once more.
"He said that you were right in wanting me to be away, he said he would help me if I decided to leave." Katie was standing by the windows that looked out to the narrow garden in the back of the house. She didn't say anything about her Aunt Mabel, if Sirius wanted to keep her hiding place a secret it was best if nobody but Severus and herself knew.
"Are you?" Sirius asked quietly. He was scared of her answer. He knew it was for the best, she would be safe if she did, but at the same time, he would miss her. They had been together for close to seven years, she had been there for more than half of his life, first as a friend and companion and later as his mate. He didn't know how he would be able to handle life without her. She was the last thing he saw before going to sleep and the first thing he saw each morning. She was his life and happiness and everything would seem bleak and lifeless if she was not there with him.
"What do you want me to do Sirius? Do you still want me to go?" She turned from the windows and looked back at Sirius. Her glance was full of questions.
"You will be safe Katie. I couldn't live with myself knowing that you could be hurt because of me." Sirius exclaimed. He walked rapidly toward her and put her arms around her, pressing her against him.
"How will I know if it's safe to return?" She asked as she leaned her head against his chest.
"Get in contact with Snape after five years, he will tell you if it's safe to return." He put his head on top of hers, wanting to keep the memory of her with him.
"Why not with you?" She stepped back and looked up at him.
"Because it would be too dangerous. It's safer if you contact Snape." He replied.
"What about James and Lily, or any of the others?"
Sirius shook his head. "We might be kept in surveillance, it would not be safe to contact any of us, Remus and Peter are in much trouble are we are."
"But what happens if Severus cannot be contacted?"
"Contact Dumbledore. He will know what to do." Sirius said.
Both remained in each other's arms late into the night, hoping to keep the memory of each other for the rest of their lives. They were scared for each other, but the secret that Katie carried kept her from staying, she was going to do as Sirius asked and at her return she would bring to him the most precious gift she could give him.
That night, James sat in his bookroom as darkness fell across the land. He was thinking about his friend and how hard it would be for all of them to see Katie go, but he was sure that Sirius would succeed in getting Katie to agree to leave town. He would do the same for Lily and Harry if he could, but they were safe if the three of them were together.
He sighed as he thought about his son. He didn't like the idea that Harry would be in danger if Voldemort found out about their work with Dumbledore. He didn't know what he would do if any danger came to his son.
He wanted to be able to be there when Harry got his letter from Hogwarts, that he would get one there was no question. He would teach his son how to ride a broom and would attend every game that his son played in Gryffindor House Team (James was absolutely sure that Harry would be in Gryffindor and that he would be chosen for the House Team), and even though he knew that Lily wouldn't like it, he would tell his son about the hidden passages in Hogwarts, it would be a shame if his son didn't take advantage of them. He smiled at the memory of all his adventures with his friends, and he was sure that Harry would enjoy some good memories of his own.
He abruptly left his chair and marched out of the room. He took the stairs two at a time but didn't walk up to his chambers where Lily was readying Harry for bed. Instead, he made his way up to the attics.
The attics covered the whole back half of the house, past the servant quarters. The attic was divided into small rooms, all connected by narrow doorways and on the outer walls small windows lit the small room. He walked down to a small room right at the back of the floor, the small window looked out to the back garden, but he didn't pay any attention to it.
He looked around the room. All his things from school was in this place. The walls were lined with bookcases where several books were kept. On top of the cases were scales, cauldrons, vials, and parchments and quills in all shapes. At one hidden corner of the room was a trunk.
He walked to the trunk and pulled it to the middle of the room. He opened it and smiled. Red Quidditch robes, his old broom, candy wrappers and used trick and joke cases and at one side, his old Invisibility Cloak.
"How could I have forgotten about you?" He said aloud as he pulled the cloak out of the trunk. He closed the trunk and with the cloak draped around him, he left the room.
Two weeks later, on a cloudy march morning, Lily and Katie said goodbye. Among hugs and tears they wished each other happy. By the end of the day, Katie was gone, her cousin had come for her and with help of darkness they disappeared from sight. Nobody knew where she was going, but they all knew that she would be safe.
A/N: That's the end of Chapter 4, as I said in the beginning, things are going to be a little more difficult for our favorite pair and I'm sure that many of you will not like what happens in the next chapter. I hope you liked this chapter and don't worry, Katie will be safe, for now. Don't forget to review!