Me is back! Muahaha! Anyway. The loverly reviewer of mine, and author extraordinaire, Slashy Kitty, inspired this ficcy. All hail Slashy Kitty! For you other readers, this is my first attempt at pure angst…with minute fluffy-ness at the end I think, whenever that is…lol.

Alrighty then! Let's get cracking!

Disclaimer: Under the influence of sodium pentathol, or, truth serum, I am forced to tell you that I DO NOT own Harry Potter and Co. Dammit!

Warning: Slash. If you find male/male relationships offensive, then read something else!

Timeline: Before the Potters' deaths and the fall of Voldie up to the PoA.

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"Chapter 1- Grave Mistake."

Night fell.

People plotted.

Time passed.

War raged.

Never had the wizarding world faced such conflict. Hunger for power was a powerful thing, as could be attested by Voldemort's reign of terror. Many witches and wizards, refusing to join him, had fallen, as casualties of the war.

But in the dingy bar that was the Hog's Head, a prophecy was made.

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches…born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies…and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not…and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives…the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies…"

Only one Albus Dumbledore heard this prediction, he and one of Voldemort's spies. There were rather many spies about. Whispers of a traitor in their midst.

Only question was…who was it?

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Sirius Black paced in the middle of the room.

"Dumbledore, are you sure there's no other way?" he asked, his grey-blue eyes alight with worry.

The current Headmaster of Hogwarts shook his head. "There is no other way. I assure you, this is the best method to keep James and Lily safe. And Harry, too. You want them safe, don't you?"

"Of course I do! It's just…I may not be the best choice as Secret Keeper…"his voice trailed away.

"Sirius. James trusts you. Don't doubt that trust," Dumbledore said, smiling, and placed his hand on Sirius' shoulder comfortingly.

"Okay."

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After the Fidelius Charm had been performed, Sirius immediately returned to the apartment he shared with a certain Remus Lupin.

His head was in turmoil. He should have never agreed to James' suggestion of him being the Potters' Secret Keeper. Sure, he was flattered at the black-haired man's conviction in him, but…truth to be told, Sirius had no idea whether he'd be strong enough when the time came.

Shrugging off his coat, Sirius called out Remus' name a couple of times before realising that the werewolf was on a secret mission for the Order. He seemed to be going on a rather a lot of missions lately…

He pushed the thoughts out of his head. Remus wasn't the spy! He couldn't be.

Sirius sighed. He wished that they could go back in time to when they were still teenagers in Hogwarts. Life was so simple then. But now…war had altered everything. Even Sirius, the carefree one, had grey hairs and lines over his face, the result of Voldemort's need for power.

'I need to cook dinner.' He tried to turn on the stove, but the blasted thing refused to function. Sirius cursed gently. He'd never gotten the hang of Muggle appliances. He glanced out the window and, seeing no one there, pulled out his wand and tapped the stove, which burst into life.

He pulled out a pan and started boiling the milk as instructed on the packet. He then added a spoonful of butter and emptied the contents of the sachet into the pan. The smell of mushrooms and cream sauce filled the air as the front door opened and an extremely tired Remus Lupin stepped in.

"Pasta?" the werewolf inquired, leaning over to kiss Sirius on the cheek gently.

"Yup. Couldn't be bothered to whip up something fancy tonight…sorry."

"No, no, pasta's fine! I'm curious though…if we get married, will I be the one who has the job while you slave at the stove for my dinner like a good housewi-househusband?" Remus asked, amber eyes twinkling with amusement.

"Remus Lupin! If you think for a second that I'm going to slave over anything for you, you are seriously mistaken!" Try as he might, Sirius simply could not keep a straight face and ended up howling with laughter with his boyfriend.

The moment was abruptly ended when Remus sniffed the air and remarked, "Is something burning?"

"Ah, shite! Moony, get out! You distracted me!" Sirius immediately tended to the slightly burned fettuccine he had previously neglected.

Remus pretended to be offended by this remark, though he laughed, and did as Sirius asked, and backed out of the kitchen into the bathroom for a looong bath.

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After dinner, a bath and a snog session with Remus before the lights went out, Sirius found himself frustratingly awake. He couldn't understand it. Remus was out like a light. Why couldn't he?

It was clear that his thoughts, for once, were keeping him excruciatingly conscious.

Okay then. First thing: the Fidelius Charm. Being the Potters' Secret Keeper, he, Sirius, was in possession of their whereabouts, which could only be divulged if he wanted to. And, obviously, he wouldn't. Right?

He ran a hair through his midnight-black hair, careful to make sure that the movement did not disturb the sleeping form of Remus beside him. Sirius had to admit it…he was afraid. Dead afraid. What if Voldemort somehow knew where he and Remus lived? What if he took Remus hostage in exchange for the information on James, Lily and Harry?

'I can't stand the thought of anything happening to everyone I love…especially if it's because of me.'

Remus gave out a sudden snore. Sirius glanced at his partner and smiled. The werewolf truly was beautiful, despite all his efforts in denying the fact. His blond-streaked brown hair stood up in all directions, making him look so exasperatingly adorable. Sirius knew under those sleep-ridden eyelids were two perfect orbs of amber. His face, pale, was littered with scars, but they only served to accentuate his rough good looks. His lips were the palest pink, and were slightly open.

Sirius sighed. That was another reason why he was awake. Remus.

A thought had come to him while he was soaping himself in the bathtub. A thought he wasn't particularly keen on.

What if Remus was the traitor?

Sirius, although he wished it not to be true, was forced to look at the facts before him. Remus had been going for a lot of tasks for the Order recently. And he would never tell Sirius what he'd been up to. And Voldemort was offering equal rights for werewolves, who were discriminated against due to their nature.

The more Sirius mulled it over, the more convinced he was, although it broke his heart doing so. Would he, Sirius, be strong enough to deny Remus the information on the Potters' whereabouts?

'I can't deny Remmy anything…' And that was his weakness. Remus. One that Voldemort had control of.

"Padfoot?" a sleepy voice intruded on his thoughts. Sirius glanced to his side and met the half-open golden eyes of Remus. "Why you still awake?"

"No reason, Moony. Go back to sleep."

Remus complied, his head dropping back onto the pillow. Sirius decided to follow suit.

'I'll see Dumbledore first thing tomorrow.'

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James Potter ran his hand through his jet-black hair, irritated. This was the second time in two days he had to go through the Fidelius Charm. He wanted to be with Lily, and Harry, as time was precious, especially now, with Voldemort on the lookout for them.

Across the room, Sirius and Peter, along with Dumbledore, were completing the final steps of the charm. Sirius had been unwilling from the start; only today had he finally convinced both James and Dumbledore to switch the Secret Keeper to Peter.

Also, Sirius had demanded that the switch be kept quiet. Strange as it seemed, there was wisdom in this idea; no one would know that the actual Secret Keeper was Peter, they would only know of Sirius being the Secret Keeper, if they knew at all.

After the charm had been completed, Sirius took Peter to one side and told him in a quiet voice, "Peter, I want you to go into hiding. Don't go back to your house, go somewhere safe…I know! You remember where we used to stay, all four of us, before James got married?"

"Yeah," the watery-blue eyed man said.

"Hide out there. I'll come around every few days. To make sure you're safe." From Remus.

"Sure, Sirius. I-I'll go now."

"Good man."

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Remus felt like he was being slapped in the face, although Sirius had only said a few words to him and not raised his hand.

"W-what did you say?" he managed to get out.

"Get out, Remus. I'm breaking up with you." Sirius' voice was cold, his face devoid of emotion. His heart was shattering, but nothing of it showed.

Remus, however, did no such thing. Tears were streaming down his face, twin waterfalls pouring from twin amber orbs. "But…why? What did I do? I swear I'm not seeing anyone else, I-"

Sirius held up a hand. Oh, how much he wanted to take Remus in his arms and comfort him, and tell him that it was all a joke, that he loved him. But he couldn't. He had to be strong. For James and Lily, and especially Harry. "It was nothing you did. I just thought it was time we went our separate ways, Remus."

"But, Padfoot…you can't mean that…you can't!" Remus' voice broke then, and he sobbed openly.

Sirius did not move; he could have been a stone statue. "Leave, Remus."

And so Remus did, much to Sirius' surprise. He had expected a long and fruitless argument, but thankfully, there was none. Remus only packed his things, and, with a quiet and snuffle-y "Goodbye, Siri" he was gone.

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Sighing, Sirius went to the closet and took out his weather beaten leather jacket. A present from his favourite cousin's daughter, Nymphadora Tonks. Then, after locking the door to the apartment, got on his bike (another present) and proceeded to Peter's hiding place.

It had been four days since the switch. So far, no Death Eater had tried to get the information out of Sirius. Even so, he needed to check up on Peter.

Upon arrival, Sirius sensed something was wrong. He couldn't explain how he knew, he just did. Canine intuition, if you will. He knocked on the door a few times, and, seeing as there was no answer, placed a hand on the doorknob.

It swung open with no resistance.

Sirius swore. This was getting more and more troubling.

"Peter?" he called. "Peter, are you here?"

No answer.

Sirius went through the whole house, calling out Peter's name again and again, to no avail. Peter wasn't there.

The grey-blue eyed man slammed the front door closed in frustration and leant against it, breathing heavily. What had disturbed him most of all was not the absence of Peter, but the absence of a struggle…whatever, whoever took him away, they were someone Peter knew.

Someone like Remus.

Then a thought struck him, suddenly and totally, it was as if all the air was knocked out of him.

James and Lily!

He took a step toward his motorbike, but he heard the crunch of paper under his foot. Without pausing, movements fluidly graceful, he scooped up the paper for later scrutiny and kicked his bike to life, pressing the extra button it had to make it fly, the only accessory that made it different from the motorcycles the Muggles used.

Within moments he arrived in Godrics Hollow. What he saw at the end of the 5th lane made his heart stop.

Their house was…it had exploded.

Still on his motorbike, Sirius approached the remains of the two-storey building he had visited countless times before. He turned off the ignition, and took a few tentative steps toward the house, his movements shaky.

Suddenly, someone emerged from the ruins. Without thinking, he whipped out his wand. But then he saw the shaggy head and scraggly beard. Being over two metres tall was also a factor that distinguished Hagrid from Voldemort. Sirius hurriedly put his wand away. He saw a bundle of cloth in the half-giant's arms, looking very small. Harry! Harry was alive! He felt relief wash over him, and hastened to Hagrid's side.

"James and Lily…?" he asked, voice full of hope.

The tears in the beetle black eyes told him everything. Sirius sunk slowly to the pavement. "No…it-it can't be, it just can't…" He put his head in his hands.

"There, there, Sirius…there was nothin' yeh could've done…they died a heroes' death, they did…" Hagrid reached out an enormous hand and clapped Sirius' shoulder in what he thought to be a comforting way, but almost sent Sirius into the cement.

"But…Harry?"

"I dunno how he did it…but he survived, Sirius! He beated You-Know-Who!"

"W-what?"

"Yeah! He did! You-Know-Who's spell must've backfired…"

Sirius got to his feet and peered at the bundle in Hagrid's arms. A tiny Harry Potter gurgled at him with all the innocence only a baby can have. Sirius' eyes took in a scar on Harry's forehead, a curiously lightning-shaped scar. He gave the boy a small smile and looked up at Hagrid.

"Give Harry to me, Hagrid, I'm his godfather," Sirius said, but Hagrid shook his head sadly.

"I've got me orders from Dumbledore…He has ter live with his aunt an' uncles'."

"But…you don't mean Lily's sister!" Sirius exclaimed.

"Aye, I do."

"But…but…they're Muggles! Harry can't live with them!"

"I'm sorry, Sirius, really, I am, but me orders are me orders. I can't do nothin' 'bout it." Hagrid looked at him sadly.

Finally, Sirius gave in to the inevitable. "Take my bike, Hagrid," he said, handing the half-giant the ignition key. "It'll be faster for you," he added. "And I won't need it anymore," he muttered.

Hagrid smiled at him again. "You'll see 'im soon enough, Sirius. I'm sure."

Sirius kissed Harry on the forehead (the boy giggled and tried to grab his godfather's long hair) and stepped back to allow space for Hagrid to take off. "Goodbye, Harry. Keep him safe, Hagrid."

"Right you are, Mr. Black." And he was off, Harry cradled securely, disappearing into the inky darkness that was the night sky.

Sirius stared at the sky for a few minutes, then realised there were people coming out to investigate. He hurriedly strode away from the house, away from the remains of the Potter house.

Remembering something, he plunged a hand into his jacket and drew out the paper he had found earlier on. On it was scrawled:

Too late, Sirius.

But it was not in Remus' handwriting.

It was Peter's.

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How's that then? I plan on continuing it, and I promise I'll try my very very very best at writing angst. Advice is welcome, and so are gifts and etc.

Anila :p