In the light of the full moon, the first houses of Godric's Hollow already appeared on the horizon. Sirius accelerated and left his cruising altitude when he suddenly saw fireworks of lightning rising high above the rooftops. Immediately he knew that a fierce combat was raging there. He bent low over his broom and as he shot towards the place from which the flashes were shooting into the air, he drew his wand from his pocket with one hand and with the other pushed down the handle of his broom so that it flew very close over the roofs of the houses. As he rounded a chimney, he spotted Lily and James engaged in a fight with five Death Eaters in the small marketplace below. His friends had taken cover on the opposite side of the square behind a fountain, next to which stood a large sculpture of a knight on a horse. This was already badly damaged by the attackers' spells. At that very moment, a hit snapped off the sword and spun it high into the air before it shattered on the ground.

The Death Eaters had formed a semicircle and were slowly advancing on James and Lily with their wands drawn. They wore black cloaks and black pointed hats, and their faces were hidden behind black masks. Because they stood with their backs to Sirius, they did not see him approaching. As he whizzed his broom down the roof, Sirius cast a Stunning Spell at the nearest opponent. The man collapsed face down onto the pavement. At the same time, James, seeing that his best friend joined the fight, jumped out from behind the fountain, shouted "Expelliarmus" and aimed at another Death Eater. His spell missed the man, who jumped to the side, and hit the front of the house behind him. While the remaining masked men took cover in the entrances of the surrounding houses, one of them fired a spell at Sirius. This struck the broom, which was whirled up. Being surprised by the sudden change of direction, Sirius lost control and fell off. He managed to reduce the impact by rolling over his shoulder and, while jumping up, pointed his wand at another opponent. The man ducked away, and the spell missed him by a hair's breadth. Sirius sprinted towards an archway where a Death Eater had positioned himself and with his shoulder rammed the man violently into the wall. Then he smashed him his fist into the face. The man staggered backwards into the square and his wand was flung high up in the air. Lily, who had been hiding behind the fountain, jumped up and shouted loudly, "Accio wand". As it zoomed at her, she caught it with one hand. James jerked her into cover behind the fountain while two of their assailants showered a rain of spells on them. The statue knight was knocked off his horse with a loud thud and fell into the fountain, causing the water to splash up high.

Sirius duelled with another Death Eater. From the archway he tried to ward off the other's spells. Suddenly he noticed a brick lying next to him. He levitated it and shot it at his opponent. The man was hit square in the face, causing him to stagger backwards as he howled in pain. His wand fell from his hand as he held his aching face with both hands. Sirius cast a Stunning Spell at him, and the man fell to the ground, immobilised. Sirius summoned his opponent's wand, caught it and broke in two. Meanwhile, James had succeeded in disarming one of his two pursuers with 'Expelliarmus'. At the same time, Lily pointed her wand at the other and shouted, "Stupfy," whereupon he fell motionless to the ground. Before the last man could react, Sirius casually waved his wand in his direction and muttered, "Incarcerius". Immediately, the man was tied up with several ropes.

James pointed his wand at the Death Eater he had disarmed and walked slowly and menacingly towards him. He let his wand bob up and down in his hand. He stopped in front of the man. Then he tore the mask from his face with his left hand and knocked his hat off his head with the other. "Well, well. Philippe Rosier. Who would have imagined that? Well, your path ends here, young man. You will not get another chance; I swear to you". Meanwhile, Lily had stepped out from behind the fountain. She was pale and trembling. Lily had never been much of a fighter. Of course, she knew the defensive spells to stand up in a direct confrontation. But she simply lacked the final determination to use them forcefully enough in an emergency. Sirius took her in his arms and comforted her. At the same time, he was surprised to find Philippe here, the son of Jacques, whose house he had just been observing. If he had been superstitious, he would have taken this meeting as a positive sign for his own venture.

James turned and nodded at Sirius, who whispered in Lily's ear, "Dear, apparate home. James and I will tidy up here". Lily nodded and disapparated. They stunned those Death Eaters who were still conscious, lined up all five side by side on the ground and shackled them. "What now?". "We cannot burn them like the last ones. There are no more straw bales in the Muggle fields". Sirius nodded. "How are we going to do it then?". "How about this? Last week I read Lily's Muggle newspaper. There was an article about a man who had fallen on railway tracks and been run over by a train. We could turn them invisible and put them on the tracks". Sirius shook his head. "That might work for one or two. But with five, the risk that one of them survives is far too high. We mustn't let that happen. With a little luck, no one will know what they were up to, and that you and Lily were their target. No, we must figure out something else". James nodded.

Sirius lit a cigarette and smoked silently. Suddenly, something crossed his mind. "Some time ago, Mercuria and I saw a Muggle movie on telly. A body was disposed of by being placed into a grave which already contained a coffin. A double burial, so to speak". "There are some fresh graves in the cemetery. We could use those". James jumped up. "Let's go then". At that moment, a Muggle strolled into the square. He was staggering and seemed to have had some drinks. When he saw the five men lying on the ground, he stopped and looked around in confusion. Sirius stunned and obliviated him. He nodded to James. "Now let's hurry up before someone else comes around". They shackled and levitated their prisoners and herded them to the graveyard. The fresh graves were at the back of the site. They chose those without a grave slab, opened them and let their enemies slide in one by one. When they had closed the graves again, they sealed them with a protective spell. Silently they walked back to the house.

When they entered the Potters' home, Lily was sitting at the kitchen table. She looked distressed. "This is the second time we have been attacked. What have you done to them? Are they dead?". James took her in his arms. "Yes, I suppose they are. Listen. We are at war. There are casualties on both sides. Unfortunately, many more on ours and among the uninvolved. We couldn't just let them walk away or they'd attack other people tomorrow. You must understand that, dear. They didn't notice anything. I swear to you". Lily nodded. "Why don't you get some rest?". Lily stood up and left the room. Sirius leaned forward. "Prongs, you need to be more careful. Take care of her. After all, I still want to meet my godson". James looked at him, speechless. "Harry, you know". "What's the matter with you? Are you suddenly having visions now?". During their school days, they both had considered horoscopes, future telling and prophecies to be a waste of time and had stopped studying Divination after some weeks. James shook his head uncomprehendingly. "First you borrow my broom. Now you're looking into the future. What's wrong with you? Do I have to worry?". A mysterious smile played around Sirius' lips. "Let me put it this way. A fairy queen opened a tiny window into the future for me. I was allowed to peek through it once and that's how I learned about some future developments". He paused for the effect. "Daddy". "Honestly Padfoot. I don't know what to make of this. It all seems very weird to me. But I guess you'll know what you're doing. Are you sure about the baby?". "Definitely. So just take care".

Sirius pulled his mirror out of his breast pocket and said, "Mercuria Evans". When she appeared, she looked drowsy as if she had been sound asleep. Sirius said, "Love, I'm on my way.". As he pocketed the mirror again James remarked, "So you found a new use for them. How much we benefited from them at the time. I already guessed what you wanted my mirror for". They laughed merrily. "Yes, we needed them quite a lot, remember? Nice to have them back in use. But didn't you just return from Antwerp?". Sirius nodded. "After what has happened tonight, I need some distraction. I had different plans for the weekend, but they're not urgent". He hugged his friend and headed for the front door. "Padfoot. Are you sure about your predictions?". Sirius turned around. James leaned against a chair. He ran a hand through his hair and glanced doubtfully at his friend. "James, I'm 100 per cent sure that you're going to have a son next summer, and his name will be Harry. And I will be his godfather. Trust me. One day I will explain to you". He opened the door, loped to his motorcycle, and departed.

Time flew by. Sirius spent Christmas and the New Year in Belgium, far away from all the problems back home. Sirius enjoyed strolling with Mercuria through the colourful decorated streets of the narrow old town, knowing that he was safe here. On his return, he had to face the unpleasant reality at home again. Generally, the present situation in the Wizarding World was referred to as a war by most people, although at no time two armies were facing each other on a battle field. Instead, both sides adopted guerrilla tactics in which figuring out the other side's plans was a key to success and thus of immense importance. Therefore, Sirius' major task as a member of the Order of the Phoenix was to gather information. And this he pursued assiduously. Especially in the Leaky Cauldron, which he visited more and more often. The pub was frequented by wizards from all parts of the country. Sirius quickly became a master at engaging strangers in harmless conversation and eliciting news from them. Often these were trivialities, but he developed an excellent sense for recognising when there was more behind an apparently incidental story than showed on the surface. In addition, he built up underworld links. Thieves, burglars, swindlers, and fences were on his list of informants. In dealing with them, he did not rely exclusively on his charm, but also banked on the persuasive power of his considerable financial resources to obtain one or the other helpful piece of information. He also benefited from the fact that despite his close friendship with James, most people were not sure which side he belonged to, and he did his best to strengthen the general believe of being someone who remained uninvolved in the conflict. When someone asked why he had broken away from his true-blood family, he countered by saying that it would hardly be appropriate for a grown man with sufficient financial means to receive lady visitors in his parental home. Especially those who knew or at least had heard of his flighty behaviour in romantic matters, were more than satisfied with this explanation, and no one investigated the truth behind his statements. Therefore, only the members of the Order of the Phoenix and a few other reliable persons knew his true colours and even most of these did not gain an insight into his underground activities.

With the help of his many contacts, Sirius occasionally learned about secret meetings of the other side. If these took place in less secure locations or outdoors, he sought out ways to eavesdrop on the conversations. At first, he assumed his Animagus form and crept close to his opponents to overhear as much of their plans as possible. But it repeatedly happened that the huge dog was chased away before he could pick up a word. Sirius then borrowed James' invisibility cloak. During their school days, the two of them had used the cloak a lot. At a younger age, to sneak out of school, or to commit wrongdoings of some kind. As they grew older, they used it more and more to spy on those classmates whom they suspected of being Voldemort's followers.

The cloak was very helpful to Sirius. He developed a method that was quite successful but cost him a lot of time. He would arrive at the appointed location long before a meeting was scheduled, and then await the conspirators hidden under the cloak. Often this meant that he stood waiting motionless for hours. But it was the only way he could ensure to remain within the area that his opponents might protect with an Intruder Charm or Imperturbable Charm. Nevertheless, his approach was dangerous, and on one occasion he only escaped by a hair's breadth. However, he repeatedly gathered valuable information that successfully thwarted the Death Eater's plans and protected innocent people from harm.

The more success Sirius had, the more daring he became. At some point, he was not satisfied any more with interrogating strangers or eavesdropping on secret meetings. He was ready to go one step further. Underhand, he procured some ingredients and flew to James and Lily. When they both asked him amazed what he intended, he explained, "I want to brew some potions. I can't do that at home. Someone might come into the cellar and see me. After all, there are several flats in my house. Your basement is safe". James asked, "What do you have in mind?". "Well, I bought ingredients for Polyjuice Potion and Veritas Serum". Lily said, "Isn't this a bit obvious? From the ingredients, someone can easily guess what they are used for. Don't you think someone might wonder what you need them for?". Sirius looked at her puzzled. "It's not like I went to the apothecary. In fact, it took me some time to buy everything from various sources. I don't think anyone will draw conclusions. Can you help me?". They nodded.

Lily in particular was an excellent potion maker. Although James and Sirius were hardly inferior to her, it was she who ultimately brewed the two potions. As James and Sirius sat down in the living room, James asked, "What do you need the potions for anyway?". Sirius lit a cigarette. "It seems to me that I just don't do enough. Eavesdropping on strangers and spying on secret meetings is all well and good". "And it has, after all, produced important results". "Yes. But I've been pondering for some time whether I can't use other methods". "Which are?". "One, of course, is to seek out individual Death Eaters, and interrogate them with the Veritas Serum". "Might work. The problem is asking the right questions". Sirius nodded. "Of course, this only works if I know about an upcoming activity beforehand". "And Polyjuice?". "That's obvious, isn't it? I will take the appearance of a Death Eater and spread false information". "Padfoot, just be careful. This could go horribly wrong. But you don't care about that, do you? Well, in a month you can pick up the potions". They laughed.

Lily had bottled several vials of the two potions for him when he visited them again four weeks later. "The green ones are Veritas, the blue ones Polyjuice". He thanked her profusely and headed back to London. Not long after, the opportunity he had been banking on arose. One of his informants, a pickpocket, handed him a note he had stolen from a passer-by's pocket. It was a message for Markus McMillan to turn up at an abandoned house the next evening. Sirius managed to intercept the Death Eater. In order to question him, he infused him the Veritas Serum. Thus, he learned the names of the other participants. In total, five were involved in the conspiracy. Furthermore, it turned out that Markus was only a hanger-on. This would make Sirius' role much easier. While he mixed a hair of his prisoner into the vial of Polyjuice Potion, he thought about what to do. He stunned Markus, broke his neck after a moment's hesitation and wrapped the body into James' invisibility cloak. Then he took Markus' broom. He deposited the body at the meeting place below a window and waited for the conspirators to come. When they arrived, he swallowed the Polyjuice Potion, mounted the broom, and flew through the window. The others nodded at him. "Markus. Good to see you. We've decided to raid the Johnsons. They live about three quarters of an hour from here. The man works at the Ministry. One of Dumbledore's men. But not for long anymore". The wizards snorted. "The woman is a Muggle. They have three sons. The youngest is still at school, so he won't be around. The oldest is an Auror. He's our main target. The third son also works for the Ministry. A minor player". The man looked at his comrades-in-arms in turn. "You take care of the father. You take care of the middle son. The remaining three of us attack the Auror. We can save the woman up for last. All right?". The men nodded. "Let's do it then".

Sirius was taken aback. His opponents' information was obviously quite inaccurate. The Johnson's second son, William, had been in the same year as himself at Hogwarts, but in Ravenclaw. Sirius remembered that the present day was his birthday. William had been quite popular with his classmates and Sirius suspected that there would be a party. Therefore, many more people would be present than those his co-conspirators expected. Still, he didn't want to take any chances. He watched as the Death Eaters mounted their brooms and flew out the window one by one. He followed last and waited until they were already some distance away before mounting the broom himself. As he zoomed out of the window, he made a hell of a noise, as if he had collided violently with the window frame and cried out loudly. He zoomed to the ground, tore the invisibility cloak from the corpse and threw it over himself. In a final act he smashed the broom. The darkness prevented the Death Eaters from seeing exactly what was going on. When they heard the mock collision and the loud scream of their companion, they turned around to check.

The leader jumped off his broom and examined the dead man on the ground. "Bloody hell, McMillan. You've always been an incredible blunderer". He straightened up. "He's dead. Broken neck. We'll still proceed as planned. Surely two of us will be sufficient to overpower the Auror". He mounted his broom, pointed his wand at the body, which disappeared, and flew off with his men. Sirius apparated to his flat and informed the members of the Order of the impending attack. Then he took a bottle of whisky, dropped onto the couch, lit a cigarette and felt highly pleased with himself. This had worked out splendidly! At the next opportunity that presented itself, he would refine his technique. The next morning, he received news that four Death Eaters who had tried to raid the Johnsons had been killed during their attack. As for his schoolmate's birthday, he had guessed right. The house had been packed with guests and it had not needed the members of the Order to fight off the attackers.

In March Sirius received an enthusiastic letter from James telling him that he was indeed going to be a father. His friend again expressed his amazement at the surprisingly accurate prediction and jokingly asked him if he would like to work as a seer in the future. Sirius smirked at the thought. He sent an owl to his friends congratulating them and asking them to be careful. He himself felt unassailable because of the letter. But he was even more worried about his friends. They were at the centre of the resistance and James in particular had already taken on some dangerous tasks and run a lot of risks.

And then came an evening when Sirius unexpectedly hit the jackpot and was highly rewarded for his enormous efforts. Once again, he was sitting in the Leaky Cauldron trying to gather some information from the other guests when he had the distinct feeling of being watched by somebody. He quickly realised that it was a witch who glanced at him furtively. He took his mirror out of his pocket and examined her stealthily. Sirius did not know the woman. A skinny, medium-sized female with a broad face, watery blue eyes that looked in different directions, and brown hair flecked with white strands. Because of the wrinkles around her eyes and mouth, she appeared to be in her late thirties, early forties, but Sirius suspected she was considerably younger than she looked. Bored, he pocketed his mirror and turned his attention to the person next to him as the waiter approached the woman. "Mrs Yaxley, is there anything else I can do for you?". Sirius listened up. Now he knew who the woman was. Lysandra Yaxley. The wife of Corban Yaxley, an avid follower of Voldemort. He gave the woman a surreptitious glance. Her face reflected the resignation that had long since made disappear all hope of a little happiness. Sirius recognised her fear that the future would be as bleak as both her past and present. The yearning looks she cast his way did not leave the slightest doubt that she had clearly reached the point where she was ready to do anything for a little bit of affection and kindness. Sirius calculated his options. An affair with the wife of a leading Death Eater would give him access to information that was invaluable. For a moment he struggled with himself. So far, he had always laid his cards on the table when it came to his affairs. Before getting involved with a woman, he had made it all too clear that there would only be one or more casual meetings. His partners had accepted these conditions and there had never been any problems. At least this was his impression. If one of them had hoped that he would be willing to give more over time, despite his clear announcement, he had not noticed. He had consistently kept his contacts confined to bed. None had ever received more from him. And none had ever been invited to visit his flat. Therefore, only his closest friends knew, where he lived since the day he had left the house at Grimmauld Place. And Mercuria, of course, but this was something completely different. To use a woman, as he would have to do with Lysandra, disgusted him. But then some words rang in his ears, "War is not gallant. War is not chivalrous". The other side offered him an open flank and he was ready to jump at it and to use it for his own ends. As Lysandra headed for the door, he pushed himself off the bar and followed her.

It only took Sirius two or three secret gatherings to turn Lysandra into an endless source of high-class information. Perhaps she saw through his game, but if she did, she did not seem to care. She craved his caresses and accepted that she had to give him something in return. She knew well that her body could not offer him what he needed. Therefore, she provided him with something else. They met in secret and made love in empty Muggle houses. And more and more often the exchange of caresses only took them a short time and afterwards they talked at length. Lysandra seemed to suspect that this was more than the other women got from him and secretly it made her proud and happy. In exchange, Sirius gained a deep insight into the enemy's plans and thus was able to thwart several of their schemes.

When Sirius told Mercuria about it, she was taken aback. "I suppose she knows what's going on?". He smiled ironically. "She's not stupid. Not in that regard, it is. She is stupid because she has consented to sacrifice her personal happiness to the arrogance of her true-blood family. She deserved a loving man. Everything would have been different for her. But now there's no turning back. No one would mess with Yaxley over his wife. Do you despise me for what I am doing?". "Oh yes, of course I despise you. You prostitute yourself to get information from that woman. This is highly amoral and despicable". Sirius smiled wryly. Mercuria chuckled. "It used to be easier once to tease you". " One learns as one goes along". She ran a hand through her hair, "Why should I despise you? Everyone fields the weapons he has. And if I get it right, you both profit. She gets a little affection and in return you obtain information. That's fair, I think". "Tell me, aren't you jealous? At least a little bit?". Mercuria laughed. "Sirius. I love you. You know that. I wanted you from the moment Lily sent me your photo. I tried my luck, and it all worked out fine between us. But I won't crack if it's over someday. For as long as you look at me the way you do at this very moment, I know everything is okay between us. Then your eyes become darker, almost black, and I see your desire and your love in them. If this is no longer the case, I know it is over." He took her in his arms and kissed her.

Time and again Sirius heard that other members of the Order of the Phoenix had also clashed with Death Eaters. He was surprised that he himself had not been involved in a confrontation yet. Until one afternoon when he set off for Belgium and found that he was being followed. In his side mirror he saw two wizards on brooms flying behind him at some distance. He changed his course. Since his pursuers did not approach, he suspected that they were scouts. Although he had been using different routes to the coast for some time, someone seemed to have noticed that he regularly flew south. Now they were trying to find out why. Under no circumstances was anyone to know where he was heading and, above all, why. He pondered for a moment and decided to direct them to a small coastal town. Jamie Rickett lived there, who had given him advice regarding the Muggle world. To avoid putting the man in danger, he accelerated sharply until he could no longer see the two pursuers in his side mirror before he turned and headed for the small farm.

Much to Sirius' surprise, Jamie was genuinely happy about his visit. He introduced his Muggle father and brother and they talked at length. When after two hours Sirius was confident that his pursuers had given up and he said goodbye, Jamie said. "I was really pleased to see you, Sirius. We know what you're doing. You and Potter and all the others. Dumbledore asked me if I wanted to participate. I would love to join you, but I can't. I must protect my father and my brother. We live very secluded and inconspicuous here, and until now Voldemort and his men have simply overlooked us. I cannot put my family in danger. They would be helpless if they were attacked by Death Eaters". Sirius raised his hand. "You don't need to explain yourself". Jamie smiled. "Thank you. Still, I try to contribute as much as I can. A long stretch of coastline here is protected by an alarm spell. As soon as someone triggers it, a wall of impenetrable fog rises. You obviously didn't notice, but this isn't the first time someone has followed you to the coast. They just all lost your trail in the fog while you could pass". He went to the window and peered out. "Those two are gone. Take care of yourself. We need people like you". Sirius was surprised and touched. He hugged Jamie warmly. Then he mounted his motorbike and crossed the Channel.