A/N: I do not own the story of The Elephant and the Dog.

It was a little before seven before Sirius returned, his arrival announced by Harry's loud squeals of delight as he toddled to the door, as always happily greeting his beloved godfather.

As Sirius greeted him in return, picking him up and ruthlessly smothering the laughing toddler in cuddles and kisses, the unease in James' stomach eased and he relaxed fully for the first time.

"Shouldn't you be in bed by now, little man?"

"We told him he could await your return," he said. "He's already bathed but hasn't brushed his teeth yet."

"Then let's go do that, shall we? Wait, what's that, is that for me?" As Harry stuck out his tongue to him, Sirius pretended to grab it and Harry giggled as he tried to fend him off.

"No? It wasn't for me? Then it might be best to keep it inside your mouth," he teased, bopping his index finger against the little nose to retrieve another delighted squeal. "Say goodnight to Daddy, pup."

Coming over Sirius held out his son to him and James pulled the child into his arms to give him a hug and a kiss. "Goodnight honey."

"Night Daddy," came the obedient reply as he released Harry again and the toddler curled into his godfather's chest, little fingers taking hold of his shirt.

"Uh oh," biting back a smile, Lily came forward to give her son a kiss as well. "Honey, Siri's going to stay tonight."

"Siri stay?" His grip on his godfather's shirt tightened.

"I'm staying, pup," Sirius promised, slightly shifting his grip to get Harry more evenly distributed over his arms. "All night."

It did the trick to get the little fingers to release their death grip and Lily said goodnight to him as well before his brother disappeared down the hallway, humming a song.

Smiling, James closed his eyes and listened to his son's babbles and Sirius' replies for a moment, just enjoying the sound of their voices before rising to his feet to watch them.

As he arrived at the bathroom, he watched as Sirius had seated Harry onto his knee and was carefully brushing the few teeth the little guy had as Harry leaned his head backwards into his godfather's chest.

"Spit," at the order Harry obediently spat out the toothpaste before opening his mouth wide so that Sirius could pretend to let his stuffed dog check his mouth. "Very good."

Rising to his feet, Sirius cradled Harry into his arms like a baby.

"I think it's high time for bed," stepping out of the way, James followed as Sirius took a seat in the rocking chair and little green eyes looked up to him expectantly as he curled into his beloved godfather's arms.

"All right, what animal?"

"Dog!" No surprise there, James thought as his son held up his toy and nodding solemnly, Sirius accepted the stuffed dog as he thought for a long moment. "All right...hmm...how about a story of friendship between an elephant and a dog? Yeah?"

At the child's happy nod, Sirius returned the toy to his godson and Harry cuddled it close to him.

"Once upon a time there was an elephant who belonged to the mahar...eh King of India and lived in a palace. His great chef made great amounts of rice for the elephant to eat every day, and not just any old rice, nooo, fluffy delicious smelling rice with all kinds of treats, a dish fit for a king or queen," hiding a chuckle as Sirius clearly changed the story to make it easier to understand, James took a seat as well to settle in and listen as it was one he hadn't heard before.

"In the same palace there also lived a small dog who belonged to one of the servants. But he was not nearly so lucky as the elephant and ate very badly. Every morning he would pass by the stable where the elephant lived and smell the wonderful smell of the rice. Oh how he loved that smell but oh, how hungry did it make him feel," Sirius continued.

"Well, one day, the dog could hold back no longer. He slipped through a gap under the door and saw the elephant eat his breakfast. 'Oh great one!' said the dog. 'I ask if I may eat a few mouthfuls of your wonderful meal.' 'of course,' said the elephant as he saw how thin and sickly the dog looked and they shared the rice."

Green eyes blinked rapidly as he tried to stay awake just a little longer and Sirius gently began to rock the chair as he continued. "The two became great friends and every time the elephant left the stable, the dog followed. And as he ate well he started to look quite strong and handsome, so much so, that one day a wealthy man asked the elephant keeper if he could buy the dog. Now the elephant keeper was not the master of this dog. He actually belonged to another servant, but the elephant master was greedy and agreed to sell the dog."

"Nooo…." clapping a hand before his mouth, James' eyes widened at his own interrupting, but luckily his son hadn't heard his interruption even if Sirius shot him an amused look.

"Neither the dog or the elephant was happy about this and as the elephant keeper lied to tell the dog's owner the dog had run away, the elephant became very, very sad. He refused to eat his rice, no matter how tasty the chef made it. And the Maha… the King noticed how his beloved elephant was growing thin, he send his royal Healer to find out the cause. The Healer looked at the elephant really carefully before saying 'oh Great One, I can find nothing wrong with the elephant, but he is sad. I believe he is pining for a lost loved one, a much valued friend who has left his life."

"The King called for the elephant keeper and ask him 'can you think of who this beloved friend might be?' And of course the elephant keeper knew right away he meant the dog. And he did not dare lie to his master so said that someone had taken him away," smiling, Sirius carefully rose to his feet.

"The King, when he heard this, immediately demanded a royal degree that said that whoever had taken the dog from the royal elephant stables must return him at once, or face severe punishment.
The wealthy man heard this news and hastily returned the dog to the elephant master. And in this way the two great friends, the dog and the elephant, were once again united and both of them ate in each other's company. Because much more important than food, they had love and friendship."

Finishing the story he tucked the sleeping toddler into bed, placing his stuffed companion more securely in his little arms and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek before straightening.

They quietly left the door, closing it behind them to see Lily lean against the wall but she pressed her index finger to her lips to indicate they should keep quiet so they followed her back to the living room.

"I've never heard that story," she said as she moved into the kitchen to make them tea.

"It was in the story book Dad brought back from his trip to India, the Jataka?"

"I don't remember it," James admitted as he took a seat on the couch. "Though I could tell you changed some things in it."

"Yeah, it's technically meant for older children so I had to make it a little more age appropriate as I really don't know that many stories involving a dog," his brother said.

"It might be better to hit the library then as it doesn't seem he will grow out of his dog obsession any time soon."

"I'll make a stop at the library while setting up my safe house and bring them along the next time I pass by," brushing his fringe out of his face, Sirius smiled. "I was actually planning to begin reading Bambi to him, but I'm not sure if he'll be too young for it just yet."

"I don't think it can really hurt as he's too young to really comprehend the full details anyway," Lily said as Sirius automatically cleaned away the toys Harry had been playing with.

"I've asked Mrs. Prewett if she'd mind if I took a few of the children's books Fabian owned for Harry, thinking he might like some of those stories, too."

Technically all those books belonged to Sirius now anyway, but it would be just like his brother to ask permission anyway.

"What did she say?"

"That I should take them all and she would look in the attic for her own as she thought she had a few more stored away."

"Won't she need them for her grandchildren?" Lily asked from the kitchen door.

"I wouldn't be taking them, just borrowing them long enough to see if Harry likes them and copy them if he does," finishing his clean-up work, Sirius straightened and nodding, Lily disappeared back into the kitchen.

Coming over, Sirius sank into the couch beside him and James turned to him. "Did everything go all right?"

"Yeah, Pete's all set up with enough snacks to feed two armies for a month and I stopped by Alice and Frank's with enough supplies to last them a few weeks as well in case I might be delayed."

"Then why are you tense?"

"I spoke to Remus," Sirius admitted.

"I thought he had to leave on his mission already?"

"Apparently he overslept so was running late," he took a deep breath. "I told him you've gone into hiding under the Fidelius."

"Did he ask if you were the Secret-Keeper?"

"No and I didn't specifically tell him either," Sirius hesitated. "I did tell him I was going into hiding as well."

"Which he will automatically think means you are our Secret-Keeper," he knew how much Sirius hated lying to any of them so this was actually quite a nice solution. "Omission of the truth is still a lie, but since he never even asked you didn't technically hide the truth either."

"Yeah, I still feel bad about lying to him, though."

"I know," wrapping an arm around his shoulder, James pulled him closer. "Is he still acting off?"

"Yeah," sighing, Sirius leaned into him. "He's so distant and I have no idea why."

"Maybe he's just stressed with all the undercover work he has to do?"

"I don't know, it feels...I don't know what to think. I just hate it but don't know how to talk to him about it as any time I dare say something about it he immediately becomes upset."

"Maybe we can plan an intervention together, try to talk some sense into him that we're not trying to undermine him or the missions he goes on," brushing his thumb over Sirius' shoulder, he leaned deeper into the couch. "How are you after today?"

"Glad you are all safely hidden away," came the immediate answer and James huffed out a laugh.

"I more meant with the funeral."

"Oh...I don't know," pulling his legs up to get more comfortable, he tucked them underneath his body as he curled further into his hold. "I'm sad and there's this...pressure in my chest that won't go away, but I'm all right."

"You're not, but that's all right. Its been a rough couple of days."

"Months more like it," sighing, Sirius slid his arm around his waist. "I miss Mum and Dad."

"Yeah...me, too," he sighed. "But we have each other."

Humming in agreement, Sirius smiled. "As long as our family is safe, I'll be okay."

"We are, Pete's making sure of that."

"How are you feeling?"

Taking a moment to catalogue his own emotions, James shrugged. "Kind of all over the place. I'm worried by the idea of you being out there without me watching your back. And now you don't even have Frank or Alice to fall back on either."

"I'll be all right, keep to the agreement and stay safe."

"I know...but I just can't help but worry about you."

"You're always worrying about me, I think it's your standard default setting," warm grey eyes looked up to him as he shifted.

"I'd object to that if it weren't entirely true," huffing out a laugh, he tightened his hold on his brother. "You're going to be careful, right?"

"I will be," he promised solemnly and James couldn't help but drop a kiss onto his forehead before Sirius shifted back again and he leaned his head on top of his, just enjoying each other's company for a few moments.

"Are you falling asleep?" The words slid through the warm haze that had settled over him and he found his eyes had closed somewhere along the line.

"Maybe a little?"

"Do you want me to bring you to bed?"

"Can't we stay like this, just for a little while?" It felt nicely like old times where they'd just curl up and fall asleep without a care in the world and he wasn't ready to give that up yet.

"Like you'd need to," the reply was a little off for what he'd said but before he could think to form a reply he felt Sirius shift in his embrace and found himself being shifted into a lying position, back to the room as the other wiggled in between him and the couch, exactly the way he'd always preferred to sleep as it allowed him to be a shield between Sirius and the world.

Humming appreciatively, he tightened his grip on his brother as he curled into him; feeling his glasses being removed from his face and soft hands placing a blanket around them.

Smiling at his wife without opening his eyes, he allowed the warm comfortable haze to pull him under, not an inkling of an idea of the tragedy that was going to come their way.

He didn't know that in a mere forty-eight hours their whole world would change as their front door would be blasted open; leaving him powerless to stop his family and himself from being killed, simply because he had believed them to be safe.

He didn't know he would stare into the face of the monster he'd fought for so long, knowing that the spy had in fact been much closer than ever expected and someone he had trusted completely had turned traitor.

He didn't know he would die knowing he had failed to protect his loved ones, but would take comfort in the knowledge that their precautions would mean they would at least receive justice for their murders.

He would die without ever knowing the truth of what was going to happen instead as he had placed his trust in the wrong people.

He would never hear the heartbreaking sound of his brother's anguish and despair as he found his lifeless body; would never feel himself being cradled close in shaking arms before the ground-keeper would eventually pull those arms away.

He would have no idea that his son would survive the attack due to his mother's loving sacrifice, marking the exact wording of that darned prophecy even as he would be taken from his rightful guardian and placed in a loveless house for years to come.

Nor would he be able to protect one of the people dearest to his heart from the injustice as their so-called leader condemned him; abandoned by those who believed a false truth to a fate worse than death.

And he would never learn of the tragic fates that befell two of his closest friends as they tried to fight for what he no longer could, the echoes of their screams left unheard until they faded into soundless insanity.

He would never know any of that as wandless magic would fail to protect him as a sharp flash of green would come his way and then darkness…