Knock, knock, knock-knock, knock.
"Isn't that your Marauders' knock?" Lily mumbled sleepily, her head resting on James's chest and her feet kicked up over the arm of the sofa.
"It is indeed," James replied, eagerly pulling himself up and unlocking the front door with a wave of his wand. He and Lily had been relaxing together as they did every night once Harry was in bed, recounting the events of another uneventful day in captivity. One of his friends stopping by for an unexpected visit seemed like the perfect thing to lift his mood.
Sirius pulled open the door and stepped inside. "Hey, Pads," James called to him; "how was the mission yesterday?" Then he noticed the grim expression on Sirius's face and frowned. "Did something happen?"
Sirius shook his head and walked around the sofa to face them; James and Lily both rose to their feet, concerned. "You need to get a new Secret-Keeper," Sirius said. "Remus…I'm pretty sure he's a spy for Voldemort, and he's been tasked with turning you over to him. Remus knows I'm your Secret-Keeper, so I need to switch with someone else."
James pressed his palms against his temples. "That's got to be the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard," he said. "Why exactly do you think Remus is working for Voldemort?"
Sirius glanced away. "Snape told me that one of us was, and he obviously meant Re."
"Snape?" James laughed humorlessly. "You've got to be joking. You're trusting Snivellus over Remus? Snivellus, of all people?"
They heard a wail coming from upstairs; Lily sighed at the sound of it. "We just got him to bed," she muttered. She glanced at James. "I'll take care of Harry—you two work this out on your own. But for the record, I agree with my husband: there's no way Remus would betray us. I know things aren't going well with your relationship, but that doesn't mean that he's become a Death Eater." Lily spun around and headed up the stairs before Sirius could protest.
"This isn't about my relationship," Sirius insisted to James instead. "I know Snape's a foul git, but I swear he wasn't lying about this. He really thinks you and Lily are in danger—and he still bloody loves her, James, you know he does."
"He's Snape," James growled, feeling anger surge inside of him. "I don't know how you can even consider something so ridiculous. Remus would never turn us in to Voldemort."
"I don't know how you can be so dismissive," Sirius said, "when this is about your family—"
"Remus is my family!" James snapped. "Just as much as Lily or Harry. The Marauders have always been a family, Sirius! None of us would ever even think about hurting the others." How could he not understand? After so many years of adventures and battles and secrets, the Marauders' bond was even stronger than blood. James loved Sirius and Peter and Remus the same way he loved his wife and son, and he knew the feeling was mutual.
"James." Sirius grabbed at his shoulders, forcing the two of them to lock gazes. Sirius's eyes were frantic, desperate. "Do this for me, James. If something happened to you, I wouldn't be able to live with myself. You know that, right?" His grip on James tightened. "Look, we can switch the Secret-Keeper to Peter—no one'll suspect him, he's perfect for it. I've been studying the spells we'd need all day; I can pull it off. And Remus…none of this will hurt him if he's not a spy, since he won't ever find out about it. The Order sent him up to Newcastle today...the timing's perfect. Please, James. I don't ask you for things often, but I'm asking you for this."
James swallowed, blinking back the sudden sensation of tears. He hated this. "Maybe Peter would make more sense," he said reluctantly. "You're right: no one would suspect him, not like they'd suspect you. If Voldemort's trying to go after my Secret-Keeper, you'd probably be the first person he'd target." He sighed. "If this is really want you want, I'll talk to Lily about it. You need to talk to Peter and make sure he agrees to take your place."
"He will," Sirius said; "he's braver than he looks." Sirius seemed ready to collapse with relief. "Thank God, James. I promise you're making the right choice."
"It's not because of Remus, though," James reminded him. "It's to make our pick of Secret-Keeper less obvious, that's all."
"Right," Sirius said, "I get it." He pursed his lips. "Remus won't find out about it, though?"
James slumped back down onto the sofa, feeling drained of all his energy. He couldn't believe this was coming from Sirius, the person who loved Remus so fiercely that to see him broken had broken him as well. James had always assumed that things would get better between them, that everything would work out in the end like it had for him and Lily. He'd never imagined that the two of them couldn't be fixed—not until now.
"Remus won't find out," he replied.
