January 12th, 1980

New Year's was a quiet affair this year. Sirius was still reeling from the loss of his brother and father, and the magic of the holiday was gone for me when I realized it had been two years since my mother's passing. Sirius and I had been on our honeymoon last year, and besides just one bad night, I had been able to mostly distract myself from my grief. This year, Sirius and I grieved together. James and Lily came over to have dinner with us, and then we spent the rest of the night curled up on our couches, reminiscing all of the loved ones we had lost to the war – my mom, Sirius's dad, Regulus, Mr. and Mrs. Potter, Mr. and Mrs. Evans. It was already too many, and the war was showing no signs of slowing. Remus was out on yet another Order mission, somewhere in the outskirts of Scotland; he had been sent away Christmas Day, and we hadn't heard from him since. Peter had decided he wanted to spend the holiday with his parents. I think he was feeling grateful that he hadn't lost anyone yet, and didn't want to intrude upon our sadness.

I looked out the window. It was a particularly cold, windy Saturday morning. It had snowed last night, and the ground was covered in a thick layer of sparkling snow. Sirius had gone down to the garage to work on his bike. I was happy that he was finally showing interest in it again – he had taken the end of December and the first week of January off from work, and he had spent the entire time holed up in our apartment. He had returned to work this Monday, but had come home each evening and stared in to our fireplace for hours with a bottle of firewhiskey dangling between his fingertips. To my surprise, he had gotten up this morning and announced that he was going to spend the day in the garage. I'd been about ready to stage an intervention regarding his depressive episode, but I'm happy that it seemed not to be necessary anymore.

I'd gotten a workout in while he was out – practices would start again in less than a month, and I had definitely fallen behind on my training. I had a chance to actually start this year; one of the chasers had been poached by the Wimbourne Wasps, so there was a spot open on the starting team. I wanted to make sure I showed up with my best foot forward; there were three other reserve chasers that could take the spot, and I wanted it more than anything. This was my chance to show the world what I could do, to have a real career. I'd stepped back from fighting in the war so that I could protect myself as I travelled abroad – and because Sirius had asked me to – so I wanted that sacrifice to be worth it. And it would be, when I kicked ass in my first professional Quidditch match.

I looked through my drawers, looking for something to throw on after my shower. As I was digging through a drawer full of t-shirts, I felt something hard at the bottom of the stacks of cotton. I pulled it out and realized that it was the Black family box that Sirius had given to me when he proposed. It must have been sitting at the bottom of this drawer since I moved in, as I had forgotten about it completely. I put it on the top of the dresser, noting how beautiful it looked against the dark wood of our dresser. I opened the top of the box; it was empty. I walked to our bed and opened the nightstand on Sirius's side where I kept all of the letters Sirius had sent me while I was away with Puddlemere over the last year and a half. Also in the drawer sat the note that Mom had written the day she died, and the letter detailing Regulus's death from Sirius's mom. I scooped up all of the letters and closed the nightstand drawer. Letters of such importance should be placed somewhere more secure, not sitting out where anyone could find them if they ransacked the loft. Satisfied, I closed the lid to the box, pulled a jumper out of the dresser and put it on.

I puttered around the apartment for a while, cleaning up some of the mess from the last couple of weeks. Sirius and I had fallen behind in the daily chores, but I could definitely pick up the slack while he enjoyed himself for the day. He had picked up the slack in our relationship so often; it was my time to do so. I spent most of the afternoon cleaning – I had yet to master those household cleaning spells that Molly was so good at. With five children, and being seven months pregnant with her sixth, you must be good at cleaning spells or nothing would ever get done. It brought me so much joy that Molly and Arthur's child would be going to Hogwarts at the same time as Lily and James's – hopefully they could grow up together, the best of friends.

With a flick of my wand, the dishes that had just finished cleaning themselves floated back into their appropriate cupboard. The apartment was cleaner than it had been in weeks, and I looked around with an accomplished look. I decided to put together lunch and walk it down to the garage for Sirius. I grabbed a picnic basket, filled it with roast beef sandwiches, pumpkin pasties and pumpkin juice, and put my coat on. With the basket over my arm, I walked down the street towards Sirius's garage. The front door was thrown wide open. Sirius was never careless; he always closed and locked the door behind him, because it wasn't a secure location and he didn't want to be surprised by an attack. Panicked, I sprinted down the rest of the street and threw myself through the door, wand out.

"Sirius! What's going on?" I gasped, searching the corners of the room. It was apparently empty, which was even more concerning than if I had walked in to a room full of Death Eaters. Somebody must have broken in and taken Sirius. I paced around for a minute, trying to think about what I should do next. How would I have any idea where he had gone? Where they had taken him? Fuck, all I had wanted to do was give him a day to unwind, but I'd left him alone and now he was gone. I should have come down with him; maybe we would have had a chance to fight them off. Just as I was getting ready to send a patronus to James, Sirius came running in the front door.

"Babe!" Sirius exclaimed, running up to me and pulling me tightly into his arms. "I went home and you weren't there, and I freaked the fuck out. I thought the Death Eaters had gotten you, but the apartment was actually cleaner than when I left so it didn't look like there was a struggle?"

"What do you mean you went home? I left from home and came right here, we didn't run in to each other!" I laughed, relief flooding my belly.

"I stopped in The Mystic to pick up lunch for us, we must have just missed each other," Sirius kissed my temple, sighing in his own relief.

"I brought us lunch here. Why was the door open?"

"Must have been the wind," Sirius shrugged. He grabbed my hand and pulled me down at the small table, where I put the basket that I had brought. We were just tucking in to our sandwiches when Peter came running in.

"Where the hell have you guys been?" He panted. Sirius and I looked at each other in surprise; Peter was just about the last person I had expected to see today.

"What's wrong, Wormtail?" Sirius asked, eyebrows furrowed. "Addie and I had our own comedy of errors – we completely missed each other too. We must have somehow missed you as we went back and forth between the loft and the garage."

"I came here looking for you first," Peter explained. That explained why the door was wide open. "I assumed you'd be working on the bike. When you weren't here I shifted and ran to your loft – Dumbledore told me specifically not to be seen."

"Dumbledore?" I asked. "What does Dumbledore want with us?"

"I don't know. He showed up at James's about fifteen minutes ago and they floo'd me to find you immediately. Order business," Peter said urgently, gesturing that Sirius should follow him.

"Okay," Sirius said, standing up quickly. He kissed the top of my head, leaning down slightly to reach. "I'll see you in a bit, kitten."

"Dumbledore asked for both of you," Peter clarified. I looked at Sirius, confused. I had never been included in Order business before – they didn't want me in the first place, and Sirius didn't want me involved.

"Okay, Pete. Are we going to Godric's Hollow?" Sirius asked, looking skeptical. He held out a hand to me, which I grabbed and allowed him to pull me out of my chair. Our lunch lay forgotten on the table; the hunger I had been feeling was suddenly replaced with intense nerves. Something must be really wrong if Dumbledore was willing to go against Sirius's wishes and include me in Order business.

"Headquarters," Pete said over his shoulder, as he walked out of the garage. He was walking quickly towards the apparition point down the street. "I'll meet you there. Hurry"

Sirius took a second, putting his leather jacket on slowly. He walked towards me and took my face in his hands. "Are you okay with this?" He asked me quietly. I nodded quickly. I wanted to know what was going on. I needed to. If Dumbledore had asked for me to be present, it was something to do with Sirius, Lily, James or Remus. I couldn't sit back and let Sirius go – I'd go insane coming up with my own theories. Sirius debated for a moment, before sighing and leaning in to kiss my forehead. "Let's go then."

Sirius took my hand in his own and we walked hand in hand to the apparition point. When we reached it, he tucked my hand in to the crutch of his elbow. He turned on his foot, and I felt the familiar pull of apparition; it pulled all of the air out of my lungs, but the sensation was over as quickly as it started.

When I opened my eyes again, we were standing outside of a red door with the number 4 on it. Sirius stuck his fist out and knocked 3 times, then five times, then once. It must have been some sort of password, as the door opened immediately to a short woman. She looked at Sirius for a second before her gaze snapped to me.

"Addie, this is Emmeline Vance; member of the order of the phoenix and the owner of the house we use as headquarters. Emmeline, this is Addison, my wife," Sirius introduced us, noting Emmeline's scathing look.

Immediately, Emmeline's gaze softened and she pulled me in to the house. She threw her arms around me and exclaimed, "Finally! Everyone in the Order has been taking bets on if you actually exist or not!"

Despite myself, I laughed. "I wouldn't put it past him to make me up in order to get out of assignments he didn't want to do."

"Hit me where it hurts, kitten," Sirius gasped, grasping his chest. The laugh died on my lips as we walked in to what appeared to be a dining room that had been converted into a boardroom. Dumbledore was sitting at the head, an uncharacteristically somber look on his face. Lily and James were sitting side by side; James had his arm around Lily, who looked incredibly nervous to hear why we had been summoned. Peter was sitting across from Dumbledore, leaving the side across from the Potters for Sirius and I.

"Thank you, Emmeline. If you don't mind, I would ask that we be given some privacy while we discuss a sensitive issue," Dumbledore said kindly, but dismissively. Emmeline nodded her head, and shot a look of sympathy towards the entire group. She backed out of the dining room, closing the door behind her. Dumbledore picked up his wand when she had left and locked the door. He also performed a spell that I didn't recognize, and I looked at Sirius inquiringly.

"It's called Muffliato. Anyone outside of this room will just hear an unidentified buzzing sound, so we can speak freely. We usually do it at Order meetings, just to be extra safe," Sirius explained to me in a whisper.

"Thank you Mr. Black," Dumbledore said. He had folded his hands onto the table and was looking at us with an inquisitive stare. It felt as though he was staring through me, as if he could read my thoughts. It was an unpleasant feeling, and I wished he would stop looking at me.

"Is Remus okay?" Lily burst out, having clearly been holding in her question. The outburst caught Dumbledore's attention, and he looked away from me. I breathed a sigh of relief as the intrusive feeling disappeared. Sirius put his arm around my back at my sigh, rubbing circles on my shoulder.

"Yes. Mr. Lupin is fine. I have been in contact with him within the last couple of hours – we decided that it was more important for him to remain where he is than to return and destroy all of the progress he has made by blowing his cover. He is aware that there is a situation that I wanted the six of you aware of, and he decided that he wants to be filled in when his mission is completed," Dumbledore assured Lily.

"What's going on, Professor?" James asked, looking at Lily, fear now evident on his face. "I thought for sure something had happened to Remus, but now I'm worried it's something even worse."

"It has come to my attention that there was a prophecy delivered a couple of days ago that insinuates that the person with the power to defeat Lord Voldemort will be born as the seventh month dies," Dumbledore said meekly, putting his folded hands up to his chin and looking at us pensively for a moment.

"Born as the seventh month dies…meaning July," Lily said slowly, her brain grasping what Dumbledore was saying. She put her hand on her stomach, a small baby bump now evident; she was about three months pregnant and in the last week or so it had started to become apparent that she was expecting. "You don't mean…."

"Lord Voldemort believes that it is your child that the prophecy is referring to," Dumbledore confirmed. His pensive look changed abruptly in to a look of complete anguish. "I am so sorry, but he believes your child is the one who will be his downfall; he is already searching for you.

"But how does he even know; about the prophecy, about the baby? Why does he think it's us…Alice is due at the same time," James asked, his thought process evident as he worked through his questions. "They need to know too! Voldemort could just as easily go after them."

"Yes, Alice and Frank also fit the description, however I happen to know that Voldemort believes it to be pertaining to your child," Dumbledore said gently, looking at Lily with a soft look on his face. "I really am so sorry; no new parents should be put in this situation – you should be enjoying your pregnancy and the expansion of your family, not worrying about a war."

"But how do you know what he is thinking?" I asked. Dumbledore was so sure he knew what Voldemort was thinking, but as far as I knew, he had no way of knowing for sure.

"Ah. Well, as for that…" Dumbledore trailed off. He flicked his wand towards a door in the opposite corner from the one Emmeline had exited just minutes before. The door opened, and out stepped…

"No!" Sirius snapped, standing up as soon as he realized who had walked through the door. "Absolutely, fucking not. What are you thinking, Dumbledore?"

"Nice to see you too, Black," Snape drawled as he walked towards the table. "And you brought your wife, a lovely family occasion."

"Severus has been instrumental in delivering this information to me in a timely manner. When he realized that Voldemort intended to target Lily and James, he came to me straightaway. He gave us time…time to hide you both before Voldemort makes his move. Without him, we may not have known his intentions until it was too late," Dumbledore addressed Lily and James directly, ignoring Sirius's outburst.

"How do we know he's not playing double-agent? That he's not here to find out how we're going to hide them so he can run back to his master and deliver them on a silver platter?" Sirius sneered, shooting Snape the dirtiest look he could muster.

"I trust him," Dumbledore said simply. He looked at Sirius with a look that made it clear there was no room for discussion. Sirius sat back down, folding his arms and glaring at Snape.

"Fine," James said. "What do we do?"

"There are several ways that we can hide you, but the approach I suggest is –" Dumbledore began, but Lily cut him off.

"No," She insisted. She looked at Snape, not in a cold way but in a determined way. "I want him out of here while we discuss this part. I am grateful that he has given us information, but I don't want him to know anything about where we are or how we are hiding. I don't trust him, and I don't want him to know anything."

"I believe that is fair. Do you agree, Severus?" Dumbledore agreed, nodding his head. He looked at Severus shrewdly, and I knew that Snape would be foolish to disagree with him. Sirius nodded his head once dejectedly, but before turning to walk out of the room, he looked at Lily as if he wanted to say something. He decided against it, evidently, as he turned on his heel and stalked out of the room without a word.

"Lily," I said consolingly, reaching out to grab her hand; she had started crying quietly, the emotion of today's revelations overwhelming her. "Sir," I addressed Dumbledore. "Do you think we could continue this conversation over a cup of tea? I think we could all use one to settle our nerves."

"Absolutely, Mrs. Black. I was just thinking the same thing myself. Nothing in this world is so bad that a nice cup of tea can't help." He waved his wand and immediately a pot of tea appeared, along with six cups, sugar, and cream. With another wave, the pot poured tea into the six cups, and the cups levitated in front of each person. I reached out and fixed my cup – cream and two sugars – before taking a sip and sighing in satisfaction. Dumbledore waited while everyone fixed their own tea, before doing his own. He dumped heaps of sugar in to it, stirred a couple of times before taking a sip; he must have decided it was not sweet enough, as he went back and added even more sugar. His next sip was satisfactory; he sighed, eyes closed, and leaned back against his chair. "Like I said, nothing a nice cup of tea can't fix."

"Right…Sir?" James prodded when Dumbledore's eyes remained closed for an uncomfortable amount of time. Dumbledore's eyes cracked open, striking blue meeting anxious brown. "What do you have in mind for us?"

"Have you ever heard of the Fidelius Charm?" Dumbledore asked, looking around the table at each of us in turn. I shook my head no, I had never heard of it before.

"It's an incredibly difficult charm to cast, and one of the oldest," Lily started, her eyebrows furrowed. "There are only a few wizards in the world who have been documented as capable of performing it."

"What does it do?" James asked.

"Essentially it is the magical concealment of a secret inside of a living soul. If we were to protect the location of your home with the Fidelius Charm, the location would be hidden inside of a chosen person's soul – the Secret Keeper – and the house would be hidden unless the Secret Keeper chose to divulge it," Dumbledore explained, the twinkle in his eye back for the first time this entire meeting. "I am fully capable of performing this charm, and would be happy to do so for you, and the Longbottoms – should they choose to do so."

"It sounds perfect," Peter exclaimed, speaking for the first time since sitting down. I had forgotten that he was here, truth be told. "Who would be Secret Keeper? You, Professor?"

"I would be honored to do so, but it is up to Lily and James. It is a deeply personal choice, and not one to be made lightly."

"Sirius," Lily and James both said together, as if it were the only possible choice.

"Me?" Sirius recoiled in shock. "Prongs, wouldn't it be much safer to choose Dumbledore? He's a much better wizard than me; Voldemort would never be able to get through him."

"I appreciate the praise, but it really is less about…magical proclivity and more about trust. James and Lily clearly trust you unconditionally, and that is the most important part of the spell; trust that your chosen Secret Keeper will never betray your secret."

Sirius nodded, deep in thought. He looked at me, fear evident in his eyes. "What do you think, kitten?"

"Me?" I asked, confused.

"It will be dangerous. We'll have to be much more careful, be less visible. It could affect your Quidditch Career. I'll probably have to quit my job."

"I don't care about that at all. All I care about is that my family is safe; you would die before you gave up Lily and James… and they need you right now. I can't be selfish."

"Quit right, Mrs. Black. However, if I can interject – you will both need to continue work as usual. As will Mr. Pettigrew. Mr. Lupin can continue his Order missions, as he doesn't have a stable job, and it is not particularly unusual for someone with his condition to travel to find work. You will all need to continue, business as usual, so that Voldemort doesn't know who is the Secret Keeper. If you and Mr. Black suddenly quit your jobs, he will know that one of you is the Secret Keeper and will come for you straight away," Dumbledore interrupted.

"Why can't we cast a Fidelius charm on our house, and hide as well. James can be our Secret Keeper; I can be theirs. It makes sense!" Sirius exclaimed, excited to have found a loophole.

"It unfortunately doesn't work that way. Once you are a part of the Fidelius Charm – either the protector or the protected – you cannot then take the other role in a second Fidelius Charm. You can either be the secret, or keep the secret, in so many words," Dumbledore explained sadly.

"We can't ask Sirius to do that then. Why should we be protected, and he out there risking his life with no protection?" Lily lamented, looking at Sirius with a pleading look on her face. She knew, like I knew, that no matter what anyone said, Sirius would not change his mind.

"No. That baby is most important. That baby will come out of this alive, even if I have to lay down my life for it," Sirius slammed his fist on the table.

"Padfoot…" James began, but Sirius snapped his head towards Dumbledore.

"Can we perform the spell right now?" He asked. Dumbledore nodded. "Then let's go."

I watched Sirius get up, and make his way over towards James and Lily. He threw his arms around them both, and whispered something to them that I couldn't hear. Instead of the fear that I knew would hit me later, what I felt in this moment was intense pride. My husband was proving to me again the reasons that I fell in love with him; he was brave and selfless, always willing to put someone else before himself. He was determined to protect his best friend's child, and he was willing to put himself in an immensely dangerous position to do so. And I knew he would do it for anyone, no questions asked. It was my time to be selfless, and even though I was scared to loose him, I had to put my feelings aside and let him do what he knew was right. All I could do was love him through it, and protect him as best I could.