Sirius sent a letter in return, asking his little brother to meet him a week later in a muggle pub in a small village in Wales (Remus had suggested it. It was located near his birthplace, but his family had moved around so much he doubted anyone even knew he was Welsh).

Of course Sirius was not going alone, by now they were all too paranoid to make such a rookie mistake.

Lily and James were sitting in one corner, only James was blonde and Lily was a brunette for now (Colour Changing Charms were so practical). Lily was pretending to be a girly girl and James to be a goody-two-shoes.

Emmeline and Marlene took a table in the middle of the room, both had taken Polyjuice Potion of some teenage girls who had been on a vacation in London (one had been French and one Dutch, if Sirius remembered correctly).

Remus and Dorcas were located on the gallery. Remus's hair had been charmed so it was longer and he was wearing rocker style clothes (in other words he borrowed them from Sirius). Dorcas had colored contacts (now her eyes were baby blue instead of the normal amber) and had gotten a haircut. Especially with her clothes she seemed to be one of those punks you were seeing more and more often these days (provided you were in the muggle parts of the country of course).

Sirius was sitting in good view of everyone else at a table for four, waiting for his brother.

Regulus was, as always, very punctual. He arrived alone and found his brother in a split second.

Sirius stood up and pulled his brother in a hug.

"What happened on my seventh birthday?" Sirius whispered in the ear of the person who he presumed to be his brother (hey, better safe than sorry).

"Bellatrix made me kiss Elladora Crouch, our second cousin once removed. And after your fourth year?"

"Mother dearest wouldn't let my out of my room for a week and Kreacher only brought me water at your request. Shame you couldn't persuade him to bring food too."

The brothers parted and sat down (this was the all clear sign they had agreed on. Had it been an imposter Sirius would have remained standing. Subtle, yet easily noticeable, provided you knew what to look for).

After the waitress had gotten their orders, Regulus thanked his brother for coming.

"No problem. You know I never stopped sending you letters, brother. I can only assume Mother had something to do with it. I'm happy to help."

"Sounds reasonable. Now about the other issue..."

"Your drinks, Sirs."

"Diolch," Sirius replied in Welsh.

"Doeddwn i ddim yn meddwl eich siarad Cymraeg," the waitress replied.

"I don't. My friend is Welsh and he has started teaching me a few weeks ago, but you can't learn a language over the span of a few weeks. Especially not when you're busy with other stuff."

"Guess you're right," the waitress smiled before going to another table.

Regulus stared at his brother for a second before repeating the last sentence he had said before they had been interrupted.

"We'll help you, provided you will act as our spy. Not of the Order, but for the Marauders and Maraudettes."

"Deal."

"No," Lily stood there, arms crossed.

"Come on, Lils!" Sirius pleaded.

"No and begging won't help. You're our best man. You will have to dance, so you will attend my lessons."

"But I can already dance! Mother made sure of it!"

"That might be, but Emmeline can't. She will feel better if you're there."

Arguments like this had become common in the new year.

Lily had decided that they were all going to learn how to dance properly and no one else had liked the idea.

But Lily had gotten her wish and so they were in the Ballroom of the Potter Manor.

Obviously, Lily was partnered with James and Emmeline with Sirius. Remus and Dorcas had since gotten together (she had been working on this since fifth year) so they would form a pair too. Marlene had gone to Sirius for help and for some reason he mentioned it to his brother while they were getting the locket and Regulus had expressed interest. It turned out to be a mutual thing, so Marlene would either dance with Regulus or an animated dummy should he be needed elsewhere to keep his cover.

The group were surprised by the fact they actually had a lot of fun doing this and by the end of January everyone was able to dance the waltz without messing up.

It has started with a simple note from Regulus. Nothing unusual since he had turned to spy for them (thank Merlin for his skill at Occlumency), but the one they got on Valentine's day contained only three words.

Tomorrow. Prongs parents.

So they prepared. They invited the Prewett twins, the Longbottoms, Milton Smith, Benjy Fenwick and Caradoc Dearborn over and told them what to expect. Together they increased the number of wards and built as many physical obstacles as they could.

In the end, they all survived, if only barely in most cases. James proved his determination and stamina when he only stopped to prevent his death by bleeding out when he lost his left arm from a cutting curse intended for his father's throat, but otherwise continued fighting. This consequently meant he lost his arm permanently. This was however a small price to pay for his parents' survival in James opinion.

Especially, since they managed to kill or imprison seven of the ten Death Eaters that attacked. And one of those who got away had been Regulus who had been stunned and hid for the duration of the fight (it had literally been the first thing the Black brothers had done).

This had been the highest percentage in the entire war which luckily brought the rest of the Order - excluding the Headmaster - to the realization that yes, this was a war and the time for stunning was over.

The wedding of Lily and James, James and Lily, had been wonderful, even if the groom was one armed.

For once, everything went according to the plan. Even Petunia showed up (displeasure clear on her face, but still) and she didn't even insult anyone (not even Dorcas who had dark skin), but they had been spread by the Death Eaters. Sirius had somehow managed to fit no less than twenty seven deer puns in his best man speech, to the amusement of those in the know.

It took only two months before Lily announced she was pregnant. While a war might not be the best place to raise a child, both of the Potters wanted the chance to be parents, so they kept it.

Their joy had only increased one they found out the Longbottoms were, too, expecting and that their due dates were nearly the same.

The joy of both couples and their friends had however drastically reduced when Severus Snape had showed up one rainy evening when they were enjoying an evening in the movie theater (after making sure it was safe) and informed them that Lord V, as they had started calling him since the taboo, would be after their babies, as Mervyn Wynch had overheard a prophecy that both the Headmaster and Lord V believed for some odd reason, despite it being made by a drunk desperately looking for work. Severus emphasized his regret that he had been tricked by the Lestranges - who were beginning to doubt his loyalty - so he had not been the one to spy on Dumbledore this precise week.

Lily and Severus slowly began to reconnect after this incident, as it had become obvious that he still cared for her and she never stopped to see him as a brother (eventually he even accepted this, making everyone's lives easier). Severus too started to spy for them, without the knowledge that Regulus was their original one. Both the Potters and the Longbottoms went into hiding, while the others continued to fight harder than ever.

Welsh translations:
Diolch - Thank you
Doeddwn i ddim yn meddwl eich siarad Cymraeg - I didn't think you spoke Welsh

Review please!

~Marvelgeek42