It took Moody five days to show up for that information in person and the man knew he looked tired and drawn when Lily opened the door, already aware he'd be coming.

"Alastor?"

"You best call everyone in; I assume Sirius and Remus are still here?" Moody said in greeting as he entered.

"Yes, they're in the living room with Harry. Guys, Moody's here!" he winced slightly at the suddenly raised voice, not sure why she found the need to warn them in advance, but hung his coat without comment and followed her.

"You've got a nice place here," he complimented as he looked around, taking in the various defences he could sense with appreciation. "Very defend-able and secluded from curious eyes. Nice wards, too."

"It's Sirius and Remus' new place, they bought it a few days before…well," she trailed off as they entered the living room and Moody chuckled as all three men were sprawled out on the floor, building towers with blocks that the toddler sitting on Sirius' back happily smashed down again.

"Hey, look who's here, pup," Sirius tickled Harry's side, making the child look up to Moody and promptly slide down to hide his face against his godfather's chest. "Aww, he's a good guy, sweetheart."

"Good instincts, lad," Moody wasn't offended by the child's reaction, aware that if adults were startled by the scars on his face and his gruff voice then it would especially scare one so young.

"Do you want tea?"

"Yes, please," taking a seat at the table, he watched amused as the toddler refused to budge from Sirius when the man made to rise to his feet.

It was the same every time and although it could be a little irritating, it was mostly endearing to see a third generation of Potters so enamoured and protective of the young Black.

He'd heard endless stories from Harold about what the two lads had been up to at Hogwarts, the ingenious pranks they and their friends played and how bright they were.

The old man had always spoken of James and Sirius as if they were one package and frankly, Moody thought that was probably the truth as they were always together.

And he had been able to tell immediately just how close James and Sirius were even when they were still teenagers, willing to lay down their life for the other when needed if it would keep the other safe. Their interactions and the love displayed between the two spoke of an unbreakable bond.

Something Charlus must have seen as well as he officially adopted the young Black heir as his second son, he and his wife taking the boy in immediately after he ran away from Grimmauld Place.

To see the youngest Potter act the way he did, came as no surprise to the weathered Auror, it seemed every Potter was bound to fall for Sirius' charm.

Although he knew it went both ways as Sirius was incredibly protective of the Potters as well, almost dying to protect both James and Harry on several occasions while trying to keep them safe.

It was why he'd been incapable of truly believing it when Dumbledore said it had been Sirius who'd betrayed the Potters, not even when Dumbledore informed Crouch of the supposedly suspicious behaviour the lad had displayed.

After the initial relief and shock of seeing those three appear at Malfoy Manor alive and well had passed, he'd immediately known Dumbledore had lied, although he hadn't known why.

"Think you can play on your own for a while, pup? Daddy, Mummy, Remy and I need to talk to Moody for a while."

"Siri stay," Harry pouted, small hands tightening on Sirius' shirt.

"How about you go play with Dobby and Tiffy and Daddy and Remy will keep an eye on Siri, huh?" James suggested and Sirius tried to stifle a laugh.

"Two eyes even, and we'll sit beside him," Remus added, holding out a hand to the small child. "Deal?"

Bright green eyes turned to look at Remus, taking in his tall stature and seeming to like what he was seeing, nodded in agreement, to the other two's amusement.

"Okay," the toddler finally released Sirius' shirt and as if summoned the two House-elves came out of the kitchen, carrying beverages.

Moody was surprised to see both elves dressed in an odd collection of clothes that were unlike any garments he'd ever seen on House-elves.

But remembered almost immediately that both Sirius and James were for House-elf rights, having overheard several arguments about how many Pure-Bloods treated their House-elves horrible.

It was the reason he hadn't truly been surprised to see the two take the pathetic male elf from the Malfoys' hands, clearly aware the creature was treated horribly by the family.

Something the new conditions had clearly rectified as both elves looked more than happy and healthy, taking Harry with them to the other room while the four adults joined him at the table.

"So, what news do you bring?" James asked and Moody shook his thoughts off.

"Lots of it, but first off, you were right about Gringotts. They had a fire in the Lestrange vault, though they have precautions in place that kept the fire from spreading and had put it out by the time the Aurors arrived there," Moody informed them. "Secondly...I don't know if there's an easy way to say this..."

"What?"

"Grimmauld Place burned to the ground. The Muggles evacuated without any injured, but number twelve was burned down completely."

"How did that happen?" Sirius' voice unsurprisingly held no note of sadness.

"We managed to interrogate the House-elf, Kreacher. And although I didn't understand completely at that time, it turns out Black defected from the Dark Lord and had found out about the Horcruxes as well."

"Regulus defected?" Sirius raised an eyebrow. "The idiot was enamoured with Riddle for years, what happened?"

"Long story short, Voldemort used Kreacher to hide the Horcrux in the cave and then left the elf to die."

"Wrong thing to do, if there is anything Regulus cared about more than Riddle, it's that darn elf," Sirius sighed as he seemed to realise something. "So Kreacher took the locket from the cave and stored it in Grimmauld Place?"

"Y-yes...how did you know?"

"I've seen those memories and know the protections placed on each Horcrux. Assuming he went in like the idiot he was, he probably drank the potion himself to spare Kreacher and ended up being dragged into the water by the Inferi."

"Why wouldn't he have ordered Kreacher to take him with him?" Remus wondered. "I mean, I assume the elf could Apparate in and out of the cave without trouble."

"Because he probably ordered him to leave without him, not even thinking he could order that," James answered for Sirius. "House-elves can't ignore direct orders, even if they want to."

"That's what Kreacher told us as well before he died," Moody nodded.

"Sorry if we're not grieving the thing's death, he deserved it," James grumbled. "What about Walburga?"

"She didn't make it out either; Arcturus confirmed her death the following morning, both his tapestry and your book confirming it."

"I hope she suffered," the hatred in Remus' voice was palpable, James and Lily nodding in agreement.

"While I would normally not wish any such fate upon anyone, she got off much too easy," James reached out to take Sirius' hand.

"Yeah well, at least she's gone," Moody wasn't truly surprised by the reactions of the four across of him, aware how much they all hated the Black family after all they'd done to their friend.

"Seeing that you used his name just now, I assume you've rounded up his followers?"

"We've arrested all of them, every single one that were revealed by Voldemort's own memories. Most of them have already had trials, actually. Some were Kissed immediately, like Greyback and the Mulcibers, while others were sentenced to lifelong in Azkaban."

"Greyback was arrested?" Remus' breathing stocked and Sirius immediately pulled him closer when Moody nodded.

"You know him?"

"He was the one who bit him as a child," James revealed softly, rubbing Remus' back, tears sliding down the brown-haired man's cheeks as he leaned against Sirius.

"Then I am sure you will be relieved to hear he died early last night, two days after being arrested and Kissed, along with his gang," Moody softly informed him as he realised exactly what this news meant to the werewolf and those closest to him.

Giving them a moment, he looked up as Lily retrieved a glass of water for the emotional man, smiling as he accepted it with a smile.

"Sorry, what about the Mark. Were we right about that?"

"Yes, you were," Moody allowed the change in topic, going along with it. "Twenty-four marked Death Eaters died on the thirty-first of October, their families saying they all began screaming while clutching at their left arms before just dying. Arcturus looked into it for us and discovered there is a connection between Voldemort and his followers through that mark so when Voldemort was killed, so were those who he'd given his mark."

"Merlin," Sirius breathed out shocked. "I killed..."

"No you didn't," James was quick to cut him off. "They died because they joined his ranks and we already discovered you can't be given the mark unwillingly."

"But..."

"James is right," Moody interrupted him now. "Several people testified under Veritaserum what those from the inner circle had to do to get the mark, having heard some boast about it. And although I am sure they had no idea exactly what they signed up for, they did so willingly indeed. The Wizengamot already decided that although you indirectly caused their deaths, you are not responsible or accountable for it."

"They were monsters, torturing and murdering innocent people," Lily spoke up, placing a hand on Sirius'.

"Most also had families," Sirius argued. "Some might even have young children like Malfoy did."

"That is not on you, none of that is," James squeezed his hand. "We talked about this before. You saved many people's lives. Who knows how many people would still have died if you hadn't taken Voldemort out the way you did? How many truly innocent people would have been torn from their families, tortured and murdered because their blood is claimed not to be as pure as theirs."

"Or just for the fun of it, because no one's going to stop them," Remus added. "And more selfishly, without you, neither James, Lily nor Harry would still be here."

Watching the two Marauders and Lily try to erase Sirius' guilt, Moody thought that if he hadn't already known the men before them were good people, he'd become convinced of it now.

The fact that Sirius didn't feel any satisfaction or pride for what he'd done, spoke of his good character and Moody was proud of him.

"The Wizengamot basically said the same as James and Remus just did and they are determined to give you an Order of Merlin, First Class."

"I don't want it," Sirius muttered, his guilty expression softened as he caught sight of the toddler happily playing with the two House-elves in the garden.

"Tough luck, James will receive the same thing for the outstanding courage you've both shown during the war and Lily and Remus are nominated for a Second Class."

"They should be the ones to get a First Class," Sirius grumbled.

"No, we've only been fighting from the sidelines and in the background," Lily argued. "And only the last few years."

"You and James have been actively fighting, trying to change things even while we were still in Hogwarts," Remus smiled at the two as James had wrapped an arm around his brother's waist, pulling him close.

"So all the marked Death Eaters died and you're sure you caught all of his followers?" Lily asked after a moment.

"Yes, we double-checked Voldemort's own memories to be certain and realised the truth about people we never even suspected."

"Like?"

"Barty Crouch."

"Crouch's son was a follower?" James' head snapped up.

"Even worse, he was marked," in the shocked silence that followed, Moody took a sip from his tea. He'd hoped for something a little stronger but was aware they probably didn't have any alcohol in the house since neither Sirius nor James drank it and Remus and Lily only rarely.

"How did Crouch take it?" Sirius gave him a bemused smile, rising to his feet to retrieve something from a cupboard above the sink.

"Not very well. It caused quite the uproar and when they learned what happened at Malfoy Manor the Wizengamot demanded his resignation and he has to pay compensation for how he treated you."

"He was fired?"

"Basically, he's confined to house arrest. It's not the first time someone complained about his behaviour, though they did not have the political power to truly do something about it like the two of you do. Ah, please," Moody gratefully held up his half empty cup as Sirius returned with a full bottle of Firewhisky and filled his cup.

"What about Peter?" Sirius sat down again, leaving the bottle on the table.

"He was found dead in Godric's Hollow, near Potters' Cottage," they looked surprised at this news.

"I'm not sure what he was doing there, but from his position it looks like he was hiding in a very awkward position in the bushes, not sure how he even managed to get in there with his size. Might be that he was attempting to hide from the Aurors as he was estimated to have died around the same time we arrived there, mere minutes before we were called to the fire at Malfoy Manor," from the look the three Marauders and Lily shared, he knew they had an idea but didn't ask further as he knew they'd have good reason not to tell him.

"I didn't want to believe the memories we saw in Voldemort's head," Sirius breathed out, the tears appearing in all of their eyes telling Moody they'd already known he was a Death Eater.

"You saw his admittance into the Death Eater circle?" at their nods he took a deep breath and a large sip from his spiked tea. He didn't need to ask further to know how devastated they'd been by that realisation and the knowledge of what he'd done.

"We checked his wand," he began, not sure if he should continue.

"How many people did he kill?" James looked up to him.

"Fourteen. Aside from the information he gave Voldemort and the traps he helped set, he killed fourteen people himself, of whom seven were Muggles," he hesitated but his conscience told him to continue. "And Dumbledore knew he was a traitor for over a year."

"What!" more than one voice exclaimed in anger, though it was James who asked further.

"How did he know?"

"He realised the truth early on, having used Legilimency on the Order members regularly. On those of them that don't have as strong mental shields as we do," he rectified immediately.

"And he didn't do anything about it?"

"No, he testified under Veritaserum that it allowed him to set up traps and get strong opponents out of the way. The giant attack, the missions that killed the Prewett twins and the Bones family...they were all set up traps. The four of you had been set up several times as well, but proved to be more resistant than he'd thought."

"Why?"

"Political power," Moody rubbed a hand over his tired and scarred face, it still haven't sunk in completely how utterly his old friend had played them all. "He'd been tempted by the power his position gave him and wanted to keep on top of everything, being the one everyone looked at without having to deal with all the complaints a Minister would have to."

"And because we don't bow to his every command, we had to be taken out of the way. Why did he send Hagrid to pick up Harry?" James glanced out of the window as if to assure himself his son was still happily playing.

"Because he'd immediately realised through the records that Harry was still alive and wanted to use him for his own gain. Placing him with Lily's relatives, it would ensure he'd remain ignorant of who he was and where he stood. An easy puppet to control once older, there was just one thing in the way."

"Me?" Sirius asked.

"Yes. You'd already proven at Hogwarts that you would not bow to his command, something you rubbed in once more when you went after Remus on his mission, saving his life when he was supposed to have been killed."

"So that was a set-up?" Remus had paled considerably and Moody briefly remembered the man across of him had been very loyal to Dumbledore. But neither Sirius nor James looked remotely uncomfortable beside him so he knew his loyalty to his friends was even stronger.

"It was. Sirius was supposed to have been killed at Halloween eve, a dozen Death Eaters were found dead at your apartment. Sent there on a tip from Pettigrew, who had received the information from Dumbledore. When he realised you were still alive, he planned to have you framed for their murders," Moody indicated at Lily and James. "It's what he told Crouch and me. He had specifically sought out Crouch because he knew how much the man hated Sirius and would not demand a trial that might set him free."

He gave them a wry smile. "Unfortunately for him, he was not aware you'd killed Voldemort or had taken your family to safety. Hagrid found the house empty, or so he said," giving Sirius a knowing look, he let him know he was aware the young man had modified the half-giant's memory. But he couldn't fault him for that when he'd have done the exact same thing.

"Where is Dumbledore now?"

"He's been Kissed for his manipulations, his deceptions that led to many deaths and the ones he could have prevented. He knowingly stood by and did nothing when he learned of assassination hits on Fenwick, Dearborn, the Bones, the Prewett twins, the Longbottoms and you guys."

"Their deaths could all have been prevented?" Lily swallowed.

"I don't know if they'd have survived in the end, but some might have. It took five Death Eaters to take down Gideon and Fabian after all. But it happened and the only ones on Voldemort's hit list to survive are you guys and the Longbottoms. Assuming they've not been killed, that is."

"They're fine and still in hiding," Sirius reassured him. "We contacted them as soon as we realised Dumbledore might not be trustworthy and warned them to stay in hiding with their son and they agreed to wait until we're certain everything is safe."

"Good call, Dumbledore saw them as threats as well and wanted them out of the way," Moody nodded.

"I don't know if it truly would have mattered, though. We've already established that Dumbledore was behind several of the assassination hits, so I don't know if him not idly standing by would've changed anything," Sirius ran a hand through his hair. "Perhaps lives could have been saved if we'd known the truth sooner and taken him out of play, but I doubt it would have mattered otherwise."

"You are right," James sighed. "It wouldn't have mattered if he had acted when he's the one behind several murders in the first place."

"Why wasn't James called out for the trials? He holds the Potter seat, after all," Sirius asked.

"Because it wasn't considered safe enough to get everyone there. If there was a conflict or uncertainty, you'd have been summoned. But as it was there was a ton of evidence in both cases that your presence wasn't required. I had assumed you would be needed for Dumbledore's hearing, but his own testimony made that unnecessary."

"So you reckon it's safe to come out of hiding?" Lily held up his empty cup in a quiet question if he wanted a refill, but Moody shook his head as he was aware he'd need to leave soon.

"I believe so. Your normal wards should be more than enough to keep you safe and not many would dare to raise the ire of the man who took down Voldemort single-handedly," he gave Sirius a smile.

"So, why don't you guys tell me exactly what happened at Godric's Hollow and how you realised he had made Horcruxes?"

The information that followed left Moody speechless and more than a little horrified as he downed a glass of pure Firewhisky before he could speak again. "You actually entered his mind?!"

"How else did you think I got those memories?" Sirius raised an eyebrow.

"I don't know, not like that. If I didn't know you guys were brilliant, I'd call you utterly insane," he thought for a moment. "No, scratch that. I am calling you insane!"

"It was the easiest way to determine if it was true and it helped you find all his followers, didn't it?"

"True," Moody grudgingly admitted. "But you're still idiots, the lot of you."

"Not the first time we've been called that," James shrugged, turning when the garden door opened.

"Siri!" Harry ran in and only Sirius' quick response stopped the toddler from crashing into his chair head first as he stumbled over a block of wood, quickly magically lifting him up mid-fall.

"What have we told you about running?" he berated the child as he lifted him onto his hip.

"No running when there's loose things. Sorry," the boy apologised as he looked up to him guiltily.

"And why is it that you can't do so?"

"Because I trip and get owie like last time and you, Mummy, Daddy and Remy be scared if I'm hurt," Moody couldn't help but be surprised at the smart response.

"So?"

"Clean up before running!"

"Atta boy, though you're forgiven this time because Daddy, Remy and I didn't clean up either," Sirius blew a raspberry on the toddler's belly button as he turned him upside down.

"Siri!" the child giggled as he was turned upright again.

"So, what was it that you wanted to show me, kiddo?"

"I've found a...a...," the little boy wrinkled his nose and questioningly turned to the two House-elves.

"A rose, Harry," Tiffy patiently told him.

"Yeah! A rose!"

"You did?! Where is it?"

"Here," Harry thrust a slightly crushed red rose at Sirius and Moody smiled as the dark-haired young man carefully accepted it, seeing the thorns were removed and it was shortened.

"For me?"

"Yah!" Harry nodded enthusiastically. "Tiffy say roses are for one you love."

"Did she say that?"The little elf giggled guiltily and Moody couldn't suppress his chuckle as Sirius allowed Harry to put the rose in his hair, carefully tucking it behind his ear so it wouldn't fall off.

"You look very stunning, Black," he couldn't help but say and it wasn't even a lie as the rose indeed looked well on him, complementing the short dark hair perfectly.

"Oh shut it," Sirius rolled his eyes at him, smiling at Harry. "I love it, pup. Thank you."

"Well, I better get going. Amelia is going to take over as Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and could use some help."

"She'll be a fair leader," Sirius smiled as he pulled a face at the boy in his arms. "Good luck and if you need anything, you know where we are."

"I do, don't be surprised if the Prophet comes after you when you guys appear in public again, they've been dying to get their hands on an interview."

"Thanks for the heads up," James tickled his son for a moment before turning to him. "And thank you for your willingness to believe us."

"You've never given me any indication I should not," Moody acknowledged. "Oh, before I forget, Minerva asked if I could pass a message to Sirius and Remus."

"To us?"

"Yes, that the job is yours if you were both still interested?" Moody inquired, not entirely sure what the cryptic message meant. "And Lily, Slughorn is more than willing to take you back as his apprentice when you're ready."

"We'll contact her soon," Sirius spoke after the three gave each other a surprised look.

"Very well, I'll tell her that when I see her again," accepting his coat from Dobby, he put it on and nodded to them all. "See you soon."

"You will," James promised as they saw him out.

"I'll momentarily lift the wards so you can Apparate from the end of the path, no need to walk all the way to the forest."

Nodding in thanks to Sirius' words, Moody made his way down the path.

He knew they still had a very long way to go before anything would truly change, but if anyone could do it, it were the four he was leaving behind.

They would not rest until they were sure a war like this would not easily happen again and wouldn't let anyone stop them from reaching their goal.

Giving one last nod to the family, he Apparated away, content to know he would do everything in his power to help them make that happen.