Thank you for all my reviews so far, and I'm so sorry I didn't update sooner! Been working quite a bit and was afraid I wasn't devoting enough time to getting this right, but piece by piece it's sort of come together :) Reviews are loverly, and I don't own characters, JK Rowling does etc etc etc

Lily

Lily frowned as she stared down at her empty cauldron, her mind still buzzing with the conversation between her husband and his best friend that she had interrupted. How anybody, never mind Sirius, could believe that Remus Lupin would spy on his friends was beyond her. Although...

"...he won't let anyone go near that damn bandage on his arm. Did he let you near it?"

She shook her head violently, as if trying to shake Sirius' words and the naggling suspicion that came with them out of her mind. It was a preposterous idea; Remus was devoted to his friends. She clenched her fist in anger at the way that Sirius had offhandedly called him a monster. It would destroy him if he heard one of his friends call him that, most of all Sirius, who had always been adamant that Remus was just as human, if not more human, than any of them.

Lily unclenched her fist with a sigh, noting how her fingernails had dented red crescents into her palms. She reached for a small, weathered jar on the shelf behind her, setting her mind back to that morning.

The morning wind howled and moaned, slapping the rain against the walls of the house. Despite this, Lily felt as if she was laying in silence. Her husband's usual snores were absent, and she knew that he had had as much trouble sleeping as she had. They had been told the previous evening that the person spying on them for Voldemort was a lot closer to home than they had ever imagined. Sirius, who had been less than his usual cheerful self of recent, had been angrier than she had ever seen him. Peter had quivered and squeaked in shock. Remus was absent, the waxy full moon waning over them a constant reminder of this. Dumbledore had suggested being their secret keeper, but Sirius wanted to do it himself. Throughout the meeting, James had remained pale and silent, disbelief etched across his weary face.

Lily turned in bed to face him. His hazel eyes were open, staring at the ceiling. They seemed empty, and she doubted it was solely to do with the fact he wasn't wearing his glasses. Lily reached out to take his hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. She wanted to say something to comfort him, but knew it was near impossible. They had decided to set up the fidelius charm today, so that they had a chance to say goodbye to Remus, Frank and Alice, who would not be able to contact them until they discovered who the spy was. Dumbledore and Sirius objected to this delay, but James had been firm. Lily knew how much this was killing her husband. He couldn't imagine why any of his friends would betray him and his family, and if she was honest, neither could she. She shuffled closer to him, and he took her in his arms, resting his head on top of hers. He absentmindedly ran his fingers through her hair, and she sighed under his touch. It was these moments that she cherished; the moments that reminded her that there was something worth fighting for amongst the chaos of war.

The lulling peace was disturbed only by the sound of a faint cry from the adjacent room. Harry. Lily broke away from James with a look of fleeting panic and grabbed her wand, muttering "Lumos" as she exited the room.

"Harry?" she called softly, feeling her body relax when she saw that her son was very much alone. She flicked on the lights and extinguished her wand light, scooping Harry up into an embrace. His crying stopped immediately as he snuggled into her. She asked herself for what felt like the millionth time why anybody would want to harm the boy in her arms. Her boy. All she knew was that she would stop at nothing to protect the boy with James' unruly jet-black hair and her eyes.

She heard a small creak behind her, and turned to see James, who looked uncharacteristically tense.
"Is he alright?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow as if to try to mask his insecurities. She nodded, and he made to move closer to her when they heard a stifled groan from outside. Husband and wife shared a puzzled look, and James produced his wand from his dressing gown pocket, sidling past Lily and Harry towards the window. Lily joined him, holding Harry to her tightly. In the dim early light of the street, she just about made out a shabby-looking figure who appeared to be limping straight towards the house.

James visibly tightened his grip on his wand as he squinted at the window. It wasn't until the figure hobbled into a pool of amber light resonating from a muggle street lamp that they realised who it was.

James immediately rushed downstairs, ignoring Lily's cries of "He could be an impostor!"
She immediately placed Harry into his cot and tumbled after her husband, powering down the stairs just in time to see James open the front door, and Remus collapse onto the hall carpet.

He had looked worse than she had ever seen him. A sickly yellow bruise covered his bloodshot right eye completely, and the rest of his face was barely recognisable underneath a maze of fresh, some still bleeding, scars. This was nothing, however, compared to the state of his bad leg. It looked as if a chunk had been sliced out of his lower leg with a butcher's knife, so much so that a glimmer of marble bone was visible underneath the mass of blood. They had moved him into the guest bedroom, wincing at the creaking noise apparently emitting from his bones.

It was precisely this that had worried Lily when Remus had told her that he was spying on the werewolves for Dumbledore. She glared into the cauldron, suddenly felt a surge of anger towards the old man for allowing a 20-year-old man to do such a dangerous task. The glass jar she was holding slipped out of her hand and into the cauldron, shattering into tiny pieces. She went to reach for her wand to clear up the mess, but when she turned back, it had already vanished. Puzzled, she spun round to see a weary looking Remus leaning against the doorway, bandaged and smiling bleakly.
"Show off," she muttered playfully as she realised he had performed wandless magic.
She eyed the bandage on his left arm, and Remus, who seemed to notice, frowned and rubbed his sleeve to cover it. Lily's heart sank slightly as she remembered Sirius' words.
"War wound," he mumbled. Lily only nodded.
"Shouldn't you be in bed?"
Remus shrugged and shuffled into the room, beginning to work his calloused thumb into the wooden work surface.
The awkward silence that followed was broken by the sound of the door creaking. James poked his bespectacled head through the gap between the door and it's frame, before he entered the room fully with a weary smile.
"I thought I heard you talking to somebody, how are you Moons? Are you going to tell us what happened now that you're not unconscious or are you gonna leave us guessing?"
Lily could sense the false cheeriness in his voice, something that had become a common occurrence as of late. James' need to remain strong and keep the mood light was at times heartbreaking, the worry shining through his hazel eyes making her ache with sadness.
"Greyback," Remus croaked. "Took a bite out of my leg."
"Bloody hell!" James exclaimed. "Why would he do that?"

Remus shrugged, a stared down at his feet. Lily softened.

"What happened?" she reached over to touch his arm lightly, trying to meet his eyes.
"Well, the full moon last night... he tried to-he wanted me to-"
Lily's emerald eyes settled on to James' hazel ones in a moment of shared anxiety.
"They were going after kids."
Remus moved away from her touch, ashamed, and began pacing, the limp in his step slowing him down. James exhaled loudly.
"Shit, Remus..."
"I couldn't do it. I got punished," Remus continued with a sarcastic snort.
"You couldn't do what?" a voice called from the doorway. Sirius was leant against the doorframe, his arms folded, wearing a deeply set frown.

Lily glanced at James, who had shoved his hands in his pockets and seemed to be trying desperately to look at anything and everything but Remus and Sirius. The ominous feeling that something bad was about to happen prickled the hairs on the back of her neck. Lily waited in the silence for the storm to erupt.