Disclaimer: I don't even fully own this prompt. It was given to me by fredneverdied. So how do you think I could come to own Harry Potter? That's just foolish.

James lurched as he and his family landed at their home in Godric's Hallow. God he hated aperating. As soon as they landed, Lily silently took Harry upstairs to put to bed as James sat on their couch in the living room brooding over the day's events. Frank and Alice, tortured to insanity? Voldemort now knowing about the prophecy, and targeting the Potters? Going into hiding? Secret keepers and Fidilus charms? And everything had to happen in less than 2 days? It just didn't make sense. Their life was about to be turned upside down, that much he knew for certain. But everything else about the day was just hazy.

Lily came downstairs after several minutes and sat beside him. For a while they didn't say anything; they just sat there, both thinking along similar lines. Finally, Lily sighed.

"So," she said. "Been a busy day, hasn't it?" James chuckled.

"You could say that again," he replied. "Is Harry asleep?" Lily nodded.

"He was out like a light," she answered, then laughed. "He's still got that cloth Dumbledore gave him. He really is teething. I guess it's been a long day for all of us." There was a long pause. Finally, Lily snuggled up close to James, who smiled and put his arm around her. "What do you think, James? Do you think we should even do this?" James nodded and kissed her hair.

"Yes," he said softly. "I want to do everything in my power to keep you and Harry safe. If this is our best option, then so be it. Going into hiding will be easy compared to losing you two. And it does sound like the safest bet. I say we go for it."

Lily sighed into James' chest. "Yes, I suppose you're right. But who'll be our secret keeper?"

James ran his hand unconsciously through his hair. Little habits like that used to drive Lily up the wall, but now they just made her insides do a flip flop and she got butterflies in her stomach. She couldn't believe how much her feelings towards this man had changed as he had grown up. And even after all of these years she was still finding more reasons to love him.

"I still think our best option would be Sirius," James said. "He's fully prepared to deal with Voldemort and Remus has too much on his plate right now, what with the ministry's problems with werewolves these days and the death eaters trying to recruit him. There are only so many times you can say no to those people. Remus has been considering going into hiding himself."

Lily thought for a moment. "What about Peter?" James just shrugged.

"What about him? Face it Lily, he may be one of my best friends and I trust him and all, but I don't think he's equipped to handle that kind of responsibility." Lily nodded in agreement.

"You're right. We couldn't ask Peter to do something that dangerous."

James chuckled. "Ya, because running around with a werewolf once a month isn't dangerous enough." Lily slapped his chest lightly.

"You know what I meant," she said. James just smiled.

"I still say Sirius," he said. "What's the harm in asking him? It would ultimately be his choice." Lily rolled her eyes.

"But you know he'd say yes," she exclaimed. "Think about it. You, his best friend, asks him to put your life in his hands? He loves you too much to think about himself, or the dangers of what we would be asking him to do. What would you do if the roles were switched?" James shrugged.

"I'd be his secret keeper," he said. "Because I care about him and I'd want him to be safe. And I'd feel honored to have a friend trust me enough to be willing to put his life in my hands." James turned to face Lily and cupped her face. "And if Sirius feels that way about us, than I am eternally grateful to have a friend like that. He cares about us, Lil's. And I care about him. Love him as a brother, in fact. He would know the risks, and he's more than prepared to deal with them. Let's just ask him."

Lily just sighed and rested her head back against James' chest. "I love him too. But he's like a dog, hoping to prove his love and loyalty every chance he gets. I just get worried about him sometimes."

James laughed loudly. "I hope you know the irony in what you just said. And anyway, that's a part of the reason I love him so much. His devotion to his friends is a part of what makes him Sirius. And a part of the reason he has a dog animagus." James sighed contentedly and stroked his wife's hair. "We can ask him tomorrow, when we have all had a little sleep."

Suddenly, the alarm for the floo went off. James and Lily both sat up immediately and raced to the fireplace. Instantly, Sirius's face appeared in the fire and he looked really worried. Lines creased his handsome face and his mouth was turned down, his eyes narrowed. Upon seeing them, he visibly let out a sigh of relief.

"Lily? James? Oh thank god you're all right," he exclaimed. "But what happened? Dumbledore flooed and told me something was wrong, and I phoned straight here. What's going on?" Lily and James exchanged a look.

"Seems like Dumbledore couldn't wait until morning," James exclaimed, exasperated. "Two days my butt." To Sirius he said, "Padfoot, you'd better come on over. There is something Lily and I need to talk to you about."

Sirius nodded and his face disappeared. Within moments, there was a brilliant flash of green and Sirius Black was standing, covered in soot, in their fireplace.

"Ah-ah-ACHOO!" Sirius sneezed, and ash flew everywhere. He stepped out of the fire and glared at it. "Stupid floo network," he muttered. "They need to get those bugs worked out." He took out his wand and pointed it at himself. "Isedo," he said, and the soot was removed instantly. He then turned to his two friends to see grave expressions on their faces. He looked puzzled.

"What's the matter, you two?" he said. "Has something happened?"

James nodded. "Sirius, there's something we need to ask you."

. . .

Twenty minutes later, they were sitting in the Potter's living room with James and Lily sitting together on the loveseat and Sirius sitting on the chair next to them. They were all looking a bit downcast.

"Frank and Alice? Really?" Sirius asked his eyes wide. James nodded.

"Yes," he replied. "I do believe Dumbledore, and he'd have no reason to lie about that to us. We were going to floo them to make sure of it later, but then you got here." Sirius accepted this piece of news with a nod.

"And Dumbledore asked you two to go into hiding? Because of that prophecy made almost a year ago? It seems a bit prolonged, don't you think?"

James shook his head. "Dumbledore thinks that the Longbottoms were tortured because of the prophecy. It really is too early to tell for sure, but I want to be safe. Dumbledore suggested we use a protection spell and stay off of the charts for a little while, and keep ourselves out of the limelight and off of Voldemort's radar."

"The charm he suggested is called the Fidilus charm," Lily continued. Sirius nodded.

"I've heard of it," he said.

"Dumbledore thinks it's our best bet," Lily explained. "He says it's the safest protection spell that there is."

"Only thing is," James said, "is that in order for it to work, we need what's called a secret keeper. It's a person who knows the location of our house and will keep it secret. Only they can tell someone where it is, someone who we want to be able to have access to this house. And Lily and I were thinking," he quickly looked to his wife for support, "would you be our secret keeper, Sirius?"

Sirius let the news sink in and then slowly, his face split into a wide grin. "Do you even have to ask Prongs? When do I start?" James and Lily looked at each other and smiled.

"Thank you Sirius," James said. "You don't know how much this means to us." Sirius just waved it away.

"Don't even mention it," he said. "You would do the same for me. It's what best friends do."

Lily's smile melted off of her face just a tad. "Are you sure about this, Sirius? There are a lot of risks involved if the death eaters find out who you are and what you're doing for us. They will come after you."

Sirius laughed his barking laugh. "Please, Lil's. The death eaters already have more reasons than they can count to come after me. Adding another one won't make a difference. Plus, I am more than able to deal with them, and more than willing to put it plainly. Trust me Lily; you don't need to worry about a thing." Lily sighed.

"I know," she said. "I just can't help it. You boys are so easy to worry about." James laughed and pulled her up against him.

"We're fine, love," he said. She smiled and looked up at him, gazing into his eyes.

"I know," she said. They sat like that for a good ten seconds, during which time, Sirius made a gagging sound.

"Get a room, why don't you!" Sirius exclaimed jokingly. Suddenly, his eyes lit up. "Speaking of which, where is the little tyke? Is Harry already asleep?"

James nodded, unwillingly breaking his gaze from his wife's beautiful green eyes. "Lily put him to bed not an hour ago. He's teething, so he's been fussy all day." Sirius frowned.

"Well that's unfortunate," he said. Then he grinned. "But a visit from Uncle Padfoot would've made his day, wouldn't it?" James and Lily laughed.

"And that's as modest as he gets, folks," James said mockingly. Sirius barked out a laugh.

"And you're one to talk," he said. Lily smiled, covering her mouth with her hand.

"Touché," she said, and got up to stretch. When she relaxed, she looked at Sirius. "You'd better be getting home. I'll floo Dumbledore in the morning and see about getting that spell in place. You should see about getting some charms put up around your house to keep yourself safe now that you're going to be our secret keeper. You can come over tomorrow and we can help you look. But it's been a long day for all of us, and I'm exhausted."

Sirius nodded. "Point taken," he said. Then, he stood up, yawning and stretching, his tongue sticking out of his mouth. James desperately wanted to get a picture of him like that- it would make great blackmail. "I will see you folks tomorrow, as well as my favorite godson. For now, I bid you, adieu!"

And with that, he stepped into the fireplace and shouted, "Number 12, Grimmould Place!" There was a burst of green flame and Sirius was gone.

James and Lily couldn't get to their bed fast enough. They were fully asleep by the time their heads hit the pillow. They both had dreams that night, about Voldemort, about Harry, about a lightning bolt scar, and strangely, Sirius's motorbike. Neither of them knew what it meant, and both of them forgot about it within moments of waking up. But it left a strange foreboding in their stomachs that they couldn't shake off. A sense that their future wasn't as pleasant or as simple as they had hoped it would be. They could tell that things from that point on were about to get very difficult indeed.

A/N: Well that was quick. I hope you liked it! Now review please! I would really love it a lot