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I still own nothing.

"Honestly, Evans, are you really going to make my godson eat that? It looks like dog crap!"

"Honestly, Black, James and I have been married for two years now. It's not 'Evans' anymore. And yes, I am making your godson eat that because he is my son, and I get to decide what he eats. And please watch your language in front of young, impressionable children."

James Potter smiled at the banter between two of the most important people in his life. Just by listening, one might think that the two hated each other, but James knew better. Sirius had a mischievous glint in his eye, and Lily had a smirk on her lips as she forced Harry to eat his smashed carrots.

Honestly, he agreed with Sirius, and so did Harry apparently, if his refusal to eat the vegetables was any indication. But when he had brought it up, Lily had been quite adamant that their son eat carrots. Apparently, this vegetable was supposed to help with Harry's vision.

Merlin forbid our son have eyesight as bad as yours, James Potter.

Oh, come on! I mistake your hairspray for my shaving cream one time!

Three times, James! Three times!

So even though he was on his best friend's side in this particular instance, James was not about to voice his opinion.

"As for the dog crap, you would know exactly what that looks like, wouldn't you, Sirius?" James joked instead. Sirius' bark of laughter echoed throughout the room as Lily made another comment about language.

It seemed odd, sometimes, these moments. They were in the middle of a war. He and his wife and son were in hiding. An evil wizard wanted them dead. But James was filled with peace. He had his best friend beside him and the love of his life and son in front of him. Of course, life could be better. But sitting here, eating his dinner, laughing… well, it made things seem less serious.

As James lifted his fork to take another bite, a knock sounded at the door. Lily and Sirius looked up in alarm. A bit of fear shot through James too, but he tried not to let that show. They didn't get very many visitors these days. The only people who even knew where they were were the Marauders and Dumbledore.

"I'll get it," James said and stood, drawing his wand out from his back pocket.

"James, be careful," Lily cautioned softly.

James laughed and stopped to kiss her forehead. "I highly doubt that Voldemort would be knocking at our door, Lilyflower." As James turned, he heard Sirius force a laugh.

In all honesty, Sirius concerned him much more than anything else these days. Once a lively and confident boy, Sirius had become much quieter. But what scared James the most was the paranoia. There was a traitor in their midst, that much was certain. But some time ago, Sirius had decided that that traitor was Remus. Every time Sirius came around now, he mentioned it to James. James didn't want to believe that anyone was betraying them to Voldemort. They had all been so loyal to each other when they were in school. Surely not that much had changed. However, James couldn't help but be partially swayed by his best friend. The two were more like brothers, really. Besides Lily's, Sirius' was the opinion that mattered the most to James.

And Sirius had brought up some good points. It had been a month since anyone had seen or heard from Remus, and this had become a common occurrence. He would disappear for a while, without telling any of the Marauders where he was going or what he was doing. Even when he was around, Remus was quiet. Of course, he had always been quiet. But this was the kind of quiet that indicated that he was trying to keep something from them. It was the kind of quiet that he had been right before the James, Sirius, and Peter had discovered his secret in their second year.

This all concerned James. So, while he still had doubts that Remus was the traitor, James had become more cautious around him, to the point where they had not told him about the switch in Secret Keepers.

James shook his head to clear the troubling thoughts as he approached the front door. "Who's there?" he said cautiously.

"Remus Lupin," a rough voice said from the other side.

Despite James' misgivings about the man, he couldn't help but smile. He had missed his friend. And until the day that he proved himself to be the traitor, James would welcome him with open arms. But first, a security question… "What was the first detention that we served together?"
James heard a small chuckle before Remus answered. "We had to clean Moaning Myrtle's bathroom the Muggle way. Took us five bloody hours."

James laughed too as he began undoing all the wards on the front door. "Would've taken us about half that time if Moaning Myrtle hadn't decided to keep overflowing all the toilets." His smile fell a little upon seeing his friend, but he quickly pulled him inside.

James had seen Remus in many different states of wellness over the years, but it had been a long time since he had seen him look this badly. Remus was incredibly thin; his tattered robes hung on him. His hair had more grey in it than ever before, and a substantial beard had appeared on his face. What was most troubling, though, was the look in his eyes. There was a weariness there that James had never seen before.

"It's been a while. How are you, Moony?" James asked as he embraced his friend.

"Been better, to be honest. But also been worse." Remus cracked a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Well, come on in then. Lily will have my head if you don't say 'hi.'" James smiled and turned to lead his friend into the dining room. "Look who I found at the door." He stepped aside to let Sirius and Lily see Remus. The former offered a greeting but stayed in his seat with a wary expression on his face. The latter jumped up and embraced their visitor.

"Remus, love, you look… awful."
Remus' smile widened at Lily's blunt comment. "Gee, Lil, what a greeting. I really should come by more often."

"Yes, you should," Lily stated emphatically, punctuating the comment with a slap to Remus' arm. "Why don't you go to the loo and clean up? I'll get you some dinner."

Remus looked around with an insecure expression on his face. "Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt…"

"Nonsense!" Lily said. "You know that you are always welcome here. Now go clean up." Lily turned Remus around and gave him a slight push in the direction of the loo.

James smiled at the happy look on his wife's face. She and Remus had been close for a long time, ever since first year. He knew that she had missed Remus just as much as James had.

But James' smile fell when he noticed the look on Sirius' face.

"What is he doing here?" Sirius asked gruffly.

"Sirius, stop. He's just as welcome here as you are." Lily sat down and tried to force another spoonful of carrots into Harry's mouth.

"It's dangerous for him to be here. What if he is the traitor? What if he's here to hurt you?"
James could see the anger brewing in Lily's face. He silently begged his friend to let it go.

"I've had enough of this, Sirius. While Remus is here, I don't want to hear anything about this fool theory that you have. It's preposterous, thinking that he's the traitor."

"It's not preposterous, Lily. Someone's the traitor. It's not either of you. It's not me. It's not Peter. That leaves Remus."

"That's not a good enough reason to suspect somebody. So, unless you have some solid evidence implicating him, I don't want to hear it."

Sirius opened his mouth to reply, but at that moment, Remus came back in the room. He looked marginally better. He definitely looked cleaner, and he had shaved. But there was still an unsettling look in his eye.