The Headmaster's office was hardly ever silent. The portraits of the previous Headmasters were usually talking amongst each other or at least mumbling under their breath, usually in agreement or disagreement with something the current Headmaster was doing or saying, or there was a visitor. Or, more often than not, Albus Dumbledore was simply pacing around his office talking to himself. This was one of those times. Dumbledore rather enjoyed these times; the solitude was comforting, especially since outside the office he was never alone.

Unfortunately, these times never lasted long.

A noise came from the fireplace, and Dumbledore looked up to see a tear-stained, scarred, disheveled man stumble out. The man tried to no avail to brush the ash and floo powder from his already-dirty jacket before giving up and making eye contact with the Headmaster.

"Ah, Remus." Dumbledore said with a smile, sitting behind his desk. "Good of you to come, I was beginning to worry."

"Is it true?" Remus asked in a cracking voice, full of emotion. "Are James and Lily really gone?"

"I'm afraid so."

"How? How did this happen?" Remus' eyes filled with tears, which evidently had happened a lot in the last 24 hours. He sank into the chair across from Dumbledore. "Why would Sirius do this?"

"Sirius? I'm not – oh, of course. No, Sirius was not their Secret Keeper, Remus."

"What? Then who was?"

"Peter."

"Peter?!" Remus exclaimed, jumping out of his seat and making the chair fall backwards. "Peter would never!"

Dumbledore waved his hand and Remus' chair went back to its original position before he replied. "Evidently, he would, unfortunately. He sold the Potters out to Voldemort, and Voldemort killed Lily and James two nights ago."

Remus broke down, and he collapsed on the chair. He sobbed breathlessly for several minutes before something seemed to occur to him. "What about Harry?"

"Sirius took him from me." Dumbledore sighed dramatically. "I wanted to send him to Lily's sister's house, to best protect him from the dangers of our world, and to make sure the blood wards from Lily's sacrifice would keep him safe."

"Sirius took him?! Where?!" Remus jumped out of his chair again, only this time it didn't fall down. "We need to get Harry back! We need to protect him! What is Sirius thinking?!"

"He's been holed up at the Longbottom's with Harry since that night. He's under the impression that he and they can protect him better than hiding him will, or better than I can." Dumbledore explained, then sighed dramatically again, shaking his head. "I don't know how to talk any sense into him. I think he's lost in his grief, and not thinking clearly."

Remus' eyes narrowed, and he seemed to come to an agreement with himself as he nodded firmly at Dumbledore. "I can talk to him."

"Oh, would you please, Remus?" Dumbledore looked at him with a desperate expression. "I will never know him like you do, and you know how to talk him down best."

Remus shook his head. "No, that's not my calling. The only person who could ever talk Sirius down from something was James." He squared his shoulders. "But James is gone, and we need to do what's best for Harry. I'll do my best, Professor."

Dumbledore smiled at the man sadly. "Thank you, Remus. Please bring Harry to me once you'd talked some sense into him."

"I will." Remus stepped over to the fireplace, took a fistful of Floo powder, and yelled, "Longbottom manor!" before disappearing in a flash of colourful flames.

Dumbledore waited until the fire was gone before he flicked his wand and summoned a piece of parchment and a quill. There was a lot of explaining to do to Petunia Dursley, but surely a letter would suffice…

Since the wards on Longbottom manor had been broken by the Death Eaters, they weren't as strong as they were before; years of wards from one of the strongest Pureblood families that had never come down were obviously stronger than wards that had only been up for a day or so.

It honestly baffled Augusta. Those Death Eaters may have been strong in their own right, but as far as she was aware, none of them were particularly gifted at ward-breaking. Besides, those wards had been there since the manor was built nearly two centuries prior. Nobody except someone who had access to the wards would be able to take them down that easily. But Augusta was lost on that one.

"I still don't know how they broke our wards, Frank." Augusta sighed as she opened one of the family photo albums off her bookshelf. "I suspect they may have had help."

"Help?" Frank replied, looking out from the closet his head was in. "From who?"

"Someone who had permission to enter them. The wards would fall much easier from someone who knew the workings of them, and none of those Death Eaters had access to us."

Frank thought for a moment before his face froze in an almost nauseated expression. "Peter?"

Augusta nearly smacked her own forehead. "Oh Merlin. Maybe he was out there, and we didn't see him… How could I have missed that?"

"I wouldn't expect Peter to have that much power. I guess that's how we didn't think of him at first."

"Still, there's nobody else it could have been. I mean, who else –"

Augusta's words were cut off by the sound of the Floo downstairs, and both Longbottoms looked at each other with worry, whipped out their wands wordlessly, and dashed down the stairs.

"Hello?" Remus called out as he heard Augusta and Frank coming down at lightning speed.

"Remus?" Augusta responded in surprise, almost cartoonishly screeching to a halt at the doorway, wand still raised. "What are you doing here?"

"I just want to see Harry." Remus said bluntly, raising his hands in a surrender position. "Dumbledore told me he was here."

Frank appeared behind Augusta, also surprised. "Dumbledore told you?"

Remus nodded. "He said Sirius brought him here, against Dumbledore's wishes."

Augusta and Frank looked at each other, almost having a full conversation silently. Finally, Augusta turned back to Remus. "We're staying at the Lovegood's right now. We just came back to check on things and figure out some other things to bring with us. You can come back with us as long as you promise not to start a fight with Sirius."

"Start a fight?" Remus feigned a look of confusion that almost fooled the other two (…almost). "Why would I start a fight?"

"You know how just as well as we do how stubborn Sirius is, Remus. Don't expect to change his mind easily." Augusta warned sternly. Remus Lupin was a horrid liar, and Augusta was far too wise and experienced, and far too much on her guard right now, to fall for it.

"I just want to talk to him." Remus lied. "I don't intend to fight him on it."

Neither Frank nor Augusta believed him, but Frank knew that if it came down to a fight, Remus would be outnumbered and quickly lose, so he agreed. "Alright, Remus. Come with us then."

A sleeping Sirius curled up on the couch, his arm protectively wrapped around an also-sleeping baby Harry, with sleeping Luna tucked behind his knees and sleeping Neville draped over his side. This was the scene Xenophilius and Pandora walked into the house to find after their trip to the nearby Muggle village for food, as they did every Monday without fail.

"Oh, darling, look… he's becoming a father, one nap at a time." Pandora whispered happily to her husband, peering through the archway into the livingroom as she sets her grocery bags down on the kitchen counter.

Xenophilius chuckled softly, putting down his own bags. "I think soon he'll be cleaning chocolate pudding out of his hair."

Pandora stuck her tongue out at Xenophilius, but she also chuckled. "Luna certainly gives us her fair share of trouble already, doesn't she?"

"Yes, my dear Nargle, she does." Xenophilius had come up with the nickname back when they were in Hogwarts together, as a teasing explanation for how she 'made his heart and brain feel fuzzy' whenever he saw her. "But she definitely makes it all worth it."

Pandora smiled at the old pet name, and looked at their sleeping daughter, sucking her thumb and clutching the teddy bear in her arms. "I didn't think I would ever be a good mother, considering how young I was when my mother died, but I think we're doing okay."

"You're a wonderful mother, Dora." Xenophilius kissed the top of his wife's head before waving his wand and sending the groceries to their respective places.

Just then, a noise came from the fireplace, and Augusta stepped out, brushing Floo from her shoulders.

Sirius was immediately awake, and he instinctively sat up quickly, almost knocking Neville onto the ground before he pulled him to his chest protectively along with Luna and Harry.

"Merlin, Augusta, you almost scared my balls off." Sirius said groggily as he processed the scene in front of him, setting the kids down on the couch as he realized that they were not in danger.

Neville, being Neville, had still slept through the ruckus so far, but Luna was wide awake now and Harry was stirring.

"Sirius Orion Black, watch your mouth in front of my grandson." Augusta scolded.

Pandora and Xenophilius came into the room as Sirius was trying to protest that Neville couldn't understand him anyway, and Xenophilius sat in the chair beside the couch while Pandora perched herself on the armrest beside her husband. "Where is Frank?" Pandora asked as Luna climbed over Sirius to crawl into her father's lap.

Before Augusta could answer, the flames lit up behind her and she stepped to the side to allow Remus and Frank to step out together.

Sirius shot to his feet in surprise, nearly knocking Remus over as he scooped the tired man into his arms. "Moony!"

Remus nearly burst into tears again, holding his best friend as tightly as he could. "Merlin, Padfoot, I'm so sorry."

"For what?" Sirius asked, his own eyes filling up.

"I thought it was you. I thought it was you that sold them out, and that's why I haven't tried to see you, and I'm so sorry for thinking you would do that."

Sirius shook his head. "That's not your fault. Everyone thought I was their Secret-Keeper, and we did that on purpose. I'm sorry that you weren't in on it, but Dumbledore insisted."

Remus' face hardened. "Speaking of Dumbledore… I think we need to talk."

"Talk?" Sirius looked shocked at first, especially at the dark look on Remus' face, but then realization dawned on him, and his heart began to hurt. "Did you go see him?"

"Yes, I did." Remus answered, his face not losing its grim expression.

"What did he tell you?" Sirius stepped out of the hug.

"He told me that you took Harry against his will, that you're keeping him from Dumbledore because you think you're doing the right thing."

"I am doing the right thing!" Sirius replied defensively, his loud voice now waking up Harry. "I'm protecting Harry!"

"You're doing him a disservice!" Remus responded with anger. "He needs the protection of Lily's blood relation, which is her sister!"

"Is that what Dumbledore said?" Sirius challenged. "Did he remind you that Lily's sister was afraid of her, and abusive towards her, and that her husband is even worse?"

Remus had no response, so Sirius continued. "Did he remind you about when Marlene told us that Lily cried herself to sleep every night for a week after every break?"

Even the mention of Marlene made Sirius' composure threaten to break, and Remus', but Sirius wasn't done. "Did he remind you that Augusta fought in the war against Grindelwald and his army, and that Frank and Alice are Aurors, and that I was training under Moody too? Do you really think he'd be safer in the Muggle world than with us, Remus?"

"If Dumbledore says he would be safer, then yes!" Remus finally replied. "If Dumbledore thinks that the blood protection is the safest thing for Ja—for Harry, then that's what we should be following."

"He's not James, Remus." A soft voice cut in.

Everyone turned to look in the archway to the kitchen, where Alice had been standing unnoticed for several minutes, roused from her own nap by the commotion. "He's not James." She said again. "James is gone."

"I know James is gone!" Remus yelled loudly at her, now stirring even Neville. "Do you think I'm stupid?! Do you think I don't know that my best friend is gone?!"

"Don't you dare raise your voice at my wife, Remus." Frank raised his wand and pointed it at Remus' chest. "I told you not to start any fights, and you've gone too far."

"Don't point your wand at me –"

As Remus' own wand is raised towards Frank, there was a flurry of movement. Remus found four more wands pointed in his direction as Sirius, Alice, Augusta, and even Pandora had raised theirs.

"Try something. I dare you." Alice snarled, stepping towards her husband protectively. "See how well it goes for you."

Remus narrowed his eyes at Alice, and turned his wand towards her. "Don't make me –"

"Enough!"

Xenophilius stood from his chair, placing a frightened and fidgety Luna on the seat in his stead, his glare fixed on Remus. "Everyone lower their wands, now."

Nobody except Pandora had ever seen him angry before, and just his command was enough to make everyone comply, except Alice and Remus.

Xenophilius glanced at Alice briefly. "Please, Alice."

Alice slowly lowered her wand, her eyes still flaring with anger at Remus.

Xenophilius turned back to Remus, who still had his wand pointed at Alice. "Remus, lower your wand, or I will raise mine and you will find out why neither Grindelwald nor You-Know-Who ever wanted to mess with my family."

Remus hesitated before lowering his wand, turning his gaze to Xenophilius and instantly feeling afraid of the murderous glare being aimed at him.

"Now, Remus, you are going to turn around and Floo yourself out of my house immediately." Remus started to protest, but Xenophilius clenched his jaw and repeated, "immediately."

Remus looked around at the faces of the people who he once called his friends. How had things come to this?

"Don't make me get out my wand, Remus." Xenophilius warned.

Remus turned and stepped into the fireplace with a fistful of powder, and spared one last glance at a furious Sirius before Flooing home.

Even after the colourful flame died, the room was tense, and nobody moved said a word for a few moments.

The silence was broken by the sound of Luna starting to cry, but before anybody could do anything, Harry climbed over to the chair and started to hug Luna with his little arms.

The adults all watched as Harry patted Luna's fuzzy blonde head, repeating the words he had heard from his parents so many times when he was upset. "Shh, baby… You safe, baby…"

The tension of the argument paired with the reminder of the loss of James and Lily in front of him made Sirius fall to his knees in tears again.

A/N: Sorry for the wait! As always, thanks for reading and thank you for the reviews! Stay safe, folks.