A/N: For those of you reading, a small edit. I've changed the number from seven to twelve. Twelve is the number of completions and seven is a bit over used, I changed it.

Prologue

Albus Dumbledore was a man of knowledge and strategy. He Apparated gracefully to a secluded spot in Hogsmeade to meet the Marauders, who consisted of James Potter, Lily Evans-Potter, Sirius and Regulus Black, Marlene McKinnon, Dorcas Medowes, Amy Jones, Pandora Selwyn, Severus Snape, Remus Lupin, Mary Macdonald, and Peter Pettigrew.

They had been inseparable since their meeting on the Hogwarts Express. Although Regulus joined them a year after, Sirius raved and ranted about his baby brother so much that when the younger man joined them on the train the following year, it was as if Regulus had been with them the entire year he hadn't been with them physically.

As if they had been one, the twelve Marauders Apparated to the same secluded spot. "Headmaster Dumbledore," James Potter greeted with a curt nod. "You said that you wanted to speak with us?"

"Indeed," the elderly wizard stated gravely. There was no sparkle in his light blue eyes. "Gellert Grindelwald has somehow broken out of his customised prison and has plans to take over the world. Of course, he will be recruiting young people to make up his army."

"And we certainly won't be joining him," Sirius cut in flatly. Marlene returned his twinkle as a sign of refusal. Dumbledore smiled crookedly.

"Of course not," the elder wizard agreed readily. "That's part of the reason why I've come to speak with you. It would be my pleasure to offer sanctuary from him from the safety of your own homes."

"How?" Regulus Black asked, starry blue eyes staring intently at the wizened man.

"Through the Fidelius Charm, my boy," Dumbledore explained. Regulus rolled his eyes with a nonplussed expression as the 'my boy' term of endearment.

"So, you've come to offer yourself as a secret keeper?" Lily asked, shrewdly. Dumbledore peered at her over his silver, half-moon spectacles.

"Ten points to Gryffindor," the man replied, smiling.

"We're not in Hogwarts anymore, Headmaster Dumbledore," Severus Snape bit out with irritation.

"The generations from the mid-20th Century into the future will always be my students even if they grow old enough to have grandchildren and great-grandchildren." His smile grew wider. "You know, I've only stopped calling Armando Dippet, 'Professor Dippet' only in the last decade."

The twelve snorted. It was weird to think that Dumbledore had been a student once, having the obligation to call the other faculty of Hogwarts, 'Professor.' The man smiled in amusement.

"In a few more decades, they will be your students no more," Pandora said.

"Then, I must be ready for that," the wizard answered sagely.

"What about the others like Alice and Frank, the Bones, and the like?" Remus questioned.

"The Daily Prophet will be sending out the news and will be suggesting that they do the same," Professor Dumbledore assured them. "I wanted to have your permission to be your secret keeper personally."

"And what about you?" Peter asked quietly, but firmly.

"There is a modified Fidelius Charm that makes oneself the secret keeper," the Headmaster of Hogwarts explained.

"Can't we do that?" Severus asked.

"Yeah, not everyone can be trusted," Dorcas said.

"Unrest does that to people," Amy agreed, tanned hands planted on her slim hips. Her body was well endowed from the Quidditch she participated in.

"It's even more complicated than the normal charm, for it requires the caster and the caster alone, and no one else can help to ensure that it worked."

It was Lily's turn to roll her emerald green eyes. "You're talking to some of the brightest students of this generation."

Dumbledore sighed. "And it is for that reason why I want to be your secret keeper. It is because you are powerful individually and as a team. You all would be the first ones he would want to recruit."

"I still think that we should be our own secret keepers to ensure that we have the most protection," Regulus opined. The others nodded.

"And if he wants to come after us, it's not our problem," Remus continued. "We will do our best to keep ourselves safe, but ultimately, our days are numbered."

Severus snorted. "Many Muggles would be astonished that you are nearly a century old, and you act like you are in your seventies." The wizard smiled.

"Good," he said. The more shocked people were, the better. Then his face returned to a serious expression. "I will allow you all to be your own secret keepers, but know that I will always be available if you need help." The seven offered him false nods of acceptance.

One week after the conversation with Dumbledore, the Marauders met up at Remus' home in Wales.

They congregated in the modest, but tidy sitting room. "So, what do we do?" Peter asked. James rubbed the back of his neck in thought.

"Well, Sirius, Regulus, Severus, and I, have other residences we can reside in other than the ones we grew up in," he mused. "Of course, Lily will be with me."

"But Peter and I don't have any other residences," Remus pointed out, light green eyes giving each of them a beseeching stare.

"Why not occupy one of our residences?" Regulus asked.

"Thank you, but I think that if he were to check our childhood homes, any of your residences would be searched," Peter stated. Remus nodded.

"It would be very suspicious that more Potter and Black residences went unseen," he agreed.

"Haven't you forgotten that all of our residences are unplottable?" Severus questioned with a heavy sigh.

"Still, they would be checked," Remus refuted.

"Okay," Sirius acknowledged. A smile lit up Lily's round face.

"Why don't we pool our money together to commission homes for them both?" she suggested.

Sirius, Regulus, and Severus smiled at her. "Grandfather Arcturus made me the heir, and thus have a personal vault of seven-hundred thousand Galleons that get replenished every year and Uncle Alphard Willed me some gold," Sirius said.

"I also have a vault of six-hundred thousand that gets the same treatment as Sirius," Regulus added.

"And I am a very successful potioneer, and thus have enough money to contribute," Severus argued.

"And I have a salary and I'm the last of my name since my parents died of Dragon Pox six months ago," James concluded. "They would be happy to help you both. They love you."

"They love all of us," Lily corrected him. That made the hazel-eyed, young man smile.

"Or you could hide out in the Muggle World," Mary offered. "We can find a place and make it accessible."

"Or become a McKinnon," Marlene put in. "Ironically, we live in Scotland, not far from Hogsmeade."

"The opposite side of London is open," Dorcas and Amy suggested.

"That solution makes the most sense," Remus conceded hesitantly. Peter nodded. "Pooling money to build places."

"Wherever you chose, as long as we are the secret keepers, we'll be fine," Pandora pointed out, subtly closing the conversation on that matter.

"But we'll have to do something in return," Peter said earnestly. "That's a lot of money."

"You pouring your love into our friendships is more than enough," James countered.

"We've gotten even so many times that it's pointless," Severus added.

"Besides, we can exchange secrets," Regulus said, smiling. "There can be more than one secret keeper." Remus and Peter exchanged glances and nodded to one another.

"We accept," the duo announced together.

"Wondrous!" Lily declared happily, going around to hug each of them.

"But where do you want to live?" Regulus inquired.

"I think we should stay here on the British Isles because it may be Grindelwald's first thought would be that people would flee the country," Remus reasoned.

"Agreed," Peter put in.

Peter chose to stay in Thurso, Scotland. He placed himself in a residential area to hide him in plain sight, much like Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place, Sirius and Regulus' ancestral residence, was.

The house was modest with an open floor plan, the front door opening up to reveal a short hallway that led to the small kitchen and then to the large sitting room. Across the room was another hallway with a bedroom, bathroom and a study.

Back out in the first hallway, a door opened up to reveal two sets of narrow stairs, one going up and one going down.

The downstairs was a finished ground floor with an open area with five bedrooms and a second bathroom.

The upstairs had five other bedrooms and a third bathroom. The colour scheme was white and tan with black accents. The sitting room had floor to ceiling windows to enjoy observing the weather from inside.

Each bedroom was complete with a full bed, a set of drawers, a wardrobe, and a desk and chair combo, all in mahogany.

Peter took the room that was in the middle. He would link the fireplace in the sitting room to his friends' houses, though it was closed to anyone else's.

Meanwhile, Remus chose to have a cottage built in the thickest part of the Forest of Dean. It was no small affair in that the front door opened up to a large kitchen, an equally large sitting room, and off the kitchen was a staircase leading up to the second floor, where twelve bedrooms were lined up in two rows of six and two bathrooms, one on each end.

The colour scheme was dark brown and light blue and all of the furniture was made from oak. Off the sitting room, was a set of french doors leading into a massive library, where a study was tucked away in a corner.

There was a little less natural light than Peter's house, which suited Remus as he wanted to have a bit more time before each full moon. Like Peter's house, the sitting room had a fireplace in which could be connected to the others.

It was calm and peaceful just as Remus liked it.

An emaciated old man stared with exhilaration at the place in which he had been trapped for the past forty years. It was situated on a cold, desolate island, which added to the dark, eerie atmosphere.

His icy blue eyes roamed the island one more time before he performed his very first Apparition in which he landed unceremoniously in the middle of a deserted field in Wales.

The sun burned his eyes upon contact and he groaned at the light. His second piece of magic was to conjure shades to protect his eyes. The next piece of magic he performed was a Delusionment Charm to help him explore his surroundings. In addition, he masked his footsteps and scent.

He came upon a quaint, little village that accommodated Muggles and Wizards alike. Upon entering, he purchased an owl, with the money he had stolen from a store, to request a meeting with Gringotts and then take out more money to purchase clothes and then find a place to live.

A couple of miles from the village was a grove of trees where a dilapidated shack was situated in the centre.

"Anything is better than prison," the man rasped. He scrawled a letter to Gringotts, using the thin wall as a surface.

Gringotts,

My identity must remain a secret, however, I request that I see you under the cover of night to slowly reintegrate myself back into society. Though I am far from a 'good' person, I have learnt my lessons. Yet, I can't say that my former friend has.

I will see you at 10P.M. sharp tomorrow night. I will need some money to buy myself some new clothes as well as enough for food. See you when the time is right.

-Gilbert Grimm

Gilbert Grimm sent the letter off, crashing on a makeshift bed of blankets afterwards to think about how he might confront the man he had been with all those decades ago.

His mind wandered as he warded his home as the battle of 1945 replayed in his mind. He knew that the other was guilty as he should be. It was indeed his spell which ended that poor, young woman's life. Now it was the only time which would be used to get himself physically healthy once more.

As a man who was two inches over two metres tall, he should be just over fourteen stone. Currently, he only weighted in about six stone. His magic was about the only thing keeping him alive. Tomorrow night would prove to be an interesting night.

Under the cover of night, the following night, Gilbert Grimm approached the magnificent, white building that was Gringotts. He ignored the goblins who were stationed outside its doors.

"Evening," he barked at a teller as he purposefully came to one of the tellers scribbling furiously on one of the legers. The thin goblin looked up.

"Key, please?" he asked in a gruff voice. He flashed his family ring at the goblin, whose eyes widened a fraction in surprise. "Borehead," the goblin offered as he rushed off to announce the arrival to the account manager the man sought after. The introduction was ignored as the man followed the goblin. Once at the door, the goblin stated, "Goldclaw awaits you," before he returned to the surface.

"Mister Grindelwald," Goldclaw greeted evenly.

"Goldclaw," the wizard replied shorty. "Does my ring still draw from the Family Vault?"

"It must be reactivated as they had been frozen when you went to prison," Goldclaw explained.

"Have it reactivated in secret," Grindelwald demanded. The goblin huffed as the ring on the silver chain was thrust at him. He took the ring and a sheath of parchment appeared on the table.

"Sign these," the goblin stated irritably. The old wizard snatched up the quill to sign the stack of parchments. With each signature, there was a flash light green. When the stack was completed, Goldclaw stated, "Here's your ring, it's now activated. "You may see yourself out."

The old wizard walked out of the office and rode up to the surface. When he left the bank, he couldn't shake off the feeling that someone was watching him. He'd have to be careful. Now, it was time to start planning.