MetaFic

30 October 1981 10:15 PM

Albus Dumbledore glanced at Fawkes as the two couples sat before his desk in stunned silence.  Neville Longbottom and Harry Potter were completely entranced as the phoenix flashed his wing and tail feathers and trilling softly.  He caught the phoenix’s eye and nodded briefly.  In addition to keeping the toddlers entertained and calm his singing helped to calm the anguish of their parents who had been so suddenly called to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.  The singing also strengthened him as he sought to stifle a weary sigh.  The weight of the Trelawney Prophecy hung in the air like a smothering blanket.

Frank and Alice Longbottom, and James and Lily Potter sat, yet again, in the Headmaster’s office.  As mothers of the most likely prophecy subjects, Dumbledore had offered the school as a safe haven for Alice and Lily during their confinement and for a short period after their children’s births.  Voldemort himself would not openly attack Hogwarts.  Despite the strict secrecy, word of their residence at the school had gotten out.  The school was a public building and attended by the children of suspected Death Eaters whose parents had access to visit their children.  After several attempts on the families’ lives the Order decided to move them to their own homes, guarded under an Unplottable Spell.  And now Dumbledore had summoned the two families to tell them the Unplottable Spells were compromised and would collapse in a few hours.

“How?” demanded Frank.

“Voldemort is a most persistent Wizard,” said Dumbledore, his weary sigh finally escaping.  “He searched for over a year, after hearing of the prophecy, before learning of your children’s births.  Although he could not come here, he was able to…persuade…any number of others to attempt you harm at his bidding.  When you disappeared he put considerable effort into finding you.  The fact you disappeared was well known to the Order.  The knowledge you were under Unplottable Spells was more closely held.”  Dumbledore looked at the two couples, his expression grim.  “It appears Voldemort’s spy is better placed that I had feared.”

“I thought you said the Order would keep us and our children safe,” said James angrily.

“But the Unplottable spell, he found us even under that?  Are you sure?” Alice asked the worry in her voice heartbreaking.

“Yes” replied Dumbledore.  For a moment his mouth twitched with the ghost of a smile.  “My spy is better placed that Voldemort fears.  It takes an extraordinary Wizard to break an Unplottable spell, but unfortunately Voldemort is beyond merely extraordinary.  His influence within parts of the Ministry grows daily.  He was, or more likely his minions were, able to coerce various officials to provide information that eased his task of breaking the spells.”

“When do you think he will try to come after us?” Lily asked.  “How much time do we have to seek new safety?”  She and Alice cast a worried glance at their children.

“Very soon.  I believe he would certainly attach a mystical connotation to a murder on All Hallows Eve.  It would also suit his purposes for creating panic with the general public.”

“Albus, that’s tomorrow night!” exclaimed Frank.

Dumbledore looked at the young couples.  “I want to discuss another layer of protection for your families…”

“How will this help, when your previous protections have all failed?” snapped James.

Dumbledore paused a moment.  “What I propose is very difficult to achieve, that is why it wasn’t previously attempted.  I want to place your families under a Fidelius Charm”

Lily gasped.

“What?” asked James, turning in surprise toward his wife “Is he serious?”  Frank and Alice looked confused.

“Together?” Lily asked her voice unsure.

“I feel it would be safer if our two families were charmed separately”

“Two Secret-Keepers then?” Lily continued, amazed.  Dumbledore nodded is head.

“Perhaps,” Dumbledore replied.

“Lily?  Is this necessary?” fussed James.

Lily turned to the other three.  “The Fidelius Charm is an extremely complex spell involving the magical concealment of a secret inside a single, living soul.  That chosen soul is called a Secret-Keeper.  The information hidden inside the Secret-Keeper is impossible to discover, unless the Secret-Keeper chooses to divulge it".

James frowned slightly while Frank and Alice looked at Lily, incomprehension plainly on their faces.

“I can see why you scored so highly on your Charms N.E.W.T!” smiled Dumbledore.  “If I may, I would like to explain a bit more.  A secret, such as the location of your families, is enchanted so that it is protected by a Secret-Keeper.  Thenceforth nobody else - not even the subjects of the secret themselves - can divulge the secret.  Even if one of you is captured and force-fed Veritaserum or placed under the Imperious Curse, you would not have been able to give away the whereabouts of your other family members.  The only people who will ever know your precise location were those whom the Secret-Keeper has told directly, but none of them will be able to pass on the information.  Although there are some impositions with this Charm, Voldemort himself could look into your house and not know it is yours or that you are there.”

Lily was nodding her head as Dumbledore let the others absorb this information.  After a minute or two, he continued.  “I offer my services as Secret-Keeper for you both.  Even with me holding both secrets neither of you will know where the other family is, unless you authorize me to give out that information.”  

Alice looked over at Neville then asked, “Albus, you mentioned impositions.  What type of impositions does this Charm create?”

“You will effectively be isolated from the rest of us.  Under an Unplottable Spell, we could keep the location of your houses from unfriendly forces.  But you were free to move about and maintain your daily lives.  Under the Fidelius Charm you yourselves are what are hidden.  You must stay within the confines of the Charm to be protected.  The use of the Charm and your location will be very closely guarded.  Only the five of us will know what has happened to you.”

Alice and Frank looked shocked.  “You know Alice and I have careers, professional responsibilities as Aurors.  And what about our families and friends, can we tell them, give them a warning?”  Dumbledore shook his head.   “Are you saying we cease to be part of society?  We may as well be dead, another ‘disappearance’ attributed to Voldemort.”

“Until Voldemort is beaten there is no safety for you and your families,” Dumbledore replied gravely.

“But…” Alice interjected, looking at Dumbledore in horror, “if one of our children is to be his bane, they won’t be of age for another 16 years!  Must we remain in hiding for 16 years?  Can we even stay hidden from Voldemort for 16 years?  What about Hogwarts?”  She and Lily shook their heads.  “Our boys will be old enough to attend Hogwarts in 10 years.  Albus are you saying while Voldemort lives it is unsafe for our boys to even attend Hogwarts?  You said some impositions, but this is almost too much to bear!”

Frank stroked his chin for a moment.  “Impositions aside, what if the Secret-Keeper makes a mistake and gives up out location to the spy?  If no one knows where we are, if they can’t even see us, how would we call for help?”

“Albus,” interjected Lily, “is there time for us to talk about this privately?  We…we would need until tomorrow morning to prepare, at a minimum.”  Alice nodded in concurrence

Dumbledore drew out his pocket watch and looked at it.  He peered out a window for a moment then glanced back at his watch.  “I think there is yet some time, but you must be ready to go into hiding no later than eight in the morning tomorrow.  Beyond that I can no longer guarantee your safety.”

Frank and Alice shared a concerned look and turned to look at Neville, now sleeping under Fawkes' perch.

James snorted, “Oh, bugger this!  Your guarantees of safety have meant little so far!”

“James!” snapped Lily.

“That was not well said,” Frank added with a frown.

“Nevertheless Albus, you told us the purpose of the Order is to safeguard our children.  Now that protection is crashing down on our heads!  You will pardon my lack of manners, Headmaster, but the lives of my wife and child mean more to me than proper decorum.”

Dumbledore rose and walked around his desk.  His eyes were sad, his expression grave.  “James is right.  The penetration of Voldemort’s spy within the Order has hurt us grievously.  I can do no more that offer my best.”  He put a hand on Frank’s and James’ shoulders and steered them towards the fireplace.  “Please do not reject this out of hand.  Think it over.  Voldemort would not expect this.  No one else would know except those in this room tonight.”

Alice and Lily stood by the fireplace, holding their sleeping boys on their shoulders.  Frank grabbed a measure of Floo Powder.

“I will see you tomorrow.  We can do this,” Dumbledore said, sounding more confident than he looked.

“Are you sure we are safe through tonight?” James asked.  

“I am fairly sure, yes.”

Frank and James shared a dark look, and then Frank nodded towards the hearth.  “Constant vigilance,” he muttered to James.  “Alice, stay here until I return to get you.  I want to make sure our home is safe for you and Neville.”

Alice nodded and gave Frank a quick kiss.  “We love you.”

Looking at Dumbledore, Frank and James drew their wands; Frank threw powder into the fire and called out, “The Aurors, Longbottom,” and stepped into the flames.

A few minutes later Frank returned to Dumbledore’s office, James to one side of the mantelpiece covering the hearth opening with his wand.  Alice and Lily, with their wands drawn, were behind him with their children.  Frank gently caressed Neville’s cheek and told Alice to follow after him.  Again he threw powder into the fire and called for home.

Alice gave Dumbledore a sad smile and said, “Tomorrow then Albus.”  She threw powder, called for home, and stepped into the flames.

James took a deep breath and let it out.  “Albus, please cover Lily and Harry for me as I return.”  He kissed Harry on the forehead and Lily on her lips.  Gazing into her eyes for a moment he whispered “I love you.”

“Be safe, come back to us,” she whispered back.

As James threw powder into the fire Dumbledore drew his wand and stepped in front of Lily.  “Potter Flat, London,” James called and stepped into the green flames.  Like Frank, he returned to the office finding himself under Dumbledore’s and Lily’s wands.

“Let’s go home Lily,” he smiled.

“Please don’t do anything rash,” Dumbledore said gravely to James as he took some powder.  

James flashed a smile that didn’t reach his eyes and replied, “Have I ever?”

Lily adjusted Harry on her shoulder and gave Dumbledore a sad smile of her own.  She patted his arm as she watched James step back into the flames.  “We will discuss this Albus; it is too much of a shock for this to be happening again.”  She then threw powder, called out, “Potter Flat, London” and left.

*******

30 October 1981 11:30 PM

Lily adjusted a blanket about Harry, and then with a hand resting on her abdomen, watched him in his crib as he drifted off to sleep.  She quietly stepped out of the nursery, leaving the door ajar.  Looking down the hall to the lounge she saw James pacing.  He stopped as Lily walked into the room and went to him.  

“Harry is down for the rest of the night,” she said softly.  “I gave him a mild sleeping draught.  I am beginning to think Floo travel doesn’t agree with him.”

James swept her up into a gentle hug.  “What are we going to do?” he whispered into her hair.  “We are completely exposed now.  I can’t lie to you Lily, I am scared.”  

“A Fidelius Charm is old magic and very powerful, James,” she said in a hushed tone.

“Then why didn’t we do this sooner?”

“You heard Albus; it requires a total commitment by all placed under it.  It won’t be just this flat that is secreted away.  It will be you, me and Harry too.  At least we can disappear easier than Frank and Alice.”

“We have to bring Padfoot, Moony and Wormtail into this.  They are as much at risk as we are.”

She shook her head.  “They can’t be with us.  Dumbledore can eventually tell them where to find us, but we are what will be guarded, not them.”

“I have to at least let them know what is happening before we do this.  Will that weaken the Charm?” his asked in a worried voice.  Lily shook her head again.  “I will call them then, now” he said firmly.  Pointing his wand toward the window three silvery stags leapt out of the tip and sped into the night.

“So we wait,” Lily sighed, and snuggled closer into James’ embrace.

They sat for some minutes, taking quiet comfort in each other.  

“If they can’t hide with us, should we tell them about your ‘condition’ tonight?” James smiled.

Lily looked into his eyes.  “Do you think that is wise?  We have one shock to give them already.  Based on Harry, I won’t begin to show for at least another three months.  Let’s do one shock at a time.  After we are sure we’re safe, then we can tell them.”

“But for once we can give them a good shock!” he replied softly.

James led her over to the sofa and sat.  He cradled her in his lap, left arm across her back and waist, his right hand carefully stroking her abdomen.

“A new addition to the Potter family,” he said proudly.  “I love you!”

They kissed gently, Lily bringing her hands up James’s arms.  Abruptly Lily broke the kiss and laid her head on James’ chest with an exasperated sigh.

“What is it?” James asked, with concern.

Lily sighed then lifted her head and looked at James, her eyes tearing up.  “Feel my arms and tell me what it is you feel.”

“You arms?” he said, confused.

She pushed herself away from his chest and ran her hands quickly down his robe sleeves.  Then she took his right hand and guided it over the sleeve to her robe.  “I know you felt that.”

James stared at her.  “What are you playing at?”

“Tell me, what did you feel?” she asked intensely.

“You!  I feel you,” he replied just as intensely.

“What else James,” she asked quietly.

“Lily this is hardly the time for one of your guessing games!” snapped James.

She gave his a sad smile “You felt the same thing I did as I held your arms.  You felt my wand in its holder, as I felt yours.”

He frowned, still confused with this turn in the conversation.  “Well, yeah.  We’ve had these Auror sleeves in our robes for a while.”  

“James, warded within our home, in a moment of privacy, we carry our wands on us.  All our robes and cloaks have Auror sleeves.  All our Muggle clothing have wand pockets.  We always carry our wands.  Always.”  Her green eyes stared at him, a tear now running down her cheek.

“What else can we do?” James whispered, wiping the tear with his thumb.  “Do you think the Fidelius Charm won’t work?” he asked in sudden panic.

Lily gave a sad laugh.  “Oh no James, it will work very well.  No one can find us; no one will know where we are.  To the entire world, except our Secret-Keeper, we might as well have been packed in a trunk and dropped to the bottom of the ocean.”  

“No one will really know?”

“Dumbledore will.  We can tell some people, people we know and trust, eventually.”

James stood, ran his hand through his hair and began pacing again.  “Trusted people we know knew about the Unplottable Spell.  Where did that get us?” he added bitterly.  He looked at Lily, “Under this charm, no one can see us, or this flat, or hear us?”

“That’s right,” Lily said.

“But by tomorrow morning, or maybe sooner, Voldemort’s Death Eaters will know where this flat is, right?”

“Yes… But they will think we are no longer here.  The existence of our flat becomes unimportant to them.  They won’t be able to see it, or us!”

“But they will know we are here, somewhere.  They can watch and wait.  They waited over a year after the Unplottable Spell was cast.  Now its protection is gone.  They will wait; they will have 16 years to break this Charm too.”

Lily shook her head again.  “James, they can’t break this.  It is in the very soul of the Secret-Keeper; a spiritual, immortal, part of us that nothing in this world can touch or harm.”

“Lily, they will know we are here,” James insisted.  

“Somewhere yes, but…”

“Do we have to do the Charm here?”

“No,” she said slowly.  “It will protect whatever we decide to protect.”

“What about the new baby?”

“Our new child will be safe.  She is a part of me, a part of us.  The Charm will protect her even though unborn.”

“Her?” James raised an eyebrow.

Lily smirked.  “Woman’s intuition.  I was right about Harry!”

“So…  Your new pregnancy won’t affect your ability to do magic, even powerful magic?”

“No.  Well, not for another six months or so anyway.  Why?”

“Can you do the Charm?”

“What?”  She looked at him, eyes wide in surprise.  “James, you’re all out of sorts!  What is the matter with you?”

“Listen to me, please!” he pleaded.  “Dumbledore couldn’t stop an eavesdropper from reporting this stupid prophecy to Voldemort.  We joined the Order when Albus gathered all those who had defied Voldemort.  We were to fight him and protect ourselves.  But lately it seems one of us is murdered every week, at least.  The information that Harry and Neville fit the prophecy gets to Voldemort some how, despite the Order’s efforts.  Death Eaters find us at Hogwarts and it is no longer safe.  Then our flat and the Longbottom’s house are put under an Unplottable Spell, yet we are found out again.  Whoever this spy is, he has compromised us badly.  If we are to save ourselves we can not trust Dumbledore!”

Lily was stunned at his outburst.  “Albus is the greatest wizard of our time!  Believe me when I tell you the Fidelius Charm will work!” she added firmly.

He looked at her and in a quiet voice asked, “Then why didn’t we do it when the boys were born?”

“It is an incredibly complex Charm!  And we just talked about the personal preparations to basically disappear from the face of the earth, possibly for over 16 years.”

“Is it too difficult for an Adept?” asked James.

Lily scoffed at him.  “Of course not, it... ” she stopped and covered her mouth with her hand.

Once again James wrapped his arms gently around her.  “Can you do the Charm?” he pleaded in a whisper.

Lily pondered James’ argument as he held her.  It was up to them.  Harry’s safety, their unborn child’s safety, as well as their own, was up to them alone.

“It will take me at least several hours to prepare, but I have the books I need to guide me,” Lily said, nodding to herself.

“I’ll begin to pack.”

“Pack?”

“We can not stay here.  If we have to disappear; we need someplace they won’t know, that they could never guess.”  James removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose, his eye shut in concentration.  “There has to be someplace like that within all the UK, right?”

*******

31 October 1981  12:30 AM

Lily was at the dining room table, stacks of books and pieces of parchment spread around her; frowning as she moved her hands in vague motions over her head.  James had packed their bedroom and was finishing packing the lavatory when there was a knock at the door.  One tap, then three, then two.  James approached the door, wand drawn; Lily covered him from the corner of the foyer.  Through the door he whispered, “Who reported you to Albus for that rather heated snogging session with Florence Greengrass behind a Herbology greenhouse?”

He heard Sirius chuckle, “That gossip monger Jorkins.  Who is the most beautiful witch in Britain?”

Lily smiled brightly as James caught her eye, winked, and said, “Lily Potter!”

James opened the door halfway and saw Sirius, wand drawn, checking the hallway before he stepped quickly into the foyer.  James shut and resealed the door, then gave his friend a bear hug.  Sirius looked over and saw Lily at the table.  He went and stood behind her, then looked down over her shoulders and around her to each side.  Lily gave him a puzzled look and raised an eyebrow.

“You’re still at it, with the homework?  You do remember we finished school several years ago.  Don’t mind me, I’m just checking to see if you are still wearing your Head Girl badge.”

Lily rolled her eyes.  “Mr. Black,” she drawled, “you are fortunate I am pre-occupied tonight, otherwise I’d hex you back to last week!”

“As you bloody well could too!”  With a concerned edge to his voice he asked “What is so important that you call me in the middle of the night?”  Smiling a bit he added, “Maybe you interrupted me while in a private moment with a lady friend.”  Lily tutted.  “Well, I could have been,” Sirius added with a pout.

Lily tutted again.  “When Sirius Black ‘entertains a lady friend’ we all read about it in Witch Weekly,” she smirked.  “Remus though, I could see him having private moments.  It’s the quiet ones you have to watch out for anyway.  Well mostly…” and she flashed James another brilliant smile.

“Let’s wait for Moony and Wormtail.  I don’t want to repeat this, its bad enough to tell it once,” James grimaced, ignoring the repartee.  “Padfoot, it’s late, can I at least get you some tea?”

“Please,” Sirius said his face suddenly sombre.

James had just brought the steaming cup over to Sirius on the sofa when there was another knock, one tap, three taps, and then four taps.  James went to the door, wand drawn.  Sirius stood back covering him; Lily remained at the table, both with wands at the ready.

“Who stumbled across a skunk in the Forbidden Forest on the second full moon of our sixth year?” James asked.

“Me,” whined the voice on the other side of the door.  “Damn it James, that wasn’t funny.  It took me three days to figure out how to get rid on that smell.  You guys wouldn’t come within 100 feet of me.”

“I told him tomato juice would do it in an instant,” Lily muttered.  “But nooo, ‘those Muggle remedies are useless’ he said.”

The door latch started to turn when Sirius growled, “Peter, you idiot, how many times do we have to remind you; you have to ask a question now.”

“Oh yeah, sorry Sirius” he squeaked.  “Okay, ah… who de-panted Snivellus after our Defence against the Dark Arts O.W.L.?”

Sirius gave an annoyed snort and shook his head slowly.  “Berk!  I ought to hex you right through the door!”

James sighed and patiently reminded Peter, “There were only several dozen people around the lake that day.  Ask me something about yourself that only you and I would know.”

“All right, all right.  I don’t like standing here all exposed you know.  Um… what is my animagus registration number?”

“That’s much better Peter!  You don’t have one, you are unregistered.”  James unlatched and opened the door.

As with Sirius, Peter slipped quietly through the partially open door.  The other two men gave a quick check of the hall, closed the door, and slipped their wands into their sleeves.

“Tea Peter?” Lily asked.  “We are just waiting for Remus.”

“We probably don’t need to,” he answered nervously.  

James and Sirius looked over at him, worried.

“Why?” demanded Sirius.

“Peter, is there something you know that we should?” James asked.

“Well it is just that, you know… I mean, think about it.  Hasn’t he seemed distant these past several months?  Sirius and I have both tried to check on him and couldn’t find him.  It’s just that Remus was always the dependable one and it’s not even close to a full moon.”  Peter began to wring his hands.  “I just worry about him, about us, because… because… it seems… suspicious, that’s all.”

Sharing a glance, James raised an eyebrow while Sirius frowned.

“We’ll wait another 15 minutes, and then we need to get on with this.  How about that tea, Peter?”

Standing at the kitchen counter, Peter looked over at Lily as she crosschecked several book, writing notes on a parchment.  “What are you working so diligently on?”

She looked up for a moment her face worried, “I am revising a… er… book of Celtic phrases.  We’ll talk about this more when Remus gets here.”

“Oh,” he replied, surprised.

James led him to the lounge where Sirius was sitting.  “I suppose you heard about Gavin Baines?  He was killed three days ago.  In Swansea.”

“What?  What was he doing there,” Peter asked sharply.

The other two looked at him and shrugged.  “Does it matter now?” said Sirius sadly.  Peter started to say something, and then just shook his head.  All three men sat in silence, lost in their own thoughts.  The only sounds were Lily humming an unfamiliar tune, the scratching of quill on parchment, and the occasional page being turned.

James looked at his watch.  “All right there, Lily?”

She looked up and gave him a sad smile.  “The actual mechanics of the Charm are not as complex as I thought, although Old Magic is still hard to get right.  The caster’s willpower and need are very important.  I know what the necessary wand and hand motions must be.  I just have to get the phrasing correct and set to an appropriate melody from the book.  My guess is maybe another hour or two of revision and preparation.  Then I can prepare the Charm.”

Sirius and Peter shared a confused look.  “So James, I understand you devotion to Lily, but do we need to watch her revise through the night?” said Sirius dryly.

“I suppose I should get on with this.  I had hoped to have Moony here but…”  James ran his hand nervously through his hair.  “God, I hope it’s because he found a nice girl, or something.  I don’t know what I’d do if he…”

“I don’t think he’d turn,” Peter said, shocked.

“Wormtail, that’s not what I was thinking,” James said warily.  “I was going to say ‘was dead’”.

“Oh.  Yeah.  Of course,” Peter muttered.  “Sorry James,” he added apologetically.

“Okay, we do have to get on with this.  Lily and I, and the Longbottoms were called to Albus’ office earlier this evening.  He told us the Unplottable Spells had been compromised.”

“What!” Peter shrieked.

Lily made a shushing sound and hissed, “Harry’s asleep.”

“How long before they get here.”  Sirius’ earlier cynicism was replaced by a grim alertness.

“Albus doesn’t know, exactly.  We think they will be here by sunrise.”

“James how do you know, when did this happen?  I mean an Unplottable Spell is untraceable isn’t it?” asked Peter.

“Albus is certain the spell was betrayed by a spy in the Order.

Peter went white.  “A spy?  Is Dumbledore sure?”

“He is as sure as he can be.  That would explain the rash of murders to our members.”

“Does he know who it is?”  Peter asked in a hushed tone.

“I don’t think so.  Even if he did he wouldn’t tell us.”

“Because if he told me, I would make certain they were dead before sunrise” Sirius growled.

“But… but… Sirius… an Unforgivable Curse?”  Peter said, growing paler still.  “You could be thrown in Azkaban for life.”

Peter flinched as Sirius sneered.  “I could easily cast Avada Kedavra, although I would prefer the satisfaction of using my bare hands” said Sirius, his voice dangerous.  He smirked as Peter let out a squeak.  “If it would bring back the McKinnons, the Prewett brothers, Gavin,” Sirius nodded, “If I could guarantee James, Lily, and Harry’s safety?  I would gladly die if it saved them.  A life sentence in Azkaban?” he snorted in disgust, “What a joke.  James, Lily, you know Wormtail and Moony fell the same, right Peter!”

Peter remained ghostly pale, his hands trembled.  “Sure, of course.  You know I… I… would,” he stammered quietly.

Clapping his hands together Sirius exclaimed, “Well, that’s settled!  What can we do to help James?”

“Dumbledore wants to cast a Fidelius Charm, and has offered his services as Secret-Keeper.”

Sirius let out a long low whistle.  Peter looked at him and whispered, “What does that mean?” in a troubled voice.

Lily looked up from the table.  “Most of our magic is Latin based.  However, the Latin title for this Charm is a bit of a misnomer.  The Fidelius Charm is Old Magic, something old before the Romans set foot in Britannia.  Modern magic uses a word or short phrase and the Wizard commands the magic in nature to do his will.  With the old spells and charms a Wizard…I am not sure what the right description is… petition is closest.  A Wizard petitions the magic to allow certain actions.  A number of things make Old Magic complex to comprehend.  The casters’ force of will and purity of need are a part of the charm and matter more than mere intent.  The Charm is in Celtic, which few Wizards speak today, and the words must be specific to the caster’s petition.  There is no ‘one spell fits all’ as with our modern Latin based magic.  Also the Charm is sung.

“I knew I should have paid more attention to our History of Magic classes,” Sirius interrupted, “But why is the Charm sung?”

“The ancients believed a Charm sung is twice performed.  When I seal ourselves and our hiding place behind this Charm, when the secret of our location is hidden within the Secret-Keepers soul, the very forces of nature will aid us.”

“Soul?  How does a soul come into this?” Peter asked.

“The soul is the very centre of our nature Peter.  Our souls are what set us apart from the inanimate.  A secret held in our very nature can never be forced or divulged without the Keeper’s permission.”

“Which brings us back to our futures,” James let out a long breath.  “We,” he looked to Lily, who nodded gravely, “We have decided not to accept his help.”

Sirius and Peter stared at Lily and James, their expressions dumbfounded.

“What… what do you plan to do then?” Peter asked

Sirius sat quite still.  He began to frown and looked at Lily, then James, then back to Lily.  Wearing expectant expressions they watched the wheels turn in Sirius’ mind.  He let out a bark of a laugh and then covered his mouth, glancing down the hall toward Harry’s nursery.  “You two are daft, you know that,” he grinned.  “Are you going to ask me, or am I allowed to volunteer?”

Completely confused, Peter looked between his three friends and asked, “What are you on about?”

“Peter, Lily is going to cast the Charm, aren’t you?”  She nodded.  He got up and clapped James on the shoulder went over to Lily and gave her a hug.  “May I have the honour of being your Secret-Keeper?”

Peter gasped and sat back on the sofa, “Can you do this?  I mean if a Fidelius Charm is so difficult…  And Dumbledore…  He has done so much; we are all doing our best!  But You-Know-Who is so cunning.”  He squared his shoulders and his face took a determined set.  “No.  You are wrong to forego Dumbledore’s protection.  What about the Order, how will they know?  How can we protect you?  James, this is your life we are talking about!”

“Lily and Harry and… well they are my life,” James replied solemnly.

“But… but… he’s Dumbledore!” Peter said in astonishment.

“Wormtail, why continue to argue.  The only one in this room not convinced James and Lily are doing the right thing is you.  Its three-on-one mate.  You’re outvoted.”  He turned toward Lily, Peter instantly forgotten.  “Alright, let’s get on with it.  Time is wasting.  What do I need to do?”

“Sirius, we can’t do it here,” Lily said softly.

“Oh?  Why not?  If this flat is to go under the Charm shouldn’t you cast it here?”

“If this was where we want to hide, yes.  But we can’t stay here.  James and I have decided that the Death Eaters might not be able to find us, but they would know we are here, somewhere.  They would wait us out.  One mistake and they’ll have us.”  She looked about the flat, her voice sad, “it’s really a smashing location.  I love it here, but it isn’t safe anymore.  We can’t stay.”

“And that, Padfoot, is my current problem.  It is unsafe to stay here, but I don’t know where to go.  All the other family houses have been destroyed or are being watched.”

“What if you left the country, hid abroad,” suggested Peter.

“How far does Voldemort’s influence reach?” Sirius mused.  “Probably most of the Continent, but what about America?”

“That’s no good,” said James sadly.  “We would need to have visas and Ministry bureaucrats to process our Portkey request.  With Voldemort’s spies riddling the Ministry, Death Eaters would be waiting.  And there is no time anymore, regardless.”

“Can’t you go to Dover and Apparate to Pas de Calais?” Peter suggested.

James sighed.  “We couldn’t get through the border wards, especially since they have been strengthened these past two years.  I am afraid it’s jolly old England for us, Peter.”

The three men sat back and frowned, each lost in their thoughts, the only sound the intermittent scratching of Lily’s quill and her humming odd bits of a tune.  Twenty minutes later she paused, looked up, and asked James to check on Harry.  As he walked down the hall, Sirius leaned forward his elbows on his knees, head cradled in his hands.  “Peter,” he whispered in a worried tone, “I am coming up blank.  What are we going to do?”

“I don’t know,” he whined.  “Most of the places we visited were in and around Hogwarts and Hogsmeade.  They can’t exactly hide in the Forbidden Forest, can they?”

Sirius smiled sadly, “No, I imagine that would be a bit hazardous for Harry.”

“Did you go anywhere without Remus and me?  Where did you go that summer, after sixth year?”

“Just to his parent’s house.  Death Eaters destroyed that a year ago, remember?  Still don’t know how they found that… “

Peter paled slightly again, “Oh.  Right.”

“It would tear them apart to know what has happened with James,” Sirius sighed.  “That was a great summer.  In fact we took off for two weeks to camp out…”  Sirius looked up and smiled at Peter, tousling his hair.  “Wormtail, you are a genius, you know that?”

“What?  And leave my hair alone, you know I don’t like that,” Peter snapped as he swatted away Sirius’ hand.

Sirius leapt up from the sofa and walked quickly towards Harry’s nursery.  “James,” he hissed, “where was that cottage we stayed the summer I left home?”

James looked up, having adjusted the blanket over Harry’s chest.  “Cottage?  The one in Godric’s Hollow?  I think we were the last to visit.  It’s rather off the beaten path…”  His face broke into a broad grin.  “Come on, Lily has got to hear this!”

She looked up as a grinning James sat down across the table from her.  A smiling Sirius and confused looking Peter flanked him.  “All right James?  You are looking like a child at Christmas,” she smiled back at him.

“Godric’s Hollow.”

A look of confusion flashed in her eyes.  “I’m sorry, did I miss something?”

“The Potter family has owned land and a cottage in Godric’s Hollow for… I don’t know how long, several hundred years a least.  It’s in Wales, hmm… I think near the Muggle village of Ganllwyd.  Hey Sirius, what did the locals call that river close by the cottage?”

Sirius scratched his head and frowned.  “I thought I was doing well just to remember the cottage.  It had an odd name, but the Black Waterfalls were just up river.  Can’t go wrong with that sort of name” he smiled.  He snapped his fingers.  “Afon Gamlan!  That’s what the locals called it.”

Lily’s eyes grew large.  “The Camlann River?”

“Yeah, I guess so” shrugged James

“James!  Camlann means nothing to you?” Lily asked, exasperated.  James looked back at her and shrugged.  “Camlann is where Arthur and Mordred killed each other in their final battle.  Legend has it after that Merlin withdrew from all mundane contact and lived out his life there as a hermit.”

“Well… there are family stories that Merlin gave the land at the Hollow to the Gryffindor family.  I never put much faith in them.”

“But how is that safer than just staying here?” asked Peter.

“It has always been registered as Muggle land.  The Ministry doesn’t know it exists.”

“James?  How can the Ministry not know about property your family owns,” Peter asked slowly, trying to understand.

Still grinning James replied, “Because the ‘Potter Family’ doesn’t own it.”

A now thoroughly confused Peter stammered, “but... you just said it belongs to your family.”

“It does, but if you were to look up the registered owner you would find the land belongs to PFM, GmbH.”

“A German Muggle corporation?” puzzled Lily.

James nodded.  “The village locals think that land is owned by the National Trust.”

Sirius and Peter exchanged glances that showed they were both now lost.

“Well,” James smirked, “if you were to look in the right legal documents you would find PFM is a German company whose ownership is wrapped up within Muggle shell companies, holding companies, and business fronts strung out in locations from Switzerland, to Hong Kong, to the Cayman Islands, and Panama.  I wish the Death Eaters good luck in attempting to trace that property.  Only our account managers at Gringotts know the ultimate owner is the Potter Family.”

Lily sat back, tapping her quill feather against her nose.  She raised an eyebrow “PFM?”  James nodded again, snickering.  “Oh, that is awful,” she giggled.

The light of comprehension grew in Sirius’ eyes and he stifled a laugh, to not wake Harry.

Peter whined, “I don’t get it, what is so funny?”  Sirius leaned over and whispered in his ear.  Peter’s eyes grew large and he asked, “Can they really call it that?” in a hushed voice.

Sirius gave James a grim smile.  “This cottage is ‘Set-Aside Land’ isn’t it.”  He looked at Lily and Peter and explained.  “All the landed families set-aside properties in the Muggle world just before the Secrecy Act of 1692.  The Ministry has no idea who owns what, or how extensive the Muggle holdings are.  The Black Family also owns estates in Muggle areas that were never recorded with the Ministry.”

“We have a hiding place,” said James with a satisfied voice.

“We have a Charm,” Lily sighed.

“Do you want to check out the cottage first?” asked Sirius.  “It would be a waste to get there and find it a wreck.”

James frowned, “It should be alright, but ‘constant vigilance’, yeah?  Lily, will you be ready soon?”

“I will be ready to cast it in another hour, or so.”

James grabbed a plate from the pantry.  “There are probably still anti-Apparition wards in place, let’s not risk a splinch.”  He pointed his wand at the plate and said, “Portus Referri.”

“That’s illegal.  You can’t do that without Ministry approval!”

James and Sirius rolled their eyes.  “Right in one Wormtail.  So what are they going to do?  Have Voldemort hunt us down and kill us?” snapped Sirius.

“James, Peter is right.  They might be able to track where we go through that plate,” said Lily.

“It returns here.  We leave it here when we are done, right Padfoot?  You and Wormtail use it to return one last time and leave it here.  Magical Law Enforcement, or Death Eaters, will find an empty flat and one dinner plate.”

Lily put her hand gently on Peter’s arm.  “While they are gone, would you help me pack?  James only started when you and Sirius arrived, and that way I can continue to perfect the Charm.”

“Sure Lily, anything to help you.”

James drew his wand and Sirius grasped the plate.  Just as he was to tap his wand he stopped and pursed his lips.  “Have your wand out too; we can’t be too careful can we?”

Wand drawn, a grim Sirius nodded to James, “Right, on with it then, Prongs.”  James looked at Peter and said, “Take good care of Lily and Harry, Wormtail.  We will be back soon.”  He tapped the plate and they disappeared.

*******

31 October 1981 2:20 AM

Two glass bottles fell off a lounge table and on to the floor of a darkened cottage.  The sound of bottles rolling in the wooden floor was joined by an, “Ouch, damn!” and, “Oof,” as the two men appeared in the lounge.

Sirius snickered, “I think these are the empty butterbeers we left several years ago.  Well, shall we look around?”

James put his hand on Sirius’ shoulder and hissed, “no light, no sound.  We don’t know if this place is safe or not.”

“Aren’t we being a tad paranoid?” Sirius whispered back.

“Not with Lily and Harry’s lives at stake!” James hissed sharply

“Oh, right,” he replied, embarrassed.  “So how do you want to do this?”

“Let’s check in here first.  If the cottage is empty then you transform, slip out the rear door and check around the house.  If it’s safe, bark once.  I’ll transform and we can search the area for, what?  Do you think a half mile is far enough?”

“It ought to be.  We don’t want to be wandering about here all night.”

“Unless you think some one is up the flue or under the kitchen counter, I think this floor is safe.”

Sirius nodded in the dark, toward the stair case.  “After you, Prongs.”

“Why, how very kind; thank you Padfoot.”

They silently crept up the stairs and down a hallway that held two doors.  Casting a silencing spell on the first door, James slowly opened it while Sirius covered him.  The room held a double bed and an armoire.  They opened the armoire, and then looked under the bed.  The room was clear.  Leaving the door open they crept to the next room.  It held two single beds, a night stand and a chest of drawers.

“I think we are safe in the house,” Sirius said in a low voice instead of a whisper.

“I agree, lets… Oh bugger all!  Isn’t the loo on the first floor?  There are only two doors here.  We need to do a better job of searching downstairs.  Come on, let’s be careful!”

The toilet, in a small room under the stairs, was empty as were the chimney flue, the pantry closet, and all the cabinets in the kitchen area.  Sirius transformed and followed James to the rear door.  James scratched between his ears, slowly opened the door, and let Padfoot slip out, silently, in to the night.  A few minutes later a single dog bark sounded in the darkness.  James went out the door and transformed, too.  Together, and separately, they searched the surrounding woods.  Except for a faint human scent along a lane a hundred yards from the cottage, there were no signs of human activity.  They returned to the back of the cottage and re-transformed into human form.

“You seem to be safe here James.”

“I want to cast an Unplottable Spell now, before there is even a chance of anyone finding this place.”  Sirius raised an eyebrow in scepticism, but James shook his head and frowned.  Sirius nodded in reply, “All right, I understand.  Lily and Harry.”

“I will need your help,” James said.  “I want to make everything in a radius out to the lane unplottable.  I don’t mind Death Eaters trudging all over the village, as long as they don’t know this place exists, and can’t find us even if they suspected.”  Standing back to back they swept their wands in a semi-circle before them.  The wand tips flashed red, and then faded to yellow.  James looked out the front window for a moment, and then turned toward Sirius looking satisfied.  “I wish we could light a few candles so we can see, but it is too risky.  We’ll clean this place as best we can in the dark before we bring Lily and Harry, and Peter.”

*******

31 October 1981, 3:30 AM

James and Sirius portkeyed back to the London flat and found packing boxes filling the lounge.  Not seeing his wife in the kitchen or dining room James anxiously called out, “Lily?”

“James, you’re back!” her relieved voice answered from Harry’s room.

James looked about the flat nodding his head in appreciation.  “You two look like you are all done.”

“Well, its just the sooner we’re out of here the better,” said Peter.

“You ought to leave most of the furniture, the cottage already has some,” added Sirius.

Looking around, Lily sighed.  “I suppose we can leave this.  We might get it back later.  Is it all right if I bring that pair of lamps I really love?”

“Of course,” James smiled.  “I want to bring the corner chair too and the rocker in Harry’s room.  It helps to rock him to sleep.  We’ll also need to Banish the pantry supplies and chill box items, and bring the crockery, flatware, china and table linens.  We are going to be there a long time.”

“I’ll get those after I Banish your clothing trunks to the cottage,” said Sirius.  “Why don’t you two look around for any other things you want to take.”

James followed Lily back to Harry’s nursery.  He took Harry from his crib and held him against his shoulder while Lily finished packing and shrinking objects into a trunk.  James then Banished the trunk to the cottage.  That job finished she turned to look at her husband and son, her face worried.

James reached out to her with his other arm and drew her into a hug against Harry.  “It will be all right.  You will absolutely love this cottage.  It’s not a posh London flat mind you, but the scenery is beautiful and no one knows the cottage is there.  We will try to blend in with the Muggles in the village.”

“Do you really think we will be safe there?”

James kissed her on the top of her head and muttered into her hair, “I can not guarantee we will ever be safe until Voldemort and every Death Eater is dead, bit I think we have done everything we can to be safe.”

“You know James,” said Sirius standing in the nursery doorway, “I’m not sure we have done everything we can.”

“What do you mean?” James gasped.

“Well its just it’s all so obvious.  I mean Potter and Black, Black and Potter; like brothers and what not.  Dumbledore knows about the Fidelius Charm right?”  James nodded.  “If he knows then the Order knows.  If the Order knows the spy will find out eventually.”  James scowled, looking at Sirius.  “Voldemort will eventually find out you are under the Charm and that means you have a Secret-Keeper.  And who do you think they will go after as your Secret-Keeper, James?  They will come after me.”

“But…” James started.

“And that is why Peter should be Secret-Keeper.  

“Me?” Peter squeaked from down the hall.  “That isn’t what I meant a moment ago!  Sirius, I don’t know… I mean I’m not as brave as you, or as gifted.”

Hurrying into the nursery he looked at Lily, Harry, and James then quickly added, “I… I would be honoured of course…  But Sirius, why put me is such peril.”

“No one, except us, will know Peter.  We will let everyone think I am the Secret-Keeper.  You keep a low profile and stay safe.”

There was a long silence as the three men pondered the implications of Sirius’ plan.  Lily came out of the nursery, Harry now on her shoulder and covered with a blanket.  James followed her, looking contemplative.  Sirius stepped back to let them pass and reached over to pat Peter on the shoulder.

“I… I suppose that will work,” whined Peter, wringing his hands.  “You know you will be in as much danger as if you really were the Secret-Keeper, right?”

Sirius smirked, “Danger is my middle name!”

“I thought it was Orion?” Peter said, confused.

“So Lily, what do you think?” Sirius asked.  “Peter is the Secret-Keeper, but we let everyone think it is me.  If need be I draw the attention from all four of you.”

James looked into Lily’s green eyes and she into his, an entire conversation passed in a fraction of a second.  Lily kissed the sleeping Harry’s cheek and James said “We’ll do it.”  Sirius picked up the plate port key and waited for everyone to hold it.  Lily looked about the vacant flat and sighed.  She gave James a wan smile and grabbed the plate as they all drew their wands.  James sighed as he returned her smile and tapped the plate with his wand.

*******

31 October 1981, 4:00AM

Four adults and a small child appeared in the lounge of the rural cottage.  They steadied themselves for a moment and looked around the dark room.

“This so much easier with that table out of the way,” Sirius said quietly.

“How about some light?” Peter asked.

“No!” James warned, “not until after the Charm is cast.  Lily, do you need to prepare anything here?”

“Yes, I’ll need to mark the boundaries of the Charm.”  She handed Harry over to James; “Harry must also be awake for this.”  She began pulling a parchment roll from her cloak pocket.

“Sirius, check outside.  If clear, bark once.  Then take Lily to where she needs to be.”  Jostling Harry gently to wake him, James opened the front door for the large dog.  The others waited almost afraid to breath.  There was a single bark outside the door and James nodded to Lily.

“James and I thought the boundary ought to extend halfway to the lane and that far from the cottage all around.  Is that too far?”

Lily looked to the lane.  “About 50 yards?  I can do that.  I will need you to stay by the lane while the Charm is cast.  We will send Peter to give you the secret.  See you in a few minutes,” she said giving Sirius a hug.

He moved back towards the lane and watched as Lily walked to a spot away from the cottage.  She stood for a moment, looking back at the cottage and then taking in the clearing and woods about her.  She moved a few yards over and checked her position again.  Lily raised her arms out away from her body and slowly turned a complete circle.  She began to sing a hauntingly beautiful tune in a language Sirius didn’t recognise and moved her wand in graceful arcs about her.  Her other hand was held out before her and it appeared to Sirius that she was asking for something to be given her.  Her song abruptly as she pointed her wand to the ground at her feet.  Both Lily and the ground were immediately bathed in a cool blue light that slowly faded.  She appeared to be catching her breath when she pulled her wand away from the ground, over her head, and pointed it toward the cottage.  A gossamer thread of blue followed the wand’s arc, linking the spot on the ground to the cottage.  The thread then faded out of sight along with the glowing pool on the ground.  For Sirius it was almost as if the cottage no longer existed.  If he looked right at it, it seemed to disappear, although he could see it with his peripheral vision.  Lily repeated her song and wand movements three more times before returning to the cottage.  By now the cottage was no longer visible at all and Sirius was wondering why he was on the path.  He only stayed because he knew he was waiting for Peter to tell him something important.  Uncertain how long it would take before Peter came he transformed and made himself comfortable beneath a bush where he could watch both the empty clearing and the lane back to the village.

Walking back into the cottage Lily saw Harry fussing and rubbing his eyes while James continued to sway and bounce him.  “James, you and Peter will need to draw your wands and stand next to me.  James, you can use your wand for Harry.”  James nodded.  “Let me explain what will happen because once I begin I can not stop the chant or the Charm will not be complete.  I will nod to let you know when you have to do something.  I will be singing the Charm’s enchantment in Celtic, but this is what I am asking through the Charm’s incantation.”

“For Children, Mother, Father, and Abode

“The four factors of children, mother, father and abode must be drawn together.  I will touch the mantelpiece with my wand and then the three of us will touch our hearts.  When I nod James, I want you to touch your wand tip to Harry’s heart and then yours.  I will touch my wand tip to my heart.  This sets us within the Charm boundaries I placed.  The next part of the enchantment binds us and the cottage to the Charm wards outside.  When I nod again we touch our wand tips together.  Peter, when they glow blue join your wand tip with ours.  Then we will touch the three joined tips to Peter’s heart.”

Lily smiled at Peter and told him, “Don’t worry, it doesn’t hurt.  The Charm’s description in the codex says other than a slight breeze there should be no sensation whatsoever.”

Still smiling Lily asked, “Is everybody ready?”

When James and Peter nodded, she began to sing.  Harry looked up from James’ shoulder and smiled as his mother sang.  Lily swung her wand in a broad circle over their heads and a ring, glowing with a cool blue light appeared above them.  Holding out her left hand, as if to steady herself, she touched the ring with her wand then brought a tendril of light down to Harry, herself, James, and then the mantelpiece.  Lily nodded and as her chant changed James touched Harry’s heart, then his, and tilted his wand towards her.  Lily again touched the glowing ring, with her wand, brought another tendril of light to her heart and then she touched her wand tip to James’.  The wand tips flashed a bright white then matched the blue of the ring.  Lily nodded again and Peter brought his wand tip to touch the other two.  The glowing ring collapsed down onto the joined tips of the three wands, the glow now changing from blue to a brilliant white.  Her song building to a crescendo, Lily guided the joined wand tips to Peter’s heart.  She abruptly ended the song as they touched his heart; the white glow flashed and disappeared into Peter’s chest.  A soft breeze emanated outward from the centre of the room, the last of it carrying a faint stench.  Peter gasped, Lily frowned slightly, and James looked at Harry exclaiming, “I think someone needs a change!”

“Lily, is it alright for me to get Padfoot now?” Peter said, worried by Lily’s frown.

“You will need to write our names and the address on a piece of parchment.  It will fall to ashes after Sirius says the address.”

“Oh.  Um…” Peter blushed, hoping to distract Lily.

“Here,” Lily said and pulled a quill, ink bottle and parchment from a robe pocket.

“Thanks Lily,” Peter grinned sheepishly.  He went to the kitchen table, tore a piece off the parchment and scribbled on it.  “We’ll be right back.”

“Come here sweetie,” Lily cooed to Harry as he smiled and stretched his arms out to her.  She held him and rubbed her nose to his, and he giggled.  “Mummy is going to unpack your crib and table, and check your nappy!  I think we ought to get you back to bed too.”

Harry yawned as he said, “Mummy, we go sleep?”

Peter walked toward the lane and saw a large black dog looking about.  He called to it, but was ignored.  “That’s odd,” he muttered and called again as he continued toward the dog.  Suddenly the dog whipped its head towards him and snarled with teeth bared.

“Padfoot, it’s me!” Peter said, slowing and holding out his hands.  

The dog transformed into an angry Sirius.  “Damn it Peter, where did you come from?  What is going on?” he barked.  “One minute I was with Lily and then I’m on this path waiting for you and I can’t remember why.”

“The Charm worked,” laughed Peter.  “It really worked!  Not that I would ever doubt Lily of course, but gosh that was… was wow!”

Sirius was still angry, “The Charm?  That’s nice Wormtail, but how the hell am I supposed to find them?”

“Oh!  Here, read this aloud, then it will turn to ash.”  He handed Sirius a slip of parchment.

Sirius snatched it out of Peter’s hand and muttered, “Harry, James, and Lily Potter can be found at Forty Nine Bowman’s Lane, Godric’s Hollow.”  He looked up then staggered back a step as the cottage appeared before him; soft light shining from the windows.  For a moment he was speechless.

He caught his breath and ran toward the cottage calling, “Come on Wormtail, let’s go see them!”  

Opening the front door he strode to James and wrapped him in a bear hug.  Sirius reached over and pulled Peter into the hug, tousling his hair again

Peter slapped his hand away and snapped, “I really don’t like that!”

Sirius and James looked at him a moment, then began to laugh.

Lily came down the stairs far enough to look into the lounge.  “Sssh!” she hissed.  “I am trying to get Harry down.  He is going to be quite fussy later today as it is.  He doesn’t need you three disturbing him.”  Sirius covered his mouth with his hand, and then used it to blow Lily a kiss.

“You boys are impossible,” she smiled.  “James, I’m going back upstairs to join Harry.  Performing the Charm took more out of me than I expected,” she said as she went back the upstairs.  James’ grin disappeared as he watched her leave.

“Wormtail,” Sirius said with an exaggerated whispered, “Let’s go so the old married couple can get their sleep.  For us bachelors, the night is still young!”  He grabbed the plate Portkey, then grinning at James as he and Peter slipped out the front door.  Once outside Sirius’ grin quickly faded.  “Wormtail, we can’t Apparate until we reach the lane, all right?”

“Okay,” Peter said.  “But aren’t we using the Portkey to return?”

“No, I think it is too dangerous for us to return to the flat.”

“If we don’t return, they might trace the Portkey back here,” Peter fussed.

“Oh, we’ll send the Portkey back,” Sirius said dryly.  He set it down in the lane, transformed, and sniffed around the plate.  Backing over the plate, the dog squatted.

“Sirius, even for you that is disgusting,” Peter grimaced as Sirius changed back to human form.

Sirius smiled.  “Well… it is more than either the Ministry or Voldemort deserve.”  Peter looked at him, pursed his lips, and slowly shook his head.  Sirius touched the plate with his wand and it disappeared.

“All right then, I will meet Dumbledore at eight this morning and let him know what we’ve done.”

“He’s not going to like this, Sirius.”

“True, but his opinion wasn’t asked for, was it?”  Waving toward the cottage Sirius continued “They’re as safe as they can be.  We are now the targets.  Peter, it is imperative that you go to ground.  We must stay transformed as much as we can.  I will let Dumbledore think I am the Secret-Keeper, and then we wait for them to come to us.”  Although still human, Sirius’ smile reminded Peter of a dog baring its teeth.

“We will need to check with each other, every day if possible.  Let’s meet tomorrow morning; how about breakfast at the Cock and Bull in Ipswich?”  Peter nodded.  “In the mean time I’ll try to find Moony and let him know James and Lily have gone into hiding.”

“Padfoot, I think we should hold off on telling him their location.  At least until we are certain there is nothing fishy about his disappearances.”

Sirius frowned, and then nodded slowly.  “You’re right Peter.  Check him out first.  ‘Constant vigilance’ and all that.”  Sirius glanced at the cottage with a grim smile and Apparated away with a soft pop.

Peter stood alone for a moment, and then forcefully spat on the ground where Sirius had just stood.  “Bloody Pillock!” he snarled.  He looked at the cottage with a feral grin and Apparated with a crack.