⋆﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤⋆

Dear Sirius,

Before you tear up this letter, hear me out.

I know you are more mad at me for betraying Aquila than you are about me hiding the truth.

I had no choice, Sirius.

I just hope that you trust me enough and love me enough to come meet me at the house, the one Dumbledore told you about. There's hardly a month left before the baby comes, and there's something I really need to talk to you about before that happens.

As for Aquila, I'm really sorry, brother, but I promise, everything will make sense soon.

I really can't say anything now, they've been monitoring our letters.

With love,

James.

Sirius scrunched up the letter, but then thought better of it. He quickly smoothened it out and put it back in the envelope it had come in. He put some wax on the flap and pressed the Black family ring into it. It had come in the mail, with nothing but a note that said 'from Walburga Black'.

Maybe it wasn't necessary, but somehow, this letter had left a feeling of dread in Sirius' stomach. He didn't need anyone knowing that he was about to visit James.

- - -

He was being followed. He knew it.

Perhaps it was something that came with his animagus being a dog, but he could practically smell the stench of the two - no, three people following him.

Sirius supposed he was flattered that they considered him enough competition to take three men against one.

Right when the block ended, Sirius took a left, the opposite way from James' safe house. Cocking his head to the side to listen to their footfalls, he concluded them safely away before turning into a dog. The world was suddenly sharper, sounds louder, smells. . .smellier?

"It's Black, of course he's going to meet Potter. Don't you remember them at Hogwarts, always grabbing on to each others' tails to walk?" one of the Death Eaters whispered.

Ah. So they noticed Sirius at Hogwarts.

Anyway, he grabbed a copy of some muggle newspaper from the ground, cringed at the awful taste, and set about on tearing it with his teeth, making loud enough growling sounds to scare the Death Eaters away.

If there was one thing most people were afraid of, it was a big black dog looking like he wasn't fed in days.

And true to his assumption, they quickly turned back around and went back the way they came from until their footsteps faded away.

He finally turned up at James' apartment.

It was like taking a breath of fresh air again, seeing his best friend standing there, complete and whole, if not a bit skinnier than he used to be. There was a slight scruff on his chin, and the way the back of his hand kept rubbing on it told Sirius that he didn't really like it.

James' face burst into a smile at the sight of the black dog, but he slightly hesitated when Sirius didn't immediately change back, like he used to. His full smile, now a bit strained at the corners.

Sirius sniffed his friend's shoes, his mind refusing to go in if James' clothes smelled like Lily.

Fortunately for both, they did not. In fact, even what Sirius could make out from the house, nothing smelt like Lily at all.

Which was a bit suspicious in its own right, but Sirius would have to turn back to get answers.

The moment the majestic black dog was replaced by the well-groomed menace known as Sirius Black, he was tackled into a hug by James. And for a minute, Sirius left all his concerns in the dust and hugged his best friend back, after meeting for the longest time they had been separated for since they were eleven. It really took only a month or two during the summer before both of them snuck out and met somewhere while they were in school.

"I'm sorry," James murmured into Sirius' shoulder, and Sirius heavily patted him on the back. Really, did anything else matter when James was here, with him, once again?

Aquila, a voice in his mind whispered, and it was like a bucket of water. He retreated back from the hug, and James clasped his arm with a grin that could compete with the sun, pulling him in the house. He assumed the town was named Godric's Hollow because it really was just that.

Hollow.

Lifeless.

"You'll never guess who lives next door. Old Bathilda Bagshot!" James said excitedly, going over to the kitchen to set a pot of tea. "I asked her if she could give me some gossip about Dumbledore considering she knew him, but she laughed me off as if I were kidding. I wasn't, not really, though," James rambled on, unnerved by Sirius' odd silence as he took in the house, and James nearly bursting at the seams to tell his best friend everything.

Sirius's mind, however, was on the details of the house. Not a home, no, because while he could see where James spent most of his time and what things were his, he could tell by the way the things were subtly spread across the room, that James didn't feel at home. Not yet, anyway. Being the neat freak James was, it was highly uncharacteristic of him to leave his stuff lying around. So what it really meant that even after nearly seven months of living together, James was trying to establish his space, but maybe it was not worth it, because Sirius spotted signs of things that definitely did not belong to James, like a pink handkerchief and the occasional hair clip (that could be James', but it was bright red in colour in the shape of a petunia). They definitely didn't belong to James, not unless he had some sort of epiphany.

Yes, surprise! Sirius wasn't dumb. He knew James. And he knew how to read a room. He knew how to spot the telltale signs of when someone had been in an argument, or when something was rearranged in a haste.

The same way he knew that this room barely saw the presence of two people, and try hard as he might, he couldn't hear any signs of Lily coming out to greet him.

"Where's Evans?" Sirius cut in to James' rant.

James looked at him abruptly. "Oh, she's sleeping," he said, taking out tea bags from a cupboard. Sirius noted with no small amount of joy that it was the same place where they used to keep their tea bags in their old apartment.

Which also meant that Evans did not frequent the kitchen. Interesting.

James peered around Sirius. "At least, I think she is. Maybe she's on the balcony," James muttered, not really paying attention.

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you supposed to be protecting her?" he asked.

James stared at his face for a proper minute, enough to make Sirius scrunch his lips to the side. James literally shook himself. "Yeah, but it's not like I tail her all the time. And there really isn't much to do around here," James said dryly, gesturing to the room around them.

Sirius cleared his throat, feeling uncomfortable. A feat in itself, really. But he picked up his cup with the tea that was exactly the way he liked it, and next to it James' cup, which looked nothing like the tea James liked.

James waited for Sirius to take a sip before speaking. "So, um, how have you been? How is. . .everyone?" he asked uncomfortably.

Merlin. This was without doubt, the most horrifying conversation Sirius had had with James.

"I'm fine, we're all fine. How're you? How's Evans and the. . ." Sirius said, making gestures to indicate a baby bump.

James burst into laughter. And that was it. The wall was broken. They were once again James and Sirius, Prongs and Padfoot, inseparable pranksters.

They joked around about everything, talked some more, both making a conscious effort to avoid the topic of Aquila and Lily. Maybe it was selfish of Sirius, but he really wanted his best friend to himself after not meeting him for seven months.

After some time, when evening started falling, and the conversation died down, Sirius finally spoke about the important thing. "Why did you want to see me so urgently?"

James took in a deep breath and rubbed a hand on his face, pushing his glasses up to his hair to hold the strands back. "So you know the house is protected by a Fidelius Charm, right?" Sirius nodded. "So Dumbledore is our secret keeper. And you know, as much as I trust the old man, I want it to be someone that I can really count on. And I know Lily trusts you too," James said, chewing the inside of his lip. "I know you expected to be asked to be my best man, but this is really the best I can do," he said, giving a small, pathetic laugh.

Sirius looked at James. Really looked. He was definitely thinner than he used to be, and while he looked well-built as he was before, it was clear that he didn't get proper sunshine and air and exercise that he used to. How could he play Quidditch when he was trapped inside a house?

Sirius contemplated what James said. He could tell that his silence hurt James, who was expecting a quick response.

But Sirius was thinking about how the moment he got out of the house he was followed by Death Eaters, and he wasn't sure that next time equally dumb Death Eaters would come, considering it was pretty obvious that Voldemort was losing his patience.

"I'm honoured, Prongs, I really am," Sirius said slowly.

James' face fell. "But?"

Sirius took a deep breath. "But, I'm the obvious choice, aren't I? I step out of the house, and I'm trailed. It's pretty obvious, ain't it, mate?" he said.

"So, who do you think?" James asked, his face now contemplative. "I really want to change secret keepers."

A light went off in Sirius' head. "Peter!" he exclaimed, clapping his hands. James tilted his head to the side, confused. "Think about it, James! He's wicked with a wand, his animagus is perfect for hiding! And everyone thinks him useless, but we know his talent."

James thought about it. His gut told him it was a bad idea, but Sirius looked confident. James slowly realised the sense of his words, and mirrored the smile Sirius sent him.

"Peter it is, then."

⋆﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤⋆

hi

so yall are PISSED at the last chapter

im generally vv chill with wtv you say bec like, yeah, have fun! we're all a family here

and neg reviews are also welcome ofc

but please dont promote other books in my comment section. 

bec it makes me feel that my book isnt worth reading

thank you for sticking till the (almost) end.

cheers