Spells and Framework

“This sucks.” James says suddenly, breaking the silence they’d been sharing for the past hour.

 “James - ” Lily begins, irritation and frustration evident in her voice. He knows that tone; it’s the same tone she uses to tell Sirius that he’s wrong about his belief that muggles do everything backwards. It’s a tired argument, done mostly in jest, but it’s their thing. But this isn’t the same.

 “I know, Lily, I know. It just sucks to think that one of my best friends is a traitor. They’re family, I just…” He runs his hand through his hair, a nervous gesture that is so second nature that he doesn’t usually realize he’s doing it. Lily normally finds it endearing, but tonight it’s just further proof that he’s not only as worried as she is, but devastated, too.

 Lily scooches closer on the sofa and lays her head on his shoulder. She grabs his hand with hers and squeezes; her way of reminding him that he’s not alone. She is silent for a few minutes, but when she begins speaking again her voice is softer, gentler. Tired. “I know, but James, we saw the proof. There’s no other explanation.”

 “I know, it’s just…” He runs his hands through his hair again. “Damn it, I know Sirius isn’t the traitor.”

 “And it’s not Remus.”

 “And it couldn’t be Peter. I mean, do you really see any of them as being the Death Eater type? But I know you’re right, it has to be Remus or Peter or Sirius.”

 Lily bites her lip, her voice hesitant when she speaks again. “I hate to say it, James, but we can’t assume that it’s ‘or.’ It could very well be ‘and.’”

 James moves enough to be able to look her in the eyes. His hazel ones meet her green ones, and it kills her to see how much he’s hurting, knowing that what she says next will make it worse. But it needs to be said; it needs to be considered, even if they don’t want to.

 “I mean that it may not be Sirius or Remus or Peter. It could be Sirius and Remus and Peter.”

 “Fuck, Lily. That just makes this whole thing ten times worse. I don’t even know what to do.” He takes off his glasses with the hand not holding hers and sets them on the arm of the sofa. He rubs the side of his face with his hand then, feeling far older than he is.

 “We need to start small. Get somewhere safe, somewhere they don’t have access to or wouldn’t think to look. And we either just, cut our ties with them or we find a way to test them.”

 This is one of the things he loves about Lily. She plans, she thinks, even when he feels useless. She doesn’t give up, not ever, and she doesn’t give up on the people she cares about, even now. Even when everything feels dark and twisted she is trying to find a way to keep what little they have left.

 He watches Lily. He can practically see the thoughts racing through her head, dozens of ideas considered and discarded. It’s a look he’s seen throughout their time at Hogwarts, particularly during the rare occasions that she helped in planning pranks and NEWT study sessions. It’s comforting and familiar; it feels like coming home.

 And that’s when James has an idea.

 “We could go to Potter Manor.” He blurts out, not quite thinking everything through yet.

 Lily looks at him, her emerald eyes saying he might be on to something. Or he’s had a particularly stupid thought, it’s hard for him to tell sometimes which it is. “I thought it was unlivable, because of all the damage?”

 “Yeah, it was, and as far as anyone else knows it is. But I had the house elves start doing what they could to repair the damage since all the elves had been recalled to the main house; they needed something to do. As of a week ago it wasn’t finished, but the main areas should be okay.”

 Lily isn’t convinced yet, but the more he thinks about it, the more he likes the idea. It won’t just be going home, it’s a way to keep his family safe that is under his control alone. A veritable fortress with generation upon generation of knowledge hidden within.

 “What about the wards, are they still functioning? And couldn’t Sirius get past them? He lived with you at the Manor for a while, didn’t he?”

 “They still work.” James is excited, well, as excited as he could be in this situation. “Right now, they’d allow us and the others in, but two seconds with the ward stone and I can keep them out. I think as a temporary solution it’s our best choice. With some work we could even stay there permanently.”

 She hems and haws, considering their option for a few minutes. “I like it, at least as a temporary option. We should hold off on staying permanently, at least until we have a better idea of what exactly is going on. But I think we should test the others, see if we can find out who we can’t trust.”

 He nods his head, conceding the point. All three of them have been to the Manor, several times in fact. They might be found there eventually, but not for a while. “Any idea how? Because it’s not like we can go up to them and ask them if they’re traitorous Death Eaters.”

 Lily sits up, sliding away from him. She squeezes his hand before letting go. “And we won’t have to. I’m thinking that once we’re at the Manor, we cancel the Fidelius here. Then we send each of them an owl. Say something like we’ve changed locations because it wasn’t safe. That we know there’s a traitor, but we know whoever is getting the letter isn’t the one. Ask them not to tell anyone and tell them that we’ll meet up with them in few days on our way out of the country.” Lily speaks firmly but quickly, talking with her hands as she presents her plan. He must admit, it’s a good start.

 “How would we meet up with them? I don’t want to go meet them and face an ambush and find out that way.”

 Lily scoffs and gives him a look that clearly says that he’s being stupid. “Please James, that would be a terrible idea. I’m thinking a charm. We put the it on each letter and tie each one to a parchment piece here. Once they read the letter it turns one color; if they tell anyone, like the others or Dumbledore or the Mad Hatter himself, the parchment will turn another color. If they don’t tell anyone, it doesn’t change color. And if we make ourselves seem like an easy target, they’ll have to tell someone.”

 James closes his eyes, knowing what her line of thought is. “If we act like this is the last time they’ll see us before we leave the country, whoever it is will have no choice but to try and ambush us. Think it’ll work?”

 He opens his eyes to see Lily nodding solemnly. “It’s the best plan I’ve got so far. I don’t like putting ourselves at risk, especially with Harry, but we have to know. I have to know. And I think this has a decent shot of working, even if the details aren’t all worked out yet. Of course, I wouldn’t say no to a better plan if you’ve got one.”

 He shakes his head no before she’s even finished speaking.

 He’s uneasy about making themselves bait, especially with Harry being a target already. But he trusts his wife completely; if she thinks they can turn it to their favor, he’ll do it “Could we make each letter a delayed portkey? Have each of them taken to a different spot of our choosing at a certain time? We could set up monitoring charms in each location ahead of time, before we owl them. If a large group of people show up before the portkey activates or around the same time, it’s another way to know. And if we can’t trust any of them, it keeps them occupied while we actually leave the country.”

 He doesn’t like the idea of leaving. Britain is his home. His family and his history are here. Every happy memory took place somewhere in its borders and he doesn’t want to leave it behind. But if none of the three are trustworthy, have turned against him, he knows he won’t be able to stay here. His best memories contain them; the places he has lived contain their memory. In the face of that level of betrayal, he doesn’t think he could face it. He refuses to call it running away, but a part of him knows that’s exactly what it would be.

 “You think it’ll come to that? Leaving here, and not just pretending to?” She’s frowning, facing him, her voice worried but serious.

 He takes her hand in his again, squeezing it once, twice, three times. “I’m thinking that I’m not going to risk Harry. Family comes first, Lily. I don’t think we should take any chances.”

 She nods her head. “Then in between sending the owls and when the portkeys activate, we make plans to leave Britain, no matter what the end result is. And we should travel muggle. Most of the Mad Hatter’s men won’t know the first thing about it; it’ll give us an edge. Maybe you could brew an Aging Potion, too?”

 He sees immediately where her train of thought is going, and he again thinks that his wife is brilliant. “They’ll be looking for a younger couple with a baby, so if we can temporarily change our appearance they might not suspect us even if they did find us. You know, a Gender-Change Potion might not be a bad idea either. If we’re going to do it, we might as well go all the way. Some of your muggle hair dye kits, too.”

 As they talk more and refine the first part of their plan, James feels like it all might be possible. That he can keep his wife and child safe, that he can keep his memories untainted. That they can survive this war, together, and that maybe not all of his family is lost to him.

 He smiles at Lily, and the green eyes that she gave to their son smile back at him, despite the mess that is their life right now.

 Maybe everything will be okay.