Brothers by Choice

"You're making breakfast?"

Lily turned away from the stove to face the listless man sitting at her table. His hair was a mess, eyes red rimmed, and he'd looked better after a three day bender.

"Do you have a problem with breakfast?"

Sirius blinked at her. "The last time you cooked a fry up, you swore to never do it again. You don't even cook on weekends when I surprise visit."

Hand settled onto her hip, Lily narrowed her eyes. "And you'll never get breakfast again if I hear one more word about it. And your 'surprise' weekend visits aren't really surprising."

James stopped chewing long enough to swallow. "Don't mess up my Fridays, Padfoot. I had to beg."

Sirius paused in the act of accepting his plate from Lily. "Wait, she cooks a fry-up every Friday and I get cereal or porridge?"

Lily didn't turn from where she was putting together her plate. "Porridge is cooking."

"Friday is Pete's morning." James reminded him.

"He actually does the dishes." Lily said helpfully. "Fetches milk."

James frowned. "I get milk. You banned me from dishes. Which is ridiculous, I'm better at cleaning spells."

"You stripped the plates of their design." She sat with a scowl.

"But they were clean," he reminded her. "And you hated that pattern."

Lily pointed her fork at him. "My point is that Peter voluntarily does these things. Dishes aside, you don't have a choice."

James snorted and hefted a loaded fork. "Rubbish. And don't act like Peter doesn't love you best. Bloke doesn't have a choice either."

Lily rolled her eyes. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Sirius chewed thoughtfully, swallowing as he nodded. "No it's true. I just never saw it before. I always thought his one true love might be Remus - hey Prongs, you remember the travesty that was letting them partner for N.E.W.T.s? I'd think about that."

The sound of the backdoor opening and shutting forcefully against the wind outside didn't phase them.

James considered that. "Now that you mention it, it was Pete's begging that tipped the balance."

"I begged for what? Hope you made enough for Remus, Lily. I found him roaming far too early this morning."

Lily waved at the stove. "Help yourself. Sirius is whining because I made breakfast."

Remus deftly snagged a plate and swooped in behind Peter. "Isn't this why you were banned from breakfast last time?"

Sirius sat up straight. "She feeds you too?"

Lily arched a brow. "He occasionally helps me scrub out bathrooms."

"Traitors," Sirius scowled. "The lot of you."

James shook his head. "I know for a fact that you crawl out of bed at least once a week and eat at that pub of yours."

"But Lily cooks with love! And she doesn't include me!"

"And yet here you are eating my food, at our table. Whine, whine, whine!"

"You going to eat that tomato, mate?" Remus asked cheerfully.

Sirius hunched over his plate protectively. "Leave my food alone. Apparently, it's all I'm going to get!"

Lily rolled her eyes and gestured with her fork. "I've never let you starve. In fact, I think I've been generous. I can be less generous."

James adjusted his glasses and looked at his best friend, even as he edged away from his wife. "She could ban breakfast. Lunch is sandwiches. Yesterday, we didn't get that."

Peter swallowed. "I like her packed lunches. She isn't stingy with pickles."

Lily saluted him with her mug and James frowned. "My wife, wormtail."

Peter grinned. "Awe, Prongs, we all know the love of my life is Remus."

Remus arched both brows. "Sorry mate, I like like 'em a little taller."

Peter swiped the last piece of grilled toast. "I'll just console myself with the food here, provided by Mrs. Prongs."

"No." Lily said firmly. "Just no."

Sirius cracked a smile. "I like it."

"You live with me James." Lily warned.

James shut his mouth and shrugged. "Point to her."

Remus leaned back in his chair and sighed, fingers overlaid on his stomach. "Delicious. Thank you, Lily."

A chorus if agreements as people finished scrapping plates. Lily curled her fingers around her cup and studied the men who sat around her. Remus who was all limbs and too much focus; Peter slight and still next to him; Sirius all wild eyed and barely contained rage; James, her James, solid and determined.

"So how do we win?" She almost smiled at the four startled faces that turned to face her. "What? Winning is the only acceptable option. So what does your ridiculous, twisty logic suggest?"

There was a long silence before Remus sighed. "I don't know."

James drummed his fingers on the table. "Lack of information. Hard to develop a working strategy."

Sirius glared at the top of his hands. "I want to know what a Horcrux is."

"Why it's so important." Remus agreed.

Lily rolled her empty mug between her palms, considering. "Dumbledore?"

Peter pursed his lips and nodded. "I asked him to come by this morning. Told him it was a bit of an emergency, but that it'll keep until after breakfast."

"So he'll be here soon."

Sirius snorted and shoved away from the table. "And what? Do we actually think he'll tell us what it is? It's dark magic, obviously bad enough that I haven't heard about it and you know how my family feels about all the horrors from nightmares."

"So he doesn't tell us." Remus said with a shrug. "That'll tell us a couple of things won't it?"

Shoving his hands into his pockets, Sirius glowered. "Like what?"

Remus lifted his index finger, counting off his points. "It'll confirm that it's dark magic - the kind that's been buried into obscurity. How he reacts will tell us whether he knew of it before hand and suspected Voldy was using it or not. Can't fight what you don't know about."

Peter looked grim. "You know what worries me? If it's so obscure that Dumbledore knows of it but didn't think Voldemort did... how bad is it?"

James shoved his hands through his hair. "Oh, it's bad. It's going to be really bad."

Lily licked her lips. "We need to hide this."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Of course we are going to hide this. We've already shoved that bloody locket into a box and warded it to hell and back."

She glared at him. "No. This. Us. All of it. If whatever Voldemort has done is the nightmare of dark magic - if it's some kind weapon - how comfortable will Dumbledore be letting it hang out in our heads? The best secret is the one no one knows about after all. So we hide this in our oath."

Remus looked doubtful. "You think Dumbledore would obliverate us?"

"I don't know." She opened her hands and shrugged. "I trust that Dumbledore will do what he thinks is best and that this isn't his first war. I trust him to save as many lives as he can, and I know that he needs this information so that he can work on the problem too. But a lot of sins are hidden behind the greater good, and I won't forget last night. "

"No," Sirius said quietly. "None of us will forget last night."

Peter looked at James. "It doesn't matter, anyway. We have to hide it, since I'm going to be joining the death eater ranks in three days time."

"What?"

"I thought we were still discussing that..."

"Pete!"

He shook his head. "It's done. Either I go through with it or they'll try to kill me. Not that they think I had options anyway."

James swore, eyes shut as he visibly tried to think through every possible scenario. "Bloody hell, mate. Three days doesn't give us much time."

Peter shrugged. "I know. Most of it is already safe. I think the rest of it needs to be as well."

Sirius stared at him, eyes dark. "Dumbledore will not approve."

"Dumbledore doesn't have to know." Peter replied quietly, looking around the room. "The people that matter do."

Remus pointed at Peter. "We'll talk about this later. Right now, we need to hide everything under our oath before Dumbledore shows up. After, we'll figure the rest out."

Dumbledore looked tired. Lily knew the headmaster was old, everyone knew it. But she couldn't remember a time when she'd visibly seen it before. Lily was suddenly very thankful she hadn't looked at the morning papers yet. Lacing her fingers together with James' she let the men in her life take the lead.

"Sirius," Dumbledore said quietly, "I am very sorry."

Sirius simply nodded, but there was a furious, flat look behind his eyes that worried Lily. It'd faded a little during breakfast, but now it was close to the surface.

James leaned forward. "How much did Pete tell you?"

Remus entered the room and passed around the tea he'd fetched. Dumbledore sighed as he accepted his mug. "Very little. I would have come earlier, but was unable too. Events are becoming... chaotic. I'm not as young as I once was and I'm afraid it begins to show."

James nodded and with quick, precise sentences, outlined the events that had transpired. For a moment, it felt strangely like a meeting in Dumbledore's office, with James explaining the reasoning behind his more creative punishments as Head Boy. But the grave, worried expression on Dumbledore's face was a far cry from the patient, twinkling gaze she knew so well.

"Did he mention what it was that he'd tried to destroy?" Dumbledore asked, taking a careful sip if his tea. "There are many dark things that have slowly started to disappear from the places they were hidden."

James nodded. "Yes, but we've never heard of it before."

Remus spread his hands. "What do you know of Horcruxes?"

Dumbledore went very still. Looking up, his gaze was not that of a tired, aging headmaster. James tensed beside her.

"Where did you hear that word?" He asked finally.

"Kreacher," Sirius said flatly, summoning the house elf who glared spitefully. "Show the headmaster what Regulus gave you."

Kreacher pulled out the box that they'd warded the night before. Dumbledore pulled out his wand. He gestured with his free hand, expression grave.

"If I may be allowed?"

"Of course."

Lily blinked as Dumbledore laid down a complicated protection ward. The weight of it was heavy in the air and she repeated his incantation three times mentally, determined to research it later. Once Dumbledore was satisfied, he carefully untangled the spell box and lifted the lid.

For several long moments he did nothing. Then he closed his eyes, suddenly appearing far older than he truly was. "When I leave, I would like to take this with me. The warding was well done, but it is perhaps best if we put it behind barriers that are stronger still."

Shaken, Lily clutched at James hand. "What is it?"

"This..." Dumbledore's jaw worked and he closed his eyes. "A Horcrux is an abomination. One I did not think Tom was aware of or would risk making."

Remus grimaced. "That bad?"

"I believe it is best if you leave this particular puzzle to me." Dumbledore said firmly.

"Perhaps you don't understand." Sirius said softly. "The previous Head of the House of Black was murdered by Voldemort. This requires retribution. I will do this with or without your help."

Dumbledore crackled with energy. "This is not the time for blood fueds. Voldemort would destroy the House of Black. The very fact that he chose to make one of these horrors - that he discovered how to make them - is cause for concern. He cannot be sane."

And, Lily realized, proof of Voldemort's insanity had rattled Dumbledore. She wasn't sure why the atrocities committed by the Death Eaters were less damning than apparent insanity, but it was apparently important to Dumbledore. Lily shifted, pulling Dumbledore's attention from where he was staring at Sirius.

"Sir, we are no longer in school. While I'm sure everyone here appreciates your concerns - we certainly would never dismiss them - we are already involved. Regulus came to us. Please, help us."

Dumbledore steepeled his hands. He studied them in silence for several tense moments before he sighed, a little of his presence deflating. "This is not something I can or will condone any of you being involved in. I'm willing to trust that the very name Horcrux will not leave this room, but I swore to myself that I would not pass the knowledge of what a horcrux is to anyone. Are you willing to join the order?"

James shook his head. "I think it is best that we continue as we have. For now. Peter can act as a liaison if we find something of interest."

"Then some things must be kept secret still." Dumbledore said quietly. "I will not risk others who have trusted me to keep them safe."

"I wish you'd reconsider." Remus said quietly.

Dumbledore looked apologetic. "I'm sorry, my boy. But this is not something I can risk, outside of the protections I have put into place."

Sirius visibly ground his teeth. "What can you tell us?"

Dumbledore was silent for a very long time. "I miss being a professor. Being Headmaster is rewarding, and I would not part with it so soon; yet, teaching was a connection with students and is one I miss."

Peter hedged a look at a furious Sirius and cleared his throat. "Sir?"

"Tom Marvolo Riddle was born December 31, 1926 at Wools Orphanage in London. His mother was a witch and his father a muggle. He was brilliant and Head Boy of his year."

Remus frowned at him, tapping his fingers against the coffee table. "That name is familiar."

James suddenly blinked. "That's because you've cleaned that trophy... What was it? Some sort of service to the school?"

Dumbledore quirked a faint smile. "Yes. The trophy cases are not nearly as well kept now that you've graduated."

Peter lifted both hands. "Happy to do our part!"

"Yes," Dumbledore agreed, before his eyes stopped twinkling. Lifting his wand, he wrote out the name of Tom Marvolo Riddle. Then, with a flick of his wand he rearranged the words.

"I am Lord Voldemort." Sirius murmured, body rigid in surprise.

"A story and an anagram will not be enough to sow discourse among his most loyal, but perhaps it will hamper more moderate followers." Dumbledore adjusted his spectacles. "But I do wish you'd avoid drawing that much attention to yourselves."

Lily shook her head. "Someone must."

He nodded and stood, picking up hat. "Peter, I must apologize. But understanding what I do now of the situation, I am not certain it's wise for you to go further with what we had discussed. I believe your friends will agree with me."

He paused, hat in hand. His posture was weary, but there was something burning behind his eyes when he finally looked at them. Lily was reminded of the first time she'd seen him as a first year, and the unimaginable awe she'd felt.

"I cannot stress enough how dangerous it would be to further investigate the matter of the Horcrux. This is a problem that I will devote my full attention to and I ask that you trust me."

"Will you keep us appraised?" Lily asked.

"For now, it may be best that it stays with me." Dumbledore repeated. Then he paused and considered. "Perhaps, once you have finalized your wards and if Fawkes permits it, we can communicate regarding possibilities later."

James inclined his head and stood. "I'll show you out."

Dumbledore nodded. "My thanks."

Once they had left the room, Remus held up one finger and shook his head. Lily blinked and waited, watching as wands were held in hand. When James returned, he too was holding a wand. Realizing what logic was in play, Lily leaned back and waited. Magic filled the air, pushing into all open spaces as her boys weaved their spells.

"Okay. That should buy us a few minutes." James said. "Remus?"

"I don't know." He said finally, eyes troubled. "He gave us just enough information to be useful but I don't know to what purpose. Why tell us Voldemort's identity now? Why not release it to the public? There are a number of old houses that would be appalled that he is a part-blood, regardless of his magical genealogy.

Peter frowned. "What is his genealogy anyway?"

Lily grimaced. "Tracing it will take time, assuming we could find anything. Tracing it without being noticed will be harder."

Sirius slashed one hand through the air. "He was very specific about staying out of this whole Horcrux business. Why?"

James arched a brow. "I'm going with imminent death."

"Seriously?" Lily demanded.

"What? The odds are that making one is something truly horrific, so how complicated do we think destroying one is? Imminent death is always a he just wants to keep this to himself. You've seen the books in his office, Lils. Portraits to keep watch and spells to confuse titles. Dumbledore likes his secrets."

"Could be he's testing us." Peter said thoughtfully. "See what we will do with the information."

Sirius snorted, hands shoving into his pockets. "Kill Voldemort, obviously."

Lily tapped her fingers along her thigh, a nervous twitch she'd picked up from James. "This isn't going to be easy. Dumbledore was clearly worried and for a moment..."

"Oh, he considered it." Sirius said quietly. "And the reason he didn't had nothing to do with laws or morals. Obliviating us wasn't a sound tactical decision. No way to know if we had precautions in this place."

"He noticed the wards were still not complete." Remus murmured.

"How long do we have until people know you're Head of House?" Lily asked. "Who will they assume the title goes too?"

Sirius frowned. "I'll have to check. Regulus obviously reinstated me quietly, or we'd be inundated with owls."

James waved his hand. "This place is unplottable. Since breakfast. Brace yourself once you leave, mate."

"So what do we do now?" Lily asked, watching the silent looks passing back and forth.

"We get Pete ready for his initiation." James said finally. "We get this house ready and we finish moving to the manor. Remus - will you be reaching out to the werewolves?"

He nodded. "Dumbledore has been hinting how helpful it would be, and it'll help with the illusion that we've let this Horcrux issue go."

"Good. Sirius, mate you might as well get comfy in your old room at the manor."

Sirius raised a brow. "Why?"

"Lily is working on her Charms Mastery. We'll need help looking through dusty books. I'd also appreciate the extra wand about once I let it slip that Voldy is a half-blood."

"Do you think that's a good idea?" Lily asked quietly.

"I think it might push some of the people on the fence away." James said finally. "For all his pretty words, so does Dumbledore or he'd never have given us that information."

"Do you think the Potter Library will have what we are looking for?" Peter questioned.

James shrugged. "I don't know. We've collected a lot of old things, so it's possible. But if not, then the Black Library will."

Sirius grimaced. "We don't have the Black library yet. My mother lives there."

Peter blinked and then grimaced. "Oh boy."

"Yes." James said finally. "That's going to be an issue. But it also might be fun."

Sirius stared flatly at him. "Fun."

"I've spent years waiting to irritate Lady Black. Hate to waste an opportunity." James shrugged. "But before that, we might as well set up a few back-up plans. Contingency, and all that."

"Oh?" Lily asked. "And who or what is that?"

"An old friend of my dad's."

The muggle cafe was tucked into a corner in the heart of non-magical London. The tea was excellent but James was highly suspicious of the food in front of him. Thankfully, it didn't appear that he'd have to eat it.

"Keep your hands where I can see them. And tell me what I said you when you met my wife."

Magical eye hidden behind an eye-patch, Mad Eyed Moody frowned heavily at him. "You told me not to underestimate her or I'd be missing my other eye."

"Hello, Moody. We're you followed?"

"Not so quick. What were you wearing the day your dad introduced us?"

"I was told I was naked as the day I was born. Being as I was too young to remember it myself."

Sitting down, Moody paused to consider the food and then shrugged, pulling it over to start in on the chips. "I was surprised to get your message. I was under the impression that only a certain group of people could use that messaging service. And I know for a fact you haven't accepted that particular membership."

James smiled. "Constant vigilance."

Moody snorted. "So it would seem. You wanted to meet?"

"My Dad trusted you," James said slowly. "That carries weight with me. That Longbottom continues to think you're trustworthy also means something."

Moody slid a flask out if his pocket. After offering it to James, Moody dumped a liberal amount of what smelled like scotch in his tea. "Once, we were partners. Your old man made a hell of an Auror until he decided he preferred politics."

James nodded. "He mentioned a few stories."

"What do you need lad?" He looked around the shop. "This cloak and dagger nonsense suggests you aren't wanting an academy reference."

"First, I need your word that this will stay between us. Dumbledore cannot know about this."

Moody narrowed his eye. "You don't trust Dumbledore."

"I trust him to do what he thinks is best." James said honestly. "He's a good man and a dangerous Wizard, but he's holding to much information, to close to his chest. This is to important for games."

Moody gave him a long look. "What is 'this?'"

"A contingency plan. If something happens to me and mine, someone else needs to know."

Moody considered him for a long time, working through the plate of food methodically. "Dumbledore and I go way back. Saved my life a few times. Hard to do, that."

James smiled at him. "What, with your magical eye and all."

"What stories did your father tell you, exactly."

Never losing his smile, James reached up and tapped above his left eye. Nodding once, Moody gave a sharks smile in return. "Alright. I'll keep your secrets."

"Are you willing to swear a vow on that?"

Both eyebrows winged up as James slid over a piece of paper. Amused, Moody looked it over. Then blinked.

"This is very cleverly worded."

"I have a very clever wife."

Moody grunted. A few moments later, magic had bound him to hold the secrets. "Now what is all this fuss about?"

"I have a spy in Voldemort's circle."

Moody went very, very still. James was dead certain his magical eye was whirling behind that eye-patch. "How much do you trust this spy?"

"With my life, Lily's life and the lives of every person I hold safe."

Moody shook his head, ignored his tea and drank straight from his flask. "That's ballsy, even for a Potter. Why do you think Dumbledore wouldn't approve?"

James let his smile fade and met Moody gaze straight on. "Because when this is over, I don't intend for a single Death Eater to be in power. There can be no mercy for the murderers of children. This blood war is just an excuse for their perversions, to prove their overinflated superiority and to divide our world even further apart by class. But I might not be around for it."

Moody shrugged. "Neither of us might be, lad."

"There are other contingency plans." James said simply. "I hope we never use any of them. In five days time, you'll receive another message. The oath you just took will hide the information, until it's needed. It was good to see you Moody. Take care of yourself."

"Aye. And stop wearing Longbottom out with your wand. I need the lad in one piece."

"Teach him to dodge faster."

"Good man, Frank. Strong mind, good wand work - feet like lead." Pushing to his feet, Moody walked away from the table and wondered just how many ways the young Lord Potter was going to turn the Wizarding world on its head.

Then he thought about the scrap of paper he'd left behind. That carefully, creatively worded vow. And grinned to himself.

Clever wife, indeed.

Please comment.