The New Marauder

Four

"Remember to stick to the plan," Theo warns his captain before she pushes through the heavy wooden doors leading into the Aurors' office.
Saranna shakes her head in worry. "Don't you think he'll see through this? That he won't want to go see the boy himself?"
"He might, but if we offer weekly visits on top of the Tribe's conditions, then I don't see the issue with letting things lie how they are," Theo answers quietly, nodding to one of his friends passing by. "Plus, it's not lying if we omit the important information. Just make it sound like we have a handle on the situation."
"You make it sound so easy," Saranna mutters under her breath. "What if—"
"Stop with the what-ifs," Theo says, coming to a halt at their boss's door while placing his hand on hers to stop her from opening it. "He may be your father's best friend, but you are Saranna fucking Wilkinson. Go in there and tell him how it is; don't let him intimidate you anymore."
"It's not that simple, Theo."
"But it is," he replies quickly. "Look, if we crack under him, then that innocent little kid is going to go through a hellish life. We've both seen the orphanages. Do you really want to be part of the reason he goes there? Take a breath and give me the Captain that stood beside me and stopped twenty rabid werewolves from entering the country, then marched into the Ministry covered in their blood and threw the leaders head on the Presidents desk without a care in the world."
Remembering the gruesome mission as if it were yesterday, Saranna took a moment to gather herself and steel her nerves. "Let's do this."

~~~~~~ ONE YEAR LATER ~~~~~~

James Potter sits at the table in their cozy cottage in Godric's Hollow, staring at the fireplace. He desperately misses his twin sister and nephew; they, along with Lily and now Harry, are the reason he breathes. His best friend took that away from him—within a night after his sister's disappearance, his little man was gone, leaving only an empty crib as a haunting reminder.
James knows his family is lucky to have evaded the Dark Lord for so long, yet he wonders how much longer this war will endure. How much time must pass until he can hold the only thing he has left of his sister in his arms? It breaks his heart that, while he loves the family he has built with Lily, his own flesh and blood has to grow up hundreds of miles away just because his best friend says so. It's unfair to everyone involved, and James knows it. Since some woman claimed she saw something in her mind, he and his family became targets of the worst wizard that could ever exist. Since then, they've been in hiding, and James isn't used to being cooped up while others fight the bad guys.
He often wishes for the simple days when he and his friends would escape under his father's cloak, running around the grounds of Hogwarts or venturing into the Forbidden Forest to battle rogue creatures. James craves adventure and risks, not the cowardly life he's been living for the past year.
"You're thinking too hard again, love," Lily says softly as she enters the room and sits on his lap.
"I'm sorry, honey; I will try to do better," James muses, cupping his wife's cheek. "Is Harry asleep then?"
Lily laughs gently remembering the struggle her playful boy put up before she got him to sleep. "Sometimes it's as if he has the energy of both you and Padfoot combined." Lily responds honestly, running her fingers through his messy jet black hair. She doesn't acknowledge the fact that her husband's loving smile fell into a  dark scowl.
"I don't want to talk about him right now," James mutters, dropping his hand to Lily's thigh.
"You two haven't spoken in almost a year, and since Remus told you, you've been short with him too. They are your friends, James; you need to remember that."
"What if Remus never told me? How long would I have to believe Orion was gone from this world, only to find out he was on a different continent?" James spits out angrily.
"Sirius did the best he could in his situation, James."
"He took my nephew away, Lily. The only thing I had left of my sister, he took to the other side of the world and just left him with someone he never met in the middle of the night." James almost yells, then remembers Harry has just gone to sleep. "How am I supposed to be okay with my sister's kid being raised without me?"
"I don't know, James," Lily sighs, standing to her feet. Since Remus broke down and told her husband the truth two months ago, they've had the same conversation repeatedly, usually ending in a fight. Quite frankly, while Lily understands his pain, but being caught up with raising Harry in a small space she has grown tired of the repetitiveness of the conversation. "Would it help to go see him?" She asks for the umpteenth time.
"Dumbledore says that the possibility of me being seen is too high; I think that's why he's kept hold of my cloak all this time," James says, putting his head in his hands. "Plus Remus wont give me anymore information other than he's in the USA."
"Well, Dumbledore has a point," Lily shrugs as Remus and his longtime girlfriend, Mary, enter the house.
"What's going on?" Remus asks, putting his bag on the table and taking the seat to James's right, taking in the distraught look of his best friend.
"James is upset about Orion again," Lily explains carefully, watching her best friend's feet disappear upstairs with a sad heart. "Will Sirius be joining us tonight?"
Mary found comfort in sitting and listening to the soft breaths of her nephew. She and Remus had been together since their time at Hogwarts, but after many years, she sadly concluded that he would never have a child with her because he didn't want to pass on his wolfy genes. Initially, Mary was okay with this and could sympathize with him. However, when Joanna had Orion, the desire for a baby of her own hit her heart in a way she couldn't have foreseen. Now, she's the godmother to her best friend's child, and while she loves little Harry dearly, the longing to have and hold a6 child of her own raises doubts about the love she holds for Remus.
She questions whether she can be happy watching her friends and family grow their own families while she sits around with secret envy. How many more arguments must she and Remus have before one of them caves? Honestly though, for a fight to happen, she and Remus would need to spend enough time together. Lately, he has been dedicating more and more time to the ranks of the Werewolves. There have been times when she hasn't heard from her boyfriend for weeks on end, only to see him briefly before he leaves to visit James and Lily. Describing their relationship as strained would be like saying it's easy to cast an invisibility spell. She wonders how much longer she can live like this and frequently questions why she even does.
Downstairs, James lets out a frustrated huff as he stands to his feet, heading over to the fridge for a drink of water. "No one has heard a word from him since he asked Dumbledore to cast the Fidelius charm on his brother's house just a year ago," Remus replies quietly.
"Good," James snaps angrily, taking a drink of water. "He should know better than to show his—"
"Why don't you and Lily go to Forks?" Remus interrupts Lily's objection.
"Because—"
"It's Halloween," Remus interrupts, Lilys objection. "Dress up in a muggle costume and go see the little guy. You don't have to talk to them or anything, just watch from afar."
"What about Harry?" Lily asks, gazing at the stairs.
"Mary and I can watch him," Remus replies easily. "He's already asleep, right? You will be there and back by morning."
"You know where he is?" James asks with a grim look.
Remus awkwardly scratches the back of his neck, not knowing if he should divulge that he is currently Orion's secret keeper. Yes, he told James where and who Sirius took Orion that night, but he did not give him the information that would allow James to actually visit him, "I might have an idea."
"And you're just telling us this now?" James almost shouts in anger.
"James," Lily warns her husband, noticing that he's close to snapping.
"If I had told you before, you would have—"
"Brought him home, where he belongs."
"He is happy and healthy, James." Remus shouts, standing to his feet defensively; with spending time with the wolves and the full moon coming tonight, he finds it hard to control his emotions.
"Hes my nephew, Remus, you had no right to hide him from me."
"James!" Lily scolds her husband while stepping between the two friends. "I miss him too, but we won't go anywhere while you're this upset, so you need to calm down. And Remus, I am sorry for this behavior, but maybe James seeing Orion might calm his worries, so if you could help us do that, then we will be very thankful."
Remus's eyes dart between the two of them quickly before reaching into his bag and pulling out a picture of a forgotten alley, a scrap piece of parchment, and a bent quill. "This is the address Sirius gave me; I don't know if his brother still lives there, but it's the last place they were known to be," Remus informs, handing the parchment out to them. "If you Apparate to that spot," Remus points to the picture, "you will be in the muggle city of Seattle; it's only four hours by muggle transportation, and if you were to leave within the hour, it should put you in Forks at about 6 pm their time from there. It should be easy to find that address."
"Thank you," Lily says with a tear-filled smile. "I'll grab the coats and give Harry a kiss," she says before quickly leaving.
The awkward silence Lily left in her wake is not lost on the two remaining men in the room. Realizing his wife is right and he was too harsh on his best friend, James takes a couple of steps forward and pulls Remus into a tight hug. "I'm sorry, Remus. I shouldn't have lost my temper like that."
"It's understandable," Remus mutters, pulling out of the hug. "Just blame it on the one that deserves it."
James lets out a sad chuckle, patting Remus on the shoulder. "I will, don't you worry about that."
"Just promise, so long as he is safe and healthy, you will only watch him from afar," Remus pleads.
"I promise," James agrees with a smile, just as Lily comes rushing back down the stairs. "Ready?" James asks his wife, finally allowing hope to fully blossom in his heart.
"Always," Lily smiles back, raising the picture to see it better while holding her husband's hand in the other.
Remus watches his friends disappear in thin air with a smile on his face before feeling it turn into a frown filled with sadness. He knows he will have to say goodbye to his girlfriend soon if he wishes to make it to his den on time to keep her and Harry safe from the monster he becomes every month. Letting out a tired sigh, he moves his feet forward, taking one careful step at a time until the pale blue crib comes into view. The sight of Harry sleeping in his crib, safe and sound, makes going undercover with the wolves possible. If it weren't for him, Mary, and his friends, he would be as lost and rabid as the rest of the monsters.
"Your leaving," Mary's sad voice breaks him out of his thoughts.
Remus tears his eyes away from the sleeping boy in favor of looking at the woman who holds his heart. Lately, though, it seems as if she's pulling away from him, and he can't stand it. "Yes. I need to get to my den," he answers gently.
"Did you take the potion?" Mary asks, knowing how painful the transition is for Remus. She hates it just as much as he does, but as long as he takes the concoction Lily makes for him, it should be relatively painless.
"Took it before we arrived," Remus nods, stepping closer. "If everything goes well, I should be home in two days' time."
Mary feels her eyes fill with unshed tears as she nods her head in understanding. "I will be waiting for you," she mumbles, finally meeting his dull eyes.
Remus almost flinches at the amount of pain dwelling within those gray eyes he loves so much, but the words he wants to say get caught in his throat. Instead, he leans down and places a kiss on the top of her head before turning on his heel and leaving the small, cozy cottage in Godric's Hollow.