The Little One with Green Eyes

21: An Interesting Offer

-October 16 1991-
"So how should we do this?" Remus asked, his scarred hands wringing at the hem of his shirt nervously. "I mean... we can't exactly walk up to the Dark Lord, can we?"

Sirius smiled encouragingly at his lover, walking up to him to grasp his hands gently. He gave them a comforting squeeze. "Don't worry," he said with a soft smile. "Everything is going to be fine."

"I just... this is a big change, Siri," Remus said softly, his hazel eyes drifting to the floor. "Can... can we really do this?"

Sirius sighed, one hand dropping Remus's so that he could cup his face. He lifted Remus's jaw, forcing his lover's gaze to meet his. At the sight of the nervous hazel orbs, Sirius smiled sweetly at him. He gently pressed a kiss to his lover's, and after a second, he pulled away.

"I promise, Remmie," he whispered, letting his forehead rest against Remus's. "Everything is going to be okay. This is going to be good for us."

Remus took in a shaky breath before he nodded. "You're right," he responded, smiling at him nervously. "I'm just a little weary."

Sirius pulled away with a chuckle. "So am I," he said. "But if we want to have a part in Harry's life... we have to do this."

The couple stood next to each other in silence for a few seconds before Remus broke it. "What do we do?" he asked, looking to Sirius.

"We need to find a way to get in touch with the Dark Lord," Sirius said, his eyebrows furrowing as he thought. "It has to be inconspicuous, too. We don't want the Order to find out about this."

"Whyever not?" Remus asked. "Wouldn't it be better if they hear it from us?"

"Moony, why would the Dark Lord let us join his ranks if we didn't have anything to offer?" Sirius answered with another question. Remus stayed silent and Sirius took that as a sign to continue. If I were the Dark Lord, and someone had just kidnapped and attempted to kill Harry, I'd be really suspicious of everyone who was in contact with him. He's not going to want to let ex-Order members just waltz into his ranks."

"So how are we going to convince him that we're serious?" Remus asked. "And don't make a name joke, please." Remus added quickly, stopping Sirius mid-joke.

Sirius pouted. "You're no fun."

"Come on Siri," Remus said. "How do we do this? If the Dark Lord won't let us in his ranks---"

"Oh, but he will!" Sirius said quickly. "After all, wouldn't you want more spies?"

Remus stared at Sirius, his eyes wide. "You can't be serious."

"Well actually---"

"Do not." Remus said firmly, and Sirius's mouth snapped shut. "Sirius, really? You want us to sell out our friends?!"

"Do you have a better option?!" Sirius cried, crossing his arms defensibly. "Look, I know this isn't ideal---"

"That's one way of putting it." Remus scoffed.

"---but this is the only way!" Sirius continued. Sirius let out a harsh breath before he sighed, his hands dragging down his face in a nervous gesture. "Look. This isn't what we want to do, I know, but we can't convince the Dark Lord to let us join without this."

"It's just... they're our friends." Remus said softly, his gaze drifting back down to the floor. "And we have to betray them so we can stay with our family. Nobody wins here."

"It's the only way..." Sirius repeated. "The only way."

Remus breathed in deeply, and Sirius pretended he didn't hear the hitch in his breath. Sirius looked at his lover, suddenly nervous. Would... Would this be the deal breaker? Sirius was going to do this, no matter how much it hurt, because he needed to be with his godson. Would Remus disagree?