"Ow! That was my foot, Moony!", Lyra hissed and Remus quickly took a step back. "Sorry, but Sirius pushed me." "Only because Prongs takes up so much space.", Sirius replied, sounding annoyed. "Forgive me for wanting to stand next to my wife.", James muttered and Lily rolled her eyes. "My goodness, it's just a photo. Calm down." "Are we ready then, ladies and gentleman?", Moody sighed, sharply raising an eyebrow and the marauders stood still. "Good, then please eyes on the camera and three, two..." "Peter should've transformed into Wormtail and sit on Moody's head.", Sirius snickered quietly and Lyra couldn't stifle the laugh that fought its way up her throat.

"One!"

A blinding light flashed through the room as the photo was taken. None of them knew that this would be the very last time that they were all together.

Only two weeks later Marlene McKinnon and her family were murdered by death eaters on Voldemort's orders in their own home, the dark mark hovering in the clouded sky. She had been a dear and loyal friend and a talented healer. Lily cried all night as it had been Marlene who had helped her deliver Harry and Remus was extremely miserable as Marlene had been a passionate supporter of werewolf rights. "He's killing the very best of us...", Lyra had said, pressed against Remus while Marlene was buried along with her father, mother, and brother.

Still, they tried to stay positive if only for Harry who celebrated his first birthday the same month and Sirius gifted the little boy his first-ever broom. It was only a toy but Harry giggled and brabbled so happily that it reminded Lily of James when he had been named captain of the quidditch team. Lyra assisted in blowing out the single candle on top of the gigantic cake and kissed Harry's cheek as she whispered: "Make a wish, sweetie."

They managed to spend a few blissful hours until a majestic Patronus burst through the open window, a phoenix. "Dumbledore...", Remus said grimly as everybody knew that could only mean that something bad had happened. Lily took Harry into her arms as the phoenix opened its beak and the voice of the old headmaster spoke in a stern tone. There had been an attack. Three members of the Order had been ambushed during a mission, one was dead, the other two hospitalized. The worst part was that the death eaters hadn't surprised them or anything like that, in fact, they had waited for them, calm and ready.

"They knew...but how?", Lily shook her head in disbelief while gently rocking Harry. "Someone must've told them.", James said, a deep crease on his forehead. "But...that would mean...", Lyra didn't dare to say it out loud. Saying it would make it a real threat and she wasn't sure that they were ready for more mistrust and suspiciousness. Because if she was honest with herself the people in this room were the only ones she confided in. And maybe Dumbeldore, though this man harbored so many secrets that it felt like she didn't actually know him.

"It means there's a spy in the Order.", Sirius said bitterly and silence followed. It was the ugly truth that no one could contradict. Someone amongst them was passing information, someone they once called a friend had betrayed them. It was an awful feeling, realizing that Voldemort had managed to infiltrate the Order but not knowing who the traitor was. "I think we should go home.", Remus cleared his throat as he prepared to leave. "I have a mission tonight anyway."

"The werewolves again?", Sirius asked and Lyra noticed a strange wavering in his question. It wasn't the usual concern but something different. Something that Remus seemed to recognize and he pressed his lips together. Without another word he left the Potters house and disapparated. "What the...?! Did he just...?" Lyra was completely baffled. Never, not once Remus had left them behind like this, not even when they had a fight.

"It doesn't matter.", Sirius shrugged and reached for his glass of butterbeer. Lyra raised her eyebrows. "It doesn't matter? What the hell's that supposed to mean?" "He'll be back tomorrow. He always comes back.", Sirius replied, frowning, as if he didn't understand why Lyra was mad at him. "Yeah and what if he doesn't? Good god, what's wrong with you?" She turned around, feeling bad for kind of ruining Harry's birthday, and followed Remus home.

It was the first of many disputes they had over the following months and it became clear that Sirius and Remus were losing their faith in each other. Lyra did everything she could think of to prevent their relationship from falling apart but Sirius spent most of his time with James, Lily, and Harry while Remus locked himself away. If he wasn't out there to serve the war, he was reading, quickly losing his temper when Lyra disturbed him.

The cottage, once their home, became cold and empty. Almost every night Lyra sat in the living room, crying, silently begging, and pleading to a non-existent god. "Please don't take them away from me.", she whispered and the voice inside her head became louder every day, telling her that she had already lost them, that she was alone and that it was too late to fix things. She could basically feel how Sirius and Remus slowly slipped away and she wasn't able to reach them anymore. Soon all their happy times were nothing but memories and Lyra was surrounded with remains of a past she would always miss and left with the shards of a future that would never happen.

***

September, 1981

Lyra shivered although it was only the late summer and the evenings were still quite warm but since the glowing phoenix Patronus had appeared in their cottage something cold had crept beneath her skin. Probably because she knew that it couldn't be good news since Dumbledore had decided to tell them himself. "Lyra?" Arms wrapped around her cloaked upper body, Lyra turned around and faced Sirius who was standing a few feet away from her. "Hey Pads.", she breathed softly, a sudden burst of wind tearing at her hair. "So you also got the message.", Sirius said. "Yeah, the others are already inside." She nodded towards the crooked little house that looked like it would be swept away any minute now.

"Are you cold?", Sirius asked, stepping towards her. Lyra shook her head and looked away. It felt weird acting so casually when in reality they had drifted apart during the last months. "Liar.", Sirius smiled and wrapped his arms around her. A sharp sting inside her chest made Lyra twinge but she had missed being close to Sirius and so there was nothing she could do but melt into his touch. "Where were you?" Lyra turned around, burying her face in Sirius' coat. "Out, did a little jaunt with the bike.", Sirius answered, placing his chin on Lyra's head.

They stood like that for a while, silently enjoying each other's company. It felt good, it was their little piece of normal and Lyra felt how Sirius was trying to cling to it. Because as soon as they would let go they would have to face whichever secret Dumbledore chose to reveal. To be honest, Lyra believed that the only person who knew all of Dumbledore's secrets was the old wizard himself and that there was no one out there who knew everything about him.

"Come one, you're gonna catch a cold if we stay here.", Sirius said, putting an arm around Lyra's waist and they entered the tiny house. The others were already waiting, James was holding Harry who was fast asleep, sucking on his own thumb. "Ah, it looks like we're complete." Dumbledore got out of the old, brown leather armchair and folded his hands. "There have been some unexpected developments and I can tell from a reliable source that Voldemort's aspirations have changed." He looked at Lily and James. "And I'm afraid that Harry's in great danger now."

Lily gasped and laid a protective hand over her son's head. "What? Why him? What does he want from Harry?" "A prophecy has been told and Voldemort believes that Harry will be the cause of his downfall. He wants to get rid of the only thing that might be able to defeat him. And for the sake of your child and the sake of the magical world, we have to prevent Voldemort from reaching his goal. You have to hide, as quickly as possible.", Dumbledore explained. "That's pointless, he's going to find them. He won't stop until...until he succeeded in his plan.", Remus said, arms crossed. He tried to stay reasonable but the shock was still lingering inside him, tearing at his nerves.

"It's not pointless. We're gonna protect them, whatever it takes.", Sirius replied, carefully avoiding Remus' gaze. "That's very noble of you Mr. Black and I promise I will do my very best to ensure your friends' safety. And please remember, don't tell anyone about this. We still don't who betrayed the Order so caution is advised. You have to be very careful who you put your trust in these days.", Dumbledore reminded them and no one noticed how Peter visibly flinched at the last sentence.

After that, they all returned home and the next night Sirius woke up Lyra at about two in the morning. "Huh? What is it?" She yawned and brushed a black curl out of her face. "Shhh, come on. Get up, we gotta go.", Sirius whispered, gently pulling Lyra to the edge of the bed. "Go? Where?" She blinked at him confused. "Secret meeting with Dumbledore.", Sirius said, pulling a dark velvety cloak from the closet and handing it over to Lyra. "Okay okay, where's Remus? Did you already tell him?"

Sirius stopped for a second, then continued to dress Lyra. "He's not coming with us." Lyra's confusion doubled. "What? Why?" But Sirius didn't answer, he just grabbed Lyra's hand and they apparated, leaving the cottage and Remus behind. "Ah, there you are!", Lyra heard James say but her head was spinning and her stomach wouldn't stop twirling. Apparating while still being half asleep and not fully there was never a good idea.

"Where's Remus?" Lily put a hand on Lyra's back, gently patting her while she was still struggling to breathe properly. "He won't come. Can we start?", Sirius wanted to know and looked at Dumbeldore impatiently. "As you wish." And so the old headmaster explained the Fidelius Charm and how it was the perfect way to keep the secret of James' and Lily's whereabouts. What followed was a very long and painful discussion about who would be the one to actually keep the secret.

Dumbledore volunteered but the offer was declined as both Lily and James wanted to put their trust in their friends. Sirius was the obvious choice for James, Lily, and Lyra but he instead suggested Peter. "Wormy? No offense to you Pete but why him?", Lyra asked, ignoring that Peter wasn't even mad at her for what she said. Instead, he looked pleased, even thrilled. "Because no one will think he would be chosen as the secret-keeper. Voldemort will be after me, I'm James' best friend. Of course, he will think it's me, but I'm only the decoy. It's brilliant.", Sirius explained and Lyra took a deep breath.

"It's dangerous, for both of you." "We know that but if that's what we can do to keep Lily and James safe, I'm willing to risk it.", Sirius declared and Peter nodded strongly. Lyra chewed on her bottom lip. She knew there was no way she could convince Sirius to change his mind. Their friends' lives were on the line and he was ready to do anything. And maybe...just maybe it would work. Maybe they could fool Voldemort.

"Okay...fine. Let's do this.", Lyra said and Dumbledore drew his wand to perform the charm. After the secret was embedded in Peter's very soul, Lily and James left after bidding goodbye to their friends. Lyra and Sirius returned to their cottage, standing outside the front door in silence. It took Lyra a whole minute to gather the needed courage to ask Sirius the question which he had already avoided twice this night.

"Why did you leave Remus behind?" Sirius quickly looked away, avoiding Lyra's piercing eyes. "Let's go inside, I'm tired.", he muttered, already placing a hand on the doorknob. "No!" Lyra grabbed Sirius, forcibly turning him around. "Answer me, now!", she demanded, feeling desperate. "Why are you acting like that? You love Remus, I know that. Why do you treat him like that?" Lyra was close to shaking Sirius, but his lips were a thin line and she knew that this stubborn man would never tell what was going on inside his head. Which wasn't necessary as suddenly Lyra realized why Sirius was behaving so weirdly. Her hands slid of Sirius' shoulders and she felt as if someone had punched her in the guts.

"Oh my god...you think it's him, don't you? You think Remus is the spy."