"James, have you seen the papers recently?"

James jumped, bumping his head painfully on the bottom of the kitchen table, under which he had been trying desperately to clean up a huge orange juice spill before Lily saw it. Sirius snickered at the mess then turned his attention back to his urgent news.

"What papers?" James asked, bewildered. He groped around on the ground for his fallen glasses.

"The Daily Prophet, you great prat," Sirius said, exasperated. Honestly, just because the man was in hiding didn't mean he had to cut himself off completely from the rest of the world. Sirius stooped down and quietly moved James' glasses closer to his roving hand. James soon found them and picked them up, letting out a little cry of triumph.

"Anyway," Sirius continued, "You will not believe it! You know what, I should probably wait until Lily gets back. Where is she, anyway?"

This time it was James' turn to be exasperated. "We're in hiding, Padfoot! Where is she going to go?"

Sirius just shrugged in response. Then he seemed to remember his original purpose. "Anyway, Prongs," he said in a business-like voice, "as I was saying, you should read the paper." He handed over the newest edition before James could protest out of frustration. James quickly scanned the front-page article. His eyes grew wider and wider. He tore open the paper to find the rest of the article. Finally he set the paper down, his eyes gaping, his mouth open in surprise. "Voldemort's dead?!" he exclaimed. Sirius only nodded smugly and crossed his arms. James ran down the hallway. "Lily!" he yelled. "Lily, guess what!"

After a moment of silence, Lily emerged from the bedroom, looking rather irritable. "Thanks, James," she snapped. "You just woke Harry up. I was trying to get him down for his nap, but I guess that's not happening now." As if on cue, they heard a wail. Lily threw up her hands and went back into the bedroom. Sirius followed her, eager to see his little godson again. Harry stopped crying. Sirius came back into the living room, cradling the baby in his arms. James grinned at Lily. For a moment it seemed like she was about to scowl, but then she relented and smiled back at him.

James handed Lily the newspaper with a flourish. She raised her eyebrows and tentatively took it. After just glancing at the headline, she sat down on the couch with a hand over her heart. She, too, quickly read the article covering Dumbledore's defeat over Lord Voldemort. Then she jumped up, let out a cry of joy, and threw her arms around James. Harry began to cry again at the loud noise. Sirius rocked and shushed him, all while grinning like a madman. James spun Lily around in a circle. She squealed and held his neck tightly. Harry's wails died down, and he hiccupped. Lily laughed. James savoured the sound. He hadn't heard it in so long. Harry waved his chubby arms at his mother, and she reached over to pluck him out of Sirius' arms. Sirius pretended to play tug-of-war with the little boy, not letting go of him at first. It was only after Lily glared at him fiercely (so much, that Sirius thought she might harm him) that Sirius surrendered Harry.

Sirius slept over that night. He had started doing that a lot more since his godson was born. He ate breakfast with Harry perched on his lap, then he and James left for the Ministry. Lily thought James looked rather resplendent in his Auror's robes. James tickled Harry, who giggled, as Sirius fluffed his hair in the hall mirror. Finally they were ready to go. They disappeared through the Floo, and Lily and Harry were alone.

James and Sirius did not return until several hours after dinner, and they came bearing grim expressions and bad news. "We caught a lot of Death Eaters today," James said, his voice a monotone. "You will never believe who was with them, one of Voldemort's followers. Lily waited for her husband to continue and tell her the answer. "Peter Pettigrew," he said heavily. "Wormtail is a Death Eater."

Lily gasped. "No!" she protested. "He can't be! That's all just a mistake, isn't it?"

Sirius shook his head. "That's what we thought at first," he said despondently. "Little Peter. Surely he can't be one of them, can he? But he is. He has the Dark Mark and everything."

James buried his face in his hands. Lily rubbed his back, in shock. She adjusted her grip on Harry. Sirius soon relieved her of the baby. Lily glanced at him, worried about how he was taking the news about Peter. Sirius avoided her eyes, opting instead to cuddle and kiss Harry. '

Lily laid a hand on his arm. He reluctantly looked at her. "How are you holding up?" she asked quietly. "I mean, he is your friend…."

Sirius shook his head, suddenly looking harsh. "He is not my friend anymore," he hissed, in that moment looking more like a Black than Lily had ever seen him.

James straightened up. He had been trying to retrieve Harry's rattle from under a cabinet where Harry had thrown it earlier. "What are you two whispering about over there?" he said mock-suspiciously, though his attempt at humor fell flat.

Sirius made a brave attempt to rally their spirits. "He wasn't Wormtail anymore," he declared. "He wasn't the Peter we knew."

James nodded resolutely, and Lily followed suit. Even little Harry nodded solemnly too, even though he had no idea as to what they were talking about. This broke the tense atmosphere, and everybody laughed.

Lily called Remus while Sirius and James played with Harry. He, too, had heard the good news and was more than willing to celebrate it with his friends. He joined Sirius and James in tickling Harry, who shrieked with laughter. Lily shook her head and went into the kitchen. She watched her family and friends from there and smiled. They may have lost one of their own to evil, but that evil was now greatly diminished and almost gone. Her family was safe. They would always remember Peter as he was before, and they would love each other and spend the rest of their lives together. That, Lily reflected, was all they really needed.