Harry Potter and the Cruelty of Fate

SoraSummers

Rating: PG13
Genres: Drama, Action & Adventure
Relationships: Harry & Hermione
Book: Harry & Hermione, Books 1 - 5
Published: 18/01/2005
Last Updated: 25/01/2005
Status: in_progress

Starting 16 years ago when Lily and James were told the prophecy by Dumbledore, and ending with the final battle nearly twenty years later, follow the characters on their path from beginning to end, as told through the eyes of the marauders...as they fall, one by one.

Chapters

1. Chapter One

2. Chapter 2

3. Chapter 3

1. Chapter One

A/N:

Okay, here’s a note on this fic. The first four chapters are all Lily/James, you won’t be seeing our generation of kids for five-six chapters. The first five chapters or so have already been written, but I’m taking them down from where they were and re-posting it all as one story.

For those of you that already read this the first time around, I’ve basically self-beta’d the story to make it sound better and come even closer to cannon than it was before.

Hopefully you guys will like it! Read and Review!

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Chapter One

A loud knock came from the entry doorway at the residence of Number 12, Godric’s Hollow. A young man, not a day over twenty-one, looked quizzically at his beautiful wife, who was cradling their young son in her arms.

“Who could that be? Sirius didn’t say anything about coming over, did he?”

“Maybe it’s Alice,” The young woman, her hair the color of a burning firelight, responded, nose scrunched in thought. “Perhaps she’s come to see her godson now that her and Frank are back from their honeymoon?”

Her lover stood from his chair by the fire, peering at his lovely wife through his black-rimmed glasses, tussling his untidy hair. “Possibly, she really hasn’t seen Harry for quite some time.”

“Maybe she has brought little Neville as well, he and Harry are going to be quite the friends growing up, aren’t they love?”

“They will if we have anything to do about it.” He responded with a warm smile, and was rewarded when the petite women gave him a soft kiss on the cheek.

By the third knock the couple finally reached the door and pulled it open to reveal a somber man of many years, a man who had seen more than any man should be forced to see, but rather than back away from the harsh truths that had been placed upon him, he welcomed them and was the greatest of all men for it.

“Albus!” The lady exclaimed in surprise, a smile gracing her face, from one rosy cheek to another. “What an unexpected surprise!”

But the old man did not return this enthusiasm, something that deeply startled the young, raven-haired man of twenty years and his beautiful wife.

“Lily, James,” He said in greeting, giving them both a small nod, the twinkle that was so prevalent in his eye nonexistent.

Lily’s face immediately went from that of elation to one of great worry. “What is the problem Professor? Please, do come in. Would you like a cup of tea?”

Albus nodded and Lily stepped aside, still cradling young Harry in her arms. The old man accepted the gesture and stepped into the house, a grim look plastered to his usually passive and jovial face.

“James, while Lily prepares the tea, please contact the Longbottom’s and have them come over here immediately. This is something that you all need to hear.” Without a second thought, James nodded and walked across the living room that they had now arrived in, stopping at the fireplace and pulling a jug off the mantle, filled with a bluish powder.

He spoke loudly into the booming fire, “Number Nine, Godric’s Hollow!”

The fire roared and James stuck his head into the fireplace, eyes scanning the house situated on the other side of the small wizarding town of Godric’s Hollow.

Although there were muggles living in the area, Godric’s Hollow was always thought of as a wizarding town, as the muggles there knew of the wizarding world, some even being employed in it, but all the while not being able to use magic like the wizards and witches around them.

James and Lily Potter, along with their newborn son Harry, were some of the most recent occupants of the town, as were Frank and Alice Longbottom, and their son Neville, who was but just a day older than Harry.

The early days of October were some of the most wonderful in the year for Godric’s Hollow, the weather always being pleasantly cool but never to the point where it was uncomfortable.

The children to young to be in school were always out and about, while it being throwing gnomes from their gardens or playing pick-up games of quidditch at Hollow’s Park, they kept themselves busy and blissful while their parents all spoke in hushed tones about the outside world.

While they believed that they were safe in the confines of Godric’s Hollow, that was not to be said for England at large. An evil, dark wizard, possibly the worst wizard and the greatest threat since Salazar Slytherin himself, had been making a living hell out of the world for the past ten years.

This wizard had christened himself Lord Voldemort, but was never spoken of by this name, but rather by the alias’ of You-Know-Who or He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Wizards and witches worldwide feared to speak his name, but these two new families in Godric’s Hollow; the Potter’s and the Longbottom’s, did not abide by this unspoken rule, and spoke the abomination’s name freely.

“James?” A sweet voice came from just out of his line of sight, soon to be followed by a small woman with a round face, a baby boy with similar characteristics tucked under one of her arms.

“No time to talk. Get Frank and floo over here immediately. Albus is here and has something to tell us all. I think it may have something to do with Voldemort.”

Alice asked no questions as she nodded and hurriedly left the room, seeking out her husband of less than a year. Neville had been a surprise to them both, resulting in their quick marriage. They had been engaged before Neville was discovered, but they had decided to rush the wedding so that Neville would be born into an official family.

James and Lily had married directly after Hogwarts, and Harry came some time later. This couple now sat in their living room in complete and absolute silence, sipping gently on the tea that Lily had prepared with Albus in a lone loveseat across from them, the two lovers sharing one of their own.

A few tense moments later there was a tumbling noise at the fireplace, and the jolly figure of Frank Longbottom tumbled out of the fireplace, followed quickly by his wife Alice. Even in dire circumstances, which this coming conversation promised to be, the Longbottoms could not be anything other than joyful, it was just the way they were.

“Sorry it took a moment, Neville spewed all over my new jumper just before I pulled out the floo powder, so I had to go back and change,” Alice commented, taking a glass of tea from the tray situated in the middle of all the loveseats and taking a seat next to her husband, smiling lovingly at the baby in her arms.

“I am sorry to interrupt the formalities,” Dumbledore spoke gravely. “But tonight I come here on a sad note.” He bowed his head slightly. “It is best that I start from the beginning.”

The two couples settled in, ready for a long story.

“You might remember that last summer I was in search of a new Divination Professor, ultimately appointing one Sybill Trelawney the job.”

Lily and James shared a look, then nodded.

“As I suspected when I arrived there, little more than a year ago, Sybill was quite the fraud, without what seemed even a fraction of talent in the ways of predicting the future.”

He paused and drew in a deep breath. “But then she said something, something in a voice not her own, in a trance, in a state that a Seer is in when predicting the future.” he let out the breath he had been holding. “She told a true prophecy.”

He allowed a moment for the others to get over their initial shock, and took that moment to bring out a small pool of silvery liquid, a pensieve. Without a word, he pulled out his wand and spun it around thrice times in the pool of silver - very reminiscent of Unicorn blood - and a scene began to play out.

There was Sybill Trelawney, standing behind Dumbledore, seemingly normal, until her eyes drooped and her voice became scratchy.

“THE ONE WITH THE POWER TO VANQUISH THE DARK LORD APPROACHES…BORN TO THOSE WHO HAVE THRICE DEFIED HIM, BORN AS THE SEVENTH MONTH DIES…AND THE DARK LORD WILL MARK HIM AS HIS EQUAL, BUT HE WILL HAVE THE POWER THAT THE DARK LORD KNOWS NOT…AND EITHER MUST DIE AT THE HAND OF THE OTHERFOR NEITHER CAN LIVE WHILE THE OTHER SURVIVES…THE ONE WITH THE POWER TO VANQUISH THE DARK LORD WILL BE BORN AS THE SEVENTH MONTH DIES…

Silence reigned supreme once again, as the occupants of the household contemplated the meaning of Trelawney’s words…

It was less than a week after they had left Hogwarts forever, James and Lily Potter were enjoying their honeymoon at the wizarding beach in Atlantis, an aptly named island in the middle of the Atlantic ocean, christened by the muggle myth, and invisible to all those who did not know of it’s existence.

But the honeymoon was cut short, one fateful night under the stars.

“Mm, have I told you how much I love you today Lily?” James asked her, nuzzling her neck. They were sitting on a towel facing the ocean, peace reigning over them as they listened to the sounds of the sea…

“Hmm, yes, I believe you have, but you could say it again,” His wife responded, a hint of elation in her voice.

“Lily Evans Potter, I lo-”

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

Lily and James spun around and were immediately on their feet, James subconsciously moving in front of Lily with his wand held high.

“It’s time to die James,” a cold voice hissed from the center of the three.

On the left stood a beautiful woman, with exception to the eyes. They burned with such a maniacal hatred that it made one wonder whether she was truly sane.

On the right stood an intimidating man, a malicious sneer crossing his otherwise handsome features.

And in the middle was a tall, pale, man, with the eyes of a snake, glinting red, but not like the firelight, rather innocent blood.

“I don’t think so Tom,” James replied suavely, attempting to cover up the fear he was harboring inside. Lily grasped his hand from behind, showing him his support.

The Dark Lord laughed. “Barty, Bellatrix, make quick work of them, we have other business to attend to.”

Without hesitation or warning, Barty Crouch and Bellatrix Lestrange split apart and came at the Potter’s from the sides, while Voldemort walked straight towards them.

James made to attack Bellatrix, whom he believed the weakest of the three, but a squeeze from his wife kept him in place.

Knowing better than to not trust his wife in a situation like this, James abandoned his initial instincts and rummaged through his brain for what his wife must be thinking.

‘The only way out is the portkey in out cabin, but that’s a hundred meters away and we’d have to go straight through Voldemort to get there, what we need is to surprise them, and then outrun them, but how?’

Then it clicked. He grasped his wife’s hand, signaling that he thought he knew what she wanted. She responded vocally and confirmed his suspicions. “Let’s get out of here Prongs.”

Before Voldemort and the others knew what had happened, James and Lily Potter were gone, and a stag had rammed Voldemort to the ground, while a phoenix flew a beeline for the cabin. The couple were within twenty meters of the house before Voldemort and his death eaters could react, and by then, it was too late.

All three of the dark magic users succeeded in getting off a killing curse; Crouch shot a few meters high of Lily, while James felt the whoosh from Bellatrix’s killing curse as it passed his ear. Voldemort, knowing that he had been beaten, aimed his beam at the cottage instead, screaming in anguish as he watched the Potter’s vacation spot explode a mere second after James and Lily had portkeyed away.

That had been the first of three times James and Lily had escaped the Dark Lord, and they knew that sooner or later, their luck would run out.

Albus watched the couples in silence. While he did not know the details, he knew that both sets of parents had escaped Tom Marvolo Riddle three times, and that both of their children were born in the dying days of July. There was no doubt in his mind that the boy that the prophecy spoke of referred to either Harry James Potter or Frank Neville Longbottom.

Albus cleared his throat. “There is a charm, a powerful charm that Fidelius Flitwick has recently created, christened ‘The Fidelius Charm’. It will ensure the safety of you and your children. There is a complicated ceremony we must put you all through, and you must select a ‘secret keeper’. This will be the person who performs the charm, and only that person will be able to tell the whereabouts of those under the charm.

“One could peer into your kitchen window while you were having evening tea, and they would be unable to see you, do to this charm. I strongly recommend that you allow yourselves to be put under this charm, it will save you lives, or in the least, prolong them.”

Lily asked the question that had been on the tip of James tongue. “But why? If the prophecy was told to you, how will Voldemort ever know?”

The other three in the room nodded, all thinking the same thing. Dumbledore sighed. “This meeting took place in the Hog’s Head, and a death eater was there to hear the story, though he was thrown out halfway through and did not hear the entire prophecy.”

“Who?” James asked interestedly.

Dumbledore looked him dead in the eye, and said with solidarity, “Severus Snape.”

“SNIVELLUS!” James roared, the power and magic behind his voice causing the tea to jump and spill out of the glasses, burning a few hands. “I knew that pathetic excuse for a wizard was going to-”

“SILENCE!” Dumbledore said strongly, raising to his feet, and looking directly at James. “I confronted Severus after the prophecy, and I have deemed him trustworthy.”

James jaw dropped, along with his wife’s and the Longbottom’s.

Dumbledore continued. “Severus is going back to Voldemort, knowing that he has only half of the prophecy, and no James, he was not told whole thing. Severus knows nothing of the part ‘marking one as his equal’ and therefore Voldemort will not know that in attacking the one to which this prophecy refers, he could risk turning one of these boys into his equal in terms of power. Severus has gone to Voldemort and will tell him this prophecy, there is no doubt that Voldemort will quickly react. Now we can put a stop to this war, this is our opening. We cannot kill the man, but we can cripple him until the one chosen by the prophecy, be it Neville or Harry, is strong enough to destroy him. I will have no questions to Severus’ loyalty, I trust him and you will respect that.”

He waited a moment for his words to sink in before continuing. “I volunteer myself to be your secret keepers, if you wish it.”

“No,” Alice said quietly, surprising everyone. “You have enough to deal with as it is, Albus. We will have Frank’s mother as ours.” Frank smiled weakly at his wife, before she turned to James and Lily. “And yours will be…” She trailed off, obviously wanting an answer.

“Sirius.” James said, without hesitation or remorse. Lily nodded in silent agreement. Sirius Black, James’ best friend since their first year at Hogwarts, and loyal to a fault. No one in the wizarding world doubted Sirius’ dedication and loyalty to Lily and James Potter.

James thought of his friends, the always adventurous Sirius, the man who could hardly hold his wand straight, Peter Pettigrew, and…the traitor…Remus Lupin.

They had known for some time now that one of the Marauder’s - what James, Sirius, Peter, and Lupin called themselves - was a traitor, and passing information along to Voldemort. James obviously knew that he was not the traitor, and he trusted Sirius with his life. Peter was frankly to much of a moron to be able to pull it off, and that left…Lupin. Moony, the werewolf. The man they had sacrificed so much for, had betrayed them all. It broke James’ heart when he realized that this must be the truth - it was the only logical solution.

But the more he thought about it, the more he couldn’t see how Lupin could be a traitor. As he thought of it now, he allowed himself to think what if it was Peter, was it possible?

VROOM!

The loud noise of a motorcycle engine revving up tore James away from his thoughts, thoughts that he would never dwell on again. No doubt Sirius had arrived, but hopefully he didn’t do anything stupid, as they had guests over-

“Pongs? Ish zat you Shames?” Slurred a drunken Sirius as he practically fell into the living room, smelling of liquor. “I’s gots a bottle of fire whishky wish your name ons it Shames!”

James rolled his eyes and put his head in his hands. Lily chuckled softly next to him while Frank tried to keep in his laughter on the next loveseat over. Alice let out a sigh of exasperation and stood, pointing her wand at Sirius. James wondered what in the devil she thought she was doing when she said, “Sobrietus!”

A soft yellow beam of light hit Sirius in the chest, causing him to stumble a little and shake his head. When he looked up, his eyes were no longer foggy and he managed to wipe some of the hair that had been plastered to his head. He looked around in a daze.

“Huh? When’d I get here? I was just hooking up with this hottie in a bar when…

His gaze shifted over to James, who was gaping at Alice. “You have got to teach me that one some time Alice!”

Lily groaned and elbowed him in the ribs. James recoiled and gave her an innocent expression. “What?”

“Now that we are married, James, I do believe that you will no longer be needing the sobriety spell, seeing as you aren’t drinking any more.”

This statement caused Sirius to double over in laughter. “Ha! Yeah right! James give up drinking? Why, just the other night-”

He cut off at a glare from James, who was being glared at by his wife. James visibly cringed. He had promised Lily he would give up the alcohol, but then Sirius accused him of being whipped, and James couldn’t let him get away with that, so…

Sirius broke the tension when he noticed his old Headmaster. “Bloody hell! Hi there headmaster Dumbledore sir. Um, well, you see, we don’t really drink, because we’re still underage, I know, you see, I meant that in the metaphorical sense, and-”

“It is quite alright, Sirius. My memory has temporarily eluded me, and I have no recollection of the past ninety seconds.”

James and Sirius grinned at each other. They knew they liked that guy for a reason.

Sirius found a seat and sat down, his free-spirited personality shining through. “So what calls for the celebration, eh?” he asked, eyeing the tea glasses.

After the initial break from reality Sirius’ visit had allowed, everyone was now snapped back to the harsh truths they were facing. James eyed his best friend wearily. “I’ll fill you in…”

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“…and I want that secret keeper to be you.” James finished, about twenty minutes later, to a stunned Sirius.

“I’m floored James, I really am, but-” James saw a flash pass through his best friend’s eyes, a glimmer that only James knew the meaning of - Sirius had a plan. “-why don’t we go to another room to discuss this? In private.”

James nodded without hesitation, knowing full well that Sirius had a plan. He followed his best mate into the bedroom, and sat on the bed. He patted the place next to him, but Sirius scrunched his nose and asked, “When was the last time you and Lily washed the sheets?”

James, confused, answered, “I dunno, a few weeks?”

Sirius chuckled and planted his feet firmly into the ground. “No thanks, I’ll stand.” James rolled his eyes with a small chuckle, finally getting what Sirius was insinuating.

“Okay, be my guest, what is it? What’s the plan?” James prodded, anxious to get this out of the way.

A wicked grin crossed Sirius’ face. “Oh no!” James interrupted, suddenly alarmed. “I know that smirk. Last time you gave me that one I ended up in the hospital wing after I fell off your ‘magnificent’ broom that you oh so conveniently forgot to tell me didn’t fly, and I fell fifteen feet from the porch and landed on my back in the mud.”

Sirius smiled broadly. “Ah…good times, good times…”

James snorted. “Maybe for you! I about broke my assbone!”

Sirius waved his hand dismissively. “There’s no such thing as an assbone, my dear friend, but anyways, let me get to the point.” His face became very serious, and James knew that what he said next would be ’the plan’.

“I think you should make Peter your secret keeper.”

“What!?” James exclaimed, leaping up from the bed and contemplating whether or not the sobriety spell had a side-effect that made people go temporarily insane. “No way, you’re my best friend! You’re a great wizard! I want you as my secret keeper! Pettigrew means well, but frankly, he’s a dunce!”

Sirius shook his head sadly. “Look James, this secret keeper thing will break sooner or later, it’s just a matter of time. When Voldemort finds out about this whole ‘secret keeper’ business, who’s the first damn person he’s gonna go after?”

James, realizing the logic, sat down hard and whispered, “You.”

“You’re damn right he’ll come after me. And all this time, while he’s chasing me, the real secret keeper - Peter - will be safe at home munching on some Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans. When Voldemort finally does catch up with me,” He gulped. “I-I won’t have anything to tell, because I won’t be able to give the information away, no matter how much he tortures me for it. Come on James, it’s infallible, you know it.”

James sat for a minute and considered his friend. It covered all the possibilities. Lupin wouldn’t have a clue. It all fit. He smiled at the best mate that he would ever have, and that any could ever wish for.

“Let’s do it.”

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A/N: Okay, obviously, quite a bit of the first few chapters in this fic will be quite the depressing ones, you have to remember that Lupin was thought to be a traitor by James and the rest of them, so that’s how he’ll be perceived (until much later, obviously).

I know a lot of you are itching for an AT update and hate me for posting this, but don’t forget, the first few chapters here will only take like half an hour to correct and post, since they’re already written, so I still have time for AT.

Sora

2. Chapter 2

A/N -- Just a warning, there’s a somewhat graphic torture scene in this chapter, but critical to the plot. A lot happens, and it is a bit of an emotional roller-coaster, and I wish I could say it’ll get better for them, but as we all know, it doesn’t.

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Chapter Two

A short, balding, fat gentleman trembled visibly as he was lead down a long, darkened corridor. The stench of death was in the air, and the man wondered just how many people had died in this very hall. Probably more than he cared to think about.

As he turned a corner, flanked on either side by the married death eaters, Bellatrix and Rodolphus Lestrange, he let out a whimper of terror when he saw the solitary door at the end of the hallway, a feint light protruding from its edges.

A hard jab to the back of his neck caused him to fall to the ground. “Get up you pathetic piece of trash,” Bellatrix spat at him, while her husband spit on the man’s robes. “The dark lord does not reward your cowardness, it is a wonder that you are in his favor at all.”

“Y-yes, the dark lord is-is most generous to allow myself life - ooh!” The man was broken off when he was hit yet again in the back of the head from Bellatrix.

“Do not speak unless you are addressed you insolent fool! Now on your feet, the dark lord awaits.”

Without another word the man shakily rose to his feet and scurried the rest of the way to the door, where he was left by the Lestranges to meet with the dark lord in private.

Or so he thought.

When he entered the dimly lit room, the warmth of the fire crackling in the corner prickling his skin, he was astonished to see yet another man there, a slick, black-haired man with a long, pointed nose, a man that he had hated all of his school life, mostly by association.

“Peter,” Hissed a voice from the corner of the room, a green armchair situated against the wall, Severus Snape stood to the left, a large, menacing python curled up on the right. And in the middle sat the most feared man in the world, the one who was slowly taking control, whom no one, with the exception of Albus Dumbledore, dared to oppose.

Lord Voldemort was intimidating in every sense of the word. He was tall, but while fragile looking, one could easily tell the raw power that he possessed. From the pale, white skin to the blood red eyes, a simple glance of the man drove a stake of fear into any wizard or witch’s heart.

Wormtail was no exception, he trembled in front of the man. “M-my lord,” He stuttered, unable to look at the Dark Lord Voldemort.

“Are you too pathetic to even look at me, Wormtail? Or do you feel that you are to good to be disgraced by the presence of myself?”

“N-no! My lord! N-Nothing o-of the sort! I-”

“Crucio!”

“Ahh!” Peter Pettigrew, also known as Wormtail, one of the four marauders, fell to the ground, writhing and screaming in agony under the power of the dark lord’s favorite curse.

While the dark lord watched the man convulse in pain with a sort of sick pleasure, Severus Snape kept an impassive look on his face, betraying nothing.

After a full ten minutes of torture, Wormtail was released, panting and clutching himself in pain, moaning of agony and distress on the hardened floor, his surroundings forgotten, only the pain mattered now.

“To your feet Pettigrew, and this time, do not be afraid to look at me, or you shall feel a pain even greater than that of death, again, and again, until there is no more fun to be had.”

Wormtail rose to his feet, trembling still, but this could now be accounted to his pain, rather than his fear. He eyed his lord carefully, attempting desperately to not slip up, to not make a mistake. If he did, it would be the end of him, he had no doubt about that.

“Much better, Peter, much better,” Voldemort told him, grinning like the madman that he was. “Severus here has just come to me with some rather interesting news, some news that is in regard to your…friends.”

This made Wormtail quiver worse than ever, earning him another round of the Cruciatus Curse. Wormtail was the spy, he was the traitor, he was the one who brought them their information from the Order of the Phoenix, albeit in a different fashion than did Severus, but the same, nonetheless.

Voldemort reflected on how easy it had been to break the young Pettigrew, nearly a year earlier, and bend him to his will, forcing him to betray his friends. He had offered the man power, and life, after he had broken him, of course, two things that Wormtail could not refuse, and two things that the dark lord never planned on giving him.

When Peter had managed to pull himself up again, Voldemort gave him a murderous glare.

“There has been a prophecy Peter, a prophecy that could be my downfall-”

“But that is impossible, my lord! You are far to power-”

“Crucio!”

Once again Wormtail was on the ground, screaming.

“You DARE to interrupt the dark lord! I didn’t think that even a pathetic excuse for a wizard such as yourself could be that stupid! Do you think that you’re better than me? Is that what YOU THINK!?”

“No!” Wormtail gasped between screams. “N-ne-ne-arrg!”

For the entire following hour, nothing was heard from the dark lord’s chamber except for the screaming of the balding man on the floor.

Finally, it was over, and Peter was allowed to stand yet again. “Now Wormtail, you will listen, and you will not interrupt. Was your pathetic excuse for a brain able to contemplate that sentence, or shall I rephrase it with my wand?”

“No my lord! I mean yes! I understand! No! You don’t need to torture me again my lord, no.”

“TORTURE?!” Voldemort screamed in outrage. His eyes were flashing with an intense hatred. “You think this is torture? I am merely making you stronger, my humble servant! What doesn’t kill you will make you stronger! Do you WANT torture? Is that your wish? I will show you torture!”

“NO!” Wormtail screeched, all sense of dignity and self respect forgotten. He was broken, and Voldemort knew it. “I do not wish torture, my lord, I embrace pain, kind sir, not torture, pain makes me stronger sir, yes, I know, my lord. Only pain, not torture. I spoke without thought, my lord.”

Voldemort snorted. “Not an unusual practice for you, Wormtail, but I can let it slide. But if you show this side again, I do believe you remember your day as a rat in my owlery, do you not?”

Somehow, Peter was able to stifle his gasp of horror. He nodded furiously in agreement. “Yes my lord, I remember, I remember very well my lord, learned my lesson I have, my lord. It will never happen again, I am gracious, my lord. You are to kind to me, to show me sympathy, oh great lord of darkness.”

Peter would never forget that day, the day that he lost all sense of self, the day that Voldemort broke him and earned himself a spy…

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“No!” Peter Pettigrew spat defiantly, looking the dark lord dead in the face. “You will never get me to betray my friends. Never!”

“I beg to differ,” Voldemort hissed, and with a wave of his wand, Wormtail was transformed into his animagus form, inheriting all of its qualities, including the fear of owls.

Suddenly Peter was flying, floating towards a darkened room, in fact, a pitch black room where he heard nothing, nothing but the flutter of wings. His instincts kicked in; his rat mind knew the sound of an owl when he heard it. He began to squirm in the air, he continued this action, as pointless as it was, until he was suddenly hurled against the wall of the room hard, once let go of the curse gravity once again took effect on him, and Peter fell to the ground in a heap.

“Welcome to my owlery Pettigrew,” Voldemort said, laughing maniacally. “Home to over two hundred owls, of over fifty different breeds. Let’s see how long you can live amongst them!”

Fear was coursing through Peter’s mind, and he did the only thing he could; he ran, as fast and hard as his inch long legs would allow. He was trapped in his form, he could not revert back to his human self, and before long, he was in the talons of an owl.

Claws dug into his flesh, and he let out a squeal of pain. He was lifted up, up, this was going to be the end…

FLASH!

A brilliant jet of green light flew across the room, making contact with the bird and killing it on impact, sending Peter falling back to the ground. He must have fallen fifty feet before he hit the ground with a sickening crunch.

Suddenly he was a human again; he tried to stand, but found it impossible under the pain, his legs were broken. “Ready to join me now, Pettigrew?” Voldemort asked, sneering at the broken and bloodied man.

“Never.”

“Very well…crucio!”

For hours the routine continued. Voldemort would transform Wormtail into a rat, an owl would pick him up, claw at him, even begin to nibble at him, then Voldemort would kill the bird, and Peter would fall, crashing to the ground and breaking so many bones that he could no longer move. Then he would be reverted back to human form and be put under the cruciatus curse.

Peter was scared, he was so scared. He had been so close to death, so close. He had not been afraid to die, not for his friends, but after the repeated brushes with death, believing every second to be his last, he began to fear it. Then he was horrified of it.

Finally, nearly a day into the torture, he cried, “Okay! I’ll do it! I’ll be a spy! Just please, please don’t kill me!”

Voldemort smiled. “Excellent.”

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And that was how it had happened, that was how Wormtail had broken. He was not afraid to die for his friends, but Voldemort implemented the fear into him, obtaining himself a willing spy, who was afraid of death more than anything else.

“Now Peter, pathetic as you are, you will spy on your friends, you will discover how they will hide themselves from me, and then, you will deliver me James Potter.”

Peter Pettigrew, the broken man, had no choice but to agree.

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“James! Sirius! It’s great to see you! Where’s Peter?” Asked a man with graying hair, though not from his age, smiling at the two men on his front step. The man was paling, but not do to natural causes, rather due to the fact that this man was a werewolf, and the full moon was nigh.

James and Sirius smiled back at Remus Lupin, but he noticed that their smiles did not quite reach their eyes. This had been happening a lot lately, though Remus did not know why.

“He couldn’t make it, Order business.” Sirius replied shortly, leaving no room for interpretation. “Let’s get to this then, shall we?”

Remus nodded, somewhat taken aback at his friend’s words. Why would Sirius be so cold to him?

“Well, do come in. I’ve got some tea ready, for it’ll be about an hour or so before I…transform.” Remus grinned at Sirius’ disgusted face at the mention of the word ‘tea.’

He grinned at him. “Of course, I’ve got some fire whiskey in the basement for you, Sirius.”

Despite the fact that he believed the man to be a traitor, Sirius couldn’t help but give him a genuine grin. Remus smiled back. “I believe you know where it is.” Sirius’ grin broadened and he nodded, walking past Remus and into the house, down the stairs and to the left, where Remus kept his whiskey.

James laughed and shook his head, walking through the open door and finding a seat in Remus’ living room, all thoughts of him being a traitor long gone as they sat and reminisced just like old times when they were still carefree kids at Hogwarts.

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Sirius snorted his fire whiskey out his nose in laughter. “Yeah, and then there was the time when James ‘accidentally’ set a filibuster off in Snivellus’ cauldron of shrinking solution, but he saw it coming and dodged it, it exploded all over Lily!” He howled in laughter again with James and Remus. “Her nose was the size of a pebble for like a week!”

Remus was laughing heartily with them, until he felt an itch behind his right ear, and he knew that it was time. He stood up, scratching his ear, and looked to the others. “Come on guys, it’s time.”

They nodded and left the house with him, into the woods in the back. Remus lived in an isolated forest, far, far away from any muggles or any other prying eyes. The house was surrounded by wood on all sides, and it was here that for over a year now, James, Remus, Peter, and Sirius met on every full moon, to transform and frolic the forest as animals.

Peter took on the animagus form of a rat, while Sirius was a large, black dog. James was a beautiful stag, and Remus, of course, was a werewolf.

Tonight they started by heading west, towards a large pond that they liked to frequent on the nights of a full moon. Remus’ animal carnage was reduced by the hysterical figures of James and Sirius, who constantly chased each other in circles, more playful than any two grown men should ever be.

Remus was the quiet one, as he was in life. He simply watched and enjoyed the others antics, content knowing that he had friends as loyal and wonderful as James, Sirius, and Peter.

But one of them wasn’t loyal, the thought that had plagued Remus for the longest time. And there was only one possibility - Sirius. It couldn’t have been James, the information leaked usually lead to threats on his life, including the one on his honeymoon.

Peter meant well, he really did, but frankly, he was a moron. He graduated at the bottom of their class at Hogwarts, and though he tried, he really did, he was just not smart enough and not a strong enough wizard to pull it off.

And that left Sirius, as Remus knew that obviously it wasn’t himself. Sirius, the man whom the whole world knew to be James Potter’s closest and greatest friend. The man whom everyone knew to be loyal to a fault. As hard as it was to believe, as much as he didn’t want to believe it, Remus knew that it was the only possible explanation.

What he didn’t know was how to solve this problem. He couldn’t tell James, it would crush him. It would make Remus look guilty, as if he were trying to force the blame off of himself.

But he had to do something, and he had to do it quick. In their short chat before they left for the woods, James and Sirius had told Remus all about the prophecy (but only the part that Snape knew, not the entire thing. Of course, Remus did not know this, he thought he had been told the entire prophecy.) and the need for James to go into hiding.

They also told him how James had chosen Sirius as his secret keeper. This forced Remus to put tongue in cheek, and do nothing but nod and apply in the affirmative for the rest of the conversation. It also made him realize that he had to do something, and it needed to be quick.

They were out in the woods until sun-up, when Remus finally reverted back to his human self. When this happened, they were miles from the cottage that Remus lived in, but as he always did, Remus jumped on James’ back and got a ride all the back to his place of residence.

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“…I still can’t believe it,”

Remus heard the whisper before he opened the door to the living room, a tray of morning tea in his hands. He pressed his ear to the door, feeling guilty for eavesdropping, but his curiosity won out.

“I know James…but it’s the only possibility,”

Remus scrunched his eyebrows together. What could they be talking about?

“Yes, but Remus…the spy…after all we’ve done for him…and he seems so sincere…”

Remus didn’t hear the end of the sentence, for he had dropped his tray of tea in shock, creating a loud clanging and crashing sound as the glasses and metal tray fell from his grasp and to the ground.

Remus fell back against the wall. James…he thought that he…Remus…was the spy…Sirius must have gotten to him first.

Tears welled up in his eyes and spilled over, knowing full well that he could now never convince James of the truth, that he would think Remus a spy until the day he died; a day that would come much sooner under this pretense.

James and Sirius crashed through the door to find Remus sobbing on the floor, holding his head in his hands. James was at his side in a heartbeat.

“Remus! What’s wrong?” He gasped. “Or did you…did you hear what we just said?”

Remus couldn’t respond, his voice lost to him, his throat tightened with tears. He did the only thing that he could, and nodded.

James rose to his feet and stood, running a hand through his untidy hair and contemplating the situation. Remus finally found his voice to speak.

“H-how c-could you think me a spy James? I’ve never betrayed you! Never!” He screamed, not caring about the tears that were streaming from his eyes. “I’m not the spy! Look around you! There’s only one possibility!”

He cast a furtive glance at Sirius, who’s face immediately reddened with rage. “How dare you accuse me of betraying James! Trying to divert the blame from yourself and putting it on me!”

“WHO ELSE COULD IT BE?” Remus screamed, glaring at Sirius, who in his mind, had betrayed them all. “It’s not me! I know that for myself! It’s obviously not James! And Peter’s not intelligent enough to pull this off! I don’t want to believe it, but it’s the only solution!”

All three men were crying freely now, Sirius and Remus from rage, James in sadness. He stepped in front of Sirius to prevent him from physically attacking Remus, and Remus looked him in the eye.

And then he knew. James would never change his mind. He was stubborn like that, he would believe Remus a spy until there was solid proof otherwise, proof that Remus did not have.

No more words were spoken, James and Sirius left, James casting one last, long, sad look over his shoulder at Remus before closing the door. After this, Remus let out an anguished sob.

He never saw James Potter alive again.

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“James? James! What’s wrong!” Lily exclaimed as her husband walked in the door to their home, shoulders shaking with tears, the same tears that had stained his face. His untidy hair was sticking up all over from where he had grabbed it in frustration.

She dropped the book she had been reading to Harry, Hogwarts, A History, and ran to her husband, throwing her arms around him. She nearly had the wind knocked out of her after James returned the embrace, hugging her with all the strength that he could muster, crying freely into her hair, which felt like silk on his rugged face.

“I-I just came from Remus’. He accused Sirius of being the spy! He-he was crying when he overheard us talking about it. He - MERLIN! He seemed so sincere, he was so sad, I don’t think anyone could act like that, not without sincerity. But he’s the only possibility, it can’t be him. And he accused Sirius! How could he! I just - oh Merlin, Lily, just hold me, please, hold me and make it all go away.”

Lily had joined him in tears now, hugging him as if it was the last time they would ever see each other. “I love you James,” She whispered into his ear, sending chills down his spine. “I love you, and I promise, after we do this charm, after we’re put under it, everything will be okay.”

She stood on her toes and placed a soft kiss on his forehead, and taking his hand, lead him out of the room and past the nursery, where she had been reading to Harry, and to the end of the house, to their bedroom.

Slowly she got him out of his day clothes and into his sleepwear, then followed suit and got ready for sleep herself. Although it was mid-morning, she knew her husbands needs, and now he needed to be comforted more than anything.

She pulled the covers up slowly and snaked under them with James, intertwining her body with his at once, with him resting his head on her chest. She bit her lip nervously, wondering if this was the right time. After a moment of contemplating, she decided that it was, and kissed her husband on the head, ready to give him some good news.

“James dear, even though this has been a rough day so far, I have some wonderful news for you.”

He sniffed and rubbed his head up against her, snuggling closely, attempting to get comfortable. “P-please, tell me, t-tell me anything, anything that’ll…just anything,”

She smiled at him, raising his chin from her chest and forcing his tear-stained eyes to look into her own. The look on his face broke her heart; it was filled with pain, sorrow, remorse, but she knew that she was the only one that could make all that go away.

“I had a visit with Healer Prewitt today,” She instantly realized that she had started her sentence in the absolute wrong way, as James face turned to one of horror.

“Lily! What’s wrong? Please tell me you’re okay! Please tell me you’re not sick! You can’t die, you just can’t. I’ve already lost Remus, I can’t lose you as well.” New tears started to form, but Lily hurriedly brushed them away.

“No James, not bad news, great news.”

His face brightened, compared to what it had been before, his face could now be likened to the rising sun. Lily smiled warmly at him, loving the fact that she could melt his sadness away to reveal the happiness and love that rested deep in his heart.

“I’m pregnant, James,” Her face broke out into a full grin. “We’re going to have another baby!”

James’ lips instantly curved up in a smile and he pulled his wife in for a loving, tender kiss. “That’s the greatest news I’ve heard since Harry was born!” He said, grinning ear to ear. “We’re gonna have another baby!”

James threw his arms around his wife, his thoughts of Remus not forgotten, but no longer held in the importance that they once had been. He was going to have another child, and he would spend his entire life making sure that Harry and his new sibling never had to face the same cruelties as he had.

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A/N: Now I feel that I have to explain myself on the Pettigrew situation. I do believe that something similar to this could have happened to turn Wormtail into the man he is today. I know from psychology class that you can imprint a fear into a person when that fear did not exist before. That is what Voldemort did to Peter. Peter was willing to die for his friends, but Riddle knew that and wouldn't let it happen. instead, he brought him to the brink of death over and over, in the rat form, where he could not control his fears as well, until the very thought of death scared him deeper than anything in the world, and then, Voldemort had complete control over him. Peter will do anything for him because if he doesn't it means death, and Wormtail is afraid of that above all things, which is also shown in PoA, when he begs for Azkaban rather than death.

I do find this a plausible explanation for Wormtail’s betrayal, so please do not flame it, though comment on it as you wish. I realize that this fic is becoming rather sad, but so was the time period, so it fits. I almost put myself to tears writing the ‘And he never saw James Potter alive again.’ line, but it was necessary.

There’s about 4-5 more chapters that have already been written and only need a bit of a tune-up, but after that the chapters will start taking longer to get out.

Read and Review!

Sora

3. Chapter 3

A/N:

Sorry about the wait for this chpter, I have no excuse really, except that I realized when reading over my novel yesterday that I *forgot* to do a little thing called indenting, and had to go over about 80 pages of single space writing to indent every single blasted paragraph, then had to change the formatting to double-space as well (though that only took a second).

Now for Chapter Three, includes the *second* time Lily and James evaded the Dark Lord, and some insight into the Pettigrew situation.

***

Chapter Three

Peter Pettigrew fell, exhausted, into a loveseat in his London flat, dropping his head in his hands. He was going to once again, betray his friend James Potter to the dark lord. He had done it first after he had been broken, he squealed every detail of the Potter’s vacation to the wizarding island of Atlantis, nearly resulting in the deaths of two of the most important people in the world to him.

But he had no choice. He couldn’t die, he was to afraid of what might happen afterwards - or worse - what might not happen. Peter knew that he had not always been fearful of death, but when he began to fear it, he did not know. Every time that he tried to figure it out, the information seemed to slip just beyond his grasp, vexing him to no end.

The second time, well, the second time he betrayed the Potters he had nearly lost his own life as well…

James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter were all enjoying a night out on the town, away from the horrors that the wizarding world was swirling in, or so they thought.

Lily had come to meet James at the bar - The Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade, their favorite pub ever since their third year of Hogwarts - with news that Harry had fallen ill, and she needed him to come home and help her with their baby.

James sadly said good-bye to his friends and his alcohol, barely able to stand on his own on a count of the incredible amount of liquor he had consumed. Lily had rolled her eyes at him and told him that she already had a Sobrietus Potion brewing at home, as she had known that she would find him in this state.

They were going to take the Knight Bus home, as James was in no condition to apparate. But as they reached the outskirts of Hogsmeade, where the people no longer dwelled and the magical creatures reigned supreme, they were met with an unwelcome enemy.

“Ah, James and Lily Potter, we meet, yet again.” The voice hissed, the same, high pitched, evil hiss that could belong to only one person, and one person alone.

“Voldemort,” Lily spat, spinning on her heel to stare at the abomination of a man behind her, his black cape billowing in the gentle summer breeze.

“Huh?” James slurred, squinting his eyes at the evil wizard. “Volshermort you shay? How unforshunate.”

Both Lily and the dark lord were taken aback at the statement, both aware of the ironic humor in a situation that was anything but funny.

“Yoush know, Peter shaid its wash a good ideas to gets plashtered tonight, but I reckons he wash wrong.”

Lily shook her head unbelievably, while Voldemort, no longer shocked by the slurring of the raven-haired man, laughed. He threw his head back and laughed like the madman that he was.

“If only Dumbledore could see him now, James Potter, Dumbledore’s protégé, of sorts, killed while in a drunken stupor, his dear mudblood wife helpless to defend herself.”

“If Dumbledore was here you wouldn’t be Voldemort,” Lily spat back. “You’re too afraid of him to even step in the same town as him, let alone face him in a duel. Or are you sure you aren’t just afraid of the death he would certainly hand you in battle?”

Voldemort considered her for a moment, never having been spoken to in that tone before. “Brave last words, Mrs. Potter, but I assure you, you are mistaken. No one can match the awesome powers of Lord Voldemort! Allow me to demonstrate, Crucio!”

Lily was ready, and, praying silently for forgiveness, she threw her husband into the line of fire, allowing him to take on the full brunt off the attack. The move had a multitude of consequences.

James screamed in agony, his drunkenness instantly vanished and replaced by incredible pain.

Voldemort was so taken aback by the unexpected move that Lily was able to play her hand. “Reducto!” She screamed, wand aimed at the ground two feet in front of the dark lord. With a loud explosion and an intense heat that could be felt from hundreds of meters away, the ground exploded and engulfed the dark lord in a cloud of dust.

His concentration broken, the curse he had fixed on James was broken, and the young Potter was able regain his senses, he surveyed the situation through his pain, shot off a quick wind charm at the dust bowl surrounding the dark lord, and quickly grabbed a hold of his very shaken wife and signaled the Knight Bus.

By the time the dust had settled, the Potters were gone.

“POTTER!”

The dark lord had screamed the name into the night, Peter could still remember the chill that it had sent down his spine. He had followed James and Lily, wanted to watch what he had created by slipping the flue potion into the young Harry’s food that morning, ensuring that it would come into affect while he and the other marauder’s were in Hogsmeade.

He had not wanted to watch his friend die, not by any means, but rather he felt that it was his punishment, he had to watch and see what he had done to his friend. But James escaped, and Peter couldn’t help but be elated, though the feeling caused him sickness, and he spent the rest of the night spewing all of the alcohol he had consumed. Remus and Sirius had assumed that he just couldn’t hold his liquor, but Peter knew the truth.

He couldn’t think positive thoughts about the failings of Voldemort, the dark mark on his arm assured that. This was also a night that he had wondered why he betrayed James at all, an answer eluded him, as if it didn’t exist. But Peter knew it was there, locked away in his mind, but he had no way of ever retrieving it.

He fell into an uneasy sleep that night, though it was not strange to him, Peter had not slept well in nearly a year, ever since he joined the death eaters ranks…

*****

“So how is my wonderful wife, on this beautiful morning of October the twelfth?” James asked with a smirk, as he rolled over on top of Lily as she awoke.

“Hmm,” She yawned, arms outstretched in an effort to rid herself of the kinks sleeping had put in her muscles the night before. “I’d feel a lot better if my knight in shining armor came to me and gave me a kiss.”

James grinned and leaned in towards his wife’s lips slowly, but she held a hand up to his chest. “Where is Sirius anyways?” She said, smirking. James gaped at her, causing Lily to bust out in laughter.

“Oh come here and kiss me silly!” She ordered, entangling her fingers in his messy hair and pulling his head to her own. Their lips brushed, electricity coursing through every fiber of their beings, and the dove deeper into the kiss, until the need for oxygen forced them apart.

Lily made a face. “Ugh…morning breath. But I love you anyways.”

James grinned at her before lowering his head slowly to his wife’s belly, planting a soft kiss on her stomach. “And a good morning to you as well.” Lily smiled and pulled him back up to her lips.

Just as Lily and James had started in on their mini-snogging session, a high-pitched wail came from Harry’s room. James rolled off his wife and onto his back groaning loudly. “Bloody horrible timing.”

Lily smiled and sat up from bed, kissing her husband softly on the lips. “Look on the bright side, ten years from now, Harry’ll be in Hogwarts, and this one,” She patted her belly. “Will be matured enough as to not give us any more morning problems, and hopefully whatever other little lads we have will be past that stage as well.”

James smiled as his wife pulled the curtains apart, basking the room in the warm morning sunshine. James savored in the warmth for a moment, closing his eyes and drowning out the sound of his son, he laid his hands under his head and relaxed, forgetting all thoughts of the insecurities of the wizarding world.

Knowing that he could not stay like this forever, he groaned and got up, moving over to the closet so that he could find something decent to wear for work. Well, it wasn’t work so much as it was fighting against Voldemort. James had inherited a large fortune from his father before he was killed by death eaters.

James had enough money to live five lifetimes over without earning a penny; but he vowed the day his father died that he would put forth as much money and effort to destroy the man who had killed his father, and he wouldn’t rest a day until after his deed was done.

This thought made James groan to himself, as he now realized that he, James, would never in fact be able to avenge his father’s death. In truth, he had known all along that it would never be him who cast the final curse on Voldemort, but that it would be Dumbledore, the wisest and most powerful wizard on the planet.

But now not even that was true. The responsibility had fallen to either the shoulders of his son, or to the shoulders of the Longbottom’s son. James knew, somehow, deep in his heart, he knew that it was his son to which the prophecy referred. It really made no sense why, Neville was a pure-blood, son of two of the most feared and powerful auror’s in all the world, Frank and Alice.

While neither was an outstanding auror alone, when together, the Longbottom’s were infallible. They were perhaps second-best to only Mad-Eye Moody, but of course, no auror even came close to comparing with him. He also gave most schizophrenics a run for their money in the paranoid department, but all great men have their quirks.

After deciding on his old Gryffindor robes of red and gold, James left the room to prepare coffee for he and his wife, it was the least he could for his wife, who was currently probably throwing out a very dirty diaper.

The morning owl came through the open kitchen window only a moment after James had poured the coffee, it carried a few pieces of junk-mail, which James discarded accordingly, and in the end only the Daily Prophet remained.

He sighed, and flipping it open, made his way to the Quidditch section, hoping to see how his beloved Godric’s Hollow Hippogriffs fared against the Arrows the day before.

Brilliant Catch by Hudsworth Saves Day for the Hippogriffs, Final Score, Godrics Hollow 180, Appleby Arrows 150

The article went on to detail the same thing as it sis every week, how the Hippogriffs had no solid chasers, and that they were not going to have a chance at the Quidditch Cup until they went shopping for some real talent.

James knew that he very well could have played for the Hippogriffs, it had been a dream of his really, but like most things in his life, Voldemort had stripped that from him as well. There was no way James could ever play professional quidditch while Voldemort was on the loose, and by the way things were shaping up, that could still be quite some time.

He felt, rather than heard his wife enter the kitchen behind him, and though he couldn’t see her, knew she had rolled her eyes when she saw him reading the Hippogriffs report. “You boys and your quidditch,” She tutted, placing the newly cleaned Harry in his high-chair, where he was pouting and banging his hands on the table in front of him for food, his messy black hair sticking to his forehead, somehow brightening the already illuminating feature of his emerald-green eyes.

“Yes, well, Harry is going to grow up to become the star player for the Godric’s Hollow Hippogriffs, isn’t he?” James retorted, smiling at his son while nodding his head, trying to get Harry to agree with him. The toddler just stopped his banging and looked at his father oddly for a moment, before returning to his food.

“Huh?” James questioned, taking a second glance at the baby food now in front of Harry, whereas it had been on the table only seconds before. “Lily, did you…” He motioned at the food their son was eating, and she shook her head, a grin creeping across her face.

“You know what that means don’t you?” She asked, her grin now a full-blown smile.

“Magic?”

“That’s how I see it,” Lily responded, smiling at her baby, while James did the same. Although they were fairly certain, with James being a pureblood and Lily being the fantastic muggleborn witch that she was, they hadn’t had any confirmation until just now.

“Our son’s a wizard!” He exclaimed, running to his wife and claiming her in his arms, twirling her around as she squealed in laughter. “We’ve got to tell Sirius! And Peter! And Re-”

As he realized what he was saying, James‘ smile faltered, his eyes drooping to the ground.

“Well, it looks like we’ve got two great bits of news to tell Sirius and Peter once they come over today, huh?”

James smiled sadly at his wife. “Yeah, great news, great news for Sirius, and for Peter…”

*****

It was a few hours later when Sirius and Peter arrived, the latter with dark circles under his eyes, no doubt because of the Order business from the night before. The two could tell instantly that something was amiss, once they walked into the friendly confines of Number Twelve, Godric’s Hollow.

James, though only eighteen hours before had just walked out on one of his best friends life forever, was positively glowing, and kept sneaking glances at his wife, whom Sirius had to admit, was looking absolutely stunning in her mesh white skirt and red tank top that stopped short of her belly button. Sirius, of course, told himself that he had had better, but he knew the truth, that Lily was about the most beautiful woman he had ever or would ever see.

“Alright, Sirius, Peter, we’ve got some great news for you, in fact, two great pieces of news.” Sirius yawned and leaned back against the loveseat he was sitting in, pretending to be uninterested while Peter squealed with delight.

“Well, first off,” James said, grinning at his son, who was cradled in his arms, “Harry used magic for the first time today!”

Peter squealed like a pig and gave rushed congratulations to Lily and James, flattering them with talk about how great a wizard their son would.

Sirius gave James a grin, telling him that now that it was official, they needed to take Harry into Diagon Alley the moment he could talk and christen Zonko’s and Quality Quidditch Supplies for the young boy.

Lily rolled her eyes at this as James and Sirius started making plans for when they would take the youngest Potter into Hogsmeade. Lily allowed the conversation to continue for a few moments before she cleared her voice to get their attention yet again.

“James and I have another, more important, announcement to make,” Lily said, beaming at her husband, her face reminiscent of a glowing candlelight. She rubbed her stomach softly, smiling down at it.

“I’m pregnant!”

This time Sirius responded just as jovially as Peter did, grabbing both of his friends up in a crushing bear hug.

“That’s brilliant!” Peter yelped, completely sincere, “How far along are you?”

Lily smiled warmly at him. “About six weeks.”

While this got a nice response from Peter, it caused Sirius to scrunch up his nose in disgust. “Isn’t that right around the same time I had that party at my flat for the start of the new quidditch season?”

James and Lily glanced at each other and blushed furiously, guiltily looking anywhere but Sirius. Peter laughed like a hyena, and Sirius turned green.

“Ugh, now I’ll have to have that god-forsaken house elf Kreacher clean my flat, top to bottom, and you know how much I hate that house elf,” he shook his head in disgust, “I swear that elf will be the death of me someday.”

“Oh don’t talk like that Sirius,” Lily said, through the blazing firelight that was her face, “you’ll jinx yourself.”

“Yeah, well at least I don’t shag in my best friend’s flat,” Sirius retorted, not angry, but rather enjoying the blushes that he got out of his two friends. “So tell me, so I can let Kreacher know exactly, where did you do it? My bedroom? The bathroom?”

Sirius could almost feel the heat coming from their faces. “Er, why don’t we just promise to name him after you and call it even,” James suggested, wanting the subject dropped.

“Okay,” he said smirking. “but if it’s a girl, you have to go with my Aunt Andy’s name…Nymphadora. She’s always wanted a daughter by that name, though only Merlin knows why…”

James and Lily gasped in horror, while Peter watched the entire exchange in elated amusement. “Why don’t we just tell him where we did it James?” Lily blurted out unsurely, but then her face took on a more confident look after she saw the reflection of horror in Sirius’ expression.

James caught on and played along, “Well, which time then? I mean, we did it more than once!”

Sirius mock gagged, and held up his hands in defeat. “Okay, okay, you win. Just name the kid whatever you want and promise never to bring up this subject ever again.”

Lily smiled and nodded. “Deal.”

Sirius sighed, then turned to Peter. “Okay, now that that’s over, let’s get down to business.”

Peter looked at him in confusion, though he knew from his debriefing from Voldemort that this would most likely be a discussion about the prophecy that would be the dark lord’s downfall.

And so the conversation ensued. Wormtail was told everything about the prophecy, and what it entailed. He was very surprised to hear that Voldemort did not know the entire prophecy, and that Snape was in fact a spy, just like he was, only it was the other way around.

Finally they got to the true meat of the matter, and James told Peter that he wanted him as the secret keeper. This floored Peter to no end. “W-what? James, y-you want me? As your secret keeper?”

James nodded at him, after sharing a smug glance with Sirius that Peter did not understand the meaning of. “Yeah Peter, it’s complicated, but we feel like you are the best choice. We’ll perform the charm on October Thirtieth, a couple weeks from now. Then Lily and I will be in hiding, as will Frank and Alice.”

Peter nodded, desperately hoping that no hint of Voldemort’s plans for the Longbottom’s crossed his features. Or, in actuality, the lack of plans. Voldemort may be arrogant, but he knows a threat when he sees one.

Both sets of couples had defied him three times, and both had put of great fights against him personally. But the deciding factor, in the end, was one that Voldemort alone knew, and refused to tell his inferiors.

So the entire process was told to Peter. It was complicated, but with James, Sirius, and Lily’s help, he was sure that he would be able to manage it.

But there was one thing that he did not understand. “Where’s Moony?”

His question was met with varying reactions, anger from Sirius, remorse from James, and, was it, pity, from Lily?

But their looks told him volumes. Everyone knew there was a spy, it was blatantly obvious after the first two attacks on James, and only five people had the information possible to give them away in those instances.

The first two were James and Lily, who were obviously not the traitors, then there was Sirius, the ever loyal friend. The final two were Lupin, the intelligent werewolf, and Peter, the bumbling moron.

It was so simple, there was only one possibility in everyone’s mind. Sirius was loyal to a fault, he, Wormtail, was considered to stupid to pull this off, and that left Lupin as the only possibility.

Of course, no one took into effect that though Peter was not the sharpest quill in the bag, it did not mean that the ever cunning Lord Voldemort would not be able to use this to his advantage.

Oversights are deadly.

*****

Wormtail was able to hold his head high as he walked the long, darkened corridor to the dark lord’s chamber. The only noises being made were those of the footsteps of the death eaters escorting him, and the hissing of snakes as they slithered to and fro across the floor.

But Peter feared nothing today, as he had the information that would make the dark lord most happy, most happy indeed.

He felt not fear as he turned the final corner of the hallway, as he had in the past, but only happiness, jubilation, he would have been grinning madly if it weren’t for one emotion that was buried deep inside of his heart, unable to surface itself, but strong enough to keep Wormtail from being overly joyous.

Guilt.

The door creaked open, and his suitors left his side, allowing Wormtail entrance into the dark lord’s chamber, where he sat alone in his armchair, the only other presence in the room being that of his pet python.

“Wormtail,” he hissed, seeing Peter kneel in front of him, “what news do you have for me today? It had better be useful, or it will be your last…”

Peter nodded, willing himself to speak without a stutter. “Yes, my lord. Good news, great even.”

Voldemort considered him for a moment, then nodded. “Very well, tell me what it is you have to say…”

Peter stood and looked the man straight in the eye, ignoring the pale face and the surrounding atmosphere of hatred and fear. “I know of the spell that the Potter’s plan to use for their protection.”

Voldemort nodded and smiled, a smile that chilled the bones of even the most malicious of evil wizards.

“Tell it to me…”

And he did. Peter told him every aspect of the spell, every angle, exactly what it did.

“So all we need to do is find out who the secret keeper is, and force him to tell us the Potter’s location,” Voldemort said at long last, nearly five minutes after Wormtail had finished his spiel. The delay had scared Peter to no end, but looking back, he was sure that that was exactly what Voldemort had intended.

“I-I already know the identity of the secret keeper, my lord.”

Voldemort was instantly interested, but did not let it show. “Who?”

Wormtail smiled. “Me.”

Voldemort laughed, a cruel, sinister laugh that sounded worse to Peter than fingernails scraping on a chalkboard. “The Potter’s fatal mistake, entrusting their lives to a rat,”

“There is more,” Peter continued, once again sparking interest from the dark lord. “What is it?”

“Lily Potter, my lord. She is pregnant.”

This bit of news intrigued Voldemort to no end. “Interesting,” he murmured. “Very interesting. Perhaps we will spare the young spouse of Potter for now, and allow her to give birth to her child. A child I will raise to be my successor…”

He laughed again, and Peter, was so terrified of that laugh that he inadvertently saved the wizarding world.

Voldemort’s own device of fear worked against him, because in Wormtail’s moment of fright, and the subsequent torture for showing his fears, he forgot all about the second part to the prophecy, the part that Voldemort did not have.

*****

“Why do you wipe his memory, my lord?” Asked a curious Barty Crouch, as he watched a dazed Peter Pettigrew leave the premises.

“A skill my friend, a very useful skill,” Voldemort drawled. “You see, as I did the night I implemented him with the fear of death, I erased all memory he had of why he was afraid, else he could turn against me. In this way Wormtail will keep his fear, that cannot be erased, nor can the memory of that night. But what was erased is the fact that he put up any resistance at all, he believes that he broke after only minutes of torture, and that he is worthy of nothing. I have broken his will, I have broken his spirit, I have broken his mind.”

Voldemort gave a sinister smile to Crouch Jr. “And now, he belongs to me.”

***

A/N:

There’s Chapter Three for you! Next Chapter will be the last of Lily and James’ era, so I’m thinking you know what to expect.

R/R!

Sora