Disclaimer: None of these characters are mine. They belong to J.K. Rowling but I've borrowed them for a time.
Author's note: This story is told from Sirius Black's POV and takes place from the night of the Potter's death till the present day. Enjoy.
Fidelius Betrayed
Part I: The Betrayal
By WeasleyTwin2
We stumble in a tangled web, decaying
Friendships almost dead
And hide behind a mask of lies
We twist and turn and we avoid
All hope of salvage now devoid
I see the truth inside your eyes.
A Thousand Words
Savage Garden
Do you hear the people sing
Lost in the valley of the night?
It is the music of a people who are climbing to the light.
Les Miserables
"…involving the magical concealment of a secret inside a single, living soul. The information is hidden inside the…Secret-Keeper, and is henceforth impossible to find – unless, of course, the Secret-Keeper chooses to divulge it."
Professor Flitwick, Chapter 10
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
"Why?… Why them?"
My heart was in agony, shattered into a thousand pieces.
"My… best friends… dead…. He must have betrayed them!"
One whom we once thought friend must have turned to evil. I was stunned and my world was spinning out of control. It was too much of my grieving mind to take in.
"Wormtail… your dead!" my soul cried and the cry echoed in my heart.
I stared at the ruins of the Potter's once happy home, tears streaming down my face. Why had I decided to let Peter be Secret-Keeper. James had chosen me.
"This is all my fault…" I thought as smoke obscured the ruins from my sight.
Had I just been to cowardly to face Voldemort and what he would do if he found how we hide the Potter's from him or had he messed with my mind, leading me into betraying the ones I had wanted to protect? I didn't have the answer.
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A flashback:
A warm autumn day, blue sky, colored leaves falling outside the window. James and Lily sat holding each other as they always did, especially since this all began. Harry slept in his crib nearby. I bent over him and he opened his eyes, smile and reached out a hand toward me. I smiled with a touch of sadness.
"What brings you here, Padfoot old friend," asked James worriedly.
"Always one to get straight to the point, Prongs. Then I shall as well. I don't think I should be your Secret-Keeper. It's too well known that we are close friends and have been for years. We are closer than brothers and that could jeopardize the plan. If Voldemort should find out about the Fidelius Charm…"
I trailed off unable to finish the sentence, not really daring to put what I was thinking into words.
"But Sirius…" began James, his eyes growing wide behind his glasses.
"Sirius we trust you with our very lives. Don't…" began Lily quietly, unshed tears and fear in her eyes.
I was pleased that James and Lily trusted me so much but I would not be swayed.
"I'm asking you to trust me," I said urgently. "I'm too close to you, James. We have to find someone else… someone Voldemort wouldn't think of… would never suspect."
A thought flashed across my mind so suddenly it was like magic. It seemed perfect, the perfect person to keep the Potter's secret safe. The perfect plan.
James nodded and Lily waited expectantly. I glanced out the window and watched the autumn leaves falling.
"How about Peter?" I suggested casually.
James and Lily looked at each other, then turned to look back at me, confusion in their eyes.
"Peter…" James trailed off.
"We haven't seen much of him in a few years," said Lily simply.
"Exactly, while you see me all the time. Voldemort will never even look for Peter especially if I draw him off. We'll let Voldemort believe that I am your Secret-Keeper while all the while the real one, Peter, remains safe."
"Shouldn't we tell Dumbledore of the switch, at least…" began James.
"No one must know, can't you understand. You can't give away information if you don't know it. Only Peter, you two and I will know. It will protect Peter and you that much more."
"But what if something goes wrong. You could be…" said Lily with concern.
"Honestly, you worry to much. Everything will be fine and we'll be laughing about this whole thing in a few months. Now I really should go."
"But…" they began again.
"Don't worry. Trust me. But I wouldn't delay doing the charm if I were you. Everyday without it brings the danger that much closer. I'll see you again when all this is over."
We hugged and I gave Harry a quick kiss on the cheek. He pulled my hair and smiled again. I smiled back and then left the house. James and Lily stood framed in the doorway, holding each other as I walked briskly away. I turned back and waved to them and they waved back. I turned the corner never knowing that this would be the last time I ever saw them alive.
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The smoke from the fire made me cough. It spiraled up into the air where the wind scattered it. I felt as disjointed as the smoke high above me. Nothing was right anymore. I couldn't feel. I couldn't think. I just stood there staring down at the bodies of my two best friends, surrounded by fallen debris. I held a struggling Harry in my arms, the only survivor of this treacherous night. I hadn't believed it when I found him still alive amid the rubble that was once his home. Lily had fallen right over him shielding him with her body. Voldemort must have tried to kill him but somehow Harry had survived with nothing more than a deep lightening bolt-shaped cut on his forehead. I shuddered as I looked at it. Voldemort had marked him before fleeing the scene and I wondered what kind of life Harry would have in our world now. I feared for him as I had once feared for his parents and I knew I couldn't offer him any protection, not on the dark journey I needed to make. He would be a distraction and I couldn't afford that. Maybe later, when I found Peter…
"Maybe Dumbledore…" I thought for a moment. "No I couldn't ask him and Harry would be in danger as long as he stayed in the wizarding world."
I wracked my brains, trying to find a solution to my quandary.
"Sirius…" I heard a familiar voice and I turned.
"Headmaster…" I began. (I could never get used to calling him Albus, though we were both adults now.
"Tragic… tragic night and yet one filled with great happiness," he said, his eyes taking in Harry and the cut on his forehead.
"Sir, what shall we do… where can we send Harry?"
"He will go to his Muggle relatives. It's safest for him there, I think."
"Yes," I said numbly.
I handed Harry to Dumbledore, who in turn handed him to Hagrid, who I had just noticed.
"Po'r little tike." Hagrid said, looking down at Harry sadly.
Changing my mind I reached out my arms that had been holding Harry a moment before and said quietly, "Let me take him. I am his godfather.
Hagrid and Dumbledore exchanged veiled glances.
"I'm sorry, Sirius. I have me orders. It's to the Muggles he must go."
"Take my bike," I said gesturing in its direction. "I won't need it anymore."
"Ta Sirius, and I'm so sorry." Hagrid trailed off, unable to continue through his great sobs.
I found myself sobbing too, unable to control my grief any longer. For several minuets we stood there in grief-stricken silence with tears running down our faces. I hugged him for a moment and received a bone-crushing hug in return. Soon he mounted my bike and disappeared from my sight.
"…great happiness mingled with great sadness…" muttered Dumbledore as if remembering something.
"What… sir," I asked.
"Nothing. We'd better leave. The Muggles will be here any moment."
He dragged me away from the ruins and I followed, unable to resist him. Finally we stopped at the edge of the nearby forest.
"Sirius you must not blame yourself. No one can hold out for long against Voldemort's tortures. We're just luck Harry survived. He's the one meant to defeat Voldemort forever.
You've done all anyone could do and more besides."
I looked at Dumbledore with horror ignoring his speech about Harry. He thought I had somehow divulged the secret of their hiding place to Voldemort. He didn't… couldn't know it was much worse than that. He couldn't know that a friend had joined with the Dark Side. He gave me a sharp look then and I knew my emotions must be written clearly on my face.
"Well, I must be off. Got to make sure Harry gets settled properly. Good bye Sirius,"
After another veiled look at me he disappeared, leaving me standing alone wishing I had told him of the switch. Trying to shake the feeling of dread within my heart, I stumbled into the forest to begin my search for Peter.
To be continued soon.