Summary: On October 31st, 1981, what if James Potter remembered his vision with his best friend in a ratty prison uniform? What if Remus Lupin remembered his kidnapping in the Forbidden Forest? What if Sirius Black realized the truth about Peter Pettigrew, before it was too late? What if Lily Potter never sacrificed herself to save Harry? An alternate ending written remorsefully for the readers of Hogsmeade Kiss. R/R

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, JKR (aka pure brilliance) does. Don't sue me because I'm imaginative. :-)

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October 31st…

"Hey," Remus greeted as Sirius came into the apartment, throwing his leather jacket and motorbike keys on a nearby chair.

"Hello," Sirius replied, collapsing onto the sofa. "Any sugar high kids come by yet, begging for more sweets?"

Chuckling, Remus said, "A couple, but it seems pretty quiet tonight." Sighing, he added, "I wonder what Harry's Halloween costume is…"

Guilt once again stabbed at Sirius heart and he knew he couldn't leave his best friend out in the dark. "I've got to tell you something, but you have to promise you can't get mad…" Sirius said quietly.

Concerned, Remus nodded, saying, "No, I won't get mad. What is it?"

Sirius decided it was best for him just to get it out instead of trying to think of a way to dance around it. But he couldn't tell him about Peter, no one could know about that to ensure James and Lily's safety. "I lied to you before…I never went to Dumbledore asking where Lily and James were. They came to me and asked me to be apart of the Fidelius Charm and be Secret Keeper. They wanted you also but Dumbledore said only one. So for the past few months I have always been at their house, trying to help them in anyway I can," Sirius paused for breath, "I've been feeling so guilty about not telling you, and I am sorry. I'm going into hiding so Voldemort can't find me. So I guess this is goodbye…"

Remus just stared at his best friend for a long time; something was very unsettling in the pit of his stomach. He knew Sirius was leaving something out, and Remus could not place his finger on it. He saw Sirius run a hand through his hair nervously and Remus narrowed his eyes. Now he knew he was lying. "What are you hiding from me?" Remus asked quietly.

Putting on the puzzled expression he could, Sirius said, "What do you mean?"

"Sirius, I've known you since we were eleven. Do you know how many times you've tried to keep a secret from me?" Remus said simply. Sirius' mouth dropped open momentarily before he realized what he was doing and snapped it shut once more. With a small smirk, Remus added, "I understand if you don't want to tell me, but I have been suspicious these past months. If it's concerning Lily and James' safety, don't you think I should know? They are my friends as much as they are yours and I want to help them."

Casually, Remus turned back to the book he was reading, knowing he just struck Sirius and he would eventually spill the beans. With a groan, Sirius raked his hand through his hair once more and pressed his hand to his forehead. "What I said was true," Sirius began quietly. Remus looked up, keeping his book open. "Just yesterday we switched to Peter because no one would suspect him. They wanted you but I said no…everyone knows how close you are to them, just the same as me. Anyone we've corresponded with knows that no one's seen Peter in months and months, long before Lily and James went into hiding. He won't be targeted." Sirius paused for a moment, then continued, "I paid for a room in a muggle motel a few cities away. He's hiding out, just in case. I'll go into hiding also, the only person besides us five that will know about the switch is Dumbledore. Lily and James are telling him tomorrow."

After Sirius finished, Remus just sat there, staring at his best friend. "Why not tell Dumbledore today?" Remus asked curiously.

Shrugging, Sirius replied, "We tried to Floo him, but some teacher told us he was out until tomorrow and no one knows where he's at."

Nodding, Remus closed his book and sat it down, resting his elbows on his knees and cradling his head in his hands. He had a bad feeling, something wasn't right. Remus knew Sirius had told him the whole truth; he just couldn't place what it was. He heard Sirius get up from his seat and sit beside him on the couch. "I'm sorry," he muttered.

Those words struck a nerve and Remus jumped up immediately. He looked at Sirius, who was staring at him curiously, as a memory came into focus. The scene played out in his head and Remus gasped in shock.

He was in the forest, back in seventh year. Somebody was putting him under the Cruciatus Curse. But everything was blurry and the voices were muffled. He couldn't see what was going on. Suddenly, it snapped into focus as he saw a bunch of hooded figures leave the clearing he was at.

But one was left standing there. "I'm sorry," Peter muttered.

"Don't talk to me traitor," Remus spat.

"Please Remus, I had no choice…"

"Yes you did! You didn't have to join!"

"But there was so much power involved, you guys have always treated me rotten."

"We have never treated you rotten! We play around and make fun of each other! We have been your best friends since forever! And you just turn sides, and join up with that idiot!"

"Remus, listen to me!"

"No! Have you not seen how much pain he has caused? Did you even see James after his parents died? Do you remember the reaction to Claudia's death? You were even friends with Claudia! How could you?"

"Crucio!" Peter yelled, his voice full of fury. He let Remus scream for a few minutes, then lowered his wand. "Don't ever insult me again! I have more power than you'll ever have.

"You don't have power, you have nothing. You're a coward. Here's what I think of you," Remus rasped, then spit in his face.

"You'll regret that, someday you'll see what I can do!" Peter said angrily, then turned on his heel and headed towards the castle.

"Oh, God…" Remus said, putting a trembling hand to his mouth.

"What is it?" Sirius said with concern etched in his voice. Remus had temporarily lost the power of speech. Getting up from his seat at the couch, Sirius walked over to his friend. "What's wrong?"

Clearing his throat, Remus looked Sirius in the eye. "We have to act fast. Remember in seventh year when I was kidnapped?" Sirius' eyes darkened as he nodded his head. "I followed Peter because I didn't believe he was getting his book. He went down a hidden tunnel. Death Eaters were meeting there and they caught me. They tied me up and took me to the Forbidden Forest and tortured me. But Sirius, Peter was one of them." Sirius tried to interrupt but Remus cut him off. "Listen, he said he joined because he wanted power. And because of the prophecy Voldemort wanted Harry. If Peter wanted power and he knew where Lily and James were hiding, he would immediately go to Voldemort with the information."

All Sirius could do was just stare at Remus in shock. "It's my fault…" he whispered to himself, then shook his head. "We'll split up. Since you have no idea where Peter's hideout is, I'll go and see if the rat is there. You go to Godric's Hollow and get James, Lily, and Harry out."

"You need to tell me the address again," Remus said. Sirius quickly relayed the information and ran to the door, grabbing his jacket and motorbike keys. "No! Apparating would be faster," Remus said, stopping Sirius in his tracks. With a quick nod, Sirius was gone in a pop, Remus right behind him.

Once Sirius arrived at the motel, wondering momentarily how he didn't splinch since his mind was a jumble of fury, he slipped the night clerk a few pounds in exchange for the key to room 214. Sirius burst into the room and searched it hastily. It seemed as if the last person to be in the room was the maid.

Peter must have already scurried his way to Voldemort and relayed the address. If I ever get my hands on him, I'll kill him…Sirius thought as he sat on the bed, trying to get rid of the blinding red anger in front of his eyes so he could safely Apparate to the Potter's home.

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"Dada!" Harry said, giggling. James was balancing on his head. He suddenly lost his balance and fell over, his face red as can be.

Lily was laughing. "I never knew you could do that!"

"It's just another useless fact about me that you'll have to put up with," James said, wearing a classic Marauder grin.

Lily laughed and put Harry on the floor. He stood and clumsily walked over to a red fire truck, plopping down and pushing it around, making siren noises. There were many trick or treaters outside in their neighborhood.

"I wish I could give them candy and see all their little costumes," Lily said, sighing.

James' face fell. He scooted over to Lily and gave her a hug. "It's for our protection, you know that," he whispered into her hair.

Lily just nodded, thinking of the threat on their lives, and Harry's. "Please don't leave me James," Lily whispered, tears escaping her eyes.

Laying his head on her shoulder, James said, "You know I can't promise that. I will fight to make sure I am always by your side, but I can't promise," James pulled away, kissing her lightly and taking her hand, holding up her engagement ring to her face. "You remember what this says?" he asked.

Lily nodded and smiled. "Of course I do. We will always be together, in life or death, as one…"

"And that's how it will be. I will always be with you, no matter where you are," James said quietly.

The night got later as Lily and James continued to play with Harry, too nervous to sleep like so many nights before that. Soon they couldn't hear any trick or treaters outside. "Maybe we should put Harry to bed," Lily said.

Alarms went off in the back of James' mind. "No, let's just stay up a little longer together," he muttered, not knowing why he said it. Then all of a sudden, a memory hit him full force. James moaned, clutching his head. He was remembering something from a dream.

He saw Sirius, the older Sirius in a ratty prison uniform and no laughter in his eyes. "Peter Pettigrew sold Lily and James to Voldemort!" Sirius said in a raspy voice. Then it all came back to James. A sudden dread filled his stomach and moved to his heart. Peter was their Secret Keeper.

"Lily!" James said, but before he could get a word out, there was a noise outside. Lily and James froze. James pulled out his wand, but Lily couldn't find hers. She quickly scanned the room but knew it wasn't around.

Feet were running up driveway and onto the porch. The door burst open and Remus ran into the living room. James nearly dropped his wand in surprise. "Remus? What are you doing here?" he asked as Lily visibly relaxed.

Waving his hand to stop him from talking, Remus said in a rush, "Sirius told me everything and I remembered the forest and Peter's a Death Eater and he's your Secret Keeper and he's gone and told Voldemort, you have to get out now!"

"What?" Lily asked, completely puzzled, but James got the gist after he remembered Sirius from the future.

"Voldemort knows where we are, I'll explain later. Get the Floo, we're leaving now and going to Dumbledore's office whether he's there or not," James said hurriedly, thinking of the emergency exit Dumbledore set up for the Potters. James scooped Harry off the floor and passed him to Lily. Harry had been very involved in playing and started screaming when he was pulled away from his activity.

Everyone in the room halted their actions, though, when footsteps much slower than the previous ones made their way to the front door. "Hurry!" Remus hissed, throwing Floo powder into the fire and shoving Lily and Harry in.

Lily looked as if she didn't want to leave her husband behind; she glanced at the impending footsteps and then at James, pleading with her eyes. Giving a soft smile, James said, "Go, I'm right after you." Lily gulped and nodded firmly, before saying, "Dumbledore's Office!" clearly.

Immediately, James grabbed quite a large handful of Floo powder and threw it into the fire. There was a bitter laugh outside the door, a laugh belonging to Voldemort. Remus looked at James and said hurriedly, "It's not going to be comfortable but we have to Floo together to get out." Both men leapt into the fireplace and gripped each other tight as the unanimously said, "Dumbledore's office!" In a flash of green they were gone at the exact moment Voldemort muttered, "Reducto!" to blast the door to the home open.

James and Remus toppled out of the fireplace in heap, landing rather painfully into a dark empty office. "Get out of the way!" Lily said sternly as she stepped over them, picking up James' dropped wand off the ground and sealing the fireplace shut so no one could come through.

Once that was done Lily shakily collapsed into a nearby armchair with a fussy Harry still in her arms. "That was so close, so close…" she kept muttering to herself as Remus and James composed themselves. "This could've been our night; we could've all died. Oh James, we would have died tonight." Lily said teary eyed, cradling Harry close and looking like she was about to faint from shock.

"She needs rest, if anything else frightens her she's going to be out like a light," James muttered, kneeling next to the armchair she was sitting in and taking her hand.

It was at the precise moment McGonagall threw the doors to the office open, clad in a dressing gown with her hair down in waves, and yelled, "WHAT is the meaning of this!" Lily shrieked from the sudden noise and passed out cold, James groaning and taking a wailing Harry from his mother's arms.

Remus hurried to McGonagall ushering her to a chair, and saying, "We have many mixed stories, I think we all need to talk about what happened tonight."

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Voldemort stepped into the threshold of the house, surveying it with distaste. He didn't like the feeling of it; it was something very foreign and it didn't settle well with him. "Mr. and Mrs. Potter?" Voldemort called with a sneer. "This is no time for hide and seek." All was quiet except for the clock ticking on the wall and the fire in the fireplace crackling merrily.

Frowning, Voldemort stepped outside and waved his wand, causing the walls to appear invisible so he could search the house effectively. But it was still; there was not one living soul inside of it. Voldemort grit his teeth, Wormtail had told him wrong, and it turned out he was still loyal to his friends. This could all be a trap for me, Voldemort thought to himself.

The Dark Lord heard a faint pop behind him and someone muttering, "Damn it, this is not good." He whirled around, seeing one of James Potter's sidekicks, Sirius Black, standing in the yard of the home.

Former Tom Riddle scoffed and held his wand aloft, saying dangerously, "Where have they gone? Where are the Potters?"

Sirius looked confused for a moment then mustered up enough Gryffindor courage to smile and casually walk back a few steps. "Sorry, no time to chat. Let's do have lunch sometime." And before Voldemort could respond Sirius Disapparated from the site.

After unsteadily landing in Hogsmeade, Sirius took off in a full run up the path to Hogwarts, through the grand gates and up to the castle entrance. He didn't pause until he guessed a password to the entrance of Dumbledore's office, which turned out to be a pretty lucky guess, and then took the steps three at a time, bursting into the room.

Remus and James had just finished telling McGonagall what happened and had even woken up Lily so she could fully understand everything. Sirius entered dramatically and told them in a rush that Peter had not been at the muggle motel and Voldemort was at Godric's Hollow.

"Do you think he knows where we went?" Lily asked Sirius.

Shaking his head, Sirius replied, "It didn't seem like it. Even if he did, there isn't much he could do about it, Voldemort can't get into Hogwarts."

"We need to talk to Dumbledore, some witch told us he wasn't coming back until tomorrow," James told McGonagall.

Nodding, McGonagall replied, "He is away and expected back tomorrow, although I don't know where he is. You'll have to stay the night here, since it isn't safe anywhere else. I'll preparing sleeping arrangements for you."

Grinning slightly, Remus said, "That won't be necessary, we know a place in the castle we can stay." McGonagall looked at him questionably, as did the rest of the group. "No worries, Prof—er—Minerva. It's nothing that will disturb the normal schedule of the school. We don't want to inconvenience you." Almost exasperatedly, McGonagall shrugged her shoulders and let them be.

"What on earth are you talking about, Remus?" Lily asked.

"We can stay in the Marauder Headquarters, of course," Remus said obviously.

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Author Notes: Yes, I finally wrote it. Tell me how you like it so far and please tell me everything you hated. I'm guessing there will be two more chapters in this story, although I have an idea for the next one, I have no clue how I will end it. I have a very sad ending in mind that I don't really want to use, so if anyone has any suggestions on how to end it, that would be spectacular.

R/R!