Chapter 9
Sirius did not go straight to Godric's Hollow. He knew that Remus was having a wolf attack and Apparated on his friend's street. Remus lived, like most wizards today, in a middleclass muggle neighborhood. After other brief summer visits Sirius found his friend's house effortlessly. It was a modest little one floor house that he secretly adored with its flowers and crisply cut lawn. Remus claimed to have lived near a wood once, but his family had moved for obvious reasons.
Sirius went around the back of the house, his trunk floating along. He would not, like anyone else, knock on the door or greet Remus's parents and non-magic sister, who he knew was visiting in the house with her three children because a car was parked outside. Instead, he went around to the large backyard where he knew there was a well-boarded shed and sure enough, could hear his friend's snarls and shrieks from within. It was no wonder that the neighbors did not call their muggle police, because a charm had been put on the walls of the shack. Sirius was hearing the noise now only because he had morphed into a dog. Leaving his trunk, he crept toward the tightly nailed shack and began to dig . . .
Early the next morning, a shapely woman in an apron with graying auburn hair approached the shack with a hammer raised high and began to pry at its nails. Soon, the door fell away, its nails shining in the grass, and the sun streamed in on the most peaceful sight:
A teenage boy and a large, black dog lie curled in the hay, sleeping serenely. The boy was lying on his side, but rested one hand on the dog's head, and the dog, its chin relaxed on its folded paws, snored on.
The woman smiled and placed her hands on her hips.
"Sirius!" she scolded as the dog's eyes came open.
Remus's mother was the only person besides the Marauders, Dumbledore, and Lily Evans who knew that Sirius was an Animagi. There was one summer night when Sirius had run away from home and she had seen him slip into the shadows of her yard as a teenage boy only to reemerge seconds later as a dog. Sirius had later confessed, and Remus's mother had vowed to take his secret to the grave.
If Sirius's visits made her son happy then it was alright with her. She made sure, however, to scold them constantly about being careful. So far, they had not failed her.
In an instant, Sirius was the roguishly handsome teenage boy again and he sat up as he grinned at Mrs. Lupin.
"Pancakes?" he asked, making Remus chuckle.
"Pancakes," Mrs. Lupin confirmed cheerfully.
At Godric's Hollow, pancakes were not the only things on the menu. Even on her sickbed, James's mother was an excellent cook. Soon, the large dinning room table was filled with dozens of plates, and Lily was so stuffed, she politely refused thirds again and again as she watched James gorge himself with a mixture of fascination and disgust. She wondered secretly whether the Potters owned house elves.
"Relax, Mum, please!" James cried with exasperation. He caught the arm of his mother's wheelchair as she was hurrying past with yet another tray of food. "It's just the three of us, not a hungry mob!"
Mrs. Potter laughed. She had a lovely heart-shaped face and round, almond eyes mirrored in her son's face. "You can never have too much food prepared," she said cheerfully.
Lily found herself secretly disagreeing. She'd had three plates and each time she'd only eaten a fourth of her meal before another plate was pushed on her. There was simply too much food! Were they expecting Peter, Remus, and Sirius already? She gave James an inquisitive look.
"One day, young lady, I'll leave my recipes to you," Mrs. Potter was saying to Lily. She reached up as she rolled over and squeezed Lily's arm.
Lily was a little embarrassed. Mrs. Potter talked as if she and James were getting married the following Monday. She couldn't blame the old woman, who was getting along in years and probably just wanted to live to see her son's wedding.
"Mum," James said wearily, "please relax?" He got up and wheeled his mother against the table, who scoffed at him but obliged.
Remus and Sirius arrived together. James seemed particularly eager to talk to Sirius about something, which Remus seemed to accept naturally. After all, Sirius was James's best friend. They had even been friends together before they were friends with him, and so Remus was left alone with Lily while James took Sirius out round the property to the shed.
"What do you suppose he's up to?" Lily said curiously, watching her boyfriend and his best friend disappear into the gloom of the shed across the vast lawn. "I don't think it has anything to do with quidditch, for once."
Remus shrugged. Alone in Lily's presence, he found himself unable to care. He gestured to Lily and said, "Come on, I'll show you around."
Godric's Hollow was immense in its number of rooms. It was the typical old pureblood mansion. If it had been James or Sirius showing her about, Lily knew they would have done it with an uninterested air, but Remus, who had a certain reverence for large old houses; smiled at this relic here, complemented this picture there. They came to something interesting and Lily was excited at once.
Godric's Hollow had a pool! James hadn't told her there was a pool! Remus laughed and related to her all the fun times they'd had there. They'd once turned Wormtail into a beach ball and tossed him around. But those were the old reckless days, when James had been so arrogant, he didn't care about performing magic underage and Sirius had been right along with him.
"Bet you didn't join in," Lily said wisely.
They had taken off their socks and were sitting on the edge of the pool with their feet in the water. Remus was feeling very uncomfortable. Lily suddenly looked prettier to him than ever: her smile, her eyes, the way she nudged him with her shoulder. It seemed impossible to him that he had dated her only the year before and that they had broken up.
"No, no, I was never much for breaking rules . . ."
"Do you remember . . ." said Lily slowly, "the time you thought you'd never fall in love? Remember that?"
"Yeah . . . yeah . . . I thought no one could ever love me because I'm, well --"
"Wolfishly impaired?"
Remus laughed, "Yeah . . ."
He'd never heard it put that way before and was reminded suddenly of all James's different code names for his condition. James! James would never like the look of it if he was discovered sitting here with Lily, talking so intimately, and while Lily was very innocent in her reminisces, completely unaware of her charms, he knew what James would make of it if he saw. But hadn't James left them alone together in the first place?
Lily was staring dreamily at the large glass doors opposite. Through them one could see the vast garden with its stone walls and curling vine and beyond the towering evergreens where the garden opened unto a fountain.
"Lily, I think we should, um --"
"Remus, do you think you'll ever fall in love?"
How could he answer that? He had already fallen in love with someone. He was looking right at her! He only managed to stammer and wipe at his eyes repeatedly. If he didn't get away from Lily, he'd go mad and kiss her!
Lily frowned, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Remus lied. "Go on."
"Well, do you?"
"Do I what?"
"Ever think you'll fall in love!"
Remus sighed. He wanted to suggest a game of chess or Exploding Snap, anything that would take his mind off of what he'd lost. He was happy for James, and he wanted to keep that feeling. He didn't want another fight, he didn't want --
"Well, I know you will. You're very special, Remus," Lily continued and there was an uncomfortable pause. She looked at Remus slyly, "Can you keep a secret, Remus?"
Remus nodded miserably. He knew already what she'd say, even before she leaned toward him and made his heart beat faster with the flowery scent of her hair.
"I'm in love with James!" she squeaked. She smiled at him happily, not seeing his miserable expression, only her feelings. "I never thought it could happen! But . . ." She closed her eyes.
Out of nerves and his own misery, Remus stood up and announced that he didn't feel well and that he should go lie down, but he stood up too quickly, and as Lily rose with him, he lost balance and they caught each other by the arms. They could have saved themselves from falling into the pool entirely, but a moment later, there was a crash, and a flying motorcycle burst through the tall glass doors and forced them to topple, screaming, into the pool in each others' arms. The motorcycle soared on, leaving a trail of tinkling glass and exhaust smoke in its wake. Remus and Lily emerged, shivering in each others' arms and spitting water.
"Sorry!" cried Sirius, jogging up to the pool. "Forgot to yell fore!"
James was glowering beside Sirius in an instant.
"Don't start acting like a jealous moron, you're only making a fool of yourself!" Lily snapped ten minutes later as she marched rapidly through the maze of the garden.
"You're not his girlfriend anymore!" James roared, following.
Lily cast him a contemptuous look, "I'm well aware of who -- and what -- I'm dating!"
"What's that supposed to mean!"
Lily stopped and whirled around so suddenly, James nearly trod on her feet.
"It means you're a jealous creep!"
"I'm not jealous -- I'm scared!"
Lily lifted an eyebrow.
James sighed, "It's because . . ." His face twisted up as if it pained him to admit it, "I love you, Lil."
Lily smiled.
"So what really happened?" Sirius asked.
He and Remus were standing on the lawn where they'd finally reigned in the motorcycle, which seemed to have a mind of its own. At present it was tethered to one of the largest trees on the property and purring quite dismally.
Remus sighed as Sirius stroked the motorcycle, which shivered under his hand like a delighted kitten. "You first."
"Remember that muggle shop James and I broke into in second year?" said Sirius proudly
Remus rolled his eyes, remembering the stupid dare with Wormtail. They'd broken into the muggle shop during the summer only because Wormtail had claimed muggles had alarm systems that were better than magic. James and Sirius had been horrified and had set out to prove Wormtail wrong.
"How could I forget," Remus answered, smiling.
"We took some parts and we've been working on this ever since," Sirius patted the purring motorcycle. "We finally got the flying charm right."
"Muggle mechanics, the pair of you," muttered Remus fondly.
Sirius folded his arms, "So what really happened, Moony? I know Prongs is just being stupid, but you guys looked awful comfortable before the motorcycle busted you."
Remus squinted, "What?"
"James and I saw you," Sirius said, tossing his hands. "That's why the bike went wild. We were riving it up, rolling it across the lawn, and we saw the two of you standing and holding each other. James got angry, let go of the bike, and . . ." He made a flying motion with his hand.
"And we were knocked screaming into the water," Remus finished. "But we weren't doing anything!" he burst, suddenly angry. "This whole thing is ridiculous! I mean, why would Lily want me when she could have . . ." He gestured lamely in the direction of the garden were James and Lily were sure to be snogging.
"Don't sell yourself short, Moony. We've said again and again that you could date anyone you wanted. How else could you have gotten Lily?"
They smiled at each other.
"Thanks, Padfoot."
"No problem. Like I said before, you're prince will come -- princess! I meant princess!" Sirius cried as Remus whipped out his wand, and the two of them dodged across the lawn, pelting charms and silly hexes at each other.
Lunch rolled around, and brought not only sandwiches and a fidgeting Peter, but Dumbledore as well. This was a great surprise, seeing as Dumbledore was eternally a very busy man. He dropped in in his velvet traveling cloak, his pointed wizard's hat swept from his head the moment he encountered Mrs. Potter.
"Dumbledore, you old charmer," Mrs. Potter was saying slyly. "See?" she hissed at James, "I told you that one can never prepare enough food!" She squinted at Dumbledore as if she was trying to look at the sun, a pleasant smile making her face radiate, "Please, my dear, come in! Come in! Oh, Dumbledore, you get younger everyday!"
Dumbledore smiled, amused at the flattery and the teenagers' apparent shock.
"Amy, Amy, you flatter me," Dumbledore said, and tickled Mrs. Potter's hand with his mustache as he kissed it.
Lunch was a very pleasant affair with Dumbledore. The headmaster took great joy in delighting his hostess with traveling stories and old reminisces of James and his friends in school. Yet he never once alluded to the real reason of his visit, merely convincing Mrs. Potter that he had dropped in on his way to visit a friend. The Marauders, however, knew that Dumbledore's visit was no pleasure trip.
Dumbledore needed an excuse to speak with the Marauders alone, and so he quite craftily suggested in an offhand way to Lily that she should take specific interest in Mrs. Potter's apple pie. Of course, Lily picked up on the hint at once and soon she and Mrs. Potter were chatting away as Dumbledore and the Marauders slipped out.
"Professor?" asked James, jogging to keep up with Dumbledore's long strides.
The old wizard seemed particularly fixated on speaking to the Marauders as far away from the house as possible. He led them into the maze of the garden where he stopped so suddenly near the fountain, Sirius almost walked into him.
The Marauders stared incredulously as Dumbledore merely leaned forward and dipped his face in the water. "Ahh," he said, straightening up and dabbing his face with a kerchief. "Forgive me, the days get so hot."
The Marauders exchanged repressed smiles.
"Ah, my Marauders!" cried Dumbledore, as if he indeed had had a look at the map and knew his ex-students' secret names for themselves. "I can not tell you how very proud I am that you have expressed an interest in joining the Order of Phoenix! It is a dangerous path indeed, full of uncertainty and as you can well imagine, extreme risk. Given the fact that each of you are now of age, I can not stop you from joining. However, it would be irresponsible for me to let you join without the reminder -- becoming a member of the Order can mean grave danger, much more than you are in now. For being in the Order almost exclusively puts you on Voldemort's list."
Peter gave an involuntary squeak.
"Now," said Dumbledore, drawing himself up. "With that said, I must have legitimate reasons from each of you for joining." He smiled at James over his half-moon spectacles.
"I want to help stop Voldemort," James began firmly. "I want to help make it so that people no longer have to live in fear. I want to feel safe again -- and I want that for everyone else!"
"Hear, hear!" grinned Sirius, thumping James' back. "I have to be honest, Headmaster, I don't give a flying fizzbee what happens to my Mum and Dad. I know I sound -- wrong -- but it's how I feel. It's people like my little brother I care about. And James and Remus and even Peter (Here he ruffled Peter's mousy hair very hard, who scowled and dragged himself away). I want to fight to make things safe for my friends too!"
Remus cleared his throat with the carefully thoughtful expression his friends had grown to love, "I too want to put an end to the terror. But I would also like to bring some werewolves to the good side. I know there are laws passed against werewolves everyday -- but I want them to know that joining Voldemort is not the way to stop them!"
Everyone looked at Wormtail, who looked as sickly as if he'd just swallowed an egg. He gulped a few moments as if he couldn't quite get the words out of his mouth. What was he going to say? Once he'd gone home, he'd received orders directly from Voldemort to join the Order as a spy, and going up to his room, he'd found the Dark Mark hovering over his desk. Lying on the desk had been a message. He would receive the Dark Mark at the end of the summer when cold weather settled in and he could hide it easier. He shivered. A Death Eater had been in his house, and his mother had never known.
Sirius frowned with concern and thumped Peter on the back, "Alright, Peter?"
Dumbledore was watching Peter with a slightly suspicious frown. He knows! He knows! Quick! thought Wormtail.
"I want to join the Order," began Peter, "for my mum --"
"Should've known," muttered Sirius, who was elbowed by James.
"She worries about me so much I think it'll kill her. I don't want her to worry anymore . . ."
Dumbledore appeared satisfied and Peter sighed privately with relief.
"Very good, very good," Dumbledore said, smiling. "It seems my Marauders are not half off the mark! I will later notify the four of you of the next meeting -- and James --" he looked at James down his crooked nose, "I want you to be prepared. We've already got a special task for you at hand and . . . give my regards to your mother." He glanced at his watch. "I'm afraid I'm a bit late for an appointment. Fare well." He smiled at them and marched across the lawn to the road, where he stopped, and was gone with a whirl of his cloak.
