Welcome back! I am quite thankful to anyone who has read the first chapter and even more thankful to anyone who decided to continue here. It means a lot. But I wont take up any more of your time with this author's note! Continue on to the story! Enjoy!
Chapter 2
Flashback:
" 'Ello James, Lily." Sirius said as he entered the cluttered office. "Good to see you again."
"Hello, Sirius." Lily said, Harry against her shoulder. James nodded and gave a salute.
Sirius pulled his chair back from the large desk so that he could put he could put his feet up. He leaned back, enjoying himself. He didn't need to look to know Lily was giving him a disapproving look as she held little Harry. Out of the corner of his eye Sirius saw James glancing back and forth from his wife to his best friend, as though unsure if he wanted to join Sirius and put up his legs too. Sirius wanted to tell James that it would be ok to be stupid for a while, but he knew it was a lie. Lily would kill them both if they kept setting bad examples for Harry.
So they waited, and they kept waiting. Sirius checked his watch. Barely a minute had passed, but it felt like twenty. Damn.
Dumbledore had invited the three of them to his office on this cold, dark day. All he had said was that he needed to tell them something very important. But if it was so important, where was he? As much as Sirius loved being back at Hogwarts, and as cool as Dumbledore's office happened to be, with its plethora of contraptions and strange objects, he had places he needed to be, people he could help right now. Voldemort was still quite at large, and he was only getting stronger. If it had been anyone other than Dumbledore, and if it had concerned anyone other than James and his family, Sirius might not have come. But it did, and so he had come. Who knew? Maybe this really was as important as Dumbledore had said it was.
Sirius's head turned when Harry made a small gurgling noise. He was reaching in Sirius's direction. Sirius smiled at the young child.
"May I?" He asked Lily. She sighed and handed Harry over.
Sirius gladly took the child. It had been over a month since he had last seen his godson, and had missed the kid far more than he would like to admit. The kid had quite the eager smile and was always wanting to play. He was a very happy child, and looked so much like James. Except for the eyes. He had his mother's eyes.
Harry pulled at Sirius's nose, a mischievous grin on his tiny face. He laughed as Sirius made a very exaggerated face of pain. Sirius laughed too. James chuckled, watching. Lily watched warily, ever protective of her son. Sirius knew that it wasn't that she didn't trust him, just that she loved Harry too much to let anything happen to him.
Sirius put his hands over his face. Harry, squealing, did the same. Sirius smiled as Harry kept peering through his fingers to see if Sirius had appeared again. Peek-a-boo was one of Harry's favorite games. Sirius suddenly pulled his hands away from his face, saying, "Peek-a-boo!" Harry laughed hysterically, throwing his hands into the air.
"A nice game of Peek-a-boo, I see?" A voice said quietly.
Sirius turned his head to see Dumbledore standing in the entrance of his office. The old professor chuckled. "That was always a favorite of mine. A most entertaining game." He walked to his chair and sat down. "I see you all were able to attend. I am most glad."
"It's good to see you too, Professor." Lily said.
"I am sorry I could not tell you earlier what I wish to tell you now." Dumbledore said softly, adjusting his half-moon spectacles. "It is very private information, information that can be a danger to many if heard by the wrong ears. I couldn't risk telling you before, but now we are quite safe."
"Then what is it?" James asked, leaning forward in his chair. "What did you want to tell us?"
Dumbledore cleared his throat. "Are you familiar with the art of Divination?"
Sirius scoffed. "I'm familiar with how bloody useless it is."
Dumbledore nodded. "Quite right. As unpredictable and... unclear as it is, Divination is, as you say, useless in most regards. Yet, there are some prophecies that turn out to be quite true. One of these prophecies I have heard myself not so long ago. This prophecy concerned the Dark Lord himself, and it also concerned... Harry."
"What?" Lily and James shouted at the same time. Lily quickly took her baby back from Sirius, and held him tightly.
"What do you mean?" Sirius asked.
"To put it more accurately, Harry is one of two boys that Voldemort is very interested in. See, Harry has the chance to be the one to put an end to Lord Voldemort. But unfortunately the Dark Lord also knows this, and will try to kill Harry before that can happen."
"So Lord Voldemort... is after... my son." James said, his face turning ghostly white. He was clenching the arms of his chair so hard the blood was disappearing from his knuckles.
"Indeed, he is quite determined to find you and your family." Dumbledore said. "I doubt that it would take him long, with his skills."
"He can't touch them!" Sirius said heatedly. "I won't let him get close."
"I have no doubts that you would do anything to stop him. But you are no match for Lord Voldemort, I'm afraid."
"Then what do we do?" Lily asked softly. Her eyes didn't leave her son's smiling face.
"I have a plan." Dumbledore assured her. "There is a spell, a very powerful spell called the Fidelius charm that can help you."
"What is it?" James asked. His eyes were on the old professor with a single-minded focus. Sirius had no doubts he would do whatever it took to protect his family.
"The Fidelius charm is a powerful spell designed to protect secrets. The secret information, which in this case will be the location of your home, can only be divulged by one or more people that are chosen as your Secret Keeper. Only that person can reveal the secret. Even if someone else were to know the secret they would be unable to tell it. Only the Secret Keeper may reveal the secret. Meanwhile Voldemort and anyone else who would want to find you cannot. They can walk onto your property and never know you are there, comb through every inch of Godric's Hollow and never find you."
"So we will be hiding in our house until Voldemort is defeated?" James asked, not liking the idea. "I am sorry, Dumbledore, but I am not some coward to hide in my sitting room while others lay down their lives-"
"So you plan to abandon your son and rejoin the fighting?" Dumbledore asked calmly, cutting James off. "I could care for him if that is indeed your wish."
"No!" James shouted. "That's not what I want! I don't want to leave Harry, but I can't just hide behind the rest of the Order!"
"James," Dumbledore said softly, "The bravest thing you can do right now is to protect your son. Remember what I said, he could be the one to bring about Lord Voldemort's downfall. And he needs you. He needs you to be there, to be his father. Only you can do that, not I, and not the rest of the Order. You will be of far more help with your family, where you are needed."
"Fine." James said, adjusting his glasses.
"Then if we are all in agreement, we must decide who is to become your Secret Keeper."
"So we can just choose anyone?" Lily asked.
"Yes." Dumbledore answered. "You can even choose multiple people, although that would be ill advised. The more people that can tell a secret, the more likely it is to be told."
"Who should we choose?" Lily asked.
"Choose whoever you trust with this information." Dumbledore said slowly. "You may choose myself, I promise that I would never divulge your secret. Or you may choose from among your friends."
"Is that why you invited me?" Sirius asked his old teacher.
"Exactly, Mr. Black." Dumbledore said, a twinkle in his eye. "As sharp as ever, I see."
"I would be fine with Sirius as our Secret Keeper." James said to his wife. "What do you think?"
Lily looked at Sirius and said nothing. Sirius got chills, as his best friend's wife stared daggers into his soul. This was it, the make or break moment. She either trusted him or she didn't.
"I trust him." She said simply.
Sirius let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. "Thank you." He said to Lily. "It means more than you know that you trust me." He meant it. He was truly humbled that they would entrust him with this.
"Do you understand what this means for you?" Dumbledore asked him. "You are directly responsible over whether James, Lily, and young Harry are safe. You are their best protection against Lord Voldemort. And he will do his best to find you, so he can get to them. Do you understand?"
"Yes." Sirius said. He knew this would be dangerous, and it could cost him his life. But never, NEVER would he let them down. The secret would die with him before he ever told Lord Voldemort.
"Then are you ready to perform the spell?" Dumbledore asked all of them.
"Right now?" James asked, surprised. "I guess." Lily nodded her agreement, as did Sirius.
"Then let us begin." Dumbledore said, standing up.
"It is really quite simple." Dumbledore said, walking over to Sirius. "I simply need to say the spell over Mr. Black, then one of you must say the secret that he must protect. Do you understand?"
Lily and James both nodded. Dumbledore drew a deep breath, then drew his wand. He waved it over Sirius and-
"Wait!" Lily shouted.
All eyes turned to her, even Harry's.
"Why can't the Secret Keeper be one of us?" She asked. "If we aren't going to leave anyway, our secret would be safe."
"That is true." Dumbledore said softly.
"No." James said quietly. Now all eyes turned to him.
"We already agreed that it would be Sirius." He said. "I trust him more than I trust myself."
"Are you sure?" Lily asked uneasily.
"Without a doubt." James answered curtly. "I wouldn't have it any other way."
"Then Sirius shall be the Keeper?" Dumbledore asked.
James nodded.
Dumbledore again raised his wand and opened his mouth to speak the spell. "Fidel-"
"PROFESSOR!" Came a shout from the door. McGonagall stood in the entrance to Dumbledore's office. She was slightly out of breath. It seemed that she had been in a hurry to get here. She noticed that she was interrupting something. "There has been an emergency." She said, glancing at Dumbledore's guests. "The thing- what we talked about earlier. It has happened."
"Oh, dear." Dumbledore said gravely. "That is indeed an emergency." He turned to Sirius and the Potters. "I'm afraid you must continue without me. The incantation is 'Fidelio Incantatum.' After you use that on Sirius you must tell him the secret he must protect. Then your secret will be bound to his heart. Good luck." He turned and followed McGonagall out to whatever emergency needed his attention.
Sirius, James and Lily all exchanged glances. Harry cooed quietly in Lily's arms.
"Should we do it here, then?" James asked.
"It's as good here as anywhere else, I guess." Lily said.
Sirius wasn't listening however. Something was nagging at the back of his mind. Something Dumbledore had said. He will do his best to find you, so he can get to them.
James drew his wand. "Ready, Padfoot? Fidelio-"
"Wait!" Sirius said, raising his hand in a futile effort to block the spell. "Not yet."
"What's wrong?" James asked, lowering his wand.
"It's what Dumbledore said!" Sirius said, standing up and pacing. "He's right. Voldemort will find out about this. And he will know who to look for. He'll find a way to get the information somehow. How do we stop him?"
"Sirius, are you alright?" Lily asked, concerned.
"That's it!" Sirius exclaimed, smiling as bright as a Christmas tree. "I have an idea that could help you survive this!"
"What is it?" James asked, interested.
"Voldemort will come for me. That's a given. And he will find a way to get the information from me. Unless... I can't give it to him." Sirius grinned mischievously.
"What do you mean?" James asked him not quite understanding. Meanwhile Lily's mouth formed an O as she realized what Sirius had in mind.
"He cant get the secret from me if I can't give it away." Sirius explained. "You need to make someone else your Secret Keeper. Someone Voldemort would never expect. Then, when he is hunting me, your secret is still as safe as ever because he will be searching for the wrong person."
James grinned from ear to ear. "Padfoot! That's genius! By God, that's bloody genius!" They both jumped around like frantic schoolgirls.
Despite her mixed feelings, even Lily liked this plan. It was just so, so cunning, so crazy, so unbelievably stupid. So Maurader. Not even Voldemort could predict it.
"There's just one question though." James said.
"What?"
"Who do we make Secret Keeper instead? Who would Voldemort never expect us to entrust with this?"
They were both silent for a moment, then they both turned to each other and grinned.
"Peter?"
"Peter."
Flashback end
And that's it for this chapter. I would hope you guys could check out my other stories too, and the stories of my friend SoloGamer. I would appreciate that. Leave your thoughts in the reviews, and fav and follow if you liked it. Don't be afraid to be harsh with any critiques, I can take it. Thanks for reading!
