Chapter 10

Harry was dumbstruck. From what he had heard, Lord Voldemort was the evilest wizard Britain—the world—had ever known. How could his father, a wizard who chased after Harry while on a toy broomstick, have defeated the evilest wizard on the face of the earth?

James, reading the expression on Harry's face, started into the quick version of the story: 15 years ago, Lord Voldemort was coming to power and gaining followers by intimidation or recruitment. He heard of a prophecy that a boy born at the end of July would challenge his power. To combat this, he ordered his lieutenant to track and dispatch the Longbottom's, whose son was born at the end of July, and he would dispatch the Potter's.

"When Voldemort arrived that Halloween evening, I knew Pettigrew had sold us out. I sent Sirius an owl telling him what happened and then told your mother to call Dumbledore while I did what I could. Believe it or not—" he chuckled— "I him off long enough by turning into a stag. That took him by surprise just enough to wound his wand arm until Dumbledore could show up and help me defeat him there. For the next few years, we traveled around the world, finding and destroying the Horcruxes—"

"Horcruxes?" Harry interrupted, before being shushed by Lily.

"Yes, Horcruxes. Lord Voldemort split his soul into 7 pieces in an attempt at immortality. It took a few years, but we were able to destroy all his Horcruxes and finally kill Lord Voldemort. How we did—" he included, seeing Harry's mouth start to open— "is a story for a later time."

"Okay," Harry responded, slightly dejected, as Sirius stormed in, Remus right at his heels.

"You shouldn't have held me back!" he exploded. "The—" Sirius called Lucius a name that made the other three, even James, take a step back— "deserved it!"

"Deserved it or not, that was neither the time nor the place," Remus immediately countered. "I know how hot-tempered you are, and if you had followed through, the same that happened with Pettigrew could have happened then!"

"Wait a minute—" Harry jumped in. "I keep hearing this name Pettigrew. Who is he?"

Sirius opened his mouth, but after glares from Lily and Remus, he kept his mouth shut. Remus began: "Peter Pettigrew was one of our—well, we thought him a friend—at school. He was intimidated by a lot, so Lord Voldemort was no exception. So when your mum and dad learned Voldemort was after them, they performed a charm to hide them from him. Peter was chosen to hide the secret, but he gave it up not three days later. When Sirius confronted him, having received news from James, Peter tried playing innocent, but then blew up the street and almost disappeared. Sirius caught him, however, and held him until the Ministry arrived. He's currently sitting in Azkaban."