May, 1981.
"Dumbledore had suspected for some time that someone on our side had turned traitor and was passing a lot of information to You-Know-Who."
The great barn owl dived down until it was soaring low above the trees. The young green leaves nearly touched the parchment letter that was in the bird's paw, but then the animal rose again, slowly moving his wings, flying towards the small town near the edge of the forest.
It was quiet on the streets on this early Thursday morning. A few early workers stepped into their cars, on their way to another day that looked like yesterday and the day before that. None of them noticed the owl flying over, a letter with a black crest on it clenched in its paw. The crest showed a "H", surrounded by a lion, a snake, a badger and an eagle.
The owl dived down until it flew low over the gardens, to the end of a street. There it soared up again, spreading its claws. The letter flew through the air, in the direction of the door. It was aimed perfectly, and slipped almost silently in the mailbox.
The owl hooted contentedly and flew away.
~*~
Lily bowed down and picked up the paper and various letters lying on the door-mat. She absentmindedly checked them while walking back to the kitchen. The Daily Prophet, a letter from Sirius, a letter from James's parents, two bills. She stopped and frowned when she saw the parchment letter with the Hogwarts crest. The crest meant a letter from Dumbledore. Why would he be writing them?
She entered the kitchen where James was sitting, still in his pyjamas, trying to persuade little Harry to eat his porridge.
"Here's the mail," said Lily, throwing the letters on the table. "There's a letter from Dumbledore."
"Dumbledore? Why would he be writing us?" asked James, picking up the letter and opening it. His eyes quickly moved from left to right as he read Dumbledore´s curly handwriting.
"What does he write?" Lily curiously wanted to know.
"He wished to see me," answered James. "Just me."
"Fine," said Lily. "We don't want you anyway." Harry stretched out his arms and his mother picked him up. "We're going to the playground today, aren't we, Harry?"
"So I'm unwanted?" said James, a sad expression on his face.
"Highly unwanted," agreed Lily, and she stroked with her hand through his hair as a loving gesture, making it wilder than it already was.
~*~
James walked up the stone steps leading up to the large oak doors of Hogwarts castle. He pushed one of the doors open and went inside, and up the large marble staircase. Memories came back to him when he walked through the familiar corridors with their many moving paintings. Finally, he reached the door to Dumbledore´s office. He reached in his pocket, and took out the letter, in which the password was written.
"Fizzing Whizzbees."
The door opened and he got inside, up the stairs, until he reached the door. He knocked, and Dumbledore answered. James got inside.
"Goodmorning, professor." Dumbledore merely nodded as a reply. He turned away from the window, and walked over to his desk, on which a stone Pensieve was standing, its silvery content spinning. He looked more grave than usual.
"Is anything the matter?" asked James with a feeling of unease. Dumbledore sighed barely audible.
"There is no easy way to say this…" he began. James grabbed the back of a chair.
"Sir?"
"James, your parents are dead."
James' knuckles went white and his nails dug in the carved wood of the chair. He closed his eyes and swallowed heavily, his jaws pressed together. Finally, he said, with some effort: "but how? I got a letter from them this morning, saying they were all right…"
"What date was on that letter?" asked Dumbledore friendly.
"Yesterday… o God…" James collapsed on the chair, his head in his hands, tears running down his face. "Voldemort?"
Dumbledore nodded. "Yes. According to what I have heard, Voldemort attacked them yesterday evening, just after sunset. Somehow, he must've heard where they were."
"But how?" whispered James. "How? Who knew, except the members of the Order?"
"Are you sure you haven't told anyone else, perhaps even by accident?" said the old Headmaster.
"No! I'm not foolish enough to do that," replied James. "I wouldn't reveal their hidingplace, never."
"Then who did?" muttered Dumbledore, taking his seat behind his desk. "Who told Voldemort where they were?" James did not reply, and the two men sat silently for a few minutes. Finally, James broke the silence.
"So I'm the only one left?" he said.
"You and Harry, yes. You are the only Potters left," agreed Dumbledore.
"That damn prophecy," muttered James, rubbing his forehead.
"There is a more practical matter," said Dumbledore carefully. "Their funeral…"
"We have a familygrave," answered James. "They wanted to be buried there."
"I will take care of that," promised Dumbledore. "You should get home."
~*~
Lily had just arrived home with Harry when James Apparated in the backyard. She could read from his expression that there was something terribly wrong. She put Harry down and walked to her husband.
"What's the matter?" she asked. "James, what is it?"
James seemed to wake up from a deep sleep. "God, Lily, he killed them," he stammered. "Voldemort killed my parents."
Lily put her arms around him and he buried his face in her shoulder while silent tears ran down his cheeks.
~*~
"Ashes to ashes, and dust to dust."
The cheerful singing of the birds in the trees contrasted shrilly with the grave silence on the ground. only the voice of Dumbledore could be heard. Even Harry, in the arms of his mother, sensed that something serious was going on, and he was unusually quiet.
"It's unbelievable," whispered Sirius. He and Remus stood some distance away from the rather large group of people who'd come to the funeral of the elder Mr and Mrs Potter.
"Unbelievable, but all to true," said Remus.
"I always thought James' parents were going to live forever," continued Sirius. "Well, not really live forever, but, you know, that it would seem as if they'd always be there."
"And now they're dead," said Remus. Sirius nodded silently.
"I feel sorry for James," he said. "He lost both his mother and father at the same moment."
Remus looked at his other best friend. James looked tired and pale, his paleness standing out even more against his black clothes. His eyes were red, and there were bags under them, as if he hadn't slept those past nights. And, thought Remus, he probably hadn't.
"If I ever get my hands on the one who betrayed them," muttered Sirius. "I´ll kill him, I swear."
"Better do it quick then," said Remus, "before James does it."
Peter, standing not so far away from them, swallowed.
~*~
Nervous chatter filled the small chamber in Hogwarts. About a dozen or so people were assembled there, forming the Order of the Phoenix. The Order was a group of wizards fighting evil. The history of the Order dated from the founders of Hogwarts, and every time there was evil to be fought, the Order was formed again, like a phoenix being reborn from the ashes.
Sirius fiddled aimlessly with the tablecloth, waiting for Dumbledore to open the meeting. The tension among the members of the Order was great. Everybody knew of the Potters, how they were found by Voldemort, even though they'd been well hidden. There had to be a traitor in their midst. The question was, who was it?
Dumbledore finished his conversation with professor McGonagall, and he got on his feet. He cleared his throat.
"Dear assembled," he said. "I welcome you on this meeting. The date is May thirteen, 1981." An enchanted quill started skating over a piece of parchment, writing down every word Dumbledore spoke.
"Members of the Order of the Phoenix," the old Headmaster continued. "I am afraid things aren't going as we'd hoped. According to my spies, Voldemort is gaining more and more strength. There is no need to remind you of the tragic events that happened to Christopher and Jane Potter." The expression on Dumbledore´s face hardened. "There were only a few ones that knew of their hiding place. One of them must've told Voldemort."
"Albus," said Arabella Figg, an older woman Sirius didn't know very well. "You don't seriously think that one of us is passing information to You-Know-Who?"
"That is so far-fetched I would never´ve thought of it," added Remus. The other members agreed. Peter was nervously smiling and nodding. He must be double scared, thought Sirius. Peter was never very brave.
"Are you sure it is someone of us?" inquired James. He hadn't said anything until now. He was holding Harry on his lap; he and Lily rarely left the little boy alone now.
"Y-yes, can't… can't it be someone else?" stuttered Peter. The corners of his mouth twitched nervously.
"There could be another," said Dumbledore, absentmindedly pulling his long grey beard as he was lost in thought. "But I doubt that he…"
"I don't want to be rude," interrupted Alastor Moody, a famous Auror and a close friend of Dumbledore, "but I actually see no use in guessing who might have betrayed them. I think, in my very personal opinion, that we should concentrate on how to protect the people we have left."
The members of the Order looked at each other. He did have a point.
"Okay then," said Dumbledore finally. "Here's what we can do…"