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Full Summary- What if things had went a little differently when Dumbledore approached the Potters about the Secret Keeper issue? What if Sirius hadn't suggested Peter become secret keeper? After fifteen long years of being hidden on a secluded island tucked away from the wizarding world and people in general, Dumbledore feels it's time for the Potter's and the Longbottoms to make a return to the wizarding world and Hogwarts and give old Voldie what he's been looking for...
Professor Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts witchcraft and wizardry strolled through Hogsmeade at a leisurely pace on a breezy October night. He was on Hogwarts business but he found this no reason to not enjoy the cozy village of Hogsmeade to its full extent. It had been a while since he had time to take a night stroll like this. With the start of a fresh semester at Hogwarts and all of the Order meetings due to the rise of a Dark Lord that had been wreaking havoc in muggle cities and wizard homes alike Albus barely had time to himself.
After a stop at Honeydukes, the local sweet shop, to pick up an extra pack of lemon drops for those late night cravings Albus Dumbledore made his way through the windy village and stopped in front of The Hogshead. The Hogshead was not what most people would call a four star hotel/bar but its cheap prices and plentiful alcohol drew in some of the strangest and cheapest crowds. Albus stepped from under the teetering Hogshead sign with its chipping paint which was gathering on his velvet cloak. Before entering he fingered a small piece of parchment in his withered hands. It was a list of potential Divination Professors. Ever since Professor Frederick Levy had passed in late May the position for Divination instructor had been vacant. Though Levy wasn't an extraordinary professor in any way the position had proved hard to fill.
Laura Crockford-Drunkard
Farley McKinnon-just plain...odd
Liam Walker-EXTREEMLY prejudice against muggle borns
Dan Freeman-Convicted for malpractice on a goat
Sybil Trelwany- Fraud; pending
Dumbledore's list read. He crossed his fingers in hope that the fifth time would be a charm. He had an unexplainable faith in Sybil Trelwaney and her so-called inner eye. This was probably because a very distant relative of hers had been a renowned seer worldwide. This would be Dumbledore's second attempt to get in contact with Trelawney. Her first interview had been scheduled for June but she had to cancel last minute for the sake of resting her 'inner eye'.
Albus stepped in to the dusty smoke filled pub and searched around the tables for a sign of Trelwaney. She had promised to meet him for an interview at nine 'o' clock sharp and it was already nine fifteen. Dumbledore peered at the tables occupied by drunken wizards, surly witches, and various forms of trolls ands hags but no Trelwaney.
"Yoo hoo, Headmaster..." a wistful voice called out on his right. Albus turned around briskly to become face to face with a petite elderly woman which he assumed to be Trelawny. The woman's hair was a striking red with strands of gray hidden under a moon decorated bandana, and Dumbledore could hardly make out any other characteristics on her face mainly due to the oversized glasses perched on her pointy nose that magnified her beady eyes and gave her the look of some meek bug.
"Err...Sybil Trelwaney I presume?" Albus said extending his hand forward.
"Your hands!" Sybil exclaimed upon getting a glimpse of Dumbledore's withered hands.
"Is there something on them?" Albus questioned curiously inspecting his hand before yanking his hand and holding it up under her bottle cap spectacles.
"They tell me so much about your life! Ahhh...I feel my inner eye churning!" Trelawney said with her eyes rolling to the back of her head slightly. "Are you a Capricorn?" Trelawney asked closing her beady eyes and stroking Dumbledore's hand.
"No, actually I'm a-."
"Scorpio?"
"No-."
"Aries?"
"Actually-."
"Gemini?" Sybil asked opening one eye worryingly gazing into Dumbledore's tired and slightly amused face.
"A Leo." Dumbledore confirmed taking a seat.
"Aha! Exactly what this line indicates!" Trelawney said reclaiming his hand. "Come, let me order you a Butterbeer and tell you about your future..." Trelawney said taking a seat next to Dumbledore.
"This is going to be a long night..." Dumbledore muttered to himself.
Not so far from where Trelawney's interview was taking place a pudgy blonde man that looked to be no older than 20 or so, laid his head down sideways on the bar peering through his half empty mug of firewhisky.
"I'm Henry the eighth I am, I'm -hic- Henry the eighth -hic- I am..." He drowned on monotonously.
The surly looking barkeep glared at him as he tilted off of his chair waving his arms as conducting an orchestra, disgusted.
"Damn drunk, need to get out and make room for my paying customers..." He mumbled shifting to pick up the mug.
"Hey! -hic-" the man slurred slightly, reclaiming his mug, swishing around its contents in the process. "I am paying! Put it -hic- to the tab of Sirius -hic- Black." the man said waving off the cranky barkeep.
"You don't look like Sirius Black."
"Yeah, I do. Isn't my -hic- hair beautiful -hic-?" Peter questioned, stroking his short bristly locks affectionately.
"Pettigrew, Sirius Black came in here two nights ago and told me personally to keep his tab off limits to the likes of you!" he replied scowling at the drunken Peter Pettigrew.
"Aw Fine! Take your change -hic- you lackey!" Peter exclaimed slamming down some silver sickles.
"Humph...probably nicked 'em from somebody...no good..." the Barkeep mumbled off into a corner.
"Now, hand me a mug of your finest -hic- sherry..." Peter mumbled nearly tilting off his stool again.
"Oh no you don't, get out! You've had enough!"
"Enough? I'll tell you...do you -hic- really want me to -hic- use this overused line or do you just -hic- wanna give me the damn sherry?" Peter slurred looking at his stubby fingernails.
"...You got a point there..." he muttered setting down bottle with a loud 'clang'.
"Good, add this to the tab -hic- of Sirius Black."
"Didn't we already have this conversation?!"
About an hour later Dumbledore was still leaning back on his chair twiddling his wrinkly fingers boredly as Trelwaney rambled on and on about Saturn clashing with Mars or what not.
"...and then all Capricorns -that's your sign right? - will have their powerful rays shut off..." Sybil droned on demonstrating with her hands wildly as Dumbledore yawned.
"That will be enough Miss Trelawney, thank you for your time." Dumbledore interrupted, scratching her name frantically off the list with his eagle quill.
"But, no! Haven't I told you what a long, long life you will have? What about when you become Minister of Magic? And your twelve children!" Sybil struggled desperately to regain his attention. If she didn't get this job she'd be forced to live on the streets, or worse, the Hogshead for the rest of her life.
"Do you even believe yourself?" Dumbledore questioned half curious and half amused.
"Err...give me a m-m-m..." Trelawney trailed off as her beady eyes went dark and then slowly rolled skywards, almost to the back of her head. Her head also tilted back slightly and began to quiver.
"Miss Trelawney? Are you okay?" Dumbledore questioned silently tapping her chin. Suddenly she made a gurgling sound and a rough hoarse voice escaped out of her mouth.
"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches...born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies...-" She croaked quite fiercely.
Peter Pettigrew glanced over his shoulder terrified as he heard the name of the Dark Lord mentioned.
"Vanquish? Dark -hic- Lord?" He questioned frantically in a high pitched voice. He scrambled off of his barstool in his drunken state, clumsily knocking over his full mug of firewhiskey into the bottles of alcohol the barkeep was stacking under the bar.
"Now look at what you done!" the barkeep exclaimed, sopping up his bloodstained hand with a dirty looking rag.
"...and the Dark Lord will mark him as an equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not..." Sybil continued on in a distance.
"Get out of my bar now!" he raged on.
"I gotta -hic- hear this...-hic- I just gotta..."
"Billy Bob, take care of him!" the barkeep demanded pointing his bloody finger at Peter, motioning for his beefy nephew, Billy Bob, to throw him out.
"Err...sure thang boss." Billy Bob mumbled arising from his crouching position behind a bar to reveal his full incriminating height.
Before Peter knew what was happening Billy Bob had gripped him by his belt with his chunky fingers and had carried him halfway through the bar towards the exit.
"Wait, Ricky Ray -hic- or Bobby Bill or -hic- whatever your name is-" Peter muttered frantically trying o release himself from his grip unsuccessfully as Billy Bob swung open the back door that led to a damp alley.
"Err...get out and stay out, you drunk, unless you come back with money that is..." Billy growled as he tossed Peter out like old garbage.
he slammed the swinging door on Peter's outstretched hand, making Peter wail in pain twice as the swinging door came back and collided with his head, creating an interesting red spot on his head. Peter tried to get to his feet unsuccessfully for about five minutes before giving up and deciding to lay in two day old puke until morning. That's when he heard voices coming from the street where Dumbledore had just awarded Trelawney the position of Divination teacher. He spun his head to the right, covering his hair in somebody else's vomit to watch them leave.
"Wait till I -hic- tell Master -hic- some snot faced brat's -hic- gonna vanquish -whatever the hell that word means- him -hic-..." Peter mumbled obviously pleased with himself as a scruffy looking alley cat came and sat on his face to lick himself.
"I wonder whose kid -hic- though? Only a bit of people have defied old Moldie Voldie -kitty I made a rhyme! - thr- thw- umm... this many times." Peter said holding up three fingers to the cat which just continued on licking itself clean.
"Hmm... let's -hic- see...there's that auror guy...-hic- the fat one...and that chick he married -hic-...good cake at that wedding...she's an auror -hic- too! What a coinci...coin...surprise...I think the prefect lady that -hic- went to Hoggywarts...Lily! -hic-" Peter ranted on, oblivious to the cat which was now flexing its claws and shredding the front of his robes. "Wait! And...-hic- that friend...of mine...the one with -hic- the hair...oh they're screwed..." Peter howled with cackling laughter.
"...Which is exactly why I had to speak to you two today. "Professor Dumbledore sat in the Potter's cozy living room in Godric's Hollow almost a month later after Trelawney's prediction. By that time August was drawing to a lazy end and Voldemort had been laying suspiciously low for unknown reasons.
"I wasn't sure if I should alarm you by informing you a month ago when I first heard the prediction, but when you told me Harry was born on July 31st, I was sure of it."
The entire room was quiet for a second as Lily stared at her gurgling newborn with tears clouding her emerald eyes. James stood with his back facing them, gazing in a dreamlike trance out the window which overlooked the breezy grassy field that he and Harry had been playing in when Dumbledore approached them with his bad news, dampening their spirits. Dumbledore looked on at his former who students remained speechless, no doubt feeling the same feeling of utmost dread. Lily's mouth opened momentarily as if she were about to say something before closing it again and brushing one of Harry's wayward raven locks down with her trembling hand.
"What about Frank and Alice...and their son? Will he be forced to vanquish Voldemort too? He was born on July 31st too you know! Just because some ol' fraud says something about July thirty first-" James croaked with his haughty temper rising steadily as he whipped around and face Dumbledore with an accusing expression on his face.
"It's not Dumbledore's fault, James." Lily spoke calmly in a downtrodden way. "Voldemort hasn't marked anybody as an equal yet so we're not really sure who he's after, or even if he knows he's after anybody, right Albus?"
"Oh, he knows, I'm afraid. There seemed to have been a deatheater inside the Hogshead on that very night. The good news is that my spy has told me that he hasn't heard the complete prediction so that's good in a way...I suppose." Dumbledore finished lamely, stroking his silvery beard.
"What do we do then? We can't just stand around here while Voldemort sits around playing 'any many miny mo' until he figures out what kid to murder! We gotta get away!" James exclaimed, allowing his temper to take over once again.
"...I suggest that you three go into hiding." Dumbledore said finally. "Frank and Alice have already preformed the fidelius charm on their secret keeper and left with baby Neville."
"Fidelius Charm?" James questioned in a slightly annoyed manner. He didn't like the idea of running away and hiding like some kind of coward. It was un-Gryffindor like and went against everything he knew and stood for.
"It's a highly complicated charm that allows a person to entrust a secret keeper of-." Lily started in her encyclopedia mode before James cut her off.
"I know what it is!" James defended himself sharply with his sudden outburst making Harry start to whimper which turned into a full fledged bawl.
"Oh, James, look at what you did!" Lily exclaimed getting up and carrying the howling child to his crib upstairs.
"Well if someone cam up to me and said a psycho was out to destroy me I would cry too!" James countered, not really mad at anybody but just frustrated at the fact that his son's life was being threatened when he was barely a month old.
Dumbledore allowed James to brood over the situation until Lily returned downstairs with Harry and his favorite toy lion that his uncle Moony had bought him, Mr. Leo, in tow. They both sat down on the couch in front of Dumbledore and waited for him to continue speaking.
"Well, do you choose to go into hiding or not. Mind you. the fate of the wizarding world may depend on your decision." Dumbledore said lightly, avoiding their eyes.
"We don't really have a choice then, do we?" Lily responded since James still pouted next to her.
"Very wise choice. For the fidelius charm you will need to select a potential secret keeper. Keep in mind that your secret keeper will hold the key to your life and will be putting his in danger as well." Dumbledore told them solemnly.
"There's only one person to pick, Sirius!" James said somewhat defiantly to his previous headmaster.
"Sirius? As in Black? He couldn't keep a secret if his life depended on it and it actually does this time!" Lily protested.
"I would be glad to take the role of your secret keeper, James." Dumbledore offered.
"No! Sirius would rather die than betray us. It's him or nobody."
A few seconds of silence filled the room as everybody stared at James. Finally Lily sighed and rose from her seat.
"Where are you going?" James questioned as he followed the suit.
Lily ignored him and continued walking to the kitchen. She returned clutching a little pot in her hand and handed it to James.
"Well, you better call him then." Lily said sighing as she pointed to the fireplace.
"Gee, I wonder where Austin went. I can never see where that sneaky kid goes off too..." Sirius Black announced loudly to the empty living room. That whole Saturday morning he was involved in a session of hide and seek. He continued to stalk around the flat that he lived in with his girlfriend of six years and old Hogwarts friend, Lindsay Mathews, and their seven month old son, Austin.
"Hey Linds, have you seen Austin?" Sirius questioned in false concern, as he already knew where the child had crawled off too.
Lindsay stopped cutting cheese slices for sandwiches and looked at Sirius through her curtain of ginger colored hair with a sly grin playing on her face.
"No, Sirius, in fact I haven't..." she played along as they heard a childish coo and giggle come from their lower cabinet under the sink.
"Oh really...I wonder if he's in here!" Sirius exclaimed, throwing open the cabinet doors expecting to see Austin. But what he saw was a couple of damp dishtowels, some soap detergent, but no Austin.
"What the- ow! Dammit!" Sirius remarked as he got up from his crouching position on the floor to feel something dragging his head back by his long wispy hair.
"Oh, wow he really is good." Lindsay chuckled as she wrapped her arms around the giggling toddler and detached him from Sirius's hair forcefully.
Austin giggled even more when Sirius face him with his mouth open in bewilderment. Austin's turquoise eyes danced with laughter in a way similar to his fathers as Sirius plucked him from Lindsay's hands and twirled him around.
"You win this round, but the war isn't over!" Sirius declared in a mock angry way.
"Oh, yes it is. It's time for somebody's nap." Lindsay replied checking her watch.
"See Austin? Your mother is always trying to get me into bed, she just won't stop. But I guess that's what happens when you have unbootable ways with women." Sirius boasted playfully, flipping his long hair back out of his face as Lindsay slugged him, hard, in the gut.
"Ow!" Sirius howled clutching his stomach.
"Dabboo oww!" Austin mocked clutching his own pudgy stomach before looking back up in a fit of giggles. He seemed to laugh the most when his father was in some sort of pain. Sirius always claimed he got this trait from Lindsay.
"See what a big baby your daddy is? Looks like you're the man of the family, Doc." Lindsay cooed walking out of the kitchen with Austin reaching for Sirius while being escorted back to his room.
"Be a doll and finish the sandwiches, Siri, while I put Doc to sleep," Lindsay called back into the room. She had a habit of calling Austin Doc because she had been furious when she found out that her father had taken the liberty of naming the son of the daughter and her boyfriend he had disowned, after himself. Sirius on the other hand liked the name even though he had intentions of naming the baby Sirius Jr.
"...Ow." Sirius whimpered one last time before turning to get the bread off the top of the refrigerator.
"Make the sandwiches, Siri, take a nap, Siri..." Sirius mocked Lindsay grudgingly as he spread the mayonnaise over a slice of wheat bread. "I'm getting real sick of her pushing me aro-."
"Sirius!" a voice called from the living room urgently.
"Eep!" Sirius squealed from surprise, jumping up and dropping the bread.
"Sirius, come here!" the familiar voice called once again.
Sirius poked his head cautiously out of the door and looked around.
"Sirius, hurry up, I know your home!" the voice urged on.
"...James?" Sirius questioned walking over to the fireplace where his friend's head, rumpled hair and all, had appeared.
"No, it's your mother." James remarked sarcastically, rolling his eyes.
"Ma, you lost weight." Sirius replied jokingly.
"Really
Sirius, this is important! Can you keep a secret?"
"No." Sirius replied flatly.
"I told you..." Sirius heard Lily's voice mutter in the background.
"Padfoot, I'm serious!" James said with his eyebrows creasing.
"No, I am." Sirius said laughing once again.
"You idiot, that joke is ancient! We need you over here, now!"
"Why?" Sirius questioned suspiciously glancing over his shoulder.
"I'll tell you when you get here. Just come!" James replied. And witth that James's head turned to smoke and blew away in the green flames.
Sirius glanced around and saw Lindsay come back into the room sighing. She flopped into a nearby lounge chair.
"I just got Doc into his crib. He wouldn't let go of me! I wouldn't be suprised if he broke out of it again...Anyway who was that?" she questioned as Sirius grabbed his cloak off the hook and picked up his wand off the counter.
"I gotta go to Lily and James's for a sec...where's the floo powder?" he wondered aloud while going through the hall to retrieve the pot of dust from the bedroom.
"Is anything wrong?" Lindsay asked sitting up alarmed in her seat.
"I hope not." Sirius said as he threw floo powder into the dying orange flames which immediately sparked up again.
"I'll be back soon." he mouthed as he stepped in. "56823 Godric's Hollow!" He bellowed into the fireplace.
Lindsay watched as he twirled off unaware that Austin had attached himself to the hem of his cloak during his trip through the hallway.
"...Well," she sighed. "More sandwiches for me then."
"Hey, Lil, James, what's up?" Sirius questioned as he dusted himself off. He spotted Dumbledore standing in the corner of the room silently and turned to James giving him a questioning look.
"What's Dumbledore doing here, someone die? Or is it you know what business?" Sirius questioned in a low tone.
"Take a seat Sirius." Dumbledore offered ushering him to the plushy couch. As Sirius walked past his friends without a word a little squeal escaped from under Sirius cloak.
"What was that?" James questioned in slight alarm.
Lily bent down to where the noise was coming from and plucked the giddy child for Sirius's cloak.
"Seems we have a stowaway." Lily said with a slight grin playing on her face.
"Again, Austin?" James questioned jokingly.
"Yeah, yeah, we better get to business..." Sirius said putting Austin in the playpen where Harry was lying on his back waving Mr. Leo. Harry squealed happily upon his friend's arrival. They quickly got involved in a conversation in their own little baby language. Everybody watched them amused for a while before turning back to their agenda.
"Well Sirius, we need your help." Lily said taking a seat on the couch next to Sirius.
"With what?" Sirius questioned looking truly concerned.
"Well, long story short Voldemort's trying to kill Harry, so were going into hiding with the Longbottoms on some desolate unknown island far away from here and we need you as our secret keeper of our location." James said in one drawn breath refusing to make eye contact with Sirius.
"What?!" Sirius exclaimed clearly alarmed.
"I said...Voldemort's trying to kill-."
"James, maybe I should explain our situation..." Dumbledore said calmly, speaking for the first time since Sirius got there. He seemed to have a very worn and tired expression on his face and his normally twinkling eyes we're clouded and sad.
Dumbledore told his tale of the night in Hogsmeade again while Sirius gasped on in surprise and then sadness. Then he explained why they would be leaving so quickly. By the time he finished everyone had a melancholy look to them, even Harry and Austin, who couldn't possibly have a clue as to what was going on.
"...You guys are leaving me?" Sirius whimpered in a broken puppy like voice as he looked at his friends.
"Only until...how long do we have to be there?" Lily asked turning toward Dumbledore.
"...Until..." Dumbledore considered the question deeply as his eyebrows creased with deep thought. "Until, I feel they are ready."
Austin let out a loud wail as if he knew that meant he wouldn't be seeing Harry for a long time. Sirius couldn't bring himself to get up and comfort Austin so he just slouched in his chair and covered his eyes with his hands.
"Well, will me and Lindsay or Moony and Wormtail even be able to visit?" Sirius asked meekly to Dumbledore who simply sighed.
"I'm afraid not. Too much activity will bring attention to the secluded location I have selected."
Sirius and James both let out a strained little whimpering noise.
"As secret keeper you will have to promise never to reveal that information, Sirius. Do you choose to accept these responsibilities?" Dumbledore questioned giving a penetrating look in Sirius's eyes.
"Who wouldn't expect that though? I mean seriously, me and James are practically attached by the hip. Who wouldn't take a wild guess and just knock me off and then go after Harry?" Sirius questioned getting up out of his seat and approaching Dumbledore.
"Who do you suppose we should use then, Sirius?" Lily questioned helplessly as she rose from her seat to quiet Austin down.
"Remus?" James suggested.
"Can we really trust Remus? I mean, don't get me wrong but he's seemed a little..." Sirius made a motion with his hand. "...lately."
"Lindsay or Sam?" Lily questioned imploringly.
"It'll be the same thing like with me Lils, everyone would suspect them."
"Well, there's only a handful of people we can trust with something as precious as our lives, Sirius," James replied rolling his eyes skyward.
What about Peter-."
"No." Lily said firmly. "No offense to your little friend but I rather trust Remus than him."
"That makes two of us..." James said crossing his arms defiantly.
"Well you need someone who you can keep an eye on; you know to make sure Voldemort won't get to them." Dumbledore stated, stroking his chin in deep thought.
"Someone who you know won't talk." Sirius said quietly.
"Ewwwie Gaboo..." Harry screeched as Austin grabbed his nose.
"That too..."
Everybody thought deeply in the living room for several moments. Sirius continued to stare at the playpen as if he was expecting the answer to make it known. Suddenly, it did. Harry screeched again when Austin stole Mr. Leo and tottered to the other side of the playpen.
"I got it." Sirius said snapping.
"Really? Who?" James said with his head snapping up from his hand rest.
"This may sound crazy but-"
"What don't you say that sounds crazy?" Lily questioned with a grin spreading on his face.
"I think Harry would be the perfect secret keeper!"
"What?" James and Lily chorused in unison.
"Hmm..."Dumbledore replied stroking his beard again, signifying that he was in deep thought. "That is pretty clever...Harry cannot speak so there would be no danger of him telling of your location, and if he could why would he, his welfare is on the line too...you two will always be around to keep an eye on him to make sure no danger darkens his path...very clever indeed Sirius."
"Exactly!" Sirius cried jumping up.
James considered it for a moment and turned to his wife.
"Well, what do you think, Lils?" he questioned.
She hesitated before answering, taking Harry into her arms and squeezing him gently.
"...So, when do we leave?"
AN- That was the prologue...Maybe if I'm lucky people won't ignore this fic too...Ciao people, remember that good ol' review button...