A/N: Chapter 2! Oooohh this is getting interesting XD Be on the look out for plot points!
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James stared for a moment. "An...orphen? But that means..."
"Yes...you and Lily are dead. Voldemort killed you both when Harry was a baby."
"No...that's...how?!" James looked dismayed.
"It's...a very long story." Sirius hung his head.
"Well we have a long time. Tell it. I need to know." Sirius looked up at his two friends and it suddenly struck them how old and worn he looked. His once handsome face seemed to have been hollowed out and it now held a desperate, sad and hopeless look that they had never seen before. Their Sirius had never worn that expression and they wondered what had caused such a change.
"It had all started when we found out that Voldemort was after you, Lily and Harry. We...you and I...decided together that I was to be your secret keeper because I would never ever betray you. I would die before that. But soon after, we discovered that He was after me now. I told you that it didn't matter, but Peter..." Sirius glanced at Peter with an indescribable look, "Peter suggested that it should be changed to him. No, not suggested, insisted. Said that it would be the perfect ploy, that Voldemort would never think that you would use someone as...worthless as him." Sirius spat the last part out. Peter visibly flinched. "I said that it was fine as it was, but you relented. Said that it was a good idea. So it happened and Peter went into hiding and not a soul was told. That was your undoing."
"You can't mean that...I mean...Peter wouldn't..." James tried to finish.
"Wouldn't what James? Betray you? Sell you to Voldemort?! Because that's exactly what he did." Sirius rounded on Peter, his eyes alight with fury. "That's exactly what you did! When I had found out what had happened I went looking for you, and do you know what happened next Peter? I found you and, with a street full of witness' in broad daylight, you accused ME of betraying them to Voldemort!!"
"Sirius I-" Peter began, but he couldn't finish as Sirius had started again.
"You declared to the world that I had betrayed Lily and James, then blasted the entire street full of muggles with your wand behind your back, cut off one of your fingers before turning into a rat and scampering down the into sewers!! It looked as if I had killed you, James, Lily and innocent muggles! What was there left for me?..."
"Sirius..." James didn't quite know what to day, "don't blame this Peter for that...he didn't..."
"Thirteen years in Azkaban." Sirius said quietly.
"What?" James was alarmed.
"I said, thirteen years in Azkaban. I was trapped in Azkaban for thirteen longs years because of what this rat did to us!!" Sirius looked crazed as he bared down on Peter, who had gone stark white.
"Sirius!" James panicked, pulling his friend back. "This isn't the same Peter! Calm down!!"
"No...no, you're right." Sirius said after a long while and stared at the person who wasn't the Peter he knew, whose eyes were still wide with fear. "I'm sorry...whoever you are."
"No...I'm sorry." Peter stared up at him, his eyes sad. "For what the other me did. Thirteen years in Azkaban, you have a right to be mad. No, you have a right to want me dead, but at least let me try to make up for what he did. Please." Sirius was speechless for a moment. He bit his lip and turned away.
"You're right James, he isn't the same Peter." For the first time since he had arrived, Sirius looked the mousey-haired man in the eyes. "You have nothing to feel guilty about." he said slightly grudgingly, then looked away as quickly as he could.
"Well, now that that's...er...settled, there's one thing I was wondering about. How exactly did you get here?" James asked, his tone curious.
"Get here? Well...I'm not sure...exactly..." Sirius scratched his head. "The last thing I remember, I was fighting Bellatrix in the Department of Mysteries..."
"Your cousin?" Peter exclaimed.
"Yeah, anyway...I'm not sure, but I think she killed me. And I fell, and I saw Moony hold Harry back. I suppose he would have only done that if I was definitely dead...but I can't be! I mean, I'm here aren't I?" he looked at his two old friends faces, which had become suddenly stricken. "What's wrong?"
"Remus?" James whispered.
"Yes, he was holding Harry back because I...Wait, am I missing something?"
"Are you talking about Harry? My Harry?"
"Yes, what's-"
"What was that werewolf doing near my son?!" James spat.
"....What?!" Sirius stared incredulously.
"I'll never let him lay a hand on my boy, that dirty traitor..."
"James, what are you saying-"
"What's wrong with you Sirius? Don't you know.." James rose and put one hand on his friend's shoulder.
"Know what?"
"Know what he had done of course."
"What had he done?" Sirius' eyes were wide.
"He had been feeding information to Voldemort for years, but you...didn't know this?"
"What are you talking about?! Remus would never ever do that to us!"
"I suppose that he wouldn't where you come from, but he sure did here. In fact, it was you that found him out."
"So where is he now?" Sirius asked slowly. He was having trouble understanding that Remus Lupin, his friend, could in any universe be helping Voldemort.
"Where?" James gave a hollow laugh. "Who knows! Probably serving his 'master'." he sneered, a particularly ugly look for the mussy haired man.
"And...you're absolutely sure that he was...er...evil?" Sirius bit his lip.
"Well it certainly seemed that way." James said and turned away, putting an end to this line of conversation. Sirius glanced over at Peter but he was looking pointedly in the opposite direction.
"Umm also I was wondering...if I'm not a convict-on-the-run here...what am I? I mean, what do I do?" Sirius asked, wondering what might have become of him. He became slightly worried at the look that was passed between his two old friends.
"Sirius." James put a hand on his friend's shoulder, and said in a voice deadly serious. "You're a stripper."
"...WHAT?!!" the black haired man jumped out of his seat, knocking over the chair. His heart rate decreased slightly at the laughter that proceeded to erupt from his friend. "Please tell me that that was a joke!"
"Yes Padfoot, it was." James grinned, his eyes still alight with laughter. Peter simply smiled and shook his head at the two.
"Actually, I think it would be easier if that were the case." he said, his small eyes adopting a slightly worried look.
"Why's that?" Sirius was curious.
"Well, to be blunt, you're a teacher at Hogwarts. How are we going to explain to the students that their teacher suddenly doesn't have a clue what he's talking about?" Peter said.
"Actually I don't think it should be too much of a stretch for them." James grinned, for which he received a whack on the head.
"What is it that I teach exactly?"
"Defense Against the Dark Arts. I suppose it wouldn't be too hard for you to work out a lesson or two, but in the long term..."
"Are you suggesting that even after Azkaban, followed by years in the wilderness on the run, in conjunction with my being killed in the last hour, that even after all that, I would be unable to teach a class a thing or two about Defense Against the Dark Arts?" Sirius raised an eyebrow.
"Well I suppose..." Peter still looked uncertain.
"But even so Padfoot, classes resume tomorrow. Do you think you're up for it?" James said in that challenging way that Sirius had never been able to back down from and grinned.
"As ever Prongs, as ever." Sirius grinned back.
"As much as I hate to break up this little staring contest, we have certain matters to attend to." Peter spoke up. "Such as what we originally came here to do."
"And what's that?"
"Well we came here to ask you if you want a ride to Kings Cross. The train leaves in a few hours and we weren't sure how you were getting there." Peter said.
"Why are you two going?"
"To take Harry of course! But I suppose we had better go too...or something...and explain all this to Dumbledore." James scratched the back of his head. "This is going to be quite difficult. We really shouldn't tell anyone about this in case word gets around."
"Yes, we'll only tell Dumbledore." Peter nodded.
"And I have to tell Lily too, otherwise she'll wonder why I'm tramping off to Hogwarts for no apparent reason."
"Alright, I'll go grab some things to take. Almost everything should be in the same place right? I'll be back in a bit." and with that Sirius made his way up the stairs.
"...I'm worried James..." Peter said quietly once Sirius had left the room.
"About what Wormtail?"
"Aren't you worried too? If he's here, where's our Sirius?"
"Now now, I'm sure our Sirius is absolutely fine...wherever he is..." James ended uncertainly, turning away and staring at the wall. "Wherever he is..."
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When Sirius entered in his room, he noticed that his trunks were already packed. He supposed that it stood to reason since the other him was meant to be leaving today anyway. He stared at them for a moment before picking one up and placing it on the bed. He tried to turn the latch, but to his surprise, he found that it was locked. Strange, he never kept his things locked. Well, not with the key enchantments that could be felt on this anyway. It suddenly occurred to him that he could feel a small chain hanging around his neck. He reached for it, confusion etched itself into his brow upon seeing a small key that hung from the end. Carefully he placed it into the lock and felt the enchantments rush out of the small latch. With a small click it opened and he eyed the contents. It seemed to be perfectly normal (for a wizard) but one thing caught his eye. Tucked into one of the corners was a small black orb bearing a strange white symbol that seemed to swim across the surface like a live animal, though it was too unclear and moved too quickly to be clearly distinguished.
"Hurry up Padfoot! We have to get back soon!" Sirius jumped as he heard James' voice ringing out. Hurriedly he deposited the orb back into the trunk and locked it once again with the key on the chain. Grabbing his luggage, he made his way back downstairs.
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A/N: REVIEW!! I mean, please. Yes. Bye! XD
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James stared for a moment. "An...orphen? But that means..."
"Yes...you and Lily are dead. Voldemort killed you both when Harry was a baby."
"No...that's...how?!" James looked dismayed.
"It's...a very long story." Sirius hung his head.
"Well we have a long time. Tell it. I need to know." Sirius looked up at his two friends and it suddenly struck them how old and worn he looked. His once handsome face seemed to have been hollowed out and it now held a desperate, sad and hopeless look that they had never seen before. Their Sirius had never worn that expression and they wondered what had caused such a change.
"It had all started when we found out that Voldemort was after you, Lily and Harry. We...you and I...decided together that I was to be your secret keeper because I would never ever betray you. I would die before that. But soon after, we discovered that He was after me now. I told you that it didn't matter, but Peter..." Sirius glanced at Peter with an indescribable look, "Peter suggested that it should be changed to him. No, not suggested, insisted. Said that it would be the perfect ploy, that Voldemort would never think that you would use someone as...worthless as him." Sirius spat the last part out. Peter visibly flinched. "I said that it was fine as it was, but you relented. Said that it was a good idea. So it happened and Peter went into hiding and not a soul was told. That was your undoing."
"You can't mean that...I mean...Peter wouldn't..." James tried to finish.
"Wouldn't what James? Betray you? Sell you to Voldemort?! Because that's exactly what he did." Sirius rounded on Peter, his eyes alight with fury. "That's exactly what you did! When I had found out what had happened I went looking for you, and do you know what happened next Peter? I found you and, with a street full of witness' in broad daylight, you accused ME of betraying them to Voldemort!!"
"Sirius I-" Peter began, but he couldn't finish as Sirius had started again.
"You declared to the world that I had betrayed Lily and James, then blasted the entire street full of muggles with your wand behind your back, cut off one of your fingers before turning into a rat and scampering down the into sewers!! It looked as if I had killed you, James, Lily and innocent muggles! What was there left for me?..."
"Sirius..." James didn't quite know what to day, "don't blame this Peter for that...he didn't..."
"Thirteen years in Azkaban." Sirius said quietly.
"What?" James was alarmed.
"I said, thirteen years in Azkaban. I was trapped in Azkaban for thirteen longs years because of what this rat did to us!!" Sirius looked crazed as he bared down on Peter, who had gone stark white.
"Sirius!" James panicked, pulling his friend back. "This isn't the same Peter! Calm down!!"
"No...no, you're right." Sirius said after a long while and stared at the person who wasn't the Peter he knew, whose eyes were still wide with fear. "I'm sorry...whoever you are."
"No...I'm sorry." Peter stared up at him, his eyes sad. "For what the other me did. Thirteen years in Azkaban, you have a right to be mad. No, you have a right to want me dead, but at least let me try to make up for what he did. Please." Sirius was speechless for a moment. He bit his lip and turned away.
"You're right James, he isn't the same Peter." For the first time since he had arrived, Sirius looked the mousey-haired man in the eyes. "You have nothing to feel guilty about." he said slightly grudgingly, then looked away as quickly as he could.
"Well, now that that's...er...settled, there's one thing I was wondering about. How exactly did you get here?" James asked, his tone curious.
"Get here? Well...I'm not sure...exactly..." Sirius scratched his head. "The last thing I remember, I was fighting Bellatrix in the Department of Mysteries..."
"Your cousin?" Peter exclaimed.
"Yeah, anyway...I'm not sure, but I think she killed me. And I fell, and I saw Moony hold Harry back. I suppose he would have only done that if I was definitely dead...but I can't be! I mean, I'm here aren't I?" he looked at his two old friends faces, which had become suddenly stricken. "What's wrong?"
"Remus?" James whispered.
"Yes, he was holding Harry back because I...Wait, am I missing something?"
"Are you talking about Harry? My Harry?"
"Yes, what's-"
"What was that werewolf doing near my son?!" James spat.
"....What?!" Sirius stared incredulously.
"I'll never let him lay a hand on my boy, that dirty traitor..."
"James, what are you saying-"
"What's wrong with you Sirius? Don't you know.." James rose and put one hand on his friend's shoulder.
"Know what?"
"Know what he had done of course."
"What had he done?" Sirius' eyes were wide.
"He had been feeding information to Voldemort for years, but you...didn't know this?"
"What are you talking about?! Remus would never ever do that to us!"
"I suppose that he wouldn't where you come from, but he sure did here. In fact, it was you that found him out."
"So where is he now?" Sirius asked slowly. He was having trouble understanding that Remus Lupin, his friend, could in any universe be helping Voldemort.
"Where?" James gave a hollow laugh. "Who knows! Probably serving his 'master'." he sneered, a particularly ugly look for the mussy haired man.
"And...you're absolutely sure that he was...er...evil?" Sirius bit his lip.
"Well it certainly seemed that way." James said and turned away, putting an end to this line of conversation. Sirius glanced over at Peter but he was looking pointedly in the opposite direction.
"Umm also I was wondering...if I'm not a convict-on-the-run here...what am I? I mean, what do I do?" Sirius asked, wondering what might have become of him. He became slightly worried at the look that was passed between his two old friends.
"Sirius." James put a hand on his friend's shoulder, and said in a voice deadly serious. "You're a stripper."
"...WHAT?!!" the black haired man jumped out of his seat, knocking over the chair. His heart rate decreased slightly at the laughter that proceeded to erupt from his friend. "Please tell me that that was a joke!"
"Yes Padfoot, it was." James grinned, his eyes still alight with laughter. Peter simply smiled and shook his head at the two.
"Actually, I think it would be easier if that were the case." he said, his small eyes adopting a slightly worried look.
"Why's that?" Sirius was curious.
"Well, to be blunt, you're a teacher at Hogwarts. How are we going to explain to the students that their teacher suddenly doesn't have a clue what he's talking about?" Peter said.
"Actually I don't think it should be too much of a stretch for them." James grinned, for which he received a whack on the head.
"What is it that I teach exactly?"
"Defense Against the Dark Arts. I suppose it wouldn't be too hard for you to work out a lesson or two, but in the long term..."
"Are you suggesting that even after Azkaban, followed by years in the wilderness on the run, in conjunction with my being killed in the last hour, that even after all that, I would be unable to teach a class a thing or two about Defense Against the Dark Arts?" Sirius raised an eyebrow.
"Well I suppose..." Peter still looked uncertain.
"But even so Padfoot, classes resume tomorrow. Do you think you're up for it?" James said in that challenging way that Sirius had never been able to back down from and grinned.
"As ever Prongs, as ever." Sirius grinned back.
"As much as I hate to break up this little staring contest, we have certain matters to attend to." Peter spoke up. "Such as what we originally came here to do."
"And what's that?"
"Well we came here to ask you if you want a ride to Kings Cross. The train leaves in a few hours and we weren't sure how you were getting there." Peter said.
"Why are you two going?"
"To take Harry of course! But I suppose we had better go too...or something...and explain all this to Dumbledore." James scratched the back of his head. "This is going to be quite difficult. We really shouldn't tell anyone about this in case word gets around."
"Yes, we'll only tell Dumbledore." Peter nodded.
"And I have to tell Lily too, otherwise she'll wonder why I'm tramping off to Hogwarts for no apparent reason."
"Alright, I'll go grab some things to take. Almost everything should be in the same place right? I'll be back in a bit." and with that Sirius made his way up the stairs.
"...I'm worried James..." Peter said quietly once Sirius had left the room.
"About what Wormtail?"
"Aren't you worried too? If he's here, where's our Sirius?"
"Now now, I'm sure our Sirius is absolutely fine...wherever he is..." James ended uncertainly, turning away and staring at the wall. "Wherever he is..."
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When Sirius entered in his room, he noticed that his trunks were already packed. He supposed that it stood to reason since the other him was meant to be leaving today anyway. He stared at them for a moment before picking one up and placing it on the bed. He tried to turn the latch, but to his surprise, he found that it was locked. Strange, he never kept his things locked. Well, not with the key enchantments that could be felt on this anyway. It suddenly occurred to him that he could feel a small chain hanging around his neck. He reached for it, confusion etched itself into his brow upon seeing a small key that hung from the end. Carefully he placed it into the lock and felt the enchantments rush out of the small latch. With a small click it opened and he eyed the contents. It seemed to be perfectly normal (for a wizard) but one thing caught his eye. Tucked into one of the corners was a small black orb bearing a strange white symbol that seemed to swim across the surface like a live animal, though it was too unclear and moved too quickly to be clearly distinguished.
"Hurry up Padfoot! We have to get back soon!" Sirius jumped as he heard James' voice ringing out. Hurriedly he deposited the orb back into the trunk and locked it once again with the key on the chain. Grabbing his luggage, he made his way back downstairs.
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A/N: REVIEW!! I mean, please. Yes. Bye! XD