Fugitive Prince

By March Madness

Sephrenia shrieked, "Defiled ones! Foul and accursed!" But the lights in the fog never faltered as they continued their glowing, inexorable advance. "Run! Run for your lives! It's the Shining ones!"

The Shining Ones, David Eddings

Chapter I

And the Stag will grace the forest fields,

Battling against the night and day.

The Bloom shall her fumes exhume

And bring the Stag into the hay.

Second born, second son, second one will come to be

Second born from the womb, a balance to the calamity.

The day clashes against the night,

The night against the day.

Beware, oh night, when comes the time,

The Stag is lured into the hay.

Beware, oh day, when comes the time,

For night steals innocence away.

Voldemort turned the paper over in his hands, reading and rereading the puzzling lines over and over again. He looked up. "Tell me again about this Potter," he commanded. "Are you sure they are the ones in the prophecy?"

Before him, a pale and nervous wreck of a human being shuddered at the feel of those red-tinted eyes on him but nodded, sweat pouring down his face. "Y-yes, Master. J-James is the Stag."

"Explain."

Peter gulped and rubbed his hands together, trying to regain some sense of his Gryffindor bravery. "J-James is an animagus. H-he can turn into a stag. And L-Lily, she's named after a flower."

Voldemort brought a pale, skeletal hand to rest his chin in. "It could be coincidence," he murmured. And he glanced back to the paper. "But perhaps..." Almost forgetfully, Voldemort looked down to his quivering servant. "You have done well in bringing me this information."

Peter nearly shivered in delight; his master was never one lacking in rewards.

"But, you should have told me of this sooner. Crucio!"

The other Death Eaters watched unsympathetically as the rat turned and screamed in agony. When Voldemort finally withdrew the curse, Peter was left gasping for breath on the floor.

Voldemort turned away from his torture, going back to the parchment in his hands that held so much interest. "Second born? Hmm." He snapped his fingers and all the Death Eaters bowed submissively. "I need these Potters to be watched closely, Peter," he ordered. The prophecy in his hands began to burn and he dropped it carelessly. "When their second son is born, I am to be informed immediately."

The flames hit the floor and caught onto a trail of liquid--oil--and burst higher.

"Until then, none shall touch them. Their second son is either to be my greatest enemy, or my closest ally, depending on whom receives him first. I intend to do so." Voldemort's eyes burned as bright as the spreading fire. "Severus, you will make sure that no one else hears of this."

Voldemort vanished and his Death Eaters vanished as well as the great old manor of Albus Dumbledore's seer-brother burned away into flames.

*

Severus wasted no time; his information was too important, too shocking that even he struggled to believe it. A traitor! In their midst, deep in the heart of the order. Severus knew, with an absolute, dreadful certainty, that if he should give the name of this spy to Dumbledore, his own position of spy would also be revealed. He could keep his mouth shut, and try his best to make sure that the traitor learned no more information--a hard trick, because the particular person was trusted with very intimate information--or he could reveal the traitor to everyone and risk his own life in the bargain.

It wasn't too hard a choice.

The gargoyle was yawning lazily and didn't jump right away when given the password, annoying Severus further. Everything was patronizing; from the fact that he had been unable to see the spy before, to how long it had taken to get from the Death Eater meeting back to Hogwarts, to the thought of Voldemort finding out that he was a spy. All he needed now was-

"Hey, Snape-y!"

Severus scowled and glared at the young man before him, trying to get all his hate across in a single visible blow. "Black," he growled. "Get out of my way."

Black shook his head, blocking the door to Dumbledore's room. "Nope, you're going to have ta guess the password. And be quick," he added with a nasty grin. "It changes every few seconds."

"Get out of my way," Severus repeated angrily. He tried to shove past but was turned away. "I have to speak with the headmaster!"

"What about?"

He glared but Black wasn't the least bit affected. "Why don't you take a guess?" he drawled insultingly. "If I am in a hurry to speak with Dumbledore and have just returned from a summons-"

Black rolled his eyes but thankfully got out of the way. For a moment, Severus thought that he did it of his own free will, but realized the truth when the door opened behind them. Dumbledore stuck his head out, smiling at the two young wizards. "Ah, Severus. I was expecting you."

"Sir, there has been some startling news," Severus blurted out, then fought against the blush trying to burn his cheeks. He never spoke out of turn, much less in Dumbledore's presence. And he never lost his cool. Both of these self-made rules had just been violated.

Dumbledore's smiled dampened a bit and he nodded, opening the door further. "Yes, come in."

Severus was about to do just that when Black started before him. "And where are you going?"

Black looked over and shrugged. "In, I suppose."

"This doesn't concern you," Severus hissed.

"No?" Black shrugged again. "It probably doesn't, but there's always a possibility that it might. Besides, Dumbledore didn't say I couldn't."

Dumbledore smiled at the statement and Severus fumed but held back his temper, not wanting to resort to childish arguing. They all took a seat, Dumbledore behind his desk and Severus and Black in the chair opposite him.

The headmaster shuffled his hands a moment before talking. "You said something about news?"

"Yes." He cast a glance at Black then mentally shrugged; if the man was outraged, then it was his own fault for being here. "I've discovered a traitor, sir. A spy."

"A spy?" Black repeated incredulously. "In the Order?"

"Unheard of," Dumbledore agreed. "But not impossible. Proceed, Severus."

He felt nervous now, though why was beyond him. "This afternoon, Aberforth's house was attacked." He paused at the blank expression on Dumbledore's face. "He was killed."

"Oh?" Dumbledore stared off in the distance a moment before shaking his head.

Severus waited but nothing more was said. "Before he died, your brother gave Voldemort a paper with a prophecy written on it, his last prophecy. Everyone knows of Aberforth's divination skills; it was why Voldemort picked him as a victim."

Dumbledore looked confused. "There is something wrong," he finally said. "Just three days ago, when I first heard of Voldemort's plans, I placed Aberforth under the Fidilius Charm."

Black eyed the headmaster. "Could it have been an imposter? If Aberforth vanished, certainly someone would try to fake his personality. His house is enviable, his social standing high."

Severus considered the possibility and nodded. "It may be so," he agreed. "But, nonetheless, the prophecy was certainly true enough." He quickly related the short, poem-like foretelling.

Black reacted just like the rat did. "That's James!"

"What?"

"Potter seems to have a secret animagus ability, a stag to be exact," Severus explained coolly, ignoring the look on Black's face. "I was as surprised as Voldemort when I heard it."

"Can you write this prophecy down?" Dumbledore asked, and Severus nodded, scrambling for a quill. Dumbledore studied the words and shook his head. "I believe you are right, Sirius," he stated after a moment's thought. "The times are too close to be coincidental. And James has already married Lily. Yes, this is very interesting."

He looked up. "Where are the Potters now?"

Black looked startled. "Oh. They're at home. With Lily pregnant, neither of them wants to go anywhere anymore. Too dangerous, I suppose. The only place she goes now is to that muggle hospital she found a couple months ago, when she got sick."

"And James is with her?" Black nodded and Dumbledore mused quietly to himself.

"Sir, about my coming here," Severus reminded him. The headmaster looked up, confused. "The spy."

"Ah, yes. Please tell us so that we can take appropriate measures to capture this traitor, if you are indeed correct."

"I am correct," Severus defended. "In fact, I am so correct that should I reveal the name of this spy to you, your first reaction will be disbelief." Black shook his head. "Fine. It's Peter Pettigrew."

There was a breath of silence before Black burst. "Peter?" he shouted. "Peter? Peter can't be a traitor; he's too, too-"

"Weak?" Severus suggested darkly. "Small? Timid? Secretive?" Black shook his head, unable to believe Severus. "But, as an Auror, you must realize that Voldemort seeks out exactly those types of people to turn, people who would never be suspected of betrayal."

"Please calm down," Dumbledore said but was ignored.

"But, it can't be Peter," Black argued, somewhat less passionately. "You see, he's here in school. See, let's ask him ourselves. He's right outside the hall." He started for the halls but accidentally tripped on Severus's feet and knocked against the door, opening it wide.

There was a startled squeak in the room and Severus caught the sight of a rat running from the room before it left his sight. "Potter's not the only animagus, is he?" he hissed to the shell shocked Black before rushing out, looking for the rat. Suddenly, everything fit together: all those times he chased Potter's gang across the school, only to catch the tails of fleeing animals before coming to a dead end; their nicknames for each other. Lupin's was easy enough to figure out; he was a werewolf. 'Moony' fit him. 'Prongs,' the stag, 'Wormtail' the rat, and 'Padfoot,' the-

He ran out of breath and still hadn't caught sight of any rat. Black caught up with him a second later, a murderous look in his eyes. "Believe me now?" he asked quietly, and the Auror glared.

"We have to get to James," Black muttered, eyes trailing the floor as if they could somehow pick out the rat's trail. "And Lily. We have to get them to safety."

"Safety?" Severus snorted. "Why? They are in absolutely no harm."

Dumbledore arrived a moment later, his phoenix flying before him and racing down the halls in search of small mammals. He came quick enough to hear Severus's sharp reply and asked, "What do you mean?"

"The prophecy," Severus replied. "It warns the 'dark'--Voldemort--that the Potters' son will be a threat. But then it warns the 'light'--you, professor--that that same son will be a threat as well. It can only mean that this second son's fate is still up in the air; if he's raised to be good, he'll defeat Voldemort; if he's raised wrongly, he'll join Voldemort."

"So won't Voldemort try and kill him?" Black asked. "Try and kill James and Lily so that they never have a son?"

"No. Voldemort wants their son for his ally. He's ordered all his Death Eaters not only to leave the Potters alone, but also to make sure no one else touches them. They're being protected by their worst enemy." Severus's eyes glittered ironically. "I can't wait to see their reaction."

"That will be enough," Dumbledore interrupted, giving both men a hard look. "There is to be no more bickering between you two." Both rolled their eyes. "There is enough fighting with our enemies that we need none between our allies. Severus, I'm sure you have places to be."

Severus narrowed his eyes at the light dismissal but turned on his heels and left. Dumbledore turned to Sirius. "I would like an explanation, if you would."

"Uh, explanation?"

"Yes," and Dumbledore's eyes twinkled at the other's discomfort. "I would like to know why you three chose to become unregistered animagus, and why none of you saw fit to inform me of that decision."

"Uh." Sirius looked around in alarm. "Well, wouldn't you know it--I have to be going, sir. Work and all that, you understand."

"Of course."

Sirius grinned at his old headmaster, who smiled back, and took off. His happy mood, however, disappeared quickly once he left the school grounds as the impact of the meeting began to settle in. "James will never believe this."