Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all its characters are owned by J. K. Rowling.
"First, I would like to know more about why Voldemort is targeting Harry and, probably Neville too. For that, I need to speak with Dumbledore and get answers from him," said Lily relieved that Remus was willing to believe her.
"Neville? Oh, that must be the reason they too went into hiding around the same time, but not under Fidelius," said Remus.
Lily nodded. "Yes. Now, Remus, listen. I not only need to get the entire story from him but also have him as a failsafe to prove Sirius' innocence in case Peter really leads Voldemort to our house because you know how it will look as everyone believes that Sirius is our Secret Keeper. Sorry to say this, but no one would believe you, because of being a werewolf. No one will be able to refute the words coming out of Dumbledore's mouth though," said Lily feeling not only embarrassed but also angered by the prejudice prevalent in their world against werewolves.
"It's okay, Lily. I understand and Dumbledore being the Leader of Light, who will say that he is mistaken?" asked Remus.
Lily continued, "When I call him, I want you hidden in the room with not only a Disillusionment Charm but also some strong Notice-Me-Not and aura and scent-masking charms so that Dumbledore does not notice your presence," said Lily.
"Why these precautions?" asked Remus puzzled. "Do you not trust him or do you expect someone else to come disguised as Dumbledore."
"I am going to try, and force Albus to tell me everything that is known about this threat. He has always liked to keep his secrets closer to his chest, acting as if he knows the best and people like James and Sirius blindly follow him. It's possible that he will not want me to know more than what he feels is necessary and if I am persistent, he might try to 'persuade' me to not broach this topic in the future,'' finished Lily making air quotes.
"Well, in that case, when would you like this to happen?" asked Remus.
"As soon as I can arrange it. I learned from Peter where he is hiding and I will ensure James goes to check up on him and I will have enough distraction in place there that James is tied up for the duration of Dumbledore's visit," said Lily grinning mischievously.
Remus laughed. "Do I want to know what those distractions will be?" he asked.
"Do YOU want to know what those distractions will be?" countered Lily with the mischievous grin still on her face.
"God help us all!" chuckled Remus.
That day soon arrived. It was a Sunday. So, Dumbledore agreed to a visit. James, as Lily had planned, was at Peter's and he had sent her a Patronus message saying that he would be stuck there due to some stupidity of Peter. Hearing the reason though, had Remus laughing so hard, he was unable to stay standing.
Lily and Remus then went over the plan. He would be seated in another chair by the stairs in the living room which Lily had pulled from their bedroom. Then, he along with the chair was made invisible and put under a variety of charms so that Dumbledore would not know of his presence. He would also have his wand out.
As Lily could not have her wand in hand as that would make Dumbledore feel that she didn't trust him, she had created an open-ended pipe-like cover for her wand. Then she fashioned a strap and put the entire cover and strap under a Disillusionment, Notice-Me-Not, and aura-masking charms so that she could use her wand without clutching it and giving away the fact that she held something in her hand.
When Dumbledore came, clutching the slip of paper with their house location secret in hand, his first question was, when did they change the Secret Keeper and to whom? He recognized the handwriting as not belonging to Sirius.
She told him all that she had already shared with Remus and her reasons for letting Dumbledore know about the change.
Dumbledore was aghast.
She didn't tell him about Remus also knowing the secret of their house though, as Dumbledore like James and Sirius was suspicious of him.
"But that's not the only reason I called you here, Albus," said Lily bringing him back to the present from his thoughts.
"What else?" asked Dumbledore, still shaken and feeling guilty for having failed the boy due to his mistaken perception.
"Albus, tell me with no excuses or platitudes, what made Voldemort target Harry, a boy who is less than two years old and how did he receive any intelligence that Harry, of all people, could be a threat to him?" asked Lily.'
Albus was indeed going to try to make excuses but one look at Lily's face, and he knew that she would not let go of the topic short of him Stunning her and leaving.
"There was a prophecy which stated that a person with the ability to vanquish Voldemort would be born at the end of July," said Dumbledore hoping that would satisfy her.
Lily spent a few minutes thinking over it and going through the news that she had been receiving from her friends and acquaintances and Dumbledore breathed easy thinking that was it. She would not ask him more.
He didn't know how wrong he was!
"Let me see. Sybill Trelawney gave you the prophecy, and you believed her? But how did it reach Voldemort then?" asked Lily, shocking him silly.
"How -? How could you possibly come to know about that?" asked Dumbledore surprised.
Lily laughed mirthlessly.
"I learned that you have appointed a Divination teacher who spends each class predicting the death of one student. It was some time before you came to inform us about the threat. I and others are of the opinion that she is a fraud, but you believed THAT woman? Not only that, it led to Voldemort learning AND believing in the prophecy and targeting us! Have you gone senile, Dumbledore?" asked Lily almost conversationally but with anger visible in her eyes.
"The prophecy is real, trust me. A real Seer does not remember their own prophecies. No matter how poor her teaching skills may be, she gave me the real prophecy," insisted Dumbledore.
"That does not matter now, does it? The harm is done. We are being targeted by a megalomaniac because of it now. What matters to me is how did he lay his hands on it," said Lily.
"I am sorry, I cannot tell you, Lily. The young man who accidentally discovered and then informed Voldemort is already repentant. He has turned spy for me, at significant risk to himself," said Dumbledore.
"Repentant? So, a Death Eater? Became a spy for you, you say? The only man who I know who could even think of repenting is -" Lily's words stuttered to a halt.
"Not Severus?" asked Lily, fearing that she was right.
Dumbledore pinched the bridge of his nose. He should not have said so much. Of course, A very smart witch like Lily could easily put two and two together.
His pained expression confirmed Lily's fears.
"Tell me everything, Albus, and don't feed me bits. I want to know the whole damn story of how this happened," said Lily, her voice brooking no argument.
Dumbledore knew he had no choice. Lily Potter rarely swore.
Then he told her the story of how he had gone to the Hog's Head to interview Sybil, and just as he was about to politely reject her candidature for the job, she had given the prophecy and then he later learned that the barman had caught Severus eavesdropping halfway into the prophecy at the door. So, Severus only knew half of that which he had then relayed to Voldemort, and on learning a few weeks later, that the Dark Lord had decided that his friend Lily's son was the prophesied threat, he had gone to Dumbledore and changed sides to protect Lily.
In the end, he asked Lily, "What will you do with this information?"
"Nothing, at present except taking extra precautions," said Lily. "There is nothing useful and you may rest assured, I will not let James or Sirius know so easily the bit about Severus. They can be hotheaded, and are prone to act before thinking which would be worse with their rivalry, which has abated little, though James seems to have grown up enough to understand that being a Slytherin does not automatically equal evil."
With that assurance, Dumbledore decided to return to Hogwarts. While at the door, Lily called him, her voice eerily calm, "Oh, and Albus, I will neither appreciate you holding back anything else from me, in the future nor will I appreciate any thought you might later have about placing a charm on me to stop me from speaking about our conversation with someone I trust."
Albus turned around and looked at her. She was staring steadily at him. She seemed to be on edge as if waiting for him to curse her.
"Do you think I would do that, Lily?" asked Dumbledore finally noticing the lack of trust in her eyes.
"Yes, for your Greater Good, you just might. I don't trust you completely, Dumbledore. I am a firm believer in the Muggle phrase - Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely. You have let the power and the respect people have given you get to your head, Albus. You are not a God, Dumbledore. You have no right to play with the lives of people by keeping secrets, thinking you alone are wise enough to understand things. While others might not be as wise as you, they still have the right to make decisions for themselves. People like James and Sirius might blindly believe in you, but I didn't grow up in the cult of Albus Dumbledore, Defeater of Grindelwald. I don't believe you are Santa Claus and Gandalf rolled into one," said Lily quietly, still staring unflinchingly at him.
"I am sorry that my making of decisions for your family has so eroded the trust you once had in me and the respect you had for me. I will do better, Lily, and hope that in the future, I will earn your trust and regain the lost respect," said Dumbledore sadly.
He returned to Hogwarts questioning himself. 'Had he really lost himself in the confidence of his own wisdom that he forgot others had the right to think for themselves?'
Once it was safe, Remus lifted the charms from himself, pulled his chair next to the sofa, and sat forward in the chair.
Lily looked at him, expecting him to protest her attitude toward Dumbledore.
She was totally surprised however when he said, "I will not say anything against what you said. You are not only a woman but also a wife and a mother, and at present, your child's life is under threat."
She was still looking at him, surprised that he would side with her rather than their leader.
"Oh, don't look at me like that! I can think, you know, unlike your husband and his Dog-friend," said Remus grinning.
Lily threw a pillow at him. "Back to the topic," she ordered, pouting at him.
"Yes, what do you intend to do next?" asked Remus, still smiling a bit.
"Even if I am able to convince James and Sirius of Peter's treachery, that still leaves the Voldemort problem as it is. We need to kill two birds with one stone," said Lily.
"So, what are your gonna do?" asked Remus.
The feral grin on her face had Remus thinking in his mind, 'Uh-oh'.
Voldemort and Peter were not going to know what hit them.
ANNND, that's it for this chapter, guys. See you with the next one soon, hopefully.