Chapter three
More years were to follow. Casalameer was now a fully fledged Auror, Peter was seen less and less due to his father's business, Remus was spending much of his time researching his condition meanwhile looking for a job, Sirius was living on his own in London, Daphne was still playing for the Cannons, and Lily had given birth to a beautiful little boy who James insisted on naming Harry. It had all come together but the days were darker than ever before. Rumours were milling about that the Potters were marked by Lord Voldemort. They had fought alongside Sirius, Casalameer and Dumbledore three times against Voldemort himself and his Death Eaters, mainly in protection of various muggles, but the last time was in retaliation to the torture of their dear friends, Frank and Alice Longbottom. They too, were rumoured to have been targets and their young son, Neville was taken away to live with his grandmother while his parents were permanently placed in St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies. Voldemort's favourite victims seemed to be the parents of baby boys. Casalameer was ready to die against Voldemort if it meant protecting one person. She had given up hope on ever finding anyone to share her life with. Her life felt meaningless and the only way to ease her pain was to fight. And this was a cause she believed in with immense conviction. Now was a time for the most important meeting of all. Lily and James were in trouble and they needed help. Cas made her way to the Hog's Head in Hogsmeade…the meeting spot for the Order of the Phoenix these days. Aberforth, the barkeep was hanging around the door when she walked in and pointed to a set of stairs at the back of the room. She climbed the stairs quietly and entered the only room above. Seemingly awaiting her arrival were the Potters, Dumbledore, Lupin, Pettigrew, Black and Professor Flitwick from Hogwarts. Casalameer sat next to Lily and waited for Dumbledore to say something.
"Thank you all for coming on such short notice. As you know, Voldemort is planning an attack very soon. I have reason to believe that his targets this time will be Lily and James." The Potters looked very tense. James looked like he hadn't slept in a month. Lily was holding young Harry close to her, looking very worried indeed. Dumbledore continued, "I have thought of many things that could help us come to their aid and the only way I see their survival possible is if they go into hiding." Cas looked at Lily, shocked. Would she ever see them again? How could they hide from someone like Voldemort? Surely he'd find them? "Professor Flitwick has agreed to explain how we can arrange such a difficult task." Dumbledore nodded at the tiny little wizard sitting beside him. Professor Flitwick cleared his throat with a squeak and looked directly at James.
"There is a way that you can hide and still stay in Britain. If we were to put a charm over you, You Know Who could pass by anytime and never find you. We only need one person to help us with it…" Sirius Black spoke up. "I'll do it." Flitwick continued, ignoring Sirius. "We would put a charm over that person. Only he or she will know exactly where the Potters are. This is called the Fidelius charm and that person will be the Secret Keeper. As long as their whereabouts remains a secret inside this Keeper, You Know Who will never find out. But if he or she chooses to reveal their whereabouts, You Know Who will come right for the Potter family." The room was silent. Flitwick continued "As you can guess, this takes an immense amount of trust. There are a lot of spies on both sides and it is up to James and Lily to decide who they can trust. But I must say that if they were to choose someone obvious, You Know Who could go after them and attempt to use force in revealing his or her secret. Everyone involved is taking a huge risk." All present looked at one another. Casalameer was the first to speak up.
"What about Daphne? She's in Indi-" "Daphne's a spy, Casalameer. She's been passing information to various Death Eaters for some time now." Dumbledore said quietly, his head low. This was news to Casalameer and apparently to Lily as well for they looked at one another in alarm. "Anyway, we're not deciding now. No one except the Potters can choose and no one else must know who the Secret Keeper is. But you may all offer or decline to them in private. None of us can know in the end. I can't stress enough how important this is. We will speak with them one at a time. Let us all leave now except for…Casalameer. You may go first." Everyone except Cas, Lily holding Harry, and James stood up and left the room. Cas looked at Lily and James. James was looking down, saddened by the state of things. Lily passed Harry over to James.
"Um…If you want to pick me, I'd be glad to help." Casalameer said.
"No. You're my best friend and I couldn't stand to have Voldemort come after you." Lily said. "I've already discussed this with James." "But I'm an Auror. I've fought the Death Eaters before! I'm not afraid of anything." Lily smiled sadly, "I know. We're not thinking of OUR safety, but for Harry's. I can't tell you why. All I can say is that you will not be our Secret Keeper and that's my final word. When you go out there, don't give any indication of whether we said yes or no." Casalameer couldn't believe her friend's words. "Do you really think I'd sell you out for You Know Who?" "Of course not," James spoke up for the first time. "Don't you understand? We trust you more than almost anybody but you'd be the first person they'd think of. We can't make it obvious. Everyone knows how close you are to us. You're Harry's godmother." Cas looked at Harry. He closed his eyes sleepily.
"Is there nothing I can say to change your minds?" Cas asked angrily.
Lily's eyes welled up with tears. "No, Cas. Please understand that I love you so much and have always trusted you. Please trust me on this." There was a long pause. Cas looked at the Potters and made a choice that really wasn't hers, anyway. "All right," she said, "But I'm taking your answer only for Harry. Otherwise I'd be with you there to the end." "However soon or late that may be," Lily murmured.