A/N: This story is not going to follow anything mentioned in HBP. I am going to stick with my original plot line. I am not sure how long I am intending this to be. I only think it'll have 2-3 more chapters left in it. We'll see. Sorry about the long wait. I've been traveling and the release of HBP. Let's just say that I may have had a bit of block as well. So, let's see my pitiful attempt at a chapter. Please review.

Catch My Fall

Chapter 25-Tangled Web of Lies

The Fidelius Charm was not to be put into effect until Snape's ok. Dumbledore had spoken with Severus on the matter and according to him, Voldemort was remaining weary about attacking. Somehow, although Harry was only a child, the fact of the matter was that he was indeed a threat. Dumbledore seemed to trust this as he had grown to know a lot about the man who called himself Lord Voldemort. Dumbledore knew that what Voldemort feared the most was his own death.

The headmaster sat in his office, hands drawn to his forehead. Dumbledore knew that Lily and James were in grave danger and that Snape's word was all that was protecting them at the moment.

A knock came to his door. He knew who it was. Severus Snape was expected to arrive. Hogwarts was the safest place for them to meet, seeing as Death Eaters were undercover just about everywhere in the wizarding community.

"Severus," Dumbledore acknowledged. "I'm glad you could make it here. I suppose you know why you're here."

"Yes," Snape replied. He heaved a deep breath of clarity in, calming his almost always high-strung nerves and continued, knowing full well that Dumbledore needed to hear. "The Charm doesn't need to be placed yet. The Dark Lord hasn't even begun his plans for attacking. As you know, he always deals with blackmail, secrecy, and stealth. With the three of those at his convenience, it's hard to prevent an attack from him. Yet, having dealt with the entire Potter family, he is hesitant. He feels that he needs a bit more time."

"But it is Harry he's after?" Dumbledore asked again for confirmation.

"Yes," Snape answered. "The Potter boy is the one he's chosen."

"Thank you, Severus," the aged Headmaster said. He stood from his desk and led Snape towards the door. "If you hear any information, you know how to contact me."

With a quick nod, Snape left the Headmaster's office and descended down an escalating staircase. He exited, two gargoyles standing on either side of him. His greasy black hair and calculating dark eyes attributed the permanent sneer he gave off.

Thoughts raced throughout his mind. Although he was betraying his Master's trust, he knew that Potter needed some sort of warning. Snape loathed James Potter, more so than any other human being, but he regretfully felt that he owed him. Without James Potter, Snape would either be dead or bitten by a werewolf. He would never admit it aloud to anyone, but Snape knew that this favor to Potter was his way of settling their score.

.X.

Lily clutched her son to her as her husband went to get drinks for everyone. The Three Broomsticks was busy as usual, but the table she sat at was dark and unpleasant. James and Lily had requested permission from Dumbledore to have this outing with their friends. It was absolutely necessary in such a horrible time.

Harry fussed in Lily's arms, but she kissed his forehead to calm him down. His birthday was in two weeks and Lily wanted to have a party for him. Now, she wasn't sure if it was even possible.

"I swear, that Rosmerta doesn't understand the fact that I'm a married man," James joked as he set the five hot mugs of Butterbeer down on the table.

He ruffled his son's hair, which resembled his father's even more so as the days passed. He looked over at Lily and nodded.

"Listen," James began. He looked at his three best friends, staring straight into each of their eyes. The four of them had been through so much together that it was hard to imagine the news James was going to tell them. "After a couple of months of considering this, I have finally realized that not everyone is trustworthy." His voice seemed to crack. The thought that one of the Marauders was trying to do him in was almost as heartbreaking as Harry being the chosen child. If someone had told him that one-day one of his friends would turn their back on him, he would have laughed heartily in their face, knowing it was impossible. "Dumbledore suspects that one of you three have been spying for Voldemort."

All three of their eyes grew wide in shock.

Someone's spying on Lily and James, Sirius thought to himself. He eyed Lupin and Peter suspiciously.

I should have known, Remus pondered.

What if they know it's me, Peter asked himself. He looked from Sirius, to Remus, to Lily, James, and Harry.

Almost at once, all hell broke loose.

"I should have known it was you, Moony," Sirius shouted, pointing a finger directly in his friend's face. His gray eyes were forcing their gaze into Remus' pale blue ones.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Remus quipped. Sirius only stared angrily. "Oh, just say it. You think it's me because I'm a werewolf. Really, people need to get some new material. Yet, if you want to point out prejudice, the finger can go both ways, Padfoot."

"You wouldn't," Sirius muttered.

"Spying for Voldemort is something a Black would do," Remus pointed out. "How do we know it's not you, trying to serve your family proud? It would make the most sense."

"How could you even think I'd do that to Lily and James? Or Harry for that matter?" Sirius asked.

"How could you?" Remus retorted. "Like I said, Sirius, being a werewolf isn't something I was born with. Being a Black is in your blood, Sirius. It was only a matter of time before you started succumbing to the awful principles your family believes in."

Sirius rose from his seat and raised his fist, swinging back to hit Remus. He stopped as James stepped in-between them.

"Stop it," Lily cried from her own seat. "Stop it all now."

"We didn't want anyone pointing fingers at one another," James insisted. "We only told you this so you would all know why we won't be seeing you other than at Harry's party, which we're not even sure is going to happen. We wanted you all to understand why we won't be able to leave our house."

Sirius backed away from Remus, shaking his head. He leaned down and kissed Harry on the head before storming out and riding away on his motorcycle.

Remus only bid them a soft, "Goodbye," before leaving. Peter shrugged and walked out. Soon, James, Lily, and Harry were left, a piece of them leaving as each of their friend's departed.

.X.

"So, Lily, you're sure Dumbledore okayed this whole birthday debacle?" James asked his wife as he walked beside her in a Muggle grocery store.

"Positive," Lily replied, slowly making her way down the aisles with Harry in the cart.

"Remind me why we're in here again," James told her, sighing as he saw a man in golf pants passing them down the aisle.

"Dumbledore recommended shopping here opposed to in the wizarding community. I guess it's less likely for us to be noticed," Lily informed him. She stopped walking as she looked down at a large vanilla cake. She decided upon it and made her way towards the dairy aisle. Ice cream was always essential when serving cake, just as her mother had taught her before she had died.

James felt someone's eyes burning into him from behind. He was uneasy and clutched his wand from inside his pants pocket. He didn't release it, knowing all too well about the Statute of Secrecy within the Ministry. He turned slowly and eyed the man watching him. He was rather large with a thick, purple neck. A small blonde woman with a horse like face and a rather long neck was trying to calm what appeared to be a screaming blonde beach ball.

When Lily noticed her husband staring off at something, she followed his gaze and gasped.

"Petunia?" she whispered.

"Your sister?" James asked, now finally recognizing the horse-faced blonde. He had known Lily had a sister and had even briefly seen her at the wedding, but had forgotten how different the two of them looked from each other.

Her sister caught Lily's eyes and reluctantly walked over to her sister, examining Harry with her sharp blue eyes.

"Lily," Petunia addressed. She realized the awkwardness growing between the six of them. Harry had been innocently playing with a teething ring his mother had given him when the blonde beach ball reached over and snatched it away. "This is Vernon, my husband, and Dudley, our son."

James snickered as he heard the name 'Dudley'. What Muggles came up with nowadays..

Lily smiled at her nephew, but he just starting pulling at his mother's shirt. "Well, you've met James here. This is our son, Harry."

Petunia nodded, but wasn't nearly as warm as Lily had been to Dudley.

"How old is Dudley?" Lily asked out of curiosity.

"He just turned a year old," Vernon answered in a gruff voice.

"Harry's going to be one in two days," Lily informed them. "You're welcome to attend the party if you'd like."

"Oh yeah, sure," Petunia said in what Lily noticed was not an entirely convincing tone. Yet, she couldn't really blame her sister. The last event she had attended that Lily had invited her to had been attacked.

"Well, it was lovely seeing you all," Lily told them.

"Nice meeting you, Vernon and Dudley," James said, extending his hand. Vernon just eyed it carefully. "A pleasure to see you again, Petunia."

The three Dursleys rushed off quickly out the store. Lily sighed and brushed a strand of red hair out of her eyes.

"What's wrong, love?" James inquired, rubbing her back as they walked down the aisles.

"I just forget sometimes that I have family other than you and Harry," she said quietly. "It's horrible to think about. Petunia and I are sisters and we barely speak to one another. Its just heartbreaking, is all. I'm sure if you had a sister you'd keep in contact with her."

"Lily, Petunia doesn't understand us or our world. Did you see the way she looked at Harry, as if he was going to contaminate her overly spoiled son?"

"Harry is a lot better off than Dudley is, isn't he?" Lily asked, smiling a bit.

"Of course he is," James assured her. The three gathered the rest of the things on their shopping list and walked out of the store, knowing that the only people they needed were with them at that moment.

.X.

Peter knocked on the door to Sirius' flat and waited until his friend answered. Sirius opened the door and let Peter in.

"What are you up to, Wormtail?" Sirius asked, sitting down lazily on his own couch.

"I was just thinking about what Lily and James told us in the Three Broomsticks," Peter confessed. "Well, I thought I should talk to you about it."

"You don't think it's me, do you?" Sirius asked, making sure.

"No," Peter insisted. "I'm here to talk to you about Remus."

Sirius nodded. "I don't trust him."

"Nor do I," Peter agreed. "That's why I think we should keep our eye on him. I mean, he's a werewolf. He's always been the most laid back. Maybe it's all a cover? No one ever really found out how Katy was killed. Don't you think that it's more than possible that Remus was upset that she worked too much?"

"You really think he'd do something like that?" Sirius asked, sitting up. Peter had his attention now.

"I'm fairly positive of it," Peter told his friend. "You-Know-Who most likely promised him more rights, seeing as he's a werewolf."

"I think you're right," Sirius said. "The thing is, Harry's birthday party is tomorrow. What if he does something?"

"He won't," Peter insisted. "There'll be too many witnesses around."

"Well, let's keep our eye on him anyways for good measure," Sirius said.

.X.

"Don't you see, Remus? Sirius has been mentally unstable since Halle passed away. There's nothing he wouldn't do at this point. His wife and daughter are both gone. He has no other family in the world. Maybe he's doing this to try and get his good name back in the Black family," Peter told Remus later that night.

Remus contemplated this thought. "So you think Sirius is the spy?"

"It would make the most sense," Peter explained. "Plus, neither one of us is the spy, so that leaves him."

"I guess you're right," Remus agreed. "He has been a little unbalanced since Halle died. I just can't believe he'd do something like this. He's always been all about loyalty."

"People change as time goes on," Peter reminded him. "Sirius isn't an exception."

"What are we going to do? Do you think he'll pull something at Harry's birthday party tomorrow?"

"I don't think so," Peter assured Remus. "There'll be too many witnesses. Better keep your eye on him anyways."

"Trust me, I will," Remus insisted, his blue eyes growing older as the seconds passed. It was hard to believe; the Marauders were splitting up.

.X.

"Is he asleep?" James whispered as he entered the yellow nursery to see his wife leaned over Harry's crib. Lily nodded. She slowly walked out with James in front of her and closed the door, turning the handle as quietly as she could.

The two of them walked into their bedroom where they plopped down on their bed without even changing clothes.

"Can you believe all of this, James?" Lily asked her husband. "One of our friends wants Harry killed."

James sat there for a moment in silence. "No, I can't. I just refuse to think it. I know it's true, but I think it'd kill me to know the truth."

"Let's just hope Severus Snape is as honest as Dumbledore believes him to be," Lily murmured quietly.

James didn't like that thought. He hated the fact that his son's life was dependent upon Snape's word.

"Who do you think it is?" Lily inquired softly. "Which Marauder?"

James couldn't answer it. He just couldn't. He refused to believe any one of his friends would betray his trust. It seemed impossible to him; even now.

A/N: Please don't leave me reviews commenting on anything in HBP. I've read it, so I do know that this story contradicts the plot. I do know that most of you are mad/sad/angry. Just please, try to review on the chapter, not the sixth HP book. Thanks! Please review.