A/N: To old readers, this chapter has completely been renovated and I promise it is better than the old installment. To new readers, welcome! Please, please don't read the second chapter. It is absolutely horrible. If you must, then go and read the third chapter directly. I will be writing the second chapter but it will take time since my assessments are starting in four days and there are a lot of one-shots that I have to write.
Anyway, enjoy the chapter!
Lily watched as Peter and Severus arrived together on an Order meeting for the third time that week.
Together.
It was unheard of. And, Peter was late to the meeting. She understood why Severus was late—he had a Death Eater meeting. He had told her the first time he came late to a meeting. They had mended their friendship which was frayed on that fateful day in their seventh year—a little before James started dating her, a little after Severus started mingling with the crowd of future Death Eaters—when they were partnered together in their Potions class for the end-of-year project. They had realized that their friendship went much deeper to be cast into oblivion with a simple word.
Peter was not supposed to be late. He didn't have a job unlike James who missed Order meetings with Sirius whenever there was an emergency (which was most of the time) and had to be filled in by Lily when he came home. Neither was he like Remus who had been assigned important (read: useless) missions.
So, why was he late? Even if he had been given undercover spy missions—unlikely, since the Marauders never told anyone apart from Lily that they were animaguses—why would he arrive with Severus? Surely, Peter was not an undercover Death Eater? Even if Severus couldn't have told her, Peter himself would've told them, wouldn't he?
And why wasn't Dumbledore being suspicious of it all?
He was taking it in stride as if he knew everything but just wasn't telling it to anybody. Why would he do that?
Okay, so they were thirty minutes into the meeting—one which had already been discussed time and time over so she didn't bother to listen anymore and James was in an emergency mission with Sirius and Remus was in another mission—and she already had two questions.
Two very important questions.
Two questions which could change their lives.
#1: Was Peter Pettigrew a Death Eater?
Of course, she hoped that it might not be the case and Peter had just been sent on a mission that he had been forbidden to tell anyone about by Albus. However, Albus never, never did that. Something about 'letting everyone know to build trust' and whatnot—that man doesn't seem to understand that they were in the middle of a fucking war—and only Severus' spying remained confidential since he wouldn't say anything in front of the members.
So…was Peter also a spy? Because, it was not possible to say that it was a mere coincidence that Peter and Severus were arriving at most meetings in the exact same time, more often than not, together. But, no. Albus would never use Peter as a spy. She could see it in his eyes that the only reason Peter was in the Order was because his friends would never join the Order without being together. And, Severus was a more-than-proficient spy.
So, was Peter actually a Death Eater in disguise? She didn't want to believe it. She really didn't but this was the time of war. She couldn't rule out any possibility just because he was one of her husband's best friends. She thought that Peter wouldn't ever turn over because he had friends in the Light Side and, quite frankly, she didn't think that Peter had the courage to go to Voldemort.
However, as she thought more and more about it, it made sense. Peter always stuck around to those who were the most powerful and could protect him. Who knew that he wouldn't change sides after seeing how many losses they have suffered? He could've felt insecure, could've felt death hanging in the air. He could've gone to Voldemort for shelter in exchange of acting as a spy. In fact, it all lined up—his hesitation to reveal where he was most of the time, his twitchiness whenever questioned about said topic and his animagus form all contributed to it.
Lily. Was. Furious.
How could he? How could he betray his friends—his brothers—just because he wanted to live? His sense of self-preservation may be stronger than others but that didn't mean he could just betray them, especially after they made him the Secret Keeper. Oh my gods! They made him the Secret Keeper! What was going to happen? Voldemort could've known of their house by now. She forced herself to stop thinking of more and more grotesque images of James and Harry being brutally killed. Instead, she thought of what she was thinking previously.
How could he? How could he? How could he? Was the mantra and the only coherent thought running in Lily's head. She couldn't look at Peter anymore without feeling a deep feeling of betrayal and a sadistic urge to kill him. She would have to tell it to James—who would, most likely, think that it was some sort of prank. She would have to endure the raw emotion of betrayal on her beloved's face.
Her brain frantically tried to come up with alternatives but in her heart she knew that Peter had betrayed them.
#2: If Albus knew (and she was most certain that he did) then why wasn't he taking any action?
Albus always turned a blind eye whenever Peter arrived late and only asked him to take a seat. Sure, no one except her had noticed and linked Peter with the Death Eaters but Albus was older and wiser than her. He surely knew what was happening? Was he acting like that just to confuse Peter into thinking that all was well?
But then, why would he suggest that Peter would make a much better Secret Keeper which, at the time, seemed like a good idea. But now, she grew more and more worried. Even if Peter wasn't a Death Eater (unlikely) then Voldemort could still figure out who was their Secret Keeper and torture Peter for information.
No, she thought firmly, Albus wouldn't do anything that would endanger them. They were still 'useful' to him and, besides, why would he try to kill off two of his most trusted followers?
She ignored the voice at the back of her head whispering whether Albus should be trusted or not.
The meeting finally ended. She decided that she wanted proof on whether Peter was a Death Eater or not. If he wasn't, then all was well and good but if he was…she would cross the bridge when she got to it.
So, she slid over to where Peter was standing up, talking to Hestia Jones on how his legs always became cramped after sitting for so long, tapped her finger on his back and said, "Hello Peter! Come on, we've got lots to talk about!"
"What to talk about, my dear?" Albus asked in a kind voice.
"Me and Lily were supposed to discuss about what color might be best for Harry's nursery walls. Lily seems to think that the red and gold is too blinding and muted colors like black and green might be good," Peter said. They were supposed to talk about it, but just not today. She may or may not have used a Compulsion Charm on Peter.
"Of course, of course. Though I do think that red and gold are lovely colors."
Lily snorted internally and thought that this was coming from the man who was wearing bright orange robes with equally bright yellow bumblebees and a neon purple hat with blindingly white stars.
"After all, they reflect the Gryffindor pride," Albus said with a smile and twinkling eyes.
Translation: Albus wanted her to retain the colors because they would reflect Gryffindor and with that much influence, Harry would be in Gryffindor. Where all of Albus' followers-to-be were sorted.
Lily couldn't believe that she hadn't caught onto this earlier. But then again, no one had. So she thought that it was an accomplishment.
"Yes, right you are, Albus. However, we do need to discuss a few things. So, if you will excuse us?" Lily asked.
"Of course. Should I escort you?" Albus asked.
And risk you overhearing the conversation, Lily thought viciously. Her respect for the Headmaster—which was never much in the first place due to his obvious favoritism for Gryffindors—was dwindling by the minute.
"No, no. I think I can navigate Grimmauld Place well enough. Sirius did bring me here once or twice," Lily said, plastering a smile to her face. She remembered that day when Sirius invited her, James, Remus and Peter to the house to celebrate.
His brother had died two weeks ago—which was still a sore spot for him since he liked his brother—and his mother followed a few days later due to the depression. Orion also, had popped his clogs that day, not being able to bear the fact that his wife and son were dead. That was the second time she got drunk as a skunk.
"Oh," Albus clearly didn't expect for her to say 'no', "It's fine. If you need help, you will call, won't you?"
Why should she need help in a room with her (hopefully still) friend? If worst came to the worst, she was always a better spellcaster than Peter. Yet she smiled sweetly and answered in affirmative.
She went to one of the empty rooms with Peter and tightly warded the room against eavesdropping and trying to escape.
"Wha—"
Peter couldn't even finish the sentence before Lily had sent a silent Stunning Spell at him and knocked him out.
She slashed open the left sleeve only to see…nothing.
She was stumped. She was almost certain that Peter was a Death Eater but here his arm was bare…
Suddenly, a thought struck her head. If he was spying for Voldemort, then he would've hidden his Dark Mark, right? Fuelled by her new thought, she shot every revealing charm she could think of at the area where the Dark Mark should be located.
Even after some of the most powerful charms she could think of, the area only shimmered which was proof that there was a powerful version of concealment charm in there. The only problem was that the one who had casted it—she put her money on Voldemort—had made it very strong and she couldn't break it.
She had to resort to more dubious spells. They weren't technically Dark but no one from the Order used them. She didn't think that Voldemort would ward against these spells since they were 'Light' and she had always been strong at magic which was on the darker side of the spectrum.
Sure enough, the concealment charm wavered before completely breaking off at the effort from the youngest Charms Mistress. There it was, the Dark Mark looking as though it had been tattooed in just that day.
She choked back a sob. Peter had always been so kind and understanding and had always listened. Never in a million years would she have thought that he would go over to the Dark Side. She had thought that his friendship with James and the others was inseperable. How could it happen?
She needed answers. Solid, true answers from the mouth of Peter Pettigrew. And she needed them now.
She used the counterspell on him and, just as he was waking up, used the Verita charm on him, watching as the beam of white light made contact with his chest. It would act exactly as the Veritaserum and the reason no one used this was because it was an old spell and most of the people didn't even know of it.
"What is your animagus form?" she asked. It was always good to do trial runs.
"Grey rat," he said in a dull, flat voice with his eyes glazed over.
"Are you a Death Eater?" Lily asked quietly. He could be marked against his will…Maybe…
"Yes."
That simple word was enough to nearly make her sob. However, she was made of sterner stuff. She said, "Why?" in a choked-off voice.
Peter looked confused. Of course he did. This type of charm required the person asking to give direct questions. Such a broad question like 'why' would just make him confused.
"Why did you become a Death Eater?"
"The Dark Lord was winning. The Light Side was losing. I didn't want to die. I wanted to live. So I went to the Dark Lord and offered to spy for him and he agreed."
"Why did you betray seven years of friendship? Of brotherhood?"
"Friendship and brotherhood would mean nothing if I died at the hands of the Dark Lord. I value self-preservation most and will do anything if it meant that I would live."
"Did you tell Voldemort where the Potters lived?"
"Yes."
"Does Voldemort plan to attack the Potters?"
"Yes."
"When does Voldemort plan to attack the Potters?"
"I do not know."
"Who knows about Voldemort's plans regarding the Potters?"
"Higher-up Death Eaters."
"Who are among the higher-up death eaters?"
"The Elite."
"Who are in the Elite?"
"I do not know."
"Does Albus Dumbledore know that you are a Death Eater?
"Yes."
"How does Albus Dumbledore know you're a Death Eater?"
"He cornered me one day after the Order meeting and forced me to tell everything."
"What did Albus Dumbledore do after the revelation about you?"
"He told me to be extra careful so that I would not be caught by anyone else from the Order. He said he didn't want me to upset his plans, especially now that they were going so brilliantly."
"Does Albus Dumbledore know that you told Voldemort about the Potters location?"
"Yes."
Lily didn't have to hear anything else. She wanted to kill the bastard who would backstab his own friends just to live. However, she knew that if she did then Dumbledore would find out and, right now, he was a wild card. Lily didn't have a feel on this new—real—Dumbledore. She would have to act like normal.
So, with great reluctance, and fighting against her instincts to kill the person who dared harm her family, she removed the memories of her interrogating him and instead inputting memories of them discussing trivial things. She also covered the Dark Mark with every concealment charm she could think of and repaired the damaged sleeve. Lastly, she used 'rennervate' on Pettigrew and watched with mild satisfaction as he groaned loudly in pain and stood up.
"Come on, Peter," she said with what she hoped was a smile, "We have to go, remember?"
"Yeah. Yeah, bye, Lily," Peter said and he walked out of the room without a backwards glance.
She walked out of the room. However, just before she left Grimmauld, she saw the Headmaster and wanted to question him of his motives. Was he making some rescue plan? Was he trying to lure Voldemort in?
She needed to know.
Damn her curiosity.
So, by throwing caution to the winds, she said, "Albus! I need to discuss something with you!"
"Of course, my girl," Albus said as he walked towards her and casted a notice-me-not charm around them to shield them from the eyes and ears of curious listeners.
"I am worried about Peter," Lily started.
"Why is it so?" he asked.
"Peter looked so shaken up the other day. So pale. He said that he was going to buy some prank items but he was shaking as a leaf like…like he had been tortured with the Cruciatus Curse," Lily said, "I didn't know what to do. The others didn't notice it but I did. He wouldn't say anything to me. So, I thought that I should tell it to you."
"Ah, I'm sure it is nothing to worry about. Maybe he saw an animal getting accidentally killed. He was always sensitive towards animals, wasn't he?"
"Yes. But, I'm worried. He arrives to the meetings late. He refuses to talk about what he was doing more than half the time. I don't know what to do. And I hate not knowing what is going on," she said.
"It is fine. This is the time in life when a person makes other friends. Maybe he just has other friends and he loses track of time. These things happen, my dear. It is nothing to worry about," he said.
Translation: Peter is spending time with the Death Eaters and Dumbledore knew this.
She plastered a smile on her face and said, "Of course. I just wish he would tell us so that I wouldn't be so worried."
"Maybe he is ashamed that he made new friends when he already had friends. These things are normal, my dear. There is nothing to fear."
"Okay. Also, I was thinking that maybe we should change the Secret Keeper from Peter to Sirius."
"Why?" there was a tiny flash of…something that she couldn't decipher.
"Because, well, Voldemort is intelligent, like you said. So, he could easily understand that Sirius is a decoy and Peter is actually the Secret Keeper. So, if we make Sirius the decoy, then he would never suspect it because he would think that it was too obvious." Of course, Lily wasn't going to do it but she wanted to see what Dumbledore would say.
"No, my dear," he said a bit too fast, "It is the perfect decoy. Voldemort would never be able to understand it. I should know, I have taught him. Don't worry. Everything is fine. Don't change the Secret Keeper."
Okay, so he knew about Peter and he didn't want them to change the Secret Keeper. Does he want them to be killed?
Oh. Oh. He wanted them to die. But, why?
"Okay, Albus. I'm very worried, you see," Lily said.
"Of course, it is normal to be worried. But, it is the perfect plan," here he hesitated for a split second, "to ensure that you and your family live. Don't worry, I've got everything covered."
"Why can't we just plan an ambush attack? That way even if we don't kill Voldemort, we could kill off quite a few of his minions. Lesser enemies to look out for in the battlefield," Lily reasoned.
"But that would be stooping to their level," Lily just refrained from saying 'It is a fucking war', "And we shouldn't kill people. Everyone deserve a second chance," 'Utter bullshit' is what she thought, "Besides, it is for the Greater Good. Now, Harry must be waiting for you."
She blinked at the abrupt dismissal. Harry was with the Weasleys and, as far as she knew, he absolutely adored Molly and always wanted to play with Ron.
"For the Greater Good," she repeated hollowly as she walked out of the house and Disapparated with a 'crack' sound.
For the first time in her life she wondered.
Greater good for whom?
Albus Dumbledore watched with faint apprehension as the brightest witch of her age Disapparated. He had a faint suspicion that she knew of Peter Pettigrew being a Death Eater but that wouldn't be possible. She was intelligent, but she would never be suspicious of the great Albus Dumbledore's words.
He chuckled at her wilful ignorance.
Such a powerful girl. And their son, he was so much more. Magic like that of Tom Riddle when he was a mere year old. He shuddered to think what power that boy would one day yield. He would be more powerful than Albus in all fields.
And that could simply not happen. He had invested so much of his time and effort to build the perfect grandfatherly mask that everyone could rely on. After all, who better to ask for advice other than the 'Defeater of Grindelwald'? He also had to work his way up to where he was—the Chief Warlock, Supreme Mugwump and the Headmaster. He hated the Purebloods who had their careers settled even before they were born. Who never had to work to achieve it.
He would be the most powerful of them all. He would show people that a poor boy from Mold-on-the-World can go to high places. He would make all dreams come true and his good-for-nothing brother would beg him for forgiveness. Him not Tom Riddle or Harry Potter.
He had almost slipped and said 'perfect plan to get you and your family killed'. However, he had changed it to last moment to 'perfect plan to ensure that you and your family live'. That boy was too powerful. He needed to be subdued.
That was the reason he hadn't told the Potters about their child's condition.
Yes, he would win and the wizarding world would call their praises.
Don't worry, Gellert, he thought, I will make all your dreams come true.
After all, who cared about cockroaches? Because that was what muggles were. Cockroaches.
A/N: I hope you all enjoyed it. Please read and review.