Chapter 3
That night, Professor Dumbledore Apparated the highest number of times he had for thirty-five years. Each time he appeared somewhere, he would lay his wand on the palm of his hand and instruct it "Point me to Sirius Black." The wand would spin around before eventually settling on a direction. It was clear to Professor Dumbledore that while he was trying to chase down Sirius Black, he was chasing Peter Pettigrew.
When Professor Dumbledore eventually found Sirius Black after three hours of searching, he would have sworn aloud if he were given to swearing, for Sirius was standing in the middle of a street, facing down Peter Pettigrew. Both men had their wands raised and pointed at the other, with hostile expressions on their faces. Neither of them had noticed his arrival. Dumbledore knew he had to act fast, so as Pettigrew opened his mouth to shout something to all within earshot, Dumbledore twitched his wand and sent a jet of red light into Pettigrew's back, causing him to collapse to the ground.
Sirius blinked in surprise as he realised Professor Dumbledore was there. "Albus! Albus, it's him! He's the spy! He betrayed us… He betrayed James!" Dumbledore raised his hand in placation. "I know, Sirius, I know. Petunia informed me that Peter was a Secret Keeper." Sirius' brow furrowed in confusion. "Petunia? How could she… Ha! Hahahaha! She was a Secret Keeper too?" Dumbledore nodded. "Indeed. It seems brilliance runs in that family. She pointed out that having a single person holding a Secret runs the risk of it being lost if they were to die without revealing it. And to forestall your next question, Harry is with her, safely sleeping."
Dumbledore saw the stress vanish from Sirius' face. "Where is he, Albus? I need to see him!" Dumbledore held up a hand. "If you will bear with an old man a little while, I shall take you to him. First though, I think you, I, and Mister Pettigrew should pay a visit to Millicent and Bartemius." Sirius nodded grimly. "Agreed. A cell in Azkaban is more than the rat deserves." Dumbledore picked up a battered Coca-Cola can from the gutter and poked his wand at it with a murmur of "Portus". The can glowed blue for a moment, then Dumbledore held it loosely over Pettigrew's unconscious body. Sirius and Dumbledore exchanged a glance before vanishing with a crack. As the can left Professor Dumbledore's grip, it landed on Pettigrew's chest, causing him to disappear too.
The next hour and a half were a blur for Sirius. All he cared about was that at the end of that time, his testimony had been taken, under Veritaserum at his own insistence, and Pettigrew was being kept unconscious in a cell so secure even a slip of parchment couldn't fit through the gaps in the bars. But his prime concern at that moment was the 15 month old baby boy asleep in his arms. Dumbledore had kept his word, and brought Sirius to Petunia's house. "Petunia?" Sirius asked, as she sat across the room from him, silently grieving for Lily. "Do you know of any houses for sale around here? I'm still Harry's godfather, and I'll be damned before I'm not a part of his life."
