1Ok...this hasn't become my most popular fanfic, but oh well. Rome wasn't built in a day, right?

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Chapter 3: New Developements

October 24, 1981

"I still say it's Remus."

Sirius and James were using magic to repaint the Potters' old flat. They were discussing who might be the spy.

"I guess it makes sense." James replied. "Voldemort is recruiting werewolves."

"What does Lily think?" Sirius asked.

"She disagrees." James shrugged. "Remus has never let her or us down since we met him."

"Then who the hell does she think the spy is?" Sirius waved his wand around a window frame.

James smirked. "You."

Sirius did a double-take. "What?!"

James burst out laughing. "Only joking, mate."

Sirius glared at his friend and shot some paint in his direction. James dodged. A little bit of paint got on his shirt and face and in his hair. Sirius laughed his loud, barking laugh. James smirked and shot some paint full-on into Sirius's face. Sirius coughed and gagged. It was James's turn to laugh.

"I swear, Padfoot. Laughing will be your downfall!" James chuckled and shook his head.

Sirius scoffed. "What's wrong with laughing?"

"Nothing!" James shrugged. "Just as long as you don't laugh during a battle."

Lily stepped outside She hd heard that last part of the conversation. "Good point!"

"Thank you!" James called back and smiled.

Lily headed towards the men. "Hey, James, Dumbledore's here. He wants to talk to us. It's urgent."

James looked a bit concerned. "He tell you what it's about?"

"No. He's waiting in the sitting room." Lily replied. She turned to Sirius. "Sirius, would you mind watching Harry for us? I have a feeling he only wants to speak with me and James."

"Sure." Sirius smiled. He whispered to James "Details later."

Lily and James greeted Dumbledore in the sitting room.

"I have some bad news for you two." Dumbledore said gravely. "Brandon Ellis was found dead near a cabin outside Yorkshire a few days ago."

James's mouth dropped open in shock. It took him a few seconds to digest Dumbledore's news. "What? I...how did that happen?"

"It was the killing curse that killed him." Dumbledore replied. "My theory is- and I could be wrong- he stumbled upon a few Death Eaters, and was caught."

"Oh my God..." James sighed heavily and ran both his hands through his hi4r. "Dammit. This is all my fault. I hired him to find out who the spy was!"

Lily hugged James's shoulders. "James, you didn't know this would happen."

"I'm afraid there's more bad news." Dumbledore spoke again. James and Lily both braced themselves. "According to my source inside...Voldemort is indeed targeting Harry."

Now Lily's mouth dropped open. "Our Harry?"

"I'm afraid so."

Lily sighed and shook her head. She was speechless. "Oh my God. No..." She sniffed and started crying. James held her.

"What happens now?" James asked.

"I have a suggestion: you go into hiding, and your cottage will have a fidelus charm added to it." Dumbledore replied.

James nodded slowly. "Okay...that would mean we'd have to have a secret-keeper."

"Correct." Dumbledore nodded. He paused. "With due respect, I think it would be best if I was secret-keeper. Hogwarts is the safest place in the world. It would be impossible for Voldemort to come near me."

"No. We couldn't put you in that kind of danger." Lily replied, wiping away her tears. "The world needs you now . We can't afford to lose you."

Dumbledore smiled with twinkle in his eye. "I appreciate that. Very well. You two decide on a secret-keeper, and I will be back with Professor Flitwick. He's superb at casting the fidelus charm."

"Ok. Thanks, Professor." James said. He sighed as Dumbledore disappeared with a swish of his cloak. He turned to his wife. "So...who should be our secret-keeper?"

XXX

James told Sirius everything while Lily started packing. Sirius was in shock and horrified at the news.

"So...Harry is being targeted...you and your family are gonna have to go into hiding...and you need a secret-keeper." Sirius recounted.

"Yes." James nodded. "And I'd like our secret-keeper to be you."

"Me?" Sirius stared wide-eyed. "James, I don't think..."

"Sirius, I don't trust a lot of people." James admitted. "You, Lily, Harry, Sam, Peter, and Dumbledore are pretty much all I do trust. I'd like our secret-keeper to be you, because I know you'd never betray us."

Sirius smiled. "Well, when you put it that way..."

XXX

Later that evening, the Potters, Sirius, and Dumbledore arrived at the Potter's new hiding place: Godric's Hollow.

"Welcome to your new home." Dumbledore smiled.

"It's lovely." Lily smiled. "Charming, quaint...Janmes, we need to go into hiding more often!" She walked down the pathway to the door with Harry in one arm and a shoulder bag in another.

"I'll help with trhe stuff." Sirius whipped out his wand and levitated the Potter's luggage and headed to the house. Dumbledore and James hung back.

"James, I want to talk to you about your choice for secret-keeper." Dumbledore said calmly.

"What's there to talk about?" James looked confused. "We can trust Sirius."

"I just want you to be sure." Dumbledore continued. "For all we know, he may be the spy."

James burst out laughing. "Yeah, and I'm a 400 foot tall blast-ended skrewt with a pink stinger!"

A few minutes later, James sobered up. "Seriously, though, Sirius would rather die a thousand deaths then betray me. He's never spilled any of my secrets, he's never lied to me or let me down. Sirius is not the spy, and I'm sticking to that theory." Without another word, James headed up the path to join his family.

Dumbledore sighed in foeboding. He knew James must be right, but still...something in the back of his mind told him that Sirius was indeed the spy.

XXX

"So you're the Potter's secret-keeper."

Sirius was back at his flat. Sam arrived for dinner. Sirius nodded and smiled. "Yeah. Better me than Remus anyway."

"Oh, come off it. You still don't think Remus of all people is the spy, do you?" Sam threw her head back and sighed. She sat down on the cough next to her boyfriend. "In what universe would Remus be the spy?"

Sirius sighed and shrugged. "I just don't trust him after he spilled to the whole of Hogwarts that I snuck off campus during an exam! I almost got expelled for God's sake!"

"So would not sneak off-campus, then!" Sam raised an eyebrow. "And didn't Snape pour a truth potion in his drink before he spilled?"

"Yes..." Sirius replied slowly. "But still!"

Sam just laughed and shook her head. "Whatever./"

XXX

About a hundred miles away, Voldemort stood inside a cottage looking out a window. Peter knelt behind him.

"So...Potter has a secret-keeper." Voldemort took in.

Peter gulped. "Yes, Master."

"And the secret-keeper is Sirius Black?"

"Yes."

Voldemort stroked his chin in thought. "Time is running out. Every second that boy grows older./ My patience is wearing thin." He turned to face his servant. "We have to do something."

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