Written for QLFC Season 10, Round 6
Wigtown Wanderers, Beater 1
Prompt: Brave Danny Flint (identity, creating a new life, having a secret)
Additional Prompts: (character) Marius Black; (weather) rainy; (pairing) Remus/Sirius
Word Count: 2994
TW: canon deaths, implied betrayal by leadership
Author's Note: When I read the lyrics to "Brave Danny Flint", I was absolutely shocked (seriously, TW for rapes in the lyrics given in the wiki, if you go looking for some reason). I really don't like writing tragedy, so I decided to work with some of the less depressing themes. Some of the big moments in the song are about leaving an old life behind, starting an entirely new life/identity for yourself, and using that new identity to keep a secret. For me, identity isn't just about a name; it's about the person you choose to become and the kind of life you choose to create.
Also, for our purposes here, Marius Black is not a squib. I never remember he's a squib until I check the wiki or something, so I'm choosing to completely disregard that little tidbit. In my mind, he's just a disgraced member of the Black family living his best life in another country. It's fanfiction, right? Marius also uses the term muggle because that's what he was raised with. Some words just stick with you, no matter how long you live somewhere else. (Plus I hate the term "No-Maj". Blech.) Lastly, JKR wasn't consistent in her use of Secret Keeper vs. Secret-Keeper in canon texts, so I chose to use the latter for the purpose of continuity. And if you've made it this far in my novel-length author's note, thanks for hanging in there, and I hope you enjoy!
Secrets and Promises
Marius Black hated wizarding London. He hated the cold, rainy weather that no combination of charms could make bearable. He hated the homogeneity of the food, clothing, activities, everything. Most of all, he hated the way of life.
The day he finished Hogwarts, Marius emptied his trust vault and grabbed the next international portkey to anywhere else.
"Anywhere else" was New York City. It was sometimes cold and rainy there, too, but New York definitely made up for it. Marius loved how even the magical part of the city never slept, and there was always something going on. Most excitingly, it was a melting pot of magical and muggle cultures from around the world.
Marius started a small apothecary with his trust fund, and his outgoing, caring nature drew in customers from across the city. His little shop grew into two, then three, then five. In a decade, Marius owned a dozen apothecaries across the northeast. Now, forty years later, he had three times that number. His business had also helped him foster alliances with other ethical business leaders and progressive politicians, many of whom he would actually call friends. Even outside of work he had a fantastic life—a brilliant wife, two wonderful daughters, half a dozen grandchildren, a house in the country. He almost never thought of the life he'd left behind.
Almost never. Once a year, Marius returned to wizarding London to deal with company business. When he did, he was quick—in and out of Gringotts, head down, avoiding eye contact. He'd done it that way for many years now, mostly out of habit.
Marius couldn't understand why today felt different. Maybe it was a false sense of security; he hadn't been recognized in many years. Maybe it was curiosity—had his old home changed at all since he left? Maybe it was simply nostalgia for a life he never had.
Whatever it was drew Marius Black from Gringotts to the Leaky Cauldron on that gray, drizzly day. He ordered a pint and moved to the back of the pub to people-watch and enjoy his anonymity.
He sat a few tables away from two young men who were in a tense discussion. Marius had shed his family's expectations, but he couldn't ignore eighteen years of training. Taking a swig of beer, he listened closely.
"I don't understand," the black-haired man argued. "Why do you have to go to the packs now? James and Lily might need us. Harry might need us."
Something about him seemed familiar. Studying his features, Marius realized they might be related.
The one with crescent-shaped scars criss-crossing his skin sighed and ran a marred hand through his hair. "I know that, Sirius. But I can't say no to Dumbledore, and half the Order already distrusts me."
Marius perked up at the celestial name. Definitely related. And their talk of packs along with the other young man's scars screamed lycanthrope. But why was a Black arguing so intimately with a werewolf? More importantly, how had he gotten mixed up with Dumbledore? Marius shuddered at the near-forgotten memory.
"So what, Remus?" Sirius ground out. "James and Lily trust you."
Remus shot him a bitter look. "Do you trust me, Sirius? I know you talked them out of letting me do it."
"Of course I do!" Sirius thundered. "We're both bad candidates. We're too obvious."
Remus narrowed his eyes. "I don't believe you. I think you're going to be the one to do it, and you and James don't trust me enough to tell me the truth."
Sirius slammed his hands on the table, rattling their glasses. "The only way we defeat—" he glanced around surreptitiously "—You-Know-Who is by having each other's backs. Dumbledore's plans can wait until our friends are safe."
Marius had heard enough. He drained his pint and approached the young men. As they reached for their wands, he gave them his friendliest smile.
"I mean you no harm," Marius murmured, American accent twanging in his own ears. "May I sit?"
Remus remained silent, but Sirius stared at him intently. "You look familiar, but I don't know any Americans."
Marius shrugged. "You've probably seen pictures of me as a young man, assuming I wasn't disowned and blasted off the family tree. Not that I'd mind."
"I see." Sirius was clearly going over the family tapestry in his mind. "Great Uncle Marius?"
"The one and only."
"Definitely blasted off the tree," Sirius confirmed.
"Of course I was!" Marius chuckled. "Now, may I sit?"
Sirius gestured to the chair beside him, and Marius quickly put up a mild privacy ward. It wasn't strong enough to obscure everything, but they wouldn't be easily noticed.
"I assume you're one of Walburga's boys?" Marius probed.
Sirius offered only a stiff nod.
"I see. Now how did my grandnephew get involved with a werewolf and Albus Dumbledore?"
The blood drained from Remus' face, and Sirius gripped his hand as if to anchor him.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Sirius said through gritted teeth.
Marius waved their apprehension away. "My board chairman is a werewolf and the godfather of my oldest daughter; Remus' status doesn't concern me. I'm merely surprised your parents allowed the friendship."
"Let's just say our faces on the tapestry met the same fate," Sirius snarked.
"A fellow ne'er-do-well? Marvelous!" Marius exclaimed. "But that still doesn't explain Dumbledore."
"He's leading the fight against You-Know-Who," Remus replied. "If you're fighting against You-Know-Who, you side with Dumbledore or do nothing. 'Nothing' isn't an option. Dumbledore says our friends are in danger."
"How terrible," Marius commiserated. "How did this all begin?"
For the next hour, Marius listened as they weaved a tale of abuse, brotherhood, and terror. When they finished, Marius studied them for a long moment.
Finally, he asked, "How much do you trust Albus Dumbledore?"
"Implicity," Remus replied.
"I don't know," Sirius said at the same time.
Marius tapped his thumb rhythmically on the table and turned to Remus. "Why are you so willing to trust Dumbledore?"
Remus stiffened. "He let me attend Hogwarts even though I was a werewolf. He put a lot of trust in me."
"Do you feel like you should trust him since he trusted you?" Marius asked. "Or do you feel indebted to him for trusting you?"
Stunned, Remus sat back in his chair, looking deeply into his beer for a few moments. Finally he whispered, "I don't know."
Marius turned to Sirius. "What are your thoughts on Mr. Dumbledore's trustworthiness?"
Sirius took a deep breath. "He looks at this war like a chess game, and we're all pawns to him. Right now, it makes the most tactical sense to protect James and Lily because You-Know-Who's after Harry. But what if Dumbledore decides Harry is the perfect bait? What happens to James and Lily?"
Remus choked on a swig of beer. "You think he'd do that?"
"Of course he would." Sirius leveled his gaze at Remus. "The Prewetts were supposed to be safe while watching the Flamels. They supposedly had emergency portkeys and other protections from Dumbledore. Instead, they died while the Flamels escaped. Remus, they were only ever meant to be roadblocks to give the Flamels time to run. Dumbledore will allow innocent people to die for 'the greater good'."
"Shit." Remus ran a hand through his hair. "Okay, we'll hide James, Lily and Harry under a Fidelius Charm without Dumbledore. The house is already Unplottable. That combination is the best chance we've got."
"Even if it wasn't Dumbledore's idea, I'd still hate it," Sirius retorted. "A Secret-Keeper can crack. You might not be able to force the secret out with Veritaserum or Legilimency, but torture would do the trick."
"If no one but the Potters knew who the Secret-Keeper was, they'd be safe," Remus argued.
"Or if the Secret-Keeper was on a different continent," Marius threw out nonchalantly.
Sirius and Remus jerked back to look at him. They'd forgotten he was there.
"What did you say?" Remus asked slowly.
Marius dusted some imaginary lint from his lapel. "If the Secret-Keeper was, say, in America, You-Know-Who wouldn't be able to get to him. If the Secret-Keeper also had important friends who wanted him kept safe and your megalomaniac problem resolved, it would be even harder."
"You mean yourself," Sirius said.
"Obviously," Marius agreed. "The American government can't technically get involved, but my friends would very much like for this You-Know-Who problem to disappear. They'll support me. Put your friends under a Fidelius Charm and make me the Secret-Keeper. Just don't tell Dumbledore what you've done. Then I'll go home and put my own home under the Fidelius with my wife as the Secret-Keeper. She's a muggleborn and hates how I grew up; I'm sure she'll jump at the chance to anger some pureblood fascists. Love that woman," he trailed off dreamily.
After a beat of silence, Remus asked, "Why are you doing this? What do you gain from helping us?"
"I've got a few reasons." Marius began counting on his fingers. "One, I'd love to help out a fellow Black family rebel. Anyone burned off that tapestry is a friend of mine. Two, I'm old, far away, and a non-entity. No one will suspect me, so both the Potters and I will be safe. Three, it's the right thing to do. Innocent people shouldn't die if I can prevent it. Four, I really don't trust Albus Dumbledore."
"We've clearly got our own reasons to distrust him," Sirius said curiously. "But what did Dumbledore do to you?"
Marius sighed and looked longingly at his empty glass. "I don't visit London often. Too much history, and I hate the rain. But I come back once a year or so to deal with company business—imports, suppliers, contracts. A few years after I'd moved away, Dumbledore saw me leaving Gringotts. He'd been my transfiguration professor; I thought I'd enjoy catching up with him for a few moments. He instantly tried to recruit me. He knew I had some money—my new shop was doing well—and he knew I had some powerful friends in the States. He wanted me to try to get America more involved in the fight against Grindelwald. He didn't ask outright, but he used every bit of knowledge he had to try to encourage and then guilt me into doing what he wanted. I got away as quickly as I could. When I thought back on the way he interacted with students, it was easy to see the way he played people, how he made them feel like they owed him. I'm not surprised it's carried over into his leadership of this organization you're in. I don't trust him. Not one bit."
A slow smile stretched across Sirius' face. "Welcome to the club, Uncle Marius."
"Glad to be here," Marius answered with a grin of his own.
"If you're sincere about this, let's get moving," Remus said. "Can you stay until tomorrow? James and Lily have a few things to take care of before we hide them away."
Stay in London? For a fleeting moment, Marius thought of the international portkey waiting for him. He could leave now and let it whisk him far from this miserable, wet hellhole. But it wouldn't be right.
"I'll stay," he said, "on the muggle side of London."
Marius dropped the privacy ward and followed Sirius and Remus out into the gray London drizzle. The muggle part of the city didn't seem so bad. It reminded him a bit of New York with less panache and more rainfall.
"I'll need to visit a muggle bank and exchange enough for a hotel tonight," Marius told them.
"Do you always carry muggle money?" Remus asked curiously.
"Of course! I sometimes have to do a bit of business in muggle New York, and I always like to be prepared." A Black, even a disgraced one, was prepared for any situation.
Within the hour, Marius was standing in front of an expensive hotel room.
"Hurry now, gentlemen," he said, opening the door and ushering Sirius and Remus away. "You have work to do."
Finally alone, Marius sank down onto the bed and stared out the window at the torrents of rain. "Now to call and tell Evelyn that I've upended all our plans for the foreseeable future. Wonderful."
Once again, Marius thanked his lucky stars for such an incredible wife. Before she even heard the full story, she came up with basically the same solution he had; she didn't even hesitate to accept her role in it all and promised to explain things to their family. She finished the phone call by telling him how proud she was of him, and Marius slept easy knowing he was on the right path.
Still, he had no desire to tarry in rainy Britain. Marius was already packed when Remus knocked on his door the next morning.
"They're ready when you are," the younger man said, eyes puffy and bloodshot in his tear-streaked face.
Marius put a firm hand on his shoulder. "I know this is hard, son."
"They're worth it." Remus swiped ineffectually at his cheek. "I'd do anything to keep them safe."
"Even trust a stranger over Mr. Dumbledore?" Marius said with a smirk.
Remus chuckled darkly. "Sirius, James, Lily, and I had a long chat last night, and we put a few things together. Let's just say any charitable thoughts I once had about Dumbledore have evaporated. You're exactly what we needed, Mr. Black."
"Please, call me Marius."
Casting the Fidelius Charm was a surprisingly quick process.
Marius stood in front of a large cottage with Lily Potter, trying not to think about the rain soaking its way through his coat.
"Ready?" he asked.
She shrugged. "As ready as I'll ever be."
After a few quick waves of Lily Potter's wand, Marius noted how the air around Potter Cottage shimmered like an invisibility cloak before settling again. Behind him, he heard a pair of poorly stifled sobs from where Sirius and Remus were standing across the street. Marius passed Lily a scrap of hotel paper with the location of the house for James and herself to use.
"I suppose that's everything." Lily wiped away a single tear. "How can we ever thank you, Mr. Black?"
Marius took her hand and gently kissed her knuckles. "Please, call me Marius, Mrs. Potter."
"Then it's Lily," she said wetly.
"Well then, Lily, you can repay me by promising to live. Promise you'll live a long, wonderful life. Promise you'll raise your children in a home full of love. Promise you'll give them a world better than either of us had. And when this war is over, promise you'll come to America and meet my family. You and my wife would be thick as thieves."
Lily squeezed his hand gently. "I promise."
Marius nodded and turned to cross the barrier.
"And Marius?" Lily called after him.
He turned and looked at her.
"Be safe. I'll see you soon," she said meaningfully.
He smiled as she slipped back into the cottage, then he crossed the street to Sirius and Remus.
"You can't remember it?" he asked immediately.
"Not at all," Remus replied, not bothering to hide the tears on his face.
"Thank you again for doing this, Uncle Marius." Sirius pulled him in for a back-slapping handshake that didn't quite hide his trembling shoulders.
"Of course, my boy." Marius reached out and squeezed each of their shoulders. "When all this war business is finished and your friends are safe, send a message to Lead Detective Sayre at MACUSA. She's the equivalent of your Head Auror and a personal friend. I won't believe anything I hear about the end of the war until I hear it from her. Got it?"
"What should we say?" Remus asked. "I don't want someone to fool you with a random message."
"Something about a snitch being caught," Marius answered. "Quidditch isn't that big in the States, so I doubt anyone would guess that. And sign off with your funny little nicknames."
Sirius was ready to argue about their Marauder names, but he stilled under Remus' hand.
"That we can do," Remus said. "Thank you again, Marius. I hope to see you very soon."
Marius placed a hand over his heart. "I hope for the same. Stay out of trouble, you two."
"Us?" Sirius said with a smirk. "Never."
Marius Black returned the grin and disapparated out of the downpour.
The American magical population found it very strange when Marius Black, a prominent businessman, disappeared from the public eye overnight. It was even stranger that he and his wife had put their home under the Fidelius Charm.
Of course, there was speculation about why they erected a Fidelius Charm. Was the mafia threatening his life? Was he seeking treatment for some illness he hadn't disclosed to the public? Was he just being paranoid?
Stranger still was the way they dropped the Fidelius Charm on October 31, 1982. Marius Black emerged from his home, already half-drunk, and bought rounds for his local pub until he had to be escorted home.
The British family that visited a few weeks later also drew some interest, but the gossips quickly deemed them unrelated to Marius' bout of oddity.
Even after the threat had long passed, Marius never explained himself or the secret he'd kept. Eventually the world just forgot about the strange time without Marius Black.
But every Christmas, he got a rain-spattered card from Britain with a photo inside. There was always a dark-haired man, a redheaded woman, and a small boy who looked just like his father. Later they added a raven-haired little girl and then a boy with his mother's red locks. The card always carried stories about the family's adventures through the year and what they were looking forward to. Marius treasured every one.
The end of each card, under the long message from the whole family, was a short addendum: "Keeping my promises. Always. Love, Lily."