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CHAPTER TWO: LOVERS

"Andy," Lucius said, breathing unevenly. "Who is it?"

"Not here," Andromeda whispered. "We cannot tell the child."

Lucius grabbed the parchment from her, the name of the caster perfectly clear on it.

Caster: James Charlus Potter

Lucius sucked in a sharp breath. He turned to the small boy on dear late Reggie's bed. "Harry," he said soothingly. "Do you remember the way back to the drawing room, or do you need me to take you there?"

"I-I remember the way," Harry said quietly. "Thank you, sir." He walked out with his head bowed.

Lucius shut the door and cast a silencing charm around the room. "James. Bloody. Potter," he said, spitting out every word as if it were venom.

Andromeda shook her head in denial. "It couldn't be, Lucius. There must be a mistake. The Potters and I – Ted and I knew them for years. James loved his son more than anything else in the world. Harry was his pride and joy. Merlin, he died for the boy!"

Lucius sat down on the bed. Andromeda began pacing around the room.

"And what do you think happened then?" Lucius asked. "It's there, Andromeda. It's written in black and white."

"Well, we can't ask James, can we?" Andromeda snapped.

Lucius straightened up. "No," he said. "But we can ask someone close to him."

Andromeda looked thoughtful. "How many people do we know? Pettigrew is dead and Sirius..." She cleared her throat. "We could ask his godmother. Or Remus Lupin. I remember him; he was quite the intelligent lad."

Lucius nodded determinedly. "Harry will be alright with Cassiopeia. I'll go ask Minerva for information; you ask Lupin."

"We'll meet at the gate at sundown," Andromeda said. She pocketed her wand and grabbed her travelling cloak. "Good luck."

Lucius stared into her stormy grey eyes for a few moments. "You too," he said finally. He really hoped James hadn't been involved in this. Although forbidden to show it due to his role as a spy, Lucius had been quite fond of the younger man. They had even met for a few glasses of Ogden's Firewhiskey in the Three Broomsticks under disguises a few times.

Andromeda Disapparated, hoping for the best. Where would she look for Remus Lupin? She stopped by the Three Broomsticks and asked Madam Rosmerta if she had seen him.

"Not since You-Know-Who died," the barmaid had said. "You should stop by sometime, Andromeda. How's Ted?"

Andromeda had hastily thanked Madam Rosmerta and left. Only then did it dawn on her that she could use Sirius Black I's spell to track him down. She muttered the incantation, which led her to a small cottage near Buckinghamshire.

Andromeda took a deep breath and knocked sharply on the door. A muffled shuffling was heard and the door was opened by a worn but smartly dressed Remus Lupin. Andromeda smiled politely. "Good afternoon, Remus. It is good to see you again. I hope I'm not interrupting anything?"

Remus smiled warmly. "Nothing at all, Andromeda. Please, come in." He stepped aside, giving her access to the shabby house. "It's good to see you too. What brings you here? Please, sit down."

Andromeda sighed. "It's a bit of a long story."

Remus smiled again. "I've got time. Tea, Andromeda?"

"Yes, Remus, thank you. About a year after you graduated from Hogwarts, Arcturus, who had then been Lord Black, had given me a partial reinstallation to the Blacks. So this year, we finally managed to get Harry away from the Muggle world."

Remus's head snapped up from the mugs he was setting out. "Harry?" he asked. "You have him?"

"We do," Andromeda said warmly, "and naturally, you are most welcome to come back into his life. But for now, we have a very important issue at hand."

"What's that?" Remus asked concernedly.

"Lucius and I were scanning Harry for any possible dark curses or physical injuries. I came across a Shrouding Curse."

Remus nearly dropped the mugs. "A Shrouding Curse? By Merlin, Andromeda, who would do that?"

Andromeda smiled grimly. "That's what we asked ourselves. The results were rather... shocking, to say the least."

"Well?" Remus said with uncharacteristic impatience. "Who was it?"

"James."

Remus choked on his tea. His face was drained of all colour. "James? Do not be foolish, Andromeda. James would have no reason to do this to his own son."

Andromeda narrowed her eyes. "It was there, Remus, written in black and white. James Charlus Potter. That was the only name there."

"A-Are you sure?" Remus said.

"What are you hiding from me, Remus? Please," she said. "Tell me. For Harry."

"Well..."

90 Minutes Ago

Lucius carefully slipped into McGonagall's office, trying to go unnoticed.

"Minerva?" he called out. "May I take a moment to ask you something?"

Minerva McGonagall appeared in her office at Hogwarts, severe as ever. "Mr Malfoy," she said with surprise. "What brings you here? What do you wish to ask me?"

Lucius gingerly sat down, feeling like he was back in sixth year, being caught trying to get some poor Hufflepuff in trouble with Severus and Rodolphus. "I thought, as James's godmother, you would know..."

Minerva raised an eyebrow. "Know what, Mr Malfoy?" McGonagall's voice was sharp and disapproving.

"You see, Minerva, after consulting with the ministry, we managed to get custody of Harry Potter."

"Consulting, Mr Malfoy?" "Must I lecture you on the importance of justice and nobility again?"

Lucius rolled his eyes. "This is why you're a Gryffindor and I'm not. The thing is, Andromeda and I found Shrouding Curses on Harry. The caster was revealed to be your godson."

Minerva was a woman who could not be easily startled. But this... "My godson?" she echoed. "Lucius, you must be mistaken. James adored Harry. Harry was the light of his life."

"Then why did he curse his own son? And can you please tell me what a Shrouding Curse is, Minerva? I'm afraid Andromeda was a bit preoccupied."

McGonagall laughed. "A Malfoy begging for information... What has the world come to?"

Lucius huffed. "Will you tell me, or shall I find out for myself?"

"A Shrouding Curse is a very complicated spell, Mr Malfoy. Much like a glamour charm, its purpose is to hide a specific characteristic of the person it is cast upon. However, in contrast to the glamour charm, the person, along with anyone else the caster appoints, will forget about their hidden characteristic. For example, if I used the Shrouding Curse to make it look as though you had the looks of a Longbottom, you'd forget that you were born a Malfoy. If I had the ability and magical power to appoint all of Britain to see that, you would be officially a Longbottom in the people's minds, but not in mine and the people I've made exceptions for."

Lucius didn't say anything. "Would James really cast that on his son?"

"If he would, I'd resurrect him just to end him myself, Mr Malfoy. My godson was not a liar and a manipulator. He was noble..." Her voice cracked. "He was a real knight, Lucius, a true Gryffindor..."

"I know," Lucius said heavily. "Thank you for your time, Minerva. I will be sure to visit soon. Goodbye for now."

"Goodbye, Lucius..."

Lucius Disapparated and appeared in front of Black Manor, but Andromeda wasn't there. She was listening to the most unbelievable story of her life.

"What I'm saying, Andromeda," Remus said slowly, "is that James had a reason to cast that curse. He was trying to protect Harry."

"By altering his identity?" Andromeda demanded. "What was it that he changed, anyway?"

Remus took a deep breath. He couldn't say it. But he had to. "I'm sorry, James," he said quietly.

"Remus," Andromeda pressed on.

"James, Sirius and Lily's relationship was a complicated one," Remus began reluctantly. "James loved Lily, but her friendship with Severus prevented her from accepting him. Sirius fancied Marlene McKinnon. But later, they all changed. Sirius and Marlene had a temporary fallout. In the meantime... Sirius fell for Lily."

Andromeda slowly placed her mug of tea on the table. "Pardon?"

Remus winced. "Yeah... Lily comforted Sirius after he was disowned. And James... James stopped thinking of her in that way. He still loved her, but it was no longer that obsessive lust that consumed him. I examined a sample of his blood and discovered he had been fed lust potions. Not love potions; lust potions."

"I know the difference," Andromeda said. "Just continue..."

"I have yet to find out who gave them to him, but the thing is that he and Lily developed a completely platonic relationship. Of course, to the rest of the world, Lily and James were still very much in love, even though Lily was meeting Sirius secretly. James and Lily married for the public because of the war – Sirius and James were in a very critical position as it was – but when Sirius wanted a child, James didn't want to be the one to sire it. He said the child ought to be Sirius's and that it wasn't fair for him to interfere in his relationship with Lily."

"So Sirius sired Harry and James cast the Shrouding Curse to protect him," Andromeda finished grimly.

"Correct," Remus said.

"So Harry is Lily and Sirius's son. James died protecting Lily and Harry. Harry is a Black by blood. No one knows about the Sirius – Lily situation."

Andromeda put in short, easy to understand sentences, hoping it would somehow become easier to comprehend. It didn't.

"Good to know," she finally said.

"Severus and Marlene don't know either?"

"No one knows apart from James, Sirius, Lily, you and me. We didn't even tell Peter."

"Thank you, Remus," Andromeda said heavily. "Please stop by Black Manor some time. Harry will love you."

With those parting words, Andromeda Apparated to the gate at Black Manor, where Lucius was pacing. She immediately told him everything Remus had told her.

Lucius's eyes widened comically. "That's just the example Minerva gave me," he said numbly after a pregnant pause. "Except instead of Black and Potter, she used Malfoy and Longbottom."

Andromeda frowned slightly. "It still does not make much sense, Lucius. Harry does not act like a Black. Even Dora was more of a Black – spontaneous, articulate, ambitious, cunning... Not to mention Draco. He's so much like Regulus, it's painful."

"Give Harry time, Andy," Lucius said. "He'll become a Black soon enough. Now we have to remove the Shrouding Curse."

"Shall we go?" Andromeda asked with mock politeness.

Lucius smiled and nodded determinedly. "We shall."