Chapter 22

Meanwhile…

"Someone is at the door, Master Sirius" Kreacher said, "Say, he knows you. I invited him into the living room; told him to wait there. Shall I tell him to leave if Master is busy?"

"No, no" Sirius said "I'm fine, I'll see him now. Didn't ask his name?"

"He said that it was Remus Lupin, Master" Kreacher said.

"Oh, okay. Thank you Kreacher that'll be all" Sirius said.

In the living room Remus Lupin walks around observing the room and the pictures surrounding it. The ones covering the walls consist mainly of Sirius and Harry. However one certain table in the room contained photos of the famous Marauders, and of James and Lily with a young Harry.

Lupin smiled at the picture, as in it everyone except for a sleeping Harry was smiling as well.

"You know, touching other's properties is not considered good mannerism," Sirius said as he walked into the room.

Lupin smiled at his friend as he put the picture back down "If only you had learned that 9 years ago" he said.

Sirius laughed and hugged Lupin "My it's good to see you again old friend"

"Likewise" Lupin said before breaking the hug. He sat down on the nearby couch.

"Didn't know you kept that picture," Lupin said, pointing at the picture of the marauders.

Sirius looked at the picture and then chuckled "Yeah, well I like to keep reminding myself of the old days. That's all they'll ever be now…memories," Sirius said, with a distant look on his face.

Lupin took this time to change the subject "That other one is unfamiliar, when was that shot," he said.

Sirius looked at the other photo on the table "Just two days before…everything" he said.

"You keep blaming yourself, it wasn't your fault" Lupin said.

"Yes, but I still should have known better" Sirius said, with an angry tone "I should've seen our weakest link"

"Sirius, you couldn't have known. Not even James or Lily expected him to turn to the other side," Lupin said. Sirius had a sad look on his face the memories of past still playing in his head.

"Sirius, we have to talk about the secret keeper role," James said.

"What about it?" Sirius asked.

"Well" Lily began, "We understand that there was an Intel that Voldemort is after Harry now. Dumbledore asked us to switch secret keepers just for the sake of protecting Harry," she said.

"Well then, who's going to become the next secret keeper?" Sirius asked.

James grabbed Lily's hand and looked at her "Well, we initially wanted Remus to be the next secret keeper but thing is that he's been in the thick of the war, that we've hardly been able to contact him" he said.

"So, our next viable option is Peter" Lily said.

"Are you sure about this?" Sirius asked, "I mean, I think I'll be able to handle Voldemort. You know me, James? Lily?"

James looked back at Lily and then to Sirius "It's not that we don't trust you mate, it's just that this isn't our decision. Dumbledore's made us do it, he believes strongly that this will protect Harry and us as well" he said.

Sirius had a sad look on his face.

"Sirius, don't look so sad. You still are the best guardian we've ever had, and besides you are still Harry's godfather. No one can take that away from you, not even Dumbledore" Lily said with a smile.

Sirius smirked "Alright then"

"I trust that if this thing does backfire in any way that you'll watch over Harry for us" James said.

Sirius nodded "Of course Prongs"

James grinned "Thanks Padfoot"

Both men stood up; Sirius hugged James and then Lily.

"So, when do we make the switch?" Sirius asked.

"We'll let you know" Lily said.

"If anything the fault should be mine" Lupin said. This caused Sirius to snap out of his daydream and turn his head towards him.

"What're you talking about? You are not one to blame" Sirius said.

"Yes I am. I was initially supposed to be the next secret keeper but I was fighting at the time" Lupin said.

"That's a valid reason to be excused of your faults" Sirius said.

"I suppose so, though I question why out of all the marauders would Voldemort chose Peter above everyone else?" Lupin said.

"He was the weakest one of us I guess. Peter was always afraid of his own shadow. I think Voldemort knew that and used it against him. He was able to get a lot of information out of him. We entrusted a lot with him as well. I guess it was a smart move," Sirius said.

"How did you escape that night?" Lupin asked, "The night you went after Peter"

Sirius had a distant look on his face "With difficulty but I guess with luck as well" he said.

Sirius was running down the empty alleyway. He was chasing someone, someone he just had to catch. Someone he just had to kill out of spite and vengence.

He neared the end of the alleyway and was back out into a street that was empty except for a few midnight strollers. He looked around for the lump of a man he was expecting to see.

That's when he saw it, a lumpy man running as fast as he can to his left. Though the man is struggling in the snow and ice of the road. Sirius growled and chased after him, bloodthirsty.

Sirius was easily able to catch up to him, his stamina from his days of playing Quidditch have yet to wear out yet. In a matter of minutes Sirius had caught up to the man and tackled him down on the ground. The man squealed as he fell.

Sirius got up and turned the man over, looking for his wand, he was panting heavily. The man on the ground was panting as well.

"Sirius, you just don't understand, the weapons the Dark Lord possessed" the man said, almost crying.

"SHUT UP!" Sirius barked, the man did so but he was still sobbing. Sirius found it, on the inside of the man's jacket. The oak coloured wand, which was slightly curved as to contain the unicorn hair. Sirius smiled and snapped the wand in two, and then he threw the pieces back at the man on the ground.

"So that you can't do anymore damage" he said. In one swift movement he picked the lumpy man up. The man was sobbing uncontrollably. Sirius looked at the man with disgust.

"How could you do such a thing? Betraying your friends like that. Friends who would protected you, who would have died for you if you had been in the same position" Sirius said.

The other man snorted as he said, "You just don't understand how much power he possesses. He would have killed me if I didn't tell him anything". The man had now started crying.

"And he was right to do so. Never had I seen such a pathetic creature. Now I know why the rat was so befitting for you. Never didn't I think it would come to embody you" Sirius said. Then he pushed the lumpy man, who fell to the ground once more. Sirius took out his own wand and pointed it at him.

"Shame that our friendship has to end like this" Sirius said, as he clutched the wand with both hands "Any last words? Wormtail" he said.

Wormtail smiled through the tears now covering his face "It was foolish of you to chase me. People will be coming after you now. What would killing me do?" he said

"Who said I was going to kill you?" Sirius asked, "Though it will give me great pleasure, I'm going to use your knowledge. After that the ministry can deal with you. I do hope you enjoy Azkaban Peter," he said.

Peter laughed maniacally; Sirius was confused. "Now what would a dead man find so funny?" Sirius asked.

Peter clapped his hands "You know, you three really did underestimate me. You all thought I was incapable of thinking for myself, or being able to think in general," he said.

Sirius was still confused

"You didn't think that I would just come all the way here only to be caught right. No…I knew that I wouldn't be able to get away with innocence so easily, so I planned everything out. I had Remus be occupied with some Death Eater hunt elsewhere, leaving me to be the next choice for secret keeper. I knew that Lily and James would be keeping it secret; the switching of secret keepers. So for everyone else's concern you're still the secret keeper. Wouldn't look to good in press would it, Padfoot?" Peter said, while laughing once again.

Sirius face went from confused to shock. That's when Peter laughed the hardest.

"You didn't think that I knew you of all people were going to be after me. That I could fool you with that whole 'he's too strong act', no I needed 'an ace in the hole' as the Americans say. People would think that you murdered James and Lily. Chasing me down here is proof that you were bloodthirsty and that you were on his side" Peter said with a clever grin still on his face.

Sirius' face went from shocked to angry, which made Peter laugh even more.

"Go ahead, Padfoot. Kill me, prove to the world that I was right and that you were wrong. No matter what, you'll just end up being hunted" Peter said.

Sirius looked at him angrily but then lowered his wand, the look of defeat remaining on his face.

Peter laughed one more time and stood on his knees. "Fortunately, I had even planned for your mercy as well" he said. Sirius had a confused look. Peter smirked and then snapped his fingers.

BOOM!

The entire area had exploded. Sirius was on the ground trying to recover from the rubble that spread around him. His ears were ringing from the sound of the blast. His vision was fuzzy as he crashed to the ground hard, probably suffering from a mild concussion. He observed his surroundings and saw that Peter had left. This time he looked up and down the street. All that was left where had lay was a single human finger. Sirius looked one more time, that's when he saw it, a rat standing near a sewer just watching him. The way it was standing seemed like it was mocking him, which it was.

Sirius was about to go and chase it down but then the bright flashing of lights stopped him.

"Muggle Police" he said to himself. He looked back to where the rat was but this time it was nowhere to be found. He looked back at the oncoming police car. He knew he only had minutes before it got here. He fumbled through the pockets of his coat.

"Damn" he said to himself. He looked around his surroundings. That's when he saw it, the black candlestick lying there. He rushed towards it, knowing that the car would reach him in seconds. He grabbed it from the grounds but realized that he had also lost the matches to light the candle.

He had spotted it in the spot where he stood but it was already too late. The car had reached him and an officer had come out yelling, "Freeze!"

Sirius' hands were up but he noticed a flame from the explosion still lit just a few feet away from him. He eyed the flame and then the officer. The officer was confused as to what he was staring at. Suddenly Sirius dove towards the flame. The police officer took a shot but missed Sirius. Sirius was short a few inches he crawled his way to the flame. The officer was aiming for his next shot, he didn't want to kill the man but wound him so that he can take him back to the station. Sirius' hand had reached the fire and the candle was lit. The officer cocked the gun. Sirius had closed his eyes and thought of home.

The officer fully pressed the trigger and fired a bullet but it missed. He looked at the place where the man had lay but he was not there, he was nowhere to be seen.

"A Babylon candle eh" Lupin said, smirking "Really rare objects to come by, and really expensive too" he said.

"Expenses aren't a problem for me" Sirius said, quite coolly.

Lupin laughed, "No, I don't suppose they are" he said.

"It should have all ended that day, but he was right. I underestimated him," Sirius said.

"We were all deceived by his intellect. We will not be anymore, shall we come across him again" Lupin said.

"It worries me you know, that he's still out there. It also sickens me," Sirius said.

"Have you managed to tell Harry any of this?" Lupin asked, eyeing Sirius curiously.

"Of course not" Sirius said.

"Well I think he should have a right to know" Lupin said, "He would want to".

"I know but that boy has a lot of burden that he shouldn't be shouldering at his age. He's never going to have a normal life. I wanted something more for him Remus. I hate having to keep things from that boy; his murderer, his own father, everything" Sirius said, with a sad look on his face.

"Which is why we shall help him grow up and prepare him for what's to come. But I imagine the first part of growing up is to show trust in him" Lupin said.

"I know, I know" Sirius said "But let us at least wait a bit. A little more Remus, wouldn't hurt right?"

Lupin smirked and then said, "I suppose not but mind you, the longer you take, the more is affects him".

"I understand Remus, it's just I want him to be able to decide his life first. To decide his priorities," Sirius said.

"Well, this is his life Sirius, he needs to be told so that he understands and prepares. He is a very bright wizard he is. Holding back on him will not end well," Lupin said.

Sirius just stared distantly.

"You've listened to all I've had to say. You've never doubted me before right?" Sirius nodded his head "Then trust me. Trust me like you once used to"

Sirius took a deep breath and then nodded

"I'll tell him everything. No more lies or holding back. I vow from this day to be completely honest to Harry"

AN: Okay so apparently this is the longest chapter of fan fiction i think I have ever written. (WOOHOO, KUDOS TO MYSELF). Just so you all know a Babylon Candle comes from Stardust, a movie I had watched recently with my family. They use a Babylon Candle as a means of transportation, the idea is that you light the candle with the desired destination in mind or something like that and it transports you there in an instant (almost like instant transmission for Goku). I saw it and thought it would be cool to have, after all Harry Potter's world is magical, note the candle though it might make an appearance in later and more important chapters or books. I hope you guys Review a lot because I like reviews since they motivate and help me to write better and to write more, so please I urge you Rate and REVIEW!