October 31, 1981

11 pm

The door was wide open from James' arrival. Drafts of wind found their way into the house. Lily could hear leaves rustling and the chatter of crickets outside.

Sirius ran to James and bent down beside him. "James! James, what's happening? Are you alright?" Lily shot a quick Colloportus at the door, which shut with a bang (it was better if it remained so, she didn't want any Death Eaters getting in) and joined them.

In all the commotion, Harry had woken up. He sat up on the sofa, rubbing his eyes. "Dada?"

"The Cruciatus…Peter…betrayed…" James panted. Lily summoned a glass of water and handed it to him worriedly.

Sirius looked horrified. "He crucio-ed you? Peter? How could he? I mean I thought he wouldn't have, you being James Potter and all, but apart from that, well, he's Peter, isn't he? Wasn't always the best wizard, and I've heard you need a lot of magical talent to-"

James managed a small smile at that. "Sirius, be seriou- oh, never mind. Not Peter, I know Peter wouldn't be able to. Voldemort did. But…"

"But what?" asked Lily, narrowing her eyes.

"Peter betrayed us. I went to his house after I got away from Voldemort. He wasn't there, and there was no sign of a struggle. That means he willingly told Voldemort our location!" said James sadly.

"That rat." growled Sirius. "If I get my hands on him…But it's my fault. I persuaded you to change secret-keepers. I'm so sorry! I thought that Voldemort wouldn't think that you'd ask…Pettigrew to be your secret-keeper. It's all my fault, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have…I'M GOING TO GET HIM!" He leapt up and was halfway to the door when Lily pulled him back.

"Sirius, calm down. It's all right. We will get him, but not yet. Remember, Dumbledore still thinks that you are our secret-keeper, and he might throw you into Azkaban if you go attack Peter like that. Dumbledore doesn't know about Peter yet," she said.

"She's right," said James. "But when we catch him, I'll give you the full rights to do whatever you want with him," he said.

"Anyways, the first thing that we need to do is tell Dumbledore what happened," said Lily sensibly.

"Alright," said Sirius.

"Dun-dore!" said Harry.

"Yes, Harry, that's right, we're going to see Professor Dumbledore," said James.

"But first, James, let's take care of the Cruciatus. It must've hurt a lot," said Lily.

"No, I'm all right-" protested James. But Sirius and Lily were already picking him up and putting him on Sirius' sofa. "What - guys - wait!"

Lily was rummaging inside her jeans pocket. "Finally! I've got it." She pulled out a bottle that couldn't have possibly fit in that pocket. It contained a turquoise potion that Lily had brewed herself for such emergencies. She handed it to James. "Drink it. No arguments."

James sighed. His wife and friends were way too overprotective. But he drank it. "Just out of interest, Lily, how did you fit that humongous bottle in your pocket?" he asked.

"Undetectable Extension Charm," she replied.

"Of course," he muttered. "Can we go now?"

"No, Prongsie. REST!" said Sirius loudly.

James just sighed again.

"Just out of interest - oh, wait, he hasn't told you, has he?" Lily grinned. Sirius groaned.

"What?" asked James interestedly.

"When we arrived, Sirius was howling along to an opera as Padfoot. Why, Sirius?" said Lily with a smirk. Sirius visibly reddened again.

"What?" he said defensively. "I'm sure Prongs has tried singing as a stag at least once. Don't tell me he hasn't!"

Harry laughed. "Dada sing!"

"Well, not as a stag," said James.

"Oh my GOSH! JAMES SINGS! JAMES POTTER SINGS!" yelled Sirius.

"Yeah, well, you needed to shout that out, didn't you? Go on a bit louder, I'm pretty sure a few people fifty miles away haven't heard you very clearly," said James. He blushed as well.

"Anyways," said Sirius hastily. "I thought I'd enter a muggle dog show. You know, I'd probably win. I'm so well-mannered, aren't I?"

Lily and James both snorted. "Yeah, right," said Lily. "That's so believable."

"I'm hurt!" Sirius looked at them disbelievingly. Harry giggled. "Anyways, will you two escort me as my owners?" he asked.

"Of course!" James smirked. He transfigured Sirius's dog toy into a stick and threw it further down the hall. "Fetch, boy."

"Very funny," said Sirius.

Lily cleared her throat. Sirius and James looked startled. "Well, if you two are done acting like first-years, I thought we were supposed to go to Hogwarts?"