The Next Great Adventure (A Marauders Fan Fic)

Chapter Seventy Two

Chapter Seventy Two

Three days later Peter dropped by again and Lily told him that they had made Sirius their Secret-Keeper. "You came at exactly the right time," she said as she handed him a plate of biscuits, "Dumbledore is casting the spell this evening."

"I'm going to miss you three so much," he sighed. "But if this helps then... there's nothing else to be done."

"Exactly," she agreed. "Life is so... terrifying at the moment and all I can think about is finding one of you dead or someone vanishing- It doesn't bear thinking about and I know James feels the same way."

"Where is Prongs?" Peter asked.

"He's just upstairs sorting Harry out; I'm sure he'll be down in a minute."

"Nice to see that there's still some normalcy around right now," he chuckled. "Although I still can't really get used to the idea of Prongs having a child."

"Me neither," Lily snorted, "and I wouldn't exactly call this normal. I didn't want children until I was at least in my late twenties," she laughed.

"It's a lot more normal than out there," he muttered. "If I'm ever out in the evening I stare at my feet the whole way, worrying that I'll see the Dark Mark if I ever look up. Every time I leave my house I worry that I won't be coming back... But it'll all work out in the end I'm sure."

"I'm sure it will. You just have to trust the Order and Dumbledore."

"Can we trust Dumbledore though?" he asked. "Sometimes it seems like he's... I don't know," he sighed, "I just don't know what's happening anywhere and it makes me doubt so much. I just want this to be over."

"It will be," she said, giving him a hug.

That night Dumbledore returned to their house. "Lily, James," he said seriously, "I cannot cast the Fidelius Charm tonight; the conditions for the spell are not right. They ought to have been, but something I had not foreseen took place, which altered the state of the evening. However, it is refreshing to know that Nature is still capable of thwarting my plans; even the best of us must be reminded that they are not omnipotent every so often. I will add some more enchantments to your house, but I believe that you will be perfectly fine until I do cast the spell - I have heard that Voldemort is focusing his attention on Barty Crouch and his Aurors at the moment. It is not too serious, there ought to be a number of times over the coming few weeks when the conditions will be right, so the delay is not of much importance. Do not fear, Professor McGonagall will not let me forget about you."

James frowned, but Lily placed her hand on his wrist and held him back. "Dumbledore," he began, and she shot him a warning glance, "I was wondering if you've quite finished with my Cloak?"

"Ah yes, rest assured I haven't forgotten about returning it to you," he said. "I have been too busy to examine it at the moment, as I'm sure you'll understand. Would you object greatly to my keeping it for a little longer? If I have not looked at it before I cast the Fidelius Charm, I will give it to Mr Black to return."

"No it's fine," James said, clearly reluctant to let Dumbledore keep it.

A few days later, and at the other end of England, Wormtail felt his Dark Mark burn; Disapparating, he reappeared in the Lestranges' grounds. He scurried into the hall and stood against the wall, tucked into the darkness which lingered in the corner. It wasn't long before he was called upon and, coming forward, he awaited his chance to prove himself. "Wormtail," Voldemort said, "fetch the captive."

Wormtail sighed and headed downstairs. He had done so much for them, had passed them so much information - had even given them the information which meant that they had this captive - and yet they still insisted on treating him as if he were useless. All he wanted to do was to prove that he was worthy of their respect, and yet Bellatrix and Rabastan and Rodolphus and all the others refused to look at him with anything but contempt and threaten him. It was even worse that Snape was there and was favoured by Voldemort - he was continuously making snide remarks, reminding Wormtail that he was the one with the power now and it took all of his self-control not to retort that, regardless of how much Voldemort trusted him, it was still James that had married Lily.