Dwelling on Dreams (A Marauders Fan Fic)

The Dark Mark

“My Lord,” said the small man, “I have news.”

“Oh yes?” said Voldemort, his voice hissing like his dear snake. “I hope it is of worth this time Wormtail,” he said as the Death Eaters surrounding him burst into laughter, jeering at the man.

“Oh yes, of course it is my Lord! It is about the Potters! They have made Black their Secret-Keeper!”

This news seemed to please Voldemort, who bared his teeth in a poor approximation of a smile. “Ah… you have done well for once Wormtail. Black… Sirius Black I assume?”

“Yes my Lord.”

“Is he not a member of your dear family, Bellatrix?” he asked, turning his eyes on Sirius’ handsome cousin who scoffed. “He is no family of mine, my Lord. I would sooner have him dead than associated with me.”

“Well Bellatrix, perhaps you will soon have that chance…”

“Please my Lord,” she begged, her eyes alight with fervour, “at the first chance!”

“And you shall have it Bellatrix, you have served me faithfully and well, and I like to reward my followers. Well done Wormtail, for once you have proved your worth. Perhaps there is still hope for you yet,” Voldemort said as the Death Eaters around him laughed mockingly.

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“Dumbledore’s going to cast the spell in a couple of days,” James said.

“I’ve been thinking about that,” Sirius replied. “It’s not that I don’t want to do it but… I’ve been thinking; surely You-Know-Who will immediately assume that it’s me whereas if it was someone else, he might not go after them as quickly because he wouldn’t realise.”

“Who did you have in mind?” James asked, instantly picking up on what Sirius was saying.

“Do you trust Wormtail?”

“Of course, he was over here just before Harry’s birthday,” Lily answered.

“Well he never truly fit in with us when we were in school,” Sirius began, “so maybe You-Know-Who wouldn’t realise that he’s your Secret-Keeper.”

“That does make sense,” James said slowly. “I mean, we were best friends so he’d be much more likely to go for you first.”

“And I’m sure Wormtail would never betray you, think how much he owes us and how much he worshipped you in school,” Sirius continued.

“I can’t ever see him selling us out,” James agreed.

“He’s a bit misunderstood but he seems trustworthy,” Lily added. “Should we tell Dumbledore?”

“No,” James answered firmly. “He was a bit unsure of Padfoot being our Secret-Keeper, if he knew we’d changed it to Wormtail he’d probably collapse. Also he thinks that someone’s passing information to You-Know-Who about us which means it could be a sort of bluff. If you don’t mind,” he said to Sirius.

“No of course not. He’s going to hunt me down anyway so it’s better if I’m not your Secret-Keeper and then it’ll take him longer to find Wormtail.”

“So that’s that then,” Lily said, their decision made. “Will we see you again?”

“I doubt it, not for a while,” Sirius answered.

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Cassie looked around her at all the intriguing things in Dumbledore’s study; there were hundreds and hundreds of books which were stacked in shelves lining almost every wall and everywhere she turned there was another strange instrument. She had just bent over to examine a miniature model of the solar system when she heard Dumbledore’s voice behind her. “I see you have found some of my more interesting possessions,” he said lightly.