Hello

Awkward Confrontations and Poopy Diapers

The chase only lasted a few minutes due to Sirius’s keen nose while he was in his dog form. With the rat securely nestled in his mouth, he returned to Harry’s side and gave James a look… one which clearly stated “when I let go of this bitch, make sure you stun his ass”.

James pulled out his wand and smirked before nodding to Sirius to release the small man from his jaws. As the rat dropped, James shot the spells to force him into his human form as well as Stunning him. There was no chance for escape.

Changing back from his Animagus form, Sirius started licking his arm. “The little bugger bit me!” he exclaimed before sucking on his wound and walking to Lily’s side. With great big puppy eyes, he asked “will you heal this for me?”

Rolling her eyes, Lily drew out her wand and healed the small puncture wound on Sirius’s arm before giving it a kiss and saying “all better!”

Grinning, Sirius pranced over to the Stunned Peter and pulled up his left sleeve. The grin dropped as he stared at the black snake and skull that had been branded into the man’s arm.

“Sni- Snape,” he said solemnly. “Can you confirm that this is what some of your House mates got on their arms when they joined Voldemort?”

Shocked at having been spoken to civilly by Sirius Black, Snape nodded and walked over to take a look at Peter’s arm. Shuddering, Snape looked at the three Marauders that had gathered in a crouch position around their friend. “This is the Dark Lord’s mark,” he confirmed before standing up and walking away from his tormentors.

James ran his hands through his hair, a nervous habit that he had never broken after he had left Hogwarts. Looking to his son, he posed the question that everyone in the room was thinking.

“What are we going to do?”

<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

Harry, Ron, and Hermione had left the group and fled to the kitchen after the discovery of Peter’s already-present Dark Mark.

“Harry, I’m not ready for this yet!” Hermione worried. “When I had planned to come back in time to save everyone, I had thought that Peter wouldn’t have turned to Voldemort’s side yet.” She paced around the room, worrying at her hands as she walked. “What if Peter isn’t the only one that’s going to drop in on us?”

Ron walked over to her side and placed his hand on her shoulder in comfort. “I know that it seems like a lot to take in now, but we can do this, Hermione,” Ron said.

Harry sat down at his parents’ table, thinking hard about the hours before them. “We’ve been here one day,” he said slowly. “One day and we already know that Peter has joined up with the Death Eaters.”

Ron and Hermione looked up from there worrying to meet Harry’s eyes.

“What do we do?” asked Ron, his hand never leaving Hermione’s shoulder. “How can we be sure that we’re going to be safe if people are still able to get into the house?”

Hermione’s eyes grew wide, as if she remembered something important. “Harry! In our time, You-Know-Who put a tracker on his name that allowed Death Eaters to break any and all charms!” she said excitedly. “Maybe that’s why the charms that Mad-Eye and Dumbledore put on the house didn’t work properly! It’s not like we’ve really hesitated while we used his name.”

Harry grinned at his friend, happy that at least part of their problem was figured out. “So as long as we don’t say the name, our charms shouldn’t be broken?” he asked Hermione. “What if Dumbledore helps my parents do the Fidelus Charm now?”