Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, or any other characters or settings created by JK Rowling.
Chapter 3 – RevelationsA column of flame appeared in the hospital wing of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. When it had dissipated, Sirius Black stood holding the end of a stretcher and a one-year-old child. "Madam Pomfrey!" he yelled, eyes searching for the school nurse, "I have an emergency!"
The school matron hustled from her office looking for the cause of the disturbance. "Mr. Black! I have sick children here! What is the meaning of all this—," she stopped suddenly as the sight of the trio met her eyes. She quickly looked over the three, Sirius Black covered in dust and debris, young Harry Potter a gaping cut on his forehead, and James Potter unconscious and looking as if he were on death's door. She rushed to their side taking charge immediately. "Sit down on one of the beds and hold the baby Sirius, I'll take care of James."
Sirius did as he had been told quickly and quietly, trying to keep Harry as calm as possible, and charming a privacy screen to prevent the prying eyes of curious students from invading the privacy of his best friend and godson. Harry had woken at Sirius' yell, and though he hadn't started crying yet, it was a near thing. Sirius sat him down on the bed next to him, pulling out Moony, Padfoot and Prongs for him to play with. He dabbed again at the cut on Harry's forehead, which seemed to be bleeding less than it had been. Much as he wanted his puppy healed, he knew James needed Madam Pomfrey much more at this moment. Harry's cut, while slightly bleeding and probably somewhat painful, was not life threatening. His father's injuries most likely were.
Sirius wanted desperately to know his friend's condition, but he knew too well that Madam Pomfrey would not take well to being interrupted while she was working, so he did his best to turn his attention to the child sitting next to him. Harry was staring sadly at his daddy, clutching his stuffed Prongs and quietly sniffling. It was as if he knew that he needed to be quiet so that Madam Pomfrey could make his father better.
"Hey, little puppy," Sirius said quietly. "Daddy's going to be just fine, you'll see. Madam Pomfrey can fix anything." Harry slowly turned and looked at his godfather, as if trying to determine if Sirius was telling the truth. "I promise Tiger Eyes, Daddy will be just fine. I know you're sleepy, why don't you try to sleep?"
Harry shook his head and said, "No seep Pa'foot. No seep." His actions belied his words however, as he rubbed his sleepy eyes with two tiny fists. He was struggling to keep his eyes open.
"Tell you what Tiger Eyes," said Sirius. "I'll hold you right here while I'm lying down. If you don't want to sleep you don't have to, but Padfoot needs you to stay here with him. Will you do that for me?"
Harry nodded solemnly and reached his arms up to be held. Sirius lay back on the bed and held his godson against his chest. It wasn't long before he could tell Harry had fallen asleep. Despite himself, his eyelids were drooping as well. He quickly put a charm around the bed to prevent Harry from rolling or crawling out, and let sleep claim him. Madam Pomfrey, he knew, would wake him if he were needed.
He woke later to the sound of a familiar voice calling his name. Slowly, the Headmaster of Hogwarts came in to focus sitting next to the bed. He had to think a moment to remember where he was. That's right, Hogwarts. Hogwarts! James! Lily! He was instantly awake and alert, remembering the events of the evening. Dumbledore will want his explanation now. I just hope he believes me.
"How is James?" asked Sirius, wanting to know if his friend was all right.
"Madam Pomfrey tells me," said the Headmaster, "that he will recover. There will be no permanent physical damage. Emotionally however, he will have a long road to recovery." Dumbledore looked at Sirius solemnly. "For the present, he has not yet regained consciousness, which is probably a blessing. In the meantime however, I believe you promised me an explanation." The piercing blue eyes held none of their usual twinkle. A deep sadness was harbored in them now and they had taken on their particular ability to look through a person, as if they were seeing in to the very soul of the one they looked at, and discerning the truth.
"Yes sir, I remember." Sirius said slowly, not entirely sure where to start. "I suppose, that it starts about two weeks ago sir, just before we were meant to perform the charm." Sirius shuddered slowly at the memory. "I came awake that night after a horrible nightmare. I had known all along, that people would assume I was the Secret Keeper. I knew that it wouldn't take long for them to come after me. The nightmare though, seemed to bring out all my doubts. I wondered how long I could survive torture before divulging the information."
"I'd begun to suspect Remus of being the spy. I knew you were sending him on secret missions, but he seemed to be gone a lot, even when he should have been in town. I didn't want to believe it, but there it was. He was gone too often, and he never seemed to want to say where he had been. If it were true, they would know instantly who James and Lily would have chosen. He would likely be able to guess my own hiding places as well. So, I thought, someone else. Someone unexpected."
He looked down, as the sleeping child in his arms shifted somewhat. He stroked Harry's hair for a moment, and the child settled back into a deep sleep. "If Remus were truly the spy, and if you were an obvious second choice, or even first choice, then we needed someone else. Someone that James and Lily would trust but no one would expect."
Dumbledore looked thoughtful for a moment before saying softly, "Peter."
Sirius' eyes filled with tears, both of relief and remorse as he gruffly said, "Yes, Peter." He took a moment to get his emotions under control. He had to finish his story, and he had to be strong for James and Harry, at least until Remus could arrive from wherever he had been sent. He continued, "I suggested the change to James and Lily, the day before we were planning on putting the charm into place. James was furious that I would suspect Remus. Hell, I hated myself for thinking it, but he could see the logic of it. In the end, they both agreed that switching to Peter would be the better idea. After the charm was performed, Peter would go into hiding, and I would take off, hopefully leading Voldemort and his Death Eaters on a wild goose chase."
"What happened tonight, Sirius? Why go to the Potter's home tonight?"
"I was supposed to check on Peter tonight. One last check on his safety before leaving myself to make sure everything was working out. Only, he wasn't home when I got there. There was no sign of a struggle, and he knew he wasn't supposed to leave the house." Sirius' voice broke as he remembered the moment of horror, the moment when he knew, that he had signed the Potter's death warrant himself. He closed his eyes against the wave of agony rising up in him as he thought of what he had done. "I knew then, what I had done. That I had suspected the wrong man of treason. That Remus was innocent of all of my accusing thoughts. As soon as I realized I went to Godric's Hollow to warn James and Lily. I hoped—I hoped to beat them there, to help them get away before Voldemort could get there. When I saw the house—," but now he couldn't finish, the horror of the day closed in on him, and tears spilled from his eyes. He didn't bother to try and wipe them away.
Dumbledore looked at him for another moment, allowing him his grief, before saying, "I believe you, my boy. Despite all of the sorrow of the day, I am glad that you are the man I thought you were. I will send for Remus, and do all I can to ensure your safety while James recovers. He will need you both in the months to come, I expect. I will also alert the Aurors, and let them know that they should be looking for Peter Pettigrew for his crimes." The Headmaster stood from his chair and brushed the hair of the sleeping child softly, "I have done what I can for young Harry, but he will have a scar from tonight forever. The cut is healed, however, and he is otherwise healthy."
"Sir," Sirius said, before Dumbledore could leave, "You need to know. Peter, he's an animagus. He can turn in to a rat. The Aurors will need to know."
"I will alert them Sirius, though I hope, some time soon, you will tell me how this came about as well. Unless it is a part of his most recent crime however, I think it will wait until a later time."
"No sir, it has nothing to do with his betrayal. I just thought, the Aurors would need to know, to avoid him escaping capture in that way."
Dumbledore nodded and turned to leave. As he began to walk away, he turned back and said, "I will send Remus to you, when he arrives."
Sirius nodded, allowing his grief, and his exhaustion to overtake him, and once more fell into a restless sleep.