Harry Potter and the Prince of Slytherin

Chapter 50: Lords of the Wizengamot

Potter Manor
29 March 1994
6:00 a.m.

James's eyes shot open in response to the alarm clock next to his bed going off. Rather than a traditional ringing alarm, it had been enchanted to scream "WAKE UP! WAKE UP!" at him. Lily hated it. He reached over to slap the alarm into silence and then, with a groan, he pulled himself up to a sitting position on the side of the bed before rubbing the sleep from his eyes. It was only then that James noticed the intense light from a small object on his nightstand.

It was the Remembrall that Dumbledore gave him, and its sudden intensity meant that it had completed its job of reconstructing the memories that Peter Pettigrew had hidden away.

James put his glasses on before carefully picking up the Remembrall as if it were incredibly fragile. Or perhaps incredibly dangerous. Then, he picked his wand up off the nightstand and, after a deep shaky breath, tapped it three times against the Remembrall.

There was a blinding flash of light.

Then ...

"Are you sure about this, Pads?" James asked cautiously. "Lily's been preparing to cast the Fidelius for a while now, and she's almost ready to start. This is not the best time to start changing things."

"On the contrary, Prongs," Sirius said excitedly. "This is the absolute best time to change things. You already announced at an Order meeting that I would be the Secret Keeper. So, if we do have a spy among us, we can figure out who it is just by giving our suspects different information about my movements and seeing which ones pass it on the the Death Munchers. And the whole time, the Dark Wanker will be going after the wrong person! It's the perfect Marauders' Prank!"

James frowned. "I don't like the idea of thinking of this as a prank, Sirius. We're not in school anymore. And I don't care about putting one over on You-Know-Who as much as I do about protecting the people I care about."

He turned to the nervous twitchy wizard sitting next to Sirius, perhaps the last person he'd have ever expected to see here in this situation.

"What about you, Peter? Do you really feel up to something like this? It could be incredibly dangerous for you."

Peter shrugged and rubbed his hands together self-consciously. "I-I'll be fine. It's like Sirius just said. No one will ever believe someone as ... pitiful as me is your Secret Keeper." He gave a nervous laugh. "Hell, if it comes down to it, I can just turn into a rat and go hide in the sewers somewhere until this is all over."

James looked unsure. "We should at least tell Dumbledore. And Remus..."

Peter shook his head furiously. "We don't know who the spy is, James. I trust the Headmaster, of course, but he says he's got his own spy among the Death Eaters but won't say who it is. What if he's put his faith in a double-agent? Or, I don't know, what if You-Know-Who has a way to spy on him that we can't even imagine? As wise as Dumbledore is, he can't possibly know as much about Dark Magic as You-Know-Who. And as for Remus ..."

Pettigrew trailed off uncertainly. James's eyes widened.

"You can't think that Moony is the spy?! You of all people!"

"I didn't want to believe it either, Prongs," Sirius said firmly. "But hear Peter out."

With visible reluctance, as if embarrassed to speak ill of the fourth Marauder, Peter hesitantly explained.

"I've heard stories ... stories about the werewolves in Europe allied with You-Know-Who. Their attacks are growing bolder, but also more ... organized. A lot more organized than any werewolf pack has a right to be. Some people are saying that You-Know-Who has figured out a way to mentally influence them or found someone else who can do so. I know Remus would never deliberately betray the Order or the Marauders. But if the Death Eaters can influence werewolves as thoroughly as they can Imperius wizards, Remus might be a double-agent and not even know it!"