Part ten

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After joining the Order of the Phoenix, Sirius found himself roiling with mistrust and stress due to the great terror that was Lord Voldemort. It took its toll — by October, 1981, he no longer trusted his old friend Remus Lupin, suspecting he was a spy and excluding him from important information. Meanwhile Remus himself had taken to suspecting that Sirius was the spy. However, Sirius trusted Peter Pettigrew implicitly, a decision he would grow to regret for the rest of his life.

In 1981, the Potters were aware that Harry, along with the son of fellow Order members Alice and Frank Longbottom, had become Lord Voldemort's specific targets. Albus Dumbledore advised the Potters to go into hiding using the Fidelius Charm, which Dumbledore hoped would conceal them from doom. James was adamant about Sirius being their Secret-Keeper, believing that Sirius would willingly die rather than reveal where they were. However, believing Voldemort would suspect him, Sirius suggested Peter Pettigrew as a less obvious choice. Keeping everyone else, including Remus Lupin and Albus Dumbledore, in the dark, Sirius and the Potters reassigned Pettigrew to be Secret-Keeper with Sirius as a decoy.[22]

Between the wars (1981–1995)

Imprisonment

I COMFORTED THE MURDERIN' TRAITOR!
RUBEUS HAGRID RECOLLECTING HIS LAST MEETING WITH SIRIUS

On Hallowe'en night 1981, Sirius went to Pettigrew's hiding place and found him missing. Unsettled by the lack of signs of a struggle, Sirius frantically sped to Godric's Hollow, discovering the Potters' house destroyed and his friends dead; only baby Harry was still alive.[22] When Rubeus Hagrid appeared on the scene to take Harry from him on Dumbledore's orders, Sirius offered to take Harry himself as he was the chosen guardian in the events of James's and Lily's deaths. However, Hagrid told him that Dumbledore had made arrangements to send Harry to Lily's sister, Petunia. Sirius conceded after an argument and gave Hagrid his flying motorcycle, telling him he wouldn't need it; nevertheless, after Hagrid had handed over the baby, he intended to return Black his bike but never got the chance.[23]

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