The Bonds of Spirit are stronger than the Bonds of Blood

Chapter Thirty Six

Graduation had come and gone, and Lily had found herself more in love with James Potter than ever before. The two had only been dating a little over a year, but neither could imagine returning to a life without the other's constant companionship. They managed to find plenty of time to be alone but, more often than not, their days were spent in the company of the rest of the Marauders. Sirius practically lived with Lily and James, spending nearly every waking moment in the couple's new home, while Remus and Peter dropped by to visit whenever they had the chance. Which was only natural, considering the wedding was just a few days away. Lily glanced down at her ring, smiling as she remembered James' proposal. He had stuttered, blushing, as he tried to form the words. As he continued to fumble, Sirius shouted from a nearby table "Merlin's beard! Lily Evans will you marry James Potter?!" She laughed at the memory. Of course she had said yes immediately. The two shared a most magical kiss, and then went off to celebrate with the trio that had been following them the entire night. She had figured out early on that the Marauders were a package deal; choose a relationship with one and you would be stuck dealing with the remaining three on practically a constant basis. But Lily did not mind. She loved the Marauders. They managed to brighten her day in a way that no one had before. So when she and James found their lovely new house, she had made sure there would be room enough for all the Marauders to stay. She started to arrange her dress and veil as she thought about the ceremony. In just two days, she would be marrying the man she loves with her newly formed family by her side. Sure, she wished Petunia could be there to celebrate as well, but she was more than happy that she could have so many beside her at this happy moment.

A few days later, Lily could barely contain her unbridled joy as she walked down the aisle. James stood at the other end, pride radiating off of him in equal measure to his obvious joy. Sirius was beside him, showing Lily what was easily the most sincere smile he had ever worn. He gently put his hand on James' shoulder as James practically bounced with joy. Next to him, Remus laughed at James' antics. Peter stood beside Remus, beaming with pride as he saw his friends radiating pure joy. The crowd was full of familiar faces: Lily and James' parents, Remus' father, Peter's mother, all of Lily's friends, Albus Dumbledore, Minerva McGonagall, Rubeus Hagrid, and even Madam Hooch. This would definitely be wedding that none present would be able to forget anytime soon! When the ceremony started, everyone watched on in awe, some already in tears from the beautiful sight, until the couple said their vows. They sealed their vows with a touching kiss, which the crowd rewarded with a standing ovation. During the reception, there was a small commotion. The members of the Order of the Phoenix, all that were present at the wedding anyway, were alerted by the arrival of a messenger. There was trouble brewing, so a few members of the order bid their farewells and set about silently returning what semblance of normalcy they could to the world while the bride and groom kept the crowd distracted and happy. There was no need to incite a panic just yet, after all. For the rest of the night, Lily, James, and all of their friends and family danced and laughed and shared stories, pushing aside the worries they held for the future. The next day they would all have to return to their jobs, fighting against Voldemort and his Death Eaters to protect those they loved, but for now they could relax and forget about the dangers that certainly lay ahead.

The next year and shown James and Lily that they were just as strong a team as they had been since they started dating. The death of James' parents, the cause of which was dragon pox, had proven quite a shock. But James had managed to pull himself up with the help of the Marauders and Lily. He used some of his inheritance to help Remus, who could not seem to find a job thanks to the disdain with which werewolves are often treated. A short time after this, James and Lily were pleased to discover that they would have a child. They did their best to prepare, despite their nerves and all the worry that they would lose their child thanks to this war. But finally, after what felt like an eternity of waiting, Lily gave birth to a beautiful baby boy, which the pair named Harry, on 31 July, 1980. However, this was also troubling news. A short time after their son's birth, they discovered they were in grave danger. A prophecy had foretold of one child, born around the same time as their son, who would grow to defeat the dastardly Lord Voldemort. Albus Dumbledore had told the pair that they would need to hide if they wished to protect their son. The pair was slightly reluctant, as they wished to fight to protect him themselves. But they knew that hiding would give their son the best chance of survival. So they prepared to use the Fidelius Charm, their last line of defence. James of course insisted that they would use Sirius as their Secret Keeper, and Lily happily agreed. He was their closest friend after all. But when they asked him, he refused. Lily was surprised, but before she or James could speak, Sirius explained. "Voldemort will know that you would choose me as your Secret Keeper. I'm the obvious choice, given all that we have been through over the years. But we could use that to our advantage." Lily frowned, confused. "What do you mean?" She asked. Sirius smirked and said "I could be a decoy. While the Death Eaters try to get the answers from me, the real Secret Keeper could be free to keep the secret in peace! Or at least as much peace as one can find in a war." James and Lily thought for a moment. Sirius was right, he was the obvious choice. And his idea could work, if they could find the least obvious person to be their Secret Keeper. James nodded and said "Alright, then who do you suggest we ask?" Sirius smirked and said "How about Peter? No one would ever suspect him of being the Secret Keeper, especially not if I can distract them well enough!" The trio nodded. Peter would be the perfect choice. They agreed to keep this a secret from everyone else, to be sure that their plan would work. The fewer people who knew, the fewer people would be in danger of becoming targets. Proud, they said their goodbyes to Sirius before contacting Peter. They would need to act quickly if they wanted to protect little Harry.

Less than a week had passed since that day, but Sirius' world had been turned upside down. He had gone to Peter's house for Halloween, wanting to check in on his friends, but Peter was nowhere to be found. He looked for any sign of struggle, even the smallest hint could help him figure out what happened here. When he found nothing, he became suspicious. Something was clearly wrong, but he would have to worry about that later. Now, he had to return to Godric's Hollow and check on Lily, James, and Harry. He rushed to the house as swiftly as his flying motorcycle would take him. But what he found left him speechless. The house was destroyed, completely destroyed. He carefully walked inside to find James dead on the ground floor. He was shocked, beginning to shake as he feared the worst. He moved upstairs and found Lily dead near Harry's crib. But Harry, somehow, was still alive. Sirius swept up his nephew/godson, holding him close and hiding the horrendous sight from his young eyes, and returned to the street. There, he was met by Rubeus Hagrid, who was a bit of a blubbering mess. "Hey there Sirius," Hagrid said through the tears, "That's little Harry, right?" Sirius nodded, confused, as he watched Hagrid try to pull himself together. Hagrid took a few steadying breaths and said "I've been sent by Dumbledore to take Harry to live with his Aunt and Uncle." Sirius couldn't believe it. He should be the one to take care of Harry, not the Aunt and Uncle who refused to even come to Lily's wedding! "No way! He's my godson! I'll take care of him!" He and Hagrid argued back and forth over what would be best for Harry, as Hagrid argued that Dumbledore would have the best idea of what to do while Sirius could take the time to grieve. Sirius took a breath, paused and said "Very well, then take my bike, I won't be needing it for the time being." Hagrid thanked Sirius profusely, took Harry gently, and set off with the bike to Privet Drive. Sirius left the wreckage of the house, consumed with grief and rage, and set off to find the traitor who had killed his best friends.

He finally tracked down Peter in a city street, filled with muggles. Drawing his wand he shouted out "Peter! You traitor! Face me!" Peter, afraid, turned to face Sirius as he tried to form a plan of escape. He could not expect Sirius to listen to his reasoning, not in this state of mind, and he could hardly expect Sirius to understand. He would never have betrayed Lily and James if he had another choice, but Sirius would never see that. Peter would have gladly chosen death, but there had been more at stake than simply exchanging his own life for that of two of his best friends. When the plan finally formed in his mind, he silently apologised to Sirius before shouting "How could you do it Sirius? How could you betray James and Lily?" Sirius bristled with rage as he shouted back, insulting Peter, calling him out for the coward he had become. Ashamed, Peter drew his wand and watched. Once Sirius moved to cast, Peter cast first. An explosion erupted through the street, sending stones and people flying. In the cloud of dust, Peter used a quick spell to sever his own finger off. The pain was severe, but Peter felt it was the least he deserved for the choice he had made. He turned into his animagus form, vowing to find some way to make up for his mistakes, and fled into the sewer. When Sirius recovered from the shock, he found Peter gone, save for a finger, and twelve muggles dead in the street. He was arrested, tried, and sentenced to Azkaban for a crime he did not commit. In his cell, he slowly felt his soul drain away. In one day he had lost his freedom, his friends, and his family. As he slowly succumbed to the madness, he held on to one thought; the thought of his innocence. He vowed to himself that he would find a way to prove his innocence and exact revenge upon Peter Pettigrew for all the trouble he had caused. He fell asleep, a twisted smile on his face, as the thought of justice finally being served filled his mind.

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