Chapter 433: Just Keep Knocking
Professor Lupin shared stories of his school days, trivial memories and everyday moments, but Harry listened with rapt attention. The tales painted a vivid picture of the friends his parents once had, and it was as if he could feel their presence through Lupin's words.
When Lupin reached the end of his seventh year, he glanced at Sirius, a touch of sadness in his expression. After graduation, he had been busy working for Dumbledore, reaching out to other Werewolves to rally them against Voldemort. He hadn't known about the events that unfolded soon afterward. By the time he returned, everything had changed. James and Lily were dead, Voldemort had fallen, and the once-mighty Death Eater army was in shambles.
The Werewolves he had tried to ally with had also suffered heavy losses and vanished back into the shadows, refusing to be found.
As Lupin fell silent, Black, who had drifted back to the ground, finally spoke.
"It all began with a prophecy..." he murmured, sitting heavily on a rickety stool. With everyone watching him, he slowly began to reveal the painful truth of that time.
He explained how Professor Trelawney had prophesied about a child with the power to defeat Voldemort—a child born at the end of July. Two babies fit that description that year, but in the end, Dumbledore had focused his protections on Harry. Somehow, though, word of the prophecy had leaked to the Death Eaters.
"Peter must have told them..." Black spat, teeth gritted in anger. "Dumbledore warned James to keep it a secret, but... he told us anyway."
Harry's eyes were wide with apprehension. "And then what happened?"
"James and Lily took you and went into hiding from the Death Eaters," Black said, eyes distant with painful memories. "Dumbledore suggested an ancient spell to protect you as you grew up—the Fidelius Charm. It hides a secret in the mind of a chosen person, the Secret Keeper. For as long as the Secret Keeper doesn't willingly reveal it, the secret is safe. Even if Voldemort had stuck his nose right up to the door, he wouldn't have found them."
As Black explained, Harry began to understand. "So... Peter was the Secret Keeper, wasn't he?"
"It's all my fault!" Black groaned, pressing his fists to his head. "I was supposed to be the Secret Keeper. But at the last minute, I convinced James and Lily to use Peter instead. I thought it would be clever—a double bluff. Voldemort would come after me first, and no one would suspect Peter, the weakest of us. I thought I was protecting them... but I sent them to their deaths instead."