The Failure of the Fidelius Charm

The Fidelius Charm was cast to save the Potter's, but it ultimately led to their demise. How did Dumbledore learn of the imminent danger to the Potters? Why didn't Sirius trust Lupin? What happened between Sirius and Peter?

October 19th, 1981

The secret entrance to the Shrieking Shack was entered twice that day. Once it was entered by Albus Dumbledore and now by a former student of his.

"Hello Headmaster, I hope you don't mind my insistence to meet you here. I was afraid of being followed. I apparated to three different locations to sway any would be followers. However, we must even be careful around this place. You never know who you might run into." Severus Snape was dressed in a long black cloak, his sleeves reaching far past his hands.

Albus Dumbledore sat in his seat for a few minutes, silently contemplating his next words. "Severus, I hardly think that any wizard is going to just stroll into the Shrieking Shack. As for your multiple apparitions, that was probably a smart idea." The aged professor smiled as he continued.

"You were a brilliant student, quite possibly of my best Slytherins ever, if I might say so myself. Of course, I do not agree with your career decisions, but you are working hard to fix those mistakes."

Snape curled his lips, and for the first time in his adult life, almost came to tears. "Albus, I am truly sorry for aligning myself with him. Every boy in my house was seduced by his power and empty promises. A few of the guys from the year above me were killed just last week. One of them was killed by Voldemort himself. I of course fear for my life. I've been a double agent for almost a year. All that I ask is that when and if he is finally defeated, I am allowed to live as normal a life as possible. Can you promise me this Albus?"

"As I have before, I will again, Severus. I will vouch for you. You have come to me at great personal risk to yourself, which brings me to the inevitable question. What have you come here for today?" Dumbledore gave his former pupil a very trusting look. He could tell that Snape, despite his shady past, had potential to be a productive member of society.

Severus gave one quick look of reluctance and blurted out his next statement as if it would kill him if he held it in for another second. "The Potters," Snape said, with his typical monotonous voice, "The Dark Lord has marked James and Lily as his next targets. I am not sure why, but he has been keeping a close eye on them for a while."

"How has he been keeping an eye on them, does he have an informant?" Albus asked with a very inquisitive look.

"Yes, he certainly does. I am not sure who it is, but as far as I know, it is somebody in his inner circle. He has been tracking James and Lily for the last two weeks. They were on vacation just this past Saturday. Crabbe and Goyle were assigned to kill them under certain conditions, but the conditions were not met at that exact time." Snape half whispered.

The grey man sat up and met Snape's eyes, "And these conditions were?"

"The boy wasn't with them. For some reason Voldemort wants to kill the boy as much as he wants to kill James. Of course I don't know his reasons, but he definitely has them."

"Many of Voldemort's reasons revolve around the Potter's blood. They have relations to several powerful wizards of past ages. If I am correct, Voldemort sees them as a threat." Dumbledore gave a look to the ceiling of the Shrieking Shack as if he should have known this a long time ago.

They both sat silent for a second, as Dumbledore spoke again, "Severus, your information is priceless. You may have saved some more lives today. I also realize how hard it must be to give me information in the interest of helping James Potter. If I am not mistaken, you and Mr. Potter were not on friendly terms throughout your Hogwarts days?"

Snape gave a reserved laugh and half smile, which basically answered Professor Dumbledore's question immediately. "I must get back to my day job Dumbledore; I hope I have helped you. Good day."

"Severus," Dumbledore called to Snape who was almost out of the Shrieking Shack. "I still expect to have an opening for the position of Potions Master at Hogwarts. Might you be interested?"

"I would much rather teach Defense Against the Dark Arts Albus."

"Yes, I'm sure you would, but alas, we seem to have a new teacher in that subject yearly. You, I would hope, will teach at Hogwarts until you are as old as I. Good Day Severus."

Six wizards sat in the teachers lounge at Hogwarts; the safest room in the safest place on Earth, as far as Albus Dumbledore was concerned. They were Sirius Black, James Potter, Lily Potter, Filius Flitwick, Minerva McGonagall, and Dumbledore himself. The other five sat in silence waiting for the school headmaster to speak.

"The reason that I have called all of you is to inform James and Lily that their lives are in danger. I have gotten word from a well trusted informant who is in Voldemort's inner circle. His identity I will not give you, but trust his words, as you would trust my own. The Dark Lord has been keeping tabs on you two for a couple of weeks. He sent two Death Eaters to kill you while you were on vacation, but they did not, as something was missing." Dumbledore paused, almost half expecting somebody to say something. Unfortunately, silence was the more popular option.

"It appears that they want your son dead as well." This got a more vocal response. Lily burst into tears. Sirius punched his leg quite hard and James took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes.

"Why do they want Harry? Is it because of my Gryffindor connection? How did he know we were on vacation?" James asked as he regained composure.

"As far as how they knew you were on vacation, my informant tells me that somebody close to you is a double agent. As for reasons, I am sure there are many reasons, which will probably be revealed in the future. Part of it might have to do with your allegiance to me. What we must do is work around the clock to protect you." He gave a quick glance up and realized something which he hadn't noticed before. "Wait a second, where are Remus and Peter?"

Sirius spoke up, "If you look at the moon outside, you'll know exactly where Remus is. As far as Peter, he is at the Ministry of Magic, meeting with Augustus Rookwood about a possible job opening. I think that's what he said.

Professor McGonagall spoke up at this, "Albus, what do you plan on doing to protect James and Lily. We can't keep them here at Hogwarts, they are not fifteen anymore."

"I have given this thought and have decided that our best hope would be to protect them using the Fidelius Charm. Professor Flitwick, if you would be so kind?"

The tiny Charms teacher who had seen James, Lily and Sirius through their seven years at Hogwarts stood up and spoke clearly.

"The Fidelius Charm is an immensely complex spell involving the magical concealment of a secret inside a single, living soul. The information is hidden inside the chosen person, or Secret-Keeper, and is henceforth impossible to find -- unless, of course, the Secret-Keeper chooses to divulge it. As long as the Secret-Keeper refuses to speak, Voldemort can search the village where Lily and James live and never find them, not even if he has his nose pressed against their sitting room window!"

"Who are we supposed to use as our Secret-Keeper Professor Dumbledore?" A visibly upset Lily asked.

"The spell is most powerful when a very close friend or family member is used as the Secret-Keeper, for their love is hardest to penetrate." Dumbledore replied, in all of his knowledge.

"I'll do it" Sirius said anxiously. "I'm your best friend guys. You know that I'd rather die ten times before letting anything happen to you guys or Harry. You made me his Godfather for a reason."

James and Lily seemed taken aback at Black's unselfish gesture, until Dumbledore spoke up. "If I may Sirius, while I do not doubt your devotion, perhaps the Secret will be safer with me."

McGonagall in her usual reserved and strict tone, stood up and spoke, "Albus, with all do respect, when and if Voldemort finds out you are the Secret-Keeper, he will bring 100 Death Eaters to Hogwarts. You know that we cannot endanger the school."

Dumbledore gave a slight chuckle, "As usual Minerva, you have been the voice of reason to this old man. What about Remus or Peter, just out of curiosity's sake?"

"Well Albus, you said that Voldemort has been keeping tabs on James and Lily by using a double agent. I have been thinking about that ever since we arrived today. It must be either Remus or Peter. Those are the only other two people who knew about James and Lily going on vacation. They kept it very quiet. I myself watched Harry."

Professor Flitwick spoke up again, his voice full of surprise at the notion that Remus or Peter would betray James and Lily. "Are we to actually believe that Remus or Peter could be tipping off Voldemort?"

Sirius replied with a look of sadness in his eyes, "Well, I doubt whether Peter would have the ambition to go to Voldemort. As for Remus, I wouldn't be completely surprised. Now, don't get me wrong, I love him like a brother. Unfortunately, there is a suspicion which has been raised. Voldemort has taken werewolves as his allies before. He might seduce Remus with lies that he can cure him, or something of that sort. It's not set in stone that one of us is the traitor. They could have gotten their information from other means, possibly magical means. We might as well cover our bases and not let Remus in on the Fidelius Charm for the time being."

Dumbledore stood up and proclaimed, "Well then, it is settled. Sirius, James, Lily, if you are willing, Professor Flitwick and I will perform the charm as soon as possible." With that, the meeting was over.

October 24th, 1981 Over the next few weeks, Sirius began to doubt the effectiveness of the Fidelius Charm. He knew that he would die for Lily and James, but then they would just have to get another Secret-Keeper. What good what dying do anyway? Sirius knew that he was their best friend. He looked at a picture of little Harry. Sirius had not told anybody that he considered Harry his own son. He knew how ridiculous it sounded, but he also knew that Godfather is a title not taken lightly, especially to Sirius Black. James and Lily were thrilled to name Sirius their son's Godfather. The picture of Harry showed the tyke at about 5 months old in Remus' arms. Sirius then wondered if he was right to doubt Remus. He has known Lupin for a very long time, and always trusted him. For now he couldn't worry about it.

Sirius began to realize what he had to do. If the Fidelius Charm was to be successful, Peter would have to be the Secret-Keeper. Voldemort would never even know who Peter was. Sirius sent an owl to Peter as soon as he had the idea. When he came, Sirius would ask him to do the Potters a favor that they would never forget. His thoughts drifted back to Lupin, as he started to hate himself for doubting a man that he had been friends with since early childhood.

Peter Pettigrew arrived at Sirius' house later that day. James and Lily were there, but they had no idea what Sirius was going to say.

"Hi Sirius, what's going on? Why did you owl me?" Peter looked quite nervous and was looking around as if being watched, which might have been unusual, except for the fact that it was Peter. Sirius was used to this kind of manner from his long time friend.

Sirius explained to Peter about the situation and the Fidelius Charm. The whole time Peter sat there with a gaping expression. Finally Sirius asked the question. He honestly wasn't sure whether or not Peter would accept, knowing that he didn't exactly have nerves of steel.

"Yes, I'll do it!" Peter exclaimed, right after being asked. Sirius was obviously surprised at this lack of thought. It seemed as if Peter was very happy to take on the task. Not taking the time to give it more thought is something that Sirius would regret until the day he died. James and Lily seemed reluctant, not because of a lack of trust towards Peter, but because they weren't sure how he could handle pressure. They did, however, trust the decision of Sirius.

October 31st, 1981

Albus Dumbledore sat in his office when all of a sudden a circular blue orb started to fog up with a red mist. Dumbledore jumped out of his seat, faster than he had moved in a long time. It was a magical alarm which would alert him if any dark activity had taken place at Godric's Hollow. Dumbledore looked at the orb, which cleared up. It allowed him to see inside the house of the Potters. He saw James lying dead. In the bedroom was Lily. What he saw next he will never forget. Young Harry was alive. He had a scar on his forehead. There, next to him was Voldemort's robes and wand. Dumbledore remembered an ancient magic involving the protection of a loved one. He knew that Voldemort was not dead, but it seemed that he was gone for now.

He immediately wrote a letter to Professor McGonagall who was temporarily visiting the Ministry of Magic to give testimony about an improper use of a spell by one of her former students.

Dearest Minerva,

Please meet me in Little Whinging, Surrey. It is a muggle town. The thing which we have feared the most has happened. It seems that Voldemort has gotten to James and Lily. It seems that Harry has survived. I will go to confirm this. Observe the family living at Number Four, Privet Drive. They are the only family that Harry has left. I feel that they will be safest there. I am sure you are wondering what happened to Voldemort. I will answer this at another time. I have sent Hagrid to fetch the boy.

Sincerely,

Albus

Sirius rode his flying motorbike as fast as he could to Godric's Hollow. If the rumors were true, than not only had Peter betrayed them, but Harry was alive and well. Sirius wanted to find Harry before somebody else could try to finish him off. As he got there he saw Hagrid, the caretaker of Hogwarts. Black was shaking, visibly upset. Hagrid could see this.

"Hagrid, thank goodness you're here. Did you happen to find Voldemort's wand and robes?"

"No, I 'spect one of them Death Eaters came and took them."

"I think I know which one Hagrid, but we cannot worry about that now. Are you sure that they are dead?"

Hagrid felt bad giving this news to Sirius, but he confirmed the rumors.

"Hagrid, might I take Harry, he is my Godson you know."

"Sirius, I would love ter help you out, but I have orders from Dumbledore. Don't be worryin', the little tyke'll be safe with Dumbledore."

Black sighed, "Your right Hagrid. You better get to Albus quick, take my motorbike."

Later that week Sirius Black, traveling as a dog came across the person who he was looking for the most, Peter Pettigrew. He came up to him at a street corner and transformed back into a human. Peter seemed to be expecting it.

"How could you Sirius. James and Lily died because of you. You are nothing but a son of a bitch. Did you see the scar that little Harry has." Peter was yelling at the top of his lungs. Sirius laughed at him.

"I swear, one of these days I am going to get you for this. You will pay. I'm sure you're a little bit worried with Voldemort gone. Who is going to protect you now?"

Hit Wizards from the Ministry of Magic had them surrounded, but it didn't seem that they would believe Sirius at this moment.

Peter drew out his wand so that nobody could see it. Sirius knew what he was going to do. He looked to the ground to see a bloody toe on the ground. Peter all of a sudden muttered an incantation quietly and blasted a giant hole in the ground. There were dead muggles everywhere. Sirius had blood all over his robes.

Sirius just laughed. He didn't stop laughing for a few days. In Azkaban, there wasn't much of an option. The only thoughts that sustained Sirius were his innocence and the hope of seeing Harry one day and clearing his name.

12 Years Later

Sirius Black sat in his cell, as he had done every day for the past twelve years, just waiting. He wasn't quite sure what he was waiting for, but he knew it would happen sooner or later. Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge entered the hallway flagged by two dementors. Sirius saw him holding a copy of the Daily Prophet. Normally the prisoner's weren't sane enough to comprehend what was in that paper. Sirius noticed a picture on the front page. Was that????

"Minister Fudge, if you are done with that, I would like to take a look."

Fudge looked at him suspiciously and handed him the paper. He walked away.

Sirius glanced at it and his suspicions were confirmed.

"He's at Hogwarts, He's at Hogwarts, He's at Hogwarts......