James Potter had never questioned why his Invisibility Cloak never failed him. He had used it often throughout his seven years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and now he used it in his work for The Order of the Phoenix.
The cloak had been given to him by his father the day he had gotten his letter from Hogwarts. His father explained it had been passed down through the generations to the oldest child. James’ father had pulled out an old and obviously ancient book that traced the family’s line back to a man named Ignotus Peverell, who was said to be the first to own the cloak.
There were stories passed down as well as to how Ignotus came by the cloak. But throughout the years, the stories had been forgotten. Only the knowledge of the infallibility of the cloak and a few notes in the old book survived. Nothing could harm it, nor could any spell remove it from the rightful owner if the owner did not wish it to leave him.
James had looked at the cloak in wonder that day. According to the records in the book, it was centuries old, but looked as if it had been made in that very moment. Though his father warned James that the cloak was not to be used for any wrongdoing, James couldn’t help but wonder what he could do while wearing it.
Shaking himself out of his revere, James looked around at the other three Marauders. Tonight he would need his cloak and the protection it never failed to provide to him.
Remus and Peter were going to one location and he and Sirius were going to another to scout for Death Eaters. Though Sirius was willing and arrogant enough to not use the cloak, James insisted.
“Padfoot, if I come back dead, Lily will kill me,” James joked. “We aren’t going to kill any of them, just watch and see who comes and goes from that location.”
“Prongs, if you think I am going to pass up an opportunity to kill one of those sons of…” Sirius stopped short of actually saying what he thought in deference to the company they were in.
Lily Potter looked up from her seat on the couch. “Padfoot, there is no need for such language,” she said, humour evident in her voice. “We all know what they are and we all agree with you, but…” she stopped speaking to make sure she had his complete attention. “But as James said, if he comes back dead, I will kill him and then I will kill you. So stick to the plan and stop arguing with my husband.” Lily smiled sweetly at Sirius.
“Damn, James, why did you have to marry the one girl who I could love forever?” Sirius walked over to Lily and sat down next to her. Pulling her into his embrace, he placed a big kiss on her cheek. He then whispered in her ear, “Lily, why don’t you dump this guy and run away with me? I’ll make you happier than you have ever been.”
Patting his head as one would do to a dog, Lily decided it was time to make her announcement. “Padfoot, I am already happier than I have ever been. I am going to have his baby.”
Throughout the room, there was complete and total silence. Sirius looked from Lily to James. James stared at Lily, his mouth hanging open. The other two occupants of the room looked equally shocked. It was from one of them that the first words were spoken.
“Whose baby?” Peter asked, though no one answered him.
“Lily,” Remus said as he walked over to her and dropped down to one knee in front of her, “are you feeling okay?”
Smiling, Lily nodded. “I feel great. I have never felt stronger or more capable of doing anything.”
James suddenly came out of his shock. He rushed over to Lily and pushed Sirius off the couch and onto the floor; he sat down next to her and pulled her into a tight embrace. After a few moments, he looked at his three best friends with tears in his eyes.
“Moony, would you mind going with Padfoot tonight? I think I better stay here with Lily,” he asked Remus.
“James Potter, don’t you dare. Remus and Peter have jobs of their own tonight. You are going with Sirius as planned. I am not sick. It is even more important now to find a way to end this terror.” Lily gave James the look she used when her mind was made up.
“But…” Lily cut James off.
“No buts. You are each going to do exactly what has been planned.” Turning her head, she looked at Sirius who was sitting on the floor where he had landed when James had pushed him. “Sirius, you will follow the plan. You will use the cloak and not do anything to endanger my husband. Is that understood?” Lily questioned.
“Of course. But, maybe he should stay here,” Sirius stopped talking after seeing Lily’s stern look and decided in an instant not to finish that thought. “On the other hand, the plans were made weeks ago, so maybe we should just do them as planned.” He gave Lily a feeble smile.
“Peter, we should be going. James, Sirius, we will meet you back here in a few hours.” Remus reached down to pull Sirius up. The two men embraced briefly. As James stood, he also embraced Remus as Sirius went over to Peter to do the same. James then turned to Peter to continue the tradition the four boys had started the day of their first official mission for the Order of the Phoenix.
They each embraced each other and never once said goodbye. It was understood that during each mission any one of them could be killed. They vowed to never say goodbye as that would indicate they expected to not see each other again. Instead, the embrace said it all.
Remus and Peter each went over and leaned down to kiss Lily on the cheek, another tradition, before they walked out the door of the cottage. Their jobs tonight were not as dangerous as James and Sirius, but nonetheless they would still be in danger as they always were when they went spying.
Sirius also walked over to give Lily a kiss on the cheek, and then went to wait by the front door. He wanted to give James and Lily a moment alone before they left. Within a minute or so, he was joined by James carrying his Invisibility Cloak.
“Let’s go.” James opened the door and walked out into the yard. As he threw the cloak over them, James felt Sirius grab his arm. When they travelled under the cloak, they always maintained contact with each other as to not become separated.
They Apparated to a rundown section of London rumoured to be the location of a safe house for Death Eaters. They were there only a few moments when they spotted a known Death Eater walking up the street.
Nodding to each other, they quietly followed. They saw him approach what looked like an empty lot at the end of a row of houses and disappear.
“Fidelius Charm,” murmured James. Sirius nodded his head. They knew they had found what they were looking for. They turned and sat on the stoop of the house across the street.
Over the next several hours, they noted several Death Eaters entering the house, but no one was seen leaving it.
“There must be some sort of a meeting tonight,” Sirius whispered to James. “Wonder if Voldemort will show his ugly face?” At James’ gasp, Sirius’ head swung around to look down the street.
As they watched, they saw two men walking quickly towards the house. They easily recognized Severus Snape and Igor Karkaroff. Sirius had to physically restrain James when the latter started to stand up.
“No, you can’t. We are only here to watch, not interfere. Believe me, mate, I would like nothing better than to wipe that man out of existence, but we can’t. We have to sit here and do nothing.” Though his voice betrayed his anger at doing nothing, Sirius sat perfectly still watching as Snape entered the empty lot and disappeared.
If the silence in this section of town had not been so total, they never would have heard the distant crack of someone Apparating into the area. The sound was so sudden; both men jumped up and drew their wands. They had not heard a crack when any of the other dozen or so Death Eaters had appeared. They didn’t know why they had heard it this time, but they knew it wasn’t a good sign.
As if reading each other’s minds, they both started walking without a word towards where the sound had come from. As they approached what seemed to be a little park, they saw behind a tree a man leaning over someone lying on the ground.
When they got close enough to see who it was, they realized it was Peter standing over Remus. They rushed over and James pulled the cloak off.
“Peter, what happened? Why are you here?” James asked in a rush.
“Death Eaters, they snuck up on us. They got Remus with something. I don’t know what, but he’s hurt bad. Look at all the blood.” Peter gestured wildly to Remus whose face was bleeding freely.
“Did you see who it was?” asked Sirius.
“Snape,” replied James before Peter could answer. “This is his work. Remember when he called Lily…” James couldn’t say the word. “He did this to my cheek, too, though not as bad. We need to get him back to Lily. She will be able to fix him up. Lily is better at charms than any of us.”
The three men pulled Remus to his feet and Disapparated.
Believing in the Cloak by mudbloodproud
Chapter Notes: I wish to thank my wonderful beta for this story. Olivia (social loner). She took this on with only a moments notice so I could satisfy the plot bunny that stuck last night. Thanks so much Olivia.