As those in the kitchen sat and discussed what had happened, James hurried through the living room and up the stairs. James didn’t know what he was going to say to calm Lily down. As he walked up the stairs, he was struck by a sudden inspiration. He made a detour to the unused bedroom and quickly located the book about his family’s history. Smiling, he was about to walk out the bedroom door when he stopped.
Turning around, he let his eyes roam about the room. It was filled with boxes of things they hadn’t had time to decide where to put in the few months they had lived there. He let his imagination run free. He could see pale blue walls with a cot against the far wall. He knew exactly how this room should look for his son. Okay, there was a fifty-fifty shot it would be a girl, so the walls would have to be painted pink for her. Either way, this room needed to be cleaned out. That was something he better make time for. He had a child on the way.
Turning, he proceeded down the hall to the bedroom he shared with Lily. Once he opened the door he saw her sitting at the top of the bed, leaning against the headboard. She didn’t even look up at his approach. ‘Not a good sign,’ he thought.
“Lily, can I try to explain?” he asked gently as he sat next to her.
She didn’t answer him, just looked at him with tears in her eyes. She didn't want to admit even to herself just how hard she was trying to keep her temper under control. She knew the only reason she hadn't exploded in the kitchen was the calming influence Albus Dumbledore had on her.
She also knew if she gave in to her temper, she would have started crying. She hated her temper tears as James called them. She didn't want to cry in front of those five men. She always tried to project the image of being strong. But lately, she was having a harder and harder time pretending.
“Sweetheart, we never meant to keep it from you. It’s just that we forgot about telling you the next day. I know you think I took a big chance counting on the cloak to protect me, but honestly, I didn’t.” He opened the book to the first page. Placing it on her lap, he began to trace the lineage of the cloak.
“Ignotus Peverell, he owned the cloak first. He died immediately after giving it to his son. His son, Iurthir, made several notes in here. They are hard to read, but they tell of how he never used the cloak because his father had used it all the time. Iurthir passed the cloak to his oldest child, a girl by the name of Ednyfed. She also stated she never used the cloak. However, she passed it to her son, who noted several times he used the cloak to escape from people who were chasing him.” James could see Lily was listening, but he knew he had not yet explained his reasoning behind his faith in his cloak.
He went through the entire book with her, tracing the history of the cloak and reading the notes of the previous owners as to the perfection of the cloak.
“James, all of this has been interesting, but it still does not tell me why you were so sure it would protect you from the curses. Or was it just your arrogance making you think you were protected?” Lily asked.
“No, it wasn’t my arrogance. It really wasn’t even any of these stories that convinced me,” James paused. He knew he was going to have to tell her about the first time the cloak protected him from harm. Though the incident didn’t involve curses from Death Eaters, it still proved that while under the cloak he couldn’t be harmed.
“Did you know that it was in our fifth year that we finally mastered becoming Animagus?” At Lily’s nod, James continued. “Before that, we shouldn’t have been anywhere near the Shrieking Shack. But we often snuck down to the Whomping Willow and went up the tunnel anyway under the cloak. Though we didn’t dare enter the room Moony was in, we felt better knowing we were just outside the room, even if he didn’t know we were there.
“One night we were late getting there. As we went up the stairs, we did not hear the usual growls and howls coming from the room Remus was in, but we instead heard what could only be described as cries of pain. Lily,” he said her name as he reached for her hand, “I didn’t hesitate before I rushed into the room.” At Lily’s gasp, he smiled.
“I either forgot or didn’t think about the fact I had taken off the cloak on the way up the stairs. It was lying useless in my arms. Upon seeing me, Remus immediately came after me. I heard Sirius yell, ‘Put the cloak on,’ and I whipped it over me just in time. Though Remus couldn’t see me, he took a swipe at where he knew I had been standing a second before. I was knocked sideways by the blow. I held onto the cloak for dear life and crawled out the door shutting it behind me.
“When I pulled the cloak off to check and see what damage had been done to it, there wasn’t a single mark. Nor was there any mark on my arm where his blow had been dealt. Lily, the force he hit me with should have broken my arm, but there wasn’t even a red mark. I knew then that the cloak would protect me from anything.” He hoped she understood and waited for her to tell him she did.
“James, it protected you from a werewolf hitting you and you honestly based your assumption of your safety on that? Did it ever occur to you spells and curses are different from a blow from a werewolf?” Lily asked clearly upset.
James didn’t know what to say. He just knew when the curses were flying at him that he and Sirius would be safe under the cloak. But how could he explain that to her? Suddenly an idea came to him. She needed to see it. She needed to see that he was safe under the cloak so she could believe it.
“Lily, I can’t explain how I knew. I just did. But you don’t know. You weren’t there and you didn’t see the curses bouncing off it. So let me show you. Let me show you what the cloak can do.” James stood and pulled Lily off the bed. He led her downstairs to the kitchen.
As they entered the kitchen, the three occupants stopped talking abruptly.
“Padfoot, can you help me with something? I need to show Lily the cloak can and will protect me.” Without waiting for an answer, James grabbed the cloak with his free hand from the counter where he had thrown it earlier and pulled Lily outside.
The other three Marauders followed, though from their faces James knew they were confused.
“Padfoot, I am going to stand over there by the tree. I promise I won’t move. Once I put the cloak on, I want you to start firing spells at me. I don’t care what ones you use, just make sure they have effects that would be obvious if they hit me.” James let go of Lily’s hand, kissed her lightly and walked over to the tree. Smiling, he pulled his cloak over himself.
With an apologetic smile at Lily, Sirius shouted, “Stupefy!”
They heard James chuckle from beneath the cloak. “Is that the best you got, Padfoot?” he taunted.
“Tarantallegra!” Sirius tried again. James could still be heard laughing.
“Petrificus Totalus!”
“Langlock!” Though Sirius tried over and over again, nothing seemed to affect James. Turning to Lily, Sirius said, “See, he can’t be hurt while wearing the cloak.”
“Not by jinxes, no, but Death Eaters are not going to be throwing jinxes at him, are they?” she asked.
Remus looked at Lily, then knowing there was only one way to convince her, he did something he never would have thought himself capable of doing. He used an Unforgivable Curse on one of his friends.
“Crucio!” he yelled aiming his wand directly at where he knew James was standing.
Lowering his wand, he called to James, “I think that will put to rest any concerns over your cloak.”
James removed his cloak and walked over to his ashen faced wife. Taking her in his arms, he looked at Remus. “Moony, thank you. I know why you did that, but if you ever try to do that to me again…” He let the sentence go unfinished. Waiting a heartbeat for his words to sink in, he burst out laughing. “That was inspired, Moony. It was perfect.”
As James led Lily back into the house, Sirius looked at Remus. He understood why Remus used an Unforgivable Curse on James, but it was the fact it had even occurred to Remus to do it, not to mention the fact that it came so easily to his lips, that had Sirius worried. He didn’t want to believe Remus could be the traitor, but someone was passing information on the Order’s plans. Shaking his head, Sirius decided against the wishes of his heart that he would keep a closer eye on Remus from now on.
***
Miles away in the Headmaster’s office of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore was rapidly pulling various books off his shelves and levitating them to his desk. He had to know. Could it be after all these years, after he had given up all hope of finding another of the Deathly Hallows, that there was one within his grasp? How could he have been so blind not to see it before now? He looked down at the wand in his hand. He already had one. In fact, he possessed the deadliest of the Hallows. But now, he sought information on another.
Could James Potter be the owner of the Cloak of Invisibility? Was it possible? He had to find out. He had to know.
Believing in the Cloak by mudbloodproud
Chapter Notes: I would once again like to thank my wonderful beta, Olivia (social loner). Without her, this story would never have made it in in time.
I would also like to thank the wonderful J. K. Rowling. Without her world, which everything you recognize comes from, this story would not have been possible.
I would also like to thank the lovely mods for validating this so quickly.
Chapter Endnotes: I hope you have enjoyed this story. I am undecided as to whether or not to continue with this story. A review and an opinion on whether you would like to read more of this story would be appreciated.