The tension in the office was suffocating, thick as smoke after a battle. Slowly, the shouting and chaos began to settle into uneasy silence. With a flick of his wand and a murmured incantation, Professor Dumbledore released the spell that had frozen Sirius Black in place.
Sirius stumbled forward slightly, the stiffness leaving his limbs, but his eyes remained locked on one person.
"James," he said, voice ragged with emotion.
James Potter's face twisted into something cold and sharp. Fury. Hurt. Betrayal. He stood halfway from his chair, jaw clenched.
"James, my brother," Sirius added softly.
James flinched as though struck. "Don't call me 'brother'!" he shouted, rising now, fists trembling.
Dumbledore raised his hand sharply. "Gentlemen," he said firmly. "That is enough. Sit down. All of us will speak, but only with our minds clear."
He turned toward Sirius. "Sirius. Sit. And if you make a single move toward anyone in this room again, I will be forced to bind your hands and feet."
Sirius didn't argue. He nodded, his expression hollow, and sat.
Peter Pettigrew—small, sweaty, and trembling—had already scurried to the far side of the office, placing himself as far from Sirius as possible. He took his own seat, nervously wringing his hands, occasionally darting a glance toward Sirius, who looked at him as if ready to lunge across the room.
James, still shaking with suppressed rage, returned to his seat beside Lupin. Sirius dared a glance in his direction—but the moment their eyes met, he dropped his gaze, unable to withstand the weight of James's stare.
Dumbledore finally stood. "Now," he said, his voice heavy. "I must ask again, James. Who did you entrust with the secret of your house? Who held the knowledge of your location under the Fidelius Charm?"
James took a shaky breath. "Peter. He said… he said he was a coward, and that the Dark Lord would never suspect him. He insisted. I agreed, even though Lily disagreed. She thought it should be you, Professor. But Peter kept saying he'd take the secret and hide—said he'd take his mother and disappear outside London, live in the countryside."
He shot a glare at Peter. "And Sirius—he said he'd be on the front lines, fighting Death Eaters. So he insisted on giving Peter the key to the Fidelius Charm, since it was his idea in the first place."
"I was fighting. I thought the Dark Lord would come after me—I figured he'd be distracted, thinking I had the key. But I trusted… I trusted he'd never believe that rat was the Secret-Keeper," Sirius muttered under his breath
"You told me Sirius had betrayed you—back when you woke up in St. Mungo's Hospital after the accident," Dumbledore said firmly. "Why?"
James's jaw clenched, his voice low and trembling with buried rage. "I was on the first floor, cooking dinner for the family, when the front door exploded. I didn't even have my wand on me. I ran out of the kitchen—and there he was. The very man we'd been running from, hiding from. He walked in."
His hands curled into fists.
"Voldemort. Hooded. His eyes glowing blood-red beneath the shadow. The moment I saw him, I knew. He'd come for us. I screamed for Lily—she was upstairs with Harry—to run, to get out. I grabbed the first thing I could find, a kitchen knife, and rushed him. I just needed to buy them time. Just enough time for her and Harry to get away, to be safe…"
He swallowed hard.
"But then—he didn't even raise his wand. He just sent me flying against the wall like I was nothing. The wall behind me collapsed. I felt my body break. Everything was burning and bleeding, and I couldn't move."
James's voice dropped, barely above a whisper now.
"He walked over slowly, smiling. He knelt beside me. I'll never forget his face… or his voice. He said: 'Tsk, tsk, tsk… Dumbledore tried so hard to keep you hidden. But alas—he didn't see it coming. Hahahaha… it's so easy to fool him. Just pretend to have morals, act like you stand for something, and suddenly you're his friend. His trust—that's his weakness. And now, here I am. About to destroy the prophecy. The one that says a child will defeat the Dark Lord. Hahahaha! Here I am, defying fate. Proving the prophecy wrong. Proving that I… am eternal.'"
James looked down, jaw trembling.
"I asked him—how did you find us? Who told you?"
James's voice broke slightly. "He laughed. He said, 'Oh James… you have no idea. Your dear friends? They crawled beneath my feet, kissed them, begged for their worthless lives.'"
A shadow passed over James's face as he continued, quieter now.
"I said, 'Wormtail.' And he smiled."
'Yes, yes… Wormtail,'" James quoted bitterly. 'He was crying when he told me—sobbing, actually. Told me he was the Secret-Keeper. Insisted on killing you himself.'
James drew a shaky breath.
"Then he said, 'And your dear brother… Sirius Black. Yes, he helped too. If not for him, I'd have had to deal with Dumbledore first. But thanks to him, I could come straight to you.'
'Tell me, James,' he sneered, 'how does it feel? To be betrayed by the two people you called brothers?'"
James fell silent, jaw trembling as the memory hung in the air like smoke.