Ripples! Part-2

{7, Godric's Hollow, Unplottable}

{1st Aug 1980}

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives... The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies..." Dumbledore's aged voice reverberated in the enclosed space, the magic did well to hide the truth from the world but at the same time, it left an echoing effect around them.

James closed his eyes as he thought about just how similar the lines in those two prophecies were, 'Born as the seventh month dies...' He reiterated in his mind, the words left an aftertaste of bitterness as he held onto Lily whose head was slumped and now resting against his chest.

It was Sirius who was the first one to respond out of the three, he knew that James and Lily were a little vulnerable right now so it was up to him to take charge right now.

"How did the Dark Lord know about the Prophecy?" Sirius asked, something like this was too sensitive to be leaked. 

Dumbledore's face became a little more somber as he spoke, "I was taking the interview in the Hog's Head Inn. I wasn't expecting Miss. Trelawney's to utter a Prophecy. By the time I was able to make sure the Privacy charms were in place, a death eater who was lurking around had already heard the first two lines of the Prophecy."

James finally opened his eyes, his thoughts going over the plans that they were already ready to implement because of the other Prophecy. He thought about telling Dumbledore about that but even if he trusted the headmaster, he wasn't sure that Albus would put his boys first against the world. 

'No, even if the Prophecy might be related, the Prophecy left behind by the Potter Family spoke about the world crumbling. I don't think Dumbledore would think about the boys first...' James thought.

Sirius meanwhile was talking with Dumbledore trying to get to the bottom of the situation, "So all the Death Eater heard was, 'The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies?'"

"Surely more people have defied the Dark Lord 3 times, right? We are fighting a war out there!" Sirius questioned and exclaimed.

"There are two who fit the criteria, at least according to the Dark Lord he had narrowed down his targets to two boys, Harry Potter, and Neville Longbottom, both with parents who have defied him on three occasions, both were born just as the seventh month dies." Dumbledore continued, "While the Prophecy might not be talking about the two necessarily as there might be more variables, if the Dark Lord believes it then the Prophecy is real to him..."

"That is why it is prudent..." Dumbledore raised his tone gathering attention onto him, "That you go into hiding. James I believe you already had plans to some extent, we mustn't delay them any longer."

"Yes, thank you for informing us Professor," James spoke as he patted Lily on the back. "I already have the wardstones that you requested, we could do the spell now."

"Very well," Albus replied, he was expecting a little more pushback from his brash students, but it seems like worries about their children had changed them somewhat.

"You okay sweetheart?" James asked getting a nod from Lily, her eyes were still red but she was already standing back on her own. James could see that she had already come to terms with the condition and now she was calculating how to proceed.

"You should take the twins with Minerva back to the Potter Manor, it shouldn't take long and I'll come get you later," James whispered getting a nod from Lily, she quickly walked back to the Master's bedroom with a determined look.

"This way Professor," James spoke as he motioned toward the stairs. The small house in Godric's Hollow was a 1 storey house, with it's second floor that had two rooms. James opened the door to one of the rooms and on a table, there were 4 glittering blue gems that were the size of his fists.

Wardstones, especially at this size were quite expensive, they were able to take the ambient mana and use them to power up wards or store them inside them. Dumbledore walked over to the 4 four ward stones with wand in hand, his wand flickered and after a minute of waving his wand around at one of them, he nodded.

"These will do," Dumbledore spoke, he turned around to look at James and asked, "Have you thought about what I asked, if you become the Secret Keeper it would be unwise for you to participate in the raids led by the Order."

"Yes, I'll do it, I'll keep the secret safe myself," James spoke, he had already made up his mind regarding this. While his fight against Voldemort wasn't over, he couldn't leave his family for now, the Old Prophecy talked about the destruction of the world. He needed to make sure that both Harry and Rigel took the right path.

Dumbledore was surprised at that revelation, he gave James a small smile and nodded, "Good."

It was a small reply and James was kind of hoping for a lot more, the guilt of abandoning his friends to the war didn't sit well with him but he pushed those feelings down and spoke, "The Vaults of Potter House would be open to support the Order."

"I'm gonna need some time to channel the spell James, would you and Sirius place these ward stones in between the 4 cardinal directions?" Albus spoke and then he closed his eyes. His wand once again moved as he started channeling his mana.

...

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{3 Hours Later}

Sirius looked as James vanished from right in front of his eyes, his eyes widened and he could only turn to look at Professor Dumbledore. Before he could speak James popped back into view and Sirius's eyes locked onto his figure. 

"Could you cast that Privacy Charm once again Professor?" James asked and Albus nodded, his beaded wand once again casting magic, even though Sirius noticed that the old man looked a little fragile right now.

"The Potters live in 7, Godric's Hollow, West London," James spoke. The words were so simple, something he had known all along but was just missing. He looked at the large house that had somehow popped back into existence. 

"It's done?" Sirius asked.

"It's done. James, you are now the primary Secret Keeper, though I would advise you not to reveal this to too many people. No one else would be able to divulge this secret to someone else, but in case of an accident, anyone who knows about the secret would become a secondary Secret Keeper after your death." Dumbledore spoke. 

James nodded and gave the old wizard a grateful look, he had already done extensive research on the subject. "Thank you, Professor..."

"No need to Thank me, James, I need to go and talk with Frank and Alice..." Dumbledore sighed.

"Do you need Sirius to come with you?" James asked, Albus looked at the two of them for a moment. The pause was long and a little uncomfortable but then he shook his head, "Not right now, I'll talk to them with Minerva first..."

...

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AN- I never really understood why James or Lily were not the Secret keepers in HP, but this would be the first change in the timeline that will happen. 

In the next chapter, we'll look at M.C.'s perspective.