The tavern fell silent. No one seemed willing to delve further into the betrayal Sirius Black had committed against his closest friend. Underneath his cloak, Augustus noticed Harry inching forward slightly, eager to learn more. When it came to his father's relationship with his godfather, no one could possibly be more desperate to uncover the truth than Harry himself.
"The Fidelius Charm," Malfoy mused. "In the dark era of the Dark Lord's reign, there was no better method for hiding someone. But alas, Harry's father chose the wrong person. Betrayed by his best friend—it must have been unbearable. Perhaps, when the Dark Lord stood before their family, beyond fear, the greatest emotion James felt was disbelief. Can there truly be anyone in this world to whom you can entrust your back completely?" He sneered and drained the last of his butterbeer.
"Then again, if you think about it from another perspective, uncovering a traitor within the Order of the Phoenix wasn't entirely bad. A single loose screw can determine the outcome of a war. Discovering the mole in advance might have even been the true reason for Voldemort's eventual downfall. The devil is in the details, and every overlooked moment could tip the scales between victory and defeat," Augustus said calmly. Betrayal didn't seem to weigh heavily on him. As a former legendary mage and the sole strategic tactician of an empire, his perspective was far from confined to isolated incidents. He always considered the bigger picture. In the otherworldly wars he had known, cruelty wasn't a concept; it was a necessity. Survival, the extinction of clans, and the slaughter of cities—these were common wartime outcomes.
Lillian absently played with her glass. To her, Augustus' words seemed overly harsh. Did achieving victory mean disregarding the lives of James and Lily Potter? Did it mean forsaking the bonds of friendship? If that were true, how would they be any different from the Dark Lord? Righteousness was righteousness precisely because of what it refused to abandon.
"So, Black was the Potters' Secret-Keeper?"
"Indeed," Professor McGonagall confirmed. "James Potter assured Dumbledore that Black would rather die than reveal their location. Black even planned to go into hiding himself. Even so, Dumbledore remained worried. I remember him offering to act as the Secret-Keeper himself."
Harry clenched his hands tightly under his cloak. It seemed his father had chosen not to let Dumbledore take on the role. If he had, Harry wouldn't be living in someone else's home, wouldn't have to tread carefully just to visit Hogsmeade, and wouldn't be left envying the happy life of Ron's family. All of this because his father had chosen his best friend—the one person he believed incapable of betrayal. How cruel that he ended up with a godfather whose sole intent seemed to be killing him.
"Did Dumbledore suspect at that time that Sirius was the mole? Is that why he insisted on being their Secret-Keeper?" Lillian asked, swirling her glass and watching the ripples form in the golden liquid.
"I doubt Dumbledore had such foresight," Augustus replied. "It was more likely that he knew there was a mole among them but didn't know who it was. As the leader of the Order, it was his responsibility to take precautionary measures. Offering to act as Secret-Keeper may have simply been one of many safeguards he implemented. If he had truly identified Sirius as the traitor, he wouldn't have sacrificed the Potters—it would have demoralized the rest of the Order. This was just one of Dumbledore's contingency plans—a prudent course of action."
"He must have suspected that someone close to the Potters was passing information to the Dark Lord," McGonagall said grimly. "Indeed, for quite some time, he believed there was a traitor in our midst feeding information to Voldemort."
"But James insisted on using Black, didn't he?"
"Yes," Fudge replied heavily. "And yet, less than a week after casting the Fidelius Charm…"
"Black betrayed them?" Madam Rosmerta asked, her voice almost a whisper.
"He did," Fudge confirmed. "Black grew tired of playing both sides and was ready to openly declare his allegiance to the Dark Lord. It seems he planned to do so at the exact moment of the Potters' deaths. But, as we all know, the Dark Lord was defeated by young Harry Potter. Voldemort lost his power and fled. This left Black in a bind. He had just exposed himself as a traitor, only to see his master fall. He had no choice but to go on the run."
"Filthy, stinking traitor!" Hagrid roared, his voice so loud the entire tavern fell silent.
"How interesting," Malfoy mused. "Black is truly reviled by all. Yet, in a way, I seem to have some familial ties to him. You know, with pureblood families, there's always some intermarriage. My mother and his cousin are sisters. Does that make him my uncle? If Harry finds out, I imagine our enmity will deepen even further. Oh, what a tragedy." Malfoy theatrically prodded the mahogany table, feigning sadness.
"Oh, cut it out," Lillian scoffed. "Stop parading your so-called pureblood connections. It's disgusting. Claiming a notorious scoundrel like Black? You're truly shameless."
"Honestly, Sirius Black was an exceptionally unlucky mole," Augustus remarked. "Voldemort happened to fall at the exact moment Black decided to turn. A mole without a master is utterly useless. To think he endured the pressure of deceiving family and friends while feeding information to a heartless overlord—it's hard to imagine how he coped. Anyone with a weaker psyche would have broken under such immense strain. One must admit, his skill at deception was flawless, so much so that even Dumbledore failed to notice any cracks. It's almost a shame that such a resilient individual ended up as a mere traitor." Augustus shook his head, sighing softly.
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