March Night
I. Smooth as a thousand silver daggers
i
The mask is terrifying for something so plain. Blank. Slits for eyes.
Eyes which are everywhere.
He turns it over in his hands, marvelling at how the smoothness of the surface can send chills into his body like a woman's desperate screams.
"Peter! They're here! They're--OH MY GOD!"
(There's a sick sort of pleasure in his stomach as the girl who was so nice, who once tutored him at potions twists and screams at his feet.)
Marlene McKinnon's dead, Peter. Her whole family. Someone leaked information. Someone's a traitor.
The mask stares up at him, like death.
(I offer my allegiance to you, My Lord.)
When he puts it on, he's someone else. He's not Peter, not Wormtail. Not a Marauder.
He's powerful, now. This time, he's the one with a secret. This time, it's all in his hands.
ii
"No one's seen Remus for a week."
Silence. The unspoken lingers in the tense air. Someone's a traitor.
"He did--it's just--well, it's full moon tonight."
Lily hmms softly and James bites his lip and Sirius looks away.
Weaklings. "It's just… that--well, that. Y'know."
Sirius looks up and for a second, Peter's watery eyes lock with ice blue. Something clicks.
"You don't know that. We don't know that. None of us knows who it is and--and. He's," He can't say the name. "He's probably on a...mission."
Peter shrinks, Lily hmms again and James stands abruptly and walks out of the room. They all watch him go.
Someone's a traitor.