"I Was Once You"
Drip, drip, drip.....
The gray-skinned, sniveling little man, tried, unsuccessfully, to steady his shattered nerves. The shadows on the cold stone walls surrounding him seemed to lengthen and become even more sinister.
The temperature dropped and the few candles in the cavernous room flickered.
The small man began trembling uncontrollably. Even after years of encounters his terror never seemed to abate.
Any regrets he may have harbored in his shriveled, weak heart were swallowed up in the dark form of evil he served.
He was now a slave to it.
One of his hands began glowing with an unnatural light, the fingers flexing as they sensed their creator drawing near.
Drip, drip......
The water stopped as a large shape towered over the groveling, pitiful man.
Not a voice but a hiss, followed by a slither.
Red eyes narrowed.
"Wormtail....."
"I am sorry master!!"
"Sorry is what you have always been and will always be. I gave you an order, you obey or die."
Peter Pettigrew began whimpering like a kicked puppy. "He is too well protected my lord!"
"We were successful once. Perhaps if my servant were more capable..."
"I am capable my lord! I will find a way, I can still enter the castle undetected."
"Yesssssss. But not for long, certainly. That Muggle-loving Dumbledore will have the boy under lock and key. Even delaying our actions till now cannot ensure successsss."
"It was the other two brats! They are constantly near him, even at the Hogsmeade village. I had an opportunity......"
"SILENCE!!!"
Almost in tears, the rat complied.
"You failed, neverthelessssss. If you must take the other children, then do so. They are mere liabilities and may even add to my revenge against the boy."
Silence so thick it enveloped the Dark Lord's servant. Long, white fingers clasped the front of Pettigrew's robes and dragged him up towards the glowing eyes.
"How can one boy have caused me even a moment of defeat? A skinny, orphaned whelp, not even a full wizard!!"
"Master, I p-p-promise....."
"Silence!! I grow tired of your incompetence"
With a thud, the Dark wizard dropped Pettigrew to the floor.
"How can he still be alive?" The evil voice hissed to himself.
"We will get him, master."
Voldemort turned around, his voice barely heard yet penetrating at the same time.
"I wish to understand, Wormtail. I want that boy gone, destroyed by _my_ hand and no other. I don't simply want him dead, I want him broken. I wish for all of the Mudbloods and foolish weakling wizards and witches still clinging to hope to pay for ever honoring the boy. I want _him_ to pay for defeating me."
Pettigrew said nothing, only continued whimpering and cowering at the foot of the evil wizard's robes.
"I wish for all of them to be defeated. Without any reprieve or belief left. No essssscape....."
The Dark lord turned on his quivering servant. With a high, cruel laugh he spit out a curse and Peter Pettigrew screamed until he was released.
"That is to remind you of a later fate should you fail. Get Harry Potter, bring him to me at any cost. We will win this war before it has even begun" He paused and gazed at Wormtail knowingly.
"James Potter's son, think of it Wormtail. The failure that you are compared to his status, always loved even as a martyr...."
Finally, Pettigrew stopped whimpering, chubby fists clenching the Dark wizard's robes.
"It won't be so with his son, my lord."
Voldemort's high, cold laugh pierced the cavernous walls, piercing the dreams of the Boy Who Lived.
************************************************************************
Drip, drip, drip.....
The gray-skinned, sniveling little man, tried, unsuccessfully, to steady his shattered nerves. The shadows on the cold stone walls surrounding him seemed to lengthen and become even more sinister.
The temperature dropped and the few candles in the cavernous room flickered.
The small man began trembling uncontrollably. Even after years of encounters his terror never seemed to abate.
Any regrets he may have harbored in his shriveled, weak heart were swallowed up in the dark form of evil he served.
He was now a slave to it.
One of his hands began glowing with an unnatural light, the fingers flexing as they sensed their creator drawing near.
Drip, drip......
The water stopped as a large shape towered over the groveling, pitiful man.
Not a voice but a hiss, followed by a slither.
Red eyes narrowed.
"Wormtail....."
"I am sorry master!!"
"Sorry is what you have always been and will always be. I gave you an order, you obey or die."
Peter Pettigrew began whimpering like a kicked puppy. "He is too well protected my lord!"
"We were successful once. Perhaps if my servant were more capable..."
"I am capable my lord! I will find a way, I can still enter the castle undetected."
"Yesssssss. But not for long, certainly. That Muggle-loving Dumbledore will have the boy under lock and key. Even delaying our actions till now cannot ensure successsss."
"It was the other two brats! They are constantly near him, even at the Hogsmeade village. I had an opportunity......"
"SILENCE!!!"
Almost in tears, the rat complied.
"You failed, neverthelessssss. If you must take the other children, then do so. They are mere liabilities and may even add to my revenge against the boy."
Silence so thick it enveloped the Dark Lord's servant. Long, white fingers clasped the front of Pettigrew's robes and dragged him up towards the glowing eyes.
"How can one boy have caused me even a moment of defeat? A skinny, orphaned whelp, not even a full wizard!!"
"Master, I p-p-promise....."
"Silence!! I grow tired of your incompetence"
With a thud, the Dark wizard dropped Pettigrew to the floor.
"How can he still be alive?" The evil voice hissed to himself.
"We will get him, master."
Voldemort turned around, his voice barely heard yet penetrating at the same time.
"I wish to understand, Wormtail. I want that boy gone, destroyed by _my_ hand and no other. I don't simply want him dead, I want him broken. I wish for all of the Mudbloods and foolish weakling wizards and witches still clinging to hope to pay for ever honoring the boy. I want _him_ to pay for defeating me."
Pettigrew said nothing, only continued whimpering and cowering at the foot of the evil wizard's robes.
"I wish for all of them to be defeated. Without any reprieve or belief left. No essssscape....."
The Dark lord turned on his quivering servant. With a high, cruel laugh he spit out a curse and Peter Pettigrew screamed until he was released.
"That is to remind you of a later fate should you fail. Get Harry Potter, bring him to me at any cost. We will win this war before it has even begun" He paused and gazed at Wormtail knowingly.
"James Potter's son, think of it Wormtail. The failure that you are compared to his status, always loved even as a martyr...."
Finally, Pettigrew stopped whimpering, chubby fists clenching the Dark wizard's robes.
"It won't be so with his son, my lord."
Voldemort's high, cold laugh pierced the cavernous walls, piercing the dreams of the Boy Who Lived.
************************************************************************