Title: Charity Case
Rating: T
Genre: Humor/Romance
Summary: "Why are you following me, Gryffindork?" he asked. By then, Peter Pettigrew was desperate enough to do something radical. "I want to join the Death Eaters." One-shot, Sequel to Wormtail's Not An Idiot After All. References to Remus/Sirius
A/N: Brought on by plot bunnies...Seriously, hasn't anybody wondered why Wormtail actually joined the Death Eaters?
Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K. Rowling, except the random 6th years, the Ravenclaw, and the Slytherin :3
Shuddering and gagging simultaneously, Lily got up and practically ran out of the common room. She didn't care if Filch caught her out so late; she had to get some Dreamless Sleep from Madame Pomfrey or she would be scarred for life. Poor James and Wormy, she thought. They actually have to sleep in there!
The same thought was running through the boys' minds. Trembling, Wormtail said, "I'm not going in there. I'll sleep down here for the rest of the year."
"I'm with you, mate. I seriously think they saw me and did it on purpose."
"To think you actually saw it…" Wormtail shuddered.
They talked about trivial things, anything really, just to keep their minds off of what was happening upstairs.
Eventually, Lily returned with three bottles of Dreamless Sleep. She handed one each to James and Peter.
"You have no idea how tempted I was to keep them for myself," she said. "Well, g'night. Good luck with the lovebirds." Shuddering, the two boys unstoppered the potion bottles.
"I call the couch. Wormy, you can take the window seat."
"But it's cold over there! And the window can break, and I could fall through, and—"
"Yeah, yeah. Don't complain. Would you rather be upstairs?" James went over to his chosen spot and downed the potion in one gulp. He was asleep within seconds.
Reluctantly, Wormtail went over to the window seat and swallowed his potion. He too fell asleep quickly.
The next morning, he opened his eyes and sat up. A group of fourth years looked curiously at him, and one of them said, "Why are you down here?"
Last night's events came flooding back into his mind. He started to tremble and stammered out, "M-m-moony and S-s-sirius are—"
"DO NOT SPEAK OF IT, WORMY!" James got up from his couch, gathered up his things, and started making his way out of the common room. On the way, he met Lily. She looked as terrified as Wormtail.
"Lils, what happened to you?"
"W-w-why did I g-go up t-t-there?"
"You actually walked in on them?"
"D-d-don't make me t-think about it."
Seeing that they were leaving for breakfast, Wormtail ran across the common room to catch up. He didn't want to be there when Sirius and Remus finally emerged.
At the Gryffindor table, a sixth year boy approached James.
"So, we 'eard some moanin' las' nigh' comin' from your dorm...Were ya sick or somethin'?"
James choked and spit out his pumpkin juice, spraying Lily, Wormtail, and a couple of first years.
"Uh…Yeah…Sirius was sick."
"Oh, okay. So why were ya screamin'?"
"He scared me!" Wormtail said.
"Yeah…But don't worry, he's fine now. So, uh, there's no need to tell McGonagall."
"And the bedsprings?" another sixth year piped up.
James felt his face reddening. "Hey, I like jumping on the bed sometimes, okay?"
The sixth years snickered. "Yeah, sure. Whatever you say."
"Those two'd better appreciate what we're doing for them," Lily muttered. "Speak of the devil, here they come."
Sirius and Remus were coming towards them, a grin plastered on each of their faces. If every Gryffindor hadn't currently been watching, they would've probably been skipping towards them with their arms linked.
"So, how'd you enjoy the show last night?" Sirius asked.
Lily gagged and looked away, James spit out his pumpkin juice, and Wormtail almost passed out on the spot.
That night, before Remus and Sirius beat them to the dormitory, James and Wormtail retrieved their pillows, blankets, and pajamas. It was official. They would stay in the common room for the remainder of the term. But Wormtail was afraid they would sneak up on him in the night. So he gathered up his things and trudged up to Ravenclaw Tower. Luckily for him, he met a Ravenclaw at the foot of the stairs.
"What do you want, Gryffindor?"
"Can I stay in your common room for the rest of the term?" Wormtail pleaded.
The Ravenclaw stared at him. "I'm not going to say anything. Just go away." Before Wormtail could react, she walked up the stairs and out of sight.
Sighing, Wormtail made his way to the kitchens, where he knew the entrance to the Hufflepuff common room was.
He received the same response there. I thought the Hufflepuffs were the nice ones. Seeing no other option, he found a Slytherin and followed him from afar.
Wormtail was beginning to pride himself on his stalking skills when the Slytherin whirled around to face him.
"Why are you following me, Gryffindork?" he asked.
By then, Peter Pettigrew was desperate enough to do something radical. "I want to join the Death Eaters."
The Slytherin stared blankly at him. "And, tell me, exactly why do you want to do that?"
"So I can sleep in the Slytherin common room!"
The Slytherin sighed. "Look, why don't you go bother the Hufflepuffs? They like charity cases."
"I already did! They didn't let me in."
"So tell me, why don't you go stay with your little friends?"
"They spend too much time together. It scares me."
The Slytherin shrugged, not getting the innuendo. "Hey, it's good enough for me. Welcome to the Death Eaters! Now, let's go get you your mark!"
Wormtail sighed, relieved. He didn't care that he had to face Voldemort now. At least it wasn't Sirius and Remus.