AN: I do not own Harry Potter nor Batman. I'm just a skinny Buttercup.
Aconitum
Liqueur de Rose
23rd November, 1992
As the bright lights flashed and the loud music pulsed in the crowded muggle club, Peter Pettigrew slowly made his way back to his friends, careful not to spill any liquor from the tiny glasses he clutched.
Moving around the dancing sweaty bodies with some difficulty, the young man heaved a sigh of relief once he reached their table, only to let out a panicked squeak when he almost slipped on a puddle of unidentified liquid.
James and Sirius both let out howls of laughter at the display, bolder and more affectionate with the too many drinks in their blood system, and even the reserved Remus joined in, though more softly, eyes full of amused sympathy.
"Only you, Wormtail, only you…"
Finally seated next to them, he ignored the flush rising to his cheeks, and passed along the new round of drinks.
Sighing, he settled more comfortably in the faux leather couch despite the many sticky patches and quietly observed his fellow Marauders. Cheeks flushed with the alcohol, the two dark haired animagii both sported a contented smile and seemed ready to start giving hugs, whereas the brown haired man kept looking around, having barely touched his drink since the beginning of the night.
The four friends spent a few minutes in silence before Remus' fidgeting got too much for James.
"Moony, calm down, will you?"
"I'm sorry, but I can't. We shouldn't even be here! You heard what Professor Dumbledore said at the last meeting, didn't you?"
"Yeah, of course I did, I was there too, remember?" Scowling, James ran his hand through his untamed dark hair. "Look, you're worried, I get that, and you have every reason to be so, but could we please, please, have this night just for us? I know you're anxious with your incoming problem of the month, but just for tonight, don't think about it or about those bastards, or Voldemort-" he ignored Peter's sharp gasp and Remus' disapproving glare, "and focus on the present moment, alright?"
"But James, there's a traitor amongst us! They have an actual spy in the Order, and we don't even have the slightest clue as to who it might be! How could I possibly stay calm and have a drink while knowing this!?"
"I know, but just for tonight, let's talk about the good things, yeah? Please. Tonight, you're with your best mates, and we'd rather die than betray you, am I right Wormy, Padfoot?!"
Wiping his sweaty hands on his thighs, the suddenly nervous young man gave a jerky nod before staring intently at his regretfully empty glass, ignoring Sirius' more extravagant response.
After a few seconds of unrelenting staring on the Potter heir's part, the tired werewolf gave up and let out a long sigh before giving his friend a sheepish smile.
"Well, I guess that this night is pretty special, huh? How are you feeling? Not too nervous, I hope."
"Are you kidding me? I'm not nervous, I'm bloody terrified! Trust me, OWLs and quidditch matches were nothing next to this! But at the same time…" Glazed eyes drifting away, he continued more softly. "At the same time, it's like I can't wait another second before we're officially married. Because, sure, I've never been so scared in my life, but I just know that, by tomorrow night, I'll never have been so happy either… You know what I mean?"
Peter didn't and he couldn't help but resent James for rubbing his obvious happiness and undying shared love in everyone's face.
But Remus, with his kind smile and soft voice, didn't seem to share his grudge.
"No. No, I can't say I do. But I'm happy for you, I really am."
Raising his still full glass, Sirius gave them his patented roguish grin.
"To love and willing enslavement!"
James let out a loud laugh, the sound drowning Remus' snort and Peter's eager chuckle.
"More than willing!"
The overly dramatic sigh Sirius gave had his best friend's lips twitching in anticipation.
"Won't you miss it, though? The delicate touch of a woman?"
At Sirius' wiggling eyebrows, James rolled his hazel eyes.
"Padfoot, I'm going to marry Lily, seems to me there will be plenty of 'delicate touch'. It's not like I will become celibate!"
"Well of course you won't! That's Remus' thing!"
"Oi, you know I'm not-! Oh, never mind…"
Ignoring the werewolf's intervention completely, the dark haired men stared at each other for some time before Sirius shook his head.
"So I guess that my idea to give you one last night with another woman…"
"Can be shot down, yes. Merlin, what is wrong with you!?"
His best friend let out a soft whine, looking at him imploringly beneath his dark bangs, something which could usually grant him virtually anything.
"C'mon Prongs! Enjoy your life as long as you can, before the marital claws trap you in! And – and think about the ladies, yeah? Who will save them from their loneliness, huh?"
"I'm sure you'll be more than enough to fulfil that heavy duty. And now, no one will drag you down anymore!"
Shaking his head, the roguish man flashed them a blinding grin.
"Well, can't argue with that…Still, I mean, I love Lily, obviously, but I don't think I will ever be able to settle with one person for the rest of my life. And seriously, you just admitted your feelings to each other, what? Two months ago? Don't you think that's a bit short to commit yourself to another for the rest of your lives?"
Coming from the infamously fickle Black, that apprehension wasn't so surprising.
"Yeah, but she isn't just that one random girl, you know? She's… She's Lily. I think I've loved her ever since that first Hogwart Express ride, and honestly I wouldn't know how to stop even if I wanted to. And c'mon, look around you Padfoot. We might not have much time left-" He ignored Sirius head shake and continued, "You know it's true! People are dying are scared and so am I! I know I love her and I know she loves me, and right now, that's all I need. Tomorrow, I will marry that wonderful, splendid, perfect woman and I'll spend as much time as I can with her, because she's the one, and nothing you can say will change my mind."
Sirius let out a long sigh before nodding slowly.
"I see that you are truly lost to the dark side-"
Remus interrupted him with an easy smile.
"The dark side? Really?"
"Yes, the dark side! Monogamy, if you prefer! While I'm not making any promise, I'll try to accept this devastating choice of yours. But here's my suggestion. Tomorrow, you start a new life with your dream girl, fine, but tonight! Tonight, you'll tell us all about the other girls -and I know there's been a few- that way you get it all out, no regret, and we enjoy some dirty stories! It's genius!"
"Genius, genius…"
Remus' muttering was heard but unacknowledged by the dark haired duo.
After a moment of pause, James gave a slow nod and put his elbows on the sticky table.
"Okay… So, remember Louisa Termint in Ravenclaw?"
And that was how they spent the rest of the night, drinking and listening to James' tales, with Sirius' odd comments thrown here and there.
Stumbling toward the slowly rising Sun, they attracted the occasional disapproving or amused glance of early risers; Remus trying to shush Sirius who decided to wave and salute them in the most obnoxious way possible.
Tired from a sleepless night filled with laughter and drink, they decided to stop and seat on some hard bench covered in scrawling in various languages. They spent a few peaceful minutes in silence contemplating their still sleepy surroundings until James interrupted the harmonious atmosphere with a whisper, head thrown back and eyes closed.
"There was another one, another woman, early last month."
The confession roused Sirius from his almost unconscious state and he slowly turned his head toward his fellow Marauder.
"What?"
"On 2 October, we heard about the Prewett brothers, remember?"
His friends gave a slow nod, the memory of that day still etched in their minds, not ready to fade just yet. Learning how two of the Order's best fighters had been decimated, and in such a violent way too…
"Well that night, I almost snapped. All I wanted was to pack my things and go, and to never look back. I was so scared, so fucking scared, that I… Anyway, I did what everyone should do when their courage leaves them, I got drunk, like, really drunk. I was already pretty wasted when she arrived, that American woman. Called herself 'Poison Ivy'." He snorted lightly, shaking his head. "And you know, she just looked so much like Lily, except not; it was weird. And then, I don't know why, I told her everything about the war and how I was a wizard and there were others like me, so many others… That was weird too…"
"You did what?!"
The sudden disturbance made more than one head whip around in curiosity and discontentment, but none of the four friends could have cared less in this moment.
"James! What the hell don't you understand in Statute of Wizarding Secrecy !?"
"What were you thinking about, you bloody idiot!?"
"I told you, it was weird! I knew I shouldn't have told her anything, but I just couldn't help it!"
At this, his werewolf friend looked warily at him.
"Wait, you didn't want to, but you still did it… Like you were under the Imperius curse?"
"I- Yes? But not really. I mean, I knew, while I was doing it, that I didn't want to do it, I was aware of it, not like the Imperius curse. I just wanted to… please her, I guess..."
After a few seconds of contemplative silence, Sirius shrugged.
"Maybe she was just that hot. What happened next?"
"We spent the night together, I woke up alone, and I realized that I needed to try one last time to admit my feelings to Lily before it was too late, and in a few hours, I will marry the woman that I love. End of the story."
Sirius, of course, focused on a particular part of the story.
"When you say you 'spent the night together', you mean you…"
Seeing his friend's wiggling eyebrows, James rolled his eyes so hard, he feared he might have sprained something.
"Yes Sirius, I mean that we had sex. Happy?"
"Just checking."
"Did you use protection at least?"
"Oh for Merlin's sake, Moony!"
"Did you?"
The exasperated young man let out yet another long sigh.
"No, we didn't." At Remus' reproachful look, he added grouchily, "we were both very drunk and it wasn't exactly a planned move!"
The disappointed werewolf kept staring at him wordlessly and his friend shifted uncomfortably.
"Anyway, I don't know about you guys, but I'm freezing my arse off over here."
At this Peter perked up.
"We should get back to the flat and start to prepare for tonight!"
The rebellious Black let out a relieved sigh and got up on sure legs, despite the frankly impressive amount of alcohol still present in his blood system, this short pause apparently enough for him to recuperate and finally stay steady.
With a grunt the rest of the Marauders followed suite and together, went on their way back home.
7 months later…
As soon as Sirius stepped out of the chimney, he engulfed his oldest friend in a bear hug before quickly greeting the rest of his fellow Marauders.
"Thanks for coming, mate, it's good to see you."
"Prongs, what's happening? Is it Lily? Is she okay? Did she have a problem with the babies?"
Throughout his rabid questioning, the worried Animagus took care not to speak too loudly for the heavily pregnant mother's sake. She was currently bed-ridden upstairs with strict orders not to move under any circumstances, including using the bathroom; a situation the fiery redhead could barely tolerate but the health of the twins she carried were primordial.
"No, no, they're- they're fine. It's not about them. I- I called all of you here because I-…"
Despite the tension that had contaminated most of their interactions due to the omnipresent paranoia, the three other friends exchanged agitated looks. For the generally laid-back James, to see him so distraught, it was a rare and worrying sight indeed.
"Prongs, mate, what happened?"
Breathing deeply, the future father seemed to hold an inner debate before nodding slowly to himself.
"Right. Okay. So- Here's the thing- I trust you guys with my life, you know that, right?" Not waiting for a response, he continued. "Yesterday or early this morning, I can't really remember, I was walking around the house, just thinking about Lily and the twins, about how we would soon be a family, and it reminded me about the Family Tapestry and how my father always told me that family was the most important thing in the world, one of the only reason to fight for, and, I don't know, I just missed him so much, I wanted to see it one more time before we moved to Godric's Hollow, and that's when… That's when I saw it."
Sirius would have snapped at him not to play the pronoun game, but his friend seemed so troubled, he didn't dare. Finally, it was Remus who asked the question on everyone's mind, his voice even softer than usual.
"Saw what, James?"
But his friend just shook his head and led them through the Potter mansion, the oppressive silence during the walk only deepening the tension, none of the guests willing to break it. The air around them seemed to crackled as they reached the Tapestry room, James' hand hovering over the old doorknob. Taking a deep breath, the frazzled young man turned it reluctantly.
The sight of the ancient genealogical tree spread across the walls was rather oppressive to the disowned Black as he forcibly remembered his family's and what had happened to his portrait. Shaking off the now common bitterness he felt every time he thought about his dear mother, Sirius slowly looked around, searching for the reason of his friend's restlessness. Soon, his eyes settled on James' painted face, unsmiling for once, linked to a remarkably majestic Lily. Apart from reminding Sirius of unwanted memories, this was yet another reason the young man disliked those tapestries; they twisted the happiest man on earth until he looked like your typical, haughty pure-blood. At the base of the young couple portraits, young tree branches were slowly growing, which would soon join them to their future children's pictures. That simple thought made him feel lighter, happier, the idea that his friends were on their way to complete their family and that he would be there to witness it, and even maybe have a part in it… And that was when he saw it.
His widening onyx orbs followed that strange little vine, devious tiny snake hidden in the tree of knowledge's foliage, the devastative link between James Potter and one young Aster Isley Potter.
Hearing his sharp intake of breath, Sirius knew that Remus had seen the cause of their friend's worrying behaviour.
"What? What happened?"
Shaking his head to try and clear it, the bewildered werewolf pointed out the Problem with a trembling finger to the unobservant Peter. After a few seconds, everything finally clicked for the smallest Marauder.
"Oh."
"Yes, Peter. Oh."
"Tell me, Wormtail, what news do you bring us here today, mmh?" Hearing the dangerous way his Lord's smooth voice caressed his nickname, Peter couldn't fight against a faint shiver and didn't respond. "Come now, don't be afraid! Am I scaring you Wormtail?"
Looking up from the polished marble he was kneeling on, the terrified young man barely caught sight of the smirk on his Lord's face before he hurriedly averted his gaze back to the ground, stuttering out the only answer susceptible to please his Master.
"Y-Yes, m- my Lord!"
The rich chuckle the terrible wizard let out was obviously pleased by the honest and flattering response, and his cowering follower barely held onto a relieved sigh.
"As predicted, the Order was totally blindsided by your attack last night and heavy losses. It will take them some time to recover from it…"
The Dark Lord hummed disinterestedly, already knowing all of this based on field information and logic alone.
"And? Is that it? Is that all you can tell me? How… disappointing."
Even Peter could recognize the obvious threat in his Lord's words and if possible, he bowed down even further, his forehead touching the cool floor.
"I- I-…" The traitor never thought faster about anything else in his life. "James!" At his Master's interested look, he didn't even hesitate. "He has a child! I- I mean, not with Lily, but with another girl! A little girl named Aster Isley Potter! It was before they got together, and- and…" His voice trailed off as he caught sight of the frown etched deep on his Lord's harsh face, and suddenly, his throat was as dry as the Sahara.
"A bastard girl? Tell me Wormtail, why would I care about a bastard girl, hmm?"
Peter was on the verge of tears and he couldn't keep the tremolos out of his voice as he responded.
"I' don't know, my Lord, I'm- I'm deeply sorry, my Lord! I should have known better than to bother you with those trivial information, please my Lord, forgive me!"
With a sneer, Lord Voldemort lifted his elegant wand in a terrifyingly familiar gesture.
"I don't think so… Crucio!"
And thus started the song of misery for Peter.
AN: So, again, sorry for the late update, but because of very, VERY, important exams I couldn't start working on this before the beginning of july, and before that, I wanted to work on my other story, so...
Also, this chapter just didn't want to be written. Let's just say I became very intimate with my 'delete' keyboard...
Hope this chapter don't disappoint you, and that you don't believe that James will always be drunk. He'll be completly sober one day, I swear!
Again, thank you all so much for your support and your kind words, it means a lot to me, hopefully the next chapters won't disappoint you! If you have any question, don't hesitate!
Have a nice day/night.