Chapter 6 - A Bitter Edge
It was quite late when Hedwig arrived at Hermione's home. As the snowy white owl tapped her beak on the young witch's window, a foul burst of wind shook the entire house. The howling of the breeze alone awoke Hermione before Hedwig ever got the chance.
The young girl shot up in bed, shaking with fright. Her bushy hair was tied tightly back in two pigtails, and her rumpled pink pajamas were wrinkled beyond measure. This was due to the fact that she had been tossing and turning all evening.
"Hedwig?" Hermione whispered into the darkness, attempting not to awaken her parents. "Hedwig, is that you?"
The only reply Hermione received was a light hoot in the general direction of the darkness. Feeling around blindly, the young Gryffindor stumbled around her room until she reached the latch upon the panes of glass that marked the window's location. Groggily, Hermione unlocked the silver metal handle of the window pane, and Hedwig fluttered into the warmth of the Granger house.
"What have you got for me, girl?" asked Hermione in a hushed tone. Hedwig dropped the letter she'd been carrying onto Hermione's bed, and without even awaiting a reward, landed on the mattress.
"Strange," noted Hermione casually. Her eyes then flickered to the stark whiteness of the envelope upon her brown bed cover, and sighing, she made her way back from whence she came. She picked up the paper of the envelope, noting the heaviness of the parchment and the impressions of the quill, before tearing through the seal on the back and reading the letter within.
A tear rolled down Hermione's cheek once she'd reached Harry's signature. He truly believed with all his heart that his parents were alive. Hermione wished she could believe him, wished she could bask in his joy with him, but the logic and reason surrounding Harry's situation were absolute. She'd heard it over and over again - no magic could reawaken the dead. And she refused to break with her beliefs just to placate her grieving friend.
Still, it hurt too much to keep ignoring his letters. Harry was obviously in need of a friend to lean on, and even if Hermione was not able to believe his fairy tales, she could still offer him support. Her mind set on its course, she wandered to her desk, and - removing a sheet of paper, a pencil, and her reading light - began to pen a reply.
Dear Harry,
I apologize for not writing sooner. Things at home have been quite hectic as of late, and I'm afraid I found myself otherwise engaged most of the time. However, I do find myself glad to be home. I missed this old house.
But it feels so mundane now that we're not in Hogwarts any longer. I keep half-expecting to see the frames on the walls in my hallway begin to speak and move! And how I do wish I could practice my spells - that's probably the most difficult part about not being in school any longer.
Thankfully, this has given me plenty of time to order next year's set of books, and I have already begun to read. The material we'll be covering is more advanced than I thought, but it's nothing we can't handle.
If you're sure your Aunt and Uncle wouldn't mind, I think a scheduled visit to your home would be lovely. I would love to see you during the summer holidays, as would Ron, I'm sure. Be sure to ask them first, though; I wouldn't want their aversion to magic to cause them to be impolite.
I'll hopefully see you soon,
Hermione
Hermione put her pencil down, satisfied. She marveled at how the once-familiar writing stick felt so foreign in her grasp. Nodding slightly, she tucked the reply away in a light pink envelope, sealed it, and returned it to Hedwig.
"Take this back to Harry, girl," Hermione told the animal slowly. Hedwig seemed to understand, and flew back into the night right away. Now that she had no other matters to attend to, Hermione slipped back beneath her blankets, and drifted into a comfortable sleep.
The entire night passed by in Potter Manor without sighting Wormtail once. James and Sirius had transformed into their Animagus forms at two o'clock in the morning, and searched diligently for three hours. They'd caught Wormtail's scent many times, the strongest location of it existing beneath Harry's bed. This fact served to unsettle the Potters, Sirius, and Remus even more than they had been already.
At nine, Lily called the search off, insisting that the rat was gone. The Marauders were reluctant to cease the hunt, but knew that there would be no luck in finding Wormtail if he'd already left. As the red-haired witch began breakfast for her family, the men and Harry sat tensely at the dining room table. The mood in the air was undeniably sour.
"What I want to know," said Sirius darkly, his eyes narrowing to nothing but slits. "Is how that filthy piece of shi-"
"Sirius," warned Lily from the kitchen. Sirius muttered a few choice words directed at Mrs. Potter, earning him anger from James, before continuing his thought.
"Is how that filthy piece of dung managed to get through the wards to the house."
"It's not like the Fidelius Charm was placed, Padfoot." said Remus factually, his tone tinged with unhappiness. "Just the average protective charms, same ones that existed here when we were boys."
"Then why didn't Dumbledore make sure this place was safe before he let James and Lily move in with Harry?" questioned Sirius quickly, his next rebuttal already forming in his throat. He was shaking with anger from head to toe, feeling more and more like the monster Remus became once a month. The fact that that rat, the betrayer of his family, the one who had almost caused his godson's existence to end permanently, had been so close was quite...unsettling to Sirius.
"It's not like anyone planned for this to happen, Sirius!" shouted James, his emotional level boiling above its peak. "Don't you think I feel just a bit worse about this than you do? My son's life was at stake, for Merlin's sake!"
"Yes, as was my godson's!"
"Nothing that hasn't happened before," muttered Harry, rolling his eyes slightly. Remus happened to be the only one to hear him, and a small smile reached the corner of his mouth.
"-yes, and he was the reason I was in Azkaban for eleven bloody years!"
"-at least you didn't die like I-"
"Would you stop arguing?" yelled Harry, his small voice rising causing the two fighting men to stop immediately. "Can't we just be glad the rat's gone? Arguing about it isn't going to stop him from coming back. Now would be the opportune time to put up the proper wards and stop screeching about it like two banshees! I understand you were worried about me, but it's not like I've never faced danger before! If it wasn't for the fact that I fought Voldemort last month, we wouldn't be having this conversation!"
Without waiting for his breakfast or a response, Harry got up from the table and stalked up the steps to his room. He sighed in relief when he didn't hear footsteps following him. When he reached his door, he opened it, stepped into his room, and locked it immediately. He fell back onto his bed with a huff, and, reveling in the fact that he was alone for the moment, pulled the letter from Ron from his waistband. He was also delighted to find that a response from Hermione had been delivered sometime during the chase for Wormtail, and was sitting on Harry's desk.
Harry smiled when he saw the familiar scrawls of his friends, but grew increasingly irritated at their obvious ignorance of Mr. and Mrs. Potter. It was clear they still believed he was dreaming, which upset him greatly. But at least they were speaking to him again, and that was the first step.
It was then that an ingenious plan began to form in Harry's mind. Oh yes, he would play along with Ron and Hermione's game. He would apologize to them for insisting that his parents were alive, and invite them to lunch sometime next week so they could meet his Aunt and Uncle. They would obviously both willingly accept, but when they arrived at his house, they wouldn't find the Dursleys. And when they met Harry's parents in person, they wouldn't be able to doubt him anymore!
Happier than he had been in several days, Harry fell asleep on his bed once more, content and dreamless.
While Harry slept, the downstairs dining room was buzzing with hushed conversations. Lily had joined the three men at this point, serving them breakfast with as much of a smile as she could manage. For perhaps the first time in their lives, however, Sirius, James, and Remus were too angry and frustrated to even consider eating the contents of the plates in front of them.
"He's right, you know," said Lily, breaking the tense silence that had befallen the room after Harry's outburst. "He told me the same thing yesterday. We've been treating Harry like a child."
"He is a child, Lily," insisted James, rubbing his tired eyes in frustration. He could feel the beginnings of a headache throbbing beneath his left temple.
"No, James, he isn't." replied Lily calmly, sipping a cup of tea while she spoke. "He hasn't been for quite some time, now. He's faced greater danger than most of his classmates, and he's matured a lot for it. I believe that, in the beginning, he was only acting in accordance with the way we were treating him. But now that things have settled a bit, he's beginning to show us who he really is. And we need to support him through that, all of us."
"There was no need for him to screech at us like that," said Sirius hotly, averting his eyes from Lily's. "We're still the adults in his life; he should show us more respect than that."
"Oh yes, Sirius, then why don't you set some sort of example for the boy?" snapped Lily. "You and James were yelling like a couple of first years, I heard you all the way from the kitchen."
"We're still his parents, Lily." said James. "He shouldn't yell at us just because -"
"Yes, James, we are his parents. We have been, all his life. But we haven't had a hand in raising him since he was a baby. So it's time for us all to sit and have a chat. We need to all be on the same page, do you understand me? This house will not go up in flames because of Peter. That's exactly what he wants to happen. Are you really going to let him win?" Lily knew she'd struck a nerve, but she didn't regret saying the words; they'd needed to be spoken.
"We aren't letting him win!" exploded Sirius, standing up from the table in the heat of his anger. His chair flipped out from beneath him, and he began to pace the room in a violent rage. "What do you think we're doing right now? Why did we search all night? All be damned if that little bastard gets the best of me again! I let him get away once, he won't be getting away again! He left me to rot, and I thought of a thousand ways to tear him apart every day! He killed you, he killed all of you, he killed me, that murderer killed us all...he won't be getting back in, and if he does - if he does - if d-"
"Sirius, snap out of it!" by the middle of Sirius's rant James had grown concerned for his best mate's sanity. He'd stood himself up as well, and grabbed Sirius's shoulders harshly. He shook the man perhaps more aggressively than necessary, and forced him to meet his eyes. "Focus on me, mate. Come on, snap out of it! You aren't in Azkaban anymore, you're here with us, and we won't be letting Peter get the best of us again, alright?"
"James," gasped Sirius hoarsely, his eyes refocusing. As soon as he was back in his reality, he began to sob, the tears stemming from the sting of betrayal and hatred rather than the dull ache of sadness. James consoled his friend, letting him cry until he couldn't any longer. It was difficult for James to be the rock; Azkaban had left Sirius a much more fragile man than he had been when he'd been a teenager.
"I'm sorry," said Lily quietly, her large emerald eyes widening with tears herself. "I didn't mean to upset you, Sirius. I just don't want to see Peter destroy what's left of you three."
Sirius rubbed his eyes, similarly to the way James had just minutes before, and sighed with undirected frustration. He replied to Lily, "Not your fault. You're right. I just can't - I can't - I won't let him destroy me again."
That statement left Lily absolutely speechless. Seeing that his wife had no words, James took Sirius's arm and beginning leading him up the stairs. "Come on, Padfoot. Seems we've got a bit of speaking to do with Harry. And we'll want to contact Dumbledore about Wormtail."
This left Lily and Remus sitting quietly at the table, sipping their tea in comfortable silence. Once finished, Lily was about to go back to the kitchen, when Remus's hoarse voice lifted her from her thoughts.
"Lily?" his voice sounded pained.
"Yes?" asked Lily delicately.
"Keep Harry inside and off of the southern beaches tonight, alright?" he requested.
"Very well, Remus. Yes, of course. But why?"
"Because it's a full moon, and that boy doesn't need to be more hurt than he already is."
Wormtail sat meekly upon the southern beaches, gazing out at the ocean. He felt the cool, crisp breeze blow against his fur, and basked in it. Never before had he felt so freed from the chains of his confinement. For eleven long years he had not been a man; yet not a day went by that he wished he were one again. As a man he had been weak and cowardly; too much had been expected of him then. But as a rat, he was supposed to be nervous and frightened. He could hide when he wished not to be found, and he could spy upon those who wished to do him harm. Those privileges were not granted to men; men were not worthy of such vast and incredible gifts.
Wormtail had been so close to Harry Potter! He could have done him in in a heartbeat, and earned his place once and for all among the followers of the Dark Lord. He could have been the most important Death Eater alive - why hadn't he done it?
He needed more time. The world thought him dead, and so he had to plan out his actions very carefully. He knew that - had he killed Harry Potter - James and Remus and Sirius would have come after him. He hadn't seen them, but he had smelled them. The scents of Padfoot and Prongs had lingered in every corner of the Manor by the sea, and Wormtail could have known they were staying there without even stepping paw over the threshold.
Once Moony had caught his scent, Wormtail knew he had to get away. And so he had come to the seashore, where he and the other Marauders had once spent carefree days by the water's edge. The tree just a few feet away used to be where Remus read, and James and Sirius would swim out into the waves and see who could make it further without -
No! Such days were dead and gone, and Wormtail did not wish them back. The Marauders had been his shield; and now that he was a rat and a favorite of the Dark Lord, he had his own set of defenses. He didn't need his so called brothers anymore; they'd never been of much use to him anyway. He didn't let himself become emotionally invested with them, because he had always known that the time would come to say goodbye to them, in some way or another. He just hadn't known how until the rise of the Dark Lord and his decision to betray the brotherhood he'd known for eight years. But that betrayal hadn't hurt him one bit, because he'd been so empty that he couldn't feel anything at all.
As the moon began to rise, Wormtail settled himself further into the sand. The southern beaches would be a safe and secure place to spend until morning. And then he would be able to scurry to a more remote location. As Wormtail's beady eyes began to slide shut, the moon arose completely, revealing its full shape. A perfect circle hung in the air above the rat, and from just a few meters away, the howl of a wolf echoed across the sea.
And that's it for Chapter 6! At about 3,000 words it isn't my longest chapter, but it's definitely longer than Chapter 5. Thank you everyone for all of the amazing feedback! It's absolutely fantastic to hear from all of my readers, and it certainly gives me more motivation to write. I apologize for being a bit late with the update, but I hope it was worth it! I know we didn't get to see much action, but this was a very important character-development chapter. Next time, expect to see some interactions between Harry, Ron, and Hermione, as well as some shocking developments with regards to Wormtail. Alright, I think that's all from me! Don't forget to leave a comment with your thoughts :) See you guys for Chapter 7!