Sirius sat down in the living room of James's house and summoned a bottle of whiskey and a glass from the kitchen. It had been a very long night for everyone. He poured himself some whiskey into the glass and drained the glass in one mouthful before pouring himself another one. Marlene and Mary had taken over from Gideon and Fabian to look after Remus. James, Lily, Alice & Frank had gone to Hogwarts to speak to Dumbledore about Peter's disappearance. He had said he would remain at James's house, in case Peter had apparated away from the fight and turned up at the house later. All of them feared that he had been captured when Voldemort and his followers had retreated from the fight.
He heard footsteps descending the stairs and he turned to face the doorway when he saw his girlfriend enter the room. Her brown eyes showed her tiredness and her blonde hair was a frizzy mess. She hadn't yet showered, it was possible she couldn't be bothered right now. She waved her wand and summoned a glass from the kitchen, she caught it in her right hand and sat down next to Sirius.
Sirius took the glass from Marlene and poured some whiskey into it and handed it back to her. She didn't say anything, but smiled her thanks as she drained her glass. The two of them sat in silence, both thinking over the events that had happened that night.
"Are you worried about Peter?" asked Marlene.
Sirius looked at his girlfriend and gave her a curt nod of the head.
"Mary's sat with Remus in case you were wondering," said Marlene.
Again Sirius simply nodded, didn't say a word. Marlene was beginning to grow annoyed with him, it was as if he didn't want her to talk to him. But she knew that it wasn't her that he didn't want to speak to, it was people in general. She threw one of the cushions at him, causing him to give her a low growl.
"Not once have you asked about how your best friend is doing," stated Marlene.
"He'll be fine, Lily's coming back soon and she can check him over. She's a trainee healer, not me." Sirius retorted.
"Why is it that when something bad happens you have to distance yourself from it?" asked Marlene.
Sirius shrugged and poured himself another whiskey. It was just in his nature to distance himself from people, that's how he handled bad situations. Even the guys knew that. James, Remus and Peter all knew that Sirius would talk when he was ready, that's why they never pressured him. But Marlene was a woman, and women liked their boyfriends to open up and talk about their thoughts and feelings.
Sirius drained his whiskey once again and placed the empty glass on the table with a hard thud. He rose from the sofa and paced the living room, was it impossible for him to have five minutes without Marlene nagging him? Clearly not, he thought to himself.
"Sirius-
"Marley, I distance myself because that's the way I am. I will not change, not even for you." stated Sirius.
Marlene scoffed in disbelief and she too got up from the sofa. She walked and stopped when she came face to face with him.
"I just want to know what you're thinking, what's so wrong about that?" asked Marlene.
"There isn't anything wrong with it, I appreciate your concern about me. But it's unnecessary, I just want five minutes to be alone. Once James and Lily return, we can leave. If you wish to go home alone, that's fine. You can stay with me at the flat, that's fine too. Right now I just want to be alone to think about what could've happened to my best friend, then we can talk later about anything you want. We don't even have to talk if you'd prefer to other things. But for now just leave me be," explained Sirius in a harsh tone.
Marlene blinked and felt even more frustrated but nodded. He had promised that they could talk later and she was determined to get him to open up to her. She had seen all around her that her friend's relationships had progressed more and she and Sirius were still in the same place. She wanted them to move forward too, she wanted more than just a fun relationship. She needed to know that he would be open to more commitment one day.
Mary sat on the edge of Remus's bed, wringing out the damp cloth she had been applying to his forehead. He had a bit of a high temperature and Mary had spent a while trying to cool him down. It appeared to be working, his temperature felt normal now as she felt the cheek with the back of her hand. Mary placed the damp cloth and bowl of cold water onto the bedside table. Remus began to stir and she spun around, greeting him with a warm smile.
"Mary?" croaked Remus.
"Shush, don't move too much." whispered Mary cautiously.
Remus did as he was told, put propped himself up so he could see her a little better. Mary moved gently so she could take his hand, he smiled weakly up at her, luckily the curse that had hit him didn't give any lasting damage.
"Did anyone get hurt?" asked Remus.
Mary's face fell and Remus's heart starting beating faster as concern overcame him.
"The Auror who Moody, Alice and Frank worked with died and Peter's gone missing," said Mary quietly.
Remus nodded slowly as he took in the news. Mary found that the silence between them was growing more awkward. Things between the two of them had been that way since she broke free of Mark's controlling ways and went to Lily for help. She understood why, she hadn't exactly been the best girlfriend when she and Remus had been together and for months, Remus had received cold letters that he thought were from her. He had been hurt. Hopefully with time, the two of them could resume their relationship but for now, she didn't know what Remus wanted from her and now was not the time for that conversation. She went to rise from the bed but Remus gently grasped her wrist, gesturing that he didn't want her to leave.
She edged a little closer to Remus as he held her hand, both of them feeling confused. They weren't together, but holding each other's hands felt like they had never split up at all. It was the most natural thing in the world but yet they shouldn't be doing things that couples did. They both stared at the other, quizzing what was going to happen next.
Remus sat up slowly as Mary let go of his hand and picked up a pillow from the other side of the bed, he leaned forwards and she placed it behind his back, so that it would allow him to sit up more comfortably. He settled back against the pillow before taking hold of her hand once more, his free hand tucking her hair behind her ear.
"Mary," he breathed.
The couple leaned in closer to each other, their foreheads gently bumped together. Mary's heart hammered faster in her chest, the thought of actually kissing him was like a dream. It had been so long since she felt the loving sensation as his lips moved over hers. Their noses bumped together, their lips only centimetres apart. This can't be happening, Mary thought happily to herself. But it was.
Just as their lips met, the door burst open. Mary jumped back down the bed, to try and make it look like nothing had been about to happen between them. They both looked and saw Hestia stood in the doorway.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realise you had company Remus," apologised Hestia.
"Don't apologise, I was just leaving." said Mary, getting up from the bed.
"Mary-
"There's no need to leave on my account," stated Hestia.
"I was leaving anyway, I'm getting rather hungry." Mary lied.
Remus nodded sadly and watched as Hestia and Mary glanced evilly at each other just before Mary exited his bedroom. He gave Hestia a small smile as she sat in the place that Mary had sat moments previously. He liked Hestia, she had been a good friend to him, but why did she have to interrupt a perfectly nice moment that could've meant the start of his relationship with Mary again.
Peter woke to the warmth of a crackling fireplace and a throbbing pain in his head. His vision blurred. He could make out the brick fireplace that he was laying in front of but he had no idea as to where he was or why he had been brought here. The last thing he remembered was curling up into a ball in a field as an attempt to avoid getting hit by curses.
He sat up, the throbbing in his head starting to ease of as his vision became clearer. He was still confused as to where he was, he hadn't been here before that's all he knew. His heart was racing in fear, why was he here?
"You're the one they call Wormtail," stated a high cold voice from behind him.
Peter shuddered as the voice sent shivers down his back. He slowly turned to face the owner of the voice and gasped in fear when he realised it had belonged to no one other than Lord Voldemort.
"P-Please d-don't h-hurt me," begged Peter, curling up into a ball in fear.
Voldemort cackled coldly.
"You know all about me and I've been told about you. You idolize those who call you friend. You like to be surrounded by triumph and glory. So I'm going to give you two choices." said Voldemort, red eyes looking at Peter as if he had him glued to the spot where he sat.
"What c-choices?" stammered Peter, still fearful.
"I will become the greatest wizard of all time and I need followers, become one of my Death Eaters. The names of my Death Eaters will be remembered for eternity as I create a new world in which mudbloods will be put in their rightful place. You can tell me everything you know about the Order of the Phoenix and help me get rid of Dumbledore. When the new world is created, you shall have served your purpose and be highly rewarded. You saw what happened tonight, two men killed and your werewolf friend injured. Whilst my Death Eaters have only minor injuries. This shows that I am the winner and Dumbledore is the loser," said Voldemort, no emotion about his voice.
Peter looked into those murderous red eyes and trembled.
"And the other choice?" he whispered.
Voldemort smiled thinly, "Death," he replied.
Peter looked away from the Dark Lord, he only had two options. Voldemort did seem to be winning the war, the amount of people that had been going missing. The reports of killings in the Daily Prophet. Then he thought of his friends, the friends who had promised to protect him when they first joined the Order together. They hadn't lived up to their promise tonight. They had allowed him to be captured by the other side. Feeling a rage of anger rise inside him, he made his choice.
"I shall serve you, My Lord." said Peter with fear in his voice.
Voldemort gave a sick grin as he glided over to Peter, grabbing his wrist harshly. Peter tried to move but followed told him to keep still. The Dark Lord pushed up Peter's sleeve and pressed the wand into the flesh on Peter's arm. Peter screamed in agony as he felt the dark magic travel from the wand pressed into his wrist and carried on all the way up his arm. He had never felt pain like this before, it was the worst pain imaginable. Almost like he was being tortured.
After a few minutes, Voldemort grinned in satisfaction and released him. Peter opened his eyes, no longer feeling the pain and looked at his arm. He had been branded with the dark mark. The official mark of a Death Eater.
"When you feel a burning sensation on your wrist, that is me calling you. You are to apparate to my side immediately. Is that understood?" Voldemort demanded.
Peter said nothing but nodded in fear.
"Good. If you fail to carry out my orders, you will be punished severely. Now go back to your friends, tell them you apparate away from the field and ended up in Hogsmeade. You went for a drink to calm yourself down and lost track of time. The next time the old fool gives your friends a mission you are to tell me instantly. Is that understood?" Voldemort demanded again.
Again Peter said nothing but nodded in fear. He had no choice now but to follow the Dark Lord's orders. Voldemort grinned in satisfaction and dismissed him. Peter ran from the house and out into the cool night breeze. He carried on running, down a country lane and apparated. He landed outside of James's front door, breathing heavily.
He stood in the doorway for a few minutes and steadied his breathing, he had his orders and had to calm himself down so that his friends didn't suspect anything was wrong. He pulled down his sleeve and straightened his clothes before knocking on the door. He only hoped that he could get away with lying.
The front door opened and a surprised Sirius stood there.
"Peter, what the hell happened to you?" Sirius yelled.
A/N: So I wasn't as busy as I thought I'd be but I have to tell you all that this is the last update before Christmas. I'm visiting my family before heading away to stay with the inlaws for Christmas eve. I won't be back home until the 27th so I will try and have the next chapter up before the New Year.
Once again Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year :)
Oh and please review.