The Death Eater dropped Peter onto the ground like a sack of potatoes. Bound and blindfolded, Peter had no idea where he was. He didn't even know who had captured him - he'd been walking down a seemingly-empty alley on a minor Order mission when he was hit from behind.
"Ow," Peter whimpered, hoping to make himself sound more pathetic and helpless. He wriggled ineffectually against the ropes binding him. This too was an act. If Peter actually wanted to escape his bonds, he would transform into a rat later, when no one was paying him much attention. But making no attempt now would seem suspicious, so he continued to struggle futilely.
"Pettigrew," a high cold voice proclaimed, "what an unexpected guest."
Peter jumped, insofar as that was possible while lying trussed on the floor. Shit, that's Voldemort!
"Well done, my loyal servant," the voice added to the side, where Peter's captor presumably stood. Addressing a powerful man as "servant" hardly inspires loyalty, Peter reflected. He had recently read a study that frequently addressing people by their names caused them to feel more positively toward you. I suppose positive reinforcement isn't really Voldemort's style. Besides, they've effectively prevented me from learning any of the Death Eaters' names so far…
Peter's musings on Death Eater loyalty were abruptly cut short as Voldemort began to speak again. "You may be wondering why we bothered bringing you here, instead of your more talented friends."
Peter hadn't been wondering. He assumed he'd simply been the easiest target. Lily and James were under the Fidelius charm; Remus was out of the country to negotiate with werewolves; Sirius was an auror and therefore equipped with many protective artifacts and tracking charms. Peter's work for the Order, by contrast, often required that he travel alone and incognito.
"You've always had a talent for secrets," Voldemort continued. "We have that much in common. But you see, my methods of finding out secrets will be rather painful for you. You're a sensible boy; perhaps you'd rather skip to the part where you tell me what I want to know."
A wordless, instantaneous crucio accompanied the word 'painful.' Peter didn't have to fake a scream, nor the tremor in his voice as he choked out, "what do you want to know?"
"The Potters. Where are they?"
Peter considered briefly before answering. The plan was to make everyone think Sirius was the secret keeper. There was no reason for it to be Peter - Peter the easy target, Peter the coward, Peter who was only James' third best friend - so it shouldn't be a hard lie to sell. If Peter weren't the secret keeper, he wouldn't be able to answer Voldemort's question. He'd asked Sirius to try telling him where James and Lily lived, carefully observed his failed attempts to describe the address, and practiced until he could perfectly imitate the choking gasp that replaced "18 Woodland Street, Godric's Hollow" when anyone other than the Fidelius holder tried to say it.
But if Peter weren't the secret keeper, he still wouldn't reveal any information at the first question. He'd try to hold out, at least for a while, before telling them that only Sirius had the answers they were looking for. Voldemort won't believe it if I seem to cave immediately. So Peter clamped his lips firmly together and braced himself for torture.
"Very well," Voldemort chuckled coldly, "Crucio."
After two rounds of torture, Peter could no longer bring himself to endure more for the sake of selling his planned lie. He only hoped that Voldemort would believe he could be broken this easily into telling the truth.
"Aaaaaaaah, I don't, aaaaah, don't know, aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah please stop…" Peter trailed off, and Voldemort lifted the curse for long enough for him to speak. "They're under the Fidelius, I can't say, it won't let me, only Sirius can!"
Voldemort laughed again. "Do you think Lord Voldemort stupid? I checked Black first. I tortured him, extracted the name of the true secret keeper, and obliviated him. He betrayed your trust and he doesn't even remember. Do not lie to your Lord." A short crucio followed the last admonition.
Peter could only hope that he was bluffing, and continued to protest that he was incapable of telling the location.
Voldemort was silent for a moment. Peter was still blindfolded, unable to see what he was doing, and found the silence more disconcerting than any threat. Finally, Voldemort spoke again.
"I shall have to change tactics. Servants, leave us."
Peter heard robes swishing, then a door closing. Finally, the blindfold vanished from his eyes, and his body was forcibly rolled into position to face Lord Voldemort's throne. The terrible creature of a man leaned forward, red eyes glowing and intently focused on Peter.
"Black may not have been able to give me the secret of the Potters' location, not even when I imperiused him," Voldemort whispered, "but there are flaws in the Fidelius charm. I cannot simply imperius you, because the charm prevents you from telling except by your own free will. Yet enough negative results can tell the same as a positive result. I forced your little friend to tell me that the Potters lived in every town in England, and when we reached Godric's Hollow he was unable to speak. Unfortunately I could not use the same method to narrow down the address; he was unable to describe any house in Godric's Hollow, as the charm apparently considers those close enough to be part of the secret. But Godric's Hollow… that may be enough information for me."
Peter's eyes widened involuntarily. Voldemort's tactic had been smart. But surely James and Lily were still safe. Even if Voldemort visited Godric's Hollow and walked over the entire town himself, he wouldn't be able to see the house, nor detect it by any magical means. That was the power of the Fidelius charm.
"Are you thinking that I need their house? Think again," Voldemort hissed. "I can summon Fiendfyre powerful enough to raze the entire village. I can cover the area with anti-disapparition and anti-portkey charms, block the floo, and ward against leaving the perimeter by foot. I may not be able to detect the Potters' home, but they will burn alive just the same. Every family in the village will burn."
Somewhere amidst the horror in Peter's mind, he observed a note of confusion. "Why do you need me, then? You could have killed them all as soon as you captured Sirius."
Voldemort smiled, if it could be called a smile with that horrible snakelike mouth. "You are smarter than I thought, Pettigrew, but you forget my goals. I wish to rule over Wizarding Britain. I do not wish to kill eight percent of its population. The Potter child is prophesied to be a threat to me, and I will kill that many witches and wizards if that is the only way to destroy the threat. But perhaps there is an easier way. You hold the secret, and if you tell me now, Godric's Hollow need not burn."
Peter gulped. On a rational level, Voldemort had made his decision easy: betray the Potters and let one family die, or stay silent and let a whole village die - including the Potters. If they would die either way, surely he had a duty to save the other witches and wizards in Godric's Hollow. Yet James and Lily had been his friends for ten long years, stood by him in everything, and betraying their trust was unthinkable. Their son Harry was an adorable one-year-old boy who had already wormed his way into Peter's heart, and giving him over to Voldemort would be abominable. How could he live with himself after that? He struggled with himself, fighting logic against emotion, for a long moment.
Voldemort seemed to sense what Peter was thinking. "This need not be a difficult decision for you, Pettigrew. Your friends can live. I need only kill the boy; if the Potters do not get in my way, I will not harm them. I will not harm you. I can obliviate you and put you back where my Death Eater found you, so that you do not even remember giving up the secret. If you wish, I can obliviate your friends too, so that they do not recall who had the secret in the first place."
Peter's brain immediately suggested all the flaws in this plan - even if they didn't remember who the secret keeper was, it would soon be obvious that he was the only one who could disclose the secret - but he supposed Voldemort didn't think he was that smart, and there was no reason to enlighten him. Regardless of who remembered what, regardless of the fact that Lily and James would hate him forever... there was a way to save his friends, and he had to take it. Harry was a loss, but he would be lost anyway if all of Godric's Hollow burned.
Peter nodded.
J. K. Rowling owns Harry Potter. I don't own anything here. This is my first story and I would much appreciate (gentle) feedback!
This will either be a one-shot or continued depending on whether I get more ideas worth writing. If you have ideas, please suggest them in reviews!