Chapter 24
OLD FRIENDS
Historians were usually able to list numerous signs indicating coming upheavals like wars and revolutions even if they went unnoticed by the contemporaries. I had lived in the thirties and believed in peace for our time. But in 1994 I was confident that I was not missing the clear signs of the approaching storm. Voldemort had tried to steal the Philosopher's Stone, and Sirius Black had escaped Azkaban and attacked Hogwarts. They were not separate incidents, but signs which future historians would consider blatantly obvious omens of what was to come.
But during those days that should have been used to get prepared, the Daily Prophet was full of the approaching Quidditch World Cup! Cornelius Fudge was offered spotlight as the host of that expensive spectacle, and nothing else seemed to interest him. He was exactly the kind of weak leader who would cause difficult times for his nation. Dumbledore should have tugged his reins, but being proactive was simply not his style.
Well, the coming turmoil would open many possibilities for an ambitious Slytherin. The devastation Fudge's ineptitude would cause was going to be my ascension.
I had been more than half expecting Peter Pettigrew to run away at some point before my return from Hogwarts. I had not been very kind to him except by offering him hospitality, and he certainly knew I would expect something from him in exchange. However, he was still there even after I told him that he was about to meet Remus Lupin and Harry Potter who would thus learn his secret. Perhaps the long years of easy life as a pet had spoiled him so that he simply could not have survived on his own. Of course, there was also the threat that I would alert the former Death Eaters and tell them about his survival; he probably regretted revealing his greatest fear to me.
"I-it's so g-good to meet R-remus again," he said, fidgeting his fingers and destroying one of my quills.
"Then why are you so nervous?"
"Um… ah… it's been so long."
"You know, you could've met him at any point at Hogwarts when you were both there for months."
Pettigrew decided not to react to my remark. He stared at the door, sweating slightly. His nervousness was way over scale because it was still an hour until Harry and Remus were to arrive. I let him languish in his discomfort, and continued reading the Daily Prophet.
When it was time for the arrival of Harry and Remus, I asked Pettigrew to turn into his rat form. He did so and retired to a corner of the room. Soon I heard the usual bang of Apparition from another room, followed by the voices of Harry and Dobby.
"Right on time," I said as Harry entered the room and greeted me. "Let's see how punctual Remus is."
I had barely managed to say the words when the doorbell rang. Dobby hurried to the front door, and returned after a while with Remus.
"Good day, Tom, Harry," the former Defence Professor said, looking around. "Isn't this Hogwarts style? I would've imagined you'd have wanted something to remind you of New Zealand."
"Actually, this is the style of my original home," I said with a deviously misleading honesty. "The Private Wizarding Academy of New Zealand was established by British witches and wizards who had studied at Hogwarts. They tried to imitate Hogwarts castle as faithfully as possible."
"You lived in the Academy building?"
"Sure, we all did. The community is not large, and it's simply practical that everyone lives in or in the vicinity of the Academy." I had not quite perfected my lies about New Zealand, which meant it was time for a change of topic. "Now that you're both here, we'd better meet with the person you came here for."
Harry and Remus gathered around a table, and I went to fetch the nervous Animagus from the corner.
"This is the person I invited you to meet," I said and placed Pettigrew the rat on the table.
"Scabbers?!" Harry exclaimed incredulously. "You said – you really meant Scabbers? Why?!"
"What kind of a joke is this?" Remus asked.
"That rat is Ron's pet!" Harry explained. "He fell ill, and Tom said he took him here for treatment."
"Tom, Tom, you appear to be quite a prankster," Remus said, unable to suppress his smile. "My childhood friends were just like you. Oh, how often they did something like this."
"They pranked you with a rat?" I asked. "I believe they did. Or at least one of them did. Turning into a rat like this was probably Peter Pettigrew's special expertise?"
Remus suddenly grabbed the front of his robe as if suffering from a heart attack.
"It can't be," he whispered, getting a confused look from Harry. "It can't be! Peter?!"
"Time to reveal your true form, Mr Pettigrew," I said.
The rat nodded and turned into a human in a blur. Harry yelped in surprise and Remus grabbed the back rest of a chair for support.
"R-remus, my friend," Pettigrew said and came down from the table. "And H-harry… nice to finally meet you like this."
"Um – who are you?" Harry asked.
"He is Peter Pettigrew," I said. "The fourth member of the gang formed also by your father, Remus, and Sirius Black. I told you about him last summer. He was believed to have been killed by Sirius Black the day after your parents were killed. But he survived. He can tell you the details."
Remus had recovered from his initial shock.
"So, Sirius didn't get you, after all? But tell me… why did you disappear like that? I lost four of my best friends in less than twelve hours. It was devastating. It would've given me some consolation if I had known that at least you were still alive."
"I'm so sorry, Remus," Pettigrew wailed. "I don't know what happened to me… I somehow snapped. It was madness to think I could stop Sirius, but I tried anyway. It took me days to recover from the shock… Lily and James dead, Sirius turning against me and blasting the Muggles, losing my finger and a great deal of blood. I just… I wanted to leave everything behind. My life was already ruined…"
Remus's hurt expression softened as Pettigrew sobbed about those horrible days when both their worlds had suddenly turned upside down, and I added Remus to my list of people who could be manipulated with sentimental means.
"I… I understand," Remus said sadly. "Many members of the Order secluded after the chaos of the war. I, too, thought about starting over somewhere else…"
The two adults mumbled about the horrors they had gone through, but then Harry's bright voice interrupted them.
"How did you find about Mr Pettigrew, Tom?"
"It was the night after Black attacked your dormitory. I simply noticed him on the Marauder's Map."
"The Map?" Remus cried suddenly. "Did you say the Marauder's Map?"
"How do you know about it?" I asked sharply.
"We created it… Peter, James, Sirius, and me. We called ourselves the Marauders."
"Moony," I mumbled, staring at the werewolf. "And Wormtail, of course."
"You've got the Map? How?"
"Fred and George gave it to me," Harry said. "They had stolen it from Mr Filch. I gave it to Tom, who duplicated it."
"Really? That's impressive. How did you do it?"
"Tell me first how you created the first one," I said, unwilling to reveal anything that had something to do with the Chamber of Secrets.
"It took us years, but eventually we found an anchor stone of the Hogwarts wards in the Forbidden Forest," Remus said. "We tried many things with it, and it was mostly luck that we tapped into the ward that tracks everyone. We didn't put any of our own magical strength into the Map, and I think it gets its power from the nexus of magic that's located somewhere beneath the castle."
"Yes, so I figured. It was probably the same anchor stone that I found."
"Was my father Padfoot or Prongs?" Harry asked.
"He was Prongs. The names came from the Animagus forms. Padfoot is Sirius… he transformed into a huge, black dog. Many times he scared younger students, pretending to be the Grim."
Harry paled suddenly.
"The Grim? You meant… that was Sirius Black? I saw the Grim two times during the school year!"
"Sirius was sneaking around the grounds almost the entire year," Pettigrew said. "I'm sure he came through the passageway from the Shrieking Shack."
"Of course!" Remus said, smacking his palm against his forehead. "After Hallowe'en the staff tried to figure out how he got past the Dementors. I know Severus suspected me of helping him. However, Dumbledore was quite sure he had used some unknown Dark magic. But the truth was that simple!"
"And now we're getting to the reason I asked you all to come here," I said. "Dumbledore's actions have made me wonder if he has some strange motivations. I'm not sure if you're aware of this, Remus, but there never were any Dementors guarding the Shrieking Shack even though Dumbledore knows full well there is a passageway to the grounds and that Black knows about it too. Don't you think he did not take the threat seriously enough?"
"Ah, well – I, too, forgot about the passageway, as did Severus, it seems."
"I could overlook one or two such incidents, but with him it seems to be a habit, which makes me suspect something more sinister than simple sloppiness. Mr Pettigrew, could you please tell Remus and Harry what you told me about serving under Dumbledore in the Order of the Phoenix?"
"Well," Pettigrew began, "in all honesty, Remus, one of the reasons I decided to leave everything behind was that I didn't want to continue in Dumbledore's service. When we joined the Order, I did admire him. He had defeated Grindelwald, after all, and he was the only one You-Know-Who ever feared. But when I observed him closer, I quickly lost my respect and trust."
"You said to me, sometimes I wondered if he wanted more people to die," I said. I remembered those words well, because I had made similar conclusions from the old man's actions.
"It really seemed so! Didn't you, Remus, ever wonder why Dumbledore was so passive throughout the war? Ten years of horror, but he just waited!"
"I think you're far too harsh to Dumbledore," Remus said tightly. "And Tom, you have incomplete information of what happened during those years. No one knew where Voldemort was hiding, or where he would attack next. It wasn't exactly a war, but a series of terrorist strikes."
"I'm aware of that," I said, "but it is possible to adapt to such a situation too. Was Dumbledore the first one to rush to wherever the Death Eaters had attacked? No, he stayed at Hogwarts, running a school when people were dying, for Merlin's sake! Did he ever try to lure Voldemort into a trap? He could have limited Voldemort's influence by arresting those pure-blood leaders who were obviously Voldemort's supporters. Can you come up with excuses for these omissions?"
Remus was almost pulling his greying hair in frustration.
"Look, I can't say that I know everything Dumbledore did or didn't do during the war…"
"My point is," I interrupted, "that whatever Dumbledore's strategy was, it was very ineffective. If that is all he's capable of, we cannot rely on his leadership when the next war begins. Voldemort's return is inevitable. He will find a way to a physical body sooner or later, and he will have his revenge. In fact, he may already be back. How would we know about it?"
Pettigrew was sweating nervously again.
"Um, Professor – I mean, Remus?" Harry said. "Dumbledore is not infallible, and he certainly admits it himself. You don't know Tom as well as I do, and I know he has talent for military thinking. I'm interested to hear what he's suggesting."
"Thank you for the vote of confidence, Harry," I said. "My suggestion is that we begin our own preparations for the coming conflict, and do so regardless of what Dumbledore does. Kind of another Order of the Phoenix, but led by people who know what they're doing."
"You'd have me to go against Dumbledore?" Remus said defiantly.
"No, just to ignore him. He is so passive that I think it would be wisest to act as if he didn't exist. We cannot rely on him to save us, or even to help us."
"Tom, I want you to know that I owe everything to Dumbledore. He allowed me to come to Hogwarts, he trusted me when so many werewolves allied with Voldemort, he employed me as a teacher…"
"But he also left you alone right after you had lost all your friends, because you had served your purpose in the war that had ended," I pointed out. "He made you the Defence Professor, making you the target of the curse that had been the death of the two previous professors. To me it seems quite obvious that you are just a disposable tool for Dumbledore."
My words were like a kick to the stomach for Remus.
"Remus," Pettigrew said, "please consider it. You must see that Dumbledore is not the hero you've always wanted to believe he is. It wasn't easy for me either to reconsider my opinion of him, but I had to do it."
"Besides, look how much help he has been to you recently. You're unemployed again, and now the entire Britain knows your secret. In retrospect, it was obvious this was the result of your year as the Defence Professor. Unlike Dumbledore, I'm not asking you to join my organization as a volunteer combatant who only gets a pat on the head as a reward. As I said, I'm willing to employ you to teach us whatever you can. Even if you don't believe in my reasoning – yet – you have a very good reason to accept my proposition."
"And I do accept it, I already did when we talked about it before I left Hogwarts. Just, please, I don't want to be a part of a conspiracy that opposes Dumbledore in any way. If he asks my help again, I will help him. And I hope you'll be open-minded towards him. If he turns out to be better at opposing Voldemort than you think now, you should be able to admit that you were wrong."
"I am a Slytherin, remember. I never believe in what I want to be true. I am always on the process of questioning myself, and observations and logic are more important to me than my preferences."
"That sounds quite Ravenclaw to me," Remus remarked.
"Yes, but to Ravenclaws that way of thinking is important in itself. To me it is but a means of achieving my ambitions."
"What is it that you plan this, um, Order of Valedro to do?" Pettigrew asked.
"Well, Remus will teach Harry spells and generally useful skills. Hermione is also interested to study during the summer. I will continue my plans with my fellow Slytherins. I've already given some of them interesting things to do, and that means they're unlikely to join Voldemort when the next war begins. Our goal is to end the war very quickly."
"The House of Slytherin has changed a lot after our school years in the seventies," Remus said. "There were secret fan clubs of Voldemort and everything. Some of the oldest Slytherins were really threatening, and many of them joined Voldemort the very day they graduated. I was surprised to find out that things had changed so much for the better."
"Tom was the most important cause for the change," Harry said. "It's still hard to believe that Draco Malfoy of all people was the one who saved me after I fell from my broom."
"Speculations and conspiracy theories have always been a part of the discussion in Slytherin, but this year there was something quite unusual," I said. "I think it may have something to do with the change as well. Someone suggested that Voldemort was actually Dumbledore in disguise."
"WHAT?" Harry and Remus cried in unison.
"I argued against it," I lied, "but in all honesty, the theory was surprisingly difficult to debunk. As Dumbledore never confronted Voldemort, they were never observed as separate people. The theory explains why Dumbledore wasn't very keen on ending the war, and also how the war ended so very favourably for Dumbledore's political positions. Etcetera."
"That's the most far-fetched thing I've ever heard," Remus mumbled. He looked so shocked that I was sure the theory did not actually seem that outlandish to him. Another seed of doubt was planted!
"I don't believe it," I said. "Harry, didn't you see Voldemort and Dumbledore at the same time during that Philosopher's Stone incident?"
"Um… actually, I had already fainted when Dumbledore arrived to save me," Harry said.
"Oh, how convenient… but anyway, speculation will not take us anywhere. We need more information about what Dumbledore does and doesn't do. That means we need a spy."
I turned to look at Pettigrew, who flinched. He had clearly feared and expected this. I was, of course, only interested in Dumbledore's possible nefarious plan for the Greater Evil, the one I had begun to suspect after the Patronus lesson, but that was something I was not ready to speak with anyone.
"We'll put your spying skills to good use," I continued. "I want you to return to Hogwarts, but instead of just slacking like a parasite, you will keep a very close watch on Dumbledore. In his office. I want to know everything the old schemer is doing when no one is supposed to be seeing."
"Really? You want me to spy on Dumbledore in his office?" Pettigrew squealed hysterically. "There's no way I'm not caught!"
"Dumbledore is not known of tight security. Black waltzing in and out undetected should be proof enough of that."
"But surely his office is a whole different matter!"
"So you refuse to do it?"
"Of course! I'm not suicidal!"
I looked at him sternly. Harry and Remus were clearly about to object to spying Dumbledore, and so I quickly came up with another task.
"Fine, I've got another option for you, one potentially even more interesting. The Department of Mysteries in the Ministry." Pettigrew's eyes widened and he began to gasp as if hyperventilating. "I know they study the most esoteric mysteries known to wizardkind. Life and death, mind and soul, time and space, the very nature of magic… Atlantean secrets. I'm sure the Unspeakables have hoarded all knowledge there is about Atlantis in their archives."
"But… Atlantis is just a myth!"
"I know it is a myth, but is it just a myth? That is what I want to know. It is irrelevant if it really was a magical civilization beyond our wildest dreams. What is relevant is that all wizards with ambition to master the true potential of magic have been interested in it. Dumbledore, Grindelwald, Voldemort, and now I. Even if it's just a dead end, I want to see it for myself."
"Isn't that quite extreme?" Remus asked. "There's a reason for the Department of Mysteries being closed from the public."
"We're preparing for a war," I reminded him. "And Voldemort has inside information. Surely you've heard of Augustus Rookwood?"
Rookwood had been at Hogwarts with me for three years. As an older student, he had not become one of those who had gathered around me, but at some point afterwards Voldemort had recruited him. He had been one of the cleverest students of his year, which had opened him the way to the Department of Mysteries. What secrets he had leaked to Voldemort, I did not know, but the punishment had been life sentence in Azkaban.
"You really want a Time-Turner, don't you?" Harry asked.
"That single thing would win the war for us," I said. "Imagine if your parents had had one that fateful night."
Pettigrew looked like a trapped rat with a desperate urge escape.
"Peter, if I recall correctly, you talked about sneaking into the Department of Mysteries during our sixth year," Remus said. I had expected more opposition from him, and he seemed to notice my surprised glance, because he explained, "I have no love or much respect for the Ministry. I'm currently being harassed by a bunch of anti-werewolf bureaucrats who'd like to retroactively criminalize my tenure at Hogwarts."
"It's time for you to earn your keep," I said to Pettigrew. "This is your task in our new secret society. Perfect for someone who's not supposed to be alive. If you're caught, you can claim you somehow came through the Veil of Death. You won't be punished for that."
"But if they decide to send me back?" Pettigrew squeaked. I merely shrugged in reply; it was difficult to reassure such a coward. The silence was starting to become awkward, but luckily Harry changed the topic.
"Have you already made a lesson plan for the summer?" he asked Remus.
"Yes, I'm thinking of taking you to the Creature Reserves in Wales. There we can also practice the fourth year spells and so on. Tom, is it okay if I go through these plans with Harry now?"
"Yes, I think that was all I'd planned for us today," I said. I had quite a list of things to do during the summer, and seeking out more Horcruxes and planning the theft of a Time-Turner were of much higher priority than socializing with these people.
"Peter, do you have time later?" Remus asked. "I want to know everything you've been up to after our last meeting."
"Sure," Pettigrew said, suddenly looking uneasy again. He clearly did not like talking about himself. "I'd really like to…"
Pettigrew followed Harry and Remus out of the room, but not before glancing briefly back at me. I held a brochure in my hand about the Ministry of Magic, its departments, and the underground complex it was located in. He gulped and hurried out.
Peter Pettigrew did not return that evening, or the next. Remus grew concerned; he told that his old friend had appeared alarmingly nervous, almost on the verge of a mental breakdown, and very unwilling to speak about anything.
Salazar had said that anything could be an opportunity, but I could not imagine what opportunity there might be in Pettigrew running away. Well, at least I did not need to endure his irritating presence anymore. Besides, it had been clear from the beginning that he would not have agreed to risk his life in order to spy for me. Perhaps it was better this way. One did not become the Dark Lord by clinging to lost causes.
Published on the 14th of March, 2020.
