A/N: I don't own Harry Potter or any related characters
This is for the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Assignment #8 Criminology Task #2: Motive: Write about someone's motive for doing something.
Word Count: 424
Warning: mentions of murder
He wanted so much to be brave,
but he wasn't brave, he was breaking.
Knowing it had been Peter, knowing the rat
had betrayed them all,
but it was his fault,
he'd been the one urging, pressing,
whispering in James' ear.
He'd said he was too obvious,
he'd convinced them to change at the last minute!
It was his fault they were dead.
If only he'd been braver,
if only he'd realized before that Peter
was really the enemy,
but how could you know,
how could you ever believe one of your
best friends was nothing more than a rat?
It didn't matter, he was gone now.
He'd killed him, he deserved to be
behind these bars,
he deserved to never feel joy
happiness again.
If only he'd been stronger,
if only he hadn't been afraid,
he should have been there.
He should have trusted himself,
trusted James, trusted Lily
and now, now they were gone.
The wind whipped outside his cell.
The chill never ended, nestling in his bones.
Shifting back to Padfoot helped
the fur was warmer, the mind was
less complex.
As a dog he wasn't a coward, he was just a
creature, just an animal.
Part of him dreamed of losing himself,
losing his humanity to the animal.
Then he wouldn't hurt,
then he wouldn't feel the guilt
eating him alive.
The fluttering of the newspaper
caught his attention.
He'd never cared about the news.
It was all bad, it was all a reminder
of what he'd lost, the world
he'd left behind in his moment
of cowardice.
The smiling faces on the front page.
The rat...the rat...the rat...
missing a toe!
Peter was alive!
Peter was alive!
He hadn't killed him,
he needed to get out of here,
the truth was right there,
printed right there!
Peter would pay for his betrayal,
Sirius was going to make sure of it this time,
this time the rat wasn't going to get away,
this time, he would kill him!
He'd already served his sentence
he'd already lost so much of his own humanity
now was the time for revenge,
now was the time to avenge James and Lily.
Padfoot slipped under their radar,
they were watching for people,
not underfed, scrawny mutts with matted fur,
Peter was at Hogwarts, with the boy in the photograph
Peter was with Harry.
Sirius smiled for the first time in what seemed like forever.
Harry, he'd finally see Harry again,
and this time, this time,
Peter would die and Harry would be
safe with him.