Disclaimer: I don't know the exact way you become a Death Eater, so I made a few things up ;)
"Hot legs, you're wearing me out. Hot legs, you can scream and shout. Hot legs, you're still in school. I love you, honey!" – Rod Stewart, 1977
The following night, Peter Pettigrew frantically paced back and forth and took angry puffs of his cigarette. When the smoldering tobacco started to burn the filter, he used it to light a new cigarette, heatedly took a drag and continued to stew as he occupied an empty classroom on the Second Floor. Where was Luciana? Why hadn't the Slytherin kept her bargain? How was Aeryn? Remus? Why were they confined to the Hospital Wing with some unknown ailment? And why didn't Luciana mention that two small villages near Rome and Moscow were going to suffer similar fates on the same day as Hogsmeade?
"Hello, Pettigrew."
"It's about time!" he grunted crossly. "I've been waiting, you know."
"Oh you don't like to be kept waiting?" Luciana purred. She slithered across the room to steal his cigarette and purposely blew smoke in his face. "You skipped your last summoning."
"You said none of my friends would be hurt during the attack!" Peter challenged, trying to ignore her barb. "But – but Aeryn and Remus are in the Hospital Wing!"
"You were supposed to be here three days ago with new intelligence and failed to appear. I had to get your attention somehow," she playfully smirked.
"You – you did it?" he stuttered in disbelief. "You cursed them?"
"I cursed Aeryn, someone else did him. We were going to leave students alone, but orders changed. You would have known that if you showed up."
"Please," he begged softly. "I didn't come because I didn't have any new information, honest. I haven't heard anything about a secret society against Voldemort. Please leave Aeryn out of this. She's – she's innocent!"
"No one is innocent," Luciana spat. "The war has just begun, Pettigrew, and it's time to choose a side. Thankfully you've chosen the right one."
"How do I know that?" he exclaimed. He threw his hands in the air in frustration. "You told me there was going to be an attack, but left me in the dark about the actual details … and then you cursed my bloody girlfriend!"
"How can I trust you with information?" the Slytherin taunted as she sat down on one of the empty desks. "You broke your promise."
Something inside him finally snapped and he felt rage start to percolate throughout his body. Luciana continued to smoke his cigarette as she stared at him, waiting for his response.
"That's it!" he howled. "I'm done with these secret meetings! You and your Death Eater friends can go to hell!"
With a swish of his black Gryffindor cloak, the Marauder turned towards the door and aimed to slam it shut when he exited. However, just before he reached for the handle, he threw a quick look over his shoulder at Luciana. It was a big mistake. She remained seated and her usual smirk spread across her face as she exhaled a stream of smoke.
"Go," she said with a flick of her hand, "see what I care. I'm not the one who's going to lose everything."
"What do you mean by that?"
"If you walk out that door, my life isn't going to be very different. I'm already a marked target, you see," she drawled. "But what's going to happen to you when a rumor about your secret dealings with Dark Magic runs around the castle?"
"You wouldn't," he growled.
"I cursed your girlfriend," she sneered back, "what makes you think I wouldn't destroy your sterling reputation?"
The Slytherin motioned for him to come back over and he begrudgingly obeyed. Peter's heartbeat quickened as she began to caress the side of his cheek; if Aeryn had done the same, he would have felt comforted, but Luciana's touch was menacing and authoritative.
"I suppose it's time to finally tell you," she began with a sigh. "So you understand the importance of your task. And don't skip out on me again." She gripped his jaw to drive her point home. He squeaked and she smiled before dropping her hand. "In order to receive the Dark Mark, you have to have two things – a scheme to perpetuate the Mission and a willing protégé to expand our numbers. Now, I could have secured Snape as my apprentice before Lestrange did -"
"Rabastan is a Death Eater," Peter said with astonishment. "Is Severus?"
"He is now," she laughed. "Who do you think created the nasty curse we all used? Well, someone cocked up the incantation so Lupin didn't suffer the full intended amount … but really, this shouldn't be that fucking surprising."
"Snape invented a curse … who decided to attack Hogsmeade, Rome and Moscow?" he asked with a slightly dazed expression as he tried to take everything in.
"Lestrange only proposed Hogsmeade," Luciana answered, "and several other members added to his idea. You do realize this is an international movement, right? The Dark Lord's ties don't stop at England's borders. He has eager members everywhere."
She paused for a moment to let smoke raise out of her mouth and into her nose - showcasing a perfect French inhale - and then blew it all out.
"Now where was I? Oh right, apprentices. So I could have chosen Snape … but then, I saw you in our first Defense duel of the year. I watched you launch that curse at Davies - even though you tried to show the rest of the world that you were ashamed and remorseful, I saw right through you. You liked it." Her smirk grew. "You took pride in catching him off guard. You wanted to watch him writhe with pain because his cries of agony were something you controlled."
As he remembered the particular incident, Peter looked down at his shoes with awareness of his wrongdoing … but as he recalled how good it felt to have the Dark Magic coursing through his veins, his expression hardened.
"I decided to pursue you that day, " Luciana said, "because I knew you had the immorality needed for the job. You were a fantastic challenge too - it's not every day you turn a Gryffindor towards the Dark Arts. My mentor was very pleased!"
"Your mentor?" Peter questioned. "Who?"
"Ah, ah, ah," she tutted. "You haven't earned that information yet."
"And when will I?"
"When you're worthy enough. I can't let you know the entire Hogwarts chain of command when you're still in training."
"Fine. So you've got your protégé then," Peter growled as his hands balled up at his sides. "What was your plan?"
"It is still in the early stages," she answered. Peter felt an imaginary, icy hand crawl up his leg when he realized that the girl he pledged his loyalty to wasn't even a fully dedicated servant.
"You – you don't know what you're going to do yet," he stuttered. And for a second, he started to look at her with new eyes. She was just a school girl, not an advanced Witch.
"I will once you find out more about the Resistance movement! We're going to deliver a blow to their organization, I just need to flesh out the details," Luciana snarled. Peter quickly felt her old dominance take hold of him again. "So if you fail to show up one more time, I will fucking ruin you. But I don't think it will come to that. You can run, but you'll come back. You'll always come back."
"You're a psychopath," he spat.
"Takes one to know one." She threw his cigarette to the ground and smothered it with her luxurious satin shoe. "Now, go back to your little girlfriend and be a dutiful Marauder. She'll be cured soon, don't worry – Lupin should be fine now. But next time, I want information. Something I can use, for fucks sake!"
Luciana then slithered past him and shoved him to the side before opening the door and exiting the classroom. Peter sighed in anguish as he straightened himself out.
"Bitch," he muttered.
The weekend's events finally caught up with him and turned his mind into mush; his feet took control and propelled him towards the Hospital Wing. He noticed Remus' bed was empty, brushed by a few other students, collapsed into a small visitor's chair next to Aeryn's bed and rubbed his tired eyes as he adjusted to the light. After a deep breath, he felt tears start to form. At first, he thought they were just due to his lack of sleep, but as he stared at his unconscious girlfriend, realized they were trigged by a large sense of guilt. How could he have been this stupid? Aeryn didn't deserve to be cursed … and yet, here she was in the Hospital Wing, all because he had an obsession with Dark Magic and a certain Slytherin temptress.
But he started to drift away from Aeryn again as Luciana's vague plan flooded back to him. Merlin, he should have chosen someone more reliable – someone who knew what they were doing - before signing his reputation away! But after he took several deep breaths, Peter knew that even if the offer presented itself, he wouldn't have chosen anyone other than Luciana. The Slytherin was only eighteen years old, but had a tendency to wield a commanding presence that was way beyond her years. And she was right, he would always come crawling back, no matter how hard he tried to resist her.
"Mr. Pettigrew."
Peter snapped out of his daze and looked up from his seat to see his Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor put a hand on his shoulder.
"Professor Artro," he acknowledged.
"I have some good news," she smiled. "I've figured out a counter curse."
"Oh thank Merlin," the Gryffindor sighed with relief.
"It's still going to take awhile to fully flush the Dark Magic out of her system," Professor Artro explained, "but she will be awake sometime tomorrow morning. So I suggest you get something to eat and go to bed."
Peter let out another huge sigh and nodded after getting up from his chair. He took one last glance at his girlfriend and then walked down to the Great Hall as his stomach started to grumble. When he passed through the large wooden doors, his friends waved for him to come join them for dinner at the Gryffindor table.
"Wormtail!"
"How is she, mate?"
"She's sleeping," he answered sheepishly as he began to help himself to a plate of food. "Professor Artro said they figured out counter curse."
He paused before taking a sip from his goblet. If Snape had invented a spell that only Death Eaters knew how to counter, could that mean Professor Artro had a sinister connection to the Dark Lord and his followers? Or was Snape just bad at inventing spells?
"That's brilliant!" Sirius beamed. "Isn't that wonderful news, Gemma?"
Gemma didn't stop frenetically drumming her fingers against the wooden table; her plate was unused and empty. She seemed to be off in another world.
"Yes, dear."
As the Seer's eyes flitted across the room, Sirius frowned. He remained silent and periodically threw worried glances at her when she wasn't looking.
"So Aeryn will be ok?" asked Lily.
"I think so," Peter said with a small smile. He let his attention fall back to his food and shoveled some potatoes into his mouth. When he started to refill his goblet with pumpkin juice, he spied Remus walking into the Great Hall and had to stop his dinner from flying out his mouth when he remembered what Luciana had said. But even though Remus had also been hit with a watered down version of Snape's curse, he showed no sign of tiredness or fatigue. In fact, he wore a huge smile on his face.
"I didn't see you in the Hospital Wing. They finally let you out then?" Peter said, trying not to give anything away.
"Er, yes," Remus blushed. "A few hours ago."
"Where have you been since then?"
"Oh just … getting my affairs in order. Preparing for lessons tomorrow."
"I don't believe you," James taunted. "What's got you smiling, mate?"
"Nothing," Remus deflected.
"Merlin's beard," Sirius said breathlessly. "It's finally happened."
"What?" Peter asked, a confused look on his face. "What's happened?"
"Moony's getting some!"
"I am not," Remus growled.
"Hair askew, the same bloody grin that Prongs had on his face after he kissed Evans for the first time … Yeah, I'd say you're shagging someone. That's what you've been doing since you got out."
"I'm not shagging anybody!" Remus countered, but his expression turned timid and shy as he looked down at his lap. "I'm just … snogging someone repeatedly."
"Who?" James said with an excited giggle. Lily rolled her eyes at her boyfriend's girlish antics.
"I can't tell you," Remus gulped. His earlier enthusiasm quickly withered away when he realized the gravity of the situation. "You're not even supposed to know I'm seeing someone."
As silence fell over them, Peter saw the guilty gleam in his friend's eyes and recognized the agonizing look of someone holding an unknown secret. He sometimes saw it on his own face when he offhandedly caught his reflection in mirror.
"It's Marianne, isn't it?"
Even though Peter had said it in a low whisper, Gemma's head whipped around at the mention of Marianne's name and her bloodshot eyes widened in shock.
"It is her!" James laughed. "Oh Moony, you handsome devil you -"
"Shhhh, you idiot!" Remus said as he reached over and put a hand over his mouth. "Stop making a scene!" After the Head Boy licked in the inside of his palm in retaliation, he yelped and wiped his hand on his black trousers.
"Sorry," James apologized with a slight grin.
"Muffliato," Remus said with a frustrated sigh. "No one seems to notice us talking, but we keep getting too risky and someone could hear. I was being serious. You can't tell anyone about this. If her father finds out about me … he'll punish her and come after me with everything he's got."
"Your secret is safe with us," Sirius reassured. "But how long has this been going on for?"
"It happened last night," Remus answered with a small grin. "I thought I'd have at least have a week of privacy before you lot read me like an open book."
"Where?" demanded Gemma. She earned stark stares from the rest of the group.
"Sorry?"
"Where did it happen?"
"In the Hospital Wing," Remus answered cautiously. The Seer's eyes widened even more and the color started to drain from her face.
"In a white bed," she added in a very dazed voice. Her fingers fluttered across her field of view, as if she was trying to figure out the order of something.
"That's the only kind they have there," Sirius said, raising a concerned brow.
"What did she smell like?" Gemma asked without missing a beat.
"What's wrong?" Sirius pleaded as he wrapped his arms around her waist.
"Was it sandalwood?" she asked. "With a touch of vanilla?"
"How do you know that?" Remus said incredulously.
"Oh shit," she cursed. "Ohhhhhhh shit."
"What's wrong?" Lily asked.
"I – I have to go," Gemma answered, shaking her head. "There's something I need to do." She placed her hand on the table to wiggle out of Sirius' grasp, but Remus reached out and grabbed her wrist to stop her. It was a protective gesture and took Peter by surprise, since he knew they hadn't been close since the Winter Ball.
"What'swrong?" Remus asked. Gemma finally stopped fidgeting. She didn't waiver this time.
"My dreams," she admitted. "They're coming true."
"Did you see him? With her?" Sirius asked.
"Yes," Gemma said. Her attention span quickly moved elsewhere. "Yes, I saw the whole thing. Now, if you excuse me, I do have to go."
"Where?" Sirius questioned. "Can I come?"
"Er, no," she answered. "I need to take some … medicine. It'll put me right to sleep … for about six hours or so. Best I do that in my own bed."
Sirius didn't stop her from getting up from the table and leaving the hall; he watched her in sadness. As the group fell silent and went back to their food, Peter tried to squash the funny feeling in his stomach.
"You're making a face, Wormy," James noted as he stuffed a sausage into his mouth. "Don't tell me you have a secret too!"
"No!" Peter cried out, his nerves beginning to buzz with anxiety of being found out. "I'm not hiding anything. I'm – I'm just -"
"I was only teasing Wormtail," James answered with a chuckle. "I know you wouldn't keep anything from us!"
If you only knew how wrong you were, Peter thought dreadfully as he took a sip of his drink.
Author's Note: Secrets, secrets! At this point, Peter isn't completely evil yet. But as you know, that changes XD