Thank you to everyone who has read, reviewed and favourited this story. It really does mean a lot to know it's being enjoyed. So, thank you.
This chapter harkens back to chapter two, but I included it as a pensieve scene rather than necessitate readers going back to make sense of it all. So, I hope it doesn't get dull. Please enjoy and I'll be back next Thursday with another update.
Chapter Seven: Chaos Theory
"Ah! Severus, my boy!" Professor Slughorn's arm shot out from the doorway of his office, forcing Severus to pull up sharp to avoid a collision. A moment later, the rest of the man himself emerged fully into the corridor, gripping two parchment envelopes in his pudgy hand. Beaming, he mock-scolded his errant charge, "I was beginning to think you were avoiding me."
"Wouldn't dream of it, sir."
It wasn't funny, yet Slughorn's laughter boomed down the empty stone passageway. "Quite right! Quite right! Now, there'll be no avoiding this term's final gathering of the Slug Club. So, I'll have no excuses from you or Miss Evans. I expect you both there; eight o'clock sharpish tomorrow night."
Despite the avuncular demeanour and unfaltering beaming smile, Slughorn still somehow managed to make it sound like a threat. As though he and Lily would be catapulted into the middle of the Great Lake should they dare to miss the last Slug Club dinner of the school year. It was a distraction they both could have done without, yet Severus took the invites without protest and muttered flat words of thanks just so he could be on his way again.
Stuffing the invites into his satchel, he noticed the book Dumbledore had loaned him the day before. Taking it out, he read the runes on the cover spelling out the title before flipping through the pages until he reached "The Tale of the Three Brothers". He already knew the story from when his mother used to read it to him as a child; regardless, he read it again over breakfast in the Great Hall.
It was only short. Three brothers conjure a bridge to ford a violent river and meet Death who, feeling cheated out of three new souls to devour, dishes out a powerful magical item to each. A powerful wand, the Elder Wand. A Resurrection Stone to bring back the dead. And Death's own cloak of invisibility. Each meets a tragic end, but for the younger who possesses the invisibility cloak.
"The Deathly Hallows," he murmured as he closed the book.
"You what?" said Mulciber, sat at Severus's side. "Can you read them rune things?"
Severus rolled his eyes, but whatever cutting retort he had was cut off as his fellow Slytherins broke into a round of jeers. One held his nose and ducked under the table, until Regulus Black looked up in anger and snapped: "cut it out, cretins!"
Lily, whose arrival had seemingly caused the commotion, shot them all a withering look as she halted at Severus's side. "Meet me by the lake when you're ready-"
"I'm ready now," he cut in. Abandoning the remainder of his cereal, he scrambled up from the bench and kept pace with her as they left the hall. "Any luck with Potter?"
He glanced sidelong at her, noticing the colour rising in her cheeks. "Yeah, about that. He wants to talk to you."
"Great."
"Don't be mad at me."
"I'm not! Anyway, we might need him whether we like it or not," he assured her. "And look, I'm sorry about that lot back there. They're all idiots at times."
She smiled a smile that meant the world to him. "I'm used to those morons by now. And what do you mean about Potter?"
"The Deathly Hallows. I'll explain properly later."
Blank bewilderment replaced Lily's smile but she said no more as they emerged from the castle and out into another hot summer's morning. While most students were already in class, their year were enjoying their post-exams freedom by milling around the grounds, wading in the shallower parts of the lake and lounging around on robes spread out on the ground, enjoying breakfast picnics in the sun. He and Lily, however, did not stop until they reached their favourite oak tree where James Potter was already waiting for them. Alone, mercifully. It struck Severus as strange to see him without his simpering sidekicks. Like it somehow diminished him, made him smaller.
"Hey, Lily," said James. But he was looking at Severus as he faltered, drew a deep breath and added: "… and Snape."
Severus said nothing as the three of them sat around the base of the tree, grateful for the shade of the boughs despite the youth of the hour. What followed was a long, drawn-out period of the most awkward and stultified silence he had ever experienced. A silence made worse as they each shiftily looked to the other before their gaze darted away again. Then, when Severus blinked first and tried to speak, so too did the other two. All three voices clashed in a nervous babble, shattering the yawning silence and losing themselves in the sudden clangour. Just as quickly, they all stopped and receded into the stifling silence once more.
Eventually, James cleared his throat. "You first, Snape. I … I think it's only fair."
"I-" he began, immediately cutting himself off as he glanced at Lily. Already the bile was rising in his throat. "I mean, 'we' need your help."
Sunlight glinting off James's gold rimmed spectacles as he nodded. "Right…"
Thus far, the only thing that made this encounter bearable for Severus was knowing that Potter was in just as much pain as he was. The one thing they had in common was their shared enmity for each other. So much so that other students, even those at a distance, were slowly drawing nearer in anticipation of whatever fireworks they had come to expect when these two great foes crossed paths. Given the reason for their meeting, it was the last thing Severus needed. He reached for his wand, causing James to flinch and grab his own.
"Don't be stupid, Potter," he snapped, "we need privacy."
He cast the muffliato charm, one of his more usefully benign creations.
"Credit where it's due," said James. "That's a good one."
"Thanks."
"See!" Lily chimed in, over-brightly. "We can all get along!"
The rubberneckers backed off as the mysterious ringing noise filled their ears, some of them jabbing their fingers right down their earholes and having a good root around. Lily grinned at them before turning back to the boys. "Now, about the break in."
"What?" James sounded incredulous.
Lily looked positively angelic. "I knew that would get your attention."
"There's a diary that contains a fragment of the Dark Lord's soul," said Severus, getting straight to business. "From the outside, it's nothing special. Just a blank, black leather-bound muggle diary. But if you write in it, the Dark Lord writes back and feeds off the secrets the writer pours into its pages, slowly taking possession of their soul until their life force drains. All the while, the victim does his bidding. Which is why we need to find it and destroy it."
For a moment, James was silent as the missing sank in. Then he let out a long, low whistle. "Shit!" he said. But the look in his hazel eyes was of ill-concealed hunger. "Is this what you've been talking to Dumbledore about? How come you suddenly want to destroy stuff belonging to your beloved Dark Lord, Snape? And what do you need me for?"
"There's no need for that, James. Sev's not a Death Eater. You heard him; he's trying to help." Lily was incredulous, glaring at Potter through narrowed eyes.
Potter backed down. "You must admit; this is all a bit weird. Seriously, though, of course I want to destroy You-Know-Who's soul. But what would my role be? Where is this diary?"
"Malfoy Manor," said Snape. Choosing to ignore the jibes since Lily had already cut Potter down to size, he continued: "I can get us through the barriers around the house, but once inside our task will be so much easier if we had your invisibility cloak."
"We promise we'll look after it, James," said Lily. "I'll bring it straight back."
"You won't have to, Lily. Because I'm coming with you," said James. His face was alight, on his knees as he inched closer to them. "I mean, I'd never lend that cloak out unless I came too anyway. But you don't seriously think I'd miss out on something like this!"
"This isn't some silly schoolboy adventure," Severus cut in. "And you two can't do magic outside of school."
"And you can?"
"Severus no longer has a trace," said Lily. "We've already tested it out. That's why we went to London the other day. He can apparate and everything – but you mustn't tell anyone."
Torn between confusion and his insatiable hunger for danger, James looked between Lily and Severus. As always, he ignored the confusing bits and succumbed to his need for adventure. "All right, you have my word. Look, I know what you both think of me. Especially you, Snape, and it's with good reason. But I understand how serious this is. I know the war is real. So, I want in. I want to help."
Lily sighed with relief. "Severus?"
"No one can know," he said. "If anyone finds out that the diary has been taken, it will get back to the Dark Lord. And then there will be hell to pay."
James opened his mouth, teetering on the brink of saying something. It was a full second or two before he took the plunge. "I know you said no one can know. But Sirius Black knows Malfoy Manor. His family and theirs are tight, he'll know the layout of the house."
"NO!" Lily and Severus echoed together.
"It's not just because I fucking hate him, Potter. But his family," said Severus. "If they use legilimancy on him and find out about the diary … well, you know."
"No, no that's fair," said James. Still, he looked disappointed.
"It would be placing him in danger, James. The fewer people who know about this, the better."
"Lily's right. Anyway, I have a better idea," said Severus. "That map you made of Hogwarts-"
"How do you know about that?" James cut in.
Severus suddenly found himself wrong-footed. He thought everyone knew about the map, even in this time. "Regulus mentioned overhearing Sirius talk about it. That's how I know about it."
James seemed mollified. "Filch confiscated it anyway."
"But if Sirius knows the layout of Malfoy Manor, could you make a map like the one you made for the school?" Severus asked. "Get him to draw you a floor plan and make up some excuse about why you need it. Then do the magic yourself without anyone else knowing."
James nodded. Sounding genuinely surprised, he said: "that's a good idea, actually."
"But if the Malfoys' notice the diary is missing won't Sirius put two and two together and realise it had something to do with James needing a map?" asked Lily.
"As long as he doesn't know the truth about what we need it for," said James, "then they can't get it out of him using legilimancy. The knowledge won't be in his head. And he won't grass me up about drawing a floor plan."
"And he won't need to know you made that floor plan into a magic map," said Severus. "And we burn it as soon as we're done with it."
"Good morning!" All three of them gasped, startled by the sound of a newcomer's familiar voice. Severus hoisted himself up on one knee, unbalancing himself as he looked around the tree trunk he had been leaning against. Professor Dumbledore stood barely a foot away, his floor length lilac robes hoisted above his ankles as he navigated the sloping bank. He gave off the distinct impression he had been standing there for quite some time, quite untroubled by any mysterious ringing in his ears. Those laser-like blue eyes scanned over the three of them, but he spoke as if their encounter was completely normal. "I must say, it is a beautiful morning, don't you think?"
Still rather dumbstruck, all three answered, "yes, sir."
Dumbledore surveyed the scene for a moment longer before his gaze settled on Severus. And Severus knew he was doing exactly what the headmaster wanted. Like he had passed some test he didn't realise he was in. Dumbledore's expression was gratified, even proud. "I'm off to London today, Ministry business."
James nodded, his jaw still hanging slightly open. "That's, er, nice."
"If you need any help, any assistance, now is the time to ask," said Dumbledore, still looking at Severus.
"Can we use the pensieve, please, sir?" he asked, aware that all eyes were suddenly on him. "There's a memory I'd like us all to see."
"Why, of course," Dumbledore replied. Already he was turning and walking away, back to his office where his fireplace would take him straight to the Ministry. "Good luck, you three."
James's eyes narrowed as he watched the headmaster's retreating back. "Do you two get the impression he was listening in all along?"
Lily shrugged. "Seeing Dumbledore out about around the castle is like spotting a unicorn in the wild. It's a bit coincidental that he just randomly shows up here now, tells us something utterly inane and then just walks away again."
"Last time we spoke, he didn't ask too many questions about how we're going to get the diary," said Severus. "Maybe he really is just trying to help."
"That's a point, are we getting to Wiltshire by broom? Because you can't fly for shit, Snape."
"I'll apparate us there," he answered, ignoring the jibe.
"How do you even know how to do that?"
"Never mind that now, we have important matters to discuss," said Lily, cutting off James's obtrusive questioning.
Severus was eternally grateful to her. "Potter, have you ever been to Malfoy Manor?"
"No, my family have nothing to do with the Malfoys. I know it's in Wiltshire, though. Why?"
"Right, well I've been there and Lucius showed me around. We'll use my memory to familiarise ourselves with the layout of the rooms. It'll come in useful for the break in." Severus was already walking back to the castle, with Lily and James jogging to catch up. "I only saw the ground floor, though. I'm guessing you can't make a map from that alone, Potter?"
"No, to track everyone in there I'd need every last bit of it. Cellars, outhouses, gardens and all."
A few minutes later, they arrived at the stone gargoyle that stood guard at the headmaster's office. Severus gave the password and the three of them squeezed themselves onto the moving staircase as it conveyed them upwards in a fluid motion. Lily knocked on the door before entering, the three of them straining to hear whether Dumbledore was gone yet. When, after a full minute and no sound came from within, they cautiously entered.
Silently, they looked around for signs of the headmaster. Feeling like trespassers despite having permission to be there. Only when Severus noticed the pensieve now moved to the middle of the room for ease of access did he gain a little confidence. He drew out his wand and removed the relevant memory as all three of them gathered around the stone basin of the pensieve.
"Look out for a blank, black leather diary," he said, depositing the memory. "It might be on display somewhere."
In reality, the diary could have been anywhere in that house. And the house was huge. Once the memory was in place, all three leaned over the bowl and felt themselves being pulled deep into Severus's memory. When their feet hit the ground again, they found themselves beneath leaden grey skies and facing a pair of impressive wrought iron gates. From the other side, Lucius Malfoy approached, his footsteps crunching through the loose gravel driveway. "Ah, Severus. So glad you could join us."
Startled, Lily and James looked to Severus as if he might answer. But moments later, his memory figure materialised, walking right through Potter as if he were a ghost and greeting Malfoy formally. Before long, the memories were through the gates and walking together toward the manor house, falling into idle chatter as they went. As one, Lily, James and real Severus made to follow. They passed through the gates like smoke, close on the heels of the two in front.
"When is this memory from?" asked James. "You look … older."
"Bad light, isn't it?" Severus lied. The memory was from two years in the future.
Mercifully, as they passed through the front doors and found themselves in a porch that led into a wide hallway, James dropped the line of questioning. All three of them paid more attention to their surroundings than to the men in the memory, noting the doorways that led off the main hall. To the right was the main dining room that looked out over the front lawns of the house. To the left, opposite the dining room, was a drawing room the Malfoys' used after dinner. Straight ahead, was a wide and ornate staircase that led up to a mezzanine floor that overlooked the hallway. Behind the staircase was a small doorway that led into the cellars and another door that led into a room Severus had no clue about.
"Snape, if we're coming in and going out through the main door, we need to watch that staircase," said James, looking up at the mezzanine. "Looking down from there, they can see the whole hallway."
"And when we do this for real, we won't be able to walk through walls," said Lily. "Even with the cloak, we'll need to open the door to the porch and then the main door to the grounds."
They were all valid points, but Severus's attention had been caught by memory Lucius calling for the house elf to take his memory self's coat. "I'm so sorry, that elf is useless. Dobby! Dobby!"
"Remember this elf," said Severus to the other two. "He'll be hanging around all night and we might be able to use him."
Dobby was heard before he was seen. His bare feet slapping against the cold, tiled floor of the hall as he answered his master's call. Bowing and shrinking away, yet compelled to obey, the elf took memory Severus' coat with trembling hands before vanishing on the spot. Both Lily and James had watched the scene looking appalled, until they were forced to follow the two memory figures into the drawing room to the left of the hall.
"There's nothing in here," said Severus. "It's their respectable front."
Dominated by a large fireplace, with an ornate crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling the room was spacious and airy. Worse, the large sash windows gave the occupants a panoramic view of the gardens and anyone approaching from the main gates. Back in the memory, Lucius and Severus weren't showing much interest either. Their small talk continued after they both greeted Abraxas Malfoy, half asleep by the fire, before exiting the room through a door that led straight into another, smaller room. Plush sofas and armchairs surrounded a lacquered cards table, a drinks cabinet was pushed against the back wall and lined with bottles of brandy and firewhiskey.
Still, the memory figures didn't hang around. They exited this room through another connecting door that led into a long, narrow gallery that ran the length of the other two rooms combined and they took a sharp left turn around which they could not see. The walls of this gallery, however, were lined with portraits of the Malfoys' descendants.
"We'll have to watch out for those," said Lily, nodding to the nearest portrait. "If they hear anything suspicious, they can still raise merry hell."
"Can they move between frames?" asked James.
"I don't know for sure," answered Severus. "But let's assume they can."
Exiting the smoking room and into the gallery, they took a right turn and walked until they reached the first of two doors on the left.
"We need to muffle our feet," said Lily. "Socks over our shoes might be enough."
Severus nodded, then nudged them toward the doorway the memory was drawing them towards. First on the left, but it was locked. More than locked, Lucius Malfoy, wand in hand, and was silently performing various counter-charms to open it. "Bastard couldn't even do us the courtesy of speaking aloud," James grumbled.
"These are the rooms we need, it's where they keep all their valuable dark artefacts," said Severus. "I think there's three of them."
His notion proved true. The room on the other side of the locked door was large, lined with cabinets all along the side walls. Yet dominated in the middle by large glass display case in which various valuable items were on show, lit up by a soft silver light. A side door led to a smaller room, but beneath their feet was a false floor under which even more items were hidden. Meanwhile, the other two kept up their search for a diary. Lily was studying the items in the glass cabinet, James studying the exterior of the wall cabinets. In the memory itself, Lucius Malfoy was naming each item on display in a soft voice, explaining where each had come from. A cursed necklace, earrings that once belonged to Helena Ravenclaw and a goblet of gold. Unsurprisingly, the Malfoys hadn't felt the need to display a plain, ugly old muggle diary alongside such treasures.
"On the night, are we following the same route to get here?" asked James.
Severus nodded. "We'll need to split up to search all three rooms. And there's a quicker way out through the second room and following the gallery opposite the way we came."
"Sweet."
"Well, I don't see a diary. I suppose it was too much to hope for that it would conveniently be on display," said Lily. "But I think I'll remember the route. Through the entrance, first door on the left that leads to a smoking room, which leads to the gallery that will bring us here. At least it doesn't look like we'll be creeping around upstairs."
"Even if things don't work out with the proper map, I think I'll be able to draw up a rough floor plan of the route," said James.
"Very well," said Severus. "Now let's go, there's nothing else to see here."
As one, the three of them rose through the memory, reverse somersaulting back into Professor Dumbledore's office again. James's face was flushed with excitement, hazel eyes darting between Severus and Lily. "Merlin's beard, we're really doing this, aren't we? It's for real?"
Lily was grinning. "It's for real."
"When?"
"Tomorrow night?" Severus suggested. "Lily and I will be at the Slug Club, where we need to be seen by as many people as possible. We'll be able to slip out around midnight."
"I'll make sure I'm seen all over Gryffindor Tower, if need be."
"And we can look at that memory again tomorrow, to make sure we have our route memorised," said Lily. "I'm sure Dumbledore will let us."
James nodded. "Look, I'm sorry, but I have to go. But midnight. Tomorrow. By the main gates, yeah?"
"Agreed."
"And Severus," said James. "A word, if you don't mind?"
Noting Potter's first ever use of his proper name, he agreed and followed him outside. Closing the door behind him, he waited for James to speak first. "Look, I know we'll never be friends after everything that's happened and I only trust you now because I know you would never risk Lily just to get revenge against me. But if you've truly rejected the dark arts. If those Slytherin monsters have got out from under your skin, I'll be happy to work with you and call you an ally. And I mean that."
Potter's reference to 'Slytherin monsters' rankled, but he kept quiet. Eventually, he nodded. "Fair. And one good turn deserves another, James. Filch is a squib. Get your map back and just replace it with a blank piece of parchment. He'll never know the difference."
James gave a brief, surprised laugh. "Seriously?" he stepped onto the moving staircase, but called back over his shoulder as he spiralled out of sight, "thanks, I mean it!"
Alone in Dumbledore's office, Lily was anxious. She cast a nervous glance toward the close door, beyond which the two boys talked privately and wondered how long it would be before one of them put a foot wrong, causing the other to attempt murder. She reminded herself that, after the initial awkwardness, they rubbed along quite well. But that wasn't enough to assuage her fears. Not until Severus returned and she breathed an audible sigh of relief. Smiling, she crossed the room and pulled him into a hug.
"Thank you. That can't have been easy, but you did it. Thank you." When she drew away, she noted the blush in his pale cheeks and continued: "Anyway, thank goodness we're alone now because I have a memory I want to show you. Professor McGonagall taught me how to do this last night."
She touched her wand to her temple and drew out a strand of memory, letting it dangle off the end for a moment before placing it in the pensieve. Severus reached around her and drew out his memory, placing it in a glass vial he had conjured from thin air. "What memory?"
"One that, if I ask about directly, I feel you will either deny, deflect or play down as if it were nothing," she said. "So, I want to show you and remind you of how badly this incident affected you."
Severus looked troubled so she placed her hand against his cheek to sooth him. With the other, she guided him into the pensieve and they tumbled through time together. Falling through her memory until they landed softly on their feet beside the Great Lake. And there the two of them were, sitting under their oak tree and eating toast, talking about the upcoming meeting of the Slug Club. Memory Severus was lost in thought, gazing out over the lake until he said: "I bet, this time, Adrian Pucey sneaks a load of firewhiskey into the party, gets outrageously drunk and declares his secret love for Celestina Warbeck before trying to regale us all with his rendition of 'You Stole My Cauldron but You Can't Have my Heart.'"
Lily watched her memory dissolve into fits of laughter. "You just made that up -"
Real Severus leaned in close to her ear. "You want to remind me of my Adrian Pucey prediction?"
She landed him a dig in the ribs. "No, silly. Pay attention."
The smile on her memory self's face froze, her laugher dying like someone had flicked a switch. "Oh, don't look now. But guess who's turned up."
Memory Severus turned to see what she was looking at, as did real Severus. The Marauders had appeared, all laughing and being their usual obnoxious selves. All except James Potter who withdrew from their number to fix Severus with a strange, quizzical look. Remus Lupin, as always, was the quieter of the bunch by far. Then Peter Pettigrew appeared, red in the face and breathless with laughter. And suddenly, she saw the comprehension dawning on real Severus's face. He tried to pull her out of the memory, but she resisted. "Sev, watch!"
His memory's reaction was swift, abrupt and startling. He leapt to his feet, pale and shaking. "I need to get out of here."
"You're white as a ghost, Sev." said memory Lily, her face creased with worry. "Y'know, maybe it was too soon to leave the hospital wing, after all?"
"I'm fine. It's him. You don't know him, Lily. None of you do," Severus retorted, angrily.
She watched as their memory forms rushed back towards the castle, leaving the Marauders cackling in their wake. She was looking crestfallen as she tried to keep pace with a panicking Severus. "Who? James? There's really not much of substance to know."
"Not him. Pettigrew!"
"Enough!" said real Severus. "Lily, that's enough."
This time, she allowed him to draw her out of the memory. Seconds later, they were back in the headmaster's study, watching each other warily from across the pensieve. Lily was not backing down. "You know, that struck me as odd because that sort of venom and anger in your tone is reserved for James. I was shocked when you were actually talking about Peter."
"I was concussed, Lily. I wasn't thinking straight-"
"Don't you dare, Sev," she cut over him, warningly. "I know when I'm being fobbed off and you're trying to fob me off now."
He looked regretful, averting his gaze and running a hand through his hair. Anxious, he flopped down in the chair in front of Professor Dumbledore's desk and sighed heavily. "I was so confused when I woke up here. I thought I was dead, I came straight out and asked if I was dead."
"I remember."
"I would give anything to go back and unsay all the mad nonsense I came out with after I woke up." Severus looked up at her, regret etched in his face. More than that, he looked angry with himself. "Had I just engaged my brain, had I just got myself together quicker I would have been so much more careful, Lily. But I didn't know what was happening to me."
With one stride she closed the gap between them, kneeling so she could look up into his face. "I'm not angry with you, Sev. And I am not even scared! All I want to know is why you said that about Peter, of all people? I know you lived some kind of life. That you know things about You Know Who and how the war plays out. So much so that Dumbledore's wrapped you up in cotton wool until you've told him everything. But the way you're acting now is only making things worse." She paused, raised a faint smile and tried to give him a suggestive wink to lighten the mood. "So come on, what's the dirt on Peter? Spill!"
Slumped in his chair, Severus sighed. "I always loved the fact that nothing gets past you. Now I'm not so sure."
"Oi!" She aimed another playful dig, at a bony thigh this time.
He reached out and drew her upwards, conjured another chair so they could sit facing each other. "Before I tell you, you need to understand that everything I lived through in the future won't necessarily come to pass again. That decisions I make here will have a knock-on effect."
"The butterfly effect?"
Severus nodded. "Something like that. But, by the same token, I don't know if what Peter did was a direct consequence of anything I did."
She was growing impatient. "But what did he do?"
"First of all, he joined the Order of the Phoenix, an organisation Dumbledore is working on to fight the Death Eaters. But then the Death Eaters identified him as a weak link and worked on him, and he turned, Lily. He became a Death Eater, working inside the Order of the Phoenix."
At first, she thought she misheard. She laughed, and then the laughter froze on her lips. Starting from the tips of her fingers, a numbness spread like rot through her whole body. There were things she had worked out for herself, as soon as she realised what had happened to Severus. Things that sank in slowly, making them easier to process. One of them was her own death, which never felt real anyway since she's alive and kicking. It all felt so hypothetical. But this, this was a bombshell that hit her from nowhere. "Peter? A Death Eater? No wonder you looked like you were going to vomit, Sev."
"That's all I can tell you, Lily," he said. There was peculiar note of pleading in his voice, so plaintive she heeded it.
"When did he join?"
"About 1980ish, I think? If we get this right and destroy those soul fragments, the war will be over by then."
"Yes," she said, "yes, it will."
Regardless, she felt uneasy. She wasn't really friends with Peter; she never had been. If anything, she felt sorry for him, constantly being overshadowed by James, Sirius and Remus. He was always the last boy to get the last girl. The comedy side-kick, the fat friend everyone took for granted. Cowardly and craven, relying on those better than him for protection and validation since he had little discernible talent of his own. Then it hit her in a flashing moment of realisation. Of course he could be turned. The slightest bit of pressure from a powerful Death Eater and a boy like Peter would crumble. Since not once in his entire existence had he ever had to defend himself. Not with the other Marauders doing all his fighting for him. He would have been terrified and alone, powerless to defend himself without the others at his side. And the real kicker, she realised, was that no one, not a single soul, would ever suspect hapless Peter Pettigrew of being a Death Eater. Those bastards really did know what they were doing.
"We won't let it happen," she said, with finality. She looked to Severus and caressed his cheek. "Whatever life you think you lived; we won't let any of it happen again."
Severus met her gaze and she knew it was true. Chaos Theory and the butterfly effect. One small change echoing through fate, altering the course of history. With him at her side, she knew it could be done.
Thanks again for reading, reviews would be welcome if you have a minute to spare.
