1 The worm turns
By Indus
Everyone has done one of these- why did Peter Pettigrew betray his friends? If someone hasn't written about it they've at least hinted at it and now I want to make a Sirius/Remus story that explains it as well as I can, not being J.K Rowling
Disclaimer: I have no ties to J. K. Rowling or Warner Bros, who own all the familiar people in this story. No copyright infringement is intended and no money will be paid for it. Any original characters are there to be shared.
Rating: R
"You still drive me mad." Remus whispered in the darkness of their bedroom. They were lying in bed, bodies comfortably tangled in the aftermath of intense loving.
"Don't ever let that change," Sirius said with a yawn, and then settled down to sleep, his head buried in Remus' shoulder.
While his lover slept, Remus lay still and considered the events of that day. Oh what a day! One of them, one of the Marauders, one of his brothers, had just become a father. And little Harry was so gorgeous. He had Lily's eyes, those beautiful green eyes that sometimes seared through one like laser beams and at other times were soft and moist as dew. Lily, the woman who was one of his closest friends, his sister and after full moons even his mother. Remus smiled and brushed a kiss over Sirius' hair as he recalled the look of utter contentment on her face when she held her own son. Darling Lily, you'd easily kill for Harry wouldn't you? And then there was poor Prongs, who looked elated and terrified at the thought of being a father. Harry would love having James for a father, although Remus knew Prongs would take his responsibility seriously.
Somewhere else, two parents cooed at their baby son, dreaming of the years to come and the bonds that would form, but having no divination skills, they could not foresee the nightmares ahead.
And in another small apartment near the Ministry office, Peter Pettigrew was also preparing for sleep, lost in the miracle of birth. The three friends had naturally not been allowed to watch Harry being born, but they saw the baby immediately afterward, and held the tiny, wriggling body. Sirius, the strong, macho one, had openly cried, and even sobbed when James asked him to be godfather. No one had been surprised, it had been all discussed previously, but it was so different when one actually saw the child. Peter had had some tears in his eyes too, but Remus had been his solemn, contained self. He'd muttered something about "humans," and "weak species," before James had shushed him up by handing Harry to him. Of course the nurse had tried to stop James by saying it was illegal for a beast to hold a human baby, but Sirius had turned on her and snarled. They were all a little angry and the perfect day had come close to being marred, until Remus made some wiseass comment about eating Harry. Peter smiled, remembering how they had laughed, and then shared a group hug. There were changes; Prongs and Mrs. Prongs (as Sirius had dubbed her in the fourth grade) were married with child, Sirius and Remus were cohabitating and Peter had a job with the Ministry of Magic, but they were still best friends. Nothing could come between them.
*
Three months later…
"Where's Remus?" James asked Sirius as he walked in the Potters' door alone.
"How should I know? I don't keep him at home all day looking after the kids," Sirius joked, dodging his friend's playful swipe. His words were light, but there was an edge to his voice that had Peter, James and Lily looking at him curiously.
And then Peter remembered. He felt a little sick at the thought of what they were doing to one of his best friends.
But James and Lily were just confused. They were too busy to keep up with the non-Voldemort related news, and what with the baby and James' fighting Death Eaters it had been implicitly decided that no one would worry them about it. But now it was time to tell them.
"He'll be here later," Sirius said, calmly. "He has to go to the werewolf registry and register as a werewolf in England. He'll get a number with which they'll keep track of where he goes and how often he goes to a doctor, etc. The number will replace his name on most official paperwork, like his passport, etc. And they're taking a blood sample, so that if he ever bites anyone he'll be captured and either sentenced to life in Azkaban or killed 'mercifully'."
There was absolute silence for one full minute in the living room. Then James began to swear softly but succinctly, and for once Lily didn't try to shut him up. She was crying quietly, and Peter took Harry away before he picked up on his mother's distress.
James calmed down enough to ask who was responsible for this stupid rule.
"It's basically Kier. You know, the guy whose wife was killed by a werewolf a few years ago. And he was supported by Penman, the Autor who lost a partner in the battle with some Dark Creatures, including a werewolf and a hag, under Voldemort," Peter replied.
"You knew about this? Why are we being told now?" James yelled out the questions so loudly his son began to cry. But for once, Harry was ignored as tensions ran high in the room.
"You couldn't do anything, James, and we decided you had enough to worry about. Believe me, if there was anything to be done you would have been told immediately. And it's not like he will be hurt." Sirius defended himself passionately at first, but at the end he just sounded defeated.
"No, he won't be hurt, just humiliated out of his mind," James growled back and tried not to feel guilty at seeing Sirius flinch.
Lily snapped out of her daze and took Harry back from Peter. Standing and hoisting her son up on her shoulder, she admonished her husband and Sirius. "Remus told me he was coming over tonight, so I'm going to assume he will be here after the ordeal is over. You'll have to be strong, and pretend this doesn't matter in the least. You know how proud he is, so I suggest you get over yourselves and be his friends first."
There was no one better than Lily at making a guy feel small. All three of her audience sighed and looked down at their feet. It would be difficult, but they could put aside their feelings.
*
Remus walked up to the front door, and sighed before he said the charm that would get him past the first wards. He would have to be very careful to not arouse suspicions. Even as he thought that he sighed, knowing there was no way he could fool them for long.
Stiffening his shoulders in anticipation, he rang the bell. A still-tearful Lily opened the door, and Remus knew Sirius and Peter had been unable to keep their mouths shut.
"I'm all right, Lily," he reassured calmly, before leaning down to kiss her cheek.
"Hey you! Get your paws off my wife!" James yelled. Remus smiled gratefully at his attempt to diffuse the tension in the living room, and went along with the pretence that everything was all right. That he hadn't just been through the most humiliating, physically and mentally painful experience of his life.
"So where's our little Marauder?"
"Harry is with Sirius, who is introducing him to Quidditch. Of course, a three-month-old baby is too little for sitting on a broomstick, forget about actually learning anything, so they're just having fun out there," Lily dismissed her son and his godfather as she busily prepared dinner. James, enlightened man that he was, laid the table as Peter stood awkwardly beside Remus.
"Was it bad?" he whispered to Lupin.
"Worse than anything I ever imagined." Remus' emotionless voice but eloquent answer surprised Pettigrew. Remus rarely opened up about his suffering; he also had a tendency to expect the worst.
James had heard Remus' answer. "I thought you knew what it would be? Didn't Sirius tell you? Was it a secret, or something?"
At those words, Remus began to look like the wolf he contained inside. His eyes flashed silver and his voice was little more than a growl as he asked, "Sirius knew? What did he know?"
"That you would get a number as identification and have some blood taken," James answered slowly, trying to gauge his friend's mood. He was wary, but not afraid. He would never be afraid of Remus in the latter's human state, but he had known him long enough to be wary of Remus when he looked this angry. Sometimes the ones that were the slowest to boil made the biggest splash.
"I told him that as soon as I found out about it at the Ministry, and told him to tell you. He promised he would to prepare you for the registry." Peter was quick to get himself out of the fray.
Remus calmed down and even smiled. "No, that's what he told me."
"So what did you think I knew?" Sirius' voice started them. The shaggy black-haired young man was standing beside Remus, holding the young child close in his arms. Although the tone was as casual as his pose, Harry must have sensed something about his godfather's inner anger because he began to fuss to return to his mother. Lily walked over to Sirius and took her son, before turning back to Remus and waiting for his answer.
Remus could have lied his way through it, but then Sirius would find out later tonight and he would have to explain why he lied to Lily, James and Peter the next day. "Well, all the stuff happened the way you said, but that wasn't all. They wanted the numbers to be imprinted on our bodies as well as our minds."
There was complete silence as everyone tried to figure out what this would mean. Slowly, Remus turned around and raised his shirt. He had a six-figure number branded on his back. The numbers were at least two inches long and must have been branded with silver since the skin around each one looked red and puffy. It was one of the most hideous things they had ever seen.
"Oh my God!" Lily screamed. She thrust her son into someone's arms; she didn't have time to notice whom, and rushed into the bathroom to be sick. Peter, for it was he who received Harry, got up and held Sirius back. Sirius was rushing forward, growling in his anger, but there was no one to attack other than Remus. Peter was no match for his larger friend and he begged James to help him. But James seemed to be in shock. He stood in his living room with tears in his eyes and stared at Remus.
Sirius got by Peter and rushed up to Remus. He needed to blame someone and in this case the easy target was the victim. "Why did you let them do it? Why didn't you send an owl or something? You couldn't have been first in line; you would have known before you went through with it."
It was seldom that they saw Remus this furious. He grabbed the neck of Sirius' sweatshirt and bunched up the material under his fists. "No, as it happens I didn't know. They locked us up in a room and gave us numbers. When our numbers were called we were to go into the next room. There must have been silencing charms on the room because we didn't hear anything. And if you think werewolves are naturally stupid beasts, you're wrong. We knew something was wrong, but we weren't allowed out. And if you didn't answer when called, they brought in a silver rod and made sure you regretted it."
"Who?" Sirius demanded. Remus' hold had slackened while he spoke and Sirius was able to muscle away. "Tell me who!"
"Druid Verne, Alsai Loper…"
"Loper? He's an autor! One of the best. I work with him sometimes," James said, the betrayal obvious in his voice.
"Well, don't worry. Your little friends aren't in any trouble," Remus' tone was bitter. "Everything they did was perfectly legal."
"But moral?" James countered.
"Most would say it was that too." Now Remus seemed almost resigned to his status in the magical community.
"Well, they'd be wrong. And we're not them." James was firm as he attempted to bring Remus back to the world in which people loved and accepted him.
Sirius was quiet now, but his rage was still strong. "Why are we fighting James?"
James had not been expecting this. "To defeat Voldemort," he answered slowly.
"But the regime that will be put up in his stead will be no less vicious in its own way, and we will be responsible for placing it there. We will give people like Loper and Verne the power to do what they just did to Remus."
There was nothing anyone could say. No one felt like dinner and they all returned home, while James and Lily took comfort in the absolute love and innocence of their son. But Sirius' words echoed in Peter's mind as he walked home that night.
It was unfortunate that the Death Eaters chose that night to begin recruiting Peter Pettigrew.
By Indus
Everyone has done one of these- why did Peter Pettigrew betray his friends? If someone hasn't written about it they've at least hinted at it and now I want to make a Sirius/Remus story that explains it as well as I can, not being J.K Rowling
Disclaimer: I have no ties to J. K. Rowling or Warner Bros, who own all the familiar people in this story. No copyright infringement is intended and no money will be paid for it. Any original characters are there to be shared.
Rating: R
"You still drive me mad." Remus whispered in the darkness of their bedroom. They were lying in bed, bodies comfortably tangled in the aftermath of intense loving.
"Don't ever let that change," Sirius said with a yawn, and then settled down to sleep, his head buried in Remus' shoulder.
While his lover slept, Remus lay still and considered the events of that day. Oh what a day! One of them, one of the Marauders, one of his brothers, had just become a father. And little Harry was so gorgeous. He had Lily's eyes, those beautiful green eyes that sometimes seared through one like laser beams and at other times were soft and moist as dew. Lily, the woman who was one of his closest friends, his sister and after full moons even his mother. Remus smiled and brushed a kiss over Sirius' hair as he recalled the look of utter contentment on her face when she held her own son. Darling Lily, you'd easily kill for Harry wouldn't you? And then there was poor Prongs, who looked elated and terrified at the thought of being a father. Harry would love having James for a father, although Remus knew Prongs would take his responsibility seriously.
Somewhere else, two parents cooed at their baby son, dreaming of the years to come and the bonds that would form, but having no divination skills, they could not foresee the nightmares ahead.
And in another small apartment near the Ministry office, Peter Pettigrew was also preparing for sleep, lost in the miracle of birth. The three friends had naturally not been allowed to watch Harry being born, but they saw the baby immediately afterward, and held the tiny, wriggling body. Sirius, the strong, macho one, had openly cried, and even sobbed when James asked him to be godfather. No one had been surprised, it had been all discussed previously, but it was so different when one actually saw the child. Peter had had some tears in his eyes too, but Remus had been his solemn, contained self. He'd muttered something about "humans," and "weak species," before James had shushed him up by handing Harry to him. Of course the nurse had tried to stop James by saying it was illegal for a beast to hold a human baby, but Sirius had turned on her and snarled. They were all a little angry and the perfect day had come close to being marred, until Remus made some wiseass comment about eating Harry. Peter smiled, remembering how they had laughed, and then shared a group hug. There were changes; Prongs and Mrs. Prongs (as Sirius had dubbed her in the fourth grade) were married with child, Sirius and Remus were cohabitating and Peter had a job with the Ministry of Magic, but they were still best friends. Nothing could come between them.
*
Three months later…
"Where's Remus?" James asked Sirius as he walked in the Potters' door alone.
"How should I know? I don't keep him at home all day looking after the kids," Sirius joked, dodging his friend's playful swipe. His words were light, but there was an edge to his voice that had Peter, James and Lily looking at him curiously.
And then Peter remembered. He felt a little sick at the thought of what they were doing to one of his best friends.
But James and Lily were just confused. They were too busy to keep up with the non-Voldemort related news, and what with the baby and James' fighting Death Eaters it had been implicitly decided that no one would worry them about it. But now it was time to tell them.
"He'll be here later," Sirius said, calmly. "He has to go to the werewolf registry and register as a werewolf in England. He'll get a number with which they'll keep track of where he goes and how often he goes to a doctor, etc. The number will replace his name on most official paperwork, like his passport, etc. And they're taking a blood sample, so that if he ever bites anyone he'll be captured and either sentenced to life in Azkaban or killed 'mercifully'."
There was absolute silence for one full minute in the living room. Then James began to swear softly but succinctly, and for once Lily didn't try to shut him up. She was crying quietly, and Peter took Harry away before he picked up on his mother's distress.
James calmed down enough to ask who was responsible for this stupid rule.
"It's basically Kier. You know, the guy whose wife was killed by a werewolf a few years ago. And he was supported by Penman, the Autor who lost a partner in the battle with some Dark Creatures, including a werewolf and a hag, under Voldemort," Peter replied.
"You knew about this? Why are we being told now?" James yelled out the questions so loudly his son began to cry. But for once, Harry was ignored as tensions ran high in the room.
"You couldn't do anything, James, and we decided you had enough to worry about. Believe me, if there was anything to be done you would have been told immediately. And it's not like he will be hurt." Sirius defended himself passionately at first, but at the end he just sounded defeated.
"No, he won't be hurt, just humiliated out of his mind," James growled back and tried not to feel guilty at seeing Sirius flinch.
Lily snapped out of her daze and took Harry back from Peter. Standing and hoisting her son up on her shoulder, she admonished her husband and Sirius. "Remus told me he was coming over tonight, so I'm going to assume he will be here after the ordeal is over. You'll have to be strong, and pretend this doesn't matter in the least. You know how proud he is, so I suggest you get over yourselves and be his friends first."
There was no one better than Lily at making a guy feel small. All three of her audience sighed and looked down at their feet. It would be difficult, but they could put aside their feelings.
*
Remus walked up to the front door, and sighed before he said the charm that would get him past the first wards. He would have to be very careful to not arouse suspicions. Even as he thought that he sighed, knowing there was no way he could fool them for long.
Stiffening his shoulders in anticipation, he rang the bell. A still-tearful Lily opened the door, and Remus knew Sirius and Peter had been unable to keep their mouths shut.
"I'm all right, Lily," he reassured calmly, before leaning down to kiss her cheek.
"Hey you! Get your paws off my wife!" James yelled. Remus smiled gratefully at his attempt to diffuse the tension in the living room, and went along with the pretence that everything was all right. That he hadn't just been through the most humiliating, physically and mentally painful experience of his life.
"So where's our little Marauder?"
"Harry is with Sirius, who is introducing him to Quidditch. Of course, a three-month-old baby is too little for sitting on a broomstick, forget about actually learning anything, so they're just having fun out there," Lily dismissed her son and his godfather as she busily prepared dinner. James, enlightened man that he was, laid the table as Peter stood awkwardly beside Remus.
"Was it bad?" he whispered to Lupin.
"Worse than anything I ever imagined." Remus' emotionless voice but eloquent answer surprised Pettigrew. Remus rarely opened up about his suffering; he also had a tendency to expect the worst.
James had heard Remus' answer. "I thought you knew what it would be? Didn't Sirius tell you? Was it a secret, or something?"
At those words, Remus began to look like the wolf he contained inside. His eyes flashed silver and his voice was little more than a growl as he asked, "Sirius knew? What did he know?"
"That you would get a number as identification and have some blood taken," James answered slowly, trying to gauge his friend's mood. He was wary, but not afraid. He would never be afraid of Remus in the latter's human state, but he had known him long enough to be wary of Remus when he looked this angry. Sometimes the ones that were the slowest to boil made the biggest splash.
"I told him that as soon as I found out about it at the Ministry, and told him to tell you. He promised he would to prepare you for the registry." Peter was quick to get himself out of the fray.
Remus calmed down and even smiled. "No, that's what he told me."
"So what did you think I knew?" Sirius' voice started them. The shaggy black-haired young man was standing beside Remus, holding the young child close in his arms. Although the tone was as casual as his pose, Harry must have sensed something about his godfather's inner anger because he began to fuss to return to his mother. Lily walked over to Sirius and took her son, before turning back to Remus and waiting for his answer.
Remus could have lied his way through it, but then Sirius would find out later tonight and he would have to explain why he lied to Lily, James and Peter the next day. "Well, all the stuff happened the way you said, but that wasn't all. They wanted the numbers to be imprinted on our bodies as well as our minds."
There was complete silence as everyone tried to figure out what this would mean. Slowly, Remus turned around and raised his shirt. He had a six-figure number branded on his back. The numbers were at least two inches long and must have been branded with silver since the skin around each one looked red and puffy. It was one of the most hideous things they had ever seen.
"Oh my God!" Lily screamed. She thrust her son into someone's arms; she didn't have time to notice whom, and rushed into the bathroom to be sick. Peter, for it was he who received Harry, got up and held Sirius back. Sirius was rushing forward, growling in his anger, but there was no one to attack other than Remus. Peter was no match for his larger friend and he begged James to help him. But James seemed to be in shock. He stood in his living room with tears in his eyes and stared at Remus.
Sirius got by Peter and rushed up to Remus. He needed to blame someone and in this case the easy target was the victim. "Why did you let them do it? Why didn't you send an owl or something? You couldn't have been first in line; you would have known before you went through with it."
It was seldom that they saw Remus this furious. He grabbed the neck of Sirius' sweatshirt and bunched up the material under his fists. "No, as it happens I didn't know. They locked us up in a room and gave us numbers. When our numbers were called we were to go into the next room. There must have been silencing charms on the room because we didn't hear anything. And if you think werewolves are naturally stupid beasts, you're wrong. We knew something was wrong, but we weren't allowed out. And if you didn't answer when called, they brought in a silver rod and made sure you regretted it."
"Who?" Sirius demanded. Remus' hold had slackened while he spoke and Sirius was able to muscle away. "Tell me who!"
"Druid Verne, Alsai Loper…"
"Loper? He's an autor! One of the best. I work with him sometimes," James said, the betrayal obvious in his voice.
"Well, don't worry. Your little friends aren't in any trouble," Remus' tone was bitter. "Everything they did was perfectly legal."
"But moral?" James countered.
"Most would say it was that too." Now Remus seemed almost resigned to his status in the magical community.
"Well, they'd be wrong. And we're not them." James was firm as he attempted to bring Remus back to the world in which people loved and accepted him.
Sirius was quiet now, but his rage was still strong. "Why are we fighting James?"
James had not been expecting this. "To defeat Voldemort," he answered slowly.
"But the regime that will be put up in his stead will be no less vicious in its own way, and we will be responsible for placing it there. We will give people like Loper and Verne the power to do what they just did to Remus."
There was nothing anyone could say. No one felt like dinner and they all returned home, while James and Lily took comfort in the absolute love and innocence of their son. But Sirius' words echoed in Peter's mind as he walked home that night.
It was unfortunate that the Death Eaters chose that night to begin recruiting Peter Pettigrew.