Chapter Two: The Only Solution
(A/N: This chapter has been edited and altered, and many parts had been added to it, so please read it again. I'm so sorry for this, but I was just reading what I had written last night, and decided that it was too brief. Thanks to all the reviewers for the suggestions! Hope you'll find this chapter more engaging!)
[In Voldemort's Lair]
"Wormtail" a strangely high-pitched voice echoed powerfully in the cold dungeon.
There was no reply. Or perhaps, the reply was too soft to be heard.
"WORMTAIL, you great blundering idiot, speak up!"
"Y-y-yes m-my Lord?"
"I'm sure you know the Potters. I myself had personally made sure that you have a close relationship with the Potters. I must question you now, a crucial question."
"I'm at your service, my Lord."
"Do you have the will-power, the strength, to betray the Potters?" the voice was cold enough to make blood curl. A look of amusement flickered in his eyes.
The man called Wormtail flinched, eyes widening.
Wormtail, you can do it, your master can make you powerful, not the Potters. Do it, do it, do it, listen to your master, the devil in him spoke.
Wormtail, how can you betray your friends? They trusted you enough, they helped you become Animagi, they accepted you when others did not, they are your friends the angel in him debated.
Wormtail covered his ears and sunk down to the floor, only to experience pain as never before.
He shrieked and curled up, rolling on the floor, sobbing like an over-sized baby. He clutched at his master's robes pitifully.
"I do not like hesitance, if you wish to know. You are of no use to me, if I have spent so much time on you, giving you all the power and wealth you want, while all you can give in return is nothing much more than some praises and sweet words." With a wave of his hand, Wormtail stopped twitching and writhing in agony.
"Now, I ask you the question one last time." The voice turned dangerously soft. "Will you betray the Potters?"
Wormtail sobbed and murmured an answer the Dark Lord had been looking for. "Y-y-yes, my L-l-lord."
~
Peter Pettigrew walked along Diagon Alley, with unsure steps. He was about to embark on his first mission, which was relatively easy – a Dark Mark above the Leaky Cauldron. Yet his conscience was getting in the way – he was not an evil person, and he knew it. He was just cowardly, and perhaps scared. He was not like James and Sirius, who had nerves and brains – he was a scatterwit. He was not like Remus, who, even being a werewolf, had doting parents and a bunch of loyal friends. Loyal the word made him flinch. He, Peter Pettigrew, was alone. His parents did not care about him – all they cared about was themselves. His friends his friends had been nice to him, to say truthfully. But, do they really care about me? He thought. Perhaps they befriended me just because I'm pitiful, just because I looked like I needed friends. Sirius and James had each other, and Remus was just on his own; he didn't mind. But they always left me out on pranks just because I'll always let the word slip just because I was cowardly. Are they REALLY my friends? Memories flooded him, and his emotions got the better of him. His face contorted with fury and his paces quickened. He fingered his wand in his robes, and walked much more determinedly to the Leaky Cauldron than before
~
Lily could hear Petunia's high-pitched shrieks as her parents suffered under the Cruciatus Curse. And amongst all that, she could hear devilish laughter and see a black shadow, standing proudly with his back facing her, pointing his wand at the tormented victims Suddenly, there was a flash of bright green light, and there were more screams the next thing she knew, Petunia was shaking her with gritted teeth and fury
"Stop shaking me!" was all Lily could say through her tears.
James stared at her concernedly. "Lily, please, are you okay?" He bent down and kissed her on the forehead.
"James!" Lily sobbed into his arms, flooded with relief. James is here, everything's okay, my life's going to be okay
"Lily, what happened?"
"I-I-I I h-had a n-n-nightmare I d-dreamt of my p-p-parents a-and and h-h-him h-he killed m-my parents a-and Petunia was s-shaking m-me t-there were s-s-screams everywhere " Lily convulsed into tears and could not speak further.
James was heartbroken.
He knew that Lily had been having nightmares since her parents death, but he did not know how intense it was. How many times had Lily woken up from a nightmare, frightened and alone, with nobody to lean on? How many times had Lily been reminded of her broken family? How many times had he been on one of his thrilling midnight escapades when Lily was sobbing, unaccompanied? It truly broke his heart to see his beloved lying in his arms, helplessly lost
James pulled her closer to him. He knew he was all she had now. The least he could do was to be a pillar for her. He could be a source of happiness and life he was the only one whom she could rely on now
~
Lily rubbed her eyes and awoke to a noisy morning. Wait a minute, she thought, rubbing her eyes. Why is it so noisy?
She shook James and said, "James! Will you get up, you lazy pig! I think there's something wrong"
"Huh? What?" James bolted up in the bed, groping about for his glasses. "Where? What's wrong? What?"
Lily giggled and handed him his glasses. "Listen, I really think something's happening outside. Let's go and take a look"
She dragged James out of the bed and to the balcony, and both of them were shocked by the scene in front of them.
Hundreds of people were running about the streets in chaos, all gasping and pointing at the sky. Lily turned towards the direction they were pointing at, and her eyes stung from what she saw the Dark Mark. The both of them were too shocked to notice a dark shadow lurking in one corner, smiling contentedly, if not insanely. The shadow transformed from a human into a rat, and scuttled down the drain very quickly.
~
"Very well, Wormtail. You have done a good job."
"Thank you, my Lord."
"However, I am very sure you are very curious as to why my target is the Potters."
Wormtail remained silent.
"Well, just to satisfy your curiosity, I shall let you in a secret." The Dark Lord leaned forward and whispered in an eerie voice.
"I am very sure you have heard of the famous Dark Seer, Shadia Fogs. She has recently joined our little group of conspirators', and I have been very fortunate to witness one of her trances. She had prophesized that the Potters' child, a little boy, would hinder my success. That is why the Potters are my target." His lips curved into a menacing smile and he tilted his head upwards, laughing maniacally.
~
"P-p-professor! Professor Dumbledore!"
Professor Albus Dumbledore glanced up at the young man in front of him. "Is anything wrong, Kyle?"
"You-know-who has just ordered a Dark Mark attack on the Potters, who have just spent the night at the Leaky Cauldron! You-know-who is also planning to get rid of the Potters; he said that a Dark Seer has prophesized that their child will get in the way"
The quill in his hand snapped into two pieces. The professor stood up immediately and thanked his spy, Kyle Barzhad. He muttered a complex charm, and reappeared at James and Lily's side.
"James, Lily! You have to come with me now. There is no time for explanations. You have to realise that the Dark Lord is after the both of you."
James gasped, and Lily trembled with fear. She opened her mouth and spoke softly, "Why?"
"Your child will be one of the greatest wizards in his time. He will be an obstacle of the Dark Lord's, hindering his path to success. The Dark Lord wants to get rid of him even before he is born. That's why he is after you. And if you want to survive, there's only one solution to this."
James and Lily turned to him questioningly.
"The Fidelius Charm."
© Hazel Dreamer 2002