A/N: Well, here's the next chapter! I don't really have much to say about
it except read and review! Thanks to:
G.D. Jade- I've always loved your reviews! Thank you! For both of them!
DreamingReader- Thanks a lot!
Silverstreak- I hope you're happy with the rest of the story, and thanks for liking it!
phoenix6545- Here's that update, and I'm so glad you like the story!
SAKURAnTOKYO- Lol, I end up thanking you every chapter, don't I? Well, you're such a great, faithful reviewer, I have to! I can't even begin to thank you enough!
Chibi-Chingo- Hehehe, yes, but I couldn't help it ;)
Phoenixheart- I'm glad someone understands! Thanks! And, yes, I noticed I had 68 when I arrived home from my friend's house. A nice surprise, I should add!
And, now, for the story....
Chapter 15- Wormtail's Crime
Sirius paused a second, trying to remember what had happened first. "Well, when I walked into the common room, there was a man sitting here, by the fire. He looked up at me and said, 'Good. Just who I wanted to see. Come here, I require some answers from you.' I just stood there, wondering what was going on. At first I thought I was dreaming it, and I turned to head up the stairs. He put a charm on me, and pulled me over to the chair next to him, holding me down. He looked at me and said, 'You will answer my questions. Hmm, where to begin?' I was terrified. I'd never seen this man before. How did he get into the Gryffindor tower? I watched him, waiting for his questions. I noticed that his eyes looked very familiar. They were a pale blue, kind of small. But where had I seen them before? I didn't know, and my thoughts were soon interrupted by this man. He asked me tons of questions. Some of them I didn't want to answer, and just sat there with my mouth shut. He would then put a charm on me that caused me to be hit. Red spots started showing on my body, but still I refused to open my mouth. I would never tell him. But then he put the Cruciatus curse on me. I simply couldn't handle the pain. I was going to die, I could feel it. So I started yelling out the answers, and he finally took the curse off me, smiled, and exited." They all fell silent, staring at Sirius.
"Oh my god." Jennifer whispered. Her bright, blue eyes were full of understanding. "If only someone could have walked in. I'm so sorry Sirius, you shouldn't have had to go through that. What did he want with you? What did he ask?" she needed to know. She wanted to know why the Death Eaters were after her boyfriend.
"Well, he started out with simple questions. Like what I thought of Voldemort, what I was interested in here at school. Then he asked what I wanted to do when I left Hogwarts; what I wanted to become. I told him I wasn't totally sure just yet. I'd figure it out when the time came. Then he asked what my friends wanted to do. I told him that you wanted to be an auror, James. I'm sorry. I…couldn't take that curse. It hurt too much."
"It's okay. You shouldn't be sorry. I'm sure Voldemort would have figured it out sooner or later." James replied reassuringly.
"Anyway, when he heard about you, he was very interested. His eyes flashed with something that resembled greed. The rest of the questions were about you, your family, your goals. He just wanted to know about you, not me anymore. I hope he's not going to come after you now James. I couldn't stand that, because it would be my fault. I…I just wish it had never happened. I don't remember everything I said. I might have told him anything. My deepest secrets." Sirius, who was always the prankster, never, ever cried. But a tear started rolling down his face just then. "I pray to god that he won't go after any of you. He can't. I'm even thinking a little about becoming an auror myself now. I hate Voldemort. I hate that Death Eater. But I don't think I'd be much good at it, you know. I've never really wanted to be one before now anyway." Sirius sighed. "Prongs, you have to get them for me. Find them all."
"Oh, don't you worry about that. I will, trust me." James replied, attempting to cheer his friend up a little. Lily grabbed his hand and squeezed it. He knew she was afraid for him. He would keep her safe. At any cost, she would be safe. But he knew that that wasn't what she was worried about. She was worried about his safety, not her own. He squeezed back and pulled her a little closer.
Chloe was sitting on the other side of Lily, with Remus next to him. They were looking stunned at the moment. They didn't know what to say or do.
"Padfoot, if only we had known. We would have come storming up here to save you. If only one of us could have opened the portrait hole, and seen him." Remus was still staring at Sirius.
Chloe took one look at him and whispered, "If onlys won't help him now Remus. It's over, and Sirius is sitting here with us now. He's okay. There's nothing we could have done." She kissed his cheek reassuringly. Sometimes Remus tried to do more than he could handle, and he felt responsible for everything, whether it was his fault or not.
"Now, I think that we need to do something besides sit here and mope. This is depressing. I hate depressing situations. What can we do?" Sirius felt like it was his fault for scaring all of his friends, and he was ready to forget any of it ever happened.
"Well, we could go play quidditch. Three against three?" James suggested. He was always in the mood to play quidditch.
So that's exactly what they did. The girls weren't especially good, and Remus wasn't the best (he didn't play much because of his 'condition'), but it was fun either way. They played two games before retiring back to the common room. All of them still had the earlier conversation ringing in the back of their heads, but refused to mention it. They would tell Dumbledore, and he would fix everything. There was no need to worry about it, because there was nothing they could do to solve the mystery. But why had this Death Eater been so interested in James? And why had he gone after Sirius in the first place?
Jennifer managed to lead Sirius away from the group at one point that evening.
"I'm so happy that you're back here with us. With me." She smiled and stared into his hazel eyes, which had turned serious.
"I love you, Jennifer. I always will." He was a little afraid that she would answer differently, and so leaned down and kissed her, so that she didn't have a chance to reply. The kiss ended a little later and Jennifer pulled back, a bit out of breath.
"I love you too." She panted at him, putting her arms around his neck and pulling him in for another kiss.
Meanwhile, the others were sitting in their usual spot, by the fire. They were talking about random things, trying to be as cheerful as possible.
Just then the portrait hole opened, and Peter tumbled in, having tripped over himself.
"Wormtail! We were beginning to get worried about you! (A/N: Not. Err, I hate Peter..) I'm sorry about your aunt." James was smiling at him as he picked himself up and walked towards them.
"Oh, um, yes. Me too. I'm sorry to hear about Sirius." Then he added, maybe a bit too quickly, "I met Dumbledore in the hallway on my way here. He told me."
"Oh. Yeah. But I think he's fully recovered." Remus grinned, turning his head to look at Jennifer and Sirius, who seemed quite busy in the corner. Chloe laid her head on his shoulder, and he looked down at her, smiling wider.
Peter looked a bit sick, and maybe a little worn down. They all assumed that it was because of his aunt dying. Little did they know that that had nothing to do with it.
****************************************************
(Peters POV, in case you're wondering)
Peter almost gagged at the sight of Sirius and Jennifer kissing in the corner. He should have killed Sirius when he had the chance. Too bad he was a coward. He just couldn't kill one of his former best friends. Not with his own hands, anyway.
He was quite exhausted from his past week away from Hogwarts. Aunt's funeral. He snorted. Yeah right.
(flashback)
"As much as I hate Gryffindors, I am happy with your news. You have your uses, I suppose." Voldemort's red eyes gleamed in the moonlight. The forest surrounding them was quiet, sleeping. "But are you certain?" he growled, demanding an answer.
The small man, or boy, cowered before him, his light eyes staring down at the ground. "I am, my lord. I had to put an appearance-changing charm on myself and beat it out of him to find out. I am very certain."
Voldemort scratched his chin, considering this. "Well then, we must start planning to dispose of a certain person. We cannot have aurors running free. They will all die, eventually. I will kill them all!" he paused, thinking. "It won't due to kill him just yet, though. Not until after he leaves Hogwarts. Dumbledore is there. We'd have no luck. No, we'll just have to wait until after he graduates. You, meanwhile, must return to the castle. You will report to me anything and everything you can. Oh, yes, and I suppose you'll be rewarded for this news. I always reward those who help me. But not now; later on."
(end flashback)
Peter had not really wanted to become a Death Eater. He had made the decision because he was frightened. He didn't know what his future held. He wasn't a very talented person, and couldn't imagine that he would find a good job. But he wanted power. He wanted to be important. The only way he saw to do this was to join with Voldemort. So he had. And now he had turned one of his former best friends over to the enemy. The only reason he had questioned Sirius in the first place was because he had been the first to walk into the common room that night. Peter had figured what the hell. I might as well get something out of him. So he had asked him questions, beating him and using one of the unforgivable curses on him. Enough to earn him life in Azkaban. But what he had learned was precious. Voldemort had told the Death Eaters at an earlier meeting that he would greatly reward anyone who gave him the name of an auror. He hated aurors, as much as muggle borns, and wanted to kill them all. It's not as if Peter really enjoyed all this, but so what.
Oh well. He would gain power this way. And now he was to be rewarded by Voldemort. He rubbed his hands together in anticipation.
A/N: Ugh, I hate him so much! I wish the story wouldn't have to go like this, I hated writing all that stuff from Peters POV. He's such a slimy little rat! Well, now that I've vented my feeling for him, I have to ask. What did you think? Good? Bad? Come on, reviews only take a second. So tell me what you think! ;)
~Emily~
G.D. Jade- I've always loved your reviews! Thank you! For both of them!
DreamingReader- Thanks a lot!
Silverstreak- I hope you're happy with the rest of the story, and thanks for liking it!
phoenix6545- Here's that update, and I'm so glad you like the story!
SAKURAnTOKYO- Lol, I end up thanking you every chapter, don't I? Well, you're such a great, faithful reviewer, I have to! I can't even begin to thank you enough!
Chibi-Chingo- Hehehe, yes, but I couldn't help it ;)
Phoenixheart- I'm glad someone understands! Thanks! And, yes, I noticed I had 68 when I arrived home from my friend's house. A nice surprise, I should add!
And, now, for the story....
Chapter 15- Wormtail's Crime
Sirius paused a second, trying to remember what had happened first. "Well, when I walked into the common room, there was a man sitting here, by the fire. He looked up at me and said, 'Good. Just who I wanted to see. Come here, I require some answers from you.' I just stood there, wondering what was going on. At first I thought I was dreaming it, and I turned to head up the stairs. He put a charm on me, and pulled me over to the chair next to him, holding me down. He looked at me and said, 'You will answer my questions. Hmm, where to begin?' I was terrified. I'd never seen this man before. How did he get into the Gryffindor tower? I watched him, waiting for his questions. I noticed that his eyes looked very familiar. They were a pale blue, kind of small. But where had I seen them before? I didn't know, and my thoughts were soon interrupted by this man. He asked me tons of questions. Some of them I didn't want to answer, and just sat there with my mouth shut. He would then put a charm on me that caused me to be hit. Red spots started showing on my body, but still I refused to open my mouth. I would never tell him. But then he put the Cruciatus curse on me. I simply couldn't handle the pain. I was going to die, I could feel it. So I started yelling out the answers, and he finally took the curse off me, smiled, and exited." They all fell silent, staring at Sirius.
"Oh my god." Jennifer whispered. Her bright, blue eyes were full of understanding. "If only someone could have walked in. I'm so sorry Sirius, you shouldn't have had to go through that. What did he want with you? What did he ask?" she needed to know. She wanted to know why the Death Eaters were after her boyfriend.
"Well, he started out with simple questions. Like what I thought of Voldemort, what I was interested in here at school. Then he asked what I wanted to do when I left Hogwarts; what I wanted to become. I told him I wasn't totally sure just yet. I'd figure it out when the time came. Then he asked what my friends wanted to do. I told him that you wanted to be an auror, James. I'm sorry. I…couldn't take that curse. It hurt too much."
"It's okay. You shouldn't be sorry. I'm sure Voldemort would have figured it out sooner or later." James replied reassuringly.
"Anyway, when he heard about you, he was very interested. His eyes flashed with something that resembled greed. The rest of the questions were about you, your family, your goals. He just wanted to know about you, not me anymore. I hope he's not going to come after you now James. I couldn't stand that, because it would be my fault. I…I just wish it had never happened. I don't remember everything I said. I might have told him anything. My deepest secrets." Sirius, who was always the prankster, never, ever cried. But a tear started rolling down his face just then. "I pray to god that he won't go after any of you. He can't. I'm even thinking a little about becoming an auror myself now. I hate Voldemort. I hate that Death Eater. But I don't think I'd be much good at it, you know. I've never really wanted to be one before now anyway." Sirius sighed. "Prongs, you have to get them for me. Find them all."
"Oh, don't you worry about that. I will, trust me." James replied, attempting to cheer his friend up a little. Lily grabbed his hand and squeezed it. He knew she was afraid for him. He would keep her safe. At any cost, she would be safe. But he knew that that wasn't what she was worried about. She was worried about his safety, not her own. He squeezed back and pulled her a little closer.
Chloe was sitting on the other side of Lily, with Remus next to him. They were looking stunned at the moment. They didn't know what to say or do.
"Padfoot, if only we had known. We would have come storming up here to save you. If only one of us could have opened the portrait hole, and seen him." Remus was still staring at Sirius.
Chloe took one look at him and whispered, "If onlys won't help him now Remus. It's over, and Sirius is sitting here with us now. He's okay. There's nothing we could have done." She kissed his cheek reassuringly. Sometimes Remus tried to do more than he could handle, and he felt responsible for everything, whether it was his fault or not.
"Now, I think that we need to do something besides sit here and mope. This is depressing. I hate depressing situations. What can we do?" Sirius felt like it was his fault for scaring all of his friends, and he was ready to forget any of it ever happened.
"Well, we could go play quidditch. Three against three?" James suggested. He was always in the mood to play quidditch.
So that's exactly what they did. The girls weren't especially good, and Remus wasn't the best (he didn't play much because of his 'condition'), but it was fun either way. They played two games before retiring back to the common room. All of them still had the earlier conversation ringing in the back of their heads, but refused to mention it. They would tell Dumbledore, and he would fix everything. There was no need to worry about it, because there was nothing they could do to solve the mystery. But why had this Death Eater been so interested in James? And why had he gone after Sirius in the first place?
Jennifer managed to lead Sirius away from the group at one point that evening.
"I'm so happy that you're back here with us. With me." She smiled and stared into his hazel eyes, which had turned serious.
"I love you, Jennifer. I always will." He was a little afraid that she would answer differently, and so leaned down and kissed her, so that she didn't have a chance to reply. The kiss ended a little later and Jennifer pulled back, a bit out of breath.
"I love you too." She panted at him, putting her arms around his neck and pulling him in for another kiss.
Meanwhile, the others were sitting in their usual spot, by the fire. They were talking about random things, trying to be as cheerful as possible.
Just then the portrait hole opened, and Peter tumbled in, having tripped over himself.
"Wormtail! We were beginning to get worried about you! (A/N: Not. Err, I hate Peter..) I'm sorry about your aunt." James was smiling at him as he picked himself up and walked towards them.
"Oh, um, yes. Me too. I'm sorry to hear about Sirius." Then he added, maybe a bit too quickly, "I met Dumbledore in the hallway on my way here. He told me."
"Oh. Yeah. But I think he's fully recovered." Remus grinned, turning his head to look at Jennifer and Sirius, who seemed quite busy in the corner. Chloe laid her head on his shoulder, and he looked down at her, smiling wider.
Peter looked a bit sick, and maybe a little worn down. They all assumed that it was because of his aunt dying. Little did they know that that had nothing to do with it.
****************************************************
(Peters POV, in case you're wondering)
Peter almost gagged at the sight of Sirius and Jennifer kissing in the corner. He should have killed Sirius when he had the chance. Too bad he was a coward. He just couldn't kill one of his former best friends. Not with his own hands, anyway.
He was quite exhausted from his past week away from Hogwarts. Aunt's funeral. He snorted. Yeah right.
(flashback)
"As much as I hate Gryffindors, I am happy with your news. You have your uses, I suppose." Voldemort's red eyes gleamed in the moonlight. The forest surrounding them was quiet, sleeping. "But are you certain?" he growled, demanding an answer.
The small man, or boy, cowered before him, his light eyes staring down at the ground. "I am, my lord. I had to put an appearance-changing charm on myself and beat it out of him to find out. I am very certain."
Voldemort scratched his chin, considering this. "Well then, we must start planning to dispose of a certain person. We cannot have aurors running free. They will all die, eventually. I will kill them all!" he paused, thinking. "It won't due to kill him just yet, though. Not until after he leaves Hogwarts. Dumbledore is there. We'd have no luck. No, we'll just have to wait until after he graduates. You, meanwhile, must return to the castle. You will report to me anything and everything you can. Oh, yes, and I suppose you'll be rewarded for this news. I always reward those who help me. But not now; later on."
(end flashback)
Peter had not really wanted to become a Death Eater. He had made the decision because he was frightened. He didn't know what his future held. He wasn't a very talented person, and couldn't imagine that he would find a good job. But he wanted power. He wanted to be important. The only way he saw to do this was to join with Voldemort. So he had. And now he had turned one of his former best friends over to the enemy. The only reason he had questioned Sirius in the first place was because he had been the first to walk into the common room that night. Peter had figured what the hell. I might as well get something out of him. So he had asked him questions, beating him and using one of the unforgivable curses on him. Enough to earn him life in Azkaban. But what he had learned was precious. Voldemort had told the Death Eaters at an earlier meeting that he would greatly reward anyone who gave him the name of an auror. He hated aurors, as much as muggle borns, and wanted to kill them all. It's not as if Peter really enjoyed all this, but so what.
Oh well. He would gain power this way. And now he was to be rewarded by Voldemort. He rubbed his hands together in anticipation.
A/N: Ugh, I hate him so much! I wish the story wouldn't have to go like this, I hated writing all that stuff from Peters POV. He's such a slimy little rat! Well, now that I've vented my feeling for him, I have to ask. What did you think? Good? Bad? Come on, reviews only take a second. So tell me what you think! ;)
~Emily~